Part 20 ⧫ Assuage

as·suage

/əˈswāj/

verb

Make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense.

________

I was sure that I had never run faster in my life.

Baekhyun’s momentum probably was pulling me forward too, along with the fear and desperation that was coursing through me, the adrenaline, but whatever it was, I had never sprinted faster in my life than what I was doing now.

I could hear shouting behind us, but neither of us could afford to turn back now. Minjoon had stopped screaming from the pain -- I applauded Baekhyun’s quick thinking, though he had possibly sealed our fate by throwing whatever he had at Minjoon. Or we were doomed either way, and he had just delayed the the inevitable. Each step I made, my backpack banged against my back painfully, and the sound of my sneakers slapping against the pavement was making my ears ring in a not so comfortable way. The only thing I could properly concentrate on was the wind whipping my face and Baekhyun’s hand, warm, that was still wrapped tightly around mine -- but other than that, everything was simply blurry to me, especially everything that had just happened about thirty seconds ago.

My legs were beginning to get sore from trying to keep up with Baekhyun; despite his height, he still ran at a decent speed -- at least, way faster than me -- though I had my doubts about outrunning Minjoon and his gang of friends. I was pretty sure Minjoon was involved into some kind of sports; I was stereotyping, but if he was that popular, he probably was at least fit. And the problem with that was that I wasn’t very much, and I wasn’t sure how long I could keep up sprinting for before I collapsed on the ground and… stayed there. Maybe Minjoon didn’t have to kill us after all. I would die of exhaustion myself.

Thankfully, Baekhyun seemed to know this area rather well, because as we ran, I found us weaving through alleys and smaller streets. He pulled me on, seemingly confident of where we were going, though I had no idea. Vaguely, I remember turning into an even narrower street right before we reached the cafe, but everything was just a blur of confusion by then; I couldn’t concentrate properly at all.

Footsteps were still pursuing us, indicating that Minjoon’s friends hadn’t given up yet. And freakishly, they sounded rather close. I didn’t want to imagine what they were going to do if the caught up -- the thought was so horrible that I couldn’t bear dwell on it. I forced my legs to go faster, trying to match Baekhyun’s speed with the fear that was still coursing through me, giving me just enough strength to keep going -- though my energy was diminishing and my lungs ached for air.

Somewhere along that time, I had begun crying -- I didn’t know when or how, but my cheeks suddenly seemed wet, and everything in front of me was getting blurrier and blurrier.My vision had become so obscured by tears that I couldn’t even see where I was going anymore; if it weren’t for Baekhyun’s steady grip, I would’ve long tripped and fallen somewhere. It felt horrible, it felt helpless, embarrassing -- I hated crying, but I was on the verge of panicking and something in my throat had constricted, making breathing almost impossible.

Fortunately for Baekhyun and I, it started to rain.

Normally, I hated rain. It always managed to soak through my clothing and the umbrella I had was never of much use; I still ended up wet despite if I had proper rain gear or not. But this time, when the cold droplets finally landed on me and the fact clicked in my head, I realized that it was a good thing. If it was raining, my mind thought woozily, then maybe Choi Minjoon and his group of friends would turn back, or maybe, we’d lose them.

Even with the newfound hope that we’d be able to stop running and get somewhere safe, I still had begun to full on sob out of fear. I couldn’t even stop myself anymore, this all was simply too much for my brain to handle and the fright was finally beginning to get to me. By now, I could feel the rain pelting down on us, hard, and I was pretty sure I was completely, utterly soaked, from hair to clothing. In the distance, something bright seared against my eyelids, and a couple seconds later, the clap of thunder sounded, making me involuntarily sprint faster in surprise and terror.

My mind barely grasped the fact that we had stopped running -- the only thing I could do was cry helplessly. I couldn’t see Baekhyun anymore; it probably had to do with the fact my eyes were squeezed shut, as tight as I could manage, but his grip was still tight on my hands, except now, he had my left and right hand in his grasp. His hands -- not that I hadn’t noticed before -- were much larger than mine, but still smooth and delicate. I felt myself shivering; the rain might’ve been a good thing, but that didn’t mean it didn’t make me wish it would stop. I wanted to be at home, somewhere safe. I wanted to stop crying. I wanted to stop feeling so weak. But I couldn’t, and there was nothing I could do to stop myself.

“Iseul,” Baekhyun was saying. His voice was a gravelly whisper, slightly out of breath. I could feel puffs of warm air on my forehead. “Iseul, open your eyes! Are you okay?”

It took all my energy to shake my head, and I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes.

“Listen to me, okay?” his voice was trembling, just like his hands. That were still wrapped around mine. His touch itself was enough to make me feel more secure, but still, I couldn’t help the tears that were still forcing their way out of my squeezed-shut eyes.

“O-okay.” The words caught in my throat.

“Firstly, I want you to open your eyes,” Baekhyun whispered. His voice sounded hoarse still.

“I can’t.”

“Iseul, please. Think about small things around you. Concentrate on your surroundings. Concentrate on your breathing.”  

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I cracked open my left eye, then my right. I wasn’t quite sure if the water streaming down my face was tears or rain anymore. My hair was clinging to my cheeks. My backpack had become heavier, probably from the water, and my sneakers felt uncomfortable.

“Okay, good,” Baekhyun said, but his voice was faltering. “We’re hiding in a doorway. I’m not sure whose it is, but the house looked abandoned. I’m pretty sure we lost Minjoon somewhere in the rain, but I can’t really hear above the thunder and the rain.” I tried to concentrate on his breath, which was the only warm thing that was around me, steadily blowing against my neck each would he uttered. The warmth in his hands had disappeared. “My apartment isn’t too far from here, so maybe we can get there in time later. You might have to spend the night there… but it’s better than getting caught by Minjoon. I don’t know what he would do to-” his voice broke, and none of us needed him to finish the sentence to know what he was talking about.

“Okay,” I said quietly, because it was the only coherent thing I could manage out at the moment. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he agreed gently, and in the back of my mind, I thought sleepily, he's never spoken like this to me before. Then again, we had never been in a life and death situation before, so I didn't know what it meant either way.

In the dark, I squinted at his face, wanting to do anything that would take my mind of Minjoon -- Baekhyun’s bangs were plastered over his forehead messily, and I wasn’t sure if it was my eyes playing tricks on me or whatnot, but his face was as pale as a sheet. His lips, already considerably thin, were pressed into a line. I figured I looked just about the same as him, though.

The stillness, the sound of water hitting steadily against the pavement, however, was soon shattered. Footsteps became audible, scarily loud, and a slightly wavery voice hollered, “Where is he? Find me that punk right now, and that girl that’s with him. I’ll kill him! I’ll murder him right here and now. Them both!”

Baekhyun seemed to stiffen, grip on my hands tightening. I drew in a sharp breath, recognizing Minjoon’s low voice. By now, I was starting to be able to notice our surroundings more; from the curve of the doorway we were standing in, to the rain that was pelting relentlessly outside. Both of us stood in the shadows, shielded from the downpour, but it was still c