He was gaping like a fish out of water, scorching pain running through his body as he tried to breath. Black figures started surrounding him, approaching his spot with the pace of starved animals. He could make out a black aura, that like fumes, densely vapored around those figures. 
Mormouring became chanting, and the figures pressed on and on to him. Panic started to run across his body, his need for air made his chest size and deflate at a speed similar to that of a bird, but as much as he inhaled and exhaled, nothing came to nourish his lungs. He needed to turn, turn and find an escape, but he couldn't. One after the other, the figures came so close to him, enough to feel the press of their bodies against his limbs. Famished, they torn his flesh, teeth sinking into his muscles, tearing apart whatever he had to offer, and he couldn't do anything about it.
Growls filled the emptiness around them, and his mind begged his body to react, to fight, but in an instant there wasn't a body anymore, just bones, his bones, completely cleaned and polished as the figures took everything from him. When finished, the dark aura that enveloped their features, lifted, and Jiyong was finally able to recognize his predators.

A girl around sixteen holding a shining crown, a boy full of acne wearing a patterned scarf, a woman around thirty with a banner. Instantly the place lighted up, and he was on a stage, reflectors pointed at his bones, people at his feet, chanting and chanting for an encore. 

«show us more» they chanted, the crowns moving back and forth, illuminating the stadium. He wanted to. He wanted desperately to stand up, move those bones around, give them what they asked, but there was nothing more left to give. His bones started to crumble, small bits turning to powder, and with every shout of the crowd, the powder began to wither away until the stage was left empty. 

The cheers ended abruptly and silence filled the air. One by one those people turned around, expressionless, and began to walk out of the stadium. The reflectors turned off one by one.

«COME BACK! I CAN GIVE YOU MORE!» Jiyong shouted to the retreating backs, but he knew he was lying. There was nothing left to give, and in seconds, he was alone again in the darkness.

***

He opened his eyes abruptly. An arm extended ahead of him, open palm as if trying to grasp something, and as soon as he noted, he let his arm drop down on the mattress. 
He closed his eyes, trying to reign his frantic beating heart to calm down enough to let him breath. As soon as he managed to do so, he tiredly ran a hand over his face, sticky with cold sweat, and as the hand reached the end of his chin, he let it drop tiredly to his side.

Recurring nightmares shouldn't leave him as empty as he felt now. It was expected from the moment he closed his eyes, that sooner or later he would be visited once again by those shadows. He should be used now to the pain and despair that filled the gaps in his cracking bones, but each time, his being seemed to forget what it felt like, and so he hurt way more than he should.

But at the end of the day, falling asleep and stay awake, felt the same way. The only thing that differed, was that in his sleep, his anguish, was displayed in front of his eyes, portraying effectively what happened to him.

***

«Jiyong, it's me, Soohyuk» the voice on the other side of the line said, as if Jiyong didn't already know when he answered the call.

«yeah, I know» was all he answered. Time consumed everything that involved affection, and although Soohyuk was one of the few people that still kept in touch with him, he was also fully aware that his friend long lost whatever will to interact with others.

«I'm calling to inform you that from three o'clock in the afternoon, there will be some constructions happening in the apartment 13B. I tried to call you in the past days but you didn't answer...» Jiyong didn't need to ask who's apartment was, as he was the only one in the building along with the woman.

«Kim-ssi's? It's... unexpected» the woman hardly went out of her apartment, he was not someone to judge, but it was strange the sudden change in behavior of the woman. First the humming, then the lights on, now she was even renewing her apartment? It was indeed out of the ordinary.

«well... I shouldn't say this as I'm the lawyer of the family... but, Kim Lee-an has passed away a week ago and her nephew has inherited the apartment, in fact, it's him who is doing reconstruction» he could imagine Sooh