"You shouldn't look at the sun for too long, you'll hurt your eyes."

The person moved away from the sun, and Jinki found his eyes following him. "It doesn't hurt," he states, sort of dumb-founded. Who was this person? And how did he find him? The person stared at him for a few seconds longer than necessary, and on his thin lips appeared a smile. Jinki was quickly drawn to it, the jewel becoming more and more intriguing. 

This dream was different from the others. One, he was wearing Jinki's clothes. Two, he was still in the middle of his resentful town. And three, the ocean wasn't the sky. Speaking of which, where was Donald Duck? Jinki thinks Donald would really like this person.

Because... well, because this person was actually talking to him, the first other than his manager. Which suddenly reminds him of the male now sitting beside him. Could this be the son his manager was referring to earlier? Jinki didn't see any resemblance, but this stranger had a 'new-from-town' feeling and Jinki also knew that newcomers never came here anymore.

In just a few months, he would hopefully follow in their footsteps.

"So, what are you doing here? This is a pretty hidden spot; I like it." This person talked so comfortably about Jinki, it almost made the latter feel uncomfortable. But in his dreams, Onew had many friends. So what was so different about this person? "I work at the dock."

"Ah! You know my appa, huh? He's the one wearing the sailor uniform. I keep telling him not to wear it every day, but the old man never listens."

"Yeah. You must be his son who just came back from the army." The stranger grinned at Jinki, his lips curling upwards and reveals two rows of teeth. "Yep, that's me! Jonghyun, by the way. Kim Jonghyun." Jinki didn't how to react to this. He was feeling dizzy and his mind was spinning. Why did this person make him so dazed, so weak in his knees? He found himself grasping Jonghyun's outstretched hand.

"My name is Lee Onew."

"Onew?" Jonghyun titled his head to the left. Jinki thought of one word: cute. "Are you a foreigner? American, right?" Jinki just leaned back against the wall, sighing at the cold surface, a large contrast from the sun's burning glare. "I wish," he mumbled beneath another sigh. Jonghyun copied his actions, quiet as he overlooked this strange person.

It's almost like he doesn't want to be here. He looks at the sky like he wants to be there instead, like its his home or something. I wonder what makes him act that way. Jonghyun admits that Onew is pretty attractive and despite not having seen a smile from yet, he believes that Onew is a good guy.

"Hey, how about I treat you to dinner after work?"

----------

Jinki apparently still thinks that he's dreaming because he forgets about going home and follows Jonghyun wordlessly after he finishes work. He notices the way the other male would consistently look back to see if he was following, until he finally just slowed his pace, walking beside him. "You don't talk much," Jonghyun noted out loud, humming randomly.

"I sing more." Yes, Onew is a famous singer! He likes singing. His singing makes the stars twinkle and lulls children to sleep. The moon can't shine without his singing! Jonghyun is surprised by these few words. Such a quiet person would sing in his spare time? "You must show me sometime then!" Onew is proving to be a more interesting person, and Jonghyun wants to know more about him. Jonghyun wants to know everything about him.

A large sign comes into view and the nerves in his body are sizzling, shaking with excitement. "Oh, look! There's my favorite restaurant! Let's go, Onew!"

Jinki is suddenly hit with an extremely large amount of warmth, spreading through his fingertips and washing over his shoulders. He shivers out of his daze and realizes that the extra heat was due to the fact that Jonghyun was holding his hand. Even as he finished tugging Jinki towards the restaurant, their palms lingered against each other.

"Jonghyun-ah! You're back!"

"Ne, ahjusshi! And I brought a friend, too." Friend? Friend. The word takes a long time to sink into Jinki. Friend. We're friends.

"Alright, two servings of the regular coming up!"

Jinki feels full, maybe a little sleepy. He mostly ate while Jonghyun chatted, but he didn't mind. Jonghyun's eyes as he talked shined, glossy with laughter and animation. When Jonghyun offers to drop him off at home, Jinki grips his forearm tightly. He dreads sleeping, fears waking up. This dream has been far too good. He doesn't want to leave just yet.

Jonghyun must understand because he smiles at him, a smile that makes the corners of Jinki's twitch. If this is a dream, he can smile, right? "It's okay. Today's over but there'll always be a tomorrow. I can come see you again if you'd like." Yes, yes, I would like that. I would like to see you again in the rest of my dreams. "Good night, Onew! Take care!" Good night, Jonghyun... my friend.

For some odd reason, Jinki is walking up the steps to his home. Where are the clouds? Where are the stars? Where is the ocean-sky? Where is Donald Duck? All these questions are running through his mind as Jinki reaches for a key in his pocket and unlocks the front door. What is he doing? Where is his bed of clouds?

His dream shatters, along with a vase near his feet. "Yah! Where have you been, Jinki?!" Jinki? No! No, my name is Onew! "Do you know what ing time is it?! Just because it's a damn Saturday, you think you can ing go wherever you want, whenever?! Get your in here!" No... My name is Onew...

My name is Lee Jinki. I am seventeen years old. I work at the dock in my spare time when I'm not dreaming. Today I met my manager's son, who just returned from the army. And after work, he treated me to dinner.

It wasn't a dream, Jinki, he tells himself when realization slaps him in the face. Jonghyun was real. And you're here now, standing in hell. The devil drifts beside you. He's scowling, scorning himself for being so stupid. But Jinki has no more time to pity himself and feel angry towards Jonghyun, for something else shatters beside him and he flinches.

Jinki has no time to curl into a ball for protection, for footsteps are nearing him with furtive stomps and his scalp burns as a person grips his hair. The fire spreads and his skin, dancing and laughing. It's too late now, Jinki thinks, despite the unimaginable pain as he is thrown across the room. No one can hear his crying, his screams for help. No one can hear the devil playing with him.

And his eyes slowly drift closed, his body finding the strength to hug itself. There is pain everywhere, red everywhere, but Jinki can't feel anything. Nope, he doesn't live here anymore. He doesn't live in this boring town, doesn't live with these monsters who are now shouting several feet away from him, and he certainly doesn't live in this pit with the devil.

He lives in space, where the sky is the land and the ocean is the sky. His best friend is Donald Duck. He plays chess with the moon. He is an amazing singer. He's a sailor. He can fly with the power of the stars, sailing above the frozen peaks of the coast and in the deep, cold, cathedral caves. Higher than the mountains he floats and farther than the hills he travels, across the ocean and beyond the sky.

His name is Lee Onew.

And there is no such person as Jonghyun.

----------

He saw her again. And this time he talked to her. She was wonderful, and what he imagined her to be. It didn't matter that they were wearing clothes from the sixties. They were both flying and her skin was glistening as she soared towards the ocean. Onew watched in wonder as she practically ran across the shore, silky brown hair tied neatly in a French bun and back criss-crossed with lace. Her leotard sparkled as she twirled on the tips of her toes, laughing.

"Sing for me, Onew!"

Donald gave him a high five and together they performed for the lovely actress. A duck beat boxing and a handsome angel singing. The actress closed her eyes, humming along. Onew skipped closer to her, singing with as much heart as he could. He belted each note perfectly, lungs straining and vocal chords vibrating. She held out her hand, a gentle smile beckoning him. He reached out towards her, song getting close to its end.

And just as his fingertips grazed her palm, the ocean came crashing down on them. He saw the waves roaring and swooping down with its black arms. Just a second before the actress turned around, she was hit. As the ocean swallowed him whole, Onew can still hear the slap of water against skin, clear and ringing in his ears.

"Get up! I said get up!" Huh?

"You stupid good-for-nothing son-of-a-! I ing said to get the up! Damn bastard, can you not understand Korean?!"

His lids fluttered open and Jinki's throat constricted against the water inside of it. He choked, each rash breath causing his lungs to miserably push past its limits. Why was everything so cold? The clothes he had been wearing for the past five days clung to his skin, which had erupted with goose bumps, and he was at the bottom of the stairs.

"Time for ing school, get up. You've missed four days already, the school's been ing calling me every damn ing day. I'm tired of it! You need to get your up now, Jinki! You ing sleep all ing day! lazy bastard! If I hear another call from the school, I'll break both your legs to give them a real reason why you skip."

Jinki scrambled to his knees, wobbling as he tried to stand up straight. A pain seared across the back of his left thigh and a hoarse whimper escaped his scratchy throat. Despite the excruciating pain and the extra weight of his wet clothes, Jinki crawled up the stairs, dragging himself to his room. He snatched his clean uniform from his closet and limped to the other side of his room where a bathroom was connected.

Maybe the loss of blood made him stupid to his surroundings and a little slow, but Jinki didn't notice he was bleeding profusely until the hot water pouring from the shower head scorched his bruised skin. He bit his lip, wriggling in pain. He twisted his torso to see a large gash where it was hurting earlier, the skin ripped apart and open to expose pink meat.

Jinki sighed, a small ball lodged in his throat. It hurts, damnit. It hurts so much... He popped his head out of the shower and searched for a small towel, wetting it before running the warm clothe across the back of his thigh. His hisses echoed throughout the walls of the small shower, growing louder as he cleaned his wound more efficiently. His pathetic whimpers only reminded him of how weak he was.

"Jinki-ssi, this is the best I can do. You'll have to try not to strain your thigh so much or the stitches might rip." The nurse patted his shoulder and tapped on the towel inside his mouth. His jaw loosened and he let her take it away, leaning his head back onto the infirmary's mattress. He took a deep breathe before standing and pulling his pants up. "Thank you. I cannot express how thankful I am, ma'am."

The nurse furrowed her eyebrows as she cleaned her hands. "Your parents still bullying you?" His silence was enough of an answer. She shook her head, tsk-ing while wagging her forefinger. "Drunken, lost souls, will they ever get a hold of themselves? I pray for you, my dear. How do you cope with such violence?" I sleep. I'm free in my dreams.

"Ahjumma! Good morning!" A boy ran into the infirmary, ironed shirt slightly wrinkled. The nurse returned his greeting, waving him over. "Ah, Jonghyun-ah, I'm so glad you're here. Would you mind escorting Jinki-ssi to his first class? I'm afraid he's having some trouble walking." The boy nodded enthusiastically, skipping over to Jinki on the bed.

His eyes widened and they blinked with a dazed expression, the smile from before fading. "Eh? Jinki?" Jinki stared blankly at the figure in front of him. He was led out of the infirmary, carefully held with a strong arm around his waist and the other gently on his torso. The student didn't say anything until they were out of earshot of the nurse.

"Your real name is Jinki?" Jinki closed his eyes, fists coiling inwards. "Are you okay, One--I mean, Jinki? What happened? I was waiting for you at the dock on Sunday, but you didn't come. My appa was worried, too. I tried looking for you everywhere and I asked all the store owners if they had seen you around."

"I was sleeping."

Jonghyun was silenced by the simple answer, words screeching to a stop in his throat. Sleeping? For five whole days? The sound of a bell ringing reminded them of where they were and what they were supposed to do. They resumed hobbling towards Jinki's first class. Jonghyun still couldn't find the right words to say, silently drinking in Jinki's words.

Was he lying? There was no way Jinki could've been sleeping for that long, but Jonghyun found himself believing the other male. There was something about the way Jinki talked, the way he acted. It was as if he was so sure everyone was out to get him. Like he had completely given up on living life, a puppet being controlled by strings.

But then... what happened during his sleep for him to come to school with a gash across his thigh? Jonghyun worriedly glanced at Jinki's leg, wincing as the other limped. It looked like it hurt a lot, but Jinki's expression was dull. Almost lifeless. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

The teacher excused him, warily staring at his bad leg. Jinki thanked her and hopped to his desk, immediately resting his chin on his palms and staring out the window. He dared not to think and instead closed his eyes. He felt like sleeping through this tiresome afternoon. Donald, I'm back. Can't fly so well today, but I'm still in one piece.

He was about to sing to the ocean-sky when he was suddenly surrounded by a carpet of dust, pulling him to his bed. The ocean waved its goodbye, it's low voice lulling him to sleep. Onew tried to fight his sleepiness, but to no avail. Why was he sleeping so early? "Jinki! Jinki-ssi!"  Onew wanted to stay a little bit longer. He wanted to stay forever.

"Onew! Wake up, Onew!" There it was again! The jewel!

Jinki squeezed his eyes shut, unconsciousness wisped away entirely. When he opened them, there was the student from this morning. His eyes were widened, as if in awe, and his thin, pink lips parted a sliver. The light from the window shined on him, and Jinki felt a strange tingle at the pit of his stomach. Jonghyun. His name is Jonghyun.

Jonghyun finally snapped out of his daze and grinned at him, a silly smile to erase his embarrassing moment. Jinki liked that grin. Both sets of white teeth were showcased and his eyes squinted just a little, resembling a sort of puppy. His pulse picked up its pace and breathing almost became difficult. "Jinki! You're awake! I was waiting outside like I told you before class, but then I didn't see you. I thought you ignored me and I was afraid you really did leave."

Disappointment. Jinki heard a hint of disappointment and his heart was all at once squeezed painfully. A rush of guilt, a sorry on the tip of his tongue, Jinki heard himself say, "Onew." Jonghyun cocked his head to the side, a curious glint in his brown orbs. "Onew. Call me Onew. I prefer it if you did." The other male's surprise morphed into that puppy grin again and Jinki felt heat rushing to his cheeks.

This feeling... he only felt it in his dreams. Like when he was flying or when he sang and the stars hugged him afterwards. It was a kind of feeling like... like he was free and he could do anything he wanted. Like he could touch the sky. And just like in his dreams, Jinki smiled, returning Jonghyun's adorable grin. Jonghyun's face lit up and he was up in a second, pulling Jinki out the door.

Never had he been taken aback so many times before in a day. Jonghyun turned into a magnet, secretly attracted to Onew. During lunch, when he asked to see Onew tomorrow while he worked, he was delighted to hear a yes. And though Onew didn't smile after the one that morning, Jonghyun was determined to see more of it.

Onew bid Jonghyun a goodbye, catching the bus that would lead him a few houses away from his. The pain in his thigh was momentarily forgotten. And I don't know why but I want to see him again.

----------

It was a hot afternoon for a spring day, and Jinki was sweating buckets as he herded a load of catfish onto the dock. He was greeted by shrimp only a few minutes later and salmon not too long after. As he picked through the shrimp, he spotted a few dancing in the corner. With squeaky steps towards the dancing shrimp, Jinki raised an eyebrow.

And then Jonghyun jumped out of the blue, a shrimp in each hand. He dropped them due to the need to clutch his stomach as he laughed. "D-dude! You should've seen your face!" he cackled, on the verge of falling over. "You were like--" Jinki watched with narrowed eyes as Jonghyun imitated his reaction, but stopped halfway to laugh.

There was something about the way Jonghyun laughed. Jinki wanted to hear it over again. It was addicting and he didn't think he could ever get tired of hearing it. Soon enough, he was laughing himself. Dancing shrimp? He was sort of freaked out. And how in the world was that not funny? They were leaning into each other, tears at the corner of their eyes.

"Yah! You two! Stop acting like a bunch of pabos and hurry up with the shrimp! We've got another load coming in soon!" The two red-faced teens straightened up at the booming voice of the manager. Jinki went back immediately to work, and Jonghyun noticed him glance in the direction of his father a few times. "You admire my appa, don't you?"

Jinki didn't pause his work, picking the good shrimps diligently. "He's a sailor." Simple sentences that made Jonghyun want to hear more. Jinki was a big mysterious yarn ball. How long will it take to unravel him? "Do you want to be a sailor?"

"Yes, because sailors can touch the sky."

Jonghyun wasn't able to ask him to elaborate, for the next shipment of shrimp were tossed in. They both worked until the sun began to set from its throne. Backs and necks sweaty, gloves black, and boots filled to the brim with seawater, Jinki led Jonghyun to his spot where he rested during his breaks. The spot where they first met.

"So, Onew... Tell me more about sailors touching the sky." Jinki turned to Jonghyun, seeming to look for something. "Do you really want to hear about it?" Jonghyun furiously nodded, scooting towards him and urging him to continue. "Well... I like sleeping," Jinki started. "Sleeping takes me away from here. Sleeping takes me to my dreams, where I can be anything.

"In my dreams I am Onew, an amazing singer. My best friend is Donald Duck. The sky is the land and the ocean is the sky. You can't touch the sky. There is a barrier of clouds and when you try to go past it, the ocean hushes you. It puts you into a state of tranquility and peace. I'm laying in my bed all of a sudden and I become sleepy."

"And that's when you wake up?" Jonghyun asks, but it sounds more like a statement. He's looking at Jinki intently, almost like he was trying to figure him out. Jinki can't help staring back, his heartbeat running wild. "Yes," he replies. "It's the worst part of my dreams." Jonghyun frowns, and Onew realizes that he's said too much. He swiftly changes the subject.

"I've never been on a boat, except to clean or pull in fish. And I get jealous when I see the manager sailing off. He's floating in the sky. I would like to be able to touch the sky one day."

Jonghyun is more than awed. "I can take you on a boat," he blurts out loud. For some reason he wants more than anything to make Jinki's dream come true. "My appa will most definitely let me borrow one. We can sail off the coast for awhile and then you can touch the sky." For a few seconds they're just looking at each other again, but Jinki turns away abruptly. Jonghyun sees a tear slip down his cheek.

"I would like that," Jinki says softly.

Jonghyun feels something tight in his chest and a blush creeps up on him. He doesn't know why Jinki is crying and he certainly doesn't want to see him cry, but to be able to do something for him feels amazing. "Tell me more about your dreams," he urges, just to help Jinki forget about crying. Tell me more about your secrets, tell me more about you. "Like about Duck-ssi, your best friend."

Jinki chuckles a little and Jonghyun sits up straighter, stunned. "Donald is really nice. He gets a little angry sometimes, but he loves beat boxing. Strange thing for a duck, isn't it?"

"I think that's cool. I can't beat box for my life." They laugh and start a little beat boxing contest, resulting in Jinki as the winner. Jonghyun admits his defeat, hiccuping from the lack of oxygen. He swears this is the most he's ever laughed before. "Of course you'd win! You can speak duck!"

Jinki has a prideful smile on and shrugs his shoulders, as if to say 'What can I do? I'm the best!'. "The moon's name is Luna and sometimes we play chess. I can never win; she's too skilled. I can fly though, I guess 'cause that's the only way I can move in space. The stars enjoy my singing. They twinkle when I do." Jonghyun believes him. He has no doubt that this is true.

"One time I saw Audrey Hepburn. She was twirling across the shore in her ballet shoes and her leotard, running on her tippy toes. It was around the year 1964; I can tell because she was in her thirties."

"The actress?" Jonghyun had seen a few of her movies when he was overseas. It was mostly to pass time, but he couldn't deny that she was a beautiful woman. The boys were mesmerized by her charm, her sharp cheekbones marked with a polite smile, and her model legs. She was gorgeous.

"Yes. But I haven't got the chance to talk to her." Resent. He resented not having enough courage to talk to her. Who knows when she'll return? Jonghyun could sense Jinki's blighted hope, his crestfallen expression proving it. Although this wonderful place in Jinki's dreams resembled a fool's paradise, Jonghyun knew it was important to Jinki.

It was his getaway, a place where he was free.

"Well, I'll be here for awhile. Tell me if you ever get a chance to talk to Hepburn-ssi. And I wouldn't mind accompanying you either. I'm a big fan myself." He grinned to hopefully change Jinki's frown upside down and indeed, the corners of his lips curled upwards. It was a small, but it was nonetheless a smile.

As the day neared its end, they parted, both a little reluctant. But Jinki's thigh was aching and he was truthfully a little scared of not coming home on time. He wanted to hurry up so he could sleep (it was always less painful that way), but at the same time he didn't want to say goodbye. He didn't know when 'goodbye' would be the last 'goodbye'. "I have to hurry or else I might come back even worse. Goodbye!"

Jonghyun's ears perked in alarm at Jinki's words. Come back worse? Jonghyun wanted Jinki to stay. Was he being hurt at home? Was he hurt because Jonghyun had made him stay late last week? If that was the case, Jonghyun did not want Jinki anywhere near home. He wanted Jinki safe and happy. He wanted him to keep smiling forever.

"Goodbye, Onew." It's okay, Jonghyun. With every hello there is a goodbye, and with every goodbye there is a hello.

Jinki stopped a few yards away, turning around with a gentle smile. Jonghyun's breath was taken away. Jinki then bowed, his gratitude apparent with how straight his back was. "It was nice meeting you, Jonghyun," he said.

I wasn't so sure meeting you was a good thing, and so I never said it back to you. But now I am positive that meeting you is probably one of the best things that have ever happened to me in this cold world. So nice to meet you, Jonghyun.