|Weak Hero| Weaktober 2022

Day 31: Flame

When Jinwoo flicked his lighter to light his cigarette, Hyunjin screamed at the sight of the flame. 

Fire. Dorim Shopping Complex was on fire.

He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, eyes panicked and wide with terror.

Gerard. He needed to save Gerard. Gerard was trapped in the flames. By the time Hyunjin reached him, Gerard already had a large burn with lots of blood.

"Hyunjin!" Gerard, Jinwoo, and Sangman rushed over to their friend's side. "Hyunjin, what's wrong!?"

Hyunjin snapped out of his memories and quickly did his best to regain his composure. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine,"

"You're trembling," Sangman noted. "Hyunjin...was it the flame from Jinwoo's lighter that scared you?"

Hyunjin tensed up. "Scared me? What are you talking about? I said I'm fine!" He quickly glanced over to Gerard before looking away. 'Gerard's fine. I got to him in time. He's not dead. He's okay,'

Gerard quickly pieced together Hyunjin's thoughts. "Were you thinking back to when Dorim was on fire and you saved me?"

"I said I'm fine!" Hyunjin snapped. "Forget this ever happened! I'm fine!" He felt lightheaded and as if he was going to collapsed.

Jinwoo quickly led him to a nearby seat. "You're not alone, Hyunjin. If something's bothering you, we're here to listen,"

Hyunjin preferred to keep to himself so he wouldn't burden anyone. It was his problem so it was his alone to deal with. But...deep down, a part of him didn't want to handle this trauma alone. Deep down, he wanted to reach out and be comforted.

"If...If I had arrived even a second later..." Hyunjin buried his face into his hands. "Gerard would've died. The ceiling beam would've crushed his skull and...his brains would've been splattered all over the floor," This was tough for Hyunjin. He was never one to be too emotional.

"Hyunjin..." Gerard blamed himself. He was the reason why Jeongmu set Dorim on fire. He was the one who ran into the burning building to save mere music sheets. And now...Hyunjin was traumatized by that incident. He hadn't thought about how Hyunjin had been affected mentally.

But Gerard was going to help Hyunjin heal. Not just Gerard, but Jinwoo and Sangman too. Hyunjin didn't have to deal with his trauma alone. His friends were here to support  him.

This is actually my favorite prompt. This was the first prompt I immediately had an idea for when I read through the Weaktober Prompt List.

Which prompt was your favorite?

Happy Halloween!