Chapter 32: Missing

Joong all but chocked on his water, before he started to cough violently.

Pond and Fourth rushed to his side to help him, one taking the glass away from his hands while the other patted his back to make him feel comfortable. When Joong was finally able to breathe again, he motioned with his hands that he was okay and that the two could stop worrying about him.

"Sabai dee phi?" Pond asked, still looking concerned. "Your face is all red from coughing. Be careful next time."

"Pom ok," Joong reassured his siblings, even though his voice sounded hoarse and he was still having trouble breathing. "What happened to Dunk again?"

"Why don't you take a seat first." Pond instructed before turning to Fourth. "Fourth, the water is boiling already, did you put the noodles in?"

"Shia! I did!" Fourth rushed to the stove. "Please don't be overcooked!"

Shaking his head at his youngest sibling, Pond helped P'Joong into his chair before taking the seat next to him. "Where were we again?"

"You were saying that Dunk went missing?" Joong asked pointedly, suddenly feeling perspiration bead on his forehead.

"Chai, chai." Pond sighed. "Actually…I don't know all the details, but that's what Gemini told Phuwin when we were about to order our food and he just up and left. He told me that he would call me later to update me on the situation, but he still hasn't called yet and I don't know if he reached home yet either."

"So…neither of you have any idea what's going on?" Joong asked hesitantly, worry clawing at his gut. Exactly what kind of trouble was he going to get into this time, all thanks to Dunk?

"Ahh…Gem messaged me as well a while ago." Fourth told Pond and Joong as he came back with the pot of noodles he had just cooked. "Phi, help me place the table mat. It's hot."

"Dai," Pond helped Fourth as the apprehension built to a crescendo inside Joong's heart.

"And? What did Gemini say to you?" Joong asked, unable to keep the urgency out of his voice.

This time, both Fourth and Pond looked at him questioningly, before Pond asked the million dollar question. "Why are you suddenly so concerned about P'Dunk? When did the two of you suddenly get so close?"

Joong could detect the teasing note in Pond's voice, but he wasn't in the mood to play. "Do I need your permission to be worried about a fri-classmate!" He corrected himself quickly. "Just tell me what happened! What's with all the secrecy?"

"Oooh! There is no secrecy, P'Joong!" Fourth whined in a baby voice. "You're just too impatient."

"Fourth, just tell us." Pond frowned. "What did Gemini say?"

"Alright, alright." Fourth sighed as he began his narration. "Gemini texted me a few minutes before you arrived that when he got home, he saw P'Dunk rushing out of the house and he looked really upset. When he got inside, his dad's were just as upset. He didn't know what had happened, since no one is willing to talk and his dad New left the house to take care of urgent work, but his dad Tay is just pacing around and doesn't want to talk."

"Do you think…they had a fight?" Pond asked, keeping an eye on Joong. "I mean…P'Dunk is a model student, isn't he? He's literally perfect at everything?"

"No one knows, Phi, but since then, no one has been able to contact P'Dunk either." Fourth sighed, using his chopsticks to stir the noodles. "But everyone seems pretty worried. I think that's why he called P'Phuwin back from your date as well, so they could look for him."

Now, Joong couldn't help but feel guilty. He knew that his whole family was worried about him, but still, for some reason, he couldn't just tell his brothers that Dunk was right there, in his house, sleeping peacefully on his bed.

Something kept stopping him from doing the right thing, the wise thing, and it was the same thing that had stopped him from taking Dunk to his own house when he had gotten dead drunk.

"Well…he has many friends," Joong said a bit hesitantly. "He could be with anyone right now. So I'm sure there's no need to worry. He'll go back home, maybe when he's…less upset?"

"La?" Pond scoffed. "You're talking as if he's hiding in our house and you'll send him home when he's done sulking."

This time…Joong managed to choke on thin air, and immediately, both is brother's attention snapped towards him and none of them rushed to his rescue. Even Fourth, who was usually the last person to read the room, looked at P'Joong with wide eyes.

"Fuck! Ai sat! What the hell were you thinking?" Pond forgot all honoraries as he stood up and pointed an accusing finger at his brother.

"Pond!" Joong scolded when he finally got his coughing under control. "Don't forget I'm still older than you!"

"Older my foot! Who do you think will get in trouble when his family finds out you kidnapped their eldest son?" Pond accused, while Fourth looked at the fight with wide-eyes amusement.

"Who the fuck said I kidnapped him? That fucker is the one who has been causing me trouble since the first day we met!" Joong snapped, standing up from his seat as the chair scraped against the floor. "You want to know why he is here? Because P'Luke called and told me that my…classmate, was passed out drunk in his bar in the middle of the day and he didn't know who to contact. So I brought him here!"

"Why here? Why didn't you just take him home?" Pond accused. "You have any idea how worried Phuwin is?"

"Phuwin, Phuwin! That's all you care about? What about Dunk? Fourth just said that he had a fight with his dads!" Joong's attention turned to Fourth momentarily, who immediately ducked behind the pot of noodles so he didn't get involved in the fight. "Do you think they would've been happy that their son was dead drunk in the middle of the day? Do you think they would've welcomed him with open arms and given him a fucking medal?"

"And what do you think will happen now? When his family finds out that this is where he is? Do you think they'll give you a medal?"

"Pond, don't you-"

"OOIIYYYY!!!! Enough you two!"

Joong and Pond both looked at Fourth, startled at his sudden outburst. They were both breathing heavily with perspiration beading their forehead as they stared each other down angrily.

"Stop acting like children, will you two?" Fourth continued, seeing that he finally had his brother's attention. "Instead of fighting each other, you two should be finding a solution so that P'Dunk's family doesn't get worried and get the police involved."

"And what about you?" Pond asked, narrowing his eyes at their youngest brother. "You think you have a solution?"

"Yes, I do, in fact." Fourth huffed as he took out his phone from his pocket. "Now watch and learn."

He dialed a number, and waited for the ring, and in almost no time, they all heard Gemini's familiar voice from the speaker.

"Fourth? Is everything alright?" Gemini sounded out of breath, as if he had been running around looking for his brother, and it made Joong hang his head in guilt.

"Gemini ja, I have good news for you, but you need to help me out here too." Fourth muttered, his voice unusually calm and overly sweet. "Pom…know where P'Dunk is."

"Jing la?" Gemini's voice lifted immediately. "Where is he?"

"The thing is…P'Joong found him in the bar, dead drunk, so he brought him to our house." Pond and Joong's jaw almost hit the floor as they heard Fourth spill the beans. "But he didn't want P'Dunk to get in trouble with your dads…since we know how strict they are. So…can you handle it please…na.…Gemini…"

"Dai si," Gemini agreed, sounding more relaxed now. "I'll tell dad that he is at a friend's house and he is upset, so he'll return home when he has calmed down."

"Perfect!" Fourth exclaimed happily. "Thank you, ja. Rak ter na."

"Love you too," Gemini told Fourth. "I'll text you how it went. I should be heading home now. Bye, bye."

"Bye."

As the line went dead, Fourth looked up at his brother's smugly, who still looked as flabbergasted as they had before.

"Well?" He raised his brows.

"I guess that solves that." Joong swallowed hard as he took his seat, and Pond did the same.

Of course it was Gemini who was going to handle the situation, but if it weren't for Fourth's quick thinking, they would still be fighting a meaningless fight over what to do when Dunk's family realized their son was in their house, passed out, and drunk.

"Let's just eat our meal, shall we?" Pond huffed, picking up his bowl and chop sticks. "I'm starving."

"Me too." Joong did the same on the other side and they enjoyed a quick meal in peace.

Once they were done, Joong was the first to get up from his seat. "I'll go check on Dunk. Can you please take care of the dishes for me?"

"Dai," Fourth got up from his seat as well, but just before Joong could walk up the stairs, he stopped him again. "Dio, phi."

He went running to the kitchen once again and got a bowl out of the microwave before placing it on a tray and handing it to Joong.

"Pa made porridge for breakfast, so I reheated the extra." Fourth told Joong when he gave him a curious look. "You should give him the porridge once he wakes up. He'll be hungry."

"Thanks, Fourth, but I highly doubt that." Joong sighed. "He drank over five thousand baht worth of alcohol, so I have no idea when he'll wake up."

"Arai na? Who drank over five thousand baht of alcohol?"

Suddenly, all three brothers turned to look at the front door, to find his pa and dad standing at the front porch, looking horrified.