Boom!

I flinched and woke up from my half-drowsy state. It took me a while to adjust my eyes to the pitch-black darkness around me. I was not a deep sleeper, and especially in times like these, I don’t think anyone is having a good night’s sleep.

I gave the weight of my body to my palms and tried to sit up in bed with difficulty. Even though it was pretty hard to move, I managed to straighten my back and scrutinize what was going on outside through the closed window.

My eyes widened as I noticed the silver rays of light flashing here and there. It immediately gave me a red flag warning. I knew what those silver rays meant.

Run!

Run for your goddamn life, Y/n...

I remembered what Taehyung told me before he left me in the city. Anxiety and fear started to overwhelm me. For a solid minute, my whole body felt frozen and numb. I felt like I couldn’t even move an inch from where I was.

I should move. No! I must move, right now!

With reality hitting my mind, I promptly got up from the bed and ran across the room to grab the emergency bag I had prepared before. My back ached with pain as I bent to collect my items, though it was the last thing I could be concerned about at that moment.

Everyone was instructed to keep an emergency bag ready in case of an attack. This was the era when the war was at its peak. 1945—we were in the midst of the Second World War, which started when France and Britain declared war against Germany. It was the beginning of the end for most people like us, who became victims of the war even though we had absolutely nothing to do with it.

I slid my arms into the thick overcoat that was hanging on the rack and hoisted the bag over my shoulder. I groaned and winced as I felt a pain in my lower abdomen.

"Hold on, sweetheart, don't worry; we are getting out of here..." I whispered, taking my hand to my round belly to caress it.

He must be scared too.

I held back the tears that were about to escape from my eyes. I took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

You have to be strong, Y/n; you can't be a coward.

As I stepped outside, the strong flashes of light piercing through the darkness made me dizzy. The buzzing and booming sounds were getting more intense. I closed my ears with both hands as I heard the terrifying sound of the loud alarm, alerting people of the attack.

I climbed down the stairs carefully, trying not to stumble. I heard the horrendous screeches of people who were panicking. I could see the silhouettes of the crowd running like mad dogs in the streets.

It was difficult for me to run in my condition. I took long steps without running, trying to keep pace with the others.

Boom!

With the loud booming, I saw the rages of fire covering one of the houses that was closer to ours. The saliva in my mouth dried as I saw the flames rising higher into the sky, ruling with their power of rage and vengeance.

I tripped and almost fell before someone caught me just in time.

"Are you okay? Oh my..."

The woman who caught me without letting me fall laid her eyes on my abdomen as she noticed my full belly. She gazed at my baby bump and then back at me.

Her eyes softened and filled with tears as she looked at me.

I couldn’t tell whether they were tears of happiness or sadness, or whether it was pity that filled her eyes.

She clutched me tightly by the arm.

"Come on, there's an emergency bunker this way..."

She dragged me with her. With the kind lady's help, I managed to walk faster than before. It was almost thirty-eight weeks into my pregnancy. I was in my third trimester, and it was not easy at all. But I had to endure the pain for him.

I had to protect our baby. I had to survive for his sake.

Taehyung bent down, placed a soft kiss on my belly, and stood up. He gazed at me with his usual boxy grin, spread widely across his face with joy.

"Daddy will come back to see his baby girl in three months," he chuckled as he spoke.

"What if he's a boy? I think it's a boy, just like you."

Taehyung pressed his lips to mine, pulling me close by the waist. His eyes locked with mine.

"I think it's a daughter, just like you."

It has been three months since Taehyung left me because he was summoned to the headquarters. The war was rising like wildfire. Everything was chaos, and they were killing people like life meant nothing. Through all this, I was counting the days until Taehyung returned to me.

He promised to take me to the other end of the country, where things were calmer than here. In the middle of the preparations, he was called for duty. Every young man had to serve in the government army and fight against the Axis team.

Taehyung was reluctant to leave me, especially since I was already pregnant with his baby. But he had no choice but to go when he was summoned to duty. He was working as a platoon leader for the army, so of course he had to go, leaving me all alone here.

It was almost time for him to return, but I hadn't heard from him. It was starting to make me worried. Lately, I’d been thinking of going to his camp to meet him, but it was a highly restricted area for civilians.

All I could do was wait until he returned.

I shrugged off my thoughts as I heard another loud boom. I crawled deeper inside the tunnel, closing my eyes tightly and clutching my dress. I guessed the woman, whose name was Gabriel, felt the fear washing over me.

"It's alright, sweetie, it'll end soon," she said, holding my hand tightly to reassure me.

I nodded silently, trying to calm myself down.

There were around twenty to thirty people in the tunnel, trying to avoid the bombs being dropped from the aircraft flying above us. I could smell the acrid fumes, making my nose scrunch in disgust. Even though I was surrounded by people, the gloomy, cold walls of the tunnel made me feel like I was the only one left.

I was lost in my own thoughts when I noticed the environment was getting calmer. The booming sounds and piercing alarms were fading away. We thought it was over for today.

But we were too quick to judge.

In the blink of an eye, the world started crumbling before me. I was at the very back of the tunnel, so I couldn't see what was happening at first when people started panicking and letting out horrific screams.

Only then did I realize what was going on.

The enemies were coming inside the tunnel, capturing people who had taken shelter. I held my breath in fear as I saw them dragging people out like animals.

Bang!

Those heartless men shot one of the people who resisted them. They started pulling everyone out of the hideout. If anyone rebelled, they shot them without mercy. They didn’t care if they were men or women; all lives looked equally worthless to them.

I stepped back until my back hit the cold surface of the wall. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I feared for my life. I could see my death flashing before my eyes.

This was the end for me...

Is there no escape?

I was on the verge of breaking down when my eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of a small gap in the corner. I slowly moved toward it, bending with difficulty and feeling the space with my hand to see if it was an opening.

To my surprise, it was a pretty large gap that led to another open area on the other side.

I tugged on Gabriel’s hand, who was trembling with fear.

“There’s an opening here,” I whispered in her ear, but she didn’t seem to hear me. I shook her violently to get her attention, but her gaze was fixed on the front.

"Violet..." she mumbled.

“There’s no time, please...” I tried to urge her, but she shook my hands away.

“No! Violet!” she screamed, then started savagely pushing her way through the crowd toward the front.

Only then did I see the woman they had grabbed. A soldier was clutching a woman by her hair and dragging her out. Gabriel was running toward her, and I realized this woman must have been her sister.

“Let go of her, you bastards!” she yelled, trying to free her sister.

That was the last thing she managed to say before they shot her in the head, her lifeless body collapsing to the ground.

I gasped and covered my mouth, trying to muffle my scream.

I was paralyzed with shock, and I only regained my senses when someone pushed me toward the opening I’d found earlier.

“Move! Don’t look back if you want to live!” a man said, shoving me toward the gap.

I noticed a few people already escaping through the barely visible gap. In a daze, I was dragged and pushed through by a few men. I groaned in pain as my abdomen hit the side of the opening.

I bit my lip hard and dragged myself to the other side, all while hearing gunshots behind me.

I didn’t dare to look back.

I couldn’t look back.

I had to survive...but what would be waiting for me in the other side?

I hope y'all liked the opening chapter. Tragic I know 🥲 but I promise for lots of romance in the future. So hold on tight.

Stay safe lovelies 😆❤️ love ya