xlvi. While You Were Dreaming II

“So the big, bad wolf finally greets me face-to-face, does he?” 

Hyosung flicked her hair back with a single nudge of her chin. Her arms remained in place around her legs, her shell still intact. Stronger, even, at the sight of Kim Sunggyu entering the dark, damp room she’d called home for over a day now. 

“My name is Kim Sunggyu.” 

“I know who you are.”

He sat down before her, occupying that same place Zico had the day before. And she frowned at the sight.

“You’re the new leader of the Kim House who’s finally grown the balls to take over his grandfather’s leftover inheritance. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Remind me why I should thank you for anything?” He questioned, her condescending tone the last thing he expected after listening in on her talk with Zico — something his fellow werewolf was completely and utterly aware of. Not that he’d admit that to her, no matter how obvious it was that he must have. 

“It was thanks to us Hunters that the humans of Springfield felt empowered enough to hunt him down the way they did.” 

She stated simply, detached from her words, obviously eager to insight a rise in him. To make him leave her to play her role in all of this. To stop asking questions, should she make it difficult enough. And she knew exactly what to say to bend and break him.

As though she had recited it like a mantra to herself over and over, she sputtered out her next empty words fluently, without stuttering in the least, “And if we hadn’t, imagine how pitiful you’d look right about now?”

And, for a moment, she thought she had him. That he would rip out right then and there, his fingers twitching where they lay in his lap. His expression darkening as she treated the death of his grandfather like a means to an end — to his own successful end. Lips curling to curse her to the ends of the Earth, just like she had wanted. 

Only for a moment, before the light fixture above her teetered precariously once more. Swinging towards his motionless, hunched over figure. Shining down on him. Revealing his current temperament to her for what it truly was. 

Lips curling into a smile, he said, “In the short period of time since I’ve inherited this status of mine, I’ve heard much worse than anything you could say.” Smiling like he knew a secret he’d never tell, “Especially when I know you’re capable of being the very opposite of vile and demeaning.” 

He hadn’t planned on bringing up her confession to Zico, but he couldn’t help himself.

Especially when she stilled completely, her embarrassment showing through her, rarely-seen, blank expression. 

Her tactic had failed. Her facade was seen through. She had nothing left to defend herself with other than the hands she wrapped tightly around her shrinking frame. Which meant that the probability of her cooperating now, out of all times, was high. 

“I came to ask you a few questions, if that’s alright with you.” Sunggyu humbled himself to her, her present appearance affecting him just as it did Zico yesterday. 

She remained impassive, eyes staring off into the distance distractedly. 

He took that as a yes and continued on, “I was just wondering, have our people ever do anything to you personally?”

Her answer was immediate.

“No. No at all.” 

As was her reason.

“I’m simply taking precautions against it.”

Running at full speed as always, brakes broken with no end in sight on the road she traveled down, she saw no reason not to tell him everything. Not because she had some faint hope for her survival — she gave that up the moment she avoided death by Zico’s hand on Graduation day. 

She was merely the type to hold grudges. 

“Anyone who’s ever lived, anyone who’s still living, has made precautions in order to survive. Humans had to adapt in order to thrive in a world filled with hidden monstrosities.”

To strike back against anything and everything that wronged her in the slightest.

“What if I could promise you there wasn’t a need to take such a precaution?”

And this question of his told her he was willing to help, to even support, her race for revenge against her current attackers — whether they were her allies even seconds before not mattering in the least.

“It’s a big promise to make.” 

“But,” he reached forward, tugging at the chains that bound her, “what if I could make it?”

“If is a pretty subjective word.”

“What would you do then?” He rattled at them harder, eyes finding her own at long last, soliciting from her her straight-forward gaze with words that were the farthest thing from empty, “Would you continue to hate us? To hunt us? To kill us?”

“No. No, I don’t think I would. I’m practical enough to not waste energy guarding myself from that which doesn’t pose a threat.” She shrugged, yet her previous complacency was nowhere to be found, “But, like I said, it’s a pretty big promise to make.”

“I’m not a fan of the little ones.”

Kim Sunggyu smiled, and the sound of ripping metal screeched out the world over. 

“You’re taking this well.”

He flipped through another channel, boredom driving him to the brink of insanity, as his friend’s laugh echoed through the phone by his ear. At his misery, mostly. At the perceived misery one expects another to endure following multiple rejections from the woman he’s been pinning after for days on end.

But the word “rejection” was one he felt couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

Rather, he felt he’d been “downsized.”

His value, when put onto a scale against another’s, didn’t have the weight to tip her attention in his favor.

While he’d found the appropriate word, however, to describe what had happened to him in the most accurate of terms, he was no less irritated by his seemingly minuscule worth to her.

To the promise she made to him when he’d helped her momentarily avert an inevitably end. 

“Granted, she broke her promise to me, but she’s coming back today.” He yawned widely, stretching his limbs across the couch in an exaggerated fashion, before shrugging impassively, “By the time we’re on that plane this weekend, I’m sure I’ll have forgiven her.”

An action that, even though he hadn’t seen, was read with ease by his quick-thinking friend, “Your ability to hold grudges hasn’t changed.”

“Neither has your ability to worry unnecessarily.”

Another laugh buzzed against his ear. 

“I assume Ravi’s there then.”

He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs to the brim, “It would be the only explanation behind the delicious smell wafting out of the kitchen right now.”

“I’m jealous.”

“Don’t be.” He himself laughed now, in a better mood than when he’d called — the reason he’d called to begin with. That’s what he kept this friend of his around for, after all. “We’ll be home soon.”

“How sure are you that she won’t just break her promise completely this time?”

He couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on his face, full and tight against his high-flying cheeks, “I think you underestimate exactly how much she adores me.”

A smile accompanied by a feeling he hadn’t the pleasure of experiencing fully as a yell sang out in urgency, “Cha Hakyeon!”

Hakyeon sighed, turning off the television with a single click, “My keeper is calling.”

“Don’t keep her waiting. I’ll see you soon.”

“That you will, Hongbin.” He replied before hanging up with one more press of his finger. 

He had the sinking feeling he’d been growing lazier lately. With everything working out so well, he couldn’t help but sit back and admire a job well down. Still, events were beginning to pick up again now. He couldn’t slack off in the face of what was to come. 

That mixed with the smile-inducing anticipation of seeing the girl of more than just his dreams, of his reality, had him prancing off towards the kitchen, practically bursting with energy from every pore on his body.

In the face of his happiness, however, Sunny was anything but.

“What in the world do you think you’re doing here?”

She yelled again, the sound like nails on a chalkboard to his ears. He lulled his head back, shaking off the impending headache, as he approached the scene before him. 

Said scene included a tall, unresponsive, expressionless male pinned against a section of marble-top kitchen counter — a simple yet attractive grey, Hakyeon would think pleasantly — by the small hand, belonging to a petite woman, wrapped around his collar. 

Sunny’s temper was at it again. 

Though Hakyeon would not hesitantly admit that he’d miss her own ability to blow everything out of proportion. Then again, considering her small stature, both physically and mentally, in both appearance and status, what more could he expect from her?

“Ravi’s here to me home.” He meandered over towards the food cooking on the stove top, lifting one lid to take a peak at a soup he couldn’t identify, “Since the Hunters have failed in their task to take over Springfield, business calls me elsewhere.”

He didn’t pay attention to her facial expression, too absorbed in his own world to care all too much for hers.

“A failure you had a hand in, I’ll have you know.”

“A failure nevertheless.” He reiterated, covering the red-colored soup as he gulped down, much more excited for dinner than he’d been in months, “And we both know how my father feels about them.”

“You’re playing with fire.”

“And I couldn’t be having more fun.” He locked eyes with her own, her shaking, trembling, worried own, and laughed, “You should try it sometime.”

Cha Hakyeon waltzed off, whistling a merry tune as he skipped up the stairs, well aware of the flames that at his heels as he went. 

The last people Taeil and Jaehyo expected to show up on their doorstep this night were the very ones previously attempting to skin them alive. Yet, there they were. Resigning to their new position, informed of the change in alliances not long ago, they appeared defenseless and downtrodden, right there for all to watch on.

For all to see their humility at being conquered by their prey. 

Except, they weren’t. Their heads weren’t hanging low. Their forms weren’t small in the face of their failures. They looked on at him indignantly and haughtily. 

As though nothing had changed, and yet everything had. 

And there was something undeniably admirable about their unchanging demeanors despite their changing words.

“Is there a contract we have to sign before we start this whole letting ‘bygones be bygones’ thing?” Han Sunhwa asked in a bored tone, twirling the ends of her long mane between her fingertips.

“I assume this means no more knocking me out against the trunks of trees? Good riddance.” Song Jieun waved her hand into the air as she pushed past both Taeil and Jaehyo, the smell coming from inside the house effectively seducing her into acquiescence of their newfound friendship.

“First things first, we’d like to see what you’ve done with our fellow hunter, isn’t that right, girls?” Zinger asked out loud, smiling as her arms crossed stiffly against her chest.

“Of course!” Both Jieun and Sunhwa sang out, taking it all in stride.

“What else is there?”

He mused out loud, more than satisfied with the one-sided conversation he was having. Thankful to be there at all after everything that had happened — and has yet to happen.

“Thanks to Sunggyu taking over for his grandfather’s position as the head of the Kim House, the Hunter faction’s expansionist ideals have been quelled for the time being.”

“Don’t forget that half the thanks goes to the impure wolves he’s befriended.” Daeryong added, musing out loud as he stared out into the starry sky that extended on forever past the window pane, “The fast-approaching hope that both impure and pure bred werewolves can one day learn to live together, as he’s demonstrated here in Springfield, has bolstered the strength of the Werewolf faction across the globe.”

“All thanks to his grandfather.” Soryong reminded him.

And Daeryong laughed, filling the air with the rambunctious noise, drowning out the machines that continued to beep rhythmically, “Any more words of gratitude left unsaid?”

Soryong let his fingers slip through her palm, just slightly. Just enough to make that lump in his throat almost cease his breathing altogether. Slightly, almost, just enough, not enough at all.

“A lot more, actually.” 

He mumbled, on the brink of losing himself. Of losing her. 

Tiffany Hwang, who to this day remained motionless in her hospital bed. Flowers wilted on the windowsill. Half a year now passed. An entire season missed while she slept.  

“I want her back, Dae.”

He breathed out, missing her even if she was just there. Just right there, in front of him. Right in his finger’s grasp. Wondering if she was missing it all as well. If, when she woke up, he’d still be there. If everything would still be there, waiting for her — because she deserved that and more. He couldn’t help but wonder. 

Wonder if time would be kind, or if it’d all, all of everything and everyone, just pass her by while she wasn’t looking.

“If—“

Daeryong started, his twin brother’s solemn mood affecting his own. Making him entertain the idea as well. The lingering, ill-boding thought of: what if she never wakes up? How would they even begin to live without her? Without knowing she was out there somewhere, anywhere? But, before he could ask, his voice stopped at the tip of his tongue.

“What?” 

Because he saw something he shouldn’t have out of the corner of his eyes, and understood its meaning in an instant.

“If I go out to get food, would you resent me?” Daeryong answered his brother’s plainly stated inquiry, smiling wider than he had in days.

“Slightly.” Soryong laughed at the sight, affected by Daeryong’s mood in the same manner his brother was by his, “I’m kind of having a moment here.”

“All the more reason to do what I do best.” He sang out, hands conducting a concerto whose upbeat melody was lost on Soryong’s ears, “Reduce the tense atmosphere and bring some happiness into our lives, right?”

Daeryong tugged Soryong along after him, stubbornly doing so until the latter gave up on his plans of staying the night by Tiffany’s side. 

And while no one was looking, Tiffany Hwang stretched her limbs at long last.

While no one was looking, he curled his fingers around her waist, molding into her back. He traced the softness of her skin felt under her loose shirt, sighing into himself. Falling over himself for the umpteenth time.

P.O wasn’t one for public displays of affection, but he could normally get away with things like this when no one was looking. With hugging her, with kissing her, with dragging her away with him. 

The Springfield Lake was their favorite place.

And he wanted to put her on his back and whisk her away right at this very moment — not having touched her in days thanks to the new arrivals in town working at his patience. 

At his sanity.

“You hungry?” She mumbled, causing small vibrations to prickle at his fingertips. 

He shook his head on her shoulder, watching dreamily as she washed the dishes left over from tonight’s dinner. Contrary to popular belief, she wasn’t new to the shiny kitchen knives and flickering flames of the oven. In fact, she was anything but — a secret she kept because she deemed herself too lazy to be forced into cooking every night. 

And after so long, with the house as quiet as it was, it seemed like they could finally be lazy together.

“Keep track of your wandering hands before you lose one, Pyo Jihoon.” 

She scolded, dishes clattering over before her. 

“Jiyeon.”

He called her name, shaking her left and right in his grasp as he complained in an exaggerated manner — coupled with an over-the-top moan of dissatisfaction.

“There’s no use summoning me when I’m already here.”

He trapped her legs in his, all but completely engulfing her figure with his taller one, as he whined profusely. Coming up with ridiculous plans while engraving a smile on her skin, she laughed, body trembling once more.

“We should just skip the lake today. Let’s go to the moon. Even better, over it. Where no one knows us. Where no one can see us. Where there’re no problems under the morning sun because it doesn’t deem us important enough to shine upon. Let’s go. To the dark side.” 

His last statement was spoken lowly, his impression awful and yet endearing nevertheless. 

Jiyeon didn’t know their roles would reverse completely whilst in private, with him the one always pinning away for her affection, but she didn’t mind it. She let his lips dance across her neck and his fingers wander down her stomach. 

“Sounds like a plan.” She turned off the water in the sink, finished with her task and ready to tackle another, more demanding, more pressing, matter that stood flushed against her. 

That is, until she was metaphorically blown away by the gaze she met as she pivoted, turning around completely. Goosebumps formed on her skin as she caught sight of the woman with flowing golden locks observing herself and her long-sought-after mate, Pyo Jihoon, for who knows how long?

“Hey,” was Hyoyeon’s first word, followed by many more, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything here, but I was just wondering where that Hoya guy ran off to. You see, being the strangers we are with each other, we thought it’d be cool if we got to know each other over a few laps around town. I was, personally, looking forward to it. So, I’m a bit disappointed that he’s all but up and vanished.”

Jiyeon, still startled by being caught in the act of love as she knew it, combined with the fact that she had no idea where Hoya had gone, didn’t say a word. P.O, not caring for the woman in the least, hands still firmly wrapped around Jiyeon’s form, answered distantly.

“He went to pick up Hyunjoo from the airport.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

But, as Hyoyeon disappeared, Jiyeon delivered a firm punch to his groin — the last thing he expected in their current position.

“No, Pyo Jihoon, this is a ing huge problem.” 

The air conditioning blasted a ball of cold air into your face as you walked through the exit, making your way towards the baggage claim. Your reaction to the precise, on-point shoryuken was the crinkling of your nose and the furrowing of your brow. You were drowsy from the long flight back home. “Were” being the key verb here. 

Because as you blinked through the surprise, you were greeted with more than just white-tiled floors and high ceilings. More than just the everyday passerby on their way to some country or the next. Yet another thing that left you wide-awake. 

“Hoya?” You questioned, though you ran towards him nevertheless — as fast as your still sleeping legs would carry you. 

“Hyunjoo?” He asked right back teasingly, holding out his arms. You fell head first into them, holding him there longer than you usually would before pulling away. It had only been a handful of days since you left.

And yet it felt like you had been away for an entire lifetime. 

You’d later blame this one how seemingly amazing your friends were — in all terms of the word.

“I assume Sunggyu told you I was coming back today?” 

“You’d be assuming right.” His hands went about pulling up your jacket, fixing your bag’s straps on your shoulders, pushing back a few strands of fly away hairs, working away to tidy you up after the agonizingly long flight you had to endure. 

You swatted his hands away, frowning, “Surely I’m not that uncouth-looking.”

He frowned right back, “Surely you haven’t seen your own reflection in over ten hours.”

Defeated, you raised your head, pushed your shoulders back, and allowed him to straighten out your clothes until they didn’t feel like your own clothes at all. Even if he was treating you like a child — the passing of yesterday’s date causing you to feel like anything but — it was good to be back. You assumed he shared in your heart-warming sentiments; the real reason you indulged him. From the look on his face, you’d assumed right for the second time. 

Smiling in satisfaction due to his job well done in making you look like a presentable member of society again, he patted your shoulders and said the last thing you expected him to, “On the way back home, you have some explaining to do about why you smell like you took a Sungyeol-infused bath.” 

You feigned ignorance, looking anywhere but towards his fiercely glaring eyes, “Do I?”

“You’d be wrong to assume you don’t.”

As it turns out, the third time’s never the charm.

A/N:

Here it is. And for the lack of something better to say, I'll just pass this off to my sidenotes.

Sidenote #1: I have decided upon what to do for the 2nd anniversary of Springfield. Of course, I'm still taking suggestions (as I am open to anything except handing out spoilers), so click here if you have ideas on how to celebrate it!

Sidenote #2: I actually don't have anything to say here, but since I went and made the noun "sidenote" plural, I can't have just one. (And I certainly can't back out of my commitment.) So, yeah, hi. My name is Lily. It's nice to meet you. I just woke up and the first thing I did was watch Orange Caramel. No regrets. Never regret. (Also, Infinite came back. Woot woot!)

A Bing, A Bing.

Click on the blue links below to go to each respective forum.

Springfield/Illusory Discussion Forum Series: The Mysteries Involved, Sailing Ships, Solving the Love Polygon, & Help!