New World

Chapter 5

Hongjoong’s knees buckled and, had it not been for Mingi's surprisingly fast reflexes and firm grasp, he would have crashed right into the ground beneath him. Mingi slowly lowers him to sit on packed dirt. 

No public bunker

He looks Mingi in his eyes, unable to mask the pain and confusion reflecting in his own. 

“What do you mean there's no bunker? How,..how do you know?” He asks, unable to stop his voice from cracking. 

Mingi gives him a tight smile before responding softly. “I have spent weeks scouring what's left of the city. There's nothing left and no one anywhere.” 

“But, your person? You,... weren't you looking for them? Did you not find them? What happened to them?” Hongjoong spouts, still in disbelief. Surely Mingi was mistaken. The gentle giant before him sighs softly. 

“I had my grandmother, Hongjoong, and she was already in a bad state before we had to shelter. She died in the bunker, naturally.  I left after I buried her next to what remained of the house she raised me in. I-...I couldn't stand to be there any longer after that.” 

Mingi's eyes glisten as he spoke, a pain Hongjoong knew quite well shining in those big, onyx eyes staring at him empathetically. The public bunker was his last hope at finding his brother. The belief that BumJoong was still alive and waiting for him was what kept him alive this long. If there was nowhere for him to be then that meant he was really gone. Hongjoong stares at Mingi with wide eyes, almost refusing to process what he was hearing. 

“No, you have to be wrong. You could have missed it or maybe it's buried under the rubble in the city. We could go check. We could find-...” Mingi cut in before Hongjoong could finish his sentence.

“Hey,” he said gently, “I checked everywhere. I climbed piles of rubble. I cleared debris. I checked every nook and cranny left inside Seoul. There's nothing.” He clasps Hongjoong’s shoulder softly. “I'm sorry, Hongjoong.” 

“But, my brother,....” Hongjoong manages to say before sobs racked through his body. Crying in front of a stranger was not something Hongjoong would normally do but nothing was normal anymore. Mingi crouched next to him, patting his back rhythmically to help soothe him. 

Hongjoong didn’t understand. For as long as he could remember, the city bunker was advertised everywhere. Every city had one and if they didn't, they were assigned a larger city's space. Why would the government lie about something like that? Why would they spend years telling everyone about it for it to not even exist? 

He runs the back of hand across his eyes, haphazardly swiping the tears from his face. His chest was aching and his head was buzzing with more questions than answers. He taps the side of his bag still attached to his back  and feels for his brother's trophy. More moisture threatens to flow over the tips of his thick, dark lashes but he holds his breath before releasing it slowly. 

He knew when he left that the chances of finding his brother alive were very slim. The finality of knowing he wasn't out there hurt more than Hongjoong could had ever imagined. He draws  in another breath, holding it for a second before releasing it slowly. He looks up at his companion again, confusion still dancing across his features, to be met with an empathic gaze. 

Mingi's hand has stopped its ticking-like pattern on his back and was now resting on his shoulder blade. He says nothing to Hongjoong but simultaneously offers him refuge in the silence that stretchs between them. He removes his hand and stretches it out between them, offering Hongjoong the assistance to get back up. With another shaky inhale-exhale, Hongjoong grasps the hand before him and is hoisted up quicker than he expected, stumbling slightly as he puts his feet beneath him.