Hyukjae

                It was cold outside. It was a given that it would be cold, since it was winter, but somehow this cold was different. I was literally cold through to my bones, it was as if the small gusts of wind were blowing right through me, and I felt so cold. So, so cold.

                I rubbed my arms and blew warm air into my hands as I scoped the scenery for anything suspicious. It wasn’t likely that anything would be out here, since it was in the middle of winter and this was a sight to be soon demolished. I don’t even know why I was standing watch, there was nothing to watch.

                Then I saw it on the ground. There was a trail of blood coming straight from the truck. I figured that I ought to do something about it, since it would be bad if the snow didn’t melt and somebody were to see that, so I started to walk away from the building and trampled all over the bloody snow. My shoes started to get wet and it was chilling my feet so much that I couldn’t feel them, they had become completely numb, but I didn’t stop.

                I was ecstatic that I could feel something. I was overjoyed that it was something different this time. It wasn’t pain or sorrow or that unforgettable heart wrenching feeling, this time it was the cold. I was freezing and it made me so happy. So, so happy.

                The car was in front of me by the time I realized it. I peered in through the window, my breath creating that fogged up sensation and I ran the tip of my finger across the glass, creating a streak that quickly faded away. I blew on the window again and it reappeared. I smiled and started to write something else so that we could look at it later, if it stayed that long, that is.

                “-jae! Hyukjae!” I heard him shouting my name into the chilly air, and I whipped my head around. He was standing in the entrance of the building and he looked worried. I ran over to him, forgetting what I was doing and ending up stopping before it was completed.

                “What?” I asked, looking at him as I caught my breath.

                “Have you been out here this whole time?!” He shrieked and pulled my body close to his; he was warm, alive, I could hear his heart beating fast and irregularly.

                “Yeah, I guess so. How long has it been?” I pulled away but he only brought me closer to him. I struggled and tried to get away but it was to no use. He was making me too hot, but I didn’t exactly want him to stop embracing me, I wasn’t really upset with him anymore.

                “Two hours! The thing’s stopped the fire already.” He finally let go of me, but he held my hand as we walked inside. He kept on staring at me and then said something. “Aren’t you freezing from the cold out there?”

                I looked at him, confused, and answered. “No, I’m sweltering.”