The two of you ran as fast as your legs could take you. In your desperation, you could only concentrate on the worry spreading throughout your being, terrified of what you might find once you reached the fire. You prayed that your friend was okay, that it wasn't his home. A sneaking suspicion in your gut told you otherwise.
"This way!" Jooheon called from behind you before passing you easily and darting around a corner. You followed suit, trying hard to keep up.
The sky above you was already dark, the sun letting few spare rays loose before disappearing completely. It terrified you, but not because of darkness. It was because you could see everything around you clearly, as if the sun hadn't gone at all. The fire's light illuminated the buildings you passed, creating long shadows and silhouettes. It intimidated you.
You heard the shouts of panic and mayhem as you neared. They became more distinct. You could tell that the two of you were already close. You saw people fleeing the scene out of the corner of your vision, but you didn't dare stop to ask one of them about what was going on. It was dangerous. That much was obvious.
At one point, when you and Jooheon cut through a familiar abandoned alley, the light was cut off. It left you in pitch black. Jooheon's body blocked the glow at the other end, using it to navigate. You couldn't see a thing in front of you, but you listened carefully for Jooheon's footsteps. When the two of you finally broke free of the dark, you were immediately flooded by a harsh brightness, the sudden contrast leaving you blind.
A terrible heat met your exposed skin, scorching you. You let out a yelp and bumped into Jooheon who was rubbing his irritated eyes. The awful stench of gasoline met your nose, causing you to choke on the putrid fumes. The air surrounding you was stuffy and smoke was hovering around your heads, stinging your eyes and throat. It was horrible. You felt like you were in hell.
Jooheon grabbed your hand and pulled you behind him. He didn't want to stop and he couldn't leave you behind. He debated having you stay in the cool, dark safety of the alley. However, he knew you would follow as soon as you were impatient enough to brave the atmosphere surrounding the fire.
He was just as scared and worried as you, maybe more since he's known Hyungwon for longer. He just wanted to make sure his brother was safe.
The light of the blazing inferno cast a crimson glow across your faces and against everything else surrounding it. Glass shattered nearby and rained down across the road. People ran around in various directions, frantically pulling the building's inhabitants out and away from the deadly wreckage.
Jooheon's heart broke when he spotted the familiar lanky, dark figure stumbling outside, having to be assisted by a military officer.
Before Jooheon could stop you, you ripped yourself from his shaking grip and pushed forward to pass him. He quickly grabbed your hand again and let you drag him behind you, refusing to stop. He almost tripped as he noticed the three other forms lingering on the outskirts of the chaos. Jooheon tugged at your hand and pointed over to them, offering you a confused look, but you simply shook your head. There were more important matters to deal with.
You were the first to reach Hyungwon. He was hunched over and his dark hair, damp with sweat, stuck to his forehead. Seeing him on his knees and coughing up the horrible smoke that had invaded his lungs, caused a storm of emotions to ignite behind your eyes. You didn't hesitate to reach out and help his singed form to his feet.
Your throat swelled up and you couldn't tell if it was from the smoke or if it was from getting emotional. You swallowed harshly.
"Hyungwon!" You managed to breathe out, your voice wavering. "Oh my god! What happened? Are you injured badly?"
He seemed confused at first, like he genuinely had no idea why someone would be helping and talking to him. Then his gaze softened when he recognized his two friends by his side.
"What are you doing-" Hyungwon doubled over as he violently launched into another coughing fit that shook his entire body. Jooheon quickly slung Hyungwon's arm over his shoulder before he could lose his balance, clapping him on his back to help expel some of the gas that clogged his lungs.
"Don't say anything," Jooheon instructed. You grasped onto Hyungwon's other arm, stabilizing him some more as the two of you helped him move away from the building that was still consumed in flames.
When you dragged him far enough away to be considered a safe distance, out of range of the smoke-infested air, you immediately dropped to your knees to examine Hyungwon more closely while Jooheon took it upon himself to suspiciously scrutinize the other people rushing about. Hyungwon squirmed uncomfortably despite his tiredness as you took his swollen face between your hands and scanned it. Being so close to the flames, his skin had blistered a bit, but none of it was fatal or scarring. Even though you hadn't detected any real injury, you still weren't satisfied. You licked your thumb and started wiping the dark soot and dirt from his face. He was too weak to complain and instead let your inward mother be.
Jooheon eyed him with a sympathetic grimace, but as soon as he opened his mouth to ask for answers, another loud commotion cut him off. Your head swiveled to witness the scene ensuing in front of everyone and the breath got caught in your throat upon seeing who was causing it.
Minhyuk was madly struggling against some soldiers trying to hold him back. You could tell he was wrestling against them with all of his strength, attempting to push through to reach a figure just barely a few feet away. It wasn't until he noticed he wasn't making progress that he finally just resorted to shouting.
The three of you could hardly hear anything over the crackling sound of the fire, but Hyungwon tugged your arm slightly to gain your attention.
"It's my dad," he rasped. "Minhyuk is upset at my dad."
It suddenly made sense. Your eyes drifted over to the other two figures Jooheon had pointed out when you arrived. Changkyun and Wonho. They stood completely frozen, not stopping Minhyuk, but not helping him either. They didn't even look in your direction, only staring at the fire with a mixture of guilt and solemnity written across their faces. What did they do?
You were about to help Hyungwon up again feeling as though Hyungwon should hear what was going on between his friend and his father, but the noise level had decreased dramatically within the span of only a few seconds. You all could listen to the words being exchanged quite clearly and it helped that their voices had risen in volume as the fight got more intense.
Minhyuk wore a terrifying expression that unnerved you to the bone. His fists were clenched in rage.
"-destroying my home doesn't benefit you in any way you insufferable brat!" Hyungwon's father bellowed, his face contorted into angry impatience.
You blinked against the hazy air, completely taken aback with shock. So it was Minhyuk who caused this? Why? Hyungwon, hit with the news as well, reached up from his sitting position and grasped your hand. You gave it a quick, comforting squeeze.
"It's enough to gain your attention!" Minhyuk noted harshly, observing for any changes in the older man's false facade.
He straightened his posture, the muscles in his jaw clenching. "The only reason I'm not going to press charges against you," he scoffed, jabbing an accusing finger in the blonde's face. "Is because you're friends with my son-"
"The only reason you're not pressing charges against me is because you don't want to look like this affected you in any way!" Minhyuk objected. "You couldn't care less about Hyungwon! You have no right-"
"You speak nonsense-" The man sputtered, caught off guard.
"YOU BEAT HIM!" Minhyuk shrieked, his composure breaking down from the tsunami of emotions that hit him all at once. Tears were streaking down his cheeks, gleaming in the firelight. Your breathing stopped. "HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF DOING SOMETHING SO HORRIBLE TO YOUR OWN FAMILY?"
You felt like your soul had been ripped from your body when you heard those words. The color drained from your face and your (E/C) eyes widened. He lied. He said Hyungwon was fine... Slowly, you rounded to give Hyungwon a hurt look. His tearful brown eyes reluctantly met yours, overflowing with guilt.
"You..." the words caught in your throat. "You promised... you said..."
"I know," he choked out, cutting you off from making the pain in his heart deeper than it already was. "I didn't want you to worry."
"So it's true? He hurt you?"
Hyungwon's only response was to hang his head in shame, giving you all the answers you needed. Jooheon was watching the two of you in silence, his expression unreadable. Then all the attention returned to the argument, distracting you momentarily as Minhyuk spoke up one more time.
"The least you could do... if you care at all... is cure Shownu's grandfather."
All three of you standing to the side immediately tensed. Neither you nor Jooheon recalled Shownu ever telling anyone else about what had been going on. Granted, you've only known for about a day at most yourself... it's been an eventful couple of days, that's for sure.
Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you remembered Minhyuk sending you to be with Shownu. He must have known about it then. There's no other explanation. A better question is how does he know? Did Shownu tell him? Even Hyungwon looked panicked. You shot a glance at Changkyun and Wonho, but they looked extremely lost which proved that they had known nothing about it. You could only imagine all of the questions swirling through their brains.
Hyungwon's father tensed when he heard the request. "I can't do that."
"And why not?" Minhyuk snarled impatiently, his eyes narrowed to the point of almost disappearing. If looks could kill then the doctor wouldn't even have a head at this point.
"Because his grandfather's condition is severe. It requires an expensive medication that even I can't get my hands on, let alone him. I'm sorry, but he's not going to survive. Even lasting until the end of the week would be pushing his luck."
Minhyuk started struggling in the soldiers' hold all over again, refusing to believe anything that came out of the despised man's mouth. "You're lying!"
He wasn't given the chance to say much else as the men containing him were commanded to lead him away. Minhyuk wrestled against them and shouted his protests, but they didn't let him go. Hyungwon's father's eyes trailed after him, a mixture of pity and sympathy evident across his facial features. For one brief moment, you thought he was almost human. Then he straightened up when some other people approached, probably medics like him, and they escorted him away while checking him over for injuries.
You glanced in the direction of Changkyun and Wonho one more time, only managing to catch a glimpse of them slipping off in Minhyuk's direction. Obviously, they hadn't noticed you three throughout the entire episode.
A loud sob suddenly erupted from behind you, causing you to finally tear your gaze away from where the two boys had been previously standing. Hyungwon had collapsed to his knees, hugging his arms to his stomach as tears dripped down his red face. Jooheon tried pulling him up, but to no avail. The boy remained on the ground, his entire body trembling.
"It's my fault," he whimpered. "His grandfather-"
Immediately you swooped down to your knees and cradled his face in your hands, using the back of your hand to wipe his puffy, wet cheeks. You brushed his bangs out of his face and combed your fingers through his messy, singed hair. Jooheon crouched down as well, gently rubbing Hyungwon's back.
"It's not your fault," you murmured softly. "Don't ever think like that. There was absolutely nothing you could've done to prevent this. So don't you dare burden yourself with the blame."
But the tears didn't stop falling. You and Jooheon kept trying to comfort him in any way you could, but you knew that no amount of consolation would be enough to calm him down. Eventually, you both gave up and just let Hyungwon cry to get it all out of his system. It was almost as if you were dealing with a child. An innocent, defeated, pitiful child of whom you could only do so much to appease.
He buried his swollen face into the crook of your neck, drenching the collar of your shirt and muttering to himself. You affectionately stroked his black locks and he draped his arms around your waist and clung to you in a weak hug. Jooheon stopped massaging Hyungwon's back and snaked his arms around the two of you, joining in the warm, tender embrace. The words Hyungwon spoke over and over again into your shoulder continuously tore at your heart, making it ache with compassion.
"It's my fault," he whispered, completely broken and grief-stricken. "It's all my fault..."