It was quiet, almost eerily so.

 

I take a look around, and find myself on the lakeshore where my family and I used to take our summer vacation. The sky is so blue it couls have been painted on and the water clear enough to see straight down to the bottom. I step into the water, and squish the sand between my toes. 

 

It's quiet except for the rippling water, and isn't right. I remm=ember this place as being full of life, boats, animals, people playing. I was alone.

 

I decide to wade out a little deeper, pulling the bottom of my shorts up so they don't get wet. 

 

Then, foosteps on grass. 

 

I turn around a see a man. He's only a little taller than me, although I am tall for a girl. 

 

hazel eyes meet dark brown. 

 

"its you."

 

Its a statement, not a question. I know this man. I've dreamt of him before, all my life although he wasn't always full grown. he was a just a boy once, his age always reflecting mine. I've never been able to make out his face before though.

 

Kind eyes and a wide smile, brown hair that falls in front of his eyes softly. he's quite handsome, in a way thats all his own. 

 

He grins and nods, laughing slightly. I get his meaning.

 

Of course its me.

 

I tuck my hair out of my face, a lighter brown than his, but still brown. taking a moment to think, my words this time are indeed a question. 

 

"Why are you here? How come i can see you clearly?"

 

His gaze saddens, and drops to the verdant grass beneath his bare feet. HE bites his lips and looks at me hesitantly. He's thinking. should he tell me?

 

I see the switch flip. his shoulders straighter, and moves forward quickly, with the kind of jerky, desperate determination. he grabs me by the hands in a sweaty grip, and the lake is torn away.

 

I'm in a car. It's dark and raining, the headlights fighting a fierce battle against the elements and losing. I don't know how the driver can see well enough to drive, but he's made no comment, and I'm tired. I rest my head against the window, the fuzzy warmth of sleep stealing over me.

 

Then pain. I am on the ground, and i think i should try to get up. the-the others! (what others I ask myself) I jerk and whimper, and it comes out in a man's tone (this isn't my voice!). I can't move. It hurts, but its fading, and I realize how tired I am. The rain on my face is barely an annoyance, beyond the creeping cold. 

 

A muffled voice comes to me.

 

Its in an unfamiliar language. But i feel as if i've spoken it my whole life.

 

I open my mouth, and a name, strange and foreign slips out. 

 

"W-woohyun"

 

Its a raspy whisper, barely more than a breath of air. and I dont know if the voice can hear me. But it seems they do, for a worried face swims into view. another man. 

 

Wide worried eyes bore into me. I want to reassure him, to make him feel better. "Woo-"

 

I choke, and hack, each spasm sending my body into ever spiraling pain. hands, warm and familiar sit me up, and my mouth opens in a silent scream. What comes out of my mouth instead is warm and coppery, and I'm pretty sure that blood is now dripping down my chin. 

 

"Dongwoo, hold on, ok? Dongwoo, please come back to me, just hang in there. Hey Dongwoo, shhhhh... I'm here, I've got you."

 

The man, Woohyun mumbling this matra over and over, until it blends into an endless string of "I've got you. I've got you. shhhh..... Dongwoo, I've got you."

 

I struggle in the dark befoer slowly blinking open eyes i hadn't realized were shut. I let out a whimper that vague resembles woohyun's name.

 

His voice is pure relief that pierces through an undisguised panic and his eyes are wide and teary as he gazes at me.

 

"Dongwoo! Hey, just hang on okay? help is on the way. Sunggyu hyung is okay, a few cuts and bruises just like me. ah, I-I can't believe our car crashed. I pretty okay too if you were wondering. you probably were, you worry too much sometimes you know that?"

 

He pauses, and i strain to focus on him. blood flecks his face and drips from a sluggish gash at his temple, but other a few minor cuts he seems to be telling the truth. I can feel myself nodding off, and its as if woohyun knows this, for he brings me to his chest gently, and rocks back and forth slightly as he continues to ramble.

 

"Sungyeol hit his head... we can't get him to wake up. I'm sure he'll be fine though... i mean, h-he's s-sungyeol right? Sungjong has a broken arm, but he's up and moving around. Howon has some busted ribs we think, so hyung made him take it easy, but its hardJust ah, Myungsoo is stuck. The car is crumpled in and his legs are trapped. and then we couldn't find you."

 

He shakes me slightly, and I can hear the tears thick in his voice. I struggle to open my eyes. its hard, harder than a all day dance practice.but they blink open slowly.

 

Woohyun's desperation is thick in the air. "Dongwoo! Dongwoo- I you gotta hang in there okay? please. please don't leave us." Its barely a whisper. "don't leave me?"

 

And it tears me up in side, because i know, with a certainty I've never felt before, that I am going to do just that.  I am so tired. I don't have much time left i think. So I open my mouth and stare Woohyun in the face as best I can.

 

"Dongwoo?!"

 

"Woohyun? I-i love you." 

 

Something in woohyun breaks in that moment. His voice is laced with the most potent despair I've ever heard, but the wamrth too, is indescribable.

 

"I love you too, Dongwoo. Forever and always."

 

And with that, I let my eyes slip closed, and I fade away to the beating of Woohyun's heart and his lips on mine.

 

I gasp and step back. I'm back in the lake again, and the man, no Dongwoo, is staring blankly over my shoulder.

 

I walk past him to sit on the sandy shore. he jerks and his gaze follows me. 

 

A beat of silence.

 

"You died didn't you, Dongwoo?"

 

Its a smile of regret that answers me.

 

"I'm still not sure this is real you know. Your probably just a dream."

 

A tug of a grin at his lips, and a hand ruffling his hair. He thinks i have a point.

 

"are you ever gonna talk outloud?" I ask.

 

A cheerful shake of the head.

 

"No? Well, assuming this is real, what do you want from me Dongwoo."

 

Dongwoo steps forward and places a hand on mine once again. I get a brief flash of six boys, woohyun being one of them. then a get a feeling of being pulled towards someone, a girl, me. 

 

I blink. 

 

"You're connected with me somehow aren't you? That's why i've always dreamed of you."

 

He nods.

 

"and you want me to go check on your friends?"

 

His eyes widen and he nods frantically, clutching one of my hands between both of his. I'll take that as a yes.

 

But before I can answer everything ripples and fades.

 

I open my eyes to the ceiling of my bedroom. 

 

I'm awake.