Oneiric Tryst

16. Baton

Hongjoong never called in sick for work. He never had much reason to, since his work happened while he rested and only challenged him mentally. And even then, he had a lot of slack to cut since nightmares were fickle, anyway. Nothing much could go wrong with them.

And yet, Hongjoong pondered calling Jongho to tell him he wasn't capable of coming in to look after Seonghwa today. The man was still in bed, not having got dressed yet. It was long since his usual wake up time. After he had spent all night rolling around with no rest, the ring tone had become unnecessary.

He had ten more minutes to decide. Any later and he would be late to work. Since he had already missed breakfast, the day would likely become a disaster anyway. But his pity for Seonghwa gave Hongjoong a hard time ignoring him. In all those nightmares, they had gone through a lot together already. They had developed a certain bond. A bond that Hongjoong would feel terrible for abusing. Seonghwa waited for him. If Hongjoong didn't show up, his dream might become all the worse.

Hongjoong rolled to his side once more. As his right arm slung around the pillow next to him, the gentle pressure of it against his shoulder instantly triggered his brain again. His head lit up bright red when the imagination of Seonghwa's head against his shoulder bore into his brain once more. How close his lips had been.

Yelping, Hongjoong suffocated his voice in his pillows. His fingers itched to call Jongho.

For a moment, he collected himself and calmed his racing heart. Afterwards, he sat up to push the pillow off him impatiently. Huffing and grumbling, he slipped into his work clothes and grabbed his bag. In the kitchen, he found an only slightly squishy banana. He took it with him as he hurried out of the house.

With his music loud and blasting, Hongjoong distracted his every thought by singing along loudly. He drove marginally above the speed limit, but thankfully no police showed up. As usual, Hongjoong arrived just a while late. San, who came in a few minutes after was met with Jongho's wrath.

While the two of them stood in the middle of the corridor to discuss working times that had been the same for years, Hongjoong and Mingi sneakily brushed past them. Mingi went in the direction of the offices, Hongjoong toward the staircase. They grinned at each other secretly when they passed the heated duo.

Up in his little lair of solitude, the panic returned to Hongjoong. He couldn't fathom how in the world he was supposed to face Seonghwa. Did the man mind? Had Hongjoong made use of a vulnerable situation? Would Seonghwa erect more walls between them?

The dread of having ruined their entire still blossoming relationship chipped bits of sanity off Hongjoong.

With a deep breath, he concentrated on the computer. The basic Windows background of a meadow much more peaceful and kempt than the wild depths of Seonghwa's core could ever be.

Of course, Seonghwa left Hongjoong no break. He returned once more with a nightmare.

"The prison, huh? Alright." With a sigh, Hongjoong jumped into his psycho chamber. The dream hadn't stated a certain predator, so the mood was likely the creepiest thing in there. Still, Hongjoong made the effort not only to create a police uniform for himself to wear that looked exactly like Seonghwa's, but he also took all the expected equipment with him. A baton, a gun, shackles, a fake badge, and a grim gaze.

Seonghwa was near him, as always. Since there was no need to hide, Hongjoong took a moment to look around before he approached the man. A staircase leading through the open middle connected the two levels of cells. Currently, they were on the upper level, and Seonghwa patrolled the cells with his baton in his hand. With a haunting echo, it clanked against the bars as he dragged it along the metal. The banging alerted the prisoners nearby to take their hands to themselves.