Youngmin breathed heavily. He’s still sweating so much from too many running. But, no matter how fast he runs, that boy always in front of him.

“It hurts!!” The boy cried. Youngmin stood, frozen behind him. “It hurts!” the boy repeatedly say, as if chant some spell.

Suddenly, the boy turned, just to see Youngmin. Youngmin could see his face, looking at him on the boy’s head. But it isn’t his face. His face never had bruises like that. His face had never been that pale.

“Youngmin-a, It hurts!!” The boy yell, his whole body shaking. Youngmin could see blood-stains on the  boy’s cloth.

“Yougmin-a, why did not you protect me like your promises?” The boy looks up at Youngmin, his big eyes look sad and.. furious.

Youngmin gulp his saliva. “I-I..”

“HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!” The boy started to scream. As he screams, Youngmin felt as if his whole body is being stabbed all over and over again.

He couldn’t scream. He couldn’t run. All he can do is just choked in tears.

                ***

“Youngmin hyeong, wake up! Wake up!” Youngmin could feel his body was shaken by someone. He woke up in the hands of his brother, Minwoo.

“Hyeong, are you okay? You had a nightmare? Want me to call eomma?” Minwoo asks, eyeing the older boy worriedly.

Youngmin wipe the sweat from his forehead. His dream felt.. so real. He hug Minwoo, hiding the tears that still running on his cheeks.

“Hyeong, you sure you’re okay?” Minwoo asks, brushing the older boy’s hair. “Omo! Hyeong, you’re bleeding! You must’ve hurt yourself. Cut your nails, so you wouldn’t hurt yourself when you scratch again.” Minwoo stared at Youngmin’s wet cheek. There’s blood stain there.

                ***

“Youngmin, hurry up and go downstairs!”  His mother yells. Minwoo had already goes down. He start wearing his uniform, then hesitated. Somehow, the logo on his uniform looks familiar. Of course, it’s his uniform. He wears it every day. But something felt so familiar about it.

He moves in front of the mirror to examine his uniform more closely. As he doing that, his gaze fly to his face. His eyes, his nose. The face on the mirror start to become more blurry, and suddenly it’s the bruise and bloody face that he saw in his dream. He shivered, then shook his head.

How come the person that chased him in his dream has the same face as him? And why he looked so angry?

CRACK. As he watches, the mirror starts cracking. He looked at his splits face. His crooked nose, his half-eye. He shivered again. “The mirror must be older than I thought,” He mutters to himself as he hurriedly go downstairs.

                ***

YOUNGMIN stared panickly at the wall of fire that surrounded him. Thick layers of smoke blind-fold him. “HELP!” He scream, then cough, choked in smoke. “HELP, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY! HELP!”

Smoke start to going into his lungs when a pair of hand grab his hand. “Follow me! Follow me, hyeong, if you want to live!”

Youngmin, choked in smoke, follow the anonymous person. “Jump, hyeong, jump. I’ll come after you.”

For the first time, Youngmin looked at his anonymous angel. It wasn’t Minwoo. It wasn’t his mother. It was him. No, when he see the boy assuring smile it is somewhat different from him, but it is him.

“Who.. Who are you?” 

 “I’m your little brother.” The boy smiled, pushing Youngmin out from the window.

Then everything went black for Youngmin.