34: Nightmares

   The faint scent of the sea drifted by, sending a deeply nostalgic feeling through Baekhyun’s body. He pushed against the railings of the pier and leaned into the ocean wind, his faded blue shirt rippling in the breeze. It was a beautiful day today to be with someone.

   A pair of hands slapped him playfully on the back, her fingers dancing across his shoulders.

   “You’re going to fall in, pabo!” said Jeongri.

   Baekhyun turned around and stuck his tongue out at her.

   “No, I won’t,” he said, holding out his hands, ready to pull her in, “Because you’ll save me, won’t you?”

   “Pfft,” she scoffed, folding her arms, “Aren’t you suppose to be the one who saves me?”

   Baekhyun looked at Jeongri closely; taking in her dark ocean soaked hair, her cheeky smile and her white summer’s dress fluttering in the wind. She looked lovely today. A small warmth blossomed in his chest whenever he looked at her longer than a few seconds. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and wrap his arms around her, to smell the top of her head and run his fingers through her hair.

   But then, Jeongri turned away, a fear striking in her eyes, darkening her expression and she started to run.

   “Hey, where are you going?” Baekhyun called out, taking a step forward in confusion.

   Jeongri didn’t reply. She ran fast down the empty pier, her sandals slapping across the bare concrete. Every few seconds, she would turn her head, as though something was chasing her. The skies turned a darker hue with every step she took, like an empty void consuming the skies.

   “Jeongri!” shouted Baekhyun, “Where are you going?”

   He started to run after her, but he couldn’t seem to close the gap. The skies were getting darker and darker. Vaguely, he was aware of the sound of waves crashing into the pier, spraying white foam across the bottom of his trousers.

   Suddenly a dark shadow engulfed Jeongri from behind. Baekhyun’s world seemed to slow down as he watched her crumple into an unmoving heap on the ground. When he caught up to her, he recoiled in horror at the bloody gash in her shoulder. Her hair was tangled and matted, and her body was covered in cuts and bruises. The white dress was now stained a deep crimson colour.

   “Baekhyun, please help me…” Jeongri stuttered, her whole body was shaking, “Please... I feel so cold…”

   Baekhyun didn’t understand what was happening, she was okay just moments ago. He didn’t know what to do. Desperately, he looked around for anyone that could help them, but then the ground began to shake.

   “Hold on, Jeongri, I’m gonna save you,” Baekhyun stammered, but his body froze, unable to do anything.

   The ground shook violently once more, and Baekhyun pulled Jeongri close to him, wrapping her safely in his arms. He was sure that she could feel his rapid heartbeat under his own torn and bloodied shirt. Faintly, Baekhyun could hear another voice in the distance, but he couldn’t make out what it was saying.

   “What’s going on?!” Baekhyun cried out, confused and terrified, “How did you become like this?”

   Jeongri gripped onto his shirt and whispered in his ear, “Because you let me become like this.”

   Suddenly Jeongri let go, and Baekhyun found himself free falling. He cried out, willing himself to change to his demon form to halt his descent, but nothing answered him. Baekhyun continued to fall faster and faster towards the light, grasping in the air at the disappearing image of her.

   “Hyung…”

   Baekhyun could feel someone shaking him lightly on the arm.

   “Hyung, wake up…”

   Baekhyun opened one eye, and the dead weight of his exhausted body hit him like a truck. He both yawned and groaned out loud, not even the comforting warmth of the Mag Stone could soothe his aches. An image of Sehun crouched over him swam into his blurry vision, and Baekhyun became aware that he was not at a pier with Jeongri, but in the forest outside Greyfleur.

   He must have fallen asleep.

   “Are you alright?” asked Sehun, looking at him, concerned, “You were mumbling stuff in your sleep.”

   Sehun offered a cloth to Baekhyun, gesturing to his forehead. Baekhyun raised his hand and felt the beads of sweat that plastered his fringe to his skin.

   “Ye- Yeah,” stuttered Baekhyun, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bad dream, I guess.”

   “What was it about?”

   Baekhyun blinked a couple times before turning to look at Jeongri who still unconscious by his side. A sense of relief spread through his heart, knowing that it was indeed just a dream. Her complexion seemed brighter, and most of the cuts on her skin were healed, but her more substantial injuries were still present. Suddenly Baekhyun was aware that their fingers were still touching. Feeling the weight of Sehun staring at him, Baekhyun moved his hand away.

   “Nothing,” he lied, turning back to face Sehun, “I don’t remember.”

   Baekhyun shook his head feebly and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, it dawned on him that the skies had grown darker. It was probably nearing evening time.

   “What time is it? How long was I asleep?” asked Baekhyun, looking around.

   “You’ve been out for about six or seven hours,” said Sehun. His eyes darted down to the wound on Baekhyun’s chest that was now covered in a fresh white bandage, “Luhan said that we shouldn’t wake you since you needed to heal too.”

   “Where is he?” asked Baekhyun.

   He ran his fingers across the surface of the bandage, wincing a little as the pressure made the wound sting.

   “He’s gone out to deal with some business matters so he won’t be back for a while, but I got a call from the house, Chanyeol hyung is awake,” said Sehun, “I should go back, will you be alright here by yourself?”

   Baekhyun nodded, “Is Chanyeol alright?”

   “He sounded a bit disorientated,” answered Sehun, standing up to leave.

   “Maybe I should go back too,” said Baekhyun. He didn’t like the sound of Chanyeol being alone, “We should all go back.”

   But Sehun pushed him back down, “They need to stay here, as do you. Here, take this phone. If I get delayed, I’ll call you.”

   Baekhyun caught the small flip phone in his hands and watched as Sehun walked off into the depths of the forest, shrouded by shadows and out of sight. Turning the phone over in his hands, he flipped open the screen and saw that it was just after seven in the evening.

   He glanced at the forest to make sure Sehun was gone before turning his head to Jeongri once more, her head still resting on his shoulder. With one raised hand, Baekhyun trailed his finger across her cheek and down the side of her jaw before stopping abruptly. He shouldn’t be doing this, he didn’t have the right. They were essentially still strangers. Feeling abashed, Baekhyun pulled away gently so that she lay propped against the Mag Stone by herself. He watched her intently for a few moments, trying to wash away the horrible images from his dream that lingered at the forefront of his mind. The feelings that he had felt transcended through the dream world to the real world.

   He was thankful it was just a nightmare.

   Baekhyun was older and wiser now. He could finally see what his real feelings were, and he couldn’t just see her as his childhood friend anymore. Jeongri was a young woman now, and fate meant that she was by his side again. Somewhere in his mind, Baekhyun gave a nod to his younger self as he finally accepted his feelings for her.

   He couldn’t wait to be with her again, but something was holding him back.

   Baekhyun’s gaze drifted to the right a little, and his eyes scanned over Kyungsoo’s motionless body, propped up against the Mag Stone just like Jeongri. Images of Kyungsoo with Jeongri, held in a tight embrace pushed to the front of Baekhyun’s mind. Luhan had mentioned briefly seeing them both in Hallowmire, and Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy mixed with curiosity. He wondered what kind of relationship they had despite her denials the night before. Kyungsoo was one of his good friends; if he really was in a relationship with Jeongri, then Baekhyun couldn’t really do anything beyond renewing his friendship with her.

   But somewhere in his heart, deep in the hidden recesses, a small part of him didn’t want to stand down.

   With an uncertain future ahead of them, Baekhyun wanted to seize his chance. He couldn’t wait for her to wake up again, to tell him that she was okay. To be able to talk to her and to feel the butterflies he’d felt in his stomach like when they spoke for that brief moment the night before. Baekhyun drifted away into his thoughts and the hours passed by, eventually turning dusk into the night. 

   The sky was incredibly clear tonight, and the moon was over half-illuminated, casting a brilliant light across the canopy of the forest. Sehun hadn’t returned, but he had called earlier to let Baekhyun know that there was a slight problem back at the house and that he would be back as soon as possible.

   Baekhyun looked to the skies and sighed. He had moved back to sit next to Jeongri, his fingers absentmindedly dancing ever so close to hers in his efforts to stave away boredom. Discarded food packaging and water bottles lay strewn on the ground, signalling how long he’d been here. He wasn’t so good at being alone, he hated the silence. Quietly, he started humming to himself. He really thought that either Jeongri or Kyungsoo would have woken up by now since he certainly felt recharged himself.

   As Baekhyun focused on the stars above, he recalled the lessons from his astronomy classes back in high school. He named each star constellation in his mind, his eyes travelling across the sky as he recognised formation after formation.

   Before the war, it had been his second favourite class behind music. There was a lingering sense of insignificance when he stared at the universe, knowing he was just a tiny spec in a vast space of the unknown. Still, that sense of smallness was always blown away by the sheer curiosity he had in the night sky, watching each light twinkle brightly even though they were millions of light-years away.

   It was a breathtaking panorama that he could escape to.

   When things changed, Baekhyun never found the time to be outside. Training at the HLV took precedence of his free time, and the light pollution in Merehua drowned out the stars, so gradually over time, his passion waned. Tonight lit the fire again, Baekhyun had never seen the skies so clear ever since he was young.

   There was the Taurus constellation; his constellation. He looked over a little bit, and there was the Leo constellation; her constellation. Baekhyun looked down, watching Jeongri blissfully unaware of the w