OUTSIDE IN

He could smell the sharp scent of ozone, almost stinging painfully. It sent him reeling backwards, a headache coming on as he glanced at the sky, a vast cloudy expanse of slate gray.

He always hated the rain.

Hueningkai stood under the shade of the bus stop, hands shaking. He tried to breathe in, panic flooding him when he couldn't.

His lungs weren't working, he couldn't move - he was paralyzed, just standing there and watching the dark clouds overhead come closer and closer.

The scent of iron was so, so strong. All he could see was red, blotches of magenta still sticking to his hands and his clothes.

His phone rang, snapping him out of his reverie with the piercing ring tone.

With trembling fingers, he managed to get the device out of his jacket pocket, staring at the caller ID, letting it ring till the person disconnected. He focused on the blood under his fingernails, the way the crimson dripped down his fingers, following web like patterns down his pale skin.

The phone rang again, and this time he answered the call.

"Hello?" Hueningkai winced when the person on the other line made a loud noise in reply.

"Where were you?" Park Jisung asked loudly. "Taehyun and I waited for you outside school for ages but you never showed up!"

Hueningkai let out a shaky breath. "Sorry," He mumbled. "I-I had work."
"Work."Jisung grumbled. "You've been ghosting us a lot lately, Kai, you don't respond to any of our texts, you rarely show up to anything. Did we do something wrong?"

His eyes widened, and he immediately shook his head, forgetting the other couldn't see him.

"No, you've been fine." He paused, his chest tightening. "I've just had -" He couldn't breathe, doubling over as tears blurred his vision, phone nearly slipping out of his grasp.

"Kai?" He could hear Jisung call his name worriedly on the other end.
On the other end, where life was normal for them.

"Kai!"

"Yeah, sorry. B-Bad connection." The lump in his throat was choking him, he couldn't speak. He clawed at his neck, fingernails scraping the skin and leaving remnants of the blood there.

"Are you okay?" Jisung asked, before cursing. "Of course you're not, where are you? I'll come there, wait-"
He let out a strangled laugh, making the other pause. "Kai?" Jisung asked tentatively, and Hueningkai felt sick when he heard the fear and concern overlap.

He didn't want one more person scared of him.

Not another.

Not another human who'd stare at him with lifeless eyes, the last emotion in glassy orbs being absolute terror as they bled to death on the floor, a bullet to their heart-

He crouched down, shoving his hand over his mouth as he tried to calm the erratic beating of his heart.

"I-I'm in Busan," He managed to get out. He could almost see Jisung's eyes widen comically, and he almost smiled. "In Busan? What are you doing in Busan? How did you even get there-"

"F-Family b-bus-siness." His teeth were chattering, and he was holding back the urge to throw up when the scent of blood blending with scent of ozone filled his nostrils. He had to focus in order to make sure he didn't bite his tongue off, panic rushing through him. His nerves were frazzled, and he was tired.

"I'll talk to you later, I'm fine," He held a breath in as he said those words, hoping the temporary halting of breathing would stop his shaking, but to no avail.