“I dreamt about something,” Key whispers.

Jonghyun leans forward in his seat, “oh? Enlighten me.”

“A lot of it was hazy … I remember there being a fire. That was the clearest thing,” Kibum’s face glowers as he tries to piece together his dream.

“Was it?” Jonghyun interjects.

“Yes,” Key continues, “it was bright and colorful.”

“How did you know it was a fire?” Jonghyun investigates.

“I remembered it burning me,” Kibum answers.

Jonghyun nods as he sits back, “is that all?”

Key shakes his head, “there was screaming too.”

Jonghyun becomes interested again, “do you remember what the screams said?”

Kibum pouts, “No…”

Jonghyun interlocks his fingers, “I want to play a different game with you today. This game doesn’t have any pieces or necessary items. All I need is you.”

Key nods, “what are we doing?”

Jonghyun smiles, “it’s a word associative game. I’ll tell you a word and you tell me the first thing you think of. Okay?” Kibum nods.

Jonghyun, “name.”

Key, “Kibum.”

Jonghyun, “house.”

Key, “lonely.”

Jonghyun, “memory?”

Kibum, “forgotten.”

Jonghyun, “life.”

Key, “meaningless.”

Jonghyun, “death.”

Kibum, “J—taunting.”

Jonghyun’s eyes narrow, “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Key avoids.

Jonghyun, “Minho.”

Kibum, “dead.”

Jonghyun stares at Key, locked in a glower, “blue.”

“Fire,” Key answers unknowingly. Jonghyun nods, as if expecting that response.

“The fire from your dream,” Jonghyun states.

Kibum slants his body over the side of his couch, “are we done playing?”

“Yes,” Jonghyun replies, “answer the question.”

“Yeah. How did you know?” Key asks.

“Red and blue,” Jonghyun continues, ignoring Key’s question.

“Yes, have I told you this before?” Kibum inquires.

“You have. Tell me more about the lights,” Jonghyun continues to prod.

Kibum grimaces, “They felt like they were burning me. I could feel my body being stung by the flame.”

Jonghyun places a hand on his chin, leaving an index finger over his lip, “are you sure?”

Key stares at Jonghyun, wondering what he’s leading to, “yes?”

“What if you’re misinterpreting your dreams again? Bright red and blue fire isn’t impossible, but the two glowing so closely to each other?” Jonghyun fleshes out his reasoning.

Kibum rolls his eyes, “if you already know; why are you asking me? Why can’t you just tell me? What’s with this constant side-stepping? Stop taunting me and just tell me!”

Jonghyun’s gaze becomes cold, “no.”

“Why? If you’ve already told me before what’s the harm in telling me again? I’ll probably forget anyways!” Kibum argues.

Jonghyun sighs, “I ask you these questions, not because I have forgotten, but so you can remember. It’s obvious I remember these things clearly. I could tell you about your whole life if I wanted to, but I don’t, because it’s not my place to tell you about your life. I'm not here to cast judgement. I'm just here for you. I ask you these questions to try and guide you to the answers you seek. Don’t think that what I’m doing here is meant to taunt you.”      

Bam!