if I lose my mind 2
dream sorter haechan x dreamer fem reader
genre: fantasy/tim burton-esque, romance, smut, angst!!, fluffy moments
warnings: +18, explicit sexual content, jaemin is an accidental voyeur, swearing, wounds
other characters: mark, taeyong, jaemin, taeil
words: 11k
read part 1 here
"I want your fingers inside my mouth," you tasted the words on your tongue.
The place was dark, and you couldn’t clearly see the face of the person you were addressing. Only half of his face was on display - his perfect nose and a pair of plump lips.
What you said was meant to be a mere flirty joke, but the man's Adam apple moved up and down in nervousness as his breath got shaky. The collarbones were on display in his black silk shirt as if inviting you bite down. He took a step towards you before you could do anything, caging you with his arms and you gasped gently. The sink dug into the softness of your ass and your torso leaned back, shy of his sudden closeness.
He stared you down for a moment although you couldn’t exactly see his eyes. You tried to exchange the look, but your gaze fell on his open lips instead. And when he let the water run behind you, little drops hit your bare back making you shiver.
He was as close as to caressing your face with his breath, yet so far away from kissing you.
And then you gasped again, feeling some of the water drops on your exposed bosom as he lifted one wet hand to your face. His two fingers were nudging at your open lips, and you opened your mouth wider. The man slid them inside of it and you hummed.
"Like this?" he murmured, looking at your doe eyes.
You held his wrist with both hands, sucking on his fingers diligently, nodding twice.
"Fuck," he whispered, the feeling of your warm tongue on the underside of them making him get even closer. His thigh pushed between your legs, and you grabbed his luscious shirt with your hands, right when
“Y/N, wake u- ouch!”
You gasped, mouth pasty and brain fried only to see Taeyong’s scrunched face under your palm, whining on your right.
“Sorry, sorry, oh my god, are you okay?”
You took the hand away and your boyfriend massaged his nose with a light chuckle. “I am okay. Good slap. Who were you fighting in your dream?”
The bedroom was dark, and you could barely make sense of his features but his eyes were shining.
“Oh,” you inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to focus. You were having this dream-
Taeyong didn’t talk for a moment then he gently wiggled his thigh, and you realized only in that moment that it was tightly hugged by your legs.
“Oh,” you gulped again, unclasping your thighs. Taeyong didn’t move his leg away.
“I wasn’t minding it,” his deep sleepy voice caressed your ears. “What were you dreaming about?”
You grunted, rolling on your back and hitting the pillow with the head. Your face was on fire and your panties were too damp for your liking. Then you tried to remember what the hell were you dreaming about, to make you start humping Taeyong like that in the middle of the night. Flashes of someone’s jaw and lips danced in your sleepy mind for a moment, then the feeling of fingers on your tongue.
“I just hope the dream was with me at this point,” Taeyong pulled you back by the waist and you chuckled a bit. Honestly you had no idea. But that must have been Taeyong.
“Of course, it was with you. Who else can I have dreams about?”
__________
Haechan thought he’d be able to stop thinking about you, but the habit of waiting every day to meet you, looking at your curious eyes and inviting you to choose a dreaming door, wasn’t something that could disappear all of a sudden. Although he couldn’t dream, the moments he spent with you were the closest thing to a dream he has ever experienced. While moving around like an automaton doing his tasks, his mind wouldn’t stop imagining your face, your eyes, your body. His fingertips could almost feel your skin. Your scent would randomly engulf him, making him stop in his tracks and turn around as if he could suddenly see you appear from behind a corner with your little cunning smile.
But you weren’t there, just random people passing by.
He’d close his eyes to compose himself, head thrown back and deep breaths, then he’d start walking again.
__________
Jaemin looked at Haechan stopping in his tracks and looking around like a hound. Their eyes met for a split second and Jaemin’s breath stopped, but Haechan’s dark pupils went over his figure as if looking for someone else. His shoulders looked droopy as he walked away and Jaemin exhaled anxiously, wondering what to do.
It was completely normal for people to have sexual dreams. That was part of the core training - not weird to see wet dreams, don’t piss your pants. Shame wasn’t something Jaemin’s people ever experienced but somehow, he could understand why the Dreamers were ashamed of their sexual thoughts during waking hours, bringing upon themselves convoluted wet dreams instead.
So Jaemin didn’t think much of your dreams. Some were confusing, some were nightmares, and some were sad. He was ready to see all sorts of things. But his breath stopped, and his spine shivered the moment he saw a familiar man in your dreams as well.
“Listen, this is a top-secret situation, and we need to be discreet. No one must know your Dreamer has been Lee Haechan’s. Got it?”
Jaemin was standing in front of Taeil’s desk and nodded once, taking up his first task after graduating just a few days ago.
“No one talks about their Dreamers in detail so if anyone asks just be vague about it,” Taeil continued. “And if you see something weird going on, you must tell me.”
“Weird like, what, sir?”
Taeil sighed. “I don’t know. You’ll probably understand if something is weird.”
Jaemin and Haechan didn’t know each other well, but he saw him in a few of his classes. Haechan was a genius so he graduated much earlier than everyone else so Jaemin didn’t have time to become friends. But he was sure he was the man you kept dreaming about. The thing is, you should have forgotten him on the spot the moment you changed Dream Sorters. The security classes were fresh in his mind but unless Jaemin missed info because he was asleep, no one ever mentioned such a situation to him before. Was it normal for you to dream about Lee Haechan or was that something weird enough to communicate?
__________
The class that morning was more boring than usual, you realized. The sun was shining brightly and warming your body slowly, making you feel like some sort of rotisserie chicken. The notes you were trying to take were gibberish. In the corners of the pages, there were some doodles. The one you were working on was some sort of flower.
The professor’s monotonous voice just added to the heaviness of your eyes, and you decided to just close them for a second. Just a moment, resting them for a bit.
You did just that, and with a heavy sigh, you opened them again.
But there was no professor or students’ backs. No classroom and no notes.
You were standing in the middle of a dimly lit room. It was minimal but cosy, with a comfortable bed on one side, a soft rug under your nude feet, and a desk against a big window, from which you could see a breathtaking view.
A deep shiver ran across your body from head to toe. Where the hell were you? Were you dreaming? Or having a psychotic moment? Your mouth felt dry, and you felt panic descending into your bloodstream.
A single sound in the silent room made you jump in place, and you covered your mouth with both palms. It was a person, resting their head on their arms on the desk. For a second you thought that was you and you were having an out-of-body experience, but then you noticed the wide shoulders, the veiny hands, and finally the expression of a young man, lifting his head to lock eyes with you.
He smiled as if he could see you and you felt pulled to smile back although you felt scared out of your mind one second prior.
“Pretty face today,” you heard yourself say. Then you furrowed your eyebrows and touched your lips as if not believing you actually said that to a stranger.
“Can look prettier with you sitting on it,” the young man replied lazily as if he was used to this kind of banter.
You felt your breath stop but your feet started to walk towards him as if they weren’t yours. He pushed his chair back to give you space and you placed his hands on his shoulders, slowly straddling his spread thighs. His eyes were deep but bright under his soft hair. You lifted one hand to feel it. It was pink, soft, and a bit damaged. He closed his eyes under your touch and his palms tightened their hold on your waist. They were warming your skin through the silk nightgown you were wearing.
“Be careful about what you desire,” you whispered. The words kept coming out of you as if you were under a spell and someone was moving you like a puppet.
He opened his eyes and stared at you, drinking in your features. “I’ve never regretted anything before.”
Then his expression darkened all of a sudden. You tilted your head to the side as if not understanding. “No,” he added, as an explanation. “Maybe I do regret something. Just one thing. Letting you go,” the young man murmured.
You had no idea what that meant but your body felt painful as if that phrase opened a wound you didn’t know you had.
You palmed his face, gently cupping his cheeks, sliding your fingers right under his jaw.
“I am here though.”
The young man’s lips stretched into a bitter smile. “Are you really?”
He exhaled deeply and let his head fall, burying his face into your chest, wrapping your body with his arms as tightly as he could. You did the same with his head, resting your lips on the crown of it, lulled by the scent of his shampoo.
“I’ll believe it even if just for a moment,” his voice buzzed against your skin. “Nothing wrong with talking to themselves and being delusional in your room, right, Haechan?” he added with a little smile in his voice, as if talking to himself.
You opened your mouth to say he wasn’t crazy because you were there when a sudden loud knock on the door made your heart fall to your guts.
You lifted your head from your arms with a gasp and focused your eyesight. The professor was still talking just as monotonously as before. None of your classmates noticed you falling asleep, so you exhaled and relaxed in your chair. The water on your desk looked delicious and you had a big gulp from the bottle. Then your eyes fell on the doodles you were doing before. You sighed and played with your pen, a weird sensation still lingering under your skin. Under the flowers you’ve drawn, you wrote a name.
Haechan.
__________
Haechan rolled his eyes at the knock on his door. He lifted his head from his arms and stretched them above his head.
Wasting the afternoons fantasizing about you has been a problem for him lately.
This time it felt so real that he had the sensation you’d actually been on his lap just seconds ago.
He rested his hands on his thighs and they felt warm.
Haechan whined feeling like going crazy, but a second more violent knock disturbed him again and destroyed the last remnants of your presence.
“Who’s there?” he asked, getting up and walking towards the door.
Mark opened it before Haechan could grab the handle. His eyes were wide like a deer’s and Haechan was about to ask what was going on before he could see the figure of another person behind his shoulders.
“This is Jaemin. Y/N’s new Dream Sorter. He needs to talk to you.”
__________
That evening you walked home instead of taking any transportation. The cool air should have been able to oxygenate your brain and you desperately needed that. The dream you had during class and the name you basically engraved in your notebook by outlining it for the remaining 20 minutes of class until it tore the page were heavy on your conscience.
Taeyong’s texts were also unread on your phone but you couldn’t see him that day.
Was it normal to have dreams about other men even if you had no idea who the men were? You felt horrible. Not because you felt guilty, but because of the lack of guilt.
You’ve been feeling weird lately, moody, and irritable.
You’d forget so many things, you’d misplace objects. It got to a point in which you’d nod and smile at everything Taeyong was telling you, although you had no memory of anything he was talking about.
You couldn’t talk to him about it. You couldn’t even mention it to Doyoung because he’d definitely snitch.
And it has been so embarrassing and actually humiliating to sit down and go through all of your stuff one night, looking for signs of you dating your boyfriend. You couldn’t remember your anniversary date. You had no photos together. You couldn’t recall any date you’ve been on. And you felt even more humiliated when you grabbed your phone to google early signs of memory loss.
But the worst thing of them all was your lack of feelings.
Was this the reason your brain was feeding you wet dreams with other men? To tell you to break up with him?
You stopped walking and passed one hand on your face with a groan.
Then you looked around and fumbled towards the closest bench you could see. The little notebook you started to use as a dream journal was pretty much empty, safe for the two dreams you had that week. You opened it and felt the pages, looking into your handwriting as if they were a code waiting to be broken. It wasn’t obvious to you before, but now you could tell. The energy of those dreams was the same. You couldn’t remember the man’s - Haechan? - face, but his touch, scent, and tone of voice were so recognizable that you felt stupid for not realizing the two dreams were connected.
Who was this man? Were you slowly descending into madness?
__________
Jaemin grunted when Haechang grabbed his collar and pushed him into the wall. “You smell like her.”
Haechan’s voice was low and cutting. Jaemin tried to smile but it came difficult while being strangled.
“Easy, easy. He’s her Dream Sorter and they’re in the same room every night. It’s normal,” Mark placed his hands on Haechan’s extended arm. Haechan didn’t look like wanting to drop it but Jaemin’s pleading voice made Haechan sigh and let go, patting his chest a few times to adjust the shirt.
Jaemin inhaled sharply as he got freed from Haechan’s clasp and dramatically slid a bit on the wall to rest his hands on the knees.
Haechan’s nostrils flared and then relaxed as if suddenly losing strength. “So it has been you all of this time,” he mumbled.
“He didn’t do anything to her,” Mark explained. “He’s here to help.”
Haechan felt dizzy. All of those times he felt your scent it was just Jaemin accidentally walking past him. He felt stupid for believing he kept having some sort of magical connection with you after you parted ways, but at the same time he was glad he actually smelled your scent and he wasn’t slowly losing his mind instead.
“Wow, that was something,” Jaemin massaged his neck and looked for a chair to sit down on.
Haechan crossed his arms on his chest. “You’ll survive.” If looks could kill Jaemin would have been incinerated already.
Mark rolled his eyes. “Haechan.”
The latter sighed and finally sat on the bed, shifting his weight forward to adjust himself and spreading his legs comfortably.
“Well?” he looked at Mark and then Jaemin. “I’m all ears.”
Jaemin gave Mark a look and Haechan understood they’d discussed the matter between themselves beforehand.
“I am her Dream Sorter now and I can see her dreams,” Jaemin started.
Haechan wasn’t impressed. Of course, he could see your dreams. The jealousy was eating his guts alive, but Haechan chose to not think about the Dream Sorter you might have gotten for his own sanity. Yet, there he was in his bedroom, flaunting it and pissing Haechan off.
“And she’s dreaming about you,” Jaemin finished.
Haechan forgot how to breathe.
__________
Taeyong was already sitting when you arrived at the little cafè you asked him to meet you at.
It wasn’t a date but the fairy lights above his head and the way he was waiting for you made your heart hurt.
“Hey,” you barely said, grabbing your own chair to sit down.
Taeyong lifted his head to look at you, but you didn’t dare to look him in the eyes.
“Hey,” he replied after a few moments.
He probably knew. Your dry “we need to talk” text after ignoring his messages was enough indication of what was going on.
When you finally let your gaze fall on his face your breath stopped. He was legit breathtaking. And so sad that you decided to look at his hands instead.
You were probably completely insane to want to break up with a man like Taeyong.
“You know I’ll sound completely crazy, but,” you started, “I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and-” you interrupted yourself, “-I don’t know when we started dating.”
You felt stupid saying that.
Taeyong’s face didn’t communicate anything. His deep dark eyes were drinking into your features instead as if he knew it was the last time seeing you.
He opened his lips after gulping once and told you about a random date. It didn’t mean anything to you.
“I don’t remember it,” your voice broke. “I don’t remember anything, Taeyong. I woke up one day and you were my boyfriend.”
The man sighed but he didn’t look surprised. That was even more creepy.
“There’s something going on with me that I need to resolve. So, I am not breaking up with you because you did something wrong or anything. It’s me.”
“I can give you some space. There’s no need to-”
“I like somebody else,” you sputtered on the spot then gasped softly. Taeyong stopped his phrase but he didn’t look shocked at this either. The most surprised one of the two was you. Why did you feel like dreaming? And why were dreams feeling more like reality?
“No. I meant I feel like- I don’t know,” you babbled, one hand to support your head. You didn’t like anybody else. Right? Then why did you feel like you did? Taeyong let you talk then leaned forward for a moment to gently put a strand of hair you messed up back in place.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “I tried.”
You straightened your back at his words. He licked his lower lip once and you waited.
“Sometimes we try a lot with people it’s not meant to be. And we’re not meant to be. That’s why you feel that way. I get it now.”
His hand was placed right in front of you, and you wavered at first, but you knew he’d understand, so you just placed yours on top of it. His lips stretched in a tight smile.
“You know how in movies and books people are always meant to be? “
You nodded.
“I’ve always felt like I was surrounded by these couples and I forced myself into them like a third no one is really fond of.”
Taeyong’s tone was light and airy. Yet you could see the heaviness on his shoulders.
“And no, don’t say I’ll meet my own person in the future,” he smiled wider when you opened your mouth in an attempt to comfort him. “I’m alright.”
“I am sorry Taeyong.”
He shook his head. “No. I am sorry, and I owe you my apologies.”
“For what?”
“Haechan,” he simply said. “He’s the man you like, right?”
__________
“Well, that’s completely insane.”
Mark and Jaemin exchanged a worried look before going back to stare at the way Haechan kept pacing around the room, one hand on the hip, the other on his stressed forehead.
“No. That makes absolutely zero sense. It has never been seen before.” the young man suddenly stopped as he did a few times already while going through the stages of grief. So far it was only Denial and Mark sighed, wondering how much they’ll have to keep being there.
“And you?” Haechan indicated Jaemin with one accusatory finger. “You’ve been a fucking sick voyeur all of this time?”
Mark rolled his eyes. Great, he was at Anger already. Maybe it was going to be quicker than expected.
Jaemin huffed incredulously. “I tell you that your fantasies become her dreams and that’s what you're most worried about? Me seeing them?”
Haechan put the extended hand on his hip, staring Jaemin down like some pissed-off mother. “That’s a serious and normal concern. I’ve been-” he started but quickly interrupted himself as a dark shadow passed his eyes.
He cleared his throat looking at the floor for a moment.
Mark has never seen Haechan shy before.
“I’ve been thinking many things lately. The fact you’ve been in my mind all of this time through Y/N is making me feel violated.”
“What have you been fantasizing about?” Mark’s corner of the lip lifted.
“That’s not important.”
“Well, it looks important to you if you’re acting like that.”
“Listen,” Jaemin interrupted the two. “The most important thing is trying to understand how and why this is happening. Y/N should have completely forgotten you after she changed Dream Sorters. She doesn’t remember you but she can sense a connection. That is weird. And the way your fantasies become her dreams has never happened before.”
Mark and Haechan closed their mouths at Jaemin’s grave tone.
“With each dream, she grows closer to you. You also said your own name in the last dream and now she knows that too. She’s probably going to go insane and you said that’s why you separated in the first place. Now, all of that is useless. And I am also in the middle now. I should have reported this but I didn’t and if someone finds out they might take me out too.”
Haechan let his tongue bump into his cheek for a second. He didn’t like where this was going.
“You need to put a stop to this,” Jaemin’s eyes were dark and cold.
“How?”
Haechan knew the answer even before Jaemin could reply.
“No ties. You need to stop thinking about her.”
__________
You didn’t understand Taeyong at first. Haechan sounded like something very important that has been escaping your mind. You felt like that about everything lately, as if you were in some sort of nightmare.
“I don’t understand,” you replied with a tiny voice.
Taeyong’s eyebrows furrowed but he remained silent.
“I thought-”
“You thought what?” you asked when he hesitated. His pupils were wide and dark, looking at you, but he couldn’t see you for real.
His eyes suddenly twinkled and his jaw relaxed. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
You blinked at him, more confused than before.
“No. You have to tell me now.”
Taeyong’s lips went as far as stretch in a secret smile he thought you couldn’t see. You suddenly felt cold.
“We can break up. Don’t worry about it.”
You looked at him as he suddenly stood up and wore his jacket. “See you in class.”
__________
The only thing Haechan had for himself was the freedom to use his head the way he wanted to.
If you weren’t there, he could make you up in his mind.
If he couldn’t kiss your lips he could imagine their softness.
If he couldn’t hold you he could pretend his hands were on your body.
And now he learned he couldn’t even do that.
He skipped Bargaining and was already in the Depression stage.
His room was getting lighter with sunrise, a sign it was almost night in your world, and it somehow made Haechan’s headache worse. So, he just closed his eyes, pillow on his face, to try and drown any sensation.
He might as well just die at that point, he snickered without humour.
Jaemin told him to try it out for just one night, just to test the theory.
But Haechan was so not good at following any orders.
Some time passed and Haechan was still there, unable to fall asleep, unable to relax, unable to stop thinking about you.
He huffed loudly, throwing the pillow towards the window where it stopped against the wall.
“I am trying, okay?” he looked up at the ceiling as if Jaemin was there looking down at him. The sensation of being watched made his skin shiver, but it wasn’t exactly unpleasant. The realization made Haechan shiver again. Was that a common kink?
He scoffed, turning to one side. Then to the other.
The bed creaked under his hard movements and his mind went to the sound of the bed he fucked you on that night- no.
No no. Haechan stop. You can’t. No.
He whined a little and opened his eyes.
He couldn’t sleep. He wasn’t allowed to. Was this how you felt all of that time? It was hell.
I mean, couldn’t he even rub one out either? You had nothing to do with his cock, per se. The important thing was to not think about you while doing that.
Shouldn’t be hard. Right?
__________
Your apartment was dark just like your brain after talking to Taeyong. The walk felt wobbly and you’ve never felt more grateful to touch the pillow with your head. Maybe after a good night's sleep, everything would make more sense. You sighed and tried to relax. Then you huffed on one side.
Taeyong’s words kept rolling in your head meaninglessly.
Haechan Haechan Haechan. The man you liked.
What did that mean? Was Haechan the man you’ve been dreaming? You were pretty sure you’ve heard or read it somewhere before.
In class? Maybe.
In your notes? Probably.
Think.
Notes? Your school notes?
You gasped and sat up, remembering the dream you had and the word you wrote down in your notes, circling it. You looked around, trying to find your bag in the darkness but the outline of the room felt suddenly off. The sun was timidly starting to shine from behind your back and you realized the floor was cold against your knees.
In front of you, there was a bed and a man sleeping on it.
Haechan’s hair was curled and spread on the pillow, just a single strand still on his forehead. It got knocked away as he pushed his head back into the bed, even more, eyes closed as if almost in pain. You could make sense of the silhouette of his plump lips, open in a silent whimper, against the dark purple of the window, and of his Adam’s apple in his extended throat. It moved as he swallowed, and you felt bewitched until you noticed the movement of his fingers instead. They were sliding down his nude stomach and the movements of his lean abs flinching under the touch were so enticing that you couldn’t look away. But then the silence got disrupted by a short groan and your eyes darted back to his face scrunched as if in pain or pleasure. Perhaps both, because from the way he was teasing himself on top of his sweats you could tell he was on edge.
“Fuck,” he whispered but you could hear him very well as his hips bucked upwards against his palm. The pants were low on his hips and the view made you tighten your thighs together. You wanted to walk over, touch him the way he was touching himself, but you couldn’t move for some reason, and the frustration just made you even damper. You just had to watch at the way two veins snaked under his band, and you imagined how they would feel under your tongue. Would his skin be hot? Yes, you decided, as if you already knew, and it would be silky, getting even silkier as you'd go down even more, following the veins with your tongue until meeting the tip of his cock. You wondered what Haechan's voice would sound like. Husky? Deep? Or whiny and breathy? You didn't have to think too much about that, because a grunt filled your years and you realized you missed the moment he took off his clothes. His long fingers were finally on his hard cock, lazily pumping it, reaching for his balls with the other hand, pressing his thumb on the leaking tip. You felt your throat dry as you tried to gulp. Not once in your life you've assisted to such erotic view, Haechan pleasuring himself making you so dazy you had to rest your head on something, but there was nothing around. And when he started to whimper, fist moving up and down faster, his other hand pushing back his hair on the forehead, you couldn't bear it anymore. The heat between your legs got too much and you exhaled shakily, wanting to cum so badly. Haechan looked so fine you wanted to just sink on his cock, feeling those hands on your hips, asking you where you wanted him to cum. You'd say you want him to fill you all up inside and he'd do just that, feeling you clench around him until
until
you looked around your room with a sharp breath. The sun wasn't out yet but your alarm was due to ring anytime now. Winter was coming, you realized. Then you realized the mess you made during the night and the way your legs were squeezed together, shaking uncontrollably. “Shit.”
You inhaled deeply, ignoring the fact it sounded like a whine and you relaxed your legs on the mattress. “Shit shit shit.”
You've never been woken up by an orgasm before. It was still lingering under your skin and on the tips of your fingers.
You ignored the way you were pulsating and grabbed your phone with shaky hands, turning off the alarm before it could ring.
"I had another wet dream" you typed into your notes, on the page dedicated to your dreams. You realized you were writing them everywhere.
Then you stared at the ceiling as if trying to remember anything else. A man, pleasuring himself on a bed. You couldn't move or touch him. He was dreamy and you were pretty sure by now that his name was Haechan.
__________
Haechan was rolling peas on his plate when a hard slap on his shoulder made him cough.
“Are you fucking insane?” he asked when he found his voice. “What’s wrong with you?”
But Mark’s spirited expression didn’t care about Haechan’s tone. “You need to come with me.”
“Whatever is going on there’s no need to beat me over it.”
“Get up right now. I found something.”
Haechan sighed, not in the mood to hang out with anyone.
“It’s about Y/N,” the other lowered his voice.
Haechan closed his mouth. “I made sure to not think about her.”
Mark grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up to his feet.
“I talked to Jaemin again. I know, I shouldn’t get involved but this whole thing made me want to research further. No one knows, so you understand this is confidential, right?”
“As if I would tell this to anyone. Don’t be stupid.”
Mark was talking quietly and fast while walking just as fast towards what Haechan guessed was his apartment.
“Slow the fuck down. What exactly is going on? Is she okay? Is she hurt?”
Mark stopped in his place. “You said it was weird that she was friends with Taeyong, the dude killed over his Dreamer.”
Haechan blinked emptily for a moment before the realization made his whole body turn into mush. He had no time to fully think about that man and, honestly, he really hated his guts.
Mark held onto his shoulders. “Yeah. She was his Dreamer. And she couldn’t remember that. Why? We don’t know yet. But he of course could remember her and he sabotaged you two when he discovered she was in love with you. Now they’re dating. I interrogated Jaemin against all rules oh my god what if they discover-”
Haechan felt his head full of cotton and Mark was talking way too quickly. “Wait, wait. I don’t understand shit. And so, what? She was right. It was not worth it. Dating in her dreams? Absurd. If she’s happy with him then so be it. They’re in the same world. I was ready to go to hell after being killed but she didn’t want me anymore-”
“She got convinced she did it for your sake. Taeyong didn’t tell her there is a way for you two to be together so he could have her for himself.” Haechan couldn’t process it fast enough. Mark patted his cheek with a little smile.
“I found the way. I’m going to help you get back with her.”
__________
Haechan was sitting down on Mark’s couch. Every time he was there something was going on and he started to grow sick of that place.
“So, a summary of what we know so far.”
“You don’t have to tell-” Haechan started but Mark interrupted. Haechan rolled his eyes.
“You were Y/N’s Dream Sorter and that was your first job,” he taped a picture of you and Haechan on the wall.
“What are you, and investigator?” Haechan cackled but leaned forward to rest his elbows on the knees. He really wanted that photo of you for himself.
“And you both fell in love with each other,” Mark continued, uniting the two pictures with a red thread.
Haechan felt his ears go red so he absentmindedly rubbed one earlobe. He didn’t confirm nor deny.
“Now, this dude,” Mark taped a photo of Taeyong near you. Where was he getting those pics from? “Past Dream Sorter. He fell in love with her but we don’t know if-”
“She didn’t like him back,” Haechan interrupted.
Mark cleared his throat. “Well, we don’t know y-”
“She didn’t.”
“Alright alright,” Mark united Taeyong’s pic with yours with a different coloured thread. “This is nice, isn’t it?”
Haechan rolled his eyes with a scoff. “Is this a game for you? Are you having fun?”
“I am, sorry. Now, Jaemin. New Dream Sorter.”
Haechan was starting to get bored.
“Pressing question, when did you become her Dream Sorter?” Mark asked.
The other man thought about it for a moment. “Right after graduation. Like a year ago.”
“So, it means that’s when Taeyong stopped to be her Dream Sorter. Although in his file it is written it all happened way back in the past. This is why we never thought about him.”
Haechan watched Mark place little year cards to the connections with furrowed eyebrows.
“It will come out as a shock but I’m not following you right now,” Haechan commented, scratching one eyebrow.
“Taeyong must have gotten killed right before you became Y/N’s Dream Sorter for it all to work out,” Mark tapped his face with the index finger.
Haechan’s eyes tightened. “Then he’s supposed to be a titty-sucking newborn if he got killed last year.”
Mark hit the wall with one palm. “But he’s a grown-up motherfucker.”
The other’s eyes widened.
“He wasn’t killed to be reborn. He escaped this place.”
__________
Jaemin stirred the ice in his coffee for the fifth time in two minutes.
“Can you stop doing that? It’s fucking annoying,” Haechan snapped.
The other scoffed. “You’re in no position to give any orders, Hornatron 2000.”
Mark sat up extending his palms. “Okay, let’s calm down. I said I have a plan.”
Haechan groaned, rubbing his face with one palm. “No, you don’t.”
“We just need to discover how Taeyong escaped and make you do the same. This is a brilliant idea.”
Jaemin stirred the ice in his coffee again shaking his head like the most shocked grandma.
“You guys are completely crazy. I said we need to tell Taeil about this and end it here. He won’t kill you over horny thoughts, which by the way, you didn’t bother to try and not have.”
Haechan’s head snapped upwards.
“I didn’t think about her last night, don’t fuck with me.”
“Really now? Rubbing one out? Well, you had spectators. And two of them, unfortunately, one of which not your dear girlfriend.”
Mark made a face as if glad he wasn’t involved.
Haechan was mortified. “I wasn’t even sleeping.”
Jaemin lifted his unoccupied hand in the air and shrugged. “Told you it’s a big deal. Let’s tell Taeil.”
Mark shook his head. “We don’t tell shit to anyone. We’ll make Haechan escape.”
“You don’t even know how that works. Worst case scenario, Haechan dies and he’s born a fucking baby. Is this girl even worth it? Come on now.”
Haechan got up. “Listen listen. This connection thing has to be tested first.”
“Think about her now, then,” Mark lifted one eyebrow.
“She’s not sleeping. It’s day there.”
“Try it,” Jaemin added.
Haechan huffed but closed his eyes against his will. Mark and Jaemin waited in silence as if you could appear like a ghost any time soon.
“I can’t when you’re here!” Haechan’s voice disrupted the silence and the other two men jumped in place. “Have you guys ever heard of something like this? Materializing Dreamers only by thinking of them? Crazy stuff. We’re all going crazy now.”
The two young men assisted to Haechan’s short monologue, but their gazes weren’t on him anymore. Haechan furrowed his eyebrows.
“At least pay attention to me?” he continued. “What’s so interesting behind me that-” he turned around to meet your wide eyes. His hair physically got pushed back by the sheer power of your shriek.
“What the fuck?!”
You were soaking wet in a bathtub, your arms tightly crossed on your chest and the bubbles of the bath slowly descending down your head.
Haechan started at you with an open mouth then turned around briefly to check if the others were seeing you too. From their dead expressions they definitely could and from your furious eyes, Haechan understood you could see them too.
“This has never happened before,” he tried to explain.
“What kind of fucking dream is this?” you asked. “I was taking a bath.”
“I can see it,” Haechan commented. Then realization washed over him. “You look away!” he directed his words to the two, still shocked, guys behind him.
They cleared their throats and looked away.
Haechan opened his closet and frantically looked for his robe. “Wear this. We need to talk,” he handed you the item.
You looked at his hand and then at his face, not letting go of your confused expression.
But you listened to him and grabbed the robe. Haechan turned around to give you privacy and he exhaled. Mark and Jaemin were frantically discussing between themselves.
Haechan felt like drowning in a dream that he couldn’t escape. You came and went in waves, leaving him disoriented. He could wait for you at the bottom. He could also stay away if you wanted him to. He could wait for years. He could do everything.
And you were there.
“Can you just-” he heard your voice, and he turned around again. You were extending your hand for him to help you outside of the tub.
Your skin was soft and still a bit damp and he thought he was going to lose his mind on the spot.
You were there.
“Okay what the hell is going on?” you asked when you were on your feet. Your hand slipped from Haechan’s and he realized he has never been that nervous in his life.
Mark took a step forward to save Haechan from his frenzy. “Hi, I am Mark, and this is Jaemin and you might want to sit down for what we’ll tell you.”
You furrowed your eyebrows and they could see the way you were trying to understand if you were having the most lucid dream of your life or if you were actually there.
They had no idea either.
“And you are Haechan,” you added, looking at him. Haechan nodded, a bit take back.
“Okay, so you know it because he said it himself before, right?” Jaemin asked.
“Yes,” you hesitated.
Jaemin hit his palm with one fist. “Told you guys. Every time you think of her she gets dreams of you and she remembers them.”
“Wait what?” You looked around trying to get more information. Mark grabbed your arms and pulled you towards Haechan’s bed, making you sit down.
“If this is a dream, does it mean I am sleeping in the tub? Because that’s very dangerous,” you added. Mark looked concerned for a second.
“We’ll get to that, I think.”
“Are you really going to do all of this?” Haechan rubbed his eyebrow as if his friends were embarrassing him in front of his crush. Which was basically the truth.
Mark wasn’t listening and took out his pictures and coloured string, starting to put everything up on Haechan’s wardrobe.
Jaemin sat down on the chair near him and took a defeated sip from his coffee.
Haechan didn’t have any choice but to sit near you.
“Haechan.”
The man turned around. It didn’t sound like a question but your tone wasn’t sure.
“Y/N.”
You closed your mouth. Your eyes looked wide, taking in the view and processing. Haechan could almost hear your brain cells trying to piece everything together. The moment your gazes increasingly intertwined, your dream began.
“Is this a dream?” you asked.
“I think so.”
“I finally meet you.”
Haechan’s warm eyes closed for a moment and his fingers twitched. “Yeah, finally,” he exhaled.
“You’d think I am crazy, but I know you somehow. Like some sort of deja-vu. You’re familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. And it’s true I saw you before in dreams,” you added.
“I don’t think you’re crazy at all.”
“Do you know me?”
“Yes,” he simply said.
“How? Are we both dreaming?”
Haechan smiled at the actual deja-vu moment. “Yes.”
You frowned a little but didn’t question him. “Alright.”
The man blinked as if surprised. “You don’t want to know what this place is and what’s going on and-”
You shook your head. He looked at your eyes then lips, then every other feature on your face. His pupils were expanded and his breath was shaky.
“I have so many questions but-,” you stopped to think, “something’s going on. I don’t understand but maybe that’s for the better.”
“Are you afraid to know the truth?”
You felt your mouth tighten in a smile. “Yeah.”
Haechan’s body felt warm as he suddenly pulled you towards it, his arms tight around your waist. You exhaled sharply and felt tears prickle your eyes. You felt the material of his white button-down while sliding your hands around his neck.
As if you’ve been carrying a very heavy weight for years and suddenly it was gone, you felt so light that the tears didn’t want to stop sliding down your cheeks. One of his palms supported the back of your head and the touch of his fingers in your hair made you nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck even more.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, feeling your shaky breaths while caressing your back.
“I missed you,” you heard yourself say. “Where have you been? I feel like I’ve been looking for you for so long.”
“I know. Everything will be clear soon. I promise.”
“I feel like I’ve been slowly losing my mind but I don’t really care.”
You smiled and Haechan chuckled. “You think I’m crazy right?” you asked.
“Okay, sorry guys, here I am,” Mark clapped his hands and you had to let go of Haechan.
You looked at the intricate mental map Mark prepared, and you jolted seeing Taeyong’s face on there too. That was officially the weirdest dream you’ve ever had in your whole life.
“I’ll make it quick,” Mark started, “this is you.”
You opened your mouth to ask how he got your picture but he kept talking.
“This is Haechan. And he was your Dream Sorter. This is Taeyong and he used to be your Dream Sorter before Haechan.”
“What?” you interrupted.
“And this is Jaemin, your Dream Sorter now.”
Jaemin lifted one little hand.
“Dream Sorters are people who, as the name says, sort you into dreams. You and all the people from your world. This fellow,” he indicated Taeyong, “fell in love with you. That’s not good. So, he should have technically gotten killed. After dying we become people like you, or at least that’s what they tell us. If he got killed, he should be a baby right now. But he’s a grown man and he’s friends with you. Meaning, he didn’t get killed, but he escaped somehow. Which tells us that it is possible to go there, and survive, and remember it.”
Mark finished and put his hands together staring at you. Jaemin’s eyes were on you as well and you could see Haechan’s attentive gaze in your peripheral vision.
You felt dizzy.
“Okay. Wait. Why are you telling me all this?”
Mark blinked back as if not expecting that question. “So, you know. Because we plan to send Haechan over to your world too. For you.”
Your head snapped towards him. “Why would you do something like that?”
Haechan’s mouth was open. “You don’t want me to?”
You shook your head. “Wait this is too much information to take in.”
You got up and tied the robe around you more tightly.
“Am I dreaming right now?”
“Technically yes, but this has never happened before,” Jaemin explained. “Usually when you sleep, yes, you come here but it’s controlled under my supervision. Now you just appeared in Haechan’s room because he just thought of you. This is very dangerous, and he can’t just stop thinking about you so we have to do something about it.”
That information made your whole body heat up.
Haechan looked up at you with wide luscious eyes as if he felt guilty.
“I can try to stop if,” he interrupted himself to gulp, “if you want me to stop. I’ll figure it out.”
“What happens when I think of you?” you asked no one in particular.
Haechan’s eyebrow furrowed but Mark looked enthusiastic. “Let’s test it. You need to wake up though.”
“How?”
The young men fell into silence for a moment.
“I have an idea,” Jaemin mumbled.
__________
The corridors of the place looked like a very high-end hotel. You were following Jaemin with Haechan right after him holding your hand, then Mark behind you, in the utmost silence. Your feet were nude, but the floor wasn’t cold.
“Where are we going again?” you tried.
“Shh,” all three boys replied in unison.
“Geez,” you whispered.
Haechan’s fingers intertwined with yours were making you feel timid, but you tried to act cool about it.
Who was he? Your lover? Your boyfriend? Someone you loved in the past and you forgot about it?
But looking at his back it felt so familiar. If your mind forgot something, your body surely didn’t, because your fingertips would be able to model Haechan’s back curve in clay in that same instant, and you knew for sure the spots where he had hidden beauty marks.
You felt hot and dizzy.
You’ve never felt like that with Taeyong. It never felt right with him.
Lost in your thoughts, you didnt’ realize the two men in front of you stopped and you hit Haechan’s back with your nose. Mark hit the back of your head.
“Ouch,” you whispered in unison with him.
“It’s here,” Jaemin looked at you all.
You had no idea what to expect when he said here, but a green and purple room wasn’t it.
A sense of deja-vu filled you, and you walked behind what was a hotel counter. In front of you was the door of an elevator and on the sides of the room were six golden doors, three on each side.
You eyed the pamphlets on the counter and the old-fashioned pastel pink telephone. For some reason, you pulled at a drawer and saw two pairs of white gloves.
“I have one of these!” you exclaimed, searching for Haechan’s eyes, a weird heat entering your body and making your legs feel like jelly.
He nodded as if he knew. “I gave it to you,” he explained.
“What is this place?” you walked around feeling like you’ve been there before.
“Here is where you come every night and I sort you in dreams,” Jaemin replied, leaning on the counter.
“Why do I not remember you?” you asked.
“Because we have no connection. That’s how it is supposed to be,” he replied, the last phrase sounding like a critique as he eyed his colleague.
Haechan scratched the back of his head.
The pieces were all starting to go together in that weird puzzle. You felt frightened but mostly you were just afraid that you’d wake up and realize that none of that was real. You were afraid that the second your life finally felt right you’d wake up in a nightmare called reality.
“What now?” you wondered.
“You need to go through one of the rooms, dream something, and then you’ll wake up. At that point, please try to think of Haechan as much as possible to see if he can-” Mark started then interrupted himself as if he also realized how insane that sounded, “-appear in your reality.”
“What if nothing happens?”
“Just go by your day and go to sleep normally. You’ll be here next time too. We’ll wait,” Haechan murmured. He was close to you, and you shivered.
You didn’t want to go. What if you couldn’t see him anymore?
“Can you come with me in the dream?” you asked timidly.
“That’s dangerous,” Jaemin replied for Haechan.
“I can do it,” the latter said.
“Everything in the dream might attack you. You’re not her Dream Sorter anymore,” the other added.
Haechan ignored him and held your hand again pulling you towards a random room.
“Haechan if it’s dangerous-” you started but he didn’t let you finish.
He opened the door, and the light engulfed you.
You opened your eyes in front of a huge window - your parents’ house. Your nude feet were now on the tiles of the balcony on the second floor and the sun was setting behind the horizon.
“Haechan?” you tried to call, but the silence was heavy, not even a single car making noise down the street.
“I’m coming up,” a voice announced, and you looked down and screamed, seeing Haechan hanging from the balcony rails.
“What the hell happened to you?” you asked, one hand on top of your mouth before you could lean down to give him a hand.
“I can manage,” he replied with a chuckle, and you watched him jump over the rail, and onto the balcony.
Haechan sighed heavily, not looking at you and walking towards the bench instead. You didn’t remember your parents having, a bench on their balcony but you were glad it was there.
It was a warm sunset, and your balcony was lit with orange hues. The thud of him sitting down made you jolt a bit then you sighed too.
“Let me see,” you ordered, placing yourself in front of him, grabbing his chin, and lifting his face up.
Haechan’s eyes were shining as he looked at you from under his fringe.
You gulped, pupils moving to look at his busted lip first then the bloody eyebrow. “How did you get this?”
Haechan chuckled again. “Unfriendly situations. This dream will be destroyed, I’m afraid.”
You felt sorry for him but then all of a sudden, he smirked and moved his head down to catch your fingertip with his mouth, placing a quick soft kiss on it.
“Eye!” you slid your arm away and he chuckled once. His lip cut opened more, and he winced soon after, letting his tongue go over it.
"Shit," he mumbled.
“You look terrible,” you walked away and entered the house to grab the medication. When you passed the bathroom mirror you didn’t want to look at the way your eyes were blown out. Or think about the way your fist was guarding the skin you felt his lips on.
When you exited on the balcony again, Haechan was resting with his head on the wall and with closed eyes. You moved slowly, looking at the way the setting sun danced on his skin until you noticed him smiling.
“You sure love staring at me,” he said in a low voice.
“I wasn’t-”
“You’re talking with a Dream Sorter. We have eyes on the back.”
“No, you don’t,” you placed the stuff on the bench near him.
Haechan opened his eyes right when you leaned down to press the piece of wet cotton on his eyebrow making you inhale more sharply than normal. He smiled a bit but only for a split second because soon after he opened his mouth to inhale too, feeling the disinfectant on his wounds.
“Fuck."
“Just a moment,” you mumbled, going from his brow to the lip, lightly pouting and blowing on his wounds to give him a bit of relief.
Haechan stared at your mouth, and you shivered feeling his hands creep around your thighs and pull you towards him a bit.
“Hey,” you warned him.
“Need to anchor me. The pain is unbearable,” he whispered amused, and the movement shifted his fringe on the forehead again. You lifted one hand and passed it through it, pushing it back to not let it touch the brow. Haechan gulped and closed his eyes for a brief moment at the gesture.
“Y/N, I think I am going to kiss you now.”
His low tone made you gulp.
“You can’t. Your lip is wounded.”
“Then you kiss me.”
You looked down at his mouth then quickly away, fumbling with the plasters in your hand.
“Stop joking.”
Haechan pouted with a loud “hm.”
“But I’m hurt. I just want a little cute healing peck.”
His fingers around your bare thighs got tighter though and the way his eyes shone in the dusk didn’t seem cute to you.
Rolling your eyes to the side you suddenly leaned down and kissed his temple for a moment.
Haechan exhaled, thrilled, and slid his hands upwards on your body, over your ass until reaching the curve of your back.
“On the cheek too,” he ordered.
You scoffed but the tingles on your lips were screaming for more, so you felt his soft skin again. He chuckled at the peck and chuckled again as you kissed his forehead too. When you reached his nose, he lost patience and pulled you down on himself, mouths hungrily on each other. Your knees bent for you to straddle his lap and his hands felt cold as he cupped your face and went around your jaw and behind your neck.
“Haechan,” you breathed out, breaking the kiss. “Your lip.”
He smirked. “What about it?”
You blinked fast and lifted one finger to touch the corner of his mouth where the skin was pristine.
“It’s- not there anymore,” you mumbled. Then you looked at his brow where the wound was slowly closing in front of your eyes.
“You!”
He chuckled delightedly.
“You can do this? You let me medicate you on purpose!”
He shook his head and hid his face in your bosom. “It’s not me healing it. It’s your kisses.”
"You're a brat!"
"And you love it."
"I do not."
"Your heart is beating so fast right now."
"It's because I'm mad!"
He lifted his face from your breasts and looked up mischievously.
"And I can feel your pulse on my thigh. You're throbbing."
His words made you widen your eyes and you tried to pull away from him but in vain.
His crystalline laughter filled your ears as his arms didn't let you budge a centimetre.
"Can I get you off?" he whispered, and you realized too late that you whined back.
"Is that a yes?"
You closed your eyes and gulped. You shook your head. Then you nodded.
Haechan clicked his tongue.
"Words."
"Yes," you breathed out, fingers slowly grabbing his shirt tighter and tighter as if preparing for something.
"Why are you so tense?" he soothed your spine, making you bounce on his leg a few times as if it could help you relax.
"Alright, I can make you soften up," he announced and just like that your core slid forwards on his jeans once and you let out a single silent oh.
Haechan imitated you amused. "Oh?", his hands cupping your ass and guiding your movement.
"Feels good?"
You whined once again, your breathing increasing in pace at each roll of your hips on his leg.
"Yeah," you replied softly.
"Show me how good it feels," he ordered, gripping your body, sliding one cool hand under your shirt until cupping your breast.
You bit your lower lip, frustrated, and propped yourself up a bit, rolling your hips on his thigh every second quicker than the previous.
Haechan's amusement was palpitant and you wanted to make it turn his expression into a mess as well. Leaning down, you attached your lips to his neck, kissing it slowly and reaching his ear where your soft moans could vibrate into his body. You felt his cock twitch near your thigh and your palm descended to it after carefully palming his torso.
It was so sinful that it made you dizzy. There was something so desperate in the way you'd chase your high on him, not even taking your clothes off, as if not having the force to do that. And him too, letting his head back on the wall, looking at you with hooded eyes and breathing out faster under your hand touching him.
As if reading your mind, you opened your eyes to Haechan's whispering.
"I like the way you look like that. So naughty. On your balcony for everyone to see what a needy girl you are. For Jaemin to see too."
"Shut up-," you resorted, your hand quick to cup his balls, making him choke. His hips bucked up into nothing and the slap on your ass was so loud that it probably resonated in all the neighbourhood.
You whined loudly and rested your forehead on his shoulder as his palm gripped the softness of your skin.
"You liked that?" he asked, and you exchanged a messy look, lips brushing against each other, drinking in his breath.
"Yeah," you repeated mindlessly. "I'm close, so close-,"
"Hm, cum all over my thigh."
Like a spell, as if he actually had magical powers, you whined loudly and seized up, limbs trembling as if electricity danced through them. Haechan held you tight against his body, hands rubbing your back and sides, hushed praises against your neck.
"We're not-," you tried to speak as you came down your thigh. "We're not talking about this."
"I will not shut up about this," his smile vibrated on your lips.
You swallowed and helplessly tried to get off his leg without success.
"I think-," you licked your lower lip, "It’s time for me to wake up.”
Haechan hummed and grabbed your chin, making you kiss him deeply.
“Think about me,” he murmured and before realizing you gasped, grabbing at your slippery bathtub, trying to understand what the hell just happened.
__________
It took you a while to get dry and just sit on your bed, thinking back at your dream. It felt so real that you couldn’t have made up all of that yourself. Haechan said to think of him, and you were thinking but nothing really was happening.
You groaned and fell down on the bed.
It was already late in the night and the other option was to fall asleep and supposedly meet them in the weird hotel Lobby to discuss. But the nap you took in the tub got rid of all the tiredness.
“Haechan,” you started to call out then you felt stupid and stopped.
How was it possible that when you were sleeping everything felt so real yet when you were awake it felt like you were just losing your mind?
What did they mean with think of Haechan? You’ve been thinking of him so many times, yet nothing happened before.
You huffed and let yourself fall back on the bed. The dark ceiling would get illuminated by the car lights outside, passing by.
You lifted one hand up in the air.
“Haechan,” you murmured, imagining his fingers gently sliding between yours, from your palm up to meet your fingertips.
You inhaled and exhaled deeply, almost feeling his touch.
But he never appeared, and your hand remained empty.
__________
“Listen, my shift is over,” Jaemin lifted one eyebrow towards Mark who was standing legs wide open and hands on his hips, like some sort of airport dad, in front of the golden door you and Haechan disappeared through.
“Is the dream over? Have you seen it?” Mark asked.
Jaemin shivered. “Not yet. Will see it later. Not excited to do it. But she’s awake.”
Mark crossed his arms on his chest. “Where’s Haechan then? He should be back here by now.”
“Maybe he did it,” Jaemin straightened his back, surprised.
The silence engulfed them both for a moment.
Mark giggled once.
Then chuckled.
Then laughed. A hyena laugh to resonate in the whole Lobby.
“He did it. That son of a bitch.”
_____________
Haechan opened his eyes to nothing, and panic washed over him.
Was he dead?
But he could feel his ass sitting on something and when he tentatively felt around, he could make sense of a shoe. Then he leaned forwards and he hit his forehead on something hard. He yelped and tried to put a hand on it to cool the pain when his elbow hit some kind of box, and something fell on his face.
The closet door opened in an instant with a bang and Haechan could see you, baseball bat in your hands, through the lace of the thongs that fell on his eyes.
“No fucking way,” you murmured. “What the fuck are you doing in my closet?”
Haechan quickly put away the underwear and tried to get up, but his head hit the top shelf this time. “Shit,” he mumbled.
You could just stand there, mouth open and eyes wide, trying to understand if you were still dreaming or not.
When Haechan managed to crawl, one sneaker in half of his foot, and got up in front of you, you exhaled.
“Hey,” he said then winced, touching his forehead where a little bump was starting to grow. “Too many injuries in the past few hours.”
“Can you cure it?” you asked.
Haechan blinked back. “Well, not this time, no.”
You both stood there for a moment as if in a daze, then as soon as you let the baseball bat fall to the ground Haechan’s arms wrapped around your body.
The tears collected in your eyes on their own and your breath went missing.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” you whispered in the crook of his neck. His scent felt so real and his body so firm.
Haechan was real and he was there.
“I know,” he replied, probably as shocked.
“Are you okay?” you pulled away quickly to grab his face with both of your hands and analyse his features. Haechan let you fondle his cheeks and rub on his skin.
“Besides getting a lip cut, an eyebrow cut, hitting my head twice? Yes. I think I’m good.”
“How? How is this-” you stuttered.
“I think-” Haechan started, “like that damned glove,” he inhaled, “you just didn’t let me go.”
__________
The morning felt warmer. You did not know if it was because of the ray of sun shining through the windows or because of Haechan’s - very real and very present - arms around your body.
"Fuck, I slept so much. What did I miss?" you mumbled.
Haechan rubbed his sleepy hands on your back. "This dick."
"Thank God. I thought I missed something big."
He clicked his tongue. “I will tackle you.”
You smiled, nuzzling your face into Haechan’s chest even more. “I can’t believe you’re here. What if I’m dreaming?”
Haechan’s warm palms on your back made you exhale pleasantly. “Would that be so bad?”
You looked up at him, resting your chin on his chest. “No. If this is a dream, the only request I have is to never wake up.”