Where are you, my love?

Min Young woke up with a start, gasping. Sweat plastered her hair to the sides of her face as if she had just run a marathon. 

Suho? 

His voice had been so clear. Oh god, she missed him... She froze as the pain ripped through her, fresh as if he had just left. Suddenly, she was crying uncontrollably, without explanation, the tears streaming down her face as she sat in the dark. She sobbed and covered her face with her hands, her frame shaking with desperate gasps.

What the hell am I doing?

                                                                      .                                            .                                        .

The dreams began the night after the funeral.

They were nondescript at first. Min Young had found herself on a boat, then on the shore, and on a neverending boardwalk, in flashes, always wandering without a purpose. There were glimpses of an arched gateway and faint glimmers of the forest. Then she saw him.

It was a flash at first. He was there, at the corner of her eye. She had whirled on him, but not before the image faded, and she was left in a shaking, crying mess on the ground, screaming his name. After that, she felt his presence every time she returned: sometimes his voice beckoned her, a force pulling he forward in her desperate search; other times, she caught glimpses of him before he faded away, from a distance. She suddenly had the uncontrollable desire to find him. He had to be here, he was still alive. He wasn't dead, no, no, no, he couldn't be dead. No...

She had wandered the shore listlessly, calling out his name. It would always be the same: she heard her name called, she heard it as clear as day... and she would walk faster, search harder, until she was frantically calling his name with tears streaming down her face. Then, she would wake.

It was the first time she had gone into the forest, and it frightened the heck out of her. 

They're just dreams, Min Young. They will pass. She murmured to herself as she sighed and attempted to pull herself together. May as well get up. She clearly wasn't going to be getting any more sleep. The dreams though... they seemed so real.

She was sure it was his voice. And as foolish as it seemed, she almost wanted to stay in her dream world. Because he was there. She was certain, she could hear him, and in her dreams, he was alive and well. In her dreams, there was a chance, a glimmer of hope that she had already lost sight of when she was awake. And she wanted nothing more than to escape the hell that was her waking life. 

Min Young shook the thoughts from her head. Perhaps she needed a run to clear her mind.

The air was cool on her face as she hit the pavement running, It had just rained and puddles still pooled on the ground, reflecting her running form as she jogged past. As she ran, she could feel some of the emotion inside her calm with the wind rushing past her. She let her thoughts fade away and the mindless movement take over her body.

It was early in the morning, early enough that the sun had yet to rise. There was the occaisonal late-night partier that staggered past, and a few cars, but otherwise, she had the road to herself.

Min Young!

She started, looking glancing behind her. No one.

Odd-

Before she could finish her thought, a sudden flash of her dreamworld filled her vision. She was in the dark forest, running. No, she was being chased... she had to escape... Her vision returned for a moment and she gasped, unable to breathe all of a sudden. Her vision blackened again and she saw the boat, the gate, and found herself in the forest again. Min Young struggled to scream, the thickets and tree roots slithering beneath her, grasping her ankles as she stumbled past. She heaved a last desperate gasp for air as the roots pulled her to the ground and she collapsed. 

"Oh, ", she heard a voice say. Two strong arms caught her, pulling her to safety before she out.