Chapter Text
He was running.
He was running as far as his little legs could take him because he couldn’t let his big sister catch him. He was a stealthy, sneaky superhero; he was as fast as Quicksilver, as agile as Spiderman, as strong as Captain America, he was-
“Help!”
Hoseok turns around. The beach that was once filled with people had become empty and there was not a single soul in sight, except-
“HELP!”
He locates the sound he’s hearing. It sounds further and more drowned out. He spins around to face the sea, noticing a pair of tiny hands flailing desperately against the crashing waves.
Hoseok panics. He looks for the orange floats that usually decorate the beach, but he can’t find a single any. He wants to mutter one of those swear words he hears his dad using under his breath, but he knows it’s bad so he doesn't say it.
“H-Help!”
“Hang in there! G-give me a minute okay!” he yells, before turning on his heels and running back to where he remembers coming from – past the odd trees and baby otters that litter the beach. He has to be like a superhero, it’s now or never.
He runs till he sees the man in a tank top with the words “LIFEGUARD” sprawled across his back. “Hey!” he shouts, “Hey! Mister!”
The older man turns around. “T-there’s someone d-drowning!” Hoseok pants.
Mr. Lifeguard’s eyes go wide, ridden with fear and some kind of determination. “Lead the way, little man!”
So, he runs. Again. Back to where he was before, managing on sheer adrenaline alone even though he was almost, just almost out of breath. He points at the figure who’s drifted further into the sea. He’s almost gone and Hoseok is terrified. “There!”
He watches as the lifeguard dashes forward and dives into the sea with an orange float Hoseok had not noticed him carrying before. He watches, in utmost fear and shock, trembling as the lifeguard throws the float toward the drowning figure, desperately getting the person to latch on.
Hoseok is too afraid to notice the people that have begun surrounding the beach. He’s in too much shock to notice his parents and his sister shouting his name, enveloping him in hugs as they realize he’s safe. His eyes remained fixated on the lifeguard who’s pulling a limp body back onto the shore.
He sprints forward without thinking as he sees the lifeguard press what seems to be a little boy’s chest as water escapes spills out of his mouth.
“Yoongi! Yoongi! Oh my God!”
Hoseok turns to witness a middle-aged couple scramble towards the little boy. “Yoongi, oh my God, Yoongi,” the lady cries. "I told you to watch him!" She tells the man beside her.
Tears are beginning to form in his eyes, and he doesn’t know why but he feels an overwhelming sense of sadness engulf him. As the lady falls to her knees, he hears the little boy cough and heave, and he seems to be swallowing the air in big gulps. The lifeguard looks rather relieved as he directs his parents to the back and carries the boy through the crowd to a stretcher that had arrived nearby.
He pulls onto the lifeguard’s shirt as the little boy gets transported into an ambulance. “I-Is he gonna be okay?”
The lifeguard smiles at him, “Yeah, I think so.”
“You’re a superhero,” he whispers, but loud enough for the man to hear him.
The lifeguard kneels down, taking Hoseok’s hand into big ones, “No, little man, you’re the superhero, okay?”
Hoseok is confused. He doesn’t feel like a superhero at all. In fact, he feels rather useless because he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t act on sight; all he could do was run and ask for help and now all he wants to do is cry because he hopes that little boy is okay.
“Hoseok,” he hears his dad call out, “Hoseok, are you okay?”
Hoseok whips around and hugs his dad, hot tears spilling out of his eyes. Through his glassy vision, he watches as the lifeguard speaks to the little boy’s parents, pointing a finger at him before the couple offers him a sad smile and heads for the ambulance.
“You did good, Seok,” his father comforts, “don’t cry, you did good.”
Not good enough, he thinks, closing his eyes and letting the darkness take over.