Dream Me a Sonatine

3 - A Lethal Irony

'HYUNJIN KIM!'

Hyunjin's body was frozen still, as it was after every dream. A few seconds later and Hyunjin jolted, her fingers closing on something sharp in surprise. She hissed in pain, blinking up at the enraged face of Frau Freudenberg. To her credit, Freudenberg was speaking slowly so that Hyunjin might understand, but it was also at twice her normal volume.

'Sleeping during rehearsals or showcases is NOT permitted, as you should already know!' shouted Frau Freudenberg. Hyunjin could her everyone around her sniggering, and she fought the urge to roll her eyes. 'You had better start behaving like a proper student, or I expect things will not go quite so smoothly in your music career.'

Hyunjin blinked at her, more focused on the stabbing pain in her hand. 'I need to go to the bathroom, I don't feel well,' she stammered. Freudenberg frowned, but Hyunjin stood up, quickly rushing to the back of the hall and through the doors. She ran through the corridor, very aware of the warm substance trickling through her fingers, and pushed the bathroom door open.

Panting, she uncurled her fingers, holding her hand over the sink. Blood blossomed from her palm, and embedded in the skin at the centre were several sharp, yellowish objects. Gritting her teeth, she pulled one out. Immediately, more blood flowed and she grabbed some tissue from next to the hand dryer, pressing it down as she examined the object she'd placed on the sink.

It was a tooth. Razor-sharp and bloodstained, and bigger than a human's. She took a deep breath and quickly ripped the other teeth out. It was painful, and she bit back a scream, but the tissue wrapped around her hand staunched the wound.

Hyunjin picked up one of the bloody teeth. Of course she'd dreamt of night horrors in the middle of class. Very convenient. She could only thank whatever had prevented one from following her outside the dream. Yes, teeth were pretty damn painful, but if a giant monster had materialised in the recital hall, her classmates would probably be slightly horrified and very dead.

She probably should've returned to the hall, but she decided she was too 'ill' to do so and traipsed upstairs to her dorm, closing the door behind her. A small sigh escaped her lips as she collapsed on the bed. Her memories of the dream were blurred, and she was grateful. Perhaps she had only been half-asleep which had dampened the horrors attacking her mind.

It could have been worse. So much worse.

***

2 years ago

Hyunjin felt chills snaking up her arms, her skin rippling into tiny goosebumps. She shivered, it felt colder tonight. Usually her dreams were at a comfortable temperature, despite the fact that she was always standing in a huge icy wasteland. But tonight felt... different.

And when her eyes found the hazy line of the horizon, she knew.

The sky was bleeding red, flames and smoke eating at blue. It was impossible and it was possible, because it was a dream. The sky was on fire, and the ice beneath it was shining and solid. It was somewhat beautiful, a firework orgy exploding above her.

Firework orgy. Hyunjin cursed her brain for completely disregarding the concept of 'wrong place wrong time' and rubbed her arms, attempting to restore some warmth in her veins.

Her veins were the colour of spilled ink.

She yelped, backing away as if she could back away from herself, but a second later her veins were pale blue once more. Her eyes darted around her warily, as if she could actually do something to defend herself. Inside, she knew. This was a nightmare and there was no escaping it.