✔ || Distract Me

Chapter 26

Jeongguk wandered through the white dreamscape, craning his head around. Whenever his bare feet landed, it was like he was stepping in water. It was cold, though the temperature of the air always seemed perfect here. He hugged himself, lamenting that he was only in sweatpants. His toes were numb, but still he walked. Usually, there was a tug in the back of his mind that led him to Taehyung. It was still there, but it was much fainter than usual, and he struggled to focus on it.

Taehyung had told him that he himself could never search for the maknae. It was against the rules to be in a human's head like that. He didn't fully understand why Jeongguk could enter his dreamscape, but he didn't think it could get them in trouble so long as it was Jeongguk who found him, not the other way around.

The atmosphere held a sense of paranoia that threatened to constrict Jeongguk until his ribs broke. It was quiet - normally it was a gentle quiet, one that caressed and soothed him, but tonight it was threatening. He wetted his lips and circled around. "Hyung?"

Nothing.

"Tae?" He shouted, his voice cracking. "Taehyung?"

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Jeongguk broke into a run, the hem of his pants sloshing through the mysterious water. Panic and adrenaline pushed him onward. His lungs burned, as if he wasn't breathing at all.

Blinding pain suddenly seared through Jeongguk's skull. He stumbled and fell, holding his head. His vision blackened and he squeezed his eyes shut, his entire body convulsing. Bile, thick and bitter, rose in his throat and he gagged.

And then the white of the dreamscape siphoned into black, an inky darkness that threatened to swallow him whole. The pain faded to a dull throbbing and Jeongguk pushed himself to his feet. He wasn't even fully upright before his muscles locked and he dropped to his knees again, cursing.

"That's no way to speak, little one."

Jeongguk froze, fury and terror rising in his chest. His head snapped up, eyes narrowing. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He struggled to stand, but he was too weak and collapsed forward onto his palms, shaking. "What did you do to me?"

Raphael crouched in front of him, lifting his head with his index finger under his chin. It burned the maknae's skin and he hissed. Raphael leaned close, close enough for Jeongguk to see his pupils through the haze that eternally covered him. "You're pretty for a human. I suppose I can see the appeal."

Jeongguk swished around the bile-saliva mixture in his mouth and spat it on Raphael's cheek. The archangel hissed and stood, letting Jeongguk unceremoniously fall forward. The maknae released a weak laugh, "So I'm told."

"You're prideful, though. It's a shame," Raphael wiped his cheek, wrinkling his nose. "Pride is the original sin, little one. You should deny it."

"I learn best from example," Jeongguk shot back, his throat dry. He sat on his heels, still bent forward on his hands.

Raphael suddenly slapped him. It scorched his cheek and Jeongguk groaned. Raphael snarled, "I could end you, little one. Taehyung would be much easier to handle if I did."

"Taehyung would kill you if you did," Jeongguk said, unsure where his bravery (stupidity?) was coming from.

"He would certainly try," Raphael mused. "He's said himself that he'd rip my wings out."

"I hope he does anyway," Jeongguk said. "You don't deserve them."

"I suppose not," Raphael hummed thoughtfully. "I mean, I'm the one who broke the rule in the first place. I suppose it'd be...poetic justice. But I'm an archangel, little one, as you so smartly figured out. Who would dare believe a lowly guardian over me?" His voice was so cocky that Jeongguk wanted to strangle him. Raphael raked his fingers down Jeongguk's bare back, evoking a low noise of pain. "I suppose I should let you go to him now. He'll be worried. You two will slip up soon. And then I'll relish in your expression when I throw him into hell."