Six
A Spark of LightThe next time he woke, he was in another place, this one a clean, white hall with people bustling around as if they all had places to be. They still seemed friendly, despite their urgency, many giving him smiles or words of greeting as they passed. He nodded in return and moved to take a step forward, and realized that once again his bag was heavier.
That was it, he decided. He turned to open the bag, but even as he did so, a man caught his eye. About Hoya's own height, he had a heart shaped face and small lips that were curved into a smile that he directed at Hoya. "Do you need help?" he asked, his voice a pleasant rich tone, the tone indicating concern.
The question alone startled Hoya because not once had he been asked if he needed help, unless it was from someone seeking to serve themselves to a reward afterward. He paused, unsure, and the man seemed to take that as an invitation. "I'm Woohyun," he said with a friendly tone, stepping up to offer his hand. "May I see your wound?"
Wound? He didn't have a wound. But just as he thought that, his hand began to throb, and he looked down in surprise to find that the skin on his left hand was torn and painful. The fall down the sand dune, he realized, but how then did he arrive here? The man seemed to take his surprise as an answer, though, and gently took Hoya's hand in his own.
"That looks very painful," he sympathized, and Hoya had to agree as the man poked and prodded at the sand burn on his palm. He took something from a pocket, a small jar, and rubbed a bit of ointment into Hoya's palm: that only served to make it burn more and bring a sharp cry from Hoya's throat. Just as he decided he had had enough, he realized that the pain in his hand was beginning to fade away. The man released it and took a step back, and Hoya watched in fascination as the torn skin and spots of blood faded away, slowly smoothing out into unblemished skin once again.
"But-" he began, his voice almost a whisper, and the man merely smiled.
"All better, yes? Be careful in the future, stranger." And he moved away with the smile still on his face and a bounce in his step, leaving Hoya bewildered as the world faded away.
The next time he woke was in an unfamiliar room, large and brightly lit with candles and lanterns that gave a congenial glow to the place. As he sat up, the noise around him started, as if it had been waiting for him to wake to begin. Something in his mind began to question that thought, but before he could truly focus on it, his arm was caught by a hand.
Looking up into the oval face of a tall young man, he found himself greeted with an exhuberant smile. "W
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