Hope, In a Photo (Yoonseok)

Part 14

Sanha paused, collecting himself when Hoseok reached a weak hand out through the bars, letting it rest on the boys, offering a comforting smile, which seemed to be enough to get Sanha through the rest of the story, "Min Hyun picked us up as soon as the bombs went off, one in each arm as he ran back to the truck which, thankfully, was still there.

But that's when the gunshots began, and a fire that consumed our home town crawled it's way closer to us. Min Hyun put us down, the soldiers in the truck were motioning for us to come, but their screams were swallowed by the chaos around us. Min Hyun told us to run to the truck, that he would hold off the Northerners so we could escape."

"No..." Hoseok started.

"It was a suicide mission, and he knew it. But he didn't even think twice about it, he never had a second thought, he knew what he had to do, and he did it. He bent down to look at us, he told us...he said we reminded him of his own boys..." Sanha stopped, Hoseok could tell he was struggling to keep his voice even as he reached under the collar of his shirt, and revealed a metal dog tag, "He yanked this off his neck and gave it to me, he asked me to give it to his boys, and to tell them that he loved them so much."

There was a quietness that filled the air between them, Hoseok felt the lump in his throat, felt the tears that began to litter his cheeks.

"I was going to say no, that there was still a chance for him, but before I could say anything, he pushed us in the direction of the truck, and Jiwoo grabbed my hand, running, pulling me towards safety. I didn't want safety though...I didn't want it...not if it meant this..." He sighed, heavy, deep, "The last image I have of him, was his back towards us, he was facing the fire, ready to shield us from the stamped of evil that was aiming right towards us. Before I knew it, another soldier had me up in his arms, jumping into the truck before I heard it's engine roar with life. There was a bang, a gunshot that was covered up by the cars thunder, I asked Jiwoo if he had heard anything, he said that he didn't..."

Sanha, for the first time during this whole story, met Hoseok's eyes, and held his gaze, "The soldier who put Jiwoo and I in the truck asked where Min Hyun was, but then he saw the dog tags in my hand. I couldn't tell if he was crying, or if I was crying, but I remember thinking that my brother and I were just saved by a hero. And I remember that little black cat crawling into my lap, untouched, I remember thinking that I had to find his sons, and I had to give them this." He motioned towards the tags in his hand.

Hoseok found that it hurt to breath with cracked ribs, but he also found that it hurt even more to cry with them, "Sanha, I'm sorry...I had no idea..."

The boy wiped his own tears that fell heavy on his cheeks, "No. I just need to find his kids, at least one of them, I have to tell them that I don't deserve to be there, their father was a much better man, more of a man than I'll ever be."

"I'll take you to him, he...Yoongi...he needs to hear that, he needs to hear his father's story. Please, if you help me get out of here I'll take you straight to him...please..."

Sanha's features were unreadable to Hoseok, stoic, almost as he thought. But Hoseok was desperate, "You don't even need to get me out of here...just go back to the base in Daegu, tell Lieutenant Taehyung that I send you, I'll even sign my name, take my rank, whatever you need and tell him you need to talk to Min Yoongi. Sanha he needs to know, Yoongi hyung doesn't know the truth about what happened to his dad-"

"I can't get you out of here." The boy interrupted Hoseok, who was now looking towards him with confusion, "There's no way. I'm sorry...there's just no way."

Hoseok's smile was gentle, accepting, "Yoongi hyung needs to hear your story, more than he needs me Sanha." He still couldn't read the boys expression, but he tried asking anyway, "If you were saved, than how did you end up here? And what happened to your parents and brother?"