In Your Dreams (A DahMo Fanfic)

12: Just great

"Third level. Now," I command. Dahyun's smile slowly drops, along with her embrace.

"Why? What's wrong?"

My gaze lingers at her, I'm not even sure what to say. All I know is that I need some goddamn answers. It feels like whatever this is keeps going back to square one.

"Okay," she reluctantly says before looking up again. In a flash, we're faced with her giant monument again.

"Hey, wait," Dahyun shouts as I immediately fly towards the ear canal.

"Where are your most recent memories?" I call out, floating aimlessly among the sea of monitors.

"Find the TVs that look new," she answers trailing from behind.

Huh...that's kinda creative. Self-explanatory yet creative. The childhood memories are found on boob tubes, while the newer ones are on very thin screens.

Ah, here it is. "Dahyun-ah, why does this one seem blurry?" I ask, pertaining to our so-called date.

She catches up and runs her hand across the screen. "Well you did make me drink, remember?"

Of course. It seems like this girl has very low alcohol tolerance. I move over to the job interview and it seems a little better than the pizza place—but it's still not as clear as the others.

"What about this memory? What's wrong with it?"

"Momo-ssi, please stop. You're scaring me," she begs, causing some of the nearby monitors to tune out and back repeatedly. "What is it that you want?!"

"I just want to know why you can't remember what we are! What's the point of whatever we have in here if doesn't count in reality?!"

After my own outburst, Dahyun kneels on the floor and sobs. Oh shit.

"I-I'm sorry," I mutter, trying to hold her but this ethereal form is preventing me from doing so. "I'm just so...tired. It's like a game of cat and mouse and I'm sick of playing," I add, my own voice cracking.

Dahyun looks up at me, indignant. "Then, just go."

"What...?"

"Do you think I enjoy this? I remember everything here but my own body isn't cooperating," she hisses.

"I don't get it—I assume your control is better than mine, that's why I—"

"Well, apparently, it's not. Is it my fault that I apparently forget what goes on in here when I wake up?"

"No, no. It's not your fault." I hover frantically around her. "It's just that I want to be able to actually share my feelings with you..."

"Why? Is it any different from this? I'm still me," she retorts, running her fingers through her brows.

I'm not sure whether what I'm about to say is the right thing, but whatever. "Of course, it's way different."

"Why?!" Yup, as expected, Dahyun lashes out immediately.

"It's just that..." I now proceed with caution, but I really have to be honest now. "I really like you. And that means that I want to be able to actually hold your hand, feel your lips against mine—there's just so many things I want to do with you."

"Momo-ssi," Dahyun cuts in between sobs. "We're here—what more could you possibly wish for?"

Why is this so damn hard? She's supposed to be smarter than me. "Dahyun-ah, we both know why they're only called 'dreams', right?"

She pauses for a while, scanning the monitors around us, and lets out a long sigh. "I can't help you with that. If I did know the answer, I would've probably made out with you at the interview."

Her response elicits a chuckle out of me. That's true, I'm just being selfish at this point. "Is there a way? Like can I plant an idea in your subconscious?" Yeah, I'm really considering the actual possibility of inception here. That's how desperate I am at this point.

Dahyun doesn't say anything, and just lies on the ground, letting out an occasional hum. Suddenly, a door with a blinking red light from afar catches my attention.

"What's that?" I ask, before soaring to the peculiar door.

"Wait," Dahyun calls out, but I zip away.

"Uh, what's this?" I ask, eyeing the huge "DO NOT OPEN" sign that looks like it was painted by a serial killer. It's a nondescript olive green door, with a red bulb—its light fading in and out.

Metal bars suddenly cover the door from all directions in a non-existent pattern, like a sewing job gone awry.

"There's a reason why there's a sign," Dahyun says coldly.

"What's in there? We might find some answers inside!"

The bars wrap tighter, slightly distorting the door frame.

"Momo-ssi..." Dahyun starts. "The fact that I even let you here means I trust you. But even that trust has boundaries...and I want you to respect them."

Wow, she seems really guarded, as opposed to her very jolly expression. "I will, but can I at least have an idea?"

Dahyun clicks her tongue. "They're memories I want to forget, okay?"

Before I could even respond, we're back at the first level. Not hers, but my own dream. I must've really touched a nerve back there.

***

"It's been nice knowing you," Dahyun says, opening a portal to her own dream, something I've yet to learn.

"Wait, are you leaving me?" I hold onto her.

"Like you said, what's the point, right?"

No. No, you can't go. What will I have left of you? I kneel behind her, trying to grab hold of what I can. "Please," I sob. "We'll make it work...just...don't leave me."

"How?"

Her guess is as good as mine. But I can't let go of this woman. Not anymore. "There has to be something...something that you'd remember."

Dahyun pauses for a while, putting her head above mine. Oh, what I would give to actually feel her body next to mine.

"Momo-ssi, write something on a piece of paper," she instructs. "Something so random—something only you'd know."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it. I want to try something," she asserts with a faint smile, patting my head. "Think of this as my last resort."