Pandemonium | Hyunjin

Stop, drop, and cough

"I'm going to fucking kill Jeongin. I'm going to roast Felix's chicken ass and I'm going to beat the shit out of Seungmin." Hyunjin huddled beneath his scarf and grumbled to himself. He was wrapped in his winter coat and entirely alone.

Getting back to the town square after being on the outskirts was rather difficult. Well traveled roads were plowed the moment the mountain of snow stopped. The back roads were an entirely different story. What only should have taken him ten minutes, nearly took him an hour, thanks to snow piles.

Multiple snow drifts built up along the side of the road. The drifting wind pulled the powder into mountains and they'd been sitting there ever since. Pushed up against tree lines and drifting over the road. At one point, he couldn't even find the road.

He wasn't sure if they were calling it a blizzard, but it felt like a blizzard. How the hell did so much snow fall in one night? One moment there was none and the next morning, it was there. Now he was here and suffering.

Yesterday morning's events chilled him to the bone. He changed out of his soaking wet shoes and t-shirt, but it was too late. The winter chill already crept inside his body and began to tarnish his warmth. It chipped away his throat and it clogged his sinuses. Now he was suffering from what he could only assume to be a common cold.

Whatever it was, it was pure hell. Thank god, they didn't have a show tonight. If he snotted on Felix mid-show, Felix would never let him live it down. Besides that, it was just difficult in general. Life was hard with any type of cold and this was no different.

He walked down the path to the pharmacy and pushed open the door. With a soft jingle, he stepped inside and wandered down the first aisle he saw. The town's pharmacy was unfamiliar to him, but he knew what he needed. Preferably, something that would keep him from snotting and sneezing multiple times an hour.

He scanned over the section he was in. A wide variety of bandages and band-aids were neatly stacked and stocked. He trailed down the aisle and turned into another section. The place was relatively quiet, but it wasn't a surprise, they only opened about twenty minutes ago.

There weren't a ton of people outside anyway. The snow kept everyone shut in and it caused schools to close. There were whispers that this had been one of the worst snow days that Lucent Cove had ever had. Records were broken overnight and the people were left distressed. So much snow, so little plans for clearing it up, and about three thousand people hidden in blustery conditions.

The cute little coastal town looked like something from a storybook. Overlooking a lake, multiple houses were built overlooking it. Backyards led to docks and bobbling boats. Alleyways were cobblestone and the few businesses around were pushed together in a main area of town.

Such a shame that Pandemonium came during the colder months instead of during the summer. If he closed his eyes and let his mind slip, he could think about it effortlessly. The warmth of the water ebbing along his toes. Sand grits sticking to the bottom of bare feet, even when he walked away from the beach.

Surely, he'd be able to find a bakery that made fresh peanut butter fudge. Perhaps, he'd go for something a bit cooler. Ice cream after a hot day was also something he enjoyed. The possibilities were endless, but he was here now. Summer had vanished over the cycle of seasons and it dipped into fall. Winter was coming in only a few days away.

His thoughts were broken by a soft sniffle. He paused and glanced from one side to the next. In the back of the small building, two pharmacists were sorting medicine and bottling them into orange plastic containers. Labels were created and wrapped around them to identify each one, but it didn't come from that direction.

He left the vitamin section and headed in the direction of the sniffle. Maybe they were also looking for medicine. If he couldn't find it soon, he was going to give up and ask one of the pharmacists. They'd be able to point him in the right direction and then he'd know.

His feet scuffed along the beige carpet as he rounded an aisle. He glanced to the left and that's when he found her. A skip hit his heart and he sucked in a deep breath. He couldn't mess this up, it went so well the last time. "Carmen?" He found his voice as he headed over.

She glanced up with tears in her eyes. Beneath the ugly yellow fluorescent bulbs, Carmen's cheeks were splotchy. She reached up with a winter coat and wiped it along her cheek. "Hi."

"Are you okay?"

Her eyes darted off to the side. She forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat. She wanted to put on a brave face and say she was being dramatic. She wanted to toughen it out and insist everything was alright, but she couldn't. Instead, she shook her head slightly and batted at more tears.

"I wish I was."

"Did something happen to your sister?"

Her bottom lip quivered and she shook her head. In a moment of weakness, she spun around. The emotions had built up and she was about to burst. A hand flew to her mouth to muffle the sounds of it all.

"Carmen?" Hyunjin stepped forward and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do this alone, you know? You don't have to deal with these things by yourself. Whatever happened, you can tell me."

"Nothing happened. I-I mean, not really." Her eyes shut and her head bowed. "That's the issue, nothing happened. A detective appeared earlier to talk to my father. There's no sign of her, there's nothing, there's no trace, and it's like she just..." She trailed off. Tears slipped down her cheeks. "She's gone and with all the snow, they wanted us to consider that maybe she just..."

"But it hasn't even been that long, right? How could they say that? How could they say she's already gone?"

"I came here hoping to find her. It's so stupid, I know, but all that candy at the front desk. Every time we came here to pick up medicine when any of us were sick, she'd get a candy bar. I've been to a few other places we used to visit a lot. I keep hoping that she'll appear, but everywhere I go, it's another dead end."

"My mom is basically catatonic. My dad is spiraling out of control. I just want to bring her home. I want my mom to get better. I want my dad to be happy again. I want my little sister back in my arms. I-"

She couldn't go on anymore. A sob broke through her lips. Hyunjin gently tugged her around and pulled her towards him. One of his arms went behind her back and the other tugged her head towards him. "I'm sorry," he uttered softly.

She couldn't respond. A sob broke through her lips and her face scrunched up. Her arms went behind his back and she buried her face into his coat. She didn't care about her snot smearing along the front or the way her warm tears seeped into the fabric.

All she cared about was the throbbing of his heart and the warmth of his body around hers; a reassuring reminder that she wasn't alone.