Chapter 89 - That Year When part of Me Died 3

After leaving Dae Won at the bus stop where he would take the last bus to the capital, Jun Hyeon started the pickup, already noticing the engine choking for lack of fuel. But the distance back home wasn't that great, and he was sure the gas would be enough to return to.

"It's a shame Ji Hyeon isn't into him," said Na Ra.

"I don't understand her reasons either. Apparently confessing is a very difficult thing. Is there a surefire formula? " he asked, looking at her with a smirk.

She smiled awkwardly, looking away from him, and brushing a strand of hair from her face to behind her ear, "I don't know."

Jun Hyeon barely contained the feeling of euphoria. Na Ra was so beautiful and so perfect! Smart and charming, but she was expecting him to take the initiative!

He pulled the car to the side of the road, on a spot where they could have a view of the cold starry sky from.

"In this case I need to tell you something, so..." he turned to Na Ra, and held his hands out to her. Looking confused, she handed her hands to him. Jun Hyeon felt for the first time Na Ra's delicate, cold hands, and clasped them in his warm hands, caressing her skin with his thumbs. He observed the contrast of their hands together.

"What?" she asked graciously, just seeming to wait for something to happen. He raised his glance to her, and they locked eyes for a moment.

Jun leaned toward her, and kissed Na Ra.

...

Right now, Kim Ji Hyeon lit the gas fireplace to heat the house while waiting the return of his brother and best friend. The fireplace did not light, strangely. On the second attempt, she saw the small flame ignite and immediately burn itself out.

"Uhn? What is that ?!" she only noticed the air shift too late, the sepulchral silence around her, the vacuum that formed when the air was sucked into the fireplace.

In milliseconds Ji Hyeon knew there was something wrong, and she had to get away as soon as possible from the front of the fireplace. Though her thinking was fast, her body wasn't. It all happened in slow motion. Her heels and torso spinning, her head receding as the orange stain grew from the bottom of the hearth toward her. Ji Hyeon couldn't deflect the fireball being mercilessly spewed into her face.

The roar reverberated in the house and in her ears, and she was thrown two meters away, hitting the side of her head on the table and falling to the carpet. Glass broke in the nearby surroundings. The jet of fire licked the objects around the hearth, up the varnished wooden ceiling, starting a fire.

Ji Hyeon could feel her face moist and hot, but could see nothing from the paralyzing pain. She rolled to the side, thinking of reaching for the door and calling for help, but it was a short, futile thought as she realized she was losing consciousness.

"Jun!"

…

Jun Hyeon felt for the first time the sweet lips of Na Ra, his chest filled with a intoxicating and joyful feeling. His hands left her hands to touch Na Ra's shoulders and bring her closer to his arms when he had a strange feeling. Jun looked around, and saw no one in the darkness of the empty dirt road.

"What's up…?" Na Ra asked with narrowed eyes, and he knew quickly that if he said he thought they might be being watched, it would create a silly paranoia in Na Ra, and she might want to go home soon.

"Nothing," he whispered, "just wondered if you were cold."

"A little," she nodded, and went into Jun Hyeon's arms as he opened them. His mouth sought hers as soon as he squeezed her in his arms, and after a second kiss, he said,

"Na Ra, I like you."

She just looked at him with her huge eyes, seeming to enjoy hearing that, but kept silent. In a way Jun Hyeon knew now that it was just because girls had to be one way and men the other. Now he knew his feelings were corresponded by the way Na Ra seemed to melt at his touch. And he had a lot of things to worry about happening there right now… When they hugged each other and he inhaled the fruity scent of shampoo on Na Ra's hair, it seemed to have a bit of a burning smell too… But he didn't care much.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, curious and amused as he saw Na Ra's dreamy expression as he pushed her a little from his body. And he only did that because he had very physical reasons to keep her a little away from him right now. OR it would be difficult later on.

"It's just…" she confessed  in a small voice, "sounds like a dream!" Jun Hyeon wanted to laugh, not at her, but at himself and the situation. They both wanted, didn't they? He threw his head back, entranced by the discovery. Then he looked at her with a mischievously happy look,

"What do you mean? That you like me too?"

" Ah! Stop it! You know!" Na Ra kind of slapped his chest softly, laughing at the fact that Jun Hyeon tried to make her confess the obvious. Jun Hyeon held her hand there, on his chest, so that she could feel his pounding heartbeat. The two now faced each other again, serious and intent in each other's eyes just before a new kiss.

"Are you going to date me, Na Ra? Will you accept me?"

She smiled, but suddenly the smile disappeared from her face, and a comma of doubt appeared on her forehead. Jun Hyeon felt his heart skip a beat. Has he been hasty? Would she humiliate him as Ji Hyeon humiliated Dae Won a few hours ago?

"Jun Hyeon…"

He held his breath, unsure of what to expect, then realized she was looking over his shoulder. As he turned, a bad feeling hit him. His breath was filled with the burning smell of smoke. Before he completed turning to the car window behind him, Na Ra asked,

"What's burning back there near your house?"

…

JI! JI! JI HYEON !!! he shouted, calling for his sister and wishing that it was just the house. That she was safe outside, feeling guilty or whatever. That she was safe, that she was safe. That he just got the scolding of his life for letting the cottage burn down. That Ji Hyeon was safe, please please, Ji Hyeon is safe.

Jun Hyeon didn't even turn off the car as he opened the door and get off in despair, thinking of his sister. He did not know that the fire made such a loud crackling noise, so deafening. The heat was uncomfortable, even meters away. Columns of smoke poured from the windows and doors of the one-story house, it was hard to see, but none of that mattered. The thought of getting in there was intimidating, but he had to do it.

"JIIIII! JI HYEON! "Na Ra was screaming, too, trying to see her friend on the cottage grounds. In the distance, headlights of cars trying to reach the place, probably neighbors from the vicinity.

"Na Ra, ask for help, I'll come in!"

No !!!! Ji Hyeon, will you…"Na Ra fell silent, as it was clear that Ji Hyeon was inside. Her twin had to come in.

He took off his woolen shirt, bandaged his face with it, and walked resolutely toward the furnace that was the house, trying not to think he might die there either. Ji Hyeon was there; he should never have left there in the first place; Ji Hyeon couldn't die beucause of his iresponsibility. Every second of hesitation was one second less for her.

Then he noticed movement near one of the windows. The pillar of smoke moved, Na Ra shouted, scared!

Something collapsed from the window, a body.

Jun Hyeon ran over there, just understanding this much,

"JI!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! COfff AHHH! AHH! COfff "her screams mingled with her hoarse cough.

He could barely see, but he knew the miracle had happened. Before he reached her, another body rolled from the window to the floor, falling beside her, to his surprise.

It was Dae Won.