In another dimension (Seventeen Jeongcheol fic)

1. The discovery

The wind in my hair. The gentle breeze kissing my skin. The warm sunshine warming my whole body. It was such a wonderful feeling, and I wished it could last forever. I close my eyes, leaning back against the grass and letting the spring air tickle across my face and arms.

I could lay there for hours, there was nothing more wonderful in the world than laying in a field of grass, feeling nature wash over you like you were being blessed by the air its self. I felt a nudge on my hand and I opened my eyes lazily, glancing over to the side. Wonwoo licked his lips, placing the blunt between my fingers and I closed my eyes again, leaning back and relaxing as I took a long drag of it.

"We should get moving."He sighs eventually.

"I like it here." I frown. "We have hours, days, our whole lives. It's so peaceful here." I try to justify.

"We can't stay here forever Cheol." He says after a while. "Just think about all the other wonderful places we can see, all the other beautiful, beautiful places. We an go anywhere, smoke anything and love anyone. We're free now Cheol."

I let out a soft snort, kicking my legs and sitting up, my eyes squinting in the bright light of the sun as I take a long drag of the blunt again before looking down at the way the smoke gently drifted up from it.

"We're not free."I chuckle, albeit a little sadly. "We'll never be truly free. So don't go round trying to convince me we will. You might have Mingyu all tied up in these ideas of yours but not me. I'll never be free so long as I'm constrained to this life. This rotten excuse of a pathetic life."

Wonwoo gets up, dusting off his pants and extending a hand towards me.

"Come on, lets go, theres some beer in the van, how about we put some music on and have a laugh, we need to get moving."

I sigh, looking at his hand and contemplating it for a moment, knowing he was right. I take his hand and get up. This was the thing I hated the most. The difference in how I defined freedom compared with them. You see, their idea of freedom was moving around, going sight seeing, living life to the fullest, loving everyone and everything, just... doing what they wanted. I on the other hand wanted a different kind of freedom. The feeling of the open air, the wind on my skin, running around in the middle of no where at 4 am with someone I loved and seeing who could be first to touch the sunrise. That was the kind of freedom I craved, but no matter where we went, what we smoked or who we met, that kind of freedom never came to me.

I went and climbed into the back of the van, stretching my long legs out on the tartan blanket and grabbing a beer. Wonwoo hopped into the front of the van where Mingyu had been waiting for him whilst he joined me for a smoke, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"Take us no where babe." He smiled, his voice a deep rumble. I sigh, looking up at Hansol who was sat opposite me, leaning against the back of the seats where Mingyu an Wonwoo were sitting, his eyes closed and his arms relaxed by his sides as he slept. I take a deep breath and drink some more of my beer as the van begins to move. 

"But seriously." Mingyu chuckles. "Where are we going?"

Wonwoo just shrugs.

"Anywhere you want."

Mingyu doesn't reply and instead glances over his shoulder at me.

"Hey Cheol, pass us a beer."

I glace over at the crate of beer bottles in the corner, leaning forwards and grabbing two before leaning over Hansol and handing one to each of them, resting my elbows on the back of the seats as I watch them drive. With no other vehicles in sight and the view of empty roads and trees right in front of me there was no way I was going to move now. I could sleep later. Right now I was just enjoying the view.

Taking another swig of beer, I turn to Mingyu. "Where exactly are we going?"

Mingyu shrugs.

"I thought I'd just drive and see where we end up, sound good?" He asks, giving Wonwoo a quick glance before focusing back on the road.

"Sure thing" He answers, rolling down his window and taking a drink of his beer as the wind begins to ruffle his hair. 

I lean forwards and turn on the stereo, turning the sound up and letting the music fill the van, I feel something nudge my leg and I look down at Hansol who was stirring. He opens an eyes sleepily and stretched, running his fingers through his hair and yawning.

"Morning sleepyhead." Mingyu laughs as he looks back at him. "You slept all day!" He laughs, looking back at the road.

"All day?" Hansol murmurs and I go to sit beside him, opening him a bottle of beer and handing it to him. "God no Cheol, don't I've just woke up."

"Not like you to refuse alcohol." Mingyu laughs.

"I wasn't refusing it, the bottle was cold." He replies, taking a long drink of the cold beer. "You know me better than to think I'd refuse a drink" He chuckles sleepily.

And it was just like that for the next four or five hours, travelling as we pleased, just a group of young boys thinking we were free, going wherever we wanted. With no one to told us back, and no one to tell us we were making mistakes. In a way we were free. But not in the way I wanted to be.

Not in the way I needed to be.

And I somewhat felt that the freedom I craved would never come.

Finally we pull up in the parking lot of a small diner somewhere on a highway. I couldn't tell you where we were or where we were headed, but I can tell you that the burgers in that little place were real fucking good.

We all ate happily, silent as we enjoyed the only food we'd eat that day. For a group who do nothing but travel like us, money was tight. It was our choice to spend it on drugs and alcohol, and it wasn't easy for us to earn money. Sometimes Mingyu and Wonwoo would get called up for modelling jobs, and at those times we'd need to venture into the city, that brought in quite a bit more than we usually had, but it was often blown all at once on more alcohol and drugs, or even just fuel to get us back out in the open. Hansol often spent a lot of the time in the back of the van weaving leather and threading beads to sell jewellery to other groups we met and I... well I did a lot of spiritual shit. Palm reading, crystal healing, dream interpretation, fortune telling, voodoo, tarrot readings, all that sort of stuff. I'd be embarrassed to admit that I was any good at it, in my eyes I was just stumbling through life, chatting shit to gullible strangers, but all of my clients were shocked at what I told them, they said everything I said about them was true or interpreted correctly, the other guys were adamant that I had a 'gift'. Sure I didn't think too highly of what I did, whether it was accurate or not but people paid to listen to me speak to them about themselves, and if they enjoyed it, and I enjoyed it, and it helped me make my way through life and contribute even a fraction of what the others did, well I'd just have to keep doing it.

In truth, even if they told me I was terrible at it, I'd keep trying an trying until I improved. I adored it, it was something that's always fascinated me, because when you're able to control your dreams and go anywhere and see and do anything within your imagination, thats when you know you're free.

Or at least, thats what my idea of freedom was.

Until I met a group that changed my life.

~~~

A/N: Such a short first chapter but thank you for reading, I hope you'll enjoy whats going to come of this and what'd going to happen in the next chapter, I'm so excited to write this!!! I've been toying with this idea a lot before and it almost ended up being a 2min SHINee fic at one point, but after having little interests in groups other than seventeen since their debut (dont get me wrong I still love them all but reading and writing fanfiction you know....) I decided just to make it a seventeen fic :)

Thank you all once again and it would be much appreciated if youd give a cheeky vote and subscribe if you've enjoyed it so far!!

        - Emily x