I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go
Where the wind don't change
And nothing in the ground can ever grow
No hope, just lies
And you're taught to cry in your pillow

--

On your sleep, time is irrelevant until you wake up. On your dream, you feels invicible until that part of your brain tells you that it is not real.

When Nara wakes up, she feels it in her heart first that a lot of times has passed and she is not invincible at all. Only then her brain registers the bright, too bright, white lights above where she lies down and her instinct kicks in, hard.

She sits up immediately. Thankful that there are no restraints keeping her to the bed. Her experiences of hospital, or any medical facility, haunts her. Because often the people there don’t care about taking care of her, all they want to know is her power, or as severals of them said, her undetermined psychological disorder.

She guessed the ‘undetermined’ came from the how the hell her dreams could be seen by other people, including the doctors. And how her ‘delusional images’ thrashed the facility.

‘Undetermined’ because even herself couldn’t explain her power to them. She tried, but they never satisfied. She learned the hard way that it is sometimes better to stop trying to appease the people who isn’t going to understand her.

When she sits up in the bed though, she finds a man who did understand her power.

“Jinyoung,” Nara says the name of the pristine man she sees standing behind a wall-sized glass.

“Nara,” he replies with a smile. A polite carefully-measured smile she knows Jinyoung always has.

A smile she wants to wipe from his face no matter how it suits his face.

“What the is happening?” Nara’s tone is low but she hopes Jinyoung can sense her stirring anger beneath it.

Not that she can sense him well. She realizes by now she cannot read Jinyoung’s dreams or nightmares, especially the nightmares, because she actively searching for that.

“Alright,” he sighs, “I’m going to explain this-”

The men behind Jinyoung shrieks when big scrawny shadows leaps up to the glass. They all reach for their guns.

Like a gun could do something.

Jinyoung is also startled, but he’s too proud to show it.

Nara is happy to see his straight demeanour broke a little there, but she’s also confused because the shadow cannot get through the glass. 

She tries again. The nausea is still clouding her head but she can feel her control gripping the shadows tight, she can make it do anything but getting it through the glass.

Nara tries again while Jinyoung, fully recovered from his shock, smiles gleefully.

“I assume it works, then.”

Another try and Nara still cannot make the shadows go through the glass. She blinks and try to conjure another forms but she cannot come up with anything else.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Jinyoung’s smile get bigger even though still constrained by his politeness. “I upgraded the rooms recently, after,” his long slender finger taps the glass, “certain development.”

Whatever development Jinyoung meant, she doesn’t like it because it’s hampering her power.

Nara gulps discreetly. She has problems with her power before, but this is the first time that the problem comes from outer factor. This is the first time that someone else can hampers her power. And that makes fear slithering in her backbone.

“Get me the out and maybe I’ll consider not to demolish you, Jinyoung,” Nara doesn’t waver even though her body is getting colder with the thought of getting trapped.

“You are going to demolish me if I let you out,” Jinyoung deadpans.

“You have no idea,” her smile is cold as an ice.

Jinyoung puts his hands on his pockets. “I need to put you here first because you won’t listen otherwise.”

“Thank you for deciding that for me. I couldn’t decide whether to be attentive if some sick bastard put me in a cage before,” the drips of sarcasm of Nara’s tone actually puts a wince in Jinyoung’s perfect feature.

“Nara, people are hunting you. And they aren’t so keen to keep you alive either,” Jinyoung steps closer to the glass.

Nara just stare at Jinyoung with incredulous stare. “You expect me to thank you?”

“Well, I’m-” Jinyoung shakes his head astounded, “The last time we’ve seen each other wasn’t ended in a very good note.”

Nara starts to be so frustrated of everything she stands up and walks to the glass. “And you think by capturing me will make it all better?” She stares straight at Jinyoung.

Jinyoung grimaces. “I admit this is not an ideal situation. But things aren’t proceeding as fast as I wants so I wish you can wait patiently.”

Nara wears a slack jawed expression signifying her zero interest of anything Jinyoung talks about.

“The method of bringing you here was,” he scratches his eyebrow, “necessary but highly uncomfortable, I know.” He looked up sheepishly, “I’m sorry.”

Nara, who is ready to slash away, turns still. “You know you don’t mean that apology, Jinyoung. Save both of us the meaningless chivalry.” Her stony tone actually puts Jinyoung in his place. Even his guards notice this. 

“What do you want?” Nara asks.

Jinyoung smiles a little. “I’ll tell you when it’s ready. In the meantime, do you have anything you need? I can provide anything.”

Nara looks around, seeing enclosed bathroom, shelves with books, refrigerator, TV. But she looks ahead to the glass where all the men examines her every move, expecting anything crazy.

But Nara knows better. She will not do anything rash to provide a reason for them to trap her further. If her life can teach her anything, it is not to act by impulse. And attack only when it counts.

“I think I need to get what I want by myself,” she bitterly smiles.

The shadows that has been