The Way It Burns - BbangNyu

[36]

"Yoonah! Get down here!" Seojun shouted, receiving only grumbles from her daughter. Even on the day of her husbands funeral, the demon wasn't putting up with any crap, storming up the stairs to her daughters room. 

Chanhee continued fixing his tie, checking himself over in the mirror. "Is everything alright? Aren't we meant to leave in a minute?" He asked, Younghoon was standing behind him, so he directed it at the reflection. 

"I don't know, she's dramatic sometimes." Younghoon sighed, pulling out his phone, he checked the time. "We do need to go."

At that moment, both demons stomped down the stairs, making their way into the living room. "I'm sorry I want to look good for dads funeral!" Yoonah huffed, nudging Chanhee away from the mirror. 

The angel didn't say anything, only going to stand beside Younghoon. He didn't care about Yoonah's attitude, since it was such a hard day for her. It surely wasn't anything personal.

"Whatever, you look beautiful dear." Seojun replied, picking up her bag from the table. "Is everyone ready now?" She questioned, looking out at the room of people. It was almost overwhelming, to see that many people here for the funeral. They had no close friends in this town, nor anymore family. If Younghoon hadn't brought anyone, it would have been just the three of them.

"Everyone's ready mum." Younghoon said.

"Okay, let's go then."

____

At the edge of the forest, the group stood, facing something that no ones ever prepared to face. The coffin was a dark black colour, delicately decorated with wild flowers of all kinds. Chanhee had remembered one of the stories from last night, about how Younghoon's father didn't have the strength to go to the store, but he still wanted to get his wife flowers every Sunday. So, he'd head into the woods, to pick a different array of wild flowers, just to show his wife how much he cared. However, this time it was his wife who picked the flowers, as a final reminder of how much she loved him.

Upon seeing the coffin, Yoonah broke into tears, immediately being soothed by her mother. This wasn't something anyone wishes to see. 

Chanhee's eyes flickered to Younghoon, who hadn't stopped staring at the coffin. His expression was unreadable, but his body was visibly tense. Interlocking his fingers with the demons, Chanhee leaned in, making his presence aware. This was when Younghoon finally relaxed, looking down to give the angel a reassuring smile.

"It's time." Seojun said, gently stroking Younghoon's shoulder. 

The three demon's, plus Chanhee, made their way into the car, that was parked behind the hearse. Kevin, and Juyeon followed behind, in their own car, respecting that it was family only. 

It wasn't a long drive, maybe 5, or 6 minutes, until they reached the cemetery. 

The sky was gloomy, and gray, reflecting the mood of the day. Chanhee felt a shiver coarse through his body, as he stepped out of the car. The weather was really cold today, with expected rain to fall soon. Gravel crunched under their feet, as they walked to the funeral area. It was simple, just a place for the coffin to rest during the service, and a hole in the ground. 

Younghoon was one of the coffin bearers, alongside some men from the funeral home. He asked Juyeon to also carry the coffin, which he first refused, thinking that it was an overstep, but Younghoon insisted, since he was one of his closest friends. 

After the coffin was carried over, Younghoon took his place, his mother on one side, Chanhee on the other. And with that, the service began. The celebrant discussed what it meant to lose a loved one, and shared some lovely words about Younghoon's father.

Though Chanhee just couldn't seem to concentrate, his eyes kept focusing on the flickering light in the distance. A firefly? Not uncommon to see in towns like these, but never during the day. It was fluttering around, in the woodlands, almost trying to tell Chanhee something. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, the bug was deliberately catching his attention.

 "Now I'd like to invite Younghoon up here, to talk about his father." The celebrant said, snapping Chanhee out of his trance. 

He couldn't think about the firefly, it probably wasn't important anyway, what truly was important, was supporting Younghoon. So, Chanhee brought his focus back to the service, making sure Younghoon knew he was there for him. 

____

The wake was just as small as the funeral, except this time Younghoon's sister didn't attend. She was a mess after the funeral, so it made sense that she wouldn't want to interact with people at this time. The group gathered in the living room, Chanhee, Younghoon, and Kevin on one sofa, while Younghoon's mother sat on her arm chair, and Juyeon perched on the edge by Kevin. 

"So how did you two actually meet?" Seojun asked, something she'd been wanting to know ever since they got here. 

Chanhee gulped, hoping that Younghoon would have a quick way to get out of answering that. The story was very complicated, and he still wasn't comfortable with revealing his status to Younghoon's mother, or the fact the he was engaged to someone else. 

"At a club, that simple." Younghoon stated, smirking at the angel, because it very much wasn't, that simple. 

"Ooh I didn't know angels were allowed to go to clubs with demons, Your family must be very open." Seojun smiled. 

Open? His family open? That might have been the funniest thing anyone had ever said to Chanhee. Even more so, now that he knows his dad might literally kill him, if he finds out. Honestly, Chanhee didn't like the idea of being murdered, so he just tried to forget about that point. 

Chanhee gave a quick nod, reaffirming Seojun's comment. "Yes, very open." 

"Well that's good then, how about your family Kevin, what are they like..."

As conversation switched off Chanhee, the angels attention got caught again, by a flash of light outside the window. There it was again, the firefly. This time circling the window, tapping against the glass every once in a while. Chanhee could feel his curiosity take over, he needed to follow that firefly. 

Just as he was about to excuse himself, Chanhee realized Younghoon's mother was already doing so. "It's been a long day, I'll go up and get some sleep, you guys are welcome to stay up, but keep the noise down please."

"Alright mum, night." Younghoon replied, leaning in to let Seojun kiss his forehead. "What do you guys wanna do?" He asked, as Seojun disappeared up the stairs. 

Kevin hummed, looking over to Juyeon, who was yawning. "Well I'm quite tired too, and we've got a long drive tomorrow. Maybe we should sleep." He said.

"Sounds good." Chanhee agreed, his eyes darting to the window. Unfortunately, this time, the firefly was gone. He couldn't work out if it actually meant something, or if he was reading into it too much. It's a bug, no divine creature, seeing it twice was probably just a coincidence.