Day6 || Hunt

VIII

Your eyes quickly scan Wonpil's face, taking in the sweat dripping from his temple and dotting his upper lip. Gritting his teeth, he grasps his wounded leg above the knee. You don't miss the pool of blood steadily spreading on the smooth, gray tile beneath you.

You dim the screen of your cell phone, quietly slipping it into your pocket before raising your gaze to meet his. His expression is serious.

"Go, JiSoo" he says quietly. "Go and get your brother."

Stomach dropping, you look down to see your hands are shaking.

"No," you choke. "I'm not going anywhere without you. You need a doctor—"

"No!" Wonpil cuts in sharply. "Don't you get it? This is your only chance. You have to get Jae out of here."

Chest burning, anxiety flooding your mind, you turn away from him, taking a deep breath, face angled towards the wall. You're afraid of the words he's about to speak, but even more afraid of your response. The hollow feeling in your chest tells you that you can't avoid it forever.

The warm, gentle weight of his hand resting on your shoulder draws you out of your thoughts and back to him.

"What about Grace?" he murmurs quietly. "Are you just going to abandon her too? Go and help the others. They need you. I can take care of myself."

His eyes staring straight into yours, you can see he's determined. His other hand slowly reaches forward to grasp your arm. His voice is earnest and his grip communicates an urgency that wasn't there before.

"If you don't go now you might regret it for the rest of your life." The words fall from his lips like petals, weaving a trail that ends in resignation and guilt.

 "You could lose your brother forever. Don't make me responsible for that. I'm not worth it," he grins as his face contorts in pain briefly. 

But his voice matches his eyes when he adds, "You're not supposed to worry about the bad guys."

The cool trickle of tears down your cheek matches the slow, steady pounding of your heart. You wish you could find a way to pause and rewind, but the decision in your heart weighs too heavily on your mind.

Leaning forward, the tips of your hair brushes across his chin. As you swallow the fears you can taste in the back of your throat, you lean forward and give your bravest attempt at a grin.

/-/

You'll never know how you managed to carry Wonpil down the hall and into the custodial closet, but it happens all the same. They say adrenaline can help a person do incredible things, but whether by your own strength or some other inexplicable force, you heave a sigh of relief when you finally see him leaning against the wall, concealed from the vulnerability of an open corridor.

You gaze at him silently, no words coming to mind, but before you turn to leave you lean down and brush his temple with your lips.

As you enter the hallway cautiously, the smell of smoke is growing stronger. Looking up you realize the air around you seems to be hazy. Mind reeling, you think back to the text message.

"Phase 2 begins now."

The distant clang of a fire alarm immediately catches your attention. It's been going for some time now, just as you had expected.

But the smoke, the ashy fragrance?

That could only mean...

Looking at the building's blueprints, DoWoon had pointed out one feature of the warehouse essential to your plan.