I rush to put my clothes on after over sleeping this morning. It was nearly 11:00 in the morning and I should have been in the hospital by now if only I hadn't slept for too long. In fact, I didn't even plan on leaving the hospital in the first place, I had originally planned to stay there all night and watch over Chewy. I needed to make it up to her, but unfortunately I was forced to return home by Minjun. He had repeatedly insisted that I go home and get some sleep, pointing out my extreme exhaustion and less than decent condition that night.

If only I hadn't had that episode of mine, I would have appeared fine in front of his eyes. But alas, I was not. I was exceedingly irritable that night and the headache that the episode gave me never receded. I had unfortunately appeared vulnerable in front of Minjun but the thing that I was curious about was why was he so insistent on me leaving? I repeatedly told him I was fine and that I would be watching over Chewy for the night. However, he told me that he was doing me a favor and that I shouldn't decline such a generous offer. I didn't even ask for a favor in the first place but I decided to just give him the night as I didn't want any trouble and I was indeed feeling very exhausted. I told myself I would only sleep for a few hours and return to the hospital as fast as possible. I was extremely wear around that man, there was something about him that made me feel uncomfortable. Especially that I left Chewy under his hands

Unfortunately, my exhausted body caused me to sleep a little longer than I planned and now I was rushing my cab driver to drive faster. It was an extremely busy day today and I was stuck in the middle of a very slow moving traffic. I was only a few meters away from the hospital that I had planned to just ditch the cab and make a break for the building. However, the temperature was unforgiving today and I didn't want to suffer another heatstroke. As I looked around me, all I saw was an endless sea of cars, there were too many that I couldn't even see the sidewalk. I started worrying when I saw that it had been an hour since I left my house.

"How much farther, sir?" I asked my cab driver.

"We're almost at the building, don't worry" he tells me through the rearview mirror. I slumped back on my seat impatiently as I looked out the window. My thoughts were quickly running wild as they played the events of last night. The sight of Minjun's face didn't make me feel any better, it made me feel just even more worried. I couldn't quite understand how I would leave Chewy in the hands of someone I didn't trust. The smirk, that smug smirk of his. There was something to it. It appeared as gentle and genuine on the outside but I could somehow feel that there was something more to it. I couldn't tell if it was his face or just my paranoia.

I took another glance out the window and saw that we barely moved. At that point, I just had to wing it. As I reached for the door handle however, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I fetched it to see that it was my dad calling. I sighed deeply and answered in my seat.

"Hello dad?"

"Jun, I heard you have a job now" he asks me.

"Yes dad, I do" I replied, sounding a lot less enthusiastic than I should have been.

"I've been checking around and Wendy says you haven't showed up for your first day of work" dad says. Oh boy, here we go again. What in the world was I supposed to tell him? That I was in the hospital all day looking after Chewy? That seems like a good excuse to miss your first day of work.

"I-" as I was about to speak, I was cut off.

"Son, how many times are you not going to take your work seriously? I mean you finally have a job; your job is literally in your hands now. All you had to do was show up. In case you forgot, you're a grown up now and you need to be going to work and start making a living for yourself. Is that so hard to do?" my dad sounds like he has lost his patience, and I was losing mine as well. I just wanted to tell him everything, the truth, I didn't want to hide things anymore.

'Oh I don't know dad maybe it's because Chewy is in the hospital. Maybe it’s because I took home a stranger and devoted my time and money into taking care of her and it turns out none of those were worth it since she's in the hospital now. Maybe it's because I met a homeless girl and develop so much concern for her and you want to know the worst part about it dad? I don't know why all of this is happening and I don't understand why I feel this way'

I screamed those words out inside my head as if my father could hear them. I didn't have the courage to tell him directly as I was afraid he wouldn't understand. I didn't want to lose Chewy right now, especially now that I needed to make it up to her.

"I-I'm sorry dad it's just... something came up okay. I'm on the way to the hospital right now. Maybe I can tell you some other time? I'm kind of in a hurry right now." the words that came out of my mouth barely translated the ones on my mind.

"How about tonight?" I raised my eyebrow at what my dad said.

"T-Tonight? Why?" I asked nervously.

"I'm coming over to your house tonight. We should celebrate your having a job, I also have something very special to give you" my eyes widened drastically at his statement, that they might've popped out any second. Coming over? Tonight? No, that doesn't sound like a good idea at all. I can't let him come to my house and find out about Chewy. Well that really depends if Chewy will be released today. But still, how was I supposed to explain the untouched food in the kitchen? The extra room that I was occupying? The obviously female scent that's reeking up my bed? I wasn't going to take the chance. Not today.

"I don't think I'll be home tonight" I tell him. I had no intentions of going home until Chewy is discharged and I don't even care what that Minjun has to say about it.

"What? Why?" he asks. He sounded so excited to come over tonight as well.

"I'll be in the hospital all day. I have some work to catch up to" I tell him. I don't know how many more lies I will have to tell throughout the course of the day. It hadn't even been halfway through my day and I was already telling my first one.

"Ah well. Maybe some other time then?" my dad asks.

"Sure, dad" I tell him. That would have to be my second one as in reality, I had absolutely no plans of letting him into my house. Not until I can find out what to do with Chewy.

As I hung up on my phone, I took the chance to glance out the window and to my surprise and disappointment, we haven't moved at all throughout the duration of my call. This was too much; I couldn't take any more of this endless waiting. It wasn't worth it. Who knows what could be happening to Chewy while I sit and wait inside this car? The building was literally close enough for me to see it.

"I think I'll just be dropping off here, thank you" I told the driver and handed him my payment. I bolted out the door before he could even give me my change, something I had started to regret the moment I stepped outside. The heat was still as unforgiving as ever, it felt as if the sun had a grudge against the world as it was blazing out its rage as hard as it can, as if it was trying to scorch the very surface of the planet. I was slightly thankful that I came in a white tank top and a black jacket that had very thin fabric. But that only made me suffer the brunt of the sun's rage on my skin even more. I placed my hand over my eyes just to see where I was going. I couldn't see a thing from the intense light. I bolted for the building the moment I noticed the sidewalk. It felt like I was burning alive, like my skin was being roasted.

As soon as I had entered the building, I was a mess of sweat and dehydration. My skin was gushing with sweat that ran through my skin, my throat was completely parched and I was panting heavily from all the running. I had somehow managed to remove my jacket on the way to the building and now half of my skin was exposed to the cold air of the building, making me shiver in the process. I had also begun to cough from exhaustion.

"Oh my gosh Sir Jun!" I heard a female voice exclaim, I looked up in front of me and found a nurse running towards me. She was much smaller than the others, but her face stood out the most. She rushed towards me with her face full of concern, carrying a binder on her right arm which I assume is for her patients.

"Sir Jun, are you okay?" she asked as she placed her hand on my back, completely ignoring the sweat drenched cloth.

"I'm fine" I say as I pant with my hands on my lap. She was staring so intensively at my face as I just stared at the ground as I tried to regain my composure. I tried my hardest not to my head towards her as she was too close.

"Do you need some water, sir?" she asked.

"I-I'm sorry but, do I know you?" I asked her. She stared at me with slight disbelief in her face, as if I was supposed to know who she is, but proceeded to answer my question anyway.

"My name is Park Chaeyoung, I'm one of Ms. Son's assistants. You asked me for Ms. Son a few days ago, you were also the guy that brought in that poor girl in the other day. I'm sorry about that Ms. Son thing though, I didn't know she was in the building" that explains why her face looked so familiar. But I couldn't believe that I couldn't quite catch on to who she was after all the times I've seen her. I felt thankful that she has been the one to take care of my needs this whole time.

"Oh yeah, silly me. I didn't really quite catch your name until now, that's why I kept forgetting. Sorry about that and... thanks by the way" I tell her, rubbing my nape as I wasn't good at these kinds of things.

"It's okay, are you sure you don't need any water?" she asked me. I was surprised at the amount of concern she had for me.

"Maybe a cup would be nice" I said. She immediately turns around to fetch a foam cup from a table and quickly fills it up with water from a dispenser and returns just like that. I was amazed at her precision.

"Thanks" I said after finishing the cup, feeling a huge relief after being hydrated.

"Where have you been, sir? Ms. Son's been looking for you since yesterday" she asks. Immediately my mind started slapping me in the face, I didn't know if I could tell Chaeyoung what's been pre occupying me all this time. But then again she already knew about Chewy, it was Wendy I was worried about.

"What's with all the sir's? I find it weird, can you just call me by my name instead?" I tried changing the topic.

"Oh, sorry. It's cause Ms. Son tells me to call you that. She's been worried about you lately, you don't answer her calls and you haven't showed up for work" Chaeyoung somehow finds a way to bring the topic back. I mentally sighed and defeat and just resorted to telling her the truth, it was no use fighting it.

"Well the truth is I've been taking care of Sally this entire time. I've been inside her room watching over her" I tell Chaeyoung without forgetting to use the name that I had used to register Chewy into this place. The staff had asked me to fill out some forms and the first thing that showed up was 'Patient's Name: '. I immediately knew that I couldn't just use 'Chewy' so I wrote down the first thing that came into my mind: 'Lee Sally'

"Oh my you were in here this whole time? I sure hope she's doing better. I'll tell Ms. Son that you're here now" Chaeyoung says and turns around to leave but I quickly grab her arm to stop her.

"No, wait!" I exclaim. Chaeyoung turns around with a surprised look on her face.

"It's very, important for me that you don't tell Wendy." I tell her.

"Why?" she asked.

"I can't let her know what I'm going through right now, she might get too worried and distracted from her work" my third lie already coming out. The truth is I didn't trust Wendy to understand predicament.

"Please..." I tell Chaeyoung and stared firmly into her eyes. She looked like she was getting flustered but calmly collected herself.

"O-Okay, si- I mean... Jun. D-Do you need me to accompany you to Sally's room?" she asked, stuttering a little.

"No, it's fine. Actually, do you know where Minjun is?" I asked her.

"Dr. Kim? Oh he's probably at home right now. His shift doesn't come until later at night" Chaeyoung tells me. I was relieved that the man wasn't around as I didn't feel comfortable around his presence, especially when it came to Chewy.

I thanked Chaeyoung and went off to Chewy's room. I arrived at the door and knocked on the door to see if anyone would respond. To my surprise, no one did so I slowly opened the door and crept inside. I found Chewy still sleeping peacefully on her bed only something was different, her face was no longer pale. It had regained its original, creamy brown color back and her lips were back to their pinkish tone. I was greatly relieved that she was recovering speedily, she was really a fighter that it was no wander that she survived all those years, alone on the streets. I also noticed that the insulin needle and pulse oximeter were gone. I couldn't help but smile as I walked over to her bed.

"Chewy-ah" I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were still shut tight and I didn't want to wake her up.

"I'm glad that you're recovering quickly" I said and sat down on the chair beside her bed. I hoisted the bag I had on my back over my shoulder and placed it on the ground. I opened it up and brought out a small container wrapped in a brown paper bag.

"When you wake up, you can have all these delicious brownies I bought for you" I tell her as I held the bag firmly in my hands. I was going to make sure she eats well the moment she wakes up. I'm going to make sure she was going to wake up in the best way possible. I needed to make it up to her. I don't ever want this to happen again. I placed the bag on the bedside table and leaned forward against the bed as I watched her. I wasn't going to let her out of my sight for even a single second.

"I hope you're having a fun time in dreamland." I tell her as I stared at her sleeping face.

"But please don't take too long. Jun's getting bored at home as he doesn't have anyone to talk to" I said, completely ignoring the fact that I was talking to a sleeping girl. I somehow found it more comfortable to open up to her this way. It was true, I was barely able to sleep last night from thinking of Chewy's predicament. I never had a problem being alone in my house as I did prefer being alone, but somehow as the days went by, it started to change. I no longer found it tedious that I had to constantly pay attention to someone. My day suddenly felt incomplete when I was left all alone last night. I realized that I was slowly starting to change because of Chewy. It was something I wasn't used to. But it was something that was out of my control now.

"I never really told you what happened with my interview" I tell her. I slightly feel a tinge of regret for bringing up the topic, knowing what my actions that day have led up to.

"I got the job" I say as I yawned. I was starting to feel the exhaustion from running in the blazing heat outside.

"But I got careless and lost track of time." I admitted, I felt terrible talking about that night, but I wasn't afraid to admit my mistake. In fact, I wish she was awake right now, so she can hear me.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you alone." I say as I leaned my head against the bed, never taking my eyes off her face. I was exhausted, I felt my eyes starting to get heavy and my body start to die down slowly. As I conversed with Chewy, I only felt myself getting sleepier and sleepier. I didn't want to leave her again, I wanted to watch her the whole night, but my body wasn't letting me. I slowly felt myself losing consciousness in front of her.

"Chewy-ah..." I let out weakly.

"I'll probably just doze off for a while. But I ain't going anywhere." I said as I yawned and started to close my eyes. I grabbed onto her hand to make sure that she wouldn't go anywhere.

"I really hope you'll... wake up... before I do" I say as I slowly slip into unconsciousness.

I found myself waking up in a large, dining like area. It was a very wide room with lots of space. Tables were scattered everywhere, each one of them was pimped to the very tip, white flowery table cloths scattered across the surface, each one had 4 plates and at least 3 different pairs of utensils that I wouldn't be able to name, two glasses which I assume were for wine and water and at the center of every table was a tiny pink ambrosia, coupled with a tiny candle right beside it. The chairs were all elegantly carved from wood, the armrests all curved at the end. The floor and walls were made entirely out of mahogany.

I felt amazing, I had no idea what this place was, but it felt like I was in paradise. I looked up to the ceiling and found a large, lit chandelier hanging right in the middle of the ceiling. It was huge, probably around half the size of my own body and it was majestic. It had curved handles protruding to every side, each with a small light bulb at its very end, all coming together to form a magnificent figure.

I couldn't help but express my awe as I stared at the majestic fixture on the ceiling. It made me feel warm on the inside, I felt like I couldn't live without it. I just wanted to stare at it all day.

"Jun!" I heard a voice call from behind me. I turned around to see a little girl standing by the end of the room. Her face was peppered with happiness as her smile reached the very ends of her tiny face. She had short hair and skin that had more color than my pale one. She wore a simple, pink dress along with some sandals.

Before I could answer, she lets out a small giggle and bolts for the exit.

"Hey wait!" I yell as I give chase. As began my chase, I noticed I was covering a considerately lesser distance than my long legs normally would. I looked down at my body and realized that I was a kid once again. I was a tiny, innocent kid, but I still had all my memories. I followed her across the tiny, mahogany hallway. It was dimly lit with light bulbs hanging on the walls. It seemed like it never ended.

"Wait up" I start to pant. I was already losing energy. My tiny body could only do so much, and I was already losing my gain on this girl in this never-ending hallway. I had been running for so long now, but nothing changed, she was still so far away from me. I started to lose my patience as I ran across the endless hallway of doors and lights.

Just when I thought of giving up, just when I thought my small body could not take any more, I began to see light at the end of the hallway. As I ran closer towards it, it only grew bigger and brighter. I started to place my hands over my face to block out the blinding light. Eventually, the little girl ran into it, giggling as she disappeared from my sight.

"Wait!" I yelled, my voice was tiny and high, like the way it was when I was a child. As I approached the light, it grew to an alarming size that it eventually blinded me. I shut my eyes tightly as I could no longer open them, running into the blinding light without knowing what could happen to me or the girl.

As I opened my eyes, I found myself on a large ship deck. The skies were a radiant blue, just as blue as the ocean was. Not a single cloud could be spotted, and the sun shone brightly on my face. My mouth couldn't help but gape in awe at the majestic weather that was present. It was almost too good to be true, but I didn't complain. I stepped out into the deck and stood right in the middle of it. It was there that I saw the full extent of my surroundings.

The water was crystal blue and even bluer than the sky. The ocean stretched out to the very ends of my vision which made it clear to me that I was very far from land. I looked around but there was no sign of the mysterious girl that I gave chase to. But it was all so weird, she grabbed my attention only to run away into this majestic outdoor area and disappear. It was almost like she intended to bring me here.

It was all so amazing, I somehow wished that I could never leave this place. Even though I was in child form and it seemed like I was all alone in this boat. The hallways were all empty, the dining area was empty, I heard nothing but the girl's giggles and the sound of my own breath leaving my tiny body.

Just as I was about to take another step forward, I heard a soft giggle resonating from behind me. I turned around and saw the girl standing there, her smile radiant as ever, her pink dress radiating off the beams of the sun. She stood there smiling at me like I was giving her so much joy.

"It's you again" I tell her. She only stood there looking at me with those bright eyes of hers. I felt so warm staring into them, it was if I had known her already when in truth, I had no idea who she was.

"What's your name?" I ask her. She only laughed and started running towards the safety barrier on the edge of the boat.

"Wait!" I yelled. I shook my head and started to chase her once more, fearing for her safety. I ended up stopping beside her on by the safety railing. I stared in awe at the sun that was setting by the distance. The sun was so bright that it's beams were reflecting on the crystal-clear water and the sky around it was forming a relaxing orange hue. It was awe inspiring.

"Wow..." I let out as I stared into the sunset. I turned over to look at the girl who was simply smiling as she stared at the sunset as well. I felt surprisingly warm and comfortable around her. But I had no idea who she was and I wanted to know.

The girl turned to smile at me and I felt my heart stop for a moment. Her smile reached out to the very sides of her face, making her cheeks puff out in the most adorable way. Her cheeks creased to form two dimples that looked strangely familiar and her eyes were round and bulbous. I figured she was probably from another country.

Suddenly, I hear a loud, booming sound and felt the ground shake vigorously, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the ground. I groaned in pain as I tried to get back on my feet, only to feel a stinging pain on my leg. I looked down and noticed a scrape on my knee, my flesh was exposed, and blood was dripping out. It mortified me to the bone, but it was nothing compared to what I saw when I lifted my head up.

The ship deck was suddenly filled with hundreds of people, they were all screaming and rushing to get inside. Fear studded their faces as they panicked about. The sky was suddenly pitch black that not a single star shone or gave off light. I looked around but couldn't find the girl anywhere. I suddenly panicked as I searched about for the girl. I searched amongst the endless sea of people, only to find nothing. I wanted to scream her name out but unfortunately, I didn't even know what it was. My heart was pounding as I stared in horror at the carnage around me. Everyone looked so afraid, I had never seen so much fear embedded into the face of a person, lest hundreds more. I felt lost, completely lost. I wanted to cry like the little child that I was, but I couldn't even let out a small yelp.

"Jun!" I snapped my head around when I heard a familiar voice call out my name. My heart shot up to my throat the moment I heard it.

"Chewy!" I yelled out. I searched around but couldn't find her anywhere.

"Jun!" I heard her call out once again.

"Chewy! Where are you?!" I couldn't find the source of the voice. It seemed like it just came out of nowhere.

"Help me!" I heard her scream. I finally made out the source of the voice and ran towards it. I found myself on the very same ledge I last saw the girl, only she wasn't there. I looked down across the ledge but only found the cold, dark sea down below.

"Chewy!!!" I called out. But there was nothing, nothing at all. I was baffled, why did I hear her voice when she wasn't even here to begin with?

I suddenly felt a pair of hands grabbing me by the shoulders and turning me around forcefully. I was greeted by the face of Mr. Yoo. Only it wasn't the warm, welcoming face that I came to know. His face was full of anger and hatred, his eyes were unbelievably wide open that the veins were visible by the side.

"It's your fault!!!" he screamed at my face. I flinched and furrowed my eyebrows at his statement. I was scared, this was not the Mr. Yoo I knew.

"What are you talking about?" I tell him.

"Your fault!!!" he yelled as he shook my tiny frame. I was absolutely terrified of his face, he seemed so livid, he was even shaking from so much anger. I had no idea what he was talking about. I felt like I was being mauled alive by a wild beast. I wanted to scream, but nothing came out.

"I-" I tried to say something but was cut off.

"It's your fault she's gone and now you have to pay for your mistakes!!!" he yelled as he lifted me up and tossed me over the ledge.

"Hhhueee..." I wheezed as I snapped awake and found myself back at the hospital. I was out of breath and my heart was pounding at my chest, as if it was trying to break free. I was sweating buckets and was struggling so hard to regain my breathing, my chest rising in and out of my body. The nightmare left me completely shaken and mortified. I sighed in relied as I saw Chewy sleeping soundly on her bed, glad that she was safe and in front of me.

"What in the world..." I say as I rested my forehead on the palm of my hand. I was not back on reality, but my body reacted as if everything in the nightmare was real. Why did I keep having these strange dreams? I had no idea what they were supposed to be. Before I could take the time to process my thoughts, I hear the door squeaking open and a pair of footsteps making their way inside the room.

"Am I interrupting something?" a smooth, male voice spoke.

I had fun writing this one lol

Who is this strange girl that keeps appearing in Jun's dreams?

Why was Chewy in one of them?

As usual, leave a comment, or a sub, or a vote, if you want :)