forever ; hyungwonho

07

CHAPTER SEVEN

HOSEOK slowly opened his eyelids, being blinded by a bright, shimmering light.

lifting up a hand, hoseok rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the drowsiness. he groaned, sitting up from the leaves. every bone and muscle was screaming out in pain- especially his heart. splotches of red and purple decorated his feet, and an aching sensation tingled down his spine. the boy ran his slim fingers through his tangled hair. closing his eyes, he wished that once he'd open them again, everything would magically be back to normal.

but hoseok knew real life was nothing like the fairy tales he had read.

"hyungwon, a-are you still here?"

please be here, he wordlessly pleaded.

it was eerily quiet for awhile, making hoseok believe everything was just in his head. that the grief only played with his imagination.

but then the boy's gentle voice murmured through his ears, "i'm still here."

his broken heart started thumping faster against his chest. everything felt hazy, hoseok wondered if this could all be one really, really horrible nightmare. but, at the same time, it felt too real. too painful. his hands started to shake, tears rolled down his cheeks, falling onto the ground beneath him.

"what's it like where you are? are you safe? do you feel any pain-?"

"hoseok," the smile was prominent in hyungwon's words. it almost made hoseok smile himself. almost.

hoseok quickly closed his mouth, awaiting for the boy to answer his questions. however, the words shouldn't be spoken, those words shouldn't be leaving his lips. because being in that situation should not be happening at all.

hyungwon should be sleeping right beside hoseok. alive, safe, in his bed.

"no, i don't feel any pain. it's strange. the bullet wound is gone and my skin is completely healed. sometimes i can even feel my heart beating, but i think that's because of you," hyungwon spoke the last sentence in a softer tone, and hoseok liked to imagine the younger could've been blushing too.

"it feels like i'm floating with the clouds, but it's also like i'm right next to you. it's so... peaceful."

instinctively, hoseok looked up to the clouds in the sky, "that sounds nice."

"there's one more thing," hyungwon added, unsure with what he was going to say. "it's like i know what's going to happen with you? i don't know."

"is... is that how you knew where to guide me yesterday?"

he wasn't confident if 'guide' was the correct term to use. but, maybe, that's exactly what hyungwon was doing.

"yeah."

hoseok sighed, looking down at his bloody and scarred hands. he hated how he was left with a few bruises and torn clothes, while everyone else - including the boy he loved - were all murdered.

hastily, he blurted: "do you know how to get out of the maze?"

"no idea."