CHAPTER 1: THE ORDINARY BEAUTY

It was a miracle in December. A beautiful, green meadow that was blooming with the most beautiful wild flowers you could imagine. The clear, blue sky only had one cotton candy-like feathery cloud on it. Birdsong could be heard and there was a gentle summer breeze blowing in the maple trees that framed the meadow. The weather was excellent, not too hot but still not chilly. A perfect weather for a lovely picnic under the summer sunlight, with your loved one.

And there, on a soft blanket, we were seated. Me and my significant other. He was handsome as ever, with his fox-like facial features, sharp eyes that were gazing over me lovingly. I smiled as I lied down on my back, placing my head on his lap, gazing back at him.

“Are you tired?” he asked with a soft voice.

I shook my head and flashed him a mischievous smile. “I’ve been sleeping well lately.”

“I just hope you won’t wear yourself out by studying”, he stated, tilting his head a little bit. “But then again… if you did wear yourself out, we’d be able to see each other more.”

I let out a quiet laughter and slowly closed my eyes, letting the beams of sunlight dance on my eyelids. I wasn’t the least bit surprised it was this warm and sunny, even though it was December. I already knew it would change in no time. I’d have to take my leave from my boyfriend’s side and step back into the dark and cold December in Seoul. It was only a dream, after all.

At some point the birdsong and rustling of the maple trees’ leaves changed into the sound of clacking and I could hear a woman speaking in the distance. I felt my brows wrinkling. Where did the clacking come from? And who was the woman whose voice I could hear?

I slowly opened my eyes just to realize the meadow and the nature sounds had turned into an auditorium and the voice I had heard belonged to a lecturer speaking in front of a big screen. I let out a sigh and rubbed the sleep away from my eyes. I had done it again – fallen asleep in midst of a lecture.

“Alright then”, the lecturer’s voice returned me back down to the earth. “That’s all for today’s lecture. Remember that tomorrow is the deadline for the assignment I gave you last week.”

My eyes wandered to a notebook I had left open in front of me. I had written nothing. Brilliant. I had probably fallen asleep right away at the beginning of the lecture. I let out yet another sigh and rubbed my neck before glancing around me as the students were quickly making their exit out of the auditorium. There were still some of my classmates who were snickering and giggling by themselves, but not even trying to hide the fact they were laughing at me for falling asleep once again. I felt a warm feeling spreading onto my face and wished from the bottom of my heart that the warmth wouldn’t make my cheeks turn into a not-so-flattering rosy red colour. I quickly gathered my stuff and after shoving them into my backpack, rushed out of the auditorium.

It certainly wasn’t the first time I had fallen asleep during a school day. I had been doing that since my senior year in high school. In high school I got slapped by a book or hit with a stick every time I happened to doze off. In university, anyhow, the lecturers would just shake their heads in disappointment but leave me alone. Others probably thought I was dealing with narcolepsy or insomnia at night and slept at school because of that. But that was far from the actual reason.

I had an ability. Every time I dreamed of something, the dream would hold a meaning. I might meet a peeved old man and argue with him, just to see the next day that the exact man is a new lecturer at my university. I might meet a sweet little girl and only realize years after that she was a future version of my little cousin who had just been born the moment I had the dream. I met people in my dreams, and most of these people would find their ways into my life at some point. Only one I had yet to meet in the real world.

It had been three years since I first fell asleep and found myself on that beautiful meadow. It had been three years since I first met my dream boyfriend. For three years, almost every time I dreamed of something, I dreamed of that meadow and him. He was the only one besides me who knew about my ability, and he was the only one I dreamed of multiple times. Yet I still hadn’t found him in the real world.

The ability I had was, no doubt, very interesting. But it did have it cons too. I fell asleep often, sometimes at school, and missed lectures because of that. I was a good student, my grades were praiseworthy, but from time to time I had to pull all-nighters for them. Sometimes I got very tired because I forced myself to stay awake at school and had to study all night. But then again, seeing my boyfriend in my dreams always made me feel better about it.

Luckily it had been the last lecture for today. I could just head home and relax. Just the thought of entering a warm apartment and curling up into a ball under a microfiber blanket made me feel warm. But taking into consideration how unlucky my life always turned out, I knew it wouldn’t go that well. At home I would have to deal with my parents fighting. They had been married for 20 years, they married out of love, but somewhere during their shared journey the love just withered. I was aware that it was very common nowadays, most of my classmates’ parents were divorced. But still it made my heart hurt, seeing how the two most important people in my life just drifted apart from each other. The only thing that bought them together these days were alcohol, fighting and the worry they had for me.

I walked down the street from the university campus, heading towards the bus stop. A chilly winter breeze blew over me, making me shiver a little bit. I repositioned my big and comfy scarf around my neck so that it wouldn’t let any of the wind get in touch with my skin. Then I took a deep breath and continued my way down the street.

As I was standing on the bus stop, I couldn’t help but to smile by myself. It was that time of the year. Even though the wind was cold and everybody looked like they were freezing, the people around me all looked somewhat happy. Christmas. The time when wherever you stepped, it was covered with bright Christmas lights and beautiful decorations. The time when coffee shops served special Christmas coffees and teas and gingerbread. It was the time of families and couples.

I looked around me. Next to me there was a small girl with her mother. Both of them had a small, neatly wrapped packet in their hands and they were looking at each other, smiling like they had a secret of their own. There was an old man who was speaking on his phone, letting out a silent laughter as he greeted someone, wishing them “Merry Christmas”. There were also a lot of couples waiting for their bus, holding hands, resting their heads together and whispering to each other. I felt a feeling of longing go through me. I raised my hand to my chest, where my heart was beating and let a small, wistful smile spread on my face. It was alright. I wasn’t alone. I had a boyfriend too. I’d meet him again soon. Even if we could never leave the green meadow we had been meeting on for the last three years. Even if we couldn’t go shopping together or have a dinner in a fine restaurant.

The bus came and I hopped on, sitting alone at the backseat. I rested my head against the cool surface of the window and couldn’t hold back a yawn. It hadn’t troubled me earlier, but now that I thought about it – I had said in my dream that I had been sleeping well lately. And it was true. So, why in the world was I so tired? Maybe I was really just exhausted from studying. Luckily it was Thursday. I would only have to endure tomorrow and then I’d get to rest for the whole weekend.

Just as my eyes were about to close – no matter how hard I tried to prevent them from doing so – I heard my phone informing me that I had received a new message. I got the phone out of my coat’s pocket and checked the message, almost foreseeing who it was from.

Dami, get some beer from the store before coming home. Dad will pay you back.

I sighed upon the message my mother had sent me. It wasn’t a sigh from surprise, but disappointment. Yet again I’d have to listen to my parents getting drunk and then fighting until I fell asleep. It was almost ridiculous that I was stuck in the same apartment with them. I loved both of my parents but to be honest I was trying my best to save some money – I wanted to move out already. I had started working part time in a cute little coffee shop near the university but the pay wasn’t that grand. It’d take me at least a couple of years to be able to save up enough money.

But, being the diligent and loyal daughter I was, I hopped off the bus one stop earlier than usually. Burying my freezing hands in my pockets, I walked towards the nearest convenient store I could locate. The weather was getting colder towards the night and I could feel my nose turning red. I hurried inside and without even thinking, walked straight to the beverage department, grabbing multiple cans of beer and then heading to the counter. The young man behind the counter eyed at me curiously. He must’ve been new. The other cashiers were already used to a young university student buying cans of beer, alone, and multiple times a week.

I walked out of the store, taking a deep breath, in the winter air. I rubbed my hands together before turning around and starting to make my way towards the block of flats me and my parents lived in.

“I’m home”, I sighed from the door as I kicked off my shoes.

“Hello, Dami”, the voice of my father greeted me from the living room. “Honey, your daughter is home.”

“How is she just my daughter?” I heard my mother sighing as she walked out of the kitchen and smiled at me. “Hello!”

I flashed her a tired smile and gave her the plastic bag. Her eyes brightened. “Honey, give Dami the money for the alcohol.”

“Why me?” father’s voice got louder as he got up from the sofa and approached us.

“I don’t have any cash on me”, mother sighed as she disappeared back into the kitchen.

“Why did you spend all of your money then?”

“I’m the one who feeds you!”

Letting out a deep blow of air, I took off my coat and locked up into my room. I threw my backpack onto the floor and fell on my back to the bed, closing my eyes and lying down with my arms and legs spread in every possible direction. I felt my muscles aching and I really wanted to give in and just sleep. If I had even a tad more energy, I’d have really thought about it – why in the world was I so powerless and tired? I slept the average of 7 hours each night, I slept during lectures, I just couldn’t stay awake. It wasn’t like me. It hadn’t been this bad earlier.

I sighed. I’d need to self-study a lot since I had missed a lecture. Again. As I was lying on my bed, I suddenly remembered words that I had completely ignored earlier. Remember that tomorrow is the deadline for the assignment I gave you last week.

My eyes spread wide open, I sat up on the bed with the speed of a lighting and stared at the clock. It was already 8pm. To add to my unluckiness, I hadn’t even started doing the assignment. I let out a frustrated whine and messed up my hair. This was so common. I always left my projects, assignments and essays to the last possible moment, then panicked, but in the end, managed to turn in the work on time and still get good grades. It sure was stressful. I’d need to work on that.

I got up from the bed, picking up my laptop, and with a big yawn, opened the word processor. With a longing gaze I looked at my bed. It seemed like I’d need to pull an all-nighter.

I don’t think we have the time to meet this night. I’m sorry, Wonwoo.

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Hello! Sorry, I actually started this fic in December but I was super busy with school so I couldn't write it... I read the first chapter yesterday and after small corrections, decided to publish the chapter again... But now I'm all in for writing and publishing more, so wait for the next update ^^