Kill Me Softly

Danger Days

Sangwoo seemed to break out of his trance and saw Yoonbum's expression. He slowly approached him, stretching out a hand like he was about to caress Yoonbum's face. Despite his better knowledge, Yoonbum reflexively shrank back , curling up against the wall. Sangwoo stopped approaching and sat on the end of the bed, clearly trying his best not to look menacing.
"Bum? Hey, it's okay. I wouldn't hurt you, remember?"
Yoonbum drew his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his arms.
"But Sangwoo... you did hurt me, right?"
Sangwoo looked taken aback. It was true, he hit Yoonbum in the back of the head while he wasn't looking. But he had a good reason, didn't he?
"Damn it, Yoonbum that was different. I had to protect you, and if I was going to protect you, you... I... you can't be allowed to remember, alright?! I'm doing this because I love you, Yoonbum!"
Upon hearing his words, Yoonbum's body went rigid. He stayed as still as a statue for what seemed like forever, but after a while, his small body began to shake slightly. He lifted his head and turned to face Sangwoo, looking like he had just seen a ghost.
"What...? No, I've heard you... you've said that before, Sangwoo. It was when you... You couldn't have."
Although Yoonbum wasn't making any sense, Sangwoo immediately knew exactly what he was talking about. He suddenly became frantic, grabbing Yoonbum by the shoulders and forcing him to look him in the face.
"Listen, Bum. I don't know what you're thinking but it's not true. It's not true. You can trust me on this, I know. You're very confused right now, and your head must be hurting. I think it would be best if you went back to sleep. We can talk more when you wake up, okay?"
Sangwoo was talking so quickly and his tone was so desperate that it would have been obvious to anyone he was lying to change the subject. Yoonbum knew this, and he was scared of the truth that he knew Sangwoo must be hiding from him. Slowly, fuzzy memories were starting to take shape in Yoonbum's mind. They were muddled and dark, probably because of his head injury, but a picture was starting to form.
"S-sangwoo! Get away from me! Please stop, I don't want you near me!" Yoonbum desperately tried to wiggle out of Sangwoo's arms, but he was too strong.
"Yoonbum, please believe me, whatever you're thinking, it's not real!"
Yoonbum was terrified and began to claw at Sangwoo's muscular arms, trying to get him to let go. The struggle made Yoonbum lightheaded, and he was on the verge of collapsing in Sangwoo's arms. A primitive instinct woke inside Yoonbum, telling him he needed to do whatever it took to get away. His brain was screaming at him that Sangwoo was dangerous, and that he couldn't be trusted. With his last bits of strength, Yoonbum slapped Sangwoo across the face and used the split second of shock to push himself away. Sprawled across the bed and gasping for air, Yoonbum crawled backwards until he was in the corner of the room. His body was trying to get as far away from the danger as possible, but Sangwoo was blocking the door. Sangwoo looked as though he was going to try to approach Yoonbum, so he screamed, desperately hoping someone would be walking down the street and come to his rescue.
"Help! Murderer! You killed my uncle! I saw you kill him!"
The edges of Yoonbum's vision started to darken, but he was too afraid of what would happen if he lost consciousness. He was terrified that if he passed out with Sangwoo around, he might never wake up.