[Year 18 of Exile]

“Aera!”

A voice called out to a lady who was sweating buckets and biting on a cloth. She sat, legs wide open, on a surgery bed and was pushing according to the instructions of a doctor.

“Aera! Just a little more! C’mon you can do it!” The voice belonged to a man who was clutching the lady’s hand and kneeled beside her. The doctor urged her to push with all her might and shortly after grunts of effort and a relieved wail, a loud cry rang out in the surgery room.

“Congratulations, it’s a girl.”

The lady slumped back against the head of the bed and breathed heavily. The baby girl was wrapped in a towel and passed to the man. “I regret to inform you that you only have five minutes with your child.” The doctor bowed to them and left.

“Let… me… see her, Nick.” The lady smiled weakly and reached out for her baby. The man gently placed the baby in her arms. Despite perspiring excessively, the lady beamed in pride and gazed at her baby with an overwhelming amount of love.

“She’s… She’s beautiful.” The lady placed her finger near the little girl’s hands and her little fingers wrapped around her larger one tightly.

“I wish you could hold on to me forever, baby girl.” The lady started to tear as the man sniffled. “Aera dear, our five minutes are almost up. We should decide on her name.” He wiped his tears and snot on the back of his sleeve.

“Jen.”

The lady whispered as the doctor re-entered the room and asked politely for the baby and her name.

The lady clutched the baby close to her even though the doctor asked for the girl once again. “Mrs Lim, the baby needs to go. If you would please.” He reached for the baby and the lady screamed, “No! I will not hand her over! Nick! Help me! Help us.” She pleaded with the man and he shook his head dejectedly. “Aera, hand her over. It’s time we accept our fate.” Tears streamed down his face.

“No. No. NO! I WILL NOT HAND HER OVER!! KEEP YOUR HANDS AWAY!!” She continued to scream, her screams getting higher and higher in pitch whenever the doctor tried to pry the baby from her embrace. Ultimately, he left the room with the little girl.

The screams gradually became whimpers and silent sobbing. Her shoulders shook vehemently and her face was wracked with sadness and hatred. “My baby girl… Jen…”

Jen...

Jen!

“-en! Jen!”

Huh? I sat up and my head knocked against something hard.

"Ouch! What the f–!" I rubbed that painful spot furiously and opened my eyes. With my vision still blurry, I was unable to clearly see the person who was seemingly sitting at the edge of my bed. Annoyed, I gritted my teeth. "Oi! Whoever you are, thanks for knocking my head. And what the hell are you doing in my room–" Blinking as I gritted those words out, my sight quickly sharpened itself and a boy appeared.

“–Chanyeol."

The boy gave me an apologetic smile as he, too, rubbed at his forehead. Narrowing my eyes, I looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"W-Well I just wanted to wake you up..." He mumbled and pinked. "But when I entered your room, you were screaming silently and thrashing wildly on your bed. I could see the whites of your eyes."

I shot him an are-you-sure look and his hands came up immediately in defense. "I swear, I thought you were possessed." Chanyeol shuddered as he scooted closer to me, his eyes looking straight into mine.

"Were you having that nightmare again?"

His gaze was searching, as though currently sifting through my memories, looking for clues and answers to his question. My mind was in a mess, my head pounding, honestly, but the answer was clear as day. "Yeah, I was."

I rested my head on his shoulder and he pulled me into a hug. "Jen, it's been some time since that nightmare started to haunt you. I think you should tell grandpa.”

Staring mindlessly at a spot on his shirt, I contemplated. It's the same nightmare. There's nothing new. "Yeol," I looked up and realised that our faces were inches away, our breaths mixing between us as we exhaled in sync. Chanyeol’s face coloured and I knew that he was going to pull away but my hands reached up to his face and held him in place. "I'm not going to tell."

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