Chapter 24: The calm after the chaos
The meeting room was quieter than usual. Not even the usual murmurs or exasperated sighs floated in the air. Only the faint hum of the hanging lights broke the stillness.
Milo spoke without embellishment, listing damage and losses. The number of dead, the missing, the homes reduced to dust. Each piece of information fell like a stone into the bottom of a deep well, where not even the echo dared to respond.
"Let’s take a moment to honor the fallen," Milo said at last.
They all bowed their heads, looking tired and tense. Sad and upset that they hadn’t helped more.
Rhys lowered his head too, but his mind wasn’t there.
In his mind, Rhys was still standing in the midst of the destruction, the sky dyed black and the ground covered in blood. He saw Eun-woo, his eyes glowing like live coals, with that crooked, mischievous smile that didn’t fit the setting.
Rhys still felt the pressure of those lips on his, the sudden heat, the intensity with which he had kissed him, as if he were leaving an impossible-to-erase mark.
And then, the way Eun-woo fell into his arms, as if his body was no longer lifeless.
Rhys had held him tightly, afraid it would break. He’d felt it burn, as if his skin were pure fever. That image haunted him, pinned behind his eyelids every time he closed his eyes. Even now, surrounded by people arguing about rebuilding, loss, and future plans, all he could think about was that dark room where Eun-woo slept, unconscious.
A whisper brought him out of his trance.
"You’re not listening," Caelan said, sitting next to him, his voice low and soft.