You and Yeonjun had been together since sophomore year, the kind of couple people whispered about in the hallways — not because of drama, but because it seemed like you’d been pulled straight out of a teen romance movie. He’d wait outside your classroom every morning, coffee in hand. You’d save him a seat at lunch. He’d lend you his hoodie on cold days, and you’d wear it for the rest of the week just to annoy him. It wasn’t perfect, but it was comfortable, warm — the kind of love that made even rainy days feel golden.
That’s why, when the fire alarm went off and chaos ripped through the school, you didn’t think twice about Yeonjun. You assumed he was just ahead of you in the stream of students rushing toward the field. But when you reached the crowd outside and scanned every face — he wasn’t there.
Your stomach dropped.
The teachers were yelling for everyone to move farther from the building, but their voices blurred into nothing. All you could hear was your own pulse as you broke from the crowd and ran back inside.
Smoke clawed at your lungs the moment you crossed the threshold. The heat was unbearable, the air shimmering like a mirage. You pushed through it, calling his name until your throat felt raw.
You found him in the science lab, half-collapsed against a counter, a heavy metal shelf pinning one of his legs. His face lit up the second he saw you — then twisted in panic. “Go! Get out of here!” he coughed, waving you off.
“Not without you,” you shot back, your voice shaking. You got your hands under the edge of the shelf, ignoring the searing burn against your skin. It took everything you had, your muscles screaming, but the shelf finally shifted. He stumbled free, almost falling into you.
You grabbed his wrist, dragging him toward the hallway. The smoke was thicker now, flames licking the walls, the ceiling groaning above you. You could feel the heat behind you like a living thing.
Near the exit, you stopped just short of the doorway. Yeonjun turned to you, confusion flashing in his eyes. “You’re almost there,” you panted. “You’re gonna make it, okay?”
His brow furrowed. “What—”
Before he could finish, you shoved him forward, out into the open air. He stumbled into the arms of a firefighter — and then the ceiling above you gave a violent crack.
The last thing you saw was Yeonjun’s face, his mouth forming your name, before the world became noise and pain and darkness.
He hit the ground running, lunging for the doorway, but the firefighter held him back. “Let me go! She’s still in there!” His voice was raw, breaking, every word edged with panic. He fought against the grip on his arms until his strength gave out, dropping to his knees in the grass.
The building roared behind him, a monster devouring everything in its path. Yeonjun pressed his hands into his hair, his whole body shaking, tears streaking his soot-stained cheeks. “She was right there,” he whispered to no one, to everyone, to himself. “She was right there and I—” His voice cracked, the rest swallowed by sobs so deep they left him breathless.