Feel the Fire (Yoonseok) ✔

Chapter 48

His surroundings were white. The sudden brightness scared him. He had been wandering in endless darkness for a while now so the bright reflection stung in his eyes. It made his sight as blurry as his mind. He knew who he was, he knew what had happened but it was all hazy as if a cloud had downed upon his brain and had made it impossible for him to see everything. Every time he tried the weight on his head grew. Hoseok only remembered parts of how he got there. He remembered Yoongi, he remembered how they got into a fight. After that his memories had disappeared, they were taken by the haze.

The sorcerer looked around, trying to grasp where he was. The room was blank and the walls were unblemished. In front of Hoseok was a door. There were many locks on it even though none seemed to be working. The room was silent, almost as if the world outside had disappeared completely. All that was left was the space inside this prison, his own headspace that he was trapped in.

Suddenly a glimpse of the outside world showed itself. A harmonious melody sounded through the walls. It was nothing but a voice. A very kind and soft one yet it resonated deeply in his mind. Above anything it sounded eerily familiar. Hoseok knew exactly who it was. He had been wishing for that sound to return for so long. He thought he would never hear it again. Her face seemed like a distant memory to him even though they had only been apart for a short year. He never thought he would miss her so much.

Without a second thought he pushed himself off the ground, running towards the door in front of him. The latch opened easily, allowing him to peek through. His eyes met a forest. The colours of the leaves were vibrant as the sunlight reflected how lively they were. Hoseok immediately felt warmer inside at the familiar sight. He knew those trees better than anyone. How often he would run in between them, chasing his sister, chasing his father even, or maybe just chasing air letting the fresh oxygen run through his veins and he climbed the trees and ran through the pathways.

His heart warmed even more when he saw a shape run past. It didn't scare him, he knew who it was after all. The voice grew louder, turning into a giggle. Hope coursed through Hoseok's body. The hope of seeing her eyes wrinkle up when she would smile and the hope of seeing how she would cover up her mouth with her slender hand while laughing, it clouded his judgement, messed up his brain. He opened the door and stepped out without a second thought.

His joy and hope wilted like a flower in winter when he was met by another wall white as snow. In a split second he looked back. There, on the opposite wall, was the same door he had just walked through. It was flipped, almost as if he never walked through it in the first place. 

Hoseok didn't know what emotion was more evident, panic or confusion. Either way he sprinted back to the door and tried again. Before he knew it he was running in an endless loop. The laughter of his sister was echoing in the background. It got louder and louder every time he opened a door, but every time he did he also knew that he was walking further away. He wasn't getting anywhere. 

His breathing got rougher and his legs felt heavier. Oxygen deprivation was cramping up his muscles and thoughts. The grief in him manifested in the form of a lump in his throat. His ragged breathing couldn't get rid of it. They only made his pants turn to whimpers, then to sobs, until he couldn't breathe anymore. 

The laughing was deafening. The happiness he felt when he first heard the sound was gone. They were nothing more than empty giggles now, a far away memory of what once was. And it was all his fault. He promised he would protect them, he promised he would protect her. He promised he wouldn't let his sister die like his mother. 

People from his village always said that his sister was much like his mother. Their laughs were similar, their kindness as well. The only similarity Hoseok could see now was their death. They both died in vain and violence. Neither of them should've. It was all his fault, he could see that now clearer than ever. It hurt him more than anything ever did, more than anything ever could.