Wildfire And Rain

Chapter Twenty-One

Around dinner, Beomgyu stands above the stove; stirring oatmeal porridge. He carves the inside of a soft vanilla stick, adding the zest into a steaming pot. He turns off the stove and puts a lid on the pot to keep the food warm, he delivers it to the table, away from fire, away from the stove.

Kai never enters the kitchen. Not even for water for coffee. They have those available on the island far from any appliances that may catch on fire. They learned to live around his phobia. Beomgyu still thinks he should get help from a therapist. He even scheduled an appointment, but Kai just wasn't ready.

He wasn't ready to talk about the fire, perhaps he never will be.

Beomgyu doesn't remember the fire. He remembers pains, then darkness. Only feelings, but not memories. The doctors said he blacked out from the smoke early on, while Kai was conscious the whole time. Beomgyu's only faint memory was Kai's hands, reaching to grab him, to pull him from under the ruins. He remembers only that, the fire catching on Kai's arms, his face as he pulled Beomgyu away with great effort.

A 2-second memory. No sounds, no smells, only a 2-second vision.

He sets an empty bowl and a wooden ladle right next to the pot. The doorbell rings.

"Taehyun." Beomgyu's face is painted with surprise as he opens the door to the unknown visitor. He opens his mouth again, but he doesn't know what to say first. "Hey."

The boy stands outside, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. He holds an opaque plastic bag. "Hey," he responds back. The air stands still.

"I did not think you'd be back."

There is still tension between them, but that is not what he referred to although it's still hard talking to Taehyun after their last conversation. He's sure Taehyun is just as uncomfortable which is more the reason why he should not be here right now.

"Is Kai home?"

"He's asleep."

Taehyun lifts the plastic bag and smiles politely despite his distaste for Beomgyu. This is not about them. "I-I have some stuff for him... things I thought would help. Could I come in?"

Beomgyu clears the way if only from a sense of blindsight-ness. "Y-yeah. Sure." he furrows his eyebrows. "Things that would help for what?" He's a bit confused. Unsure what to make of Taehyun's visit.

"I read about panic attacks and gathered remedies that should ease the anxiety of a patient."

Blinking a few times, Beomgyu isn't certain he heard correctly. "That's-"

"Must be hard." Taehyun sighs. "I never had a panic attack before. It looks painful," he comments, his eyes losing their sparkle. "Is he okay?"

"He's resting for now; he should be fine in a few hours." Beomgyu clears his throat and looks anywhere but in Taehyun's direction. "You really care about him, my brother." It comes out as more of a statement than a question, but it's very alike.

Taehyun rolls his eyes. "You are like two peas in a pod, of course, I care," he says. But then again, there are no 'of courses' in Kai's life. "Is he upstairs?"

"Wait! Before you go... did- did Yeonjun say anything? After I left, I heard him calling me, but I didn't-" he sighs. Radiating frustration and nervousness "I don't know what I want to ask, really... "

"He's not mad, neither is Soobin."

"they're not?"

Taehyun sucks in his lips. "They're worried about you... Um- confused mostly. Soobin won't stop repeating how much of an idiot he was spewing all those things about Kai when you were right there. But then again, he didn't know." he exhales. "I think they want to talk to you, regardless. That was a lot back there today."