favorite crime #beomjun

07_trainwreck

tw:
panic attack,
implied family abuse

a sudden jolt of the train stirred beomgyu awake. his head bumped against the wagon, ears ringing in the process. he clenched onto the aching spot with a whine.

gaining back his consciousness, he took in the unfamiliar setting. it was too dark to make anything out. all he could feel is the ground moving beneath him, and the dull noise of train machinery propelling at full speed.

and he was cold. so cold.

frankly, beomgyu forgot where he was. an unfamiliar panic creeped in, nesting itself in his gut. it made his hands tremble as if the cause was a large magnitude earthquake. shaking against his will, he could feel his own lungs start to close up on him.

breathing became a difficulty. he couldn't comprehend a thought, and talking himself out of a sudden spiral of anxiety wasn't exactly his forte. with his mind blurry, he was lost in the fog.

beomgyu tried to stand up, but to no avail. he slumped back to the floor with a thud, groaning in pain as his knees went weak. any attempts of slowing down his heartbeat were futile. it felt like he'd just been sent off on a roller-coaster.

he gasped for air, fumbling all over the dust-filled floor. he avoided shutting his eyes, because all that he could see behind them was the man. his gun. his ugly face gushing out blood as yeonjun morphed his features beyond recognition. he was reliving it all over again.

the fear broke out from the man's tear ducts, rolling down one after another. he decided that that was it. that's how he dies. the headlines were already writing themselves out in thin air, "choi beomgyu, youngest son of choi enterprises, found dead in the back of a cargo train after running off with a burglar. cause of death: a fucking panic attack."

beomgyu didn't know how much time had passed. the suffocation stretched, and he was close to passing out. suddenly, a gentle touch on his shoulder brought him out of his misery. it held onto him firmly, grounding him back into the real world. a familiar voice called out to him, but he could barely hear.

"beomgyu, it's okay, breathe in for me, it's okay," yeonjun chanted, rubbing reassuring circles on his back. beomgyu's head fell into the crook of his neck, shaky hands going around his waist to grab weakly onto the man.

through his teary eyes, he noticed that the wagon had been softly lit by the lantern beside them. he didn't know where it came from, but he was grateful for the light it provided. it was strange. beomgyu did not remember being scared of the dark.

"beomgyu," yeonjun repeated more steadily, "stay with me. can you hear me?"

beomgyu nodded in his place in yeonjun's shoulder. the nod was almost unnoticeable; if yeonjun hadn't held him so tightly, he would've missed it.

"what does the wagon smell like?" the older whispered into his ear.

beomgyu frowned, trying to register his words whilst still in a daze. he was literally just a few seconds from dying, and this man was asking him 'what the wagon smells like'? either way, he didn't question it.

"i... i can't smell anything."

"try again," yeonjun encouraged.

a few silent seconds passed before beomgyu could finally inhale again, "uh...rust."

"mhm."

another inhale. "some moisty shit..."

yeonjun smiled into his hair. "see, you're doing great. keep breathing."

the last two words dawned on beomgyu as he finally understood what the other man was doing. there was nothing to smell; yeonjun was trying to distract him. it was a method that allowed beomgyu to concentrate on his breathing.