The moment Sef opened his eyes and took off his VR headset, he rolled over to find his phone. The phone fell on the floor.

He bent down to grab it. The screen lit up, too bright in his dark room.

He narrowed his eyes. There are no new notifications.

His stomach sank. Just to be sure, he opened his message and found the text thread. It didn't take him long. Finn got him a new phone and phone number, and he was Sef's only point of contact.

No new news.

Finn hadn't replied in over a day. Or is it two days?

Sef sat up from the bed, clutching his phone in one hand. No, Finn always responds. Sometimes it took him an hour, but never more than a day. Something went wrong.

Worries churned. Maybe something happened to Finn. What if he doesn't answer because he can't answer? If he had—

No, Sef immediately rejected the idea, because it was unimaginable. He couldn't even bear to think about it. Finn is fine. He had to be good.

Maybe he's just too busy at work.

It's possible. For someone who works around the clock and takes as little nap as possible, time doesn't mean much. He had a crush on projects before. But not to that extent. He had never been silent before.

Sef gritted his thumb nail and stared at the small screen of his phone. It's almost 2 a.m. Most people are sleeping these days, but it doesn't matter.

He pressed the call button. If Finn is sleeping, then this will wake him up. It made Sef feel a little guilty, but he had to know. Why didn't the man react? Any questions? Is Finn okay?

The phone rang once. Then his uncle's cheerful voice filled the living room.

"Hey! You've got the only Finn voicemail! I'm busy cleaning my toes, so please leave a message and I'll get back to you after washing my hands. Good bye! ”

A long beep followed, and Sef didn't speak. He ended the call and pulled his knees to his chest. Why didn't Finn answer?

How do I get a direct call to voicemail?

He may be answering another call. Or is it that? Either his phone was turned off. Sef was the first, and he sat there tangled, looking at the clock. Three minutes later, he dialed his uncle's phone again.

"Hey! You've reached the sound

Sef hung up. He trembled. Still, he was convinced that his uncle was just busy. He waited another three minutes. To be on the safe side, there are five more. He called again.

"Hey! You've reached—"

Why? Why wasn't Finn answered? What happened

At?

Seth let his phone fall out of bed. His hands felt wet and wiped them on his pajama shorts. Then he rolled over and curled up on the bed, trying not to panic. Finn was just busy. Never mind.

It's been two days! His chest felt like an iron band tightly enclosing his lungs. He trembled.

He decided to wait half an hour. If Finn had been on the other line, it would have definitely been over by then. Yet doubt consumed him, and he had already concocted a thousand and one scenarios in his mind. Maybe Finn got into a car accident on the way home. Maybe he turned off the road and into the river, and his car sank into the water and no one saw it. Maybe he's still there, drowning alone in icy water, or worse, maybe he's been—

"Stop," Sai said.

He clasped himself in his hands, gritted his teeth, and a terrible sense of fear enveloped him.

He's not. He couldn't. I just overthink it.

But what if he is?

He's not! Stop, stop, stop!

Silence hung over his bedroom, crushing his emotions.

Amplified every tiny sound, from the hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen to his every trembling breath. He could even hear the staccato sound of his heart beating wildly in his ears.

How lonely he was in this place. How small, uncertain, and lonely. He couldn't stand it anymore.

Sef grabbed his phone. He checked the time. It's been less than two minutes. His eyes stinged. But he pursed his lips and silently promised himself to wait another 28 minutes. Try again.

Eventually, Finn will have to answer. But he didn't.

Saf doesn't know how many times he's listened to voicemail messages. At one point it was weird, and he smiled every time he heard it. But now it felt like shards of glass had scraped in his head. Jawled lines tore through his heart, and he couldn't stand the sound of it anymore.

He was now sitting on the floor with his back against the edge of the bed. He swayed gently back and forth, his back hitting over and over again on the hard wooden frame. At first it was a stinging pain, but now it was a deep throbbing pain from a deeper and deeper bruise. That small part of his body seemed to be swollen, but he didn't care.

It's a slight noise, and the only thing that stops it is the small numbers on his phone's screen. Every sixty seconds, one of them changes. Every sixty minutes, two of them change. He looked at them with despair.

His eyes were burning, his head was throbbing, and he might vomit. But none of that made him look away.

In a few minutes, it will be nine o'clock in the morning. That's Remi

so

g I

dust

When IES opened.

Will he call them to see? If they knew where Finn was. All he had to do was wait.

Daylight streamed in through the bedroom windows. The fridge was buzzing. The numbers became the new ones. Seth counted to sixty in his head, over and over again,

Again.

Then it's 9 a.m.

A trembling finger poked at the phone and dialed the number. Tried twice because he accidentally made a mistake. Then he heard the bell. One. Two. Three rings.

A woman's bored voice

"Minsong Industry, is there anything I can do to help you?"

The real human voice startled Saif. He blinked violently, struggling to pull himself together.

"Lydia," he said reluctantly. "Hi. I'm — I'm Sef. ”

"Oh, hi, Sef. How are you today? Her voice was much softer.

"I'm fine," Sef swallowed, feeling a dull pain in his throat, trying to make his voice sound calm. "Is Uncle Finn here? He- he doesn't answer the phone. ”

"Finn? No, he went out. I'm sorry. Something happened at the last minute, and he and the boss had to go out of town. ”

"Oh." All he could say was that before he collapsed on the bed, a huge weight was removed from his shoulders. His breath made a long, whooshing sound. "He's out of town? How long has it been? ”

"They didn't say it. Just a few days. I can tell him you're looking for him. ”

"Okay, okay. Thank you. Do you know why he doesn't answer the phone? ”

"They sometimes turn them off. Not sure why, but the boss is like that sometimes. All the secrets, just like he did in a spy movie. She smiled. The man was a bit paranoid. Sometimes I wish he could come to work wearing a foil hat. ”

Sef closed his eyes and rubbed them with the tips of his thumb. It's no surprise that he feels tired. He didn't sleep at all.

But that's okay. The main thing is that Uncle Fen is fine. He had just gone on a business trip.

That's normal, right? It's a little strange that he didn't warn Sef, but maybe it was the last minute, and there was no time.

"Thank you Lydia," he whispered. "I just want to know where he is, so that's helpful for me."

"No problem! That's how I'm here. You're having a great time right now, okay? ”

"Of course. You too. ”

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Seth placed his phone on the floor. The strongest is pure liberation. He really went crazy for no reason. Finn would be disappointed if he knew.

Difficulty sleeping. So he went to take a hot shower and stumbled back to the bedroom with his eyes barely open.

Despite this, it is also difficult to fall asleep.

Even Lydia

While reassured, some people couldn't help but wonder what he would do when Uncle Finn was away. This person will not be around forever. It's just a fact of life. Sef knows this, but it brings overwhelming fear.

Finn was the only person he could trust. No one else. I would be alone without him.

And that's more terrible than anything else.

If he's alone, what's the point?

It doesn't make sense. No one stayed to care.

Seth curled up under the covers, convinced that Finn was just traveling. He'll be back soon, and he'll just have to wait a little longer.

I can do it.

Sometimes, you just need to have faith. The uninvited words of Racine came to mind.

Sef's lips curled. Have faith? Ha. Anyway, what does a fake computer guy know? Racine couldn't understand what he was struggling with. Nothing in Aryona City is real.

Even so, it's at least a good pastime. Distracted.

When Sef finally fell asleep, he dreamed that the marble dragon had attacked Ascend while he, Uncle Finn, and the awesome guys single-handedly defended the town. Dragons came in droves, but none of them passed them.

Uncle Finn had a sword and a shield, and a shiny armor that he could block every time he attacked.

Saif, who was standing behind him, couldn't help but laugh. Three people together, nothing can bring them down.

It was a good dream.