In Dreams | Jayhoon

Page 15

Jongseong had arrived home after the peculiar night. He sat inside his car, staring ahead toward the pavement, and sighed. This was too much to consume for the latter. Areum just decided to dip after confessing— sobbing and having a mental breakdown, and Jay was just confused.

Nonetheless, he stepped out of the car, eyes darting to his wrist watch, indicating it was 11:19 at night. His initial plan was to go home, and leap onto the bed and drift off to the dreams of his neverland. As he stepped up the staircase, he noticed the flickering light had finally powered off, leaving him to navigate his way through the rusty stairs in the dread of void darkness. He pulled his phone out, and fortunately, he still had 15% left– he was so grateful for that.

After climbing two levels of stairs, he finally reached his complex and turned off the flashlight, shoving the phone in his blazer pocket. The crickets chirped under the fades of grasslands, the wind was hollow, flowing past his hair– but it wasn't gradual either. It would sometimes transverse at great speeds, sending shivers down Jay's spine. He dug through his pockets to find his apartment key, fishing it out as soon he felt it hiding inside the backpocket.

He immediately jumped on the bed, a sigh of dreaded exhaustion leaving the tip of his tongue as he rolled around the bed, enveloping the warmth of his favorite duvets. If his bed would've been a person, it surely would have been his best friend. He laid in a supine position on the bed, staring at the roof. He then felt a vibration in his pocket, the light brightening the dark room as soon he pulled it out.

It was a message from Areum. She apologized for the weird behavior, but the boy denied, replying that it was completely okay to pour your feelings at the end of a downfall, and that he didn't feel angry, or displeased. It was the truth. He understood well enough that one can get carried away in the waves of life, forgetting the unseen path of shadow lurking; one can forget about feelings, as if they were nothing but a mere hallucination of darkness pulling them away. He felt it was better to gain a provincial understanding of one's feelings, and navigate through them, rather than ignoring them and watching the aching burn in your heart grow as you, yourself grow.

And although, undoubtedly, he was sure he wouldn't see Areum for a very long time, he felt the need to remind her of her worth, her importance, and her dignity to never let go of such things.

They texted each other for a while, and Jay's eyes glanced up to the time at the corner of the phone screen. It was now 12:24 a.m., and he really needed to sleep, so he bid her goodbye and powered off the phone, not noticing it was on the verge of death, hanging on the will of life by 1%. ( a/n: I need to buy this phone rn)

Just as he was about to sleep, he felt a thud on his door. His eyes jolted open, as he stared straight ahead, peering at his main door. Who the fuck would show up at this hour? He thought, slowly rising up from his lying position, and tilting his body sideways to get a better look at the door. He exhaled a shuddered sigh, standing up and slowly making his way to the door. He peeped outside the peephole, gulping bits of saliva to ease his racing heart.

What if someone was stalking me the entire way, and now they found my house. He closed his eyes for a second, then stepped back, gathering the courage to say: "Who's there?"

I mean, this is the type of shit you'd see in horror movies, where the main character has to go near the lurking danger, as it creates a sense of thriller and anxiety. But even after asking, nobody answered, and Jay stood there for a good amount of 3 seconds.

"It's me... Sunghoon." The voice on the other side of the door spoke, startling Jay, but he felt relieved knowing it wasn't a fucking thief or the corpse of a dead man standing outside his door. He sighed, twisting the door knob and opening the door, he faced Sunghoon who sat on the floor, looking pale as ever.