#ph.event

@phxjongkook

The smoke still swirled in the sky, the fires spreading like greedy claws, taking everything. HaHa wanted to run, wanted to follow Hayi home. But he’d given her a spare key instead, making sure she was safe to go.

He couldn’t leave without making sure Jongkook hyung was fine. He was terrified, but he just couldn’t run. He had to be brave. He had to keep breathing, keep walking. He waited until Hayi was out of sight and dropped the illusion of being Eunhye, knowing Jongkook woud be looking for his actual appearance. And he could use all the concentration he had.

Just breathe, just breathe.

What if he was already too late? His hyung was a hired for protection after all, what if he got hurt? What if they had figured he was at the wrong side and attacked him? But no, no, that’s impossible, his hyung was invincible, he was stronger and better and smarter than anyone else in the whole world, he would be fine. He had to be. He had to be. HaHa couldn’t make it without him.

He carefully hid behind anything he could find, pressing himself tightly against walls to scan the corners. When the coast was clear, or seemed clear, he quickly sprinted out, taking shelter behind something else.

Just breathe, just breathe.

He could do this. He would find his hyung and then he’d be safe. Everything would be fine. Everything would be fine.

Just breathe.

Slowly, but surely, he scanned the area, spotting a familiar figure in the distance. Was it his hyung?

He looked at the figure, concentrating. It was a familiar feeling, like coming home, that washed over him as the telepathic link set in.

@hayixph

the glimmer of fire portends an early dawn

A sense of doom creeps into HaHa’s stomach as he flips pancake dough. It is a cold, harsh feeling, coiling up, around the empty spaces of his ribcage, desperately clawing at his heart.

He knews what that meant.

It was an instant decision and it saved his life. He projected the image of Eunhye carefully keeping an eye on her pancake, ducking away to hide behind his car that held more ingredients. He had barely stepped back or he could see the fire from the corner of his eyes, the giant, black clouds of smoke. Seemed like they were taking the fire ceremony very literally this year. 

Something was wrong. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. He could feel it, certain as sunset, in his bones. Something was about to happen.

And then it did. The men stormed through the streets sudden like a gust of wind. His projection of Eunhye didn’t even scream as one of the men stormed by her, kicking the stall to break it. He makes her run off, luckily fast enough for him to catch her and cowers.

Biting his wrist hard to muffle his scared whimpers, he watched, helplessly, as his cute stall become nothing more than splinters, wood crunching and breaking underneath back combat boots. He ripped the little penguin decorations to pieces, dropping something that exploded in a dark fluid. Soon, flames where licking towards the sky, more smoke curling to block the stars, and the little penguin burned and burned.

HaHa kept quiet, cowering behind the car, keeping all his focus on blending in perfectly with his surroundings, making him invisible, unable to be spotted by anyone.

And then he just breathed. Waited. Swallowed back the fear and bile. There was nothing else to do. He couldn’t start running until he was sure they were gone.

Oh god. Hyung! He was here, somewhere, he must be! Even if he was the strongest person he knew, what if they caught him off guard? What if they thought he was on the wrong side?

And Hayi -- no, fuck, sweet Hayi -- what if they found her, what if they hurt her? He trembled, face pulling away in a hurt grimace, feeling helpless and scared. But what he could he do? He was no hero. He was nothing. He couldn’t barge into the fray, hoping to maybe find his hyung, or find Hayi, he had no idea where they were. She must be safe, she had her bodyguards as a champion.

Unless they were in on it.

HaHa wasn’t particular fond of this kind of propaganda work. It was gruesome, having to think of the details to project. He would prefer to just pretend those tournaments didn’t exist -- he was in awe of the bravery the people displayed, to go out there and risk your life, but it wasn’t the kind of courage he possessed. He was content just staying here.

Who would be waiting for him, anyway, back on the mainland? Who knows where his father would be, what his mother would think of him now? And the girl with her pretty eyes, her starlight smile -- she was probably married now, holding a cute child on her hip, shivering over the rumors about the island.

All HaHa had, all he ever could have was here. So he had to make the best of it.

But this particular event he was portraying made his stomach sink. He was projecting the tournament of the September winner, the one they called Marion, with the creepy dolls marching as his soldiers. HaHa let them march as well, he had been forced to watch the whole thing so he could accurately portray it.

Oh, wouldn’t the audience be shocked! Look at this horror! Wouldn’t they stand up and fight! Wouldn’t the protest!

No, HaHa knew, they wouldn’t, because people want to live, in any kind of circumstance.

And then, for the grand finale: he made the music swell, the colors of his illusion vibrant. His stomach churned, but he kept his expression neutral. People stopped to watch, shocked or pleased or curious or all of them together.