✔ 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐿𝐼𝑇

CHAPTER 6: NIGHTWALKER

Taking a deep breath, Yeonjun woke up from his sleep.

He was in his pitch-black room. A small gap in the shutters allowed the moon's rays to shine through as he ran his hand through his hair, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped from his forehead, which he wiped away with the back of his hand. It had been another terrible dream, and he could only remember a few moments - fragments that were blurred after a few minutes and gave him no chance of reconstructing his nightmare. He was glad of that, because the slight trembling of his arms indicated that the dream had been anything but pleasant. The iron taste of blood lingered in his mouth, and when he touched his lip with his finger, he felt that he had bitten it raw in his sleep. With an annoyed hiss, he swung to the side and remained sitting on the bed. The dizziness that followed shortly afterwards gave him a headache, and he knew that he had slept far too little in the last few days.

But what could he do about the demons that haunted his dreams?

He slipped into his cool slippers and crept to the door, still slightly dazed. The low grumbling of his roommate stopped him as he pushed the lever down and opened the door, allowing the light from the corridor to flood inside. His roommate's glassy beady eyes gazed back at him.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered to Shotaro, who had pulled his blanket up over his mouth.

Shotaro nodded and turned to the other side.

The small lights that were always on in the corridor led Yeonjun in the direction of the balcony. He needed fresh air, felt cramped in his body, cooped up and longed for his nighttime view. He loved the grass of the meadow blowing in the wind, the leaves of the trees swaying back and forth.

Yeonjun loved to stand here and think of nothing.

After all, his head had been filled with impressions and encounters all day. He longed for rest, but tonight he couldn't resist his tiredness. He fell asleep immediately after lying down after dinner. Exhausted from the cleaning work and especially from the previous nights, when he sometimes hadn't been able to close an eye. And when he finally managed to fall asleep, he had bad dreams. It was usually the same nightmare, always with a small detail that set them apart. He always saw himself, felt the fear and pain as if it were real. No matter whether it was a cage, a narrow shaft, a dungeon or a prison. He always felt trapped, struggled to free himself, but that usually came at a high price. That's why he preferred to stay awake, even if the current situation wasn't ideal. But here, on this balcony and in this silence, he felt at ease. Gradually, however, the thought crept into his head as to whether he would meet up with Soobin tonight.

He hadn't looked at his watch and therefore didn't even know the time. He dismissed the thought of Soobin again and strolled along the balcony. He let his hand slide over the railing and breathed in the fresh night air.

Why was the night so beautiful?

Why did the day often feel like torture?

When he reached the end of the small terrace, he looked up at the sloping roof that directly adjoined it. The building had a few more floors, but the roof buckled here on the second floor. Yeonjun thought about it. He had often climbed onto roofs in the past and knew that it was the best place to observe the stars. He held on to the railing, climbed over it and hoisted himself onto the tiles. He swayed briefly, clutched the ledge with his fingers and crawled a few meters over the top of the wall. When he had found a suitable place, he turned onto his back and exhaled with exertion. Now he was lying on the roof of the Moonlit residence, staring up at the black sky, which was dotted with small, glowing dots.