Work Text:
Hoyun's body jolts immediately, and it honestly hurts like hell. His skin is on fire, like it's melting off, and he can hear screaming in his ears. His eyes are blind to flashing lights and he sways in his seat, only able to look up at the map displayed on the gps.
The first thought is that this isn't the usual route home, it'd take atleast half an hour to get back to Hojin, which means he has to text his brother that he'll be back late. He has to make sure that stupid little brother of his isn't waiting for him to get home, to make sure he's eaten by the time Hoyun can get back to their house.
But he can't find his phone, or he can't move his body to find his phone. Either way, Hojin won't know that he'll be late, and knowing that kid, he's going to worry his head off for a while. Hoyun forced his eyes open again, seeing red filling his vision and tasting a metallic tang in his mouth that makes him spit to the side, the warmth around him only becomes more intense and the ringing in his ears louder, overpowering the shouts and screams outside. His head is pounding too, like someone is hitting him repeatedly with a hammer, and it doesn't subside even when his jaw clenches shut and he forces his arm to move, and presses a sticky hand to his temple.
It takes a moment of wonder for it to register that his hand is covered in something, and he blinks to look at the blood staining it, crimson all over in clumps. His brows furrow in the way it always does, and he doesn't even have the strength to hold up his hand anymore and it collapses back to his side. Every sound seems to blur together in a grotesque cacophany where even the smallest of things are amplified and forced through his head without any means to shut it all up. Ah, he really hates cars. Not just once, but twice, and it feels so stupid to him, because even this time he's sure he's going to survive. Because his brother is waiting for him, probably sitting on the couch or by the stairs with some cold food left in the fridge to heat up for Hoyun and himself so he can laugh at him for being so late and nag him to be home earlier and tell stories about his days and explain how Ichae is doing and-
Fuck, he coughs out a mix of spit and blood, mind growing hazy and slow with each minute he wastes sitting in this godforsaken thing but even then he knows he needs to get back home. His brother needs him. Hojin needs him.
He's not ready to be alone, he's not strong enough, he can barely pack his own meals and he hates the smell of smoke and cigarettes and he probably doesn't even have the strength to work in this world. He's soft enough to be taken advantage of by superiors in a workplace and he doesn't even eat his meals on time without being told to and he doesn't like to eat without Hoyun he cried the last time Hoyun wasn't there he cried the last time Hoyun wasn't there!
Cough- hack!
Hoyun tries to sit up for the thousandth time, fists that were clenched slowly releasing when he realises that slowly, he's feeling more and more and his head is growing duller. He didn't even get to message Hojin that he'd be late, he didn't get to tell Hojin to sleep early instead of wait for him. He can't follow his parents footsteps but he can't get up and he can't move and it hurts to fucking back and when he finally sits up he ends up collapsing forward, barely even realising how the curve of the wheel of the car is pressing into his throat and suffocating him because everything else hurts even worse.
He realises that it's getting hotter and hotter and looks to see the fire and it really bothers him how he doesn't think he cares much at that point but even then the one thing in his mind is Hojin's face. The last time he left for a while, the first thing he saw was his brother's tears running hot down his cheeks when he cried about not wanting to stay with relatives and being hungry and he knows instinctively that if he can't get up from this then his brother will end up like that again, because of him.
His brother is waiting and he can't even get up from where it's slowly getting more comfortable. How is Hojin even going to manage without him? The kid who doesn't have a lot of friends? The kid who didn't get much toys to play with when he was younger? The kid who's still scared of his older brother?
It's so warm, but Hoyun only feels cold when he thinks about it all again. He needs to get up, but why can't he?