“Sir, do you mind if we ask a few questions?” the same policeman who tried to block Luhan off the road approaches him with a smug look on his face.

 

Luhan hangs his head between his shoulders. “Sure.”

 

“Do you know Do Kyungsoo?”

 

“Yes, we’ve been neighbours for four years. He’s a friend of mine.”

 

“Ah, I see,” the policeman does a few scribbles on a small black notebook before sticking the of the pen in his mouth. “Do you know anyone else he’s close with besides his roommate?”

 

Luhan looks at him with a frown. “I don’t. Kyungsoo and I… we’re friends. But besides his roommate, I don’t know anyone else in his life.”

 

The policeman shuts his notebook with a billowing snap as he walks back inside the cordoned area.

 

Luhan doesn’t say he saw a suspicious man in a dark jacket loitering about the crime scene a few minutes ago. He doesn’t tell him he has bright orange hair and a small frame that seems too weak to lay a hand on anyone. He doesn’t say he thinks he knows who killed his friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luhan was eight when he learned he was different from others. They were travelling by car from Tenzhesizhen to Sihaizhen one summer morning when the engine broke down as they crossed the bridge to the suburbs. The wind caught the map in his father’s hands and reached the tips of the raging river. The rest of its existence was pretty much forgotten since then. They were stuck in the middle of a deserted road with no place to go and no one to seek for help. Forty minutes in the blazing sun and his father was on the brink of a manic heatstroke. He had to help him back into the car and leave him with a bottle of water before running for aid. The closest town was almost a mile away and past several turns on the road that the chances of getting lost were high for anyone who’s been there for the first time.

 

Luhan had to convince his father that it was okay. He can go on his own and find help. The oxygen felt too thin in the scorching weather that breathing felt painful and laborious. At one point, Luhan thought he was going to die –– body sprawled on the open ground and sweat eating up every fiber of his skin –– he imagined every detail of his impending death. But when he closes his eyes, his mind sketches the map before him, the height of lampposts accurately sculpted down to the details of the road cement. The landmarks on the street stay in his memory, including the distance of turns and blocks and the rose pattern of the old woman’s dress as she guards the fruit store four streets down the nearest town.

 

Luhan gets there, shaking and out of breath as he fumbles his way into the fruit store. He sees the old woman just as he remembers her, the little wrinkles on her floral dress and the gray streaks in her hair. He remembers how she cradled him in her arms and called two other men to drive Luhan back to bridge. He remembers how many turns it took for them to reach the nearest hospital, the name of the receptionist as written down on her plate and the hospital room numbered 429, the last digit dangling in its rusty copper frame by the door.

 

Luhan doesn’t tell his father about this. How he remembers every single detail enough to make his mind explode. Sometimes, he wants to forget, to delete things inadvertently stuck in his head and just never look back. But the gift works like a plague and the more he knows, the wider everything becomes. When he moved to Korea at 15, he swore he will live like any normal kid but the disease followed him like a curse. He knew he had to tell someone, and that someone happened to be Chanyeol, the wide-eyed college student born and raised in Seoul. Chanyeol has always been passionate about the supernatural. Movies and books about extraterrestrial beings and the paranormal excite him, so it’s only natural that he liked Luhan too. At least as a friend, that is.

 

As he grew older, Luhan’s memory expanded in more unbelievable lengths, capturing chapters of textbooks enough to master a course in one sitting. Chanyeol managed to convince him to take his college entrance exam for him, and as expected, Chanyeol got into Pohang University of Science and Technology without breaking a sweat. Luhan helped him score dates with girls by memorizing their profiles in high school yearbooks or by simply observing them at the cafeteria and remembering details about their favourite drink, the title of the book they borrowed from the library or what they liked to talk about the most with their friends. Luhan felt it was incredibly creepy, but Chanyeol insisted that it was all in good faith, he was doing it for a friend.

 

Luhan got into the same university, of course, and was all set to condemn Chanyeol for taking over his life, until he met someone by the name of Kim Minseok. He fell in love, went head over heels and planned his entire life with that someone beside him as any crazily-in-love person would. If only he knew a little sooner how everything would only last for two years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sound of knuckles hammering on cold wood rings in his ears. Luhan’s eyes flit open in a snap as his body pulls him back to reality. The sheets are damp in sweat around his legs as he sits up in a jolt after another pound on the door. He turns his head to the side and finds the other bed empty. Chanyeol forgot his keys again, he thinks.

 

Luhan pulls on a white shirt on top of his head as he skims his way towards the door, curses poised to fly out of his mouth the moment he comes face to face with his roommate. His eyes round up to small shiny marbles as soon as he sees an unknown man on the other side, height way taller than Chanyeol’s, eyes hidden behind dark aviator shades, head shaved at the sides and pink lips clipped proudly above a pointed chin. The man is wearing a weird bucket hat on his head and a long black trench coat wrapped around his thin frame.

 

“Can I help you?” Luhan croaks as he tightens his hold on the door knob.

 

The man smiles as he takes off his glasses to reveal black orbs shadowed by a piercing stare. “Hi. Are you Luhan?”

 

Luhan tilts his mouth in confusion. “Do I know you?”

 

“Not yet.” The man’s grin gets swallowed by the shadows of his hat. “I’m Kris. I have a business proposition for you.”

 

“I’m sorry, but…” Luhan glances around to look at the clock on top of the kitchen counter. “It’s close to 3 am, I don’t think this is the right time to talk about business with anyone. Much more with a complete stranger.” Luhan doesn’t realize he’s completely eyeing the taller man from head to foot.

 

The stranger smiles –– exaggeratedly wider this time –– a perfect row of white teeth glistening underneath his flawlessly lined lips. “Oh, I’m sorry for rousing you from your nightmare. Please, carry on. I’ll come back some other day.”

 

Luhan an eyebrow in surprise. “Wait. How did you––”

 

“Chanyeol is not coming home tonight. He's working overtime.”

 

Luhan bites his lips as he puckers his eyebrows in deep thought. “Are you Chanyeol’s boss?”

 

“You can say that.” Kris nods as he takes off his hat to reveal his short black hair. “Now, can I come in?”

 

Luhan nods meekly as Kris prods his way inside the living room and plops himself comfortably on their couch.

 

“I thought Chanyeol quit. Did he get his job back?” Luhan asks as he opens the fridge to look for something to offer Kris, all he sees is a half-empty cart of milk.

 

“I don’t drink milk, so don’t even bother,” Kris waves from the couch. “And no, he didn’t get his job back.”

 

Luhan shuts the fridge with a thud as he sits on the beanbag next to the couch. “Did Chanyeol send you over? Because I’m okay if that’s what he’s worried about.”

 

The taller man runs his index finger on his upper lip as he stares at Luhan thoughtfully. “He doesn’t know I’m coming over.”

 

“Oh,” Luhan hums. He watches Kris adjusts his back on the couch while swiping a steady gaze around the room.

 

“So tell me, Luhan. How far can your memory go?”

 

Luhan can feel his heart lurching. “Excuse me?”

 

Kris smiles, lips curving into a sinister grin that makes Luhan’s stomach turn in the most uncomfortable of ways. “If I give you a minute, can you tell me exactly what I said since the moment you met me at your front door?”

 

Luhan’s hands begin to sweat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“What if I tell you,” Kris cups his chin around his fingers, “I know what your dreams are like? I’ve seen them. I’ve watched them.”

 

Luhan stands up almost instantly, knees wobbling from an unknown fear. There’s something about Kris that rubs him the wrong way. There’s something about him that wants Luhan to tear him apart limb from limb. “I think you need to leave. Now.”

 

“Chanyeol works for me. But not for that stupid corporate office he got his kicked from yesterday,” Kris continues to dawdle as he picks up a cigarette from his pocket and sticks the joint in between his lips. “He works for me along with a specialized group of men who’s just like you. They’re different. They have interesting dreams.”

 

“I’m done with this conversation, please leave or I’m gonna have to call the police.” Luhan takes a step forward to grab the phone on the counter, but his wrist gets caught in Kris’ hand.

 

“The police are too preoccupied with Kyungsoo’s mysterious passing to even bother with your sob stories about a complete asswipe stranger, albeit good-looking, who is merely sitting on your living room couch and doing nothing close to life-threatening and who –– by the way –– you gave permission to, to enter your house.”

 

Luhan glares at him angrily. “What do you need from me? Just tell me and let’s get this over with.”

 

Kris lights up the cigarette in his mouth with a few puffs from his zippo. “Tell me everything I said the moment you opened the door.”

 

Luhan’s breathing escalates into heavy inhales and exhales before he finally clears his throat. The words come rushing out, clear and precise just how he heard it and how he remembers every bit. He recites every word from Kris’ mouth the moment he met him nine minutes ago outside their door.

 

Kris automatically unlocks his fingers from his wrist the moment he echoes the last words.

 

“…you opened the door.”

 

Kris grins. “Well, aren’t you a gem.”

 

“I’m sorry, but this is no ing circus. If you’re looking for someone to fool around with, you’re at the wrong house.”

 

“Easy. You’re so hot-headed,” Kris laughs, smoke clouding around their faces. “I can clearly tell you’ve been living with Chanyeol for a long time now. His nerves are running in your veins.”

 

Luhan sighs as he flips his arms in the air. “Tell me what you want.”

 

“Like what I said, I have a business proposition. I’m here to offer you a job.”

 

“Well I already have one,” Luhan says exasperatedly as he throws himself back on the beanbag.

 

“I know, but I can give you more money. I can give you a hundred billion won in a month,” Kris offers as he lays his free hand on the armrest.

 

Luhan laughs sardonically. “What makes you think I need more money?”

 

“The money’s nothing compared to my next offer.”

 

Luhan coughs, his chest tightening amidst the thick cloud of smoke from Kris’ mouth.

 

“I can make the dreams stop. I can make the nightmares end.”

 

Luhan looks at him sternly, black irises staring back in their sharpest forms. “Why should I believe you?”

 

“You can ask Chanyeol. You trust him. And he trusts me.”

 

Luhan bows his head with a sigh as he closes his eyes in defeat. He knows the dreams are still there, stuck at the back of his mind. He remembers everything –– all his dreams, in every color and every form and he knows they will never stop.

 

“Here,” Kris shoves a piece of paper in Luhan’s open hand. “This is the address to my office. Meet me there at 5 tomorrow evening. I don’t care what you do in the morning, all I care about is that you come to me at night.” Kris grabs his bucket hat and glasses from the table and finds his way out the door.

 

Luhan doesn’t move, doesn’t say anything until he hears a silent click from the front door. Kris has left. It takes him a while to calm down, throw himself back to bed and pull himself to sleep –– or back into his dream. He reappears in the same endless loop, running after the man with bright orange hair and ghostly skin. When he wakes up, the circles under his eyes are darker and his voice is raspier than a frog’s.

 

Kris is right, he thinks. The dreams need to stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hi. Is this Dragonfly Tours and Travel Agency?” Luhan purses his lips in uncertainty as he stares at a lazy-eyed boy with red Mohawk hair. The paper in his hand clearly states the address of a travel agency, but he doesn’t know why he’s come face to face with a boy, probably in his teens, looking like a ruthless Chinese assassin.

 

The boy pulls the lollipop from his mouth with a pop. “Are you Luhan?”

 

Luhan’s not sure if the reek of Junmyeon’s Chinese restaurant in his shirt is a bleak giveaway, but he answers the boy with a nod.

 

“It’s 5:08. You’re late,” the boy mutters in a thick accent as he stabs the lollipop back in his mouth.

 

“I–– just came here by foot, so,” Luhan bites his lips uneasily.

 

“Come inside. He’s waiting for you.”

 

Luhan finds himself in a small makeshift office littered with folders and stacks of paper on all corners. There are two tables, one on each side of the room, three chairs and a rusty typewriter collecting dust near a pot of artificial Crassula on his right. There’s an old computer with black and blue screen atop the table on the left where no one was stationed at. From the looks of it, only the redhead boy is manning the shabby office.

 

“Over here,” the boy calls as he opens the only door at the end of the room. Luhan assumes it’s a stockroom or an office for the agency owner, and at that point, the nerves start to bubble in his veins.

 

Luhan knows he has zero experience in data processing so he’s screwed if he gets any job that requires office work. He’s surprised to find himself in a dark hallway with a staircase leading down to a murky basement. The further down they go, the colder it becomes.

 

“This looks like some sort of hideout for criminals. I feel like I’m walking to the pits of hell, except I’m freezing my toes,” Luhan mutters behind the crop of red hair that is still moving further down before him.

 

“We’re almost there,” the boy replies nonchalantly.

 

True enough, in just seconds, they arrive at a small basement with a high ceiling founded on old cement. The walls are tapered in steel-like frames where four doors stand about two to three feet apart. Two of the doors are open, and when Luhan glances in to check, all he sees is a single bed in each room and a clock on top of the bedside table.

 

“Is this a hostel?” Luhan asks, but all he gets is a chuckle from the redhead boy.

 

The last door is half-open when he walks towards the end of the hall. In it, he sees Kris in a white button-down shirt, sleeves folded up to his elbows revealing his slightly veined arms. Right in front of him, a boy with short black hair sits on an ergonomic chair, his arms folded on his chest as Kris takes his hand in his.

 

“So who’s the new guy?” the unknown man asks, his voice deep yet tone upbeat. Luhan knows it’s Chanyeol straight off the bat.

 

“He’s here. You’ll meet him soon. Are you sure you’re okay? Last night was––“

 

“I’m okay. I’m fine.” Chanyeol laughs, but Luhan knows he’s faking it.

 

“We can talk about it, Chanyeol. Once we’re done with next week, I promised you. There will be no more Dragonfly. We don’t have to live like this.” Luhan watches as Kris extends his hand to reach for Chanyeol’s face.

 

The door opens with a light tap as Tao walks in.

 

“I’m sorry, Kris, but… the boy’s here,” Tao cuts in as soon as he steps inside the room.

 

Kris almost instantly retracts his hand from Chanyeol’s cheek as he pretends to stretch his back. He sighs as he steps out of the room, hand resting languidly on his nape. “Well, I’m glad to see you here,” Kris greets, cocky smile readily plastered on his pretty face. “I see you’ve met Tao.”

 

“You didn’t tell me I signed up for some travel company with a weird- basement office that looks like a motel,” Luhan quips as he rubs his nose with his thumb.

 

“Luhan???” Chanyeol emerges from inside the room as soon as he hears Luhan’s voice. “What the hell are you doing here??”

 

“Um, your boss offered me a job and I took it,” Luhan backs off before Chanyeol could grab him by the collar.

 

“But you already have one!” Chanyeol turns around to glare at Kris. “Are you crazy?? Why did you bring him into this?”

 

“Relax. Weren’t you the one who told me about how special he is?” Kris smiles innocently. “Ah! Xiumin! You’re just in time.”

 

Luhan turns around to check who Kris was waving at and what he sees sends a hard jab through his heart and lungs. “Minseok?”

 

Bright orange hair and a small frame wrapped in a black hoodie. His cheeks have somehow lost their natural puff but his smile –– that faultless stretch of gums and teeth all lined up behind a pair of pink thin lips –– it still blinds him from all angles. His shoulders are still small and fragile, eyes pointed up at the sides to furnish their almond shape, and he still looks at him in the same innocently unpredictable way that Luhan has always failed to figure out.

 

He hasn’t changed.

 

Not one bit.

 

“Minseok?” Luhan repeats, this time attempting to get his voice past the lump in his throat.

 

The boy inches forward and offers his hand in greeting. “Hi, I’m Xiumin!”

 

Luhan stares at the stranger’s hand thoughtfully. It takes him a while to realize why his vision is starting to haze. The waters come crawling down his cheeks in a blink, waves crashing and dampening his face. “Minseok…”

 

“I’m sorry, but who’s Min––” Xiumin’s words get muffled in his throat as he gets wrapped in Luhan’s arms.

 

“Wow. So you two know each other?” Tao blurts out in surprise.

 

Xiumin shoves Luhan’s arms to his sides, fingers curling around Luhan’s wrists to keep his hands still. “I’m sorry, but I think you’ve mistaken me for another person.”

 

 “Minseok. It’s Luhan? I ––” Luhan struggles to find the words but they evade him completely, “don’t you know you know who I am??”

 

“Luhan…” Chanyeol cuts in as he places a hand on Luhan’s shoulder. “This is Xiumin. He’s one of Kris’ men.”

 

Luhan tries his best to digest their words, but the more he looks at Xiumin, the more he hears and registers just one name –– Kim Minseok. He is the same person he had lost four years past, the same pair of eyes that he had wished so hard to see again, the same muscle and blood that reflect his care and promise.

 

“Are you alright?” Tao asks from Luhan’s side, rousing him from his reverie.

 

Luhan wipes the tears off his cheeks with his hands as he nods frailly. “I’m sorry,” he tries. He knows Minseok is dead, but his eyes could never lie. He looks at Xiumin and every bit of Minseok just tethers his lover back into existence. Luhan knows he’s awake just by the feel of ropes tightening around his chest, suffocating him inside the high walls of Kris’ office.

 

This can’t be a dream.

 

Xiumin smiles and something inside Luhan instantly topples over like a stack of cups. “It’s okay. People mistake me for someone else all the time.”

 

Every time Xiumin speaks, a part of Luhan disintegrates and he knows these things will never come back to him again.

 

“Well then,” Kris interjects. “Glad we had that part cleared up. So I guess you’ve pretty much seen everything in this basement. It’s basically just a set of rooms for the people who work for me. They need it for the things I need them to do.”

 

Luhan clears his throat as he attempts to pull himself together. “What exactly is it that you do?”

 

Kris smiles predictably. “We kill people in their sleep.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The idea of killing someone has never crossed Luhan’s mind. Sure there were times when he swore he wanted to kill Chanyeol for taking over their apartment with his collection of action figures and unwanted clutter, or Junmyeon when he’s being too unnecessarily kind and forgiving towards others, but Luhan has never thought of killing someone for real. The thought of trapping a person in his own dream and holding him back from consciousness sickens him. It’s too unfair. They don’t give them a chance to fight for their lives.

 

Kris casually tells Luhan it’s all in good faith. The people who pay them to travel in dreams have good motives. They want someone dead to make other people’s lives better. Somehow, Luhan doesn’t believe him… up until Xiumin joins in the conversation and tells him how they have killed so many evil men in the past in an effort to save other men’s lives. They end someone’s life to spare the ones with a promise of a better future.

 

Kris explains the dreamscape –– the common world for people who travel in dreams. Luhan has read a thing or two about various dream dimensions and hypnosis but he never knew that all dreams co-exist in one setting, in one world.

 

“Everyone’s there in the dreamscape. You will see a lot of weird things like repetitive landmarks, unfinished settings and people that you know. The idea is to only bother with your subject’s dream,” Kris elucidates as he munches on a slice of apple.

 

Luhan wrinkles his forehead in confusion. “But what about those things in dreams that don’t exist in real life?”

 

“Ah, good question. The dreamscape is pretty much like the real world above ground, anything bordering on fantasy –– like dinosaurs, apocalyptic nightmares or fairy godmothers –– they all exist in the underworld of the dreamscape. We never go there. Unless you want yourself killed, of course.”

 

Luhan’s mouth hangs open in an “O”.

 

“Oh, Jongdae! You’re finally here,” Kris stands up as he greets a dark-haired boy in specs, coming down from the staircase.

 

“New recruit?” The boy named Jongdae surmises as he eyes Luhan from head to foot.

 

“Yeah, he’s the boy with a full-blown archive for a memory,” Kris beams.

 

Jongdae snorts as he extends a hand towards Luhan. “Welcome to Dragonfly.”

 

“Jongdae is our programmer. He basically masters our subject’s profiles and determines the setting of their dreams by studying their psyche,” Kris explains. “It’s pretty complicated, but this guy here does the job incredibly well.”

 

Luhan watches as Jongdae lifts his chin up in pride, underlining its handsome cleft. “Well if he’s able to master people’s profiles, what do you need me for?”

 

“I can’t travel in dreams,” Jongdae answers almost too quickly. “I just do the research, and after that I just stay here and guard, make sure you guys don’t die in your sleep.”

 

“There are only three rules that you need to follow and you’ll be fine,” Kris says as he cups his chin in his hand. “One, find your subject and don’t get distracted. Two, never enter another person’s dream.”

 

“How do you do that?” Luhan cuts in as he grabs a slice of apple from Kris’ plate.

 

“You can be seen or recognized by anyone else who’s not your subject. If you do that, you appear in their dreams.”

 

“So basically, if a person wakes up and they remember my face or they see what I did, I’m doomed?”

 

“Yes,” Jongdae answers. “People don’t remember most of their dreams, but there are some who do.”

 

Luhan sinks his teeth in his bottom lip with a grumble. “What is rule #3?”

 

Kris his lips with a smile. “Kill your subject, even if it's the last thing you'll ever do.”

 

Luhan brushes his palms on his lap, the rough stretch of denim rubs against his skin to remind him that all of this is real. It takes him a while to register the fact that Chanyeol, his best and maybe only real friend, is a murderer and somehow, this entire group of men make it sound like it’s all okay.

 

Xiumin walks into the room with another plate of sliced apples in his hand and Luhan flinches automatically. If there’s one thing that is keeping him in this room and in the company of these assassins, it’s Xiumin. The more Luhan tells himself that he is not Minseok, the more he believes Xiumin is. The possibility of finding an exact replica of someone you’ve held so close to your heart in the same lifetime may be down to a zero, unless of course Minseok never told him he had a long lost twin brother.

 

“Tomorrow, you can go back to work and just come here at night,” Kris concludes as he swigs his trench coat on top of his shoulder. “This place is closed in the morning. Only Tao stays here and guards the place. Xiumin too.”

 

Luhan brings his wrist up to his nose to check his watch. It’s a quarter past midnight.

 

“I’m going home. We’ll talk about the new subject tomorrow night,” Kris bids as he takes his bag from his desk and runs for the staircase.

 

“Let’s walk home?” Chanyeol invites as he slings an arm around Luhan’s neck.

 

Luhan nods as he takes one last glance at Xiumin before they head for the door.

 

Outside, the road is damp from the summer rain and the street is empty except for a small busy tent serving drinks and hot sticks of ddeokbokki and fish cakes to late workers.

 

“You want a round?” Chanyeol asks as they near the tent.

 

Luhan shrugs. “Sure.” He might as well get a drink to flush out the chaos in his head.

 

“I’m sorry if Kris had to bring you into this,” Chanyeol says as they take a seat at the rightmost side of the tent.

 

Luhan looks at him thoughtfully. “Why didn’t you tell me about Xiumin?”

 

“Luhan,” Chanyeol sighs exasperatedly, “how many times do we have to go through this? Minseok is dead. He’s gone. He’s six feet ing under. Xiumin is not Minseok. Minseok is not Xiumin.”

 

Luhan bites his lips in anger. As much as he refuses to let the words get into him, they sting, and they claw into him like a thousand burning daggers. “How long have you been killing people?”

 

Chanyeol grabs the bottle of soju as soon as the server places it on the table. He drains the liquid in two glasses and hands one to Luhan. “Since Pohang.”

 

“Six ing years??” Luhan cries as he downs his glass of soju. “How could you not tell me?”

 

“What’s the point? You wouldn’t have let me and I needed the money. You know how I had to live from paycheck to paycheck before, right? I had to send myself to college.”

 

Luhan bows his head, the stench of alcohol swinging into his senses. “Still.”

 

“If not for this job, we would probably be living on the streets now. You might have already forgotten how you refused to work for a full year after Minseok’s death.”

 

“Did you tell Kris about the dreams?” Luhan doesn’t know why this fact bothers him so much. Maybe because his dreams are private and non-conclusive. He isn’t sure if they bear any importance to his life now. They can be just mere déjà vus or a monster borne out of a collection of painful memories that his heart refuses to let go of.

 

“I told him that you can remember things. I don’t know how he found out about the dreams.”

 

“Tell me what else I should know.”

 

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol’s breath hitches as he takes a gulp from his glass of alcohol. “He was one of us… one of Dragonfly. Kris recruited him for the same reason he recruited you. He can hold lifetimes-worth of memories. But things got screwed up and…”

 

“He died,” Luhan finishes.

 

Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “How did you know?”

 

“I was on my way home that night and I saw the police. I saw Kyungsoo.”

 

Chanyeol rubs his hands on his reddening face. “It wasn’t supposed to happen,” he explains as his eyes start to turn into the same fiery shade. “It was a trap. Someone hired us to kill this subject who turned out to be the leader of Iora, and they held Kyungsoo back. He couldn’t wake up.”

 

Luhan creases his brows in anxiety. “What is Iora?”

 

“They’re like us –– a group of dream chasers who work for rich and powerful men. There are only two of us in this country, the rest are in other parts of the world. We used to work well before but last year, things got ed up.” Chanyeol fidgets in his seat as he attempts to continue his story. “Someone hired Dragonfly to kill Iora’s leader. Kris tried to let them know, but when we all met in the dreamscape, we learned that they were hired to kill Kris too. Everything went downhill from there.”

 

“And you want revenge?”

 

“No,” Chanyeol shakes his head. “We want out. Kris wants to end Dragonfly and we will. We just need to carry out this last mission and things will be okay.”

 

“How do you know it will be okay?” Luhan presses as he empties the bottle of soju in his mouth. “These men can go inside your dreams –– our dreams –– and kill us all. Why can’t you just stop now before more people get killed??”

 

Chanyeol stares at Luhan as he takes in a long weary breath. “Iora is out to kill Kris and I can’t let that happen.”

 

The walk home is a lot quieter than expected as Luhan half-carries Chanyeol in his lanky arms. Chanyeol may not have told him directly, but Luhan knows exactly what Chanyeol wanted to say. His friend loves Kris and he can’t bear to see him die, in the same way that Luhan wouldn’t have let death claim Minseok if only he had the chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of Luhan’s dreams involve the same roads and different times. They involve the same man with bright orange hair, white skin and a small figure fleeting from a few feet ahead. But there are those rare moments when he dreams about real things and genuine occurrences –– a flashback of a precious moment in his life that he had tucked inside the titanic proportions of his head.

 

Times like this.

 

Luhan glances at the clock near the corridor of the library with a grunt. Minseok is late. He is never late, and this makes him unexplainably nervous. It takes around seven taps of his heel on the cold cement and four exasperated sighs before he sees a brown-haired boy running from the other end of the hall.

 

Minseok sticks his tongue out in exhaustion as soon as he reaches the library door. “Please spare me the nagging fit. I know I’m late,” he pleads in between quaky breaths, hands sinking to his wobbly knees.

 

Luhan has all the angry anecdotes lined up in his head and is set to launch them all in one go, but as soon he sees Minseok’s puffy cheeks and tiny pout, the entire stream of words just fly out of the goddamn window. This happens every––single––time.

 

Minseok an eyebrow almost too adorably as he wrinkles his eyes in fright. “Are you angry?”

 

Luhan’s glare softens as his lips stretch into a childish smile. “Babo!” he cries and throws his arms around the shorter boy like a ridiculous damsel. “Why are you an hour late anyway?”

 

“Well,” Minseok purses his lips as he grabs a piece of white cloth in his bag and unfolds it in his hand. Half of the white laboratory gown is burnt into a crisp. “This happened.”

 

“Jesus–– did you set yourself on fire again??” Luhan’s eyes pop out as he holds onto the half-tarnished garment.

 

Minseok smiles and something inside Luhan inadvertently crumbles into small flecks of sugar. “Relax, I’m still alive, Baobei. Ah, and I got you this!”

 

Luhan watches as Minseok pulls a box adorned in blue and silver paper strings from inside his bag. “What’s this?” Luhan asks as he takes the present from Minseok’s hands.

 

“Happy birthday!” Minseok beams as he pulls Luhan in for a long tender kiss, a faint giggle sweeping through the gentle touch of their lips. “You didn’t think I would forget, right?”

 

Luhan’s face reddens in surprise. You can count on Minseok to remember every important date on the calendar, while Luhan… well, he can’t believe he forgot his own birthday.

 

Minseok tilts his lips into a playful frown. “Let me guess… you forgot your own birthday?”

 

Luhan smiles feebly in response, sending Minseok in a ball of chuckles. Luhan loves how Minseok’s laughter always involves a bright sunny smile that’s all gums and teeth, while he, on the other hand, fully drops his jaw and distorts his face in the most embarrassing of ways.

 

“I’m sorry,” Minseok bites his lips a little too cutely. “I didn’t mean to laugh so hard.”

 

Luhan tries his best to keep an annoyed look on his face. “What’s in the box?”

 

“I got you a new backpack,” Minseok grins. “You can use a bigger one. The books are starting to break your shoulders.”

 

Luhan’s eyes twinkle as Minseok fixes him with a smile.

 

“So am I forgiven?”

 

The dreams jump naturally after these moments. They start with something painfully sweet and memorable but they spiral back and end in the same gruesome way. They replay that one autumn afternoon when Luhan had his back sprawled against the university park’s bench and he gets awakened by Chanyeol as he runs from the nearby school building.

 

“Luhan! The laboratory is on fire! Minseok is there!”

 

The words ring in his ears like a siren as Luhan jumps to his feet and dashes toward the nearest building. The laboratory was on the fifth floor and Luhan had to climb up ten flights of stairs to get to the blazing fire. When he gets there, professors are lined up in a human chain, blocking students from nearing the growing flames.

 

The haze gets into Luhan’s eyes and the words start to echo in his ears. “Minseok’s dead.” “He got caught in the fire.” “He’s gone.” “I’m sorry, Luhan.”

 

The voices get louder and louder until they drown him in a sea of memories and thoughts in his dream. The more he paddles his arms to bring him to the surface, the more the pain pulls him down, words seeping through his body like seawater through a drowning corpse. When the voices get too much, he wakes up, feverish and shaking, for the nth time since then.

 

Just like today.

 

“Minseok!” Luhan screams and he wakes up in a tiny room with plain white walls and a bedside table, a silver antique clock ticking in its lonesome on top of its wooden finish. It takes Luhan a few seconds to realize his hand was gripping someone else’s arm and when he clocks his head to the side to check, he sees a boy with bright orange hair sitting on the side of his bed.

 

“Nightmare?” Xiumin asks, his forehead creased with worry.

 

Luhan pulls his body up from the bed, sweat sliding like warm water on his back. It takes him two minutes to calm down and gain control of his breathing. He is sitting in one of the rooms in Kris’ basement where he opted to stay right after Junmyeon dismissed him early from work at the restaurant. He glances at the clock on the bedside table and sees it’s only 6pm.

 

“Did I scare you?” Luhan asks as he finally lets go of Xiumin’s hand.

 

Xiumin smiles and gives him a light pat on the back. “I’ve seen and heard worse things in life.”

 

“Did you come in just now?”

 

“About five minutes ago. I heard you screaming in your sleep and I came in to check. Sorry I had to wake you up.”

 

Luhan shakes his head as he fists a hand through his hair. “Thanks for waking me up.”

 

“Don’t mention it. Kris and the others will be here in a few minutes. There’s a bathroom in Tao’s room, and I can lend you some clothes if you want to take a shower just to clear your head.”

 

Luhan pulls his head up to look at Xiumin’s face. His smile is warm and childish, a quick throwback to all the memories Luhan has held so close to his heart. Luhan almost laughs at the irony of it all.

 

Xiumin an eyebrow in bewilderment as he sees Luhan’s lips stretch into a smile.

 

“It’s weird how you’re so alike. It’s like I’m staring at someone I know, but I’m not,” Luhan bites his lips as beads of sweat trickle down the sides of his cheeks. “I’m sorry if I sound like an insane person right now, I just––“

 

“Tell me about him,” Xiumin cuts in, turning Luhan’s eyes into wide hazelnut orbs.

 

“Minseok?” Luhan asks as Xiumin nods in answer. “He’s everything I could never be,” Luhan pauses to think as he looks at Xiumin, dark russet eyes staring back at their most tender form and waiting for him to speak. “He’s like a little child that bursts into tiny bubble fits of laughter in front of you and does all these crazy things. When we fight, he turns into this bigger, more matured person that I can never be. He’s passionate about what he does and he never gives up. He’s always positive and generous, always thinking of others before himself.”

 

Xiumin sticks his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie as he watches Luhan with careful eyes.

 

“He has a brilliant smile and everything about him is just–– is just incredible. It’s like living in a dream, but there’s never a nightmare and everything is so close and so real. He thinks he’s no close to greatness and he always thinks of himself so much less than what he actually is, but he... he really is so much more than what he believes himself to be. If only he would know. If only he could see.” Luhan laughs, “But it’s too late for that now, is it?”

 

Xiumin looks at him anxiously, and Luhan almost pulls him into his arms. “Go take a shower in Tao’s room, I’ll bring you some clothes so you can change.”

 

“I want to know why Kris picked me,” Luhan says as soon as Xiumin’s hand reaches for the door.

 

Xiumin turns around and rests a hand on the bedside table. “You know how people dream about the grandest and most beautiful things but they wake up forgetting everything?”

 

Luhan doesn’t respond.

 

“You don't. And Kris needs you because he can't up our final mission.”

 

Luhan sinks his gaze to the ground.

 

“Now go take a shower, we’re in for a kill tonight. It’s the team’s welcome party for you.” Xiumin gives Luhan’s shoulder a tight squeeze before going outside the room.

 

Luhan swears he saw Xiumin smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That night, they converge for a kill at an abandoned office building in Samseong-Dong. Jongdae hands Luhan the subject’s profile and a map to the unknown man’s office. In one sitting, Luhan is able to chuck in all the details into his head and in no time, the team reaches an old man in his mid-forties at the heart of the deserted establishment. The subject is the head of a notorious North Korean syndicate that leads a human trafficking exploit in Seoul.

 

Luhan shuts his eyes in fear as Tao stabs a knife through the man’s shoulder. He drags the blade slowly across the length of his arms, ripping the skin open until the muscles are coughing out all the blood from his body. Luhan waits for Tao to stab the subject to death but Tao just stands there and watches the old man cry for help.  When the subject could no longer take the pain, Tao pulls out a gun and fires a hole through his leg, and the shrieks send shivers down Luhan’s spine.

 

“Just kill him,” Luhan begs for the old man as the screams pierce through his ears.

 

Xiumin walks up to him and blocks his view of the subject. He takes Luhan’s hands in his and squeezes them tightly. “Don’t look at him. What you’re seeing is just the illusion of the nightmare. We need to make the nightmare feel so real to make him want to wake up.”

 

“But if he wakes up, he’ll live,” Luhan says anxiously as he tries to drown the ear-splitting cries on the background with his own voice.

 

“We need him to feel the pain in the dream so he can stay awake in the nightmare and let his body give up on its own.”

 

Luhan feels his body trembling in fear. “I don’t think I’m ready for this.”

 

Xiumin takes his palms to Luhan’s ears to block the sound of the screams. “Close your eyes,” he mouths, and Luhan does what he’s told.

 

When he opens his eyes, he’s back in the white room of Dragonfly’s basement, body covered in sickly sweat and temperature rising to a near forty.

 

“The subject is dead,” Kris proclaims from outside the room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hi, is Luhan in today?”

 

Luhan glances up as soon as hears his name. His hand is holding onto a tattered cloth as he proceeds to wipe one of the restaurant tables clean.

 

“Yes,” he hears Junmyeon say. “Hold on.”

 

Luhan waits for Junmyeon and his undying starchy smile to come through the divider from the restaurant’s entrance.

 

“Luhan, someone’s looking for you,” Junmyeon says predictably as he invites him toward the exit.

 

Luhan sticks the cloth in his apron’s pocket and follows Junmyeon outside the divider. He’s surprised to see Jongdae waiting at the door.

 

“Hi!” Jongdae greets awkwardly with a light wave of his hand.

 

“H-hi,” Luhan stutters. “Um, were we supposed to meet today?”

 

Jongdae smiles and Luhan can almost see Junmyeon wheezing behind the counter. “No, actually. Um, Kris wanted you to come early tonight, if it’s okay.” Jongdae takes a quick glance at Junmyeon as he adjusts the specs that are dangling by the bridge of his nose.

 

“Oh,” Luhan mutters. “Sure. I’ll just finish the dishes and tables and I’ll follow you in an hour or two.”

 

Jongdae pulls his lips into a frown. “By early, he means now.”

 

“Oh, well, I’m not sure if…” Luhan turns his head to look at Junmyeon and the younger smiles almost instantly in approval.

 

“I hope you don’t mind if I steal Luhan for the rest of the day, sir?” Jongdae turns to Junmyeon with a respectful bow.

 

Luhan watches the scarlet spread over Junmyeon's face.

 

“Oh, no, not at all,” Junmyeon waves his hands frantically in front of him. “Luhan, you can take off early today. You haven’t taken a leave in the last two years you’ve worked for me. Go. Have fun with your friends.”

 

“But they’re not even my fri––”

 

“You’re really so kind, Mr. Kim,” Jongdae interjects before Luhan could finish his retort. “Thank you for taking care of our friend.”

 

Luhan can feel his arms and body being pulled away as Jongdae turns for the door.

 

“Please, call me Junmyeon,” Junmyeon grins from the counter as Luhan rolls his eyes.

 

“What the hell do you need me for at 2pm??” Luhan cries as soon as they’re a block away from the restaurant. He pulls his apron over his head and hangs it over his shoulder.

 

“Not my orders, okay. Kris just sent me for you. You guys are going for the big fish tonight,” Jongdae explains as he glances back at the restaurant. “Why didn’t you tell me you have a cute boss?”

 

Luhan could almost feel the black disappearing from his eyes as he grunts.

 

As soon as they step foot inside Dragonfly’s basement, Jongdae runs back to his office to do some final edits on their subject’s profile, while Luhan turns to the other direction to find Kris’ office. As usual, he finds the door to the Kris’ room half-open while he’s busy talking to another member of the team. Luhan is all set to turn on his heels until he hears Chanyeol’s voice.

 

“You didn’t tell me it was him! Was this the reason why you’re so obsessed with this case??” Chanyeol’s voice is breaking despite its heavy sound.

 

“It’s over, Chanyeol. How many times do I have to ing tell you it’s over??” Kris almost yells in response.

 

It’s not that Luhan is curious (or maybe he is), but something about the conversation draws him in and freezes his body on the spot.

 

“It was never over. You still love him. You are willing to sacrifice your life –– our lives –– for your ing love story.”

 

Luhan can almost feel his heart jump out of his chest at the pain in Chanyeol’s voice.

 

“Chanyeol,” Kris’ voice softens in distress. “Yixing and I are over. We’ve been over for four years.”

 

“Prove it to me,” Chanyeol taunts. “Kill him tonight.”

 

“Chanyeol, I’m not in the position to––” Kris’ words get drowned in a muffle as Luhan hears the desk legs screeching inside his office.

 

Luhan tries to peek in discreetly from the crack in the door and he almost takes a step back at what he sees. Chanyeol’s lips are on Kris’, their mouths moving in a mixture of anger and lust as Chanyeol holds Kris’ hands by the wrist. Kris’ brows are puckered and his eyes are shut, wrinkles seemingly bruising them on the sides, but Chanyeol’s are open and wet with tears.

 

It takes seconds for Kris to jab his hands on Chanyeol’s chest and push him away.

 

“Tell me you don’t love him and I will stop this madness!” Chanyeol yells as the tears stream down his face. Luhan has never seen his friend like this. Chanyeol is always the cheery type, often carefree and a little mischievous, he’s never seen him this pained.

 

“I––” Kris’ voice breaks. “Chanyeol, stop making things difficult for both of us.”

 

“It’s not difficult if you just make up your goddamn mind!” Chanyeol pounds his fist on the table as his body shakes in anger and sadness. “It can’t be like this forever. I’m tired. I––”

 

Luhan watches as Chanyeol sinks to the ground in a tiny ball. He buries his face in his hands as the tears continue to fall and land on his shaking knees.

 

“I’m sorry,” Kris says as he bites on his lower lip.

 

Luhan bows his head and turns around to go back to his room, but the moment he does, he comes face to face with Xiumin just a step away from the door.

 

“You’re not supposed to listen to other people’s conversations,” Xiumin whispers, his face just an inch away from Luhan’s mouth.

 

Luhan’s body is trapped near Kris’ door now that Xiumin is in front of him. One wrong move and he is sure to get caught for eavesdropping.

 

“Move or we’ll both get caught,” Luhan hisses as Xiumin teases him with a smile.

 

“They already know what I know, but I’m not sure they’re ready to know what you know about them too,” Xiumin replies quietly as he inches his head towards Luhan’s face, his breath tickling the sides of Luhan’s cheeks.

 

Luhan bites his lips as the nerves come tumbling down every inch of his body. Xiumin’s mouth is so close to his and one hint of noise can get them both in trouble. He takes a step back and rests his spine against the wall. “Let me go,” he mouths.

 

Xiumin grins playfully as he pulls his hand and rests it on the wall, blocking Luhan’s only way of escape.

 

Luhan rolls his eyes. “Very funny,” he muses. “I hate you, just so you know.”

 

Xiumin stretches his lips into a teasing smile, sending everything in Luhan’s system in utter disarray.

 

“Well, what have we here??” Kris emerges from inside the room.

 

Luhan’s eyes widen in fright as he glances back at Xiumin.

 

Xiumin smiles almost instantly. “Sorry, I was just teasing your new recruit.”

 

Chanyeol comes out of the room, his eyes still red and voice sombre. “How long have you two been standing there?”

 

“Umm, just, I––” Luhan stammers.

 

“Kris! I got the profile printed and ready for you!” Jongdae booms as he comes running from the other end of the hall.

 

Luhan’s knees are all set to give in at that point.

 

“Ah, great!” Kris exclaims. “Give it to Luhan. He’ll take care of it.”

 

Jongdae smiles as he hands a blue folder of freshly printed reports to Luhan.

 

“Study it. We can’t up tonight,” Kris orders as he sprints to the direction of the staircase.

 

Luhan hugs the folder to his chest and gives Xiumin one last glare before heading to his room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reports talk about Zhang Yixing, a composer born in Changsha, Hunan who later moved to Seoul to work for a bigtime recording company. He still works as a producer for an entertainment conglomerate in the music industry and rakes in millions of wons each month. At the very last page of the report, there’s a footnote that says “prime member of Iora”.

 

Luhan shuts the folder in a snap as he heads to Jongdae’s room.

 

“Yixing’s from Iora??” Luhan exclaims as soon as he closes the door behind him. “Why is he a subject?”

 

Jongdae wrinkles his nose to pull his specs closer to his eyes. “Don’t shoot the messenger. Kris picked him. He’s the last subject of Dragonfly.”

 

“I know, but…” Luhan pauses as he attempts to organize the thoughts in his head. “Why him? Can Kris even kill him?”

 

Jongdae shrugs. “He’s a prime member of Iora. He’s gifted. He can predict people’s decisions and moves based on their dreams. If you kill him, basically you kill a good percentage of Iora. They rely on him so much.”

 

“Will Kris be the one to kill him? Are you sure?”

 

“I don’t know, maybe Tao?” Jongdae replies nonchalantly as he chews on his pencil. “Don’t ask me, I’m not the one who travels in dreams with you guys.”

 

Luhan sighs in defeat as he exits the room. Whatever happens tonight, both sides are at a loss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Where are we, Luhan?” Kris asks as they take their places on a dark alleyway in the heart of Apgujeong. The dreamscape is a lot more dangerous at night, according to Tao, with certain aspects of the underworld escaping above ground.

 

“We’re four blocks from the Hakdong intersection. Six turns from our destination,” Luhan answers as soon as he sees the light from Horim Art Center. The streets are empty and the cars are frozen, a great contrast to how the streets are in the real world.

 

“Lead the way,” Kris directs and Luhan immediately starts walking as the team trail behind.

 

In a few moments, they reach an unfinished building near the bus stop of Cheong-Dam Elementary School. The school building is tattered at the sides, pillars turned to ruins in an unfinished dream cycle.

 

“Is this the place?” Tao asks as soon as they stop at the foot of the building.

 

Luhan looks around and nods. He doesn’t know how to explain it, but something about the place seems wrong.

 

“Where is the subject?” Chanyeol moves over to his side as his eyes scan the sides of the building.

 

“Should we go inside?” Xiumin asks as he looks at Kris.

 

“Let’s split up,” Kris instructs as he walks toward the back of the building.

 

Tao chooses to go inside along with Chanyeol, while Luhan stays rooted in front of the establishment as the members split up in different directions.

 

“Which side are you taking?” Xiumin asks as he turns to Luhan.

 

Luhan doesn’t answer, he just stares at the abandoned building. “Something’s wrong,” he says in a faint whisper.

 

“What do you mean? This is the destination on Jongdae’s map, right?”

 

“Yes, but––” Luhan’s voice fades away as soon as he hears the sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the building.

 

Xiumin quickly pulls him by the wrist and pushes him behind a huge wall. Two men wrapped in black leather jackets step into view, one with thick eyeliner and copper hair, while the other has a long face paired with a pink bob.

 

“Who are they?” Luhan mouths as he turns to Xiumin at his side, “they’re not on any of Jongdae’s reports.”

 

“Sssshhh…” Xiumin presses a finger to his lips. “They’re from Iora. I don’t know what they’re doing here. This is supposed to be Yixing’s dream.”

 

“How did they know we were here??” Luhan breathes uneasily.

 

Xiumin purses his eyebrows in confusion. Luhan knows Xiumin doesn’t have the answer to his question, but whatever it is, they will surely find out soon.

 

The two men take another minute to survey the sides of the building before heading inside.

 

“Listen,” Xiumin explains as he hides his face in the hood of his jacket, “stay here and don’t move. If I don’t come back in ten minutes, wake yourself up.”

 

“But––” the rest of Luhan’s response get drowned in his throat as Xiumin runs inside the building. Luhan tries his best to keep himself calm amidst the growing tension. His mind can’t help but conjure images of Kyungsoo and how he got trapped in his dream with no point of return to the real world. It takes Luhan a few good seconds to finally get a hold of himself and breathe, but his instincts push him to enter the building to find and warn the others. He knows Xiumin asked him to stay put but the thought of losing anyone continues to haunt him with every breath.

 

In less than a minute, Luhan gets through two flights of stairs and arrives on the second floor. He knows the destination of the subject is in the office at the end of the hall. If he’s fast enough and he finishes the job, they can all wake up safely in Kris’ basement.

 

Luhan clocks his head from side to side as he glides his feet to the end of the hallway. The moment he gets through the partition, he hears the sound of Kris’ voice.

 

“Come with us. You don’t have to do this,” Kris says, his voice weary and begging.

 

“I can’t, Yifan. I’m tied to Iora, they are my home. They are my family now,” an unknown voice responds.

 

Luhan peeks in to check, and when he does, he proves his senses right. Kris has found Yixing.

 

“Damn it, Yixing. Can’t you see they’re turning you into a bait? You will get killed and it’s not worth your life. Someone is doing this. Someone is setting both our teams up. Don’t you see it?? You can and you will! That is your gift,” Kris’ voice aches with a mix of anger and restraint.

 

“Just go, Yifan. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

 

Kris steps forward and grabs Yixing by the shoulders. Their lips crash in between their mouths and Luhan hears nothing but ragged breaths and a faint whimper.

 

Yixing pushes Kris away as he rubs his lips with the back of his hand. “The rest of Iora is here, Yifan. You’ve stepped into a trap. Don’t make me save your life again.”

 

Kris tries to blink away the tears that are forming in his eyes. “Then let me save you.”

 

The sound of two gunshots echoes through the air as Luhan falls to his knees in fear. Tao’s scream pierces through their ears like an alarm, and Luhan is almost sure he got shot.

 

“Run and wake yourself up!” Yixing yells at Kris.

 

“Not without you.” Kris grabs Yixing by the arm but his reflexes are too quick. Yixing makes a run toward the flight of stairs and almost topples Luhan over as he steps into his way.

 

Kris tries to reach for Yixing’s arm but in no time, he has already made it to the third floor.

 

“Luhan, don’t let him get away!” Kris calls as he runs after Yixing.

 

Luhan quickly grabs Kris by the back of his coat, buttons snapping in the air as he struggles himself free. “Kris, the rest of Iora is here. We need to back out or one of us will die in this dream!” Luhan yells back.

 

Kris looks at him with sharp eyes as he glances back at Yixing’s fleeting figure. “Find the others and wake yourselves up. I’m getting Yixing!”

 

Luhan tries to pull him back but Kris’ strength easily overpowers him. Kris goes through several flights of stairs with Luhan trailing from behind. When they finally get to the fifth floor, they find Yixing’s body sprawled on the ground, blood trickling down from his head. Beside him, a man with heavy-lidded eyes stands against the wall as he adjusts the silencer of his gun.

 

“Yixing is awake now. I’m afraid you can’t catch him,” the man dawdles as his eyes flicker in a sleepy gaze. “Nice to see you again, Yifan. Are you ready to die?”

 

Luhan doesn’t know what moved him to do the next series of actions. He takes the gun from the man’s hand and fires it at Kris’ chest, sending Kris’ body falling straight to the ground. The sound of the gunshot ricochets through the walls as blood splatters against the white pillar from behind.

 

“Who the are you??” the man grumbles as he holds Luhan by the neck.

 

Luhan can feel his whole body trembling as he chokes for air. His fingers wrap around the boy’s wrist, the stranger’s tan skin glowing against Luhan’s pale knuckles.

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you so easily. It will be a slow and painful death, enough for you to remember and for your body to give up on its own,” the man whispers in his husky breath as he brushes his lips against Luhan’s ears.

 

Luhan feels the pain rushing from his neck down to his body. In seconds, he loses the strength to move his hands and his arms just numb in pain and wooziness. Something in his muscles start to rip and the more he tries to gasp for air, the more he feels the hands of death creeping through his skin.

 

“Let him go!” the sound of Xiumin’s voice almost cracks into his ears as Luhan’s body comes crashing into the ground.

 

Luhan hears the sound of footsteps ringing in his ears and two gunshots, and the moment he opens his eyes, he wakes up to the white walls of his room.

 

He’s back in Kris’ basement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You ing lied to us! How could you send us out there in the middle of a deathzone??” Chanyeol spits back at Kris.

 

Kris bows his head in regret.

 

Luhan walks into Kris’ office and sees Xiumin and Jongdae at the side. “Where’s Tao?” he asks in panic.

 

“He’s in his room. His body picked up a high fever after Iora tortured him in Yixing’s dream,” Jongdae explains.

 

“You’re lucky I was right in time to save his . You could have gotten him killed!” Chanyeol exclaims as he sinks his body in Kris’ chair.

 

“What happened, anyway? Did no one see Yixing?” Xiumin asks as he plants his gaze on Kris.

 

Kris looks at Luhan and bows his head. “When I saw him, he’s already dead. They already woke him up.”

 

“Tell me he’s lying,” Chanyeol looks at Luhan as he waits for his response.

 

Luhan stares at Kris for a few seconds before mustering a reply, “He’s not. Yixing was already awake when we got to him.”

 

Chanyeol throws his hands in the air with a wail. “Now what?”

 

Kris chews on his lips as he paces around the room. “We’ll wait for Tao to recover before going back into Yixing’s dream.”

 

“Great. You’re sending us back to our final resting place?” Chanyeol quips.

 

“It’s the only choice we have, Chanyeol.” Kris glares back. “If you want this all to be over, we need to finish Iora.”

 

Chanyeol fists a hand through his hair with a grunt.

 

“Jongdae, I need you to map out a new destination and include profiles of everyone in Iora this time. Xiumin,” Kris pulls his head up to meet Xiumin’s gaze. “I need you to know Iora’s next move and find out the pattern of Yixing’s next dream cycle.”

 

“You’re asking a clairvoyant to predict another clairvoyant? You’re making people do the impossible, Kris,” Chanyeol blurts in vexation.

 

“If that’s the only way to bring Iora down, then we will.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Not going to work today?”

 

Luhan’s eyes flutter open at the sound of Xiumin’s voice. He brings his hand to his forehead with a groan. The headache is still there, gnawing on every particle of his brain.

 

“Nope,” Luhan shakes his head as he buries his face in his pillow. He spent the night in Kris’ basement as the events from last night and the long conversation that followed suit took a toll on his body.

 

“You need to get up and eat, you know. It will make you feel better,” Xiumin mutters as he sits on the side of Luhan’s bed.

 

Luhan groans again as he feels his stomach rumble. “Ugh. What time is it anyway?”

 

“Half past two?” Xiumin estimates.

 

Luhan rubs his eyes with the back of his hands as he yawns. He pulls his back up from the mattress and runs his fingers through his hair. “Do you even have food here?”

 

Xiumin clicks his tongue in response. “Nope, but go and grab a decent shirt. I know a good ramen place downtown.”

 

Luhan’s eyes instantly light up as soon as he hears the word “ramen”. He quickly grabs his bag under the bedside table and pulls his shirt off through his head.

 

“Wow, you sure are hungry,” Xiumin chuckles.

 

As soon as they get to the ramen house, Xiumin orders two bowls of the house special for him and Luhan. His eyes almost bulge out of their sockets as Luhan downs the newly served bowl in less than two minutes.

 

“Okay, I take that back. You’re not hungry, you’re famished!” Xiumin exclaims.

 

“I can’t live without food in my system, okay. Stop judging.” Luhan pouts his lips.

 

“We all do, though. Yours just reacts violently without it.”

 

Luhan smiles at the sound of Xiumin’s laughter. He likes the way his eyes turn into those little slits that highlight his cheekbones, because it’s exactly how he remembers Minseok’s laugh. Luhan’s trance quickly gets cut off as the tip of Xiumin’s chopstick lands on his forehead.

 

“You should stop staring, you know,” Xiumin glares from his seat as he flicks his other chopstick in between his fingers.

 

“I will kick you if you throw that thing at me again,” Luhan says as threateningly as his soft voice possibly can.

 

“Oh, really?” Xiumin grins. “I want to see you try.”

 

Luhan clicks his tongue in pretend-disgust as he drinks up all the tea in his cup. “What time is it, anyway?”

 

“Stop being so pressed about time. We have all the time in the world.”

 

Luhan wants it so much to be true, but he knows the world doesn’t work that way. Time slips through your fingers fast enough before you can even cherish a moment and make it yours. It happened to him, and it happened to Minseok. It can happen to anyone at any day.

 

“If I take you out today, will your promise to forget about everything and just let go?”

 

Luhan stares at Xiumin uncertainly. “What do you mean?”

 

“I’ll bring you somewhere, but you have to promise me you’ll stop being so uptight and calculating. I want you to enjoy yourself.”

 

Luhan looks at Xiumin apprehensively. “What plans do you have in mind?”

 

Xiumin tilts his lips into a warm angelic smile as he takes Luhan’s hand in his and pulls him outside the ramen place. “Give me ten minutes, I’ll be right back,” he bids. Xiumin rushes back to the office and borrows the key to Tao’s convertible and drives it back to the corner of the street to pick Luhan up.

 

“Are you ready?” Xiumin beams as Luhan nods in response.

 

They drive into the sunset with the sunroof down and the winds playing with the streaks of their hair. In an hour, they reach a deserted beach, waves crashing against light brown sand and the sun glowing from the clouds as it promises to set.

 

“Come on,” Xiumin calls as he takes off his shoes and folds his jeans up to his knees. As soon as he sinks his feet in the sand, he makes a run for the waters, waves quickly landing against his toes.

 

Luhan looks at him with wide eyes as he stands from the passenger seat. “Are you crazy??”

 

Xiumin cups his hands around his mouth and yells, “Just get out of the car and have fun!”

 

Luhan laughs –– something he hasn’t done in a very long time. He pulls his pants up below his knees and takes a run towards the beach.

 

The sound of Xiumin’s laughter echoes in his ears and it takes a while for him to realize how he is also laughing and enjoying the feel of the sun on his skin. His heart bursts into a million colourful pieces as he watches the sparkles in the sea.

 

Luhan splays his back against the sand, allowing the grains to pulse through his skin as Xiumin follows suit. He can feel the waves crashing on the soles of his feet as the sand sticks to his hair. Luhan takes a deep breath, savouring the smell of the sea and the knowledge that here, there is no time. There’s only him, the wideness of the sea, the sunset, and a certain someone named Xiumin.

 

“Do you ever feel like drowning?” Xiumin asks as he closes his eyes beside Luhan.

 

Luhan turns his head to the side as he bites on the insides of his cheeks. “In dreams, yes.”

 

“I feel like drowning every time I wake up. It’s like I want to stay in the dreamscape forever.”

 

Luhan rolls around the sand before landing on his chest. “Why did you join Dragonfly?”

 

“I have a gift that allows me to watch people in their dreams and determine their decisions and motives in real life. I never told anyone about it. One day, I met someone and I fell in love. I saw something that may change the course of our lives forever, and well, it ruined everything.”

 

Luhan watches as the sunset casts a glow on Xiumin’s hair, bright orange streaks turning into golden strands in the waving sun.

 

“I met Kris after that. He saw me in Tao’s dream. He knew so much about me that I thought I finally found someone who understands, and well, he did. Somehow. It was all because he knew how Yixing felt and Yixing was just like me. He had the same gift.”

 

Luhan sinks his elbows into the sand. “I wish I knew sooner about Kyungsoo.”

 

Xiumin laughs. “Ah! See? All this serious talk drowns out the fun.”

 

Luhan smiles with a nod.

 

“Let’s play a game?”

 

“What game?”

 

“Let’s see,” Xiumin presses a finger to his chin. “I’ll use my finger to draw something on your palm and you tell me what it is.”

 

Luhan laughs, “That’s easy.”

 

“You can’t watch me draw, of course. You have to close your eyes.”

 

“No fair!” Luhan pouts.

 

“Didn’t you just say it was easy?” Xiumin teases as he grabs Luhan’s hand and starts tracing his index finger around its lines.

 

“Is that a house?” Luhan asks as he keeps his eyes closed.

 

“Well, that was easy,” Xiumin snorts. “That doesn’t count as a point!”

 

“Cheater!” Luhan says as he pokes a finger on Xiumin’s palm and starts drawing a cat.

 

“What the hell is that?”

 

“You have to guess!”

 

“Hmm… well, that one feels like a face… and I think you’re drawing ears now,” Xiumin narrates. “Is this a cat?”

 

Luhan stabs his finger on Xiumin’s palm. “This is such an easy game.”

 

“Well, it’s too easy to feel things through your palm. Here,” Xiumin rolls on his elbows and starts drawing on the sleeve of Luhan’s shirt with his finger.

 

“Wait, I can’t even feel that.” Luhan complains as he keeps his eyes closed. “You have to write it on my skin.”

 

“Alright. Hold still.”

 

Luhan’s heart almost stops beating as soon as he feels Xiumin’s finger on his neck. The tip of his finger sketches a slant line with a pointed arrow at the end. Luhan can almost feel a growing lump in his throat as he gulps for air.

 

“So what is it?”

 

“An arrow?”

 

“You’re getting good at this,” Xiumin says as he rolls back on his side. “Your turn. And no more palms.”

 

Luhan waits for Xiumin to close his eyes, and it takes him a few seconds to pull the tip of his finger to Xiumin’s cheek. Luhan could almost feel his breath tickling the sides of his hand.

 

“Is that a walrus?” Xiumin teases as his lips curve up to reveal a perfect row of tiny white teeth.

 

Luhan pushes Xiumin with his free hand, causing him to land on his back.

 

“Ow,” Xiumin cries. “You didn’t have to be so violent! Was it a strawberry?”

 

“How did you even guess that??” Luhan purses his brows as he lays his back on the sand.

 

Xiumin replies with a playful wink. “Alright, sit up. I’ll make this one easy. Don’t peek.”

 

Luhan does what he’s told and sits up on the sand. He closes his eyes and waits, allowing the wind to whistle in his ears and the rolling waves to soak his jeans. It takes him a few seconds to feel Xiumin inching closer in front of him, his breath on his cheeks and his finger on his nose. He runs his index finger from the tip of Luhan’s nose to the lashes on his eyes, drawing it back to the bridge until it sets on the brink.

 

It takes a few moments for Luhan to realize he has completely forgotten how to breathe. “Is that a heart?” Luhan almost chokes as he opens his eyes.

 

Xiumin’s face is barely an inch away from his that he almost falls back in surprise.

 

“Your turn,” Xiumin mutters as he closes his eyes at will. “This is the deal breaker. If I guess it, I win, and if I don’t, you can claim any prize you want.”

 

Luhan can feel his stomach twisting as he takes his finger toward Xiumin’s face. He doesn’t know why or how, but somehow the tip of his finger lands on Xiumin’s lips and it stays there for a few good seconds.

 

Xiumin slowly flutters his eyes open and takes Luhan’s hand in his. “Do you want me to draw the last one?”

 

Luhan has somehow lost the ability to respond. He merely closes his eyes and waits for Xiumin to make his final move. The wait draws on for a few more seconds, dragging Luhan from the inside out. Somehow, the ticks of the invisible clock become a little overbearing as he tries to remind himself to breathe. “Just… let… go.”

 

And it happens.

 

Their mouths meet and their lips brush in a tender and passionate kiss. Luhan trembles as Xiumin’s hands graze through the sides of his cheeks, cupping them gently and pulling him closer to deepen their touch. Their mouths move in silence, lips fitting into an impossible curve and perfecting a symmetry that can never be done by a mere touch of a hand. Their cheeks hollow in the quakes of their breath and their tongues shift like they’ve already done so before.

 

The moment their lips part, they are both gasping for air.

 

“Can you guess what that was?” Xiumin asks, his voice breaking down into a frail and nervous whisper.

 

Luhan knits his eyebrows in confusion as he attempts to catch his own breath.  “A kiss?”

 

Xiumin smiles as the sun fully surrenders to the break of the sea. “You win. You can claim your prize.”

 

And Luhan does. He gets his second kiss.

 

 

 

 

 

----

A/N: cries okay please don't ask me why it's taken so long bec this is 13k words and quite frankly, idk why it's become this long.

anyway, the final part will be up in two weeks' time ;;;; lemme just detoxify my system from the monstrosity that is this fic okay?

i also changed the rating bec i think only the 2nd part will have an M rating so yay!

yes, there's krisyeol/fanxing. and yes, there's a complete mindbender in this fic. i will fix it i promise lol.

and omg yay! for ninja!suchen lolol

if you have questions or if i confused you in any way (lmao hopefully not), msg me on twitter lol. it's linked to my profile

 

NOW TIME TO GET SOME SLEEP ;AAA;