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Chapter 9

(A/N: ATTENTION:
This chapter contains graphic(?) depictions of a corpse in a dream. Skip to the *** if you don't want to read the dream section.)

He was walking along a riverbank in the middle of a vast area, the dead grass crunching under his shoes and the sound of water rushing filling his ears with its soothing sound. Stopping at a small bridge, Hongjoong walked over but paused halfway across it to get down on his knees and then placed his hands on the edge of the wooden path to peer over at the flowing river. He stared few a few seconds, not knowing why he was doing this, but something told him to look.

Suddenly, from out under the bridge, a woman floated by, but she was mutilated; arms and legs gone, but her head remained. The creepy thing was that her eyes were wide open, staring up at Hongjoong in horror. He didn't bat an eyelid at the sight like it was the most normal thing to have ever witnessed. One thing crossed Hongjoong's mind; who was this woman?

He stood up, still keeping his eyes on the mystery woman as she slowly floated away downstream, soon growing small the further she drifted and Hongjoong felt sad for the woman. He wondered who would do that to her.

Closing his eyes for a second, he felt the scenery change and when he opened them, he was now standing in a kitchen. Seonghwa was there and Hongjoong focused his eyes on his friend, following his every movement.

Noticing his staring, Seonghwa looked up at Hongjoong, a wide smile adorning his face and Hongjoong smiled back. Scanning his eyes around the kitchen, they fell onto the oven and a strange feeling overcame him, telling him to look inside but before he could wander over to it, someone called out for him from another room.

"I'm on my way!" He yelled back as he walked through the doors into a dining area and there was Yunho along with Yeosang. Looking around, Hongjoong noticed that there were no customers.

What Hongjoong found weird was that they began talking in French for some reason. He didn't know French, only a few words, but he was speaking fluently.

Very strange.

After conversing with the two for a couple of minutes, Hongjoong made his way back into the kitchen and he stayed near the door, his gaze locked on Seonghwa again. Seonghwa looked between him and the oven in slight confusion. There was something else in his expression; sadness.

"Hongjoong, there's something in the oven," he said and Hongjoong looked over at it. He walked over and stood a few inches away as Seonghwa opened the door. Inside was a bag. Pulling it out, Seonghwa unzipped it and there was a body of a woman; the same woman Hongjoong saw in the river.

Neither were scared as they observed the woman whose eyes were wide open and was staring right at Hongjoong. He wondered why she was in there and how. Who would put her in there?

Seonghwa turned to look at him and stepped forward until he was so close that their chests were almost touching. Hongjoong looked up at his friend, their eyes locked and they stared for a minute. He wrapped his arms around Seonghwa, turning his head to the left to rest against his chest. He closed his eyes and that's when he began crying.

"I'll always be here when you need me, Joong. I love you."

***

Hongjoong jolted awake, teeth clenched and heart racing. He relaxed his jaw and let out a sigh. He looked around the room and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling for a minute, then turned his head to the right, eyes locking on the Light Fury that was where Seonghwa usually slept, but the man wasn't in bed. Hongjoong just thought his friend had gone to the bathroom or had gone to get a glass of water or maybe he was in the kitchen making breakfast.