𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 ; 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝗄𝗂 ✓

09

s: statice for remembrance
𑁍

as soon as he reached the surface, kihyun took the deepest breath possible to not pass out right on the spot and have all this effort go to waste. he held the boy tightly in his arms, not even thinking of letting him go. never again.
quickly catching his breath, waiting for his vision to go back to normal again, he once again took all his strength together in order to get the both of them to safety. he then swam back to the shore of the river. he was holding him tightly and he was sure that he was still alive. he had to be. but while kihyun was swimming, the boy's body was limply hanging in his grip. he didn't react at all when the older had pulled him up and until now, he still wouldn't move. he was unconcious and that too, didn't really make it easier for kihyun to hold him while swimming with only one arm. but he did it and as soon as he had reached a steady ground to stand on, he crawled onto the land and dragged the two of them out of the water. he sat there for a few seconds, trying to get back some kind of rhythm in his breathing, as he scanned the alarming looking lifeless body next to him. that was when kihyun noticed that the boy wasn't even breathing. his body was cold and his lips had already turned into a shallow blue due to the cold temperatures.

knowing that he was completely his responsibility now, kihyun tried to recollect himself and think of the right way to save him. the first thing the brown haired did was to put him in the right position, meaning to put him on his back and lifting his chin so that his respiratory tracts weren't blocked. the next thing kihyun did was to start performing a CPR, trying to get the boy to breathe again. he pumped his chest thirty times and then began to perform rescue breaths, two times at the least. then repeat. that's what he learned way back in school, surprisingly an actual useful thing for once. he wouldn't give up, no, but even this took way too long for kihyun's taste. he started panicking again, not knowing what to do if this was not going to work. he hated this so much.

"come on, breathe!" he called out.

"you've been waiting for me for so long! i'm here now! the nightmare of you dying has haunted me for so long now, please don't let it all be for nothing! don't let it come true, make it worth something!" he still wasn't breathing and kihyun's anxiety rose. he couldn't lose him, not now.

"come on, wake up! breathe for god's sake! i didn't save you for leaving me now! i didn't come to save you for nothing!" the brown haired was practically begging. he was crying. kihyun was scared and confused, but all he could think about right there and then was the boy. who he was didn't matter now, all that mattered was saving his life. and that was when kihyun started hitting onto the boy's chest with force. he now used his fist instead of simply pumping.

thirty chest compressions, two rescue breaths, repeat.
thirty chest compressions, two rescue breaths, repeat.
thirty chest compressions, two rescue breaths, repeat.

"don't leave me now! i am here! i'm right here! i saved you! now don't you dare leave me here! wake! up!" once again, he hit his chest with his fist. two times. but this time, the boy shot open his eyes, gasping for air as he started coughing up water. no petals, no blood, just water. kihyun quickly turned him onto his side, so that he would be able to catch proper breaths, once again making sure that nothing would block his respiratory tracts. he patted his back in order to help him cough up all the leftover water inside of his lungs. and kihyun was so glad. now, his tears were ones of relief and happiness. he saved him.
and after the boy had calmed down a bit, kihyun hugged him. he was so glad that he had survived. the boy was upset, obviously, but as soon as he seemed to realize what was going on, he fell completely silent and couldn't do anything but stare at kihyun wordlessly with disbelief in his eyes. the older noticed this as well, looked back at him and chuckled a bit. he did look very cute. then he noticed how the boy tried sitting up, but seeing him struggle to do it by himself, he carefully grabbed his shoulders and helped him sit up. he was weak, holding onto kihyun tightly.

"it's okay, take it easy." kihyun gently said, trying not to scare him. as he sat up, kihyun took his chance to look deeply into the other's eyes. those beautiful, clear brown eyes. he never thought that he'd get see them in reallife one day. surely, he was still a stranger to kihyun but there was something about the way the boy looked back at him. and the brown haired would be lying, saying that he didn't feel some kind of immediate connection as well. he didn't know what it was, but compared to what he's been going through over the past weeks, this wasn't such a questionable experience now. the boy kept looking at him and kihyun was aware that he wanted to say something, but struggled getting out any words due to his weakened state. here too, was kihyun quick to react. he lifted his hand to softly stroke his thumb above the other's cheek.

"shh, it's okay, you will be okay. i'm here now and i won't leave until you are safe, i promise." he whispered in a reassuring voice, trying his best to calm him down. it was a moment of complete happiness for kihyun. he seemed to blend out whatever was around them, only focusing on him and looking into the boy's eyes before he hugged him again. shortly after that, the other spoke up.

"k-kihyun..?" the boy's voice was small, shaky and he looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"yes. it's kihyun. i'm so glad you are safe. you will be alright, okay? i'll make sure of that." kihyun smiled at him.

"no- y-you're not real. why- h-how are you here? how- how did you k-know..?"

"i will explain, okay? but please, don't talk too much now. you're weak, i don't want to lose you now. you'll be taken care of, i promise you. just hang in there, we have to wait for the ambulance." kihyun's voice was so sincere. he was looking into the eyes of the boy he had been dreaming about for weeks. and now, he was laying in his arms. he couldn't believe it.

"n-no, it- it can't be you. do- do you know who i am? do you remember?" the boy's voice was desperate. kihyun was honestly confused as to why he was reacting like this. why he was asking these questions. they didn't know each other, right? well, kihyun didn't know him. so how was it possible that the boy knew who he was? they have never met before.

"i'm sorry, i don't. but if you're so desperate, can you enlighten me then? who are you?"

"i c-can't tell you. it won't- it won't work like this. y-you won't remember." he seemed scared.

"what do you mean?" the older was genuinly confused. why wouldn't he just say it?

"i- i can't. you don't remember and- and that's probably f-for the best. you wouldn't want to anyways. i- i'm sorry i came here, i- i should go." he panicked. kihyun had no idea what was going on, but what he did realize was that the boy tried getting up- and failed. because seconds after he pulled away from kihyun's grip, he lost his balance and was about to fall again. the older managed to step up in time though and caught him just before he hit the floor again.

"oh no, you're not going anywhere. please, just stay here with me. you have to calm down, okay? you can't just run off like this. and hey," kihyun moved his fingers onto his chin and tilted the boy's head toward himself so that he had no choice but look at him, since he kept avoiding his eyes. "i do want to know who you are, so please, tell me."

"b-but what if you don't like what you'll remember? i don't want you to be hurt because of m- " he was cut off by kihyun suddenly coming closer. unexpectedly, he held eye contact until the older was only a few inches away from his face. the next thing he realized, was that the brown haired came even closer, so close, that he could feel his breath on his skin. and before he knew it himself, kihyun locked their lips together. and neither of them pulled away. instead, kihyun was rather surprised that the boy had kissed him back within seconds. no hesitation at all and on top of that, it was a very deep kiss. a decent one. as if this kiss fulfilled one of his deepest, long forgotten desires.

and there it was, the same kind of feeling, the same type of rush in his head that he felt the other day when he found the very first flower petal. this time though, it wasn't a bad feeling. it felt good, it felt just right. almost as if he has been longing to feel like this.
few seconds passed, when kihyun pulled away again in order to catch a breath that he didn't know he was holding in. so did the boy and that was when it hit him.

the sudden rush of memories kicking in, that was when kihyun remembered.

"changkyun..?"