Ineffable 𓇢𓆸 || Jakehoon

🍃 Chapter 49 🍃

The crackling fire is the only thing that breaks the silence of the night, its warm glow casting flickering shadows across the small group gathered around it. The forest is quiet, the kind of quiet that makes you feel like you're the only ones left in the world, as though the rest of humanity has faded into the background. But we're still here. All of us. We've survived another day.

I shift slightly against the tree I'm leaning on, my side still aching. I try to ignore it, but the sharp sting from my wound is impossible to miss. I know Jake's eyes are on me, even though he's trying to act like he's not looking. I can feel his gaze on my back, like a constant reminder that he's still worried about me. But I'm fine. I've been fine before. I'll be fine again.

I glance around the fire, watching as everyone settles in. Jungwon and Sunoo are talking quietly, their voices soft, a faint sense of peace between them. Eunhee is watching them, her face calm, like she's absorbing the warmth of the fire and the warmth of the people around her. Heeseung sits off to the side, gazing into the flames, his face unreadable but calm. And Niki... well, Niki is doing what Niki does best-getting himself into trouble.

"Hey, Niki," Jay's voice cuts through the quiet, irritated but fond. "What are you doing now?"

Niki is crouching down by the fire, poking at a stick with intense concentration, like he's about to perform some great feat. He looks up, grinning like an idiot.

"I'm making a fire dance!" Niki announces proudly, completely ignoring the skeptical stares from everyone else.

I can't help but smirk. I know it's going to be something ridiculous.

"Please," Jay groans, running a hand through his hair. "That's not how fire works. You're going to get us all killed!"

But Niki's already grabbed a rock and thrown it into the flames with theatrical flair.

"I'm telling you, this is going to be great," he says, clearly oblivious to the fact that he's about to cause a small disaster.

"Jesus Christ," Jay mutters under his breath, shaking his head. He glares at Niki, his voice now tinged with exasperation. "Niki, that's not how you handle fire! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Niki, ever the troublemaker, darts behind Jake as if to protect himself from Jay's wrath. "Protect me, Jake hyung!" he says dramatically, peeking out from behind Jake's shoulder. "Jay's going to kill me!"

Jake chuckles softly, the sound like a balm to my bruised soul, and pats Niki's head like he's some helpless puppy. "You're lucky he's just threatening to kill you, not throwing you in the fire," Jake says, his voice warm but teasing.

Jay shoots Niki a sharp look. "You're lucky I'm too tired to yell at you more."

I can't help but laugh, a sound I haven't heard from myself in what feels like forever. Despite everything, despite the war and the danger, there's something comforting about this-about these moments of simple chaos. It's a reminder that we're still human. That we still have each other.

The laughter dies down, and a more thoughtful silence settles over us. For a moment, no one speaks. I'm not sure why, but I feel the need to ask, so I do.

"So, what about dreams?" I say, breaking the silence, my voice a little more serious than I intended. "What do you all want when this is over? When we get out of here?"

The question hangs in the air for a moment, and then Jake, sitting beside me, responds first, his voice quieter than usual. "I just want to survive," he says softly, his gaze fixed on the fire. "I want everyone to be okay. That's all I want."

There's a tightness in my chest at his words, and I look down at the ground, unsure of what to say in response. I know what he means. I want that, too. More than anything, I want us all to make it through. But I can't say it the way he does. It's too simple, too easy. What if we don't make it?

I push the thought away. I'm not going to focus on that now. Instead, I focus on the group, on each of them, and I say what's been on my mind for a while now.

"I want this war to end," I say, my voice low. "I want us to be safe again. To feel like there's a future ahead of us. I just want... peace."

There's a small pause as everyone reflects on my words, and Niki, ever the optimist, grins wide, his eyes full of that same, reckless hope that's been part of him since day one.

"We'll make it through this," Niki says, his voice light and teasing. "We're like one big dysfunctional family. So what's there to be scared of?"

Jay immediately rolls his eyes. "We're more like a support group for traumatized people," he replies dryly, but there's no real bite to it. "But yeah, we'll make it through."

Eunhee's soft voice comes next, filled with quiet wisdom. "As long as we have each other, we'll be okay. We don't have to do this alone."

I look at each of them, at the friends I've come to trust more than I ever thought possible. And in this moment, despite everything we've been through, I feel a flicker of hope. They're right. We're not alone. We've got each other.

And then, as if to break the tension, Niki pipes up again, grinning like a kid who's just found a new toy. "Alright, alright, dreams are all nice and stuff, but what really matters is-who's cooking tomorrow? Because if Jungwon makes that weird soup again, I'm not eating it."

Jungwon immediately protests, his face flushed in embarrassment. "Hey! It wasn't that bad! I thought it was good!"

"Wrong," Niki retorts quickly. "It was horrible."

I can't help but laugh again, and I see Jake do the same, his laughter genuine and warm. Even Jay, despite his frustration, can't hide the small smile creeping onto his face.

"I vote Niki cooks tomorrow," Jay says, a teasing grin tugging at his lips. "Let's see what he can make out of his 'fire dance.'"

Niki immediately stands straighter, his chest puffed out proudly. "I accept the challenge!" he says, spreading his arms wide like he's about to announce something grand.

"You're lucky I'm too tired to argue with you," Jay mutters, shaking his head.

There's a moment of silence as everyone watches Niki, some of us amused, others resigned to the chaos. I look around at the faces of my friends, and for the first time in a while, the weight on my chest feels a little lighter.

Maybe we don't have all the answers. Maybe we don't know what tomorrow holds. But tonight, in this moment, we're together. And that's enough.