Chapter Text
YEONJUN | FEBRUARY 29TH, ACADEMY OF OMELAS
Beomgyu is missing.
There is a cacophony of voices yelling around Yeonjun, calling out Beomgyu's name, searching for him in the trees. Soobin isn't far behind, longer limbs awkward and burning with the unfamiliar exercise.
"Beomgyu!" He screams, farther away from the group and louder than the rest, and when the forest goes silent, waiting for a response, Yeonjun collapses. Soobin trips over him, sprawling out on the forest floor and picking himself up as fast as possible to comfort his hyung. "It's too cold out, he can't be out here. He should have come back, it's too cold. He-he gets sick easily, and left his sweater." He babbles, the lack of oxygen to his brain slurring his words and making him dizzy.
Others catch up to them, watching as Soobin tries to calm down the elder.
Beomgyu is missing.
And it's all his fault.
YEONJUN | FEBRUARY 29TH, ACADEMY OF OMELAS
Yeonjun knows the situation is dire because the headmaster lets them sleep in the same room. They've gone to Omelas for several years now and have always been separated on account of their many instances of getting caught with each other in various situations.
"Boys, I can excuse a lot. Your relationship is your own business, but you're still under my jurisdiction." Headmaster Yang gives them a chiding look, but he still looks fond. "No sleepovers on the weeknights, random bed checks on the weekends." He offers, and no one argues.
Beomgyu had giggled and giggled all the way back to their dorms--three in a row, and the other two a few doors down, separated only by two I names.
"What's so funny, cub?" Soobin had grunted, ears still red from embarrassment. Yeonjun and Taehyun are red from trying to hold back their laughter, while Kai still looks mortified.
Beomgyu had collapsed into hysterical laughter, not bothering to explain himself as he punched in the code to his door, laughter carrying as he shut the door behind him. Soobin shakes his head, but Yeonjun sees the smile threatening to make an appearance.
Once they're all in their respective rooms, Yeonjun hears Beomgyu laughing uncontrollably, and it triggers his laughter at the situation. Getting caught with their pants down, literally.
Headmaster Yang spoke softly to the hall monitor, excusing the impropriety of the situation. The boys are all sitting in a row on Beomgyu's bed--his, because if he comes back on his own and manages to sneak past everyone else, they'd know. The hall monitor and headmaster hadn't said a word about the fact that all of them knew his code.
Yeonjun's face is destroyed by puffiness and tears, clutching onto the sweater that Beomgyu leaves on the edge of his bed because he's always catching a chill from the drafty brick building.
Soobin and Kai look dazed, like they're not sure what reality looks like. Taehyun is clutching a wastebasket, grinding his teeth as he fights off nausea.
Twenty-four hours ago, they'd been in here, yelling loud enough to get a complaint from the hall monitor. Now, it's quiet enough to hear the tiny pieces of snow hit the window pane.
It's too cold outside. Beomgyu hates the cold. He should have come back by now.
A knock sounds at the door, and a differently toned beep lets someone in without needing Beomgyu's code.
Yudai, the hall monitor, carries in a tray of food, followed by a friend of Beomgyu's, Heeseung, pushing a cart with several trays and blankets. Heeseung's own eyes are red-rimmed, and his nose is pink from the cold. Once the alarm was rung for the search party, Yeonjun had lost track of how many people were joining them.
"Here, we tried to find things that were easier on the stomach. If you get done with the cart, you can push it into the hall. Call if you need anything," Yudai explains softly, before physically removing Heeseung from the room where he's staring at the floor, trembling.
Kai is off the bed first, grabbing a bowl and crackers and sitting in front of Taehyun, encouraging him to eat regardless of how he feels. Yeonjun should do that for Soobin. He tries to scoot himself away from the wall on trembling hands, but Soobin stops him.
"Don't, hyung. Just stay there." Soobin murmurs, getting off the bed with more stability than Yeonjun is capable of. There's a gaping hole in the middle of Yeonjun's chest filled with regret, guilt, fear, and grief.
"You can't just fucking laugh your way through life, Beomgyu. When we graduate, are you just going to sit on the couch and wait for the rest of us to get home?" Yeonjun raises his voice, and the plastic smile that was on Beomgyu's face drops so quickly that Yeonjun has to blink to make sure he'd seen it at all.
He'd been giggling at his final assignment, cutting jokes while they all tried to study. When Taehyun had softly complained about not being able to focus, Beomgyu had just leaned up for a kiss and giggled at the dazed look on Taehyun's face.
Maybe it was the stress of finals--next year will be Yeonjun's last, and he still hasn't figured out what he's doing afterwards.
"I was just trying to lighten the mood." He murmurs, turning his entire body around to focus on his work.
The other three are shifting nervously, trying to simultaneously avoid and focus on the conversation. It's not the first spit they've ever had, but as a whole, they're pretty peaceful and keep arguments between individuals.
"Yeah, and how are you going to lighten the mood when everyone fails their finals because of you?" He snaps, expecting Beomgyu to turn around and argue. He's not expecting the younger to slam his laptop shut and leave. "Hey!" Yeonjun shouts in surprise, on his knees, when the door shuts.
"Should one of us go after him?" Kai asks Soobin softly, but Yeonjun, embarrassed and still upset, shakes his head.
"He'll come back," Yeonjun mutters.
Beomgyu didn't come back. He was barefoot, with only a t-shirt and sweatpants. The security staff only said the cameras caught him leaving out of one of the side doors before moving toward the woods. Yeonjun wants to see it so bad--to see the last moment that he was seen.
They'd all separated to their rooms, tension high after the argument. But the next morning, when Soobin and Taehyun stopped to walk him to classes, he hadn't come back. They'd immediately contacted Yudai and the headmaster to see if anyone had seen him overnight, or if he had snuck into anyone's dorm.
Classes were cancelled as everyone was called to search their rooms, the campus, and the classrooms. The police were called, and the security cameras were pulled. Search dogs were brought in, but Beomgyu's scent was everywhere. He was a busybody, always running between buildings to meet with friends or walk one of them to classes or the dining hall.
The massive search party was organized when the weather turned, snow threatening to cover tracks and trap him in the woods, vulnerable.
"I'm so sorry," Yeonjun sobs as Soobin brings a spoonful of broth to his mouth. "I'm so sorry," He chokes, unable to accept the spoonful offered to him as his breathing refuses to settle down.
Taehyun reluctantly moves across the bed to sit with him, and Kai moves all of their bowls to the cart, pulling the extra blankets out to settle across the four of them as he and Soobin climb in as well.
The wind picks up, and the snow covers the sounds of their grief.
BEOMGYU
The flower fields are beautiful, and the grass is soft, brushing against his bruised skin gently.
And it's so warm-so warm. The light above him is shining so bright, and the heat kisses his skin. He never feels warm. Beomgyu wants to stay here forever, where it's warm, calm, and quiet.
A stab of pain pierces through his abdomen, and twin tear tracks fall down his cheeks, eyes closing. He can't see the white of the sun in his retinas, and when he opens them again, he's back in the freezing, damp space that they put him in.
He doesn't know if he believes in God, and if he did, he's forsaken the one he knew, but Beomgyu prays anyway. Prays that someone is looking for him, despite what they say. Prays that despite everything, his partners don't give up on him, that someone has noticed the door to the boiler room stairs being unlocked. He's not giving up on the hope of getting out and will make it back to them.
He'll never fucking argue with them again. He wishes that Yeonjun, Taehyun, Soobin, and Kai would be in the flower fields with him. But it's a place for rest and healing. He doesn't want them to have to heal from anything.
Beomgyu put up a fight, but in the dark, being stripped naked and vulnerable, beaten within an inch of his life, he had surrendered to a different place. When he had enough strength, he was tied down to this stone, tiny flickers of candlelight illuminating robes that had no faces beneath them.
They never let him stay there for long. Right now, a dull candlestick is being burnt, wax melting right over his stomach. It's so hot, but he's so weak. He wants to go back to that field, where everything was warm, not scorching hot and freezing cold all at once.
"Pure of heart, pure of mind." Several voices hum at once, a hymnal that he can't bring himself to listen to. He clenches his eyes shut as the candle is shoved into his hand, forced to melt down his hand. If he drops it, they'll do worse. Have done worse.
He holds on.
They sing around him, voices low and unintelligible as his ears ring and his eyes roll back in his head, passing out as a hooded figure places a hand on his throat.
The flower fields are beautiful.
YEONJUN | MARCH 2nd, ACADEMY OF OMELAS
His parents are here.
"Honey," His mom murmurs, eyes incredibly sad as Jungwon, the day monitor, opens the door to Beomgyu's room for them. While his mother holds his shaking form, his father bypasses him to pull Taehyun up from his pillow into a strong hug.
Soobin and Kai had left the room to shower in their rooms, which was fine with Yeonjun, who selfishly needed this undivided attention from his mom.
His parents were the only set that knew the full extent of their relationship and accepted it. Soobin's parents couldn't care less about what their son does--they put him in the academy so they didn't have to parent him at all. Taehyun's grandparents didn't know about their relationship, or the fact that he likes men, but they'd called and comforted him when they heard the news about his friend going missing. Kai's parents knew, but didn't approve, and often only reached out to make the bare minimum effort. His sisters are both supportive, although they can only support him from afar as they both live in a different country at a different boarding school.
Beomgyu's parents, from what he tells them, had loved him a lot. He could have gotten away with murder because they loved him so much that either of them would have taken the fall. When they'd passed away, they'd left him in the care of Headmaster Yang, a friend of theirs who'd graduated from the academy with them when they'd attended.
"We-we fought and he ran out because of me, and-and," He cries into her sweater, smelling so much like home and safety that he dissolves into hiccups. Taehyun isn't faring well, either, nearly being pulled into his lap entirely and clinging to his dad for dear life.
"It's not your fault, honey. I think wherever he is, he wants to come home, too." Overnight, the investigation had turned from a runaway situation to a potential kidnapping. Enough students had stepped forward to vouch for Beomgyu's character that he wouldn't have just run away, and the local police had changed the story.
Omela's Academy student, Choi Beomgyu, has been declared missing. Choi was last seen on video leaving the academy after an argument between peers, wearing pajamas. Friends, peers, and faculty of Omela's state that it would be out of character for the student to have run away. One student interview revealed that it wasn't out of character for him to take a walk to clear his head, and that he could often be found wandering campus. The primary concern now is that Choi is either injured in the woods surrounding the university or has been kidnapped and taken out of the area.
The police statement had been direct, encouraging anyone with evidence to come forward to assist with he case. Now, they're out of the golden hours of the investigation. If he hasn't been found by now, the odds of finding him grow slimmer each day.
Soobin barges through the door, and Yeonjun assumes that he could hear the cries from his shower once the water was off, because he's still dripping wet, clothes absorbing water where he'd thrown them on in a hurry. His eyes fill with tears when he notices Yeonjun's parents.
"Oh, my babies," His mom murmurs shakily, throwing an arm out for Soobin to settle under. "Where's my Kai?" She asks softly, and the door swings open just for a blur to shoot over to the bed with Taehyun, breaking down easily.
Yeonjun's parents love them all like their own kids. My son-in-laws are my sons. She always said, Soobin often ended up back at their home when breaks came around. But Beomgyu would always be there, the first to jump for their hugs when they picked them up, eager to stay home and do family activities with them, more so than even Yeonjun.
Your parents are the closest thing I have to my parents. I love them, He would say, and Yeonjun couldn't argue. He's pretty sure Beomgyu called his parents more than he did.
And his parents love Beomgyu. Enough to come all the way here when they found out he was missing.
They're also here to sign a check, a reward for Beomgyu being brought home. The boys are forced to leave the room, to sit through the assembly where the Choi's stand up and give a speech on behalf of Beomgyu and his friends.
There are whispers and pitiful glances from people who knew what Beomgyu was to them.
Yeonjun is staring through the podium, arms crossed around himself.
Please let him come back. Please bring him back to me.
BEOMGYU
The field changes a little every day, as he wanders through it.
His wandering is slow, and the pain he feels comes and goes in waves, trying to pull him out of the field. He doesn't want to leave this place, where he can forget for a moment what he's left behind.
Beomgyu knows that his resolve is weakening because he can feel the branding iron carving intricate designs across his pectoral muscles, digging too deep and cauterizing sensitive nerves. They'll always do their best to bring him back from where he goes to heal.
The sky is pink and purple through the canopy of the trees, and he dizzily takes in the beautiful lights, bioluminescent and soft, slowly appearing as the light of day fades out. Yeonjun would fit right in here--otherworldly.
Tears leak from his eyes as he shakes, the pain becoming real again. Once he's thought about any of them, he doesn't stay in the world for long. When he opens his eyes again, he's shivering, several hands holding him still as the hot poker is heated again over a candle flame.
"Open the door to accept your fate," The cacophony of voices begins, and Beomgyu cries harder. He's so cold, and disoriented, and this fucking ritual never ends.
The poker comes off the flame, burning red, and Beomgyu should close his eyes. But as it gets closer, he can't help but beg.
"No, please, please," He sobs, thrashing against unmoving arms. "No, get away from me! Don't," He screams, and it would almost be a favor if they killed him. Plunged the poker through his sternum and let it cauterize his aorta. Instead, they move closer, unhurried, and come to rest with it above his face. "No!" He screams, and then it's being placed back against the junction of his shoulder and neck, creating a smooth, raised burn.
His voice gives out as he screams, and very few thoughts cross his mind. But one, he doesn't forget, even after his body decides to release him from hell by letting him pass out. They don't care how much I scream. No one can hear me.
Police Transcript: Choi Yeonjun
Official Police Report
Transcript of Principal Interview
with Choi YeonjunOfficers have been assigned aliases for the duration of the investigation, and will not be released to the public until risk is assessed. Suspect's name will be redacted on officially released reports.
Choi: What's this?
Officer A: Mr. Choi, please have a seat. My partner and I have some questions for you.
Choi: What am I being held for?
Officer B: Regarding your friend, Choi Beomgyu.
Choi: My boyfriend, you mean. Again, what am I being held for?
Officer A: You're not being held, we're just here to ask questions regarding his disappearance.
Choi: Ask away.
Officer B: We have witnesses testifying that you were arguing with Mr. Choi the night he went missing.
Choi: That's a statement, and an accusatory one. I'd like to speak with my lawyer.
Officer B: That's unnecessary, if you don't have anything to-
Choi: I can see your recorder is on, and you're obstructing my right to a fair interrogation. You started this interrogation with an accusation, and I don't feel comfortable with how you're treating me considering I'm not being held, so I'm requesting to be represented by a lawyer.
Officer A: Of course. [Officer B], please find a phone for Mr. Choi to call his lawyer. Thank you.
Officer A: I'm sorry about that behavior. I'll talk to them. We really are just trying to do our best to get your friend back, you understand, right?
Choi: I appreciate the sentiment. Please allow me to contact my lawyer before being asked to respond or make a statement.
Officer A: (Chuckles) Absolutely. You're well trained, it seems. (Pause) [Officer B], thank you for getting that. Here you are young man.
Choi: Hi, my name is Choi Yeonjun. I'm calling for Attorney Lim. I'm being held and accused without representation, and would like his counsel. Hi sir, yes. I'll put you on speakerphone.
Officer A: Attorney Lim, this is [Officer A] from the Omelas police force. We brought in your client to question him regarding the disappearance of Choi Beomgyu.
Attorney Lim: Under what suspicion is he being held?
Officer B: Suspicion of aiding in the disappearance of Choi Beomgyu.
Choi: With all due respect, that is not what I was told when I was brought in.
Attorney Lim: Mr. Choi, I'd advise that you wait to provide any more information until I am able to provide legal counsel in person. I'm in town, I'll make my way up to the academy shortly, officers.
Choi: Thank you Mr. Lim.
Attorney Lim: Officer, I'll be there shortly. My client will not be answering any questions before I arrive to hold counsel.
Officer B: Well, if he's not going to say **** then lets turn off the **** ta-
Yeonjun takes a deep breath when he’s left alone in the room, hand over his heart. He’s pre-law for a reason, and unfortunately, had to use the knowledge he’s been accumulating. His partners aren’t ignorant, but Yeonjun is more comfortable with exercising his rights because he’s got them memorized.
The attorney is an extra barrier, a defense against being ganged up on.
[A brief recess was had until the attorney arrived. No questioning was done during this time, and the client was left alone in the room. The transcript returns post-counsel with Attorney Lim.]
Attorney Lim: I've been authorized to speak on behalf of my client, Choi Yeonjun.
Officer A: Great. How about we start with the last time you saw Beomgyu, Mr. Choi?
Choi: We were studying for finals in his room, and we had an argument about focusing on our assignments.
Officer A: Okay, thank you.
Officer B: Could you give a description of him the last time you saw him?
Choi: He had on Choi Soobin’s KARA shirt, and grey sweatpants. Like, dancing style. I pulled back his bangs in a ponytail because they kept falling in his eyes.
Officer B: Hair color, eye color, any identifying marks?
Choi: It’s a sandy blonde, light brown. He’s tan, sometimes he has a freckle by his lip when he’s tan enough, but it fades quickly. His eyes are brown.
Officer A: Thank you. That will really help get his face out there for us.
Officer B: Tell us what you can about your argument.
Attorney Lim: I’d advise against responding. On what grounds is this information required?
Officer A: If there were any remarks that could have potentially distressed him, it would help us to understand what headspace he would be in.
Choi: I’d like to speak freely for a moment.
Attorney Lim: I’d advise against providing too much additional information without basis.
Choi: Thank you. We were arguing because he was intentionally distracting each one of us while we were there to study, and I didn’t realize I struck a nerve until it was too late. He ran out, and I said that we should just let him get his space and come back. It’s not the first time we’ve argued, nothing about his reaction made me worried that he wouldn’t come back.
Officer B: Could you describe the nature of your relationship with Mr. Choi?
Choi: He’s my partner. One of them.
Attorney Lim: Are there any more questions pertaining to the disappearance itself?
Officer A: As of right now, no. We’re profiling and trying to get the scope of the time leading up to his disappearance.
Attorney Lim: Great. If you have any more questions for my client, please give me a call and I’ll reach out to him to discuss.
Officer A: Thank you both for your compliance.
Officer B: For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about your partner. I hope we can bring him home to you soon.
KAI | MARCH 3RD, ACADEMY OF OMELAS
Every day since the search party, Kai walks the border of the woods, looking out and seeing if he can spot anything. The snow from the storm is melting away slowly, and with that, any footprints that could lead from the dormitory to the woods. But he looks anyway, just in case. Because what if two people five feet apart were looking in opposite directions and passed him?
Kai isn't allowed past the woods--no one is, because of the investigation. So he tries to help in other ways.
He makes sure Taehyun eats, because Beomgyu needs them all to be healthy when he gets back. He holds Soobin tight because he knows that the stress can make him fall apart. He lies behind Yeonjun, waiting for him to fall asleep, and grabs tea when he can't.
"Honey," A voice calls from afar. It's Yeonjun's mom, and a police officer is at her side. "Come here, please, the officers would like to talk to you boys." She hollers, and he takes a last look at the woods before turning around and heading to them.
They take him into the administration building, where he's only been a few times to register for classes. He's sitting in a hard chair in a brightly lit room, no windows to be seen.
When two police officers enter the room and shut the door behind them, his stomach drops.
Police Transcript: Heuning Kai Kamal
Official Police Report
Transcript of Principal Interview
with Kai Kamal HeuningOfficers have been assigned aliases for the duration of the investigation, and will not be released to the public until risk is assessed. Suspect's name will be redacted on officially released reports.
Officer A: Mr. Heuning, thank you for cooperating with the investigation.
Heuning: Am I being investigated?
Officer B: We're investigating several potential leads on campus and off. We were told you and other students were with the missing person the night of his disappearance.
Heuning: His name is Beomgyu.
Officer A: We understand this is a difficult time, son, but we have to complete a thorough and professional investigation. Cooperation makes the entire process faster, and could help us locate your friend.
Heuning: My boyfriend.
Officer B: According to our last interview, Mr. Choi already has a boyfriend. We were told that he was having an argument with him before he left the room.
Heuning: Yeah, four of us. We're all dating.
Officer B: Does that ever bring up any jealousy or mixed feelings within that, uh, situation?
Heuning: Not at all. It’s a polycule–we’re all dating each other, with each other.
Officer B: Tell us about the argument in the dorm that night.
Heuning: We were working on final projects, and Beomgyu-hyung was restless--
Officer A: Restless how?
Heuning: He has ADHD, he was bored and we had been studying for a while.
Officer B: Was this an official diagnosis?
Heuning: He used to be prescribed medication for it, but it made him struggle with other things. So I'd assume it was diagnosed.
Officer A: Please continue, about that night.
Heuning: All of us have been stressed about final projects. Beomgyu-hyung hates studying, and he was teasing all of us, which led to an argument.
Officer B: Do you remember what was said during the argument? Who spoke, the initial confrontation?
Officer A: I understand your hesitation with your [pause] relationship. But it really is vital to us to know his state of mind when he left.
Heuning: He leaned over to kiss one of our boyfriends--
Officer B: Which one would that be?
Heuning: Taehyun. He was--
Officer B: Kang Taehyun?
Heuning: Yes.
Officer B: Well, go on.
Heuning: He kissed him to distract him, and was kind of laughing because Beomgyu-hyung is always laughing about something. He likes surprising us with kisses because he likes how we look after. Our oldest boyfriend got upset that he wasn't taking his studies seriously, and was trying--
Officer B: Who would the oldest boyfriend be? Please be clear when you're talking.
Heuning: Choi Yeonjun. He was frustrated because Beomgyu hyung hadn't been studying, and had interrupted each of us one or twice. So Yeonjun-hyung snapped at him, and then Beomgyu hyung left the room.
Officer A: Thank you, Mr. Heuning. [Officer B], would you please grab some water from the water cooler?
Officer A: Mr. Heuning, do you have any reason to believe that the contents of the argument would have caused Mr. Choi to have run away?
Heuning: No. He hated anyone being upset for too long. He sometimes needs space to calm down, so he goes on walks when he's frustrated so he can think. That's why we all stayed behind.
Officer A: Is there anyone who might have wanted to hurt Mr. Choi? Within the academy or outside of it?
Heuning: No, he's a friend of everyone's. He grew up here, mostly. His parents and brother died in a boating accident when he was younger. He volunteers to help people all the time. Hyung is one of the nicest people ever.
Officer B: Here's that water.
Officer B: Mr. Heuning. Do you have any reason to believe that one of your [pause] partners might have something to do with Beomgyu's disappearance?
Heuning: Absolutely not.
Officer B: Son, please don't be defensive. I understand that you don't want to incriminate someone you have relations with, but-
Heuning: None of them would hurt hyung. And we were all accounted for. It wasn't a school night, so most of us ended up in each other's rooms, and our night monitor even checked on us.
Officer A: Yudai, was it?
Heuning: That's him. We call him K.
Officer B: Why was it that no one raised the alarm that Beomgyu hadn't returned when the night monitor was doing checks.
Heuning: We're the only ones that get room checks over the weekend. When K-hyung stopped by, we told him that hyung left after the argument. Beomgyu-hyung has lots of friends here, so we honestly figured he went to stay the night with one of them.
Officer A: Why are you the only ones that receive random room checks on the weekend?
Heuning: The faculty and administration are aware of our relationship, for the most part. We weren't subtle and got caught a lot. Headmaster Yang is Beomgyu's legal guardian, so he enforced rules like that. No sleepovers on a weeknight, random check-ins on the weekends.
Officer B: Is there a written copy of this agreement?
Heuning: Well, no--
Officer B: Will the headmaster vouch for this agreement if asked?
Heuning: He should, he's the one who called us into his office to tell us about it.
Officer A: Okay, understood. We've got a few more follow ups, if you don't mind.
Heuning: Okay.
Officer A: What was Mr. Choi wearing when he left the dorm room?
Heuning: A white shirt. I'm pretty sure it was one of ours, he likes to wear our clothing to bed. Grey sweatpants, they were mine. Drawstrings were pulled out of them, so they didn't fit him super well. He had his hair half up in a ponytail, because he doesn't like it falling in his face. He didn't wear shoes, so we all figured he was just going to take a walk around the dorms or go play videogames in a lounge.
Officer A: Does he have any distinctive marks on his body?
Heuning: No moles, or birthmarks, or tattoos [pause]
Officer A: But?
Heuning: He um. He had a few hickeys. On his neck, and chest.
Officer B: Here, can you mark about the location they would be if a body is recovered?
Heuning: A body? You think he's-
Officer A: It's just a precaution. Right now we don't have any evidence to suggest that your friend-partner has been harmed.
Officer B: I'm sorry, son. Once this piece of paperwork is filled out, we'll find someone to escort you to your dorm.
Heuning: I-I know how to get there.
Officer B: Until the interviews are done, we're separating all suspects and interview subjects. It's just standard, to avoid any opportunity to change the stories around.
Heuning: I understand.
TAEHYUN | MARCH 3RD, ACADEMY OF OMELAS
Taehyun knows he's breathing. He's breathing intentionally because if he doesn't force the air in and out of his nose, his body won't do it for him.
The officers are looking down at him. Everyone is. He hasn't left Beomgyu's room in days, wishing that he'd be the first one to see him come home so his chest wouldn't be so painful.
"Kang Taehyun, was it?" The female officer asks, and he nods, not making eye contact. His eyes are on Beomgyu's missing person picture. That barely looks like him. Not the way he showed himself.
"That picture doesn't look like him," He murmurs, repeating himself when the male officer asks him to. "He hated that school picture; that doesn't look like him at all." He murmurs, blinking harshly. Maybe Beomgyu isn't missing, maybe he's back at the dorm, and Taehyun is being questioned for something else.
"Would the public be unable to identify him with this picture, or is it because you know him personally?" The female officer asks. She is harsher with her words, less soft. Bad cop.
Taehyun looks at it as she turns it around to face him. "This was from last year's pictures. The photographer got in trouble for editing everyone's faces too much. Beomie is more tan, and his two front teeth are more square. And they edited out the ear piercing holes he has. He doesn't wear them anymore, but he has piercing holes," He answers, pointing and touching the picture reverently.
If he'd have known he'd never see him again, he would have stopped fucking studying.
"He's prettier than this," He murmurs, when they pause to finish notes.
Police Transcript: Kang Taehyun
Official Police Report
Transcript of Principal Interview
with Kang TaehyunOfficers have been assigned aliases for the duration of the investigation, and will not be released to the public until risk is assessed. Suspect's name will be redacted on officially released reports.
Officer B: Kang Taehyun, was it?
Kang: (Pointing at the victim’s photo attached to the case file.) That picture doesn't look like him. He hated that school picture, that doesn't look like him at all.
Officer B: Would the public be unable to identify him with this picture, or is it because you know him personally?
Kang: This was from last year's pictures. The photographer got in trouble for editing everyone's faces too much. Beomie is more tan, and his two front teeth are more square. And they edited out the ear piercing holes he has. He doesn't wear them anymore, but he has piercing holes. He’s prettier than this.
Officer A: We’ll try to find a more accurate picture to post when these interviews are over.
Kang: Any of us could send you good ones. I think we took one together when I got to his dorm, but it’s not the clearest of his face.
Officer A: Thank you for the offer, we’ll let you know.
Kang: (Nods in response.)
Officer B: Would you mind telling us about the events leading up to him leaving? I think it would give us some good insight as to where his head was at.
Kang: (Pause) He had a rough day. One of his literature professors was really harsh with his grading. Said something about taking his work seriously, and that he’d never hold a job if he didn’t get his work together. Hyung jokes about his schoolwork, but it’s important to him. So it was bothering him.
Officer A: Which professor would that be?
Kang: Professor Xiao. He’s in the literature department, which is small here.
Officer B: After that, was he acting abnormal because of that? Any change in behavior?
Kang: Not anything out of the ordinary. Professor Xiao and hyung don’t see eye to eye, so when he upset hyung he usually just plays it off. He likes to joke, so he was spending a lot of the night trying to joke with us and make us laugh.
Officer A: I see. Now, what kind of jokes was your friend making?
Kang: My boyfriend. And it was just little stuff. It just didn’t seem as funny because everyone was working on assignments and studying for finals.
Officer A: So you’re a part of this…Group relationship?
Kang: A polycule.
Officer B: How long have the two of you been together?
Kang: About three years now. Officially. We've all been friends since we started in primary school.
Officer A: Did you all always want to be in a pol--what was the word you used?
Kang: Polycule. Polyamorous relationship, or whatever. We all had different relationships with each other through the years. Believe it or not, there was more jealousy when we weren't all together than now.[The recording was cut off due to battery issues, and the officers ended the interview. No further questioning required.]
TAEHYUN | MARCH 3RD, ACADEMY OF OMELAS
He answers the officers clinically, not looking away from his picture. The interviewers give up on the good cop, bad cop situation when he doesn't react a certain way. He's almost positive that they didn't do any investigating before the interviews, or they would have known that he was pursuing criminal justice. His professor has always shit on the Omelas PD, and he fights to remain neutral.
"How long have the two of you been together?" The female officer asks, her voice softer than it has been during the rest of the interview.
He's playing his cards to his and his partner's advantage. Taehyun could handle taking the brunt of the officer's interrogation, but he doesn't think Soobin should have to. Doesn't like that he didn't get the chance to talk to them before Kai was taken in and mistreated. As long as he's not misleading the cops, he doesn't mind manipulating them back.
Taehyun pauses, fingers running on the curve of Beomgyu's jaw. "About three years now. Officially." He answers. "We've all been friends since we started in primary school."
"Did you all always want to be in a pol-what was the word you used?"
"Polycule. Polyamorous relationship, or whatever." He answers. "We all had different relationships with each other through the years. Believe it or not, there was more jealousy when we weren't all together than now." Understatement of the century. He can't forget the way Soobin and he fought when both of them were crushing on Beomgyu at the same time.
"How does your relationship work?" The male officer asks. The recorder clicks off, battery dead. He doesn't have to answer, but he does anyway.
"Each of us has something we need that we get from someone else. We all love each other. I love the love that they have for each other. All of us have a mix of love languages, and each person fits someone else's need." He says, and it does calm him down to talk about their relationship. None of them have been willing to talk about it much since-"Beomgyu-hyung liked being taken care of, but also taking care of people. He took care of me in a different way than everyone else, because I let him. Yeonjunnie hyung likes to fuss, and he liked to fuss over Beomgyu-hyung."
"Really? I thought they were known to fight pretty often."
Taehyun giggles. "Not fights. Bickering. The two of them are just severe and dramatic humans. Maybe when they're stressed, but they always kiss and make up the fastest. When Kai and I argue, everyone has to intervene because we're both proud." The officers are looking at each other in confusion.
Taehyun doesn't notice. He looks at Beomgyu's picture again, wondering when he'll get to hear them bicker again.
He takes a deep breath in, muscles straining. Suddenly, breathing is difficult again.
BEOMGYU
The days that he can't make it into the better place are hard. Because even when he's exhausted, branded and cut and hit and melted onto, he's painfully aware of what they're doing to him.
Truthfully, he doesn't know how he's survived--the blood loss should have been enough. And he doesn't know the last time he ate food, but honey is being shoved down his throat every few hours. The sugar rush keeps him awake while they find unmarked skin to use next.
Today, it's just him.
The rest of his captors have left, and he breathes deeply as long as he can. Panicking will only break him down further, and he can't afford to lose out on the energy. He tries to take in the shape of the room, the temperature.
Maybe they have broken me, he thinks, shivering despite the warmth filling the air. The sun must be out.
A thump sounds somewhere nearby, and Beomgyu freezes. There is a flash of the flower fields and the glowing trees in his vision, but he fights to stay conscious. He needs all the evidence he can get in case he makes it out.
There are carvings in the walls, he can see them, but making out their nuances is difficult. His eyes have a hard time adjusting anyways, and now with the inconsistent light and dark, he definitely couldn't recreate it if he was trying.
He tests the hold of the bindings around his wrists, cringing and clenching his eyes shut. They're so sore. He relaxes into the stone below him, taking deep breaths, and opens them back to stare at the glowing trees above him.
It's warm here.
Police Transcript: Choi Soobin
Official Police Report
Transcript of Principal Interview
with Choi SoobinOfficers have been assigned aliases for the duration of the investigation, and will not be released to the public until risk is assessed. Suspect's name will be redacted on officially released reports.
Officer A: Hi Mr.Choi, my name is [Officer A]. This is [Officer B]. We’re working on the investigation into your friend's disappearance.
Choi: Um. I don’t know if anyone has mentioned it, but-
Officer B: Are you a part of their polycule?
Choi: (Stuttering)
Officer B: Yeah, we’ve been made aware. I’ll be perfectly honest with you, Mr.Choi. We need to line up you and your polycule’s stories against each other on how the night of his disappearance played out. If you could start with what you remember, that would be great.
Choi: Of course. He was wearing my shirt, it was a white one that had a blue KARA logo. Like, the girl group. It had tour dates on the back from one of their old tours, but it’s faded. He had on someone’s grey sweatpants, they were someone’s dancing sweatpants, they were way too big on him though. He’s dainty.
Officer A: Did Beomgyu act differently than normal? Any concerns?
Choi: No, not really.
Officer B: So him running out was normal?
Choi: I meant, like, his actions were normal until then. Not that it was abnormal–sorry, it’s been a long few days.
Officer B: Take your time.
Choi: Beomgyu is quiet about things that bother him, he doesn’t like to discuss it until he feels better, he likes to forget it so he can feel better. He invited us over to study, but it’s finals week and all of us are in the university level classes, so we’ve been stressed. I think my hyung, Yeonjun, might have said something that hurt his feelings based on how he reacted. But he’s left the room before to get air when he’s needed space.
Officer A: Does he have any regular haunts? Places he visits when he’s upset?
Choi: No, not really. He normally sticks close, he has some friends in his year that are a few floors down who he’ll visit with and play videogames. He’s gone to the cafeteria a few times to get ice cream or to bug the cooks for extra desert. But he usually comes back by morning. We looked in all of those places before we told someone that he wasn’t answering his phone. We found his phone dead later on in the room.
Officer B: I’m sorry to cut this short, but we’ve got updated video surveillance, and have most of what we need. We’ll have another officer escort you to your room. You’ll be expected to remain there for the time being until you’re released.
Choi: Okay.
SOOBIN | MARCH 3RD, ACADEMY OF OMELAS
Soobin is hunched over a toilet bowl, skin pallid as he heaves.
One of his boyfriends is missing, and they're all the main suspects. It's not that he doesn't understand the way the police are going about things, especially now that the prime window for finding a missing person is closed. But being accused of something so vile--
The dormitory door opens, and Soobin wipes his face and flushes the toilet before returning to the bedroom, where the male police officer is standing with his hands awkwardly gripping his vest. "Due to surveillance footage we just received and eyewitness testimonies, you four have been cleared for the time being, with the exception of any new or damning evidence. Thank you for cooperating," He says, eying the trail of bile and spit on Soobin's arm. The officer's eyes come back up to his face, nodding once before exiting.
Across the hall, the female officer is stepping out of the door, looking much more docile than she did five hours ago, playing bad cop during their interrogation. Kai is standing in the doorway of that room, eyes looking devoid and body small, despite his natural stature.
Soobin wipes his arm off on his uniform and runs across the hall quickly, hugging the younger as the officers release the other two from their dorms down the hall. When Soobin pulls away, he hears the collision of Yeonjun and Taehyun's bodies, gripping each other tight. Kai pulls him along to be with them.
As soon as the four touch, several sets of knees collapse, and Soobin wonders when he started crying.
The officers kindly escort them out and back toward the dorms. It shouldn't, but seeing other students sitting in the questioning chairs makes Soobin feel better.
The headmaster is waiting by the dormitory door, hugging them and thanking them for their cooperation, that they just needed to have all of the facts in order to bring Beomgyu home.
Home.
Is it home without Beomgyu? He thinks in the shower, Taehyun behind him, zoning out similarly. Kai and Yeonjun were in the shower in one of their rooms--none of them wanted to be alone. All of them had felt grimy between sweating and crying and vomiting, and they'd decided to wash up before they talked about anything else.
Soobin's mind keeps going back to Beomgyu.
He thinks about the Kara shirt that he'd lent the younger, worn from years of use and way too big for Beomgyu's slight frame. He'd been the one to pull the too-big sweatpants of Kai’s up his small waist, teasing him about wearing his own clothes. Yeonjun had been the one to tie up his sandy-blonde hair after Beomgyu complained about it getting in his eyes one too many times.
He thinks about Beomgyu, who despite his chaotic tendencies, had--has a heart with depth to it.
When they exit the shower, they re-enter Beomgyu's room, and Soobin feels like he's looking at it with fresh eyes when they lock onto a picture frame with two sides to it. He's seen the picture a hundred times--his mother and father holding him from both sides, kissing his baby cheeks as Beomgyu laughed. It's the quote on the other side that makes him pause.
Grief, I've learned, is really just love. It's all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.
He feels it, at the same time. The love with nowhere to go.
BEOMGYU
When he wakes, he's been moved.
Instead of being on his back, he's laying on his front, arms still chained onto the stone below. His head is uncomfortable on its side, and he feels bile rise in his throat when he moves, only to feel the sting of his shoulder skin trying to peel away from the stone where it's stuck with blood.
There is someone above him humming lowly, running their hands over his back, down to his legs, and repeating the action. He tenses, fear immediately pulling him into the good place, where his legs are unshackled and the open wounds are faded to puffy pink scars.
He breathes a sigh of relief, but one blink brings him back to reality. Tears fall from his eyes against his will, back quaking as he cries.
"Shit, you're awake. Shh, as soon as they think you're awake they'll come back," The person hisses in his ear, and he flinches hard enough to open up a scar on his chest from the sudden peel. "I'm sorry, I'm not going to touch you like that. They won't either, I'm just massaging your muscles." The voice is female, and he almost forgot how words sounded, after a while.
"Please let me go," He whispers, chest heaving as she returns to rubbing out sore muscles in his back and arms. "Please,"
"I'm sorry. Some of us are as stuck as you are," She murmurs softly, being exceptionally gentle on his arms and around where the shackles are. It's humiliating, the way he's been exposed for everyone to see. Before, he could pretend that the people under the hoods weren't people at all. "Just don't fight it--go wherever you need to in order to feel okay. I'm sorry," She murmurs, walking away from the slab.
"Please don't, don't leave me here," He cries a little louder, trying and failing to turn his head to the door. The steps pause for a moment, and then the door opens, and more steps are flooding in.
The humming starts again, and he starts crying out for help. The chanting grows louder and louder, and he grows frustrated. Why are they doing this to him? Why him? What is the purpose?
Something cool and sharp dips into the space between his collar bones and he goes still, crying out as he realizes that he's just been turned for more skin space. He lets out a rattling scream that drowns out the noise of the chanting for moments until the knife sinks down and begins it's curling path.
Tonight, he can see the stars even through the glowing trees. The grass provides a softer place to rest.
Press Release
For Immediate Press Release Re: Omelas Academy Missing Persons Case
In the early hours of February 29th, a student at the Omelas Academy was reported to not have returned to his dorm after leaving due to an altercation. The student reported missing was eighteen (18) year old Choi Beomgyu, a resident at the academy. Choi is the son of the deceased Choi Beomseok and Song Mi Na, who passed away in 2008, leaving him in the custody of Omelas Headmaster Yang.
An immediate search party was formed by students and faculty as the police force focused on potential recovery before the winter storm set in in the early morning, but no evidence was found. Students and faculty were asked to return to their lodging areas and remain there for the time being, and all students and faculty were accounted for before interrogations began.
If you see Choi Beomgyu, or believe you have seen him, please call the missing persons hotline as fast as possible. He was last seen wearing a white shirt, grey sweatpants, and his hair half up in a ponytail.
Interrogations have begun at Omelas Academy as police continue their search for missing student Choi Beomgyu. Currently seven students are being held for immediate questioning, but the police have not released a statement clarifying if these are suspected in the disappearance or not.
Omelas has not made an official post regarding the missing student, but have reposted the official missing person's profile released by the police force.
A search on Choi Beomgyu gives some insight to his time at the academy. His family passed away in 2008 due to a boating accident that killed his mother and father, and left his brother to succumb to his injuries afterward. Choi was not struck by the boat when it flipped, but did sustain debris and impact injuries from being thrown from the boat.
Choi did not have any other living family members, and was entrusted into the care of Yang Hyunsik, Headmaster of Omelas Academy, who enrolled him into the academy as a boarding student. Choi was reportedly a straight A student in his second year into the academy’s university education. Currently, his field of study is literature.
One student's family, the Incheon Choi's, made a statement on behalf of Beomgyu's character.
Beomgyu is basically another son to us. He has a passion for life and the people he loves, and we're lucky that our son is friends with him. It would be entirely out of character to accuse him of running away, and we will be working with the investigators to establish rewards for any information that could help bring him home.
If you see Choi Beomgyu, or believe you have seen him, please call the missing persons hotline as fast as possible. He was last seen leaving Omelas Academy near the wooded area wearing a white shirt, grey sweatpants, and his hair half up in a ponytail. He was not believed to be wearing shoes or a jacket despite oncoming weather.
The police have released an official statement regarding Choi Beomgyu's missing persons case.
"Omela's Academy student, Choi Beomgyu, has been declared missing. Choi was last seen on video leaving the academy after an argument between peers, wearing pajamas. Friends, peers, and faculty of Omela's state that it would be out of character for the student to have run away. One student interview revealed that it wasn't out of character for him to take a walk to clear his head, and that he could often be found wandering campus. The primary concern now is that Choi is either injured in the woods surrounding the university, or has been kidnapped and taken out of the area.
Based on the information we're presented with, we do not currently believe that Mr. Choi ran away, and have suspicion that foul play is involved. Initial investigations have cleared suspicion from his friends and partners, and security footage is being enhanced for viewing as soon as possible. In the meantime, we encourage the surrounding areas to be diligent in their observations and aware of their own personal safety measures. Please call the missing persons hotline if you believe you have information.
Seven student interrogations were performed yesterday afternoon, although names of the officers and students have been redacted for official release. Our team was denied access to the recordings and transcripts due to sensitive information that could jeopardize the investigation if foul play was involved. There is potential for the transcripts to be released at a later date, pending the results of the leads they are following.
If you see Choi Beomgyu, or believe you have seen him, please call the missing persons hotline as fast as possible. He was last seen leaving Omelas Academy near the wooded area wearing a white shirt, grey sweatpants, and his hair half up in a ponytail. He was not believed to be wearing shoes or a jacket despite oncoming weather.
A reward incentive has been placed on the missing person's case of Choi Beomgyu. Choi Yeonjun, a close friend of the missing person, and his family are offering three thousand dollar rewards for any piece of evidence that leads them to finding Choi Beomgyu, and a one-hundred thousand dollar reward for his return.
If you see Choi Beomgyu, or believe you have seen him, please call the missing persons hotline as fast as possible. He was last seen leaving Omelas Academy near the wooded area wearing a white shirt, grey sweatpants, and his hair half up in a ponytail. He was not believed to be wearing shoes or a jacket despite oncoming weather.
Please, help bring Choi Beomgyu home.