Although Hakyeon was determined to leave Dreamscape, he could not say so at the moment after witnessing how broken Taekwoon had become because of him. To think that falling in love would make the other fall so deeply into despair, just as hard as he did initially.

Hakyeon should have been happy about Taekwoon’s feelings for him because it is mutual but at the moment, he is more troubled by whether he should leave or stay. He wanted to go home but at the same time, he doubted himself.

When Taekwoon revealed why he rejected Hakyeon and said those harsh words in the past, Hakyeon could sympathize with the other. After all, it wasn’t as if Hakyeon have never given it the thought of doubt when he fell in love. He too, worried about the views of society and didn’t want the other to get hurt by it. That is why Hakyeon was all right with Taekwoon not giving him an answer before; it’s just that he never thought things would become this way because he accidently confessed.

All his worries and dilemmas became the reason as to why Hakyeon grew attracted to Dreamscape.

‘I’m going to take a stroll around town, you want to come with me?’ Hakyeon offered Taekwoon.

It took a while for Hakyeon to finally persuade Taekwoon to get up from his spot and return to a proper room. But Taekwoon was obviously still broken inside. It may have been his feeling of guilt in which is why he wanted to hold Hakyeon back but could not. He’s trapped the leader inside of Dreamscape for so long due to his possessiveness.

Taekwoon looked at Hakyeon, he didn’t speak a word and simple shook his head. He looked so lifeless.

Hakyeon sighed.

‘Fine then. I’ll be back,’ Hakyeon told him.

Hakyeon didn’t like staying in a single spot for too long so he wanted to walk around and ease his mind. Dreamscape was a strange and eerie place for Hakyeon and the fact that there is no one but him and Taekwoon around, made him even more restless. He still has to figure out whether or not there is a way back to the real world even if he was in a dilemma.

‘Hak-,’ Taekwoon wanted to call out but stopped midway.

Hakyeon turned around and looked at Taekwoon. It was obvious that he was worried about Hakyeon leaving him again.

‘I’ll be back for you. Promise.’ Hakyeon walked up to Taekwoon one more time and gave him a warm and reassuring hug. ‘I’ll definitely be back for you.’

As broken as both Hakyeon and Taekwoon have become because they fell in love with one another, Hakyeon was honestly happy to realize that the other wasn’t as cruel and cold as he appears to be. Hakyeon still remembers the very first time when he met Taekwoon in the dance studio while they were still trainees and even before the group was formed.

~

He’s really just like a cat.

Hakyeon chuckled as he went into the studio with Hongbin after their small meeting with the CEO. The instant he went inside and felt a heavy atmosphere around the room, he knew exactly who ‘Jung Taekwoon’ was.

All the trainees avoided the boy in the corner as if afraid of him. Taekwoon didn’t care though and rather, it almost seemed like he wanted to be left alone.

‘What are you laughing at hyung?’ Hongbin nudged him to get in the room already.

‘Kong-ah.’

‘Hmm?’

‘What do you think of Taekwoon?’ Hakyeon was curious about what the younger thought.

Hongbin looked strangely at Hakyeon’s sudden question of curiosity.

‘He’s quiet and doesn’t like to talk to us much. I don’t know what’s going on in his mind and he seems to be very secretive? I don’t know… he’s just weird.’

‘Weird? Says the good-looking visual who’s actually addicted to comics and video games?’

‘Shush.’ Hongbin pouted.

‘But his quiet nature, that’s kind of his charm don’t you think?’

‘Charm?...’ Hongbin was silently judging at Hakyeon. ‘You’ve taken a liking to him already haven’t you?’

‘Huh? Of course not~’ Hakyeon denied playfully. ‘Anyways, you go stretch with Wonshikkie or Jaehwan today.’

‘Why? I always do my stretches and practice with you.’

‘I have to introduce myself to our quiet trainee~’

Hongbin sighed.

‘I know Sejun-hyung asked you to take care of Taekwoon-hyung but I really don’t think you should bother him too much. It doesn’t seem like he’ll be very fond of it.’ Hongbin advised him.

‘It’s not just because of Sejun-hyung.’

‘It’s not?’

‘Just go,’ Hakyeon shooed Hongbin away.

Even though Hakyeon approached Taekwoon at first due to their CEO asking for the favor, Hakyeon grew more curious and fond of Taekwoon. The other was just so different from Hakyeon despite the fact that they are the same age. The other barely expresses himself nor does he talk with any of the other trainees. Even after months of staying together in the same dorm, Taekwoon never once had a deep conversation with any of the trainees.

Hakyeon flopped down on the studio to take his break while watching the other trainees one day. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Taekwoon one bit and when Taekwoon caught him staring, Hakyeon would grin back. Taekwoon immediately turned his head away and pretended as if he didn’t see notice Hakyeon.

Which, made Hakyeon laugh even more.

‘You’re surely enjoying yourself,’ Hongbin flopped down next to Hakyeon as well for his break.

‘Yup!’ Hakyeon said excitedly even though he was covered in sweat from practice.

‘You’re serious about becoming friends with him are you?’

‘Mhmm.’

‘But it doesn’t seem like he wants to be friends with you very much.’ Hongbin sighed at his overly excited hyung. ‘You’re hard to handle and too clingy.’

‘But you became friends with me aren’t you?’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Hongbin twitched his eyebrows.

Hakyeon smiled deviously at the younger and started to count the younger’s flaws.

‘Let’s see, sure you’re good looking but not only are you a gaming otaku but you have a sharp tongue, lame jokes, doesn’t listen to those older than you and –‘

‘Okay okay! I get it.’ Hongbin lost. ‘Well, if you think you can get that hyung to be your friend, go for it but don’t come crying to me when he rejects you.’

‘Pfft. I won’t.’ Hakyeon joked.

A year later, Hakyeon was chosen to become the leader of the new group called VIXX along with Lee Jaehwan, Kim Wonshik, Lee Hongbin, Han Sanghyuk and the quiet Jung Taekwoon.

Hakyeon eventually discovered even more sides of Taekwoon that he never thought of after debuting. He realized that the other isn’t just a quiet or cold person but rather has a soft spot for animals and children alike. Even though Taekwoon isn’t very talkative, when he sings, no one can beat the passion of his voice. Exactly what made Taekwoon become the way he is? Was he always like this or did something happen in the past for Taekwoon to be this way?

Though Hakyeon never found the answer to the question, he didn’t give up in wanting to be acknowledged by Taekwoon as a lifelong friend. He wanted Taekwoon to open his heart up to him and reveal his secrets and stories like friends do. But his persistence and strange attachment to Taekwoon created something more than feelings of friendship but rather, falling in love.

Taekwoon’s smiles were rare but whenever Hakyeon was able to catch a slight glimpse of the vocalist’s smile, he felt as if his heart would melt at any minute. Those smiles were special.

How I wish he would look at me that way as well…

That’s when Hakyeon began to hope for more.

More than just being a member of the same group and much more than just his self-claimed titled as Taekwoon’s ‘life-long friend’.

But what can Hakyeon do? He’s never fallen in love with a man before. It was a strange feeling at first and he knew that it was far from anything considered to be ‘normal’. He was in quite a dilemma with himself and his feelings. He even doubted whether the feelings he had for Taekwoon was actually love or just attraction.

Hakyeon never planned on confessing. He thought that eventually, if he never confessed and let time pass by, that his feelings for Taekwoon would disappear. But when he thought about Taekwoon’s future with someone else and not with him, Hakyeon couldn’t hold back.

‘It’s okay if you don’t give me an answer! You can take your time! I can wait.’ Hakyeon was beet red after realizing what he had just done. ‘I know it’s strange that I’m suddenly confessing to you but… I just want to let you know how I feel!’

Hakyeon knew that he said something he couldn’t take back and rather than any possible rejections, he rather not hear it.

‘Okay…’ Taekwoon replied in another one of his usual quiet voices even though he was obviously just as taken back as Hakyeon was.

Though Taekwoon didn’t give him an answer, silence was more reassuring for Hakyeon. The other didn’t push him away and even Hakyeon thought he had a slight chance of making the other fall in love with him as well.

~

Hakyeon sighed again and again as he continued on his walk through Dreamscape.

How did we end up being this way? He asked himself.

He couldn’t help but think back at all the bittersweet memories through his walk as if this was a trip down to memory lane. There was a lot of heartbreaking times between him and Taekwoon but there were even more happier times when the two were together with the other members of VIXX. Hakyeon wanted to join the other members back in the real world but he also knew well that he would not want to leave Taekwoon behind. He didn’t want to take anymore chances.

Eventually, Hakyeon made his way back to the Chapel of the town again and sat next to the Goddess of the Moon’s statue, a replica of his own mother’s face.

‘What should I do, mom? How can I return everything back to the way things were again? How can I make Taekwoon see that reality isn’t all that bad anymore? I mean, our love is mutual now so why is he still like that? I wish I wasn’t such a coward and cleared out our misunderstandings from the start. If only I wasn’t so cowardly and he wasn’t so stubborn… none of this would happen and neither of us would end up so broken.’

Then, the mirror inside of Hakyeon’s pocket began to glow.

‘Huh?’

Hakyeon took it out slowly and it showed an image of s on stage and performing.

‘The Show Choice of the last week of April goes to… VIXX! Congratulations!’ The MC spoke.

It was reflecting his group getting an award for their newest comeback song ‘Dynamite,’ the first comeback of the year in which Hakyeon could not join them. His eyes started to get teary as he saw s standing next to one another and happily receiving the award. Those tears were not of sorrow but rather from pride. Hakyeon was proud to see such an achievement from s. It also seems that the Dark Hakyeon was finally getting used to being on stage with the others and feeling a lot more confident with himself.

‘Your hands are shaking.’ Hakyeon giggled as he noticed the Dark Hakyeon obviously struggling with his MC position.

Then, the mirror reflected the Dark Hakyeon again but in another situation. He had a troubled expression on as he sat alone in his bedroom.

Did something happen? Hakyeon got worried as he watched.

The Dark Hakyeon got up from his spot feeling restless and started to walk back and forth in the room as if he was contemplating with a very deep thought.

‘Ya!’ Hakyeon decided to yell out due to curiosity.

The Dark Hakyeon didn’t hear him though and just continued with his worries. He sighed once more.

He’s going to sigh all his happiness away… I wonder what’s wrong.

Just then,  Hongbin walked inside the room to talk with the Dark Hakyeon about something.

‘Anything wrong? Something on your mind?’ the younger asked as he went in the room to find a restless Dark Hakyeon.

‘Huh? Uh no… well, kind of…’ the Dark Hakyeon sighed again.

Hongbin stopped the other’s restless pacing and placed his hands on the other’s head to ruffle his hair. He looked directly into Hakyeon’s eyes and smiled a bit to ask what was wrong.

‘Is it about the Dark Taekwoon again?’ Hongbin asked.

‘Huh? NO! I… that’s not it… I-‘ the Dark Hakyeon was stuttering and was at a complete lost of words to cover up his lies.

‘Tell me what’s wrong. It’s okay. I’ll understand.’ Hongbin tried to reassure the other and pulled him to sit down and talk. ‘What’s wrong with the Dark Taekwoon this time?’

Hongbin held onto the Dark Hakyeon’s hands tightly as if he was telling the other that it was all right to talk about the Dark Taekwoon in front of him.

‘His time is running out and I don’t know… it just feels scary to think that he will disappear soon.’ The Dark Hakyeon said.

‘What?’ Hongbin was strangely surprised. ‘Disappear? What do you mean?’

The Dark Hakyeon didn’t understand why the younger looked so surprised.

‘Huh? I thought you and the others knew about it…’

‘No. He never told us anything like that at all.’

‘But isn’t that the reason why you guys have started to accept him in the group? Because his time is running out and he won’t be here much longer?’

‘That’s not the reason why we’ve accepted him. We haven’t accepted him at all.’

‘Then why the sudden change in attitude towards him?’ The Dark Hakyeon asked.

Hongbin had a momentary silence as he looked at the other and turned away to avert his gaze.

‘We’re… we’re doing it for you.’

‘For me?’

Hongbin took a deep breath and turned his attention back on the Dark Hakyeon once more. He was thinking of whether or not he should tell him the truth.

‘Well?’ The Dark Hakyeon grew desperate to knowing what was making the younger so hesitant.

‘He told us the reason why Taekwoon-hyung decided to stay in Dreamscape and switched places with him instead.’

‘But what does that have to do with me?’

‘Taekwoon-hyung, he… he can’t find it in his heart to accept or forgive you. Because of you and the Dark Taekwoon, Hakyeon-hyung is gone and you took over his body instead. He thinks that you stole Hakyeon-hyung away from us.’

The Dark Hakyeon’s sudden silence made Hongbin quite terrified, afraid that the other might cry.

‘Hyung…’ Hongbin didn’t know what to do and wanted to comfort the other.

‘So you were afraid of my feelings getting hurt? Because your vocalist hates me?’ The Dark Hakyeon asked but did not shed a single tear. Rather, he seemed quite calm about the truth.

Hongbin nodded.

‘But why do you think that would hurt my feelings?’

‘Because you… like Taekwoon-hyung…’ Hongbin said and suddenly regret saying it because it made him sad instead.

The Dark Hakyeon nudged hard on Hongbin’s head with his hands.

‘Ow! Hyung what-‘ Hongbin rubbed the pain away.

The older let out a sigh of relief.

‘It’s true that I liked the first Taekwoon but he and your Taekwoon-hyung is two complete different people. Even if they look alike, they’re still different. It’s true in the beginning I clung onto him so that I could push you all away but that was just an act. I’d be lying if I said that I never once thought that I would try to fall in love with your vocalist like I did the first Taekwoon but it didn’t happen in the end. I don’t feel anything for neither the vocalist or the Dark Taekwoon.’

‘You don’t?’

The Dark Hakyeon nodded.

Hongbin was relieved and smiled a bit after hearing the other say that.

‘Plus,’ the Dark Hakyeon continued. ‘I have you now don’t I?’

Hongbin’s ears flushed red in an instant and his smile grew wider with both his dimples showing. He pulled the other forward and gave the Dark Hakyeon a hug.

‘You’re right. I’m glad to have you here with me as well.’

Then, Hongbin leaned in to the Dark Hakyeon and gave him a gentle kiss.

~

Hakyeon’s jaws dropped in an instant.

You’ve got to be kidding me? Those two…

He was in disbelief to think that the Dark Hakyeon and Hongbin were together. Hakyeon was at a loss for words and didn’t know how to react.

What the heck happened while I was gone? Should I be happy about this or not?

After all, the Dark Hakyeon was using Hakyeon’s body.

Hakyeon never thought that those two would get together and they were the least likely pair to become a couple is what he thought.

Then, it made Hakyeon remember once more.

The fact that Taekwoon hates the Dark Hakyeon and the Dark Taekwoon for kidnapping him into Dreamscape.

Though his lifelong friend had already revealed the truth to Hakyeon as to why he chose to stay behind, Hakyeon knew that it wasn’t right. He wasn’t so sure that escaping from reality was a good idea.

Hakyeon really missed home. His friends and his family were all on the other side.

The real world.

But now, he’s become troubled by something else.

If Hakyeon were to return to the real world, what would happen to the Dark Hakyeon? Wouldn’t he disappear then? Then what’s going to happen to the Dark Hakyeon and Hongbin’s relationship? Does Hakyeon’s return mean that he will break the two’s relationship when both of them finally found someone they love and care for?