In My Arms (Hometown Cha Cha Cha fanfiction)

Chapter 30: Breathless

Du Sik's POV

The surroundings around us zoom by at rapid speed as Eun chul slaps the accelerator. But it feels as if the police car is slowly inching its way towards the fire. Every passing moment is pure torture. A huge weight presses heavily against my chest and I can't breathe. My eyes sting with tears of worry and anxiety. The air feels hot. The walls of the car seem to press around me and I'm suffocating. My worst fears are confirmed when we drive up to the building that burns in bright yellow and orange flames. Thick blankets of smoke mask the sky.

Eun chul and I charge out of the car and are greeted by Mi Seon and some firefighters.

"Mi Seon!" Eun chul says, relieved when he lays his eyes on her. "Are you okay!" He asks her.

"Where is Hye Jin!" I ask Mi Seon frantically.

Mi Seon bursts into tears at this question.

"I don't know... she's inside." Mi Seon cries as she looks at the building before us that is engulfed in flames.

We're standing a distance from the burning building but the heat still hits me.

Hye Jin... Hye Jin is in there...

Without another word, I sprint towards the burning building.

"What are you doing!" Eun chul says in a heated voice.

"I need to go. Hye Jin is in there!" I cry out at him.

"You can't! You can't go in there." Eun chul shouts dangerously at me. He holds onto my shirt tightly, maintaining an iron grip on me.

"My wife is in there!" I almost growl with a voice that I never knew could come out from me. I struggle free from Eun chul's grip and dash towards the building.

The heat burns my skin and I cough harshly as smoke invades my body. It feels like lava is flowing down my throat and my eyes sting from the heavy veils of smoke. I crouch down low and struggle across the corridor. My vision goes blurry and my body feels like it's melting from the heat.

"Hye Jin? Hye Jin ah!" I call out desperately.

My head is spinning when I see the door labelled under 'Management'.

As I run towards the door that melts in the torturous heat, something catches my food and I slip, falling squarely on my face.

I groan in pain as I roll over to see what caught onto my foot. An unquestionable black cap lies there innocently.

Fumbling up to feet, while rubbing my sore jaw that took some of the impact of the fall, I dash towards the door.

I cry out in pain as my hand touches the door knob and it scalds my hand, burning and digging into my flesh.

"Hye Jin! Are you in there?" I cry out, looking desperately around for anything that can help me break down this barrier before me.

My head feels thick and heavy from inhaling gasp after gasp of smoke. The heat runs down my chest, like a burning hand that mercilessly squeezes my lungs, willing to suffocate me.

I reach for the cap on the floor and use the fabric as an insulator between my skin and the scalding door knob. It's bolted shut. Panic continues to consume me in the same manner that the flames consume the building.

Without another thought, I throw my body against the door, trying to force it open. If getting Hye Jin out of her means ripping the door out of its hinges, then that's exactly what I am going to do. I wince in pain as the searing pain of the heat gouges at my shoulder which contacts the door. I'm in a frenzy of motion. I ram my body doesn't the door, I try to kick it down with every strength that is left in my body. My whole being feels shaken when the lock finally admits defeat and gives way.
"HYE JIN!" I exclaim as I see her lying on the floor. Fear grips me. It grips me when I try shaking her awake and she remains still and unconscious. I feel Fear's cold hands around my neck, strangling me. A lump forms in my throat and I can't breathe. I rip the hem of my shirt off and place it over her nose and mouth, trying to block the hazardous smoke out.

I flinch in pain as I carry her up in my arms. Every part of my body aches painfully and feels like it's been set on fire.

"You're okay." I say breathlessly as I squint through the fire. It feels like I'm running through fire... literally. Flame lick parts of my arms as I dash towards the exit. With each step forward, tears of pain roll down my cheek. And yet, it still cannot compare to the fear that twists my heart as I look at the unconscious girl in my arms.