TR | MW [✔]

01.

Wonwoo leapt off the bed at the sound of a scream. For a minute, he couldn't remember where he was, let alone work out who the howl of terror was coming from.

He launched back, colliding with another person, and fell on their neighboring bed. He scuffled with the stranger, and their grunts and mumbles only added to the soundtrack of horror coming from the other side of the room. They both fell silent with their fists scrunched in each other's t-shirts. If death had a sound, they were listening to it.

"Jesus Christ," he mumbled.

"I don't think he's gonna help."

The lights came on, and Wonwoo pushed off from the body he was clutching. He stared at the man thrashing on the bed, in the midst of a nightmare. A lock clunked, and two guards rushed into the room. They seemed hesitant, didn't approach, and darted panicked looks at each other.

"Seungcheol!"

Shouting the man's name had no effect.

The other guard tried to whisper the name, but it made no difference. No voice could reach the screaming man. He had fallen into the depths of hell, and unbeknownst to him, he was dragging them all down with him. Wonwoo shuddered—he couldn't imagine what was happening inside the man's head.

It was clear that neither of the guards wanted to approach the man on the bed, and Wonwoo didn't blame them. He was huge, muscular, tattooed, with tired eyes when they were open, but closed, they were framed with angry lines, an expression of pure agony, and it was terrifying.

"Get against the wall."

Wonwoo nodded, and he and his fellow inmate pressed their backs to the wall and held their hands up. They didn't dare move or make a sound.

Another prison guard came into the room, rolled his eyes, and strolled up to the man tossing and turning with terror.

"Captain!"

The howling stopped. The tortured prisoner rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. His great chest heaved, and he swiped his hand down his face.

When Wonwoo had first met him, they'd exchanged names. Captain Choi Seungcheol. Wonwoo had called him Captain for short, and that earned him a small smile. He decided he would always refer to him as Captain from that moment on.

"You were having a nightmare."

Captain burst out laughing. "A nightmare? Nightmares aren't real. Everything I saw, the emotions in my mind, the pain in my chest, it's real." He lifted his hands above him, and they trembled wildly. "I need a drink."

"You won't be having one of those for the next five years."

He laughed again, and Wonwoo watched the tears run from his eyes. He sobbed while he laughed, and the sound and sight were hard to watch, and equally hard to look away from. Wonwoo stared down at his feet until a guard grabbed his forearm and pulled him toward his bed.

"You've got one more hour of shut-eye."

Wonwoo lay back down on the mattress but didn't get under the sheet. He didn't want any obstacle tripping him if he had to launch from the bed again. He felt Captain's eyes on him, and they made his heart thump. He glanced up and linked eyes with the strained ones watching him.

"Did I wake you?"

Wonwoo shrugged and looked away. "I was half awake anyway."

Captain snorted, then rolled over to face the wall. Wonwoo could see the back of his t-shirt was drenched in sweat. His hair was kept military short, and when they went through the booking in process, his dog tags had been around his neck. He'd been forced to place them in a box for his eventual release.