chapter -4
1742 Words
"NO!" He screams and without thinking climbs over the railing and falls in after Ethen. His heart bursts his chest with the wind brushing his hair back as he sees Ethen looking up at him, eyes beaming in tears with parted lips. That's all Jungwoo sees before the water swallows him up.
No, no, no, no.
Jungwoo embraces himself as he meets the water. It's freezing cold. It feels like shreds of glass are constantly poking his skin, making his entire body go on a state of panic and shivers. He's surprised his body didn't go on a state of paralysis due to how much in shock he was. Jungwoo was panicing and cold and not feeling Ethen anywhere around him only made it worse.
Instantly he swims to the surface and gasps for air, instantly looking around to look for Ethen. The need to burst out crying became to overwhelming for Jungwoo as he desperately searched for any sign of Ethen anywhere.
They landed at the exact same place, where is he?!
By now Jungwoo could barely breathe, his throat clogging up with a familiar sensation of a panic attack coming in.
No, now is not the time for an episode.
But he can't control it.
No, now is not the time for an episode.
But he can't control it.
Jungwoo is desperate to find Ethen.
In the midst of letting his tears fall, Jungwoo sees small bubbles beside him.
Is it...
Jungwoo dives down immediately and swims deep, not being able to see from the darkness, only letting a lamp post guide him from the park next to the river. Suddenly his hands grasped something. Jungwoo feels around to feel a body and his blurred vison could make out Ethen's face, and he mentally cheer in relief. The taller grabs the body and drags it up to the surface. The air fills him once again as he gasps and looks down at Ethen, unconscious in his arms.
Jungwoo swims to the green grass edge of the park, pulling both himself and Ethen's body. His hands started to shake in anxiety as he sees Ethen's chest not even moving.
Come on Jungwoo, get your head together! Do it like how Robert taught you!
After gathering his breath to calm himself down, he began to perform CPR. First with chest compressions but Ethen wasn't responding.
"Come on! please wake up!" Jungwoo heaves within each compression, looking around to see the park completely empty. Even after crying out for help, no one came.
He's alone.
And he left his phone in his car in which was pretty far for Ethen's life being a ticking clock.
Jungwoo licks his lips and thought about doing mouth to mouth. Nervously he tilts Ethen's head back, along with his neck up. Jungwoo pauses for a second, taking in Ethen's features with a blurry vision before plugging Ethen's button nose and lowering his jaw before Jungwoo leans and presses his lips down on his, breathing air into him.
He pulls back to see no response.
"No no no please wake up angel, please!" Jungwoo cries out, doing chest compressions once again and mouth to mouth.
After the fourth time, Ethen's eyes snapped open and chokes.
Jungwoo instantly turns him to his side as he chokes out the water. Jungwoo cries out in relief as he sees Ethen numbly look around his surroundings. Jungwoo couldn't contain his relief and hugs Ethen tightly, slightly crying as he runs his fingers through his wet hair.
"I-I'm alive?"
Jungwoo nods, pulling back to study Ethen's face carefully between his hands, his body shivering from the cold, "Y-Yes."
"Why?"
Jungwoo frowns and rises to his feet, "Like I said, you deserve to live," He whisper and reaches down and carries Ethen bridal style, finding him extremely light.
Ethen tenses up and looks at Jungwoo with wide eyes, "W-What are you-"
"Just relax," Jungwoo sighs as he walks in the direction of the bridge, "You're in no condition to walk after what happened, especially since you're all beaten up."
Jungwoo is grateful Ethen didn't say anything else after that, only plays with his fingers on his chest, reminding Jungwoo of a tiny boy. He doesn't know what went through his mind when he jumped in after Ethen. All Jungwoo knew is that he needed Ethen to be alive, to be breathing. For a moment he saw Ethen as himself, doing what he never had the courage to do. So when Ethen finally gasped his first breath, Jungwoo never thought he would ever feel as relieved in his life as he did at that moment.
Jungwoo finally arrived to the bridge after minutes of walking with soaked clothes. Thankfully no one stole his car. He opens the door and adjusted Ethen at the passenger side before closing the door and opening the trunk, grabbing an extra pair of his hoodie he leaves in the car and goes to the driver side and climbs inside. Jungwoo turns the heater on when he noticed how feverishly Ethen is shaking and extends out the hoodie.
Ethen furrows his eyebrows in confusion but Jungwoo only sets the hoodie on his lap, "Wear it, it'll keep you warm. I would recommend to take off the lays of top you have on since it's wet, it'll only make you more cold" The raven haired boy tells him as he starts driving away. Jungwoo could feel heavy eyes on him and glances at Ethen to see him staring at him with a pointed look.
"What?"
"You want me to strip my top off, right in front of you?" Ethen says slowly, his voice sending a wave of tranquility to Jungwoo's body.
A soft voice to sleep to.
"I'm driving so I'm not looking," Jungwoo huffs in return as he takes turns to go to his house. He would bring Ethen to his own home but seems like that wouldn't be helpful since he wouldn't exactly do this if home wasn't in the equation.
Long moments pass and Ethen didn't move a muscle but eventually he began to peel off his drenched yellow sweater vest, revealing his button up white shirt. Jungwoo tried hard not to look at the boy as he buttons down his shirt and peels it off his body. Not fighting it back any longer, he took the chance to take a quickly glance, right when Ethen was pulling the hoodie over his head, noticing bruises all over his tiny waist. Ethen is very thin, but not to the point you can see his rib cage. What suprised Jungwoo the most was to see a pair of abs on him. Not strong or defined but it's definitely there.
Whoever did those bruises on him deserve so much pain.
Why Ethen? Just..... Why?
Jungwoo turns back to the road when Ethen's head appears and inserts his hands through the sleeves, his eyes looking out the window as silence takes over the car. Jungwoo wanted to ask so many questions, so many. As to why he decided to break now? Or why doesn't he just went home of if he's having problems home? Any friends?
Just anything.
"Where are we going?" Ethen quietly asks, looking outside to Jungwoo's neighborhood.
Jungwoo licks his lips, "My house."
To this he could see Ethen tense up and snap head towards him, "What? N-No, you can take me home-"
"For what huh? So you can do something stupid like this again? No. I don't trust you being alone," Jungwoo snaps in frustration, not wanting to wake up the next morning and hear that Ethen wasn't breathing in this world anymore.
The idea drove him insane with angst.
"I don't care if you don't trust me!" Ethen snaps back, "This is practically k********g! Take me home, now!"
"No."
Ethen groans loudly, hands gripping his hair, "Just leave me alone! Is that too much to ask!?"
Jungwoo notices the hopeless way his voice trails and turns to look at Ethen, seeing him stubbornly looking out the window with pouted lips. For a moment Jungwoo admired the boy's side profile, seeing not one flaw on his face.
They arrived to Jungwoo's home and Ethen was completely amazed by how big it was and so..... fancy looking. Jungwoo only grimace while looking up and piles out the car, Ethen copying his actions but evidently winces to the pain on his leg. Jungwoo noticed and wraps an arm around Ethen while pulling Ethen's arm over his shoulder, providing aid as he leads him inside the house, ignroing the voices coming from the dining room as he hurriedly takes Ethen up the stairs cases and to his room.
Usually his mind falls blank when he enters his room, letting the loneliness make it's way to his emotions, but with Ethen here it feels different.
He feels like he has someone to take care .
"You can go shower in the bathroom, I'll have clothes you can wear once you coming out," Jungwoo tells him softly and let's him go, removing his shirt in the process and turns to the tiny boy, seeing the other not even spare a glance to his toned body, only crosses his arms over his chest.
That's..... Different
"Why are you doing this?" Ethen asks, his voice stern.
Jungwoo chews his bottom lip and looks down to his shirt, playing with the hem to figure out his words properly, "Is it a crime to care?"
"When you're an Alpha, yeah..... Pretty much."
Jungwoo rolls his eyes to that same freaking title, haunting him everywhere he goes. What's different about this is that Ethen isn't looking at him with these praising eyes that everyone does, no, he's looking at him..... Disgust.
Does that title mean that less to him?
If so, Jungwoo isn't complaining.
"Then I'm sorry I didn't fit your expectations," Jungwoo bitterly states and steps closer to Ethen, "Shower, now."
Ethen only stares longer at Jungwoo with a nervous gleam in his eyes before rolling his eyes and limps to the bathroom, closing the door silently behind him.
For once since Jungwoo's been in Ethen's presence, he lets out the gasp he didn't know he was holding inside, cupping his face with his hands as the pain hits his chest.
Freaking Alpha.
Stupid title making Ethen believe Jungwoo's someone he's not. If only he knew Jungwoo was just in enough pain as he was.
- Writer
