Chapter 38 - Fire

I had seen houses burn before. I had made them burn before. But at that very moment, fire was the most fascinating and horrifying thing in the world. There weren't many flames yet but you could see thick waves of black smoke emitting without having to guess twice what it was.

“What would you do if you found a building that's burning? Sanggyun!”

“Try to p-put the fire out?”

“Wrong. Hyungwon!”

“Putting out fires isn't part of our training, sir. Rescuing those who need to be rescued before leaving the environment of acute danger is the first and only thing to do, sir. Regular soldiers will be left, there is no need to rescue those.”

I, Chae Hyungwon, do solemnly swear-

“What if there are important things in the house like special documents? Sangwon!”

“U-uhm, you go back a-and-”

“Wrong. Hyungwon!”

“Leave them behind. There is nothing important that isn't available digitally in our intranet.”

-to keep the Clan a secret-

“A teammate runs back to look for a missing comrade. Hyungwon!”

“Stay away. Comrades are important but it's the most important to survive and report back. The mission is all that matters. Sacrifices have to be made without hesitation.”

-and to protect Monsta X from whatever comes next.

“If you don't go by these rules and we find you later-”

“We'll be punished, sir!”

From whatever comes next.

“That's the spirit.”

The flames kept dancing, their hectic movements grabbing my attention and I shook my head to get rid of the memory. “.”

I ran towards the door and kicked it open without much effort to find that the fire was coming from the basement. The flowers. I ran towards the stairs, ignoring the heat only to stop with a shake of my head. There was too much smoke, I would never have survived if I went down there. I covered my nose and mouth with my sleeve to keep the gases out of my respiratory system.

“Where's the old man?”, I mumbled against my arm, blinking due to itchy eyes from the smoke. He had to be there, the shop didn't close until six in the evening, so where was he? “Old man?”, I shouted before erupting into a fit of coughs. With the ground being made of wood, the smoke from the basement passed through the little slits between the planks and filled the room in no time. Seeing anything further away than half a meter got increasingly more difficult.

There was another staircase in the backroom, leading upstairs and I went against my instincts, quickly taking two steps at a time. Never flee from a fire by moving upward. The smoke will reach you. I shook my head again, finding myself in some sort of living room mixed with a bedroom. One of the bars creaked and I flinched from the noise. I had to get out of there as soon as possible.

My eyes fell on a lifeless bundle on the ground and I took another deep breath before removing my sleeve from my nose and crouching down. It was Shownu's uncle, lying there with blood trailing down his forehead due to a small laceration. He's unconscious. For now, I thought, quickly throwing one of his arms over my shoulders to heave him onto my back. He was a lot heavier than me but I had been through worse, this was nothing.

I coughed when I accidentally inhaled more of the black smoke, my body shaking as I slowly made my way down the stairs. It was so hot down there, the flames seemingly melting the skin off of my bones but it was still easier to get out than expected – the ground hadn't become too weak to support our weight so I could carry the older man out of his shop, put him down on the street and turn to watch the house burn for a moment.

The wood kept creaking and even though I had only been to the shop twice it felt like it was my house I saw. The flowers were gone, at least half of what had been there. I sent a silent thanks to whatever deity might hear me for giving us the time to save at least some of the plants. We would be lost without the drugs, physically as well as mentally.

The longer I stared at the house the angrier I got. Another cough shook my body before I straightened my back. The cold air filling my lungs took away the toxic substances bit by bit and I felt a new wave of energy flood my system. How dare they eliminate the base like that, I thought bitterly, scrunching up my nose when recalling Yi-en's cold explanation. How dare they hurt the Clan? They should have asked me. Or heard Yixing out. “I'm gonna punch some sense into him the next time”, I growled with clenched fists, unable to watch the tragedy in front of me any longer and I looked at the old man behind me.

He was breathing but it didn't look good for him, so I quickly wrapped his arms around my neck again, starting a quick walk back to our house. Shownu's uncle kept wheezing for a while before he quieted down and I shook his body with a little more force than necessary, trying to get him to his senses but it was in vain. He remained unconscious even when I slammed the door to Monsta X' house open.

“Who is it?”, I heard Minhyuk ask from the kitchen as I dashed into the living room to put the man down.

“Me”, I panted in reply, quickly taking off my jacket while grabbing a towel from the kitchen, not caring about the completely baffled Minhyuk standing at the sink. “Where's the next hospital?”

“H-hospital? What- Hyungwon, why, you-”

I paced back to the couch, my fingers curling around a nearby water bottle on the way and I started cleaning the area around the man's wound before wrapping the towel around his head in an attempt of stopping the bleeding. He wouldn't die from blood loss, if there was a cause it would be the gases he inhaled until I found him. He needed a hospital that would get them out of his system and he needed it fast.

It wasn't until then that Minhyuk glanced into the living room and grasped the situation, letting out a gasp when he recognized the man. “Hyungwon, what happened?!”

“The house was burning”, I stated as a matter of fact, measuring the unconscious man's pulse. Weak. But there. “Minhyuk, where is the next hospital, goddammit?”

“U-uh, I think it's, uhm-”

I could hear steps above me and Kihyun came down the stairs with Changkyun casually tagging after him. They looked as though they wanted to ask why I had raised my voice when they saw Shownu's uncle and their eyes widened. Kihyun almost fell over limping to the sofa while scanning the old man's body up and down. “Hospital. Now.”

I nodded, trying to keep my cool. “That's what I'm saying. Where?”

He swallowed. “About half an hour from here. I know a shortcut. Changkyun, you take him, I'll lead the way.”

I expected the youngest to not get the situation and protest but much to my surprise he just nodded and did as he was told, hauling the man onto his back without much of an effort. Kihyun his lips. “What do we need to know?”

I was stunned by their quick actions, blinking twice before answering. “Toxic gases. The house was burning, he probably needs an infusion. Get him to the hospital and get him there as fast as possible. Will explain the rest later.”

Kihyun nodded, signalizing Changkyun to follow him and they were past the door in a matter of seconds, leaving me behind in a silent room. He will make it somehow, they'll get him there. I believe in them, I assured myself with a deep breath. I was in no position to do anything now, all I could do was wait anyway. But why was it so quiet, wasn't-

I turned to find Minhyuk still staring at the sofa where Shownu's unconscious uncle had been lying just a minute ago, frozen to his spot. “Hey.” I took a deep breath, feeling how the adrenaline subsided and left me drained of all energy.

I waved my hand in front of his face when he didn't react and he blinked. “Huh?”

“Are you okay?” His dark eyes were pinned on my face now, lips pressed together for a moment.

“Must be the shock.” I nodded but frowned at him when he kept staring without the signature smile returning to his face. “You are covered in soot.” I glanced down at my hands, seeing that he was right; there were several dark stains on them, probably from supporting my body while taking the stairs in the burning house. Minhyuk grabbed my wrist, dragging me out of the room and up the stairs. “Let's wash it off.” That's all he's saying?

I didn't resist, didn't let the urge to rip my wrist away take over. Something felt weird about his reaction. His fingers were as cold as ice and the pale skin formed a surreal contrast with my soot-covered hand I couldn't tear my gaze away from until he sat me down in the bathroom. I came to my senses to shake my head. “Minhyuk-”

“There, wash your hands.”

I eyed him suspiciously at his distant tone of voice. His gaze met mine, causing me to inhale sharply.