In My Arms (Hometown Cha Cha Cha fanfiction)

Chapter 4: Army Green Jackets

Hye Jin's POV

"What?" I gasp. Suddenly, it feels like the rain has pressed in around me, squeezing me into a tighter, smaller space. I feel like I'm suffocating.

"I'm on my way to the dock to check out the situation. Come with me." Hwa Jeong offers. I nod wordlessly. I can't find the strength to say anything. My legs feel like jelly as I follow her.

We're not the only ones at the dock. Several family members of the fishermen wait there. The monotonous voice from the radio painfully rubs salt into the wounds of our worries.

"Gongjin has been hit by the biggest typhoon Korea has seen since 2013."

Some of the family members have dropped to their knees and start praying furiously.

"What's going on now?" I ask Hwa Jeong.

"We've sent out rescue teams..." Hwa Jeong says and gestures to the men who emerge in bright orange-yellow vests and helmets. They bring in stretchers that hold limp bodies. Each time a pair of rescuers appear, the family members scramble towards the body on the stretcher, checking whether it's their loved one.

My legs feel numb. They lose their feeling and I sink to the ground.

"Dr Yoon! Are you okay?" Hwa Jeong is alarmed.

My body is shivering from the rain but my face is hot with tears.

"Don't worry, Dr Yoon. Chief Hong is a very experienced swimmer and sailor. I know he'll be okay." Hwa Jeong says comfortingly.

I nod weakly. My field of vision expands out drastically and I look at everything and everyone that moves. My hand flies to the necklace around my neck. The necklace that Du Sik gave me when he asked me to be his wife.

"Please be safe..." I whisper.

~

The wait is agonisingly long. Many times, I've spotted silhouettes that resemble Du Sik. I sprint over, only to find that I'm standing face to face with a stranger. It's horrifying every time the rescuers bring in more stretchers. It's not about the stretchers exactly, but about the white cloth that stretches across the entire body.

A sign of a life lost.

Family members huddle around the covered body and wail loudly. Their cries ring louder than the clashing thunder.

Anxiety pulls at my heart. I feel like I've jumped off a fifty story building. My stomach feels twisted and my palms feel cold and clammy. Air is knocked out of my chest and I find it hard to breathe. There's a persistent feeling that I'm falling. I'm diving straight towards a hard blow.

A man's arm dangles limply from one the stretchers that the rescuers are carrying.

"No..." I mutter. The sleeve around the man's arm is an unmistakable shade of army green.

I can recognise Du Sik's jackets from anywhere.