She was in a hurry. She had woken up later than she expected, later than she had set the alarm settings in her phone. She had cussed the moment her eyes saw daylight streaming from her French-styled windows to the time she flickered cold water onto her face, swiped hopefully ample amount of deodorant and bathed herself in perfume until she reached the university – late, as she had already realized. Of course, she had been cussing in her head else what would people think of her now, right?

She was late, she was going to get reprimanded for hours on again other than already having failed the most important exam of the semester.  Typical, she thought.

“Excuse me,” someone said the person tapped onto her shoulder lightly.

“Yes?” she said after turning towards the person.

“Are you Yeeun?” she had nodded and within an instant she felt every nerve of her body made an involuntary jolt, as stabbing, excruciating pain electrified just below her chest . She gaped in agonizing silence as she tried to clasped and search for support.

“Goodbye.” The person had said before she could feel herself falling against gravel. She had heard quick footsteps running away and towards her. She had heard screams and yelling and just utter chaos yet all she can see is black as all else – warmth, color and air slowly vanished.

Am I going to ing die just like this? She thought as she coughed out metallic tasting goo and she knew it was blood. She could feel herself gasping for breath though she knew it was useless, that person, whoever that was made it certain that she was going to die by stabbing her at the lung area. Oh how she wished he could’ve just stabbed her heart instead or just put a bullet through her head that would be less painful.  How she wished she wasn’t a medicine student, then she would actually be lying there in her own pool of blood hoping she’d still live and not just wait for her impending doom helplessly.

“NO!” he yelled before having hit with a bluntly hard pillow on the face, obstructing his breathing momentarily. Onew fell silent immediately as a hand flew towards his aching nose.

“What the heck’s wrong with you?” his roommate asked.

“What?” Onew asked, confused and totally out of it.

“This is the fourth night you’re screaming me out of studying,” Joon complained, throwing the pillow onto his shoulder before returning back to his desk. Onew took a glance on his phone, looking at the time before blurting out apologies again.

*~*~*

-Oct. 5, 2011-

The id on his phone registered. Just a dream he tells himself as he takes in deep breaths. He raked a hand through his hair and realized it was damp with sweat and so was his shirt.

“Are you alright bro?” Joon asked, not taking his eyes off of his book as Onew heads for his dresser in search for fresh shirt.

“Yeah, just had that weird dream again,” Onew answered, “Anyway, I think I’m going to go and have some fresh air.” And Joon merely nodded as his mindset slowly goes back to his studying.

But it wasn’t just any weird dream, Onew knew that. This wasn’t the first, or as Joon had said, fourth time. He had been having strange dreams since he could remember; probably high school. Though they weren’t as clear and lifelike as the one he had been having for the past four days.

Yeeun. Park Yeeun, Onew tries to recall and understand why he has been having these disturbing dreams – disturbing because there are days where he plays the protagonist, Yeeun, and others where he’s the killer and that sends more terrifying chills down his spine and make the hair of his body stand more.

“I can see the future,” he mumbles sarcastically more to himself as he kicks a pebble out of the stone path.  “But that was too far a future to foretell, and I don’t even know any Park Yeeun.” Onew blurted out of frustration.

“Yes?” someone had said from somewhere behind Onew. He was so surprised that he had turned his heels too swiftly that he almost lost his balance. The young woman before her was tilting her head fifteen degrees towards the right as her eyes furrowed from confused curiosity. Onew cursed at himself for one, being a mathematical nazi and describing as perfectly as he could the angle of her head at this sort of serendipitous situation; two, for talking to himself aloud in a public place such as a pavement and lastly for actually gaping at the beauty before him.  

Too surprised, too afraid and just the fact that he doesn’t know how to actually make casual conversations to a girl, as pathetic as that may sound, Onew mumbled gibberish and ran away, leaving the girl wondering.

Holy fudge! She’s real! She’s ing real!

“She’s ing real!” Onew whispered breathlessly. He hadn’t realized that he had been running all the way back to the dorms until he could feel his heart hammering out of his ribs and the fact that he could pass out any minute.

“Who is?” Joon asked as he swerved his chair to face his dorm mate.

“The girl in my dreams,” Onew was still being hysterically excited.

“Oh…” and Joon was about to go back being serious, “Wait, what?! You’ve been having wet dreams about a girl this whole time?!”

“Yes – I mean no! hell no! That’s… ewww.” Onew said more clearly as he shakes his head. “I mean, having wet dreams at this age is disgusting and I am not having wet dreams about a girl.”

*~*~*

Onew had been having the dreams again and again and he’d somehow feel guilty that sometimes he wished they were more than the innocent and frightening dreams and be something a bit ual, after knowing that he wasn’t making her up, that he wasn’t just ually frustrated.

“Hi,” Yeeun greeted with a smile. She was clad in a white blazer over dark jeans and a plain polo shirt. Onew’s breath hitched. He literally pinched slapped his arm just to know if it was reality or not. He didn’t exactly know if he should be happy or not, it was still a dream. This time though, he is playing as himself not the killer and not her.

It was that sweet dream that would sometimes make him late for his classes, though he wished it was another sort of sweetness because he has played the role of a clueless puppy. But Onew had a bright idea, since his dreams had been curiously setting on replay for the past two months since he met the real Yeeun he thought why not use it like a simulation for the real thing? But we know dreams and reality are totally different.

*~*~*

“Hi,” Yeeun greeted with a smile.

“Uh… ummm… My roommate’s Duck.” He blurted. And just as he realized what he said the pink rose to his cheeks. Oh my god, who the heck is duck?! Onew thought desperately, wishing he’d just disappear.

Just disappear you dimwit, you’re embarrassing me, Joon thought. But despite their thoughts everything went surprisingly well.

Any guy would’ve strangled Onew to death at how lame and clumsy he had been but Yeeun mysteriously found him charming. “I mean…” Onew started to correct himself.

“Don’t you dare talk about me,” threatened Joon.

“I’m feeling a bit off lately.” Onew finished.

Yeeun smiled and motioned him to move closer and started to do minor test, basically just inspecting him and asking questions. Onew found out that she studied in the same university and is now working as an intern on their infirmary.

“You’re pretty,” he had said unconsciously in a sort of dreamy slur.

“Excuse me?” Yeeun stopped writing the notes she needed to and gazed at him.

“Ummm… breakfast… I mean… supper – I mean…” Yeeun giggled.

“Yes, I’d love to have lunch with you, Onew right?” and he bobbed his head up and down clumsily.

Onew found out that she was much prettier and warmer in person.

Onew noticed that reality was much brighter despite how hatefully and dreadfully pathetic he is around her. He realized that he didn’t mind making the mistakes, because she laughs, and his heart would skip more and probably far more than what is healthy and normal for him but he didn’t care. He’s infatuated with her. No, he loves her so much so that whenever he remembers that vision of the future that has gone nearer terrifies him. But Onew noted that the bad dreams had somehow subsided. Was his ability taking a time out again? It doesn’t really bother him that much, the dreams after all keep him awake, if only his dreams weren’t more on predicting the bad side of a story then that would’ve been better.

*~*~*

He was polishing the blade of the knife, the eerie sound of blade brushing against marble didn’t even made him wince. In fact, he was enjoying it.

Die !

Onew jolted up, his heart beating fast.  The blood drained from his face when he saw the same knife in his dreams sitting not so innocently on top of Joon’s study desk.