Chapter 197
Jerome picked it up and struggled to open the lid. As he was straining with all his might to open it, the lid suddenly popped open with a “pop,” causing the contents to spill all over the floor.
Crouching down, Jerome picked up one of the many fallen objects. Though he had never seen it before, it seemed strangely familiar. The small wooden stick with a round, red thing attached to one end looked like a ladybug sitting on a twig.
Staring intently at the shape while searching his memory, Jerome exclaimed excitedly:
“I remember!”
It was a match. He had seen it in a storybook. The little match girl was holding something exactly like this. He vividly recalled the illustration in the storybook where a flame blossomed from this red, round thing at the end of the stick. He also remembered Uncle Tae-geon throwing a tiny spark into the fireplace. The identity of that spark must have been this match.
Convinced, Jerome held the matchbox and a match, wrestling with them for a while. Suddenly, when he struck the match forcefully against something, a hot flame suddenly flared up.
Startled, Jerome accidentally dropped the match he was holding. The fallen match’s flame began to spread to the numerous matchsticks scattered on the floor. Alarmed, Jerome hastily moved away.
Fear grew on Jerome’s face as the fire began to burn with tremendous speed. As acrid, toxic gas started to rise, Jerome began coughing repeatedly. Unfortunately, the fire had started right in front of the door, trapping him completely.
He ran to the opposite side and tried to shake the window, but he couldn’t figure out how to unlock the latch.
“Cough, cough!”
The cabin, dried out from the winter, burst into flames like a well-prepared pile of firewood. Tears welled up in Jerome’s eyes as he coughed repeatedly from the pungent smoke.
Through his blurred vision, Jerome spotted a large flowerpot nearby. He struggled to move the pot with its dead, withered plant to the window, then quickly stood on top of it.
Bang, bang!
“Let me out! Open up!!”
Even though he knew there was no one outside, Jerome desperately pleaded. His knocking on the window was frantic, but the heavy window with its lock engaged didn’t budge at all to the fists of a five-year-old child.
Smoke filled the cabin interior, making it hazy. The acrid air made it impossible to think clearly. The flames that had been creeping in little by little like a tide were now right at hand. Panicked, Jerome stamped his feet and gasped for breath. But the more he tried to breathe, the tighter his chest felt. The air heated by the flames was hot.
“It’s hot, Dad…”
Jerome’s wet forehead was covered in sweat, his hair sticking to it in a mess. As he coughed violently, a harsh wheezing sound like that of an oxygen respirator soon came from Jerome’s throat.
His mind began to fog up as much as the interior filled with smoke.
“…Da…ddy…”
As consciousness gradually faded, Jerome’s eyes closed. Just as his hand, barely gripping the window frame, lost strength and his body began to sway backward-
Bang-!!
“Han Jerome!”
The sound of someone forcefully striking the window Jerome was holding onto could be heard.
Bang-! Crash-!
“Han Jerome! Wake up!”
Beyond his fading consciousness, Jerome heard someone’s desperate voice calling him. At that sound, Jerome gathered all his strength to regain his balance and lifted his heavy eyelids.
…Dad…?
As he barely opened his eyes, which felt as heavy as water-soaked cotton, he saw a dark figure wavering beyond the window.
“Han Jerome!”
He focused on the figure calling out to him anxiously with a desperate voice. Finally, as his blurry focus sharpened, he saw the person’s face.
It was Uncle Tae-geon.
“Un…cle…”
“Stay awake! Han Jerome!”
“…Un…cle…”
“Uncle will definitely get you out! So don’t be scared and wait just a little longer!”
It was strange.
Even though it wasn’t his dad whom he had been waiting for so long, even though it was just the uncomfortable Uncle Tae-geon, for some reason, the moment he confirmed his uncle’s face, an extreme sense of relief that he would live washed over his entire body. Uncle’s desperate expression and earnest voice made Jerome feel as if he could accomplish anything, whatever it might be.
Jerome’s breathing, which had been rapid with fear, finally slowed down. However, unable to hold onto his already fading consciousness any longer, Jerome’s body, swaying back and forth, collapsed powerlessly backward.
A faint thud reached Tae-geon standing outside.
“Han Jerome!!”
Tae-geon called out Jerome’s name, his face pale white. But Jerome, having completely lost consciousness, could no longer respond to Tae-geon’s calls.
Bang-! Crash!!
As Tae-geon struck the window frame hard with the axe in his hand, the weakened joints of the frame began to rattle.
Crack-!!
With a violent sound, the cabin entrance where the fire had started collapsed. Riding the resulting air current, sparks flew in all directions, and the flames spread with terrifying momentum to where Jerome had fallen.
It was only a moment before the entire cabin was engulfed in flames. The smoke-filled interior was no longer visible.
Tae-geon’s heart raced madly. His palms, gripping the axe handle, were wet with cold sweat, causing the axe to keep slipping. The trauma deeply rooted in his subconscious vividly appeared before Tae-geon’s eyes. His whole body trembled. Cold sweat beaded on his chin, dripping to the ground.
Tae-geon gripped the axe handle tightly again with his shaking hands and struck the window frame with all his might.
Crash-!!
Finally, the detached window frame fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Through the exposed opening, the wind whirled inward like a vortex, and the flames, reacting with the oxygen, spewed out tremendous fire.
There was no more time to waste. Tae-geon grabbed a bucket placed nearby and poured it over his head. After soaking his entire body with cold water, he covered his respiratory tract with the wet sleeve of his robe. Then, just as he was about to throw himself mercilessly into the cabin-
“…Choi Tae-geon!!”
A scream-like shout from behind stopped Tae-geon in his tracks. His pupils trembled endlessly at Hyeon-woo’s voice piercing his ears.
But the hesitation was brief. Tae-geon ruthlessly shook off that cry trying to hold him back. Then, without looking back, he threw himself into the flames without hesitation.
At that sight, Hyeon-woo let out a scream.
*
“No, Ian!”
Scott and Okhee desperately held back Hyeon-woo, who was trying to rush into the cabin after Tae-geon.
“Huff, huff.”
Hyeon-woo collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Both his hands on the ground trembled incessantly like a patient with a terrible plague.
The intense heat and smell emitted by the flames dredged up the horrific memories he had barely managed to forget. A fear greater than the terror of that day engulfed Hyeon-woo.
Jerome, and Tae-geon, were in those flames.
Hyeon-woo gritted his teeth and tried to get up and head towards the cabin, but Okhee and Scott, who were holding him back, looked pale.
“Jerome! Tae-geon!! Let me go!”
“Ian! Come to your senses!”
“In there, Jerome is, Jerome is in there!”
“If you go in there, you’ll die too!”
People held onto Hyeon-woo as he struggled. Hyeon-woo’s condition wasn’t normal either. His entire body, which wouldn’t stop shaking, was drenched in cold sweat. Even though he might collapse from exhaustion at any moment, Hyeon-woo tenaciously clung to his fading consciousness and refused to take his eyes off the cabin.
He didn’t know how he had made it here. When he urgently entered Jerome’s room upon hearing Scott’s shout to evacuate due to a fire, he almost lost his mind seeing it empty. Jerome’s shoes and bag were missing from the room.
Amidst this, when Okhee testified that she had witnessed the young master running into the mountains, a terrible premonition struck like lightning. He couldn’t remember anything after that. Just that he had run madly towards where the pillar of fire was rising. And there, he discovered Tae-geon just about to throw himself into the flames. It was the moment when it became certain that Jerome was inside that massive fire pit.
Crack- Boom-!!
With a thunderous noise, half of the cabin completely collapsed.
“No!”
Hyeon-woo’s scream tore through the night air.
The cabin, engulfed in huge flames, burned with a menacing force, spewing black smoke.
In the distance, the faint sound of sirens could be heard. Okhee, pacing anxiously with a pale face, let out an excited shout.
“Over there, over there!”
Everyone’s gaze turned to where Okhee’s finger was pointing. Beyond the flickering flames, a blurry shape was gradually becoming clearer.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
