𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙮'𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙠 ᵃᵗᵉᵉᶻ

7. epilogue

━━━━━━━━

༄ 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦

━━━━━━━━

even within the sanctity of the hospital grounds, he still dreamt of bloody lakes and drowned ghosts. even when the doctors shoved glossy pills down his throat and promised the hallucinations would soon disappear, he still dreamt of it all. ghosts and mossy bones, red algae and waves made of hardwood.

and of san.

wooyoung could still remember the day. could still feel the pain burned into him as if he was still laying on the kitchen floor bleeding out. almost every bone in his body had been broken, and the brain damage he'd suffered was more than even the doctors knew what to do with. month after month the choi's had sent him to some new specialist, and every time he'd cry about being misunderstood.

they never believed his story.

even when they themselves couldn't seem to figure out how he'd gotten to badly beaten, they refused his answers.

"ghosts?" they laughed. "you fell down the stairs wooyoung."

over and over they forced him these lies. night after night they shoved them down his throat along with the pills.

"don't worry mr. jung, these will help with the hallucinations."

he'd always cry and say no. he didn't want to forget. he didn't want the dreams to stop. they were his only lifeline, his only answer. his only clue to find san.

he'd been missing for eight months.

━━

the beds were always uncomfortable. either too cold or too hot, too lumpy or too hard. wooyoung had never gotten a decent nights rest. he always ended up giving up and dreamt with his eyes open. the staff had grown worried for the dark circles that seemed to deepen under his eyes, but eventually he'd stopped caring.

so when his sheets had become awfully cold tonight, he paid them no mind. they felt oddly wet; slimy to the point he could no longer ignore it. he tried to huff it off desperate for at least one night's relief, but the sensation of it all was too much. damp sheets make for damp clothes, and the addition of the ceiling fan that was always on way too high made it unbearable. he forced himself awake.

it took his cloudy eyes a few moments to adjust. the room was just as dark as it had been when he'd first fallen asleep. the view of the city obscured by the windows large blinds. only small slivers of the world were visible from he position. but he had no knack to see any of it. the world outside had lost all it's luster once he realized there was no one out there waiting for him.

there was a heavy weight on the bed, one that made it dip. wooyoung shuffled around to try and kick it off but was met with a quiet chuckle.

it was too warm. too familiar.

there he sat. in the same clothes from that day, his shirt soaked in blood along with the salty lake water, red beads curling along his hairline. raven locks whisking around as if underwater.

his lips were too cracked to call out the other's name. but the small noise that did escape was all the confirmation san needed: wooyoung could see him.

"youngie," he smiled.

wooyoung could only moan out in pain. there were so many needles pierced into his pale skin, so many machines around him, their faint beeps becoming an orchestra to his sickly musical.

san moved up the bed, his hands immediately coming up to caress wooyoung's face. "my beautiful youngie, what have they done to you?" he mumbles, slick hand running down the side of wooyoung's arm, brows knitting when his eyes fall on a few bruises that litter his skin.

"what are these?" san asks. voice firm, almost firm enough to mimic the essence of live. firm enough to trick wooyoung's feeble mind.

"they hold me down, sometimes." the boy croaks. "when i tell them about the house, to go back for you, they hold me down and— sannie." his words trail off insecurely, the intensity of san's gaze so heavy it feels like his chest is being crushed.

he doesn't realize he's sobbing until san cradles his head to his chest. sob after sob punching their way out of his lungs.

"i-i tried to go back for you! i did! but they stopped me every time! they didn't believe me when i told them we had to go back." he grips so tightly at san's shirt he can feel water oozing out, his hands coated in something cool and thick. he doesn't care. this is the closest to feeling grounded he's ever felt in so long. the comfort in san's presence making everything suddenly so right.

san rubs small circles into his back, kissing his crown and muttering sweet nothings into wooyoung's ears. "it's okay wooyoung, i'm here now."

wooyoung's sobs begin to dwindle, and san pulls away ever so slowly. a sudden panic erupts in and he frantically tries to pull him closer.

"no sannie please," he begs, "don't go again."

"wooyoung i promise i'm not going anywhere. that's why i came back for you." san pulls back just enough to look into wooyoung's eyes. they're large and wobbly, scared beyond belief.

"came back?" the younger mumbles.

"i've been there wooyoung, i've seen beyond the illusion of life. it's beautiful. i had to bring you there with me."

wooyoung didn't understand. all of a sudden san feels too distant; he feels to far from his reach. he grips at san's shirt, desperate. "what are you talking about?"

❛ come with me youngie ❜

san presses their foreheads together, his slick and wooyoung's dry. grips at wooyoung's shoulder so tight wooyoung's skin breaks. black bleeds from the corners of his eyes and wooyoung panics.

"no! no, no stop!" he tried to pull away but san only grips at his tighter, his flesh whining in agony as it's almost torn from his whole.

"sannie please!"

he tries kicking at the ghost, tries screaming but to no avail. his voice keeps breaking. his skin keeps breaking. blood begins to seep through his shirt, pooling into the sheets.

he continues to beg, shaking his head in hopes to wake up. this was just a dream, this was just a dream, he chants.

❛ all your your suffering will go away if you come with me ❜

❛ we can be together again ❜

"st—stop, stop it sannie please—"

❛ jump in wooyoung ❜

❛ jump in ❜