SOPE | Memory

Scream

Hoseok woke up screaming. Dawon sprinted to his room, leaving a design for a jacket on her desk. Their parents were out at a meeting.

"Hoseok! Are you okay? Hoseok!" Dawon shouted in a worried voice. Hoseok didn't have nightmares. What was happening?

When she got to his room, he was sitting up. She flicked the light on and ran to his side.

"Hoseok, can you hear me? Hoseok!" She slowly eased him back to a lying position.

He was squeezing his head with the heels of his palms. His panicked screams filled the house. "Hoseok! Listen to me! It's just a nightmare, it's just a bad dream. Everything's okay, shhh."

Hoseok was breathing raggedly, still screaming his head off. Pain filled his body. Every breath burned. A fiery pain built up in his stomach. His head was hurting so bad, he knew he should have passed out by now. But he didn't. Blissful oblivion didn't come.

He couldn't think or talk, he could only scream and squeeze his head. He was vaguely aware of Dawon sitting next to him, trying to say something. He couldn't hear her though. It was just pain. He tried opening his eyes, but it was too bright and red spots started filling his vision, so he shut them again.

"Make it stop! Stop," Hoseok screamed. Dawon just stood there, panic taking over. Should she call someone? She should, right? Where was her phone?

He screamed in unbearable pain for five minutes, then his voice broke and he couldn't scream anymore. His breathing was uneven and raspy. It hurt too much. All he could hear was a loud ringing.

"Hoseok! Are you okay?" Dawon yelled, realizing he couldn't hear her. She took her phone out to call an ambulance, but Hoseok started shaking. He was barely breathing anymore. A few desperate, shallow gasps were making their way into his lungs.

"No," Hoseok whispered. Dawon dropped her phone.

"Are you okay?" she asked, feeling slightly relieved. At least he could talk.

"No," he whispered again, wincing as pain tore through his lungs. It hurt to talk.

"Should I call the hospital?" she tried to pry Hoseok's hands away from his head, but he wouldn't budge.

"He tried to save me," Hoseok whispered again. His voice was getting softer.

Dawon's eyes widened in recognition. What he'd said four years ago at the hospital, right after he woke up.

"Hoseokie? It was just a bad dream. Calm down, shh. I'm here for you."

Hoseok shook his head weakly as tears started leaking from his eyes.

"It hurts," he hissed. Dawon gently put her hand to his forehead, then pulled away with a yelp. It was hot. Too hot.

Hoseok let out a scream when she touched him. Dawon stiffened.

"Tell me where it hurts," she said gently.

Her voice was too loud to Hoseok. Every sound was too loud. When he shifted, the sound of the blanket moving was a roar in his ears. He grimaced when pain gripped him again. He couldn't move.

"H-Head, stomach..." he tried to talk, then curled up into a ball when his lungs seized. He couldn't breathe.

"Hoseok, breathe. Shhh, breathe," Dawon said, trying to keep her voice steady as panic gripped her. "I'm calling the hospital." She reached for her phone.

"N-No, please," Hoseok said, breaking off in a whimper.

"Jung Hoseok, you were screaming in pain." Dawon said flatly, fingers hovering above her phone screen.