Magnetic Eyes || NWJNS x F! Reader

０５： Ｓｏｌａｃｅ

Sleep was meant to be a precious thing–a treasure. Many people found that the calmest place to be in is the sedentary state of mind and body. It's meant to be a safe haven–a dark abyss for a temporary getaway from reality. But you beg to differ as the nightmares keep appearing and coming back. The darkness closes around you, grasping and pulling. It was engulfing you. The ground caves in without warning, and you're falling; there was no escape. You're sure that you were gonna–

Your eyes snap open. For an instant, it doesn't immediately register where you are. Both your back and shoulders ache after you've fallen asleep all hunched-up the night before. Drenched in sweat, the nest of pillows and blankets around you feels more suffocating than comforting. You let your vision adjust to the bright morning light streaming through your window and allow your breathing to slow down before untangling yourself from the pile.

You haven't had a decent night since coming to Seoul. Or at least, none you can recall having. It's either the vivid–the crazy vivid–dreams, or not being able to sleep at all. You preferred the latter option to preserve a little sanity, but there are times where the exhaustion of the physical body overruled mental cognition. If only you weren't human, then...

"Ugh... What time is it?"

Habit forces you to look over at the nightstand, even with the soreness weighing heavily on your shoulders and the compulsion to never leave your bed for the day. You stretched your arm and reached for your phone, clutching the device into your palm and turning it on to check the time.

"It's six in the bloody morning, yet the sun is already up..."

In a heartbeat, you're up. Admittedly, it's a Saturday–the weekend. For students all over the world, it's an unspoken rule that entitles them to extra hours of sleep. But there is one problem: you had less than an hour to catch the first bus to Daegu.

"It's already their monthly anniversary, isn't it? To think I've almost forgotten."

You speak the words absentmindedly. There's no way you can forget, even with the amount of painkillers and shredded photos. The dates mean more and are, as good as any, for you to grieve; otherwise, you would be crippling and shutting everyone else out. Fortunately, they were given a proper burial and you promised to visit their graves monthly rather than annually. Even though you couldn't physically see or touch them like before, the trip alone is enough to sate you.