Vampires.

The single thought permeated through your sleep-fogged brain. Your eyelids were still too heavy to open, but the thought ran clear as a bell through your mind.

Vampires.

You tried to move the rest of your body, but it felt like you were paralyzed, stuck in whatever position it was when you fell asleep. After a few moments of trying to move, you gave up and did the only think you could do and went back to sleep.

--

Begin Dream Sequence Four

--

Your mind felt like you were dragging it through mud when you opened up your eyes. You blinked a few times, groaning as you tried to remember what happened and where you were. The bed you were in was comfy. The sheets were warm, and the pillows were soft.

As your vision cleared up a little bit, you could tell there was a dim light coming from somewhere. But when you tried to sit up, a pain shot through your forearms, making you cry out and collapse back onto the bed.

You held up your arms in front of you to see your forearms bandaged up. You could see dried blood soaked up into the bandages and tried to move your fingers, only managing to make them twitch slightly before you were overwhelmed with pain.

The door opened, making you snap your head up as the light . You squinted your eyes and kept your eyes down, groaning when a headache started to form.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” a voice asked softly. You looked up to see Sunggyu coming towards you, holding a first aid kit in his hands. Suddenly you remembered what happened, and your hands flew up to the sides of your neck to feel nothing but smooth skin.

Sunggyu stopped by the side of the bed apprehensively before sitting down and opening up the kit.

“How’re you feeling? You’ve been out for a few days,” he said, pulling out a pair of scissors and bandages. He reached for your arm, but you recoiled away from him for a second, giving him a look of disbelief.

“You’re not even going to tell me what’s going on? I’ve been passed out for days, there’s something wrong with my forearms, and all you’re asking me is if you woke me up and how I’m feeling?” you asked, your voice croaking from the lack of use.

You felt remorse and something like a sense of determination from him as he stared blankly at the sheets before looking up at you.

“I’m a vampire.” You blinked a him a few times.

“And I’ve been a vampire for a few centuries now. Woohyun, he’s a vampire, too. You’re going to be stuck with us for a while. But please, please let me change your bandages and get some food in you before I explain any more.” He reached for you again, but you leaned away from him.

“Jisa,” he said, completely exasperated.

“Why should I believe you? Vampires aren’t real. For all I know, you could’ve just drugged me or something, and you’re just messing with my head.” Sunggyu couldn’t help but scoff, looking away from you for a second.

“I wouldn’t do something like that to you. You know that.”

“I don’t know anything anymore,” you said, looking away from Sunggyu to the bandages on your arms.

“You know me. You know I wouldn’t do that to you,” Sunggyu said again, his voice full of pleading. You let out a sigh.

“I don’t know anything. I can’t believe you would keep something like this from me. We dated for over a year. We live together, Sunggyu.” It made sense now, why Sunggyu only went out at night. At first you thought it was because he had the graveyard shift at his work place. Then he’d come home so tired, he’d sleep all day and get up when the sun set.

You didn’t even remember the last time the two of you ate dinner together, if he even ate at all.

“Jisa, nothing’s different. I’m still the same Sunggyu, you just know a little bit more about me, that’s all.” You sighed and turned your eyes towards him, making his heart ache a little bit from the look of defeat in your eyes.

“Tell me, what’s not different?” Sunggyu didn’t know what to say to you. You were right, everything was different now. It was impossible for a vampire to live as long as he did and not make any enemies. Woohyun had even more enemies than Sunggyu did, and you couldn’t be left alone, for fear of any of them using you against them.

Sunggyu scooted onto the bed, taking the first aid kit with him. This time, you didn’t move as he cut off your bandages and threw them away. He cleaned your wounds, and pangs of guilt shot through his body when you flinched from the pain in his hands.

When the blood was cleared away, you could see what was on your forearms. Sunggyu made the motion to bandage them up again, but you jerked away from him to stare at your forearms.

“You carved your names into my arm?!” On your left arm was Sunggyu’s name with an infinity sign in the background, a simple design. But on your right was Woohyun’s name. There was an intricate rose carved behind his name, ending in a star. It was no wonder your right arm hurt more.

“Marks,” Sunggyu said quietly, “so people will know who you belong to.”

“And by people you mean other vampires? Is this what was on Jaehyo’s arm? And Jia’s?” Sunggyu nodded. You couldn’t believe it. You let your arms fall onto the sheets and sighed. Marks. These were scars, and though scars faded, they would be here for a long time.

--

As Sunggyu left the room after bandaging your arm, he caught sight of Woohyun leaning against the door, a pensive look on his face.

“How is she?”

“Well. She’s not kicking and screaming and denying reality. In a way, I think I would’ve preferred that over how defeated she seems in there...” Sunggyu turned towards the closed door and sighed. Woohyun his lips and let out a breath of air. Neither he nor Sunggyu had to breathe to live, but it was a force of habit, one that neither of them felt like breaking over the centuries.

--

Sunggyu came back, this time with Woohyun, carrying a tray of food for you. You tried to resist, but the smell of food was overwhelming, and it smelled too good to pass up. Sunggyu laid the tray in front of you and scooted over to one side while Woohyun sat on the other.

You eyed Woohyun from the corner of your eye but said nothing about him. You didn’t know what to say to him, and there was something in your body that kept you from being uncomfortable with him, so you resigned to being annoyed.

“Can you eat by yourself?” Sunggyu asked, giving you a worried look. You stared at the food and reached out with your left arm to grab a fork. You weren’t even going to try with your right arm. It was still throbbing in pain, even as it sat there.

It was like Woohyun sensed your pain and laid his cold hand on top of your arm. The coldness seemed to help as it seeped through the bandages. You turned your head slightly to look at him and noticed a remorseful expression on his face before turning back to the food and picking up a small portion with the fork.

“I can eat with my left hand, it doesn’t hurt as much.”

“We can feed you, if you want.” You shook your head and swallowed, suddenly feeling very hungry.

“If you’re sure,” Sunggyu said slowly. “We’re heading out to get you some medication for your arm. Vampires don’t usually deal with stuff like this so we don’t really have any pain medication or ointments or anything to help with it.”

You concentrated on eating the food and nodded dumbly. You did your best not to look at them as they left, and you could tell they were shooting you longing looks. You looked up as Woohyun was about to leave the room and stopped him.

He turned around and stared at you.

“Do... Do I know you from somewhere? We know each other, don’t we?” Woohyun blinked at you a few times before he left the room without another word.

--

End Dream Sequence Four

--

The time that passed in the white room started to mean nothing to you. There was no definite cycle of anything to help you determine the time. You had no idea if the lab techs knew about what you were dreaming, but you were sure they were memories of what happened before you ended up on the bathroom floor with no idea of who you were.

You stared at your forearms in confusion. The skin was perfectly smooth, no trace of scars or anything. Either what happened in your memories happened a long time ago, giving your skin time to heal, or they were hidden somehow.

The door opened again, and you saw Jaehyo walk in with the usual smile on his face and clipboard in his hands. He started to check your vitals before asking his usual questions.

“Jaehyo,” you said, looking towards the flowers on your nightstand. You didn’t see anyone come in to water them or anything, but they still looked as fresh as the first time you saw them.

“Yes?”

“Who gave me the flowers?”

“Woohyun did.” Woohyun, you thought. You knew him. You knew him before the dream started, you knew it, but you couldn’t remember who he was to you, and how you knew him. It was starting to irritate you a little bit, and it showed on the machinery in the observation.

“She always gets a little bit agitated when you’re mentioned,” one of the lab techs said to Woohyun. Woohyun let out a sigh. He could never win with you.

“Can... Can I see him?” Woohyun’s frustrations were immediately forgotten as Jaehyo turned to look at the mirror leading to the observation room with a questioning look on his face.

“You want to see Woohyun?”

“Yes, please,” you said, turning your eyes back to the flowers again. Woohyun turned to look at the lab tech occupying the room.

“Would it be safe for me to see her? Is she going to have another panic attack and hurt herself again?”

“I don’t know, sir. We’ll have people on stand by just in case something happens. You’ll never know unless you go in there.”

--

After Jaehyo left, it took a while until the door hissed open, and you saw Woohyun walk into the room, face full of apprehension.

“Hello,” you said, smiling at him. His steps faltered for a second as he stared at you. There was something about him now, you couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but despite the panic flooding your body, something in your mind felt comfortable.

Woohyun  made it all the way to your bedside and stood there, unsure of what to do next.

“Sit,” you said, gesturing towards th empty space on the bed. Woohyun did as he was told before you looked over to the flowers again.

“Thank you for the flowers.”

“You’re welcome,” Woohyun said slowly, wondering when you were going to start hyperventilating and trying to get away from him.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Woohyun sighed. It was bad enough that you forgot him once, but twice was too much. Was he really so unimportant to you that you forgot him so easily?

“I think I should go,” he said quietly, getting up to leave. You were surprised by his behavior and unconsciously reached out to grab his arm to stop him. He stopped and turned to look at you. You tugged at his arm and asked him to sit again.

Woohyun let out another sigh and sat back down. As he sat down, you smelled something familiar on him. Blinking in confusion, you wrapped your arms around his arm and buried your face into his shoulder, taking in a deep breath.

Suddenly, your mind went blank as your arms loosened around his, and you fell back onto the bed, completely passed out.

“Jisa? Jisa! What’s wrong?! Jisa?” The lab techs came flooding in, pulling Woohyun out of the room so they could check up on you. You only had one thought left on your mind as you fell into darkness.

Roses.

--

Begin Dream Sequence Five

--

Sunggyu and Woohyun refused to tell you where you were, but they didn’t keep you confined to the room at least. You knew you were in a mansion somewhere and were allowed out of your room to explore to your heart’s content.

If you ever needed something, there were servants all over the place, ready to cater to your every whim. If you wanted new clothes, all you had to do was go shopping online or tell someone what you wanted, and you would have it.

You were only allowed outside on the grounds with the company of a servant.

Life with them wasn’t so hard. You had plenty of time on your hands to do what you wanted, and they were hardly ever home, if you could call it that.

Sunggyu had a room turned into a design studio for you, and you had the finest materials at the tip of your fingers to do what you pleased with. You wondered about your life before, wondering what your friends were thinking, if they even remembered you.

Sunggyu came in to check on you before you went to sleep at least every other day, asking about your day. Woohyun rarely ever came by, and if he did, he only peeked in and left quickly.

You were surprised by how well you were sleeping. You usually hated sleeping alone, preferring to have stuffed animals or someone keep you company.

--

Sunggyu told you about vampires when he had time to spare. Of course, they drank blood to survive. They couldn’t go out in the sunlight. Crosses hurt, and silver incapacitated.

“You don’t sparkle in the sunlight and drink deer blood?” you asked one day, grinning slightly at the sheets as Sunggyu rolled his eyes.

“No. There is a pretty nice burst of light when we burst into flames and turn to ash in the sunlight, though,” Sunggyu said with light amusement in his voice.

“Are there any indications when you’re hungry? Like do your fangs grow past your lips or something, or your eyes turn a weird color?” Sunggyu chuckled at you before turning to look at you.

“You tell me.” You jumped in surprised when you saw Sunggyu’s eyes glowing a deep red. You couldn’t deny that it looked pretty creepy.

“That’s kind of scary,” you said, giving Sunggyu an apprehensive look.

“I figured. That’s why I usually try to uh... eat before I come visit you.”

“Is it like on the TV shows and movies where you drink cold animal blood in mugs or blood packets?” Sunggyu laughed.

“Unfortunately, it is.” You nodded a little bit, taking the information in.

“Is fresh blood better?” Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at you.

“Fresh anything is better. Drinking cold blood is like eating a bag of stale chips. It’s not good, but it’s edible.”

“So, drinking blood from me would be good?” Sunggyu laughed again and pressed his forehead against yours.

“The best,” he said.

“So why don’t you?” Sunggyu leaned back in surprise as you gave him a look of curiosity.

“I... I didn’t think you would agree to it since we kind of forced this on you and everything...” You sat there, staring off into the distance as you thought of what to say.

“I’m being well taken care of. I have everything I could possibly want material wise, and I do what I want all day but...”

“You miss having company,” Sunggyu finished for you. He knew you were feeling lonely. He could feel it through the blood bond the two of you shared, and he knew Woohyun felt it too.

“Woohyun doesn’t come in and keep you company? He has less to do around here than me,” Sunggyu asked in curiosity.

“No. He never comes in here, and I never see him around the house.” Sunggyu frowned. He could clearly smell Woohyun in the sheets of the bed. Did he only come in after you fell asleep?

“But if you’re hungry... you know. You don’t have to ask. Just tell me before you... you know,” you said again, flushing slightly. Sunggyu decided it was his favorite look on you.

“Only if you’re sure,” he murmured, leaning over you.

--

Woohyun wanted to strangle Sunggyu the second he stepped out of your bedroom. You were tired after he finished feeding, so you got ready for bed early and passed out sooner than usual.

“Woohyun, just visit her more often. It’s not like she’s pushing you away or anything. You’re doing this to yourself. You don’t have a good reason to be mad.” Woohyun let out an angry breath before turning to punch the wall and leaving.

--

You slept restlessly that night. There was something different about that night, and it was bothering you. You heard your door open slightly and saw some light flooding in. You sat up and rubbed at your eyes, spotting Woohyun turning to leave.

“Wait! Don’t go,” you called out sleepily, still rubbing at your eyes. Woohyun stopped and turned around, stepping into your room and closing the door behind him. He turned the light on dim, and made his way onto the bed.

He was dressed in nothing but shorts and a tank top, but the stone cold look on his face was still there. Did you do something to make him mad? But you were so sleepy, you fell back onto the bed and reached out to grab his arm to make sure he didn’t leave while you were sleeping.

Woohyun sighed and scooted closer to you. Sunggyu probably knew by now that Woohyun only spent time with you while you were sleeping, letting you hold him while you slept. The warmth was a nice change from the cold sleepless nights he was accustomed to, and it took too much willpower to get up and leave you before you woke up.

He felt you snuggle up closer to him, breathing out a single word.

“Roses...”

--

You dreamed that night, and you dreamed of your childhood. You grew up in a rather small house. Your parents worked all hours of the day and night to put food on the table and pay for schooling so you could have a better life than them. All they asked was that you made good grades, that was, until you fell ill at the tender age of seven.

A disease was attacking your body, and all of the doctors and specialists had no idea what it was that was leaving you progressively weaker as time went by. The first thing you lost the use of was your legs, leaving you handicapped and unable to walk.

Every night from your small window, you would wish on the stars to ease the world’s suffering, and in turn, your own. You wished your parents wouldn’t have to work so hard to make ends meet, especially with your hospital bills, the cost of medication, and the cost of a private tutor.

Luckily for them, a friend of their’s had a son that just graduated from university, and he agreed to tutor you at a heavily discounted price, as a favor to the family.

You watched the world pass by from your small window and sighed. Was there even a point to living anymore if you were losing the ability to move?

--

One night, you were at your window, staring at the stars. The disease was spreading, and you could barely feel your right arm anymore. Your parents resigned and said there was no point in keeping the tutor around if you couldn’t write, but he still came around to teach you whatever he could.

You didn’t know why, but that night, you felt even more hopeless than usual, and you started to cry.

“You know, stars don’t grant wishes to kids that cry.” You stopped crying out of sheer surprise and turned to see someone sitting on your bed, smiling at you. You sniffed a few times.

“Wh- Who are you?” you asked, wiping the tears away from your eyes with your left hand.

“Your personal star. I’m sorry I’m so late.”

--

The man claiming to be your star visited you almost every night, bringing with him new things for you to see and gifts for you to keep. He told you about faraway places and things that were happening in the world.

“Do you have any dreams?” he asked you one day as you read a book about the pyramids of Egypt.

“I don’t think someone like me should have dreams,” you said quietly, turning the page. Your entire right arm was useless now and rested in a sling to keep it from getting hurt.

“Everyone should have dreams,” he said. “Come on. You must have something.”

You closed the book and thought about it.

“I want to be able to run around and play like the other kids. To get pushed on a swing, to dance with someone until I can’t anymore. I want to make beautiful clothes that everyone will like.” The man listened to you speak wistfully.

“Well, I can’t exactly take you out of here, I think your parents would disapprove. But we can dance together.” You turned to him and gave him a weird look.

“How? I haven’t been able to use my legs in a long time.”

“No matter,” he said, standing up from your bed and taking the book away from you.

“May I have this dance?” he asked, extending his hand to you. You raised an eyebrow which made him smile and pick you up from your bed. He held you in his arms and hummed a song, swinging you around gently.

You laid your head on his chest and breathed in. He smelled like roses.

“You like roses?” You nodded.

“Lilies are my favorite flowers, but roses are my favorite smell.”

--

“Do stars have a name?” you asked. He decided to teach you how to fold stars out of strips of paper, so if you ever felt like wishing, you wouldn’t have to wait until the stars came out at night.

“Maybe we do. Why?”

“What’s your name then?” He stopped for a moment and stared at you before smiling.

“Woohyun. My name is Woohyun.”

--

You were rushed to the hospital when your parents came to wake you up one morning, and you weren’t responding. You were on life support, and the doctors prospected that you didn’t have much longer to live. Your body was failing you.

--

Woohyun came to visit you in the hospital and tried not to cry at the sight of you with all the wires and tubes going in and out of your body.

You were vaguely aware he was there but couldn’t do anything to tell him you knew he was there.

“Jisa... I never wanted to see you this way... Why...” He sat down next to your hospital bed and made up his mind. He was going to save you by giving you his blood, but after that he would have to disappear from your life for good.

“Jisa, live a good life, and live your dreams, okay?”

--

The doctors couldn’t understand your miraculous recovery. You were graining strength in your body again, and soon, you were walking again. You were running, jumping, laughing. They didn’t understand what was going on, but you were released, as healthy as could be.

You waited at your window every night after you came home for Woohyun to tell him the good news, but he never came back. You folded stars every day, wished on them every night, but he was nowhere to be seen.

You resigned to your school work, and doing the things you’ve always dreamed of, graduating university with a degree in fashion design. Over the years, Woohyun slipped from your mind until he was nothing more than the melody of a lullaby you could barely remember, and the feeling of comfort.

--

You opened up your eyes to see Woohyun staring at you.

“I’m a heavy sleeper when I have company,” you said. He blinked a few times in response.

“Why did you leave?” you asked quietly.

“I didn’t.”

“You did,” you said with accusation in your voice. You sat up and rubbed at your eyes, frowning at him.

“I waited for you to come back every day, and when you didn’t, I went on with my life and I...”

“And you forgot about me.” You stopped rubbing your eyes and sighed. You didn’t know why, but the tears were threatening to fall again. You couldn’t tell if you were more sad, angry, or frustrated. Woohyun could sense your inner turmoil and reached over to wrap his arms around your waist.

“I was always there. I watched when you beat up that one kid in middle school. I watched you make friends with Jia. I was there to see you win that designing award for making a prom dress out of duct tape. You even made your date’s suit. I was there when you graduated high school, I was there when you got accepted into design school. I was there when you graduated from university and got a job. And I was there when you met Sunggyu...” You blinked a few times in surprise.

“Then why didn’t you... Why didn’t you...” The tears you were holding back were falling now, making Woohyun sigh before he sat up and wiped them away with his thumbs.

“Because I knew you didn’t remember me.”

--

End Dream Sequence Five

--