forty-seven

Minho lays awake on his side. The lamp's on. In case Jisung wakes up. Gets scared. Has bad dreams.

Minho holds his hand too. It's warm.

He watches Jisung breathe.

Slowly... he sinks deeper into sleep.

He wakes with a startle. His heart's hammering. He's not sure why. He can't remember if he was dreaming.

There's light. Oh, the lamp. He left it on—

Minho jumps out of bed upon realizing... "Jisung?!"

The bed is empty. He looks around the room. Turns on the ceiling light. He slept holding Jisung's hand. How did he not feel him moving?

"Jisung!" He goes out of the room.

He checks the bathroom. The kitchen. "Jisung?"

He checks every corner of his house. Then comes back to his bedroom. He pulls the covering off the bed. Looks under it. Looks in the closet.

Minho's panicking. Jisung's nowhere in the house? It doesn't make sense! He was just here laying unconscious...

"Jisung!" Minho's voice is louder. It's shaking now.

He runs through every room again.

He passes by the front door. "Jisung—"

Oh god. The door is open!

"Mrs. Hwang, is Jisung here?!"

She looks shocked. "Minho?"

He pushes himself in. He's panting. "Is he here?"

"Minho," Mrs. Hwang says. Takes his arm. Turns him around. "No! It's five in the morning— dear, are you alright?"

Minho's trembling. "T-Then where is he?"

Hyunjin has come out too. He's pulling a robe over his sleep clothes.

Minho rushes to him. "Have you seen Jisung? Did he come here?"

"Jisung? I haven't seen him since last night when I left you both. Did he say he was coming here? What happened?"

"H-He's gone..." Minho says. He can't believe it himself.

"Did you call him?" Mrs. Hwang says.

"He didn't take his phone..."

Mrs. Hwang makes him sit. "But what do you mean he's gone? Gone where? Hyunjin, he's cold— could you bring him something?"

Minho stares around. He's checked everywhere.

He went through the streets near their place. He drove by the stores on his way here. It would be a long walk... if Jisung had come here...

"He didn't come here?" Minho asks again.

Hyunjin pulls a blanket over his shoulders. He sits on the other side.

"No... Minho, I'm sorry, I have no idea where he could be."

Minho nods slowly. His eyes burn. He buries his face in his hands. Breathes in shakily. "H-He's gone. I don't know where else he could go... he doesn't know a lot of things."

"He doesn't have memories. He's only been outside with me because... he doesn't know anything... now h-he's gone. He's never been gone... he just turned into a mannequin—"

He looks up. Wipes his eyes. "Grandma. I need to speak to her."

"W-What—" Minho doesn't wait for them. He runs towards her room.

"Minho!" Mrs. Hwang yells. Chases after him.

He bursts through Grandma Hwang's door. The old woman's awake. She's sitting in her bed. The room is half dark. She stares at Minho.

"Grandma," Minho whispers. He kneels at her bed. "Jisung wasn't feeling well a-and he remembered something. Now he's gone. He just disappeared. D-Do you know where he could be?"

"Mom, I'm sorry, please go back to sleep," Mrs. Hwang says.

She tries to pull Minho up. But he refuses to be pulled. "Please," he says. He doesn't look away from Grandma Hwang. "Please, he doesn't know anything! He could be lost or s-someone could... could hurt him!"

Minho's now crying. Mrs. Hwang's still trying to pull him up.

"Mom, let him go," Hyunjin says. He takes her arm.

Minho immediately kneels in front of the bed again.

"Did he ever leave your house when he was with you?" Minho says.

Grandma Hwang blinks. She's quiet. Then she shakes her head.

"No. I was worried about him. He didn't know anything. And he always turned back into a mannequin."

Minho clutches her hand. "Do you think he'd know the place? C-Could he get there by himself?" He turns to Mrs. Hwang. "Can you send me the address? I have to check if he's gone there—"

"Someone else owns mom's old house, Minho..." Mrs. Hwang frowns.

"I'll go with him. We'll check just in case," Hyunjin says to his mother.

Mrs. Hwang can't do anything but sigh. "Fine. But Minho, what if Jisung goes back to your place—"

Minho gasps. He hasn't thought of that.

"Oh god, what if he's there and he can't find me?"

"Did you leave him a note or anything?"

"N-No, I didn't." Minho gets up. He feels he can't breathe again.

"Minho, dear, it's okay. We'll find him," Mrs. Hwang says. She pats his back. "I can help search for him. I'll go to your place."

Minho bites his lip. Sniffs. Nods. "Thank you..."

"Oh... yes," Grandma Hwang says. Suddenly. Her eyes stare far ahead. "My son got him at a warehouse. There was an auction."

"Who?" Mrs. Hwang asks. She's confused.

"Do you remember where?" Minho says. She has to mean Jisung.

Grandma Hwang's eyes move to the window. She's silent again.

"Grandma," Hyunjin says. Sits on the bed. Takes her other hand. "Where did... dad get that... that mannequin? Do you remember?"

She sighs. "I will ask him for you."

Hyunjin stands up. "I'm sorry, Minho... she doesn't know."

"That's okay," Mrs. Hwang says. "We'll go look for him."

She turns to Hyunjin. "Dear, how about you go to Grandma's old house alone, and then Minho can stay here and... take care of Grandma while we're both away? We can't really leave her alone..."

Minho feels disappointed. He wants to go search for Jisung too. But he feels reluctant to refuse since the Hwangs are doing him so much favor already. "Okay..." He whispers.

To be continued...

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