NIGHTMARE

05 | nightmare or reality

kihyun woke gasping for air, his body trembling with fear. a sheen of sweat licked his forehead, and his heart was beating so fast he thought it might burst.

that same nightmare. again.

it was a memory on replay; he just couldn't get it out of his head.

it was the first time he'd had it again since last week, but he couldn't figure out why. it had haunted him the first few nights of moving into the new apartment, but for some reason had then stopped. and the night it stopped was the first night in months that kihyun had gotten a good night's sleep.

and now he was exhausted, and would have to survive the day on coffee and an hour of sleep.

"ah, mr. yoo, we were just about to get started," said the headteacher as kihyun turned up late to the staff meeting.

"sorry," kihyun mumbled, and found a quiet corner to hide in as the meeting ensued.

"so, next item on the agenda," the headmaster continued, "the closing of choir club. miss park, who used to take the club, has left us and therefore there is no staff. unless someone would like to step up?"

kihyun's ears pricked at the word choir.

kihyun loved singing. music was his secret passion and choirs were one of his favourite things, mainly because of the beautiful harmonies they could create.

but stepping up to lead the choir? no way.

"no one?" the headmaster continued. "okay... oh, we will also be having to close the weightlifting club because mrs hee who used to lead it is now on maternity leave."

mr. son suddenly stepped forward, his biceps practically rippling beneath the taut fabric of his white shirt. "actually, i would like to take responsibility for the weightlifting club," he said.

the headmaster's face lit up at that. "well, thank you very much, mr. son!" he said. "i'm sure the students will really appreciate that."

kihyun suddenly thought of the students who must've attended choir club before miss park had left. they couldn't sing anymore... the thought made him shudder. he couldn't let that happen. 

"the meeting has now ended, have a good week everyone," said the headmaster, and the staff began to disperse. 

"wait, sir-!" kihyun tried to catch up with the headmaster, but instead ended up smacking straight into mr. son's broad chest. 

"oh, sorry, mr. yoo," mr. son chuckled as they stepped apart. "how's your first few days been, by the way?"

kihyun darted past him. "sorry - in a rush," he mumbled, his short legs carrying him up the corridor after the headteacher. "sir!"

"oh, ah - mr. yoo," said the headmaster once kihyun caught up. "can i help you?"

kihyun took a moment to catch his breath and smiled sheepishly. "i was, um, wondering if i could take the choir club?"

the headmaster looked pleasantly surprised. "are you a keen singer, mr. yoo?"

kihyun nodded a little shyly. "i used to sing when i was in high school," he explained. 

"well, it would be wonderful if you could take the choir," said the headmaster. "they meet every friday lunchtime in the auditorium. thank you very much, mr. yoo."

"no problem," kihyun breathed. 

kihyun couldn't stop thinking about choir club through the rest of the lessons he taught that day. would he even be able to lead it? he remembered the days he'd spent in high school rearranging song parts, composing his own music, singing as part of the choir...

 he'd left it behind after deciding to pursue teaching. but who was to say he couldn't pick it up again?

"you alright there, sir? you look a little zoned out," came the chuckle from the back of the room. 

kihyun snapped back to reality. there he was - his real life nightmare, lim changkyun. "less of the sass, please, changkyun," he said. "anyway, class, get out your texts and turn to page seven."

at the end of class, kihyun piled up his books to take them back to his car. the class was dismissed, but one student stayed behind. 

"need a hand there, kihyun?" changkyun enquired, picking up a heavy box of books to mark without his teacher's permission. 

"actually-" kihyun began, struggling with what he was already carrying, "you can just go home, changkyun."

"nah, no can do," said changkyun, leading the way out of the door with the bulk of mr. yoo's belongings. "and you forgot to correct me, sir."

"what?" kihyun was a little frazzled with everything that was happening. 

"on your name," changkyun reminded him. "it's not fun to call you kihyun if you don't bother to correct me."

kihyun blinked. "it's mr. yoo," he said, "mr. yoo. m-i-s-t-e-r. y-o-o."

changkyun just chortled as the teacher played right into his hands. "so, kihyun," he said, completely ignoring him, "a little birdy told me that you're taking over the choir club."

"huh? how did you know that?" kihyun demanded. god, he hadn't told anybody. how does changkyun just manage to find out everything?

"like i said - a little birdy told me," changkyun repeated. then he paused. "okay fine, sewoon overheard you talking to the headmaster in the corridor this morning and he told me."

"who's sewoon?" 

changkyun laughed at him. "why? you jealous?"

"pfft, don't be ridiculous," kihyun scoffed. "oh, he's in your class, isn't he? jeong sewoon?"

"obviously," changkyun drawled. "don't you know your own students, sir?"

kihyun rolled his eyes. they had reached his tiny run-down car, which was in dire need of a replacement. he tried to juggle everything he was holding to be able to unlock it, but changkyun just snatched the key from him and unlocked the car for him. 

"i could do that myself, thank you," said kihyun with a huff. he dumped the stuff in the back seat and changkyun did the same. 

"anyway, sir," said changkyun, leaning seductively against the side of the car, "i think i'll join your choir club."

"you can sing?" kihyun asked in surprise, stopping halfway to the driver's seat. 

"of course!" changkyun insisted. "i have the voice of an angel." he started to sing, letting out a beautiful... croak.

"right," said kihyun. "well, goodbye, changkyun. go home now."

"but sir..." changkyun complained, peering in the car as kihyun slid into the front seat. "i live so far away..."

kihyun tried to close the car door but changkyun was holding it firmly open. "that wouldn't be very appropriate, changkyun," he mumbled, struggling for an answer. 

changkyun gazed at him and eventually let out a laugh. "see you tomorrow, sir," he relented, letting the door go. he raised a fist and said, "fighting!"

kihyun sighed heavily as he drove away from the school. he couldn't decide which was worse: his reoccurring nightmare, or lim changkyun. 

they both seemed to be the same thing anyway. 

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