"One lives in the hopes of becomming a memory."
-Antonio Portia

 {  ONESHOT (4/4)  }

Yeri watched as Johnny's face faded, his body becoming a translucient image in front of her. She could still feel his hands in hers, even after he was completely returned to his real world. Now that he was gone, this world indeed felt like a dream. Everything he had conjured up here for her, was only within their imaginations. She let out a sigh and felt a tugging at her chest. What was it? Longing? Hope? 

If Yeri was in a dream, her physical human conterpart must be asleep somewhere, right? Half of her wished she would never wake up, but another part of her knew that she should. If she had died, she wouldn't be here. If her physical body doesn't make it alive, would she never see Johnny again? Probably not. But Yeri felt a strange sense of rejuvination. It was like Johnny's optimism was contagious to her. Or rather, through him, she had found her own muse again. Was it the will to live? Most likely not, but it was not a death wish. Yeri hated to acknowledge it, but she missed her mother. Her mother would be so worried. 

A sudden thought danced in her mind. What if death is actually the answer? What if once she died, she could be reborn or entered into 3117 Seoul? She felt like death was waving a piece of candy in front of her face. She wanted it. She'd only have to sacrifice her own life, and it didn't sound so bad. The idea sounded pathetic because there was so much that could go wrong, but what else could Yeri do? Continue to live this dream forever? Return to her own dull world where the pain she carried was heavier than the burden of death? She wasn't so tired anymore, but she also would do anything to not return to the state of mind she was in before jumping to her death. She didn't want the constant headaches, the heavy weight pressing on her chest like rocks, or the sudden outbursts of anxiety she had every time she tried to breathe. Even if Yeri could meet Johnny every night in her dreams, her waking life would be too terrifying. She didn't know if it would be worth it. 



Johnny jumped out of bed as soon as his eyes opened. He grabbed his watch and paged for Chief. He didn't even bother washing his face as he threw on some clothes and ran out the door. He arrived at Chief's office, at the university he attended whenever he wanted to. He wasn't a student, but sometimes enjoyed going to the lectures with the school's permission, mostly to see his mentor. It was still early when he arrived, only about 8:30 in the morning. "Chief!" Johnny banged the old man's office door open, and the elder nearly dropped his spoon of cereal. 

"What in the hell-" Chief chewed his cereal and threw a pen at Johnny. "What do you want? Are you aware of the time you idiot-" 

Johnny nearly ran over to sit in the office chair in front of his mentor's desk and started speaking a mile a minute. "And so you need to tell me what I can do to help her!" 

The old man blinked and just stared at Johnny after he was finished talking. He only hummed once, ate another spoonful of his breakfast, and continued chewing. "So you mean you've met someone who isn't a figment of your own imagination in your dream." 

Johnny nodded in anticipation. 

"In her real world, she tried to end her life and ended up in your dream instead." Chief said again. "Fascinating." He mumbled something to himself and finished his breakfast before standing up and looking through the books on the shelf behind his desk. "Ah, here it is. Wormholes on the Astral Plane; Through the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Dimensions, by Jenny Lee Qer." He laid the thick textbook down on his desk in front of Johnny. 

"Chief! I don't have time to read!" Johnny looked at the book in distress. 

The old man gave Johnny a smack on the back of his head and patted the book. "This book will have all the answers. But since you're almost an idiot, I'll sum it up for you. From what you're telling me, it sounds like she entered a wormhole. The time and date of her death attempt probably intermingled with the time and date of your dream, at that exact moment, she perhaps held the thoughts of life in her mind and her mind brought her astral body into your dream. The years 3117 and 2017, exactly 1,100 years apart. We all know that 11 and 00 are numbers that indicate death and rebirth, and generation of a new cycle- Oh this is all so fascinating." Chief rubbed his chin, in deep thoughts as he flipped the book open. He skimmed through the pages and stopped on a page, turning the book for Johnny to see. "It is not common knowledge, because most people do not believ