IV

Myunghee

Throughout the entirety of the school day, Myunghee felt something gnawing away at her brain - something important that she knew she should remember but just couldn’t. She wracked her head for anything that would give her a clue about what she was forgetting but nothing seemed to click into place for her. 

Thinking so hard about it made the girl distracted during her class, and she quickly lost interest in whatever the professor was lecturing about. She wasn’t normally the type to doze off in class, but when her head started to hurt from trying so hard to remember, she naturally rested her cheek against her forearms and let her eyes drift out the window to the courtyard. 

She wasn’t sure when she managed to fall asleep but it happened quickly after that, and she found herself once again thrown into her dream world. A switch seemed to flip in her the moment she did and everything that happened before came crashing back into her. She remembered Baekhyun at almost the same time she spotted him, curled into a ball in the middle of the grassy field, gently rocking himself back and forth.

“Baekhyun?” She called out quietly, afraid to startle the clearly shaken man. His shoulders stiffened for a second before his head shot up and he stared up at her. She frowned when she saw the wet streaks across the surface of his cheeks, but before she could address it, he wiped it away and stood up to rush to her. 

“Please tell me you talked to Jongdae?”

She blinked at him before shaking her head slowly. “Who’s Jongdae?”

Realization flashed in Baekhyun’s eyes before he sighed. “Mr. Kim, your English Professor.”

It was in that moment that the words she heard Baekhyun calling out to her the last time she woke up became clear. He had told her to talk to Mr. Kim.

But why?

He saw the question in her features before she even managed to get the words out and shook his head at her. “It’s a long story that I really don’t think I have time to explain, since it’s far too soon for you to be in bed for the evening, meaning this has to be a nap of some sort. Just go to him and explain what happened. He’ll know what to do… hopefully.”

The ounce of doubt laced in his voice made Myunghee frown even deeper. “And if he doesn’t?”

“Then… I’ll be stuck here for eternity.”

Those words weighed heavily on Myunghee’s heart as she processed them. She thought back a few moments to where she entered her dream world and found him crying. She could already guess that it must be terrifying living inside her mind when she was awake. She wasn’t sure if it was blackness he saw, or the nightmares that perhaps were chased away when she was actually asleep, but to see him in such a state meant it couldn’t have been pleasant.

She didn’t want Baekhyun to have to endure that for eternity. It broke her heart the think that would be a possibility, and she prayed that Jongdae would know what to do when she spoke with him. 

Baekhyun looked as if he wanted to say something else to her, but he hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth to speak. But, it was already too late at that point and they could hear the muffled sounds of someone trying to wake Myunghee up. She recognized the voice but couldn’t pinpoint who it was exactly, because her mind began to fog up. She managed to mumble what she hoped was a coherent “I’ll talk to Mr. Kim asap”, but maybe have been nothing but a jumble of words.

—

Taking in a deep breath of air when her eyes opened, Myunghee sat upright on her desk, nearly bumping her head with Danbi’s in the process. 

“Geez, watch it, will ya? I was just trying to wake you before you were late for our next class.”

Myunghee grumbled and rubbed her temples, unable to reply to her friend thanks to the headache that had begun to pound away at her. She blinked a few times before reaching down to pick up her back pack and sling it over her shoulder. She pushed passed Danbi quietly, making her way to the door.

“Where are you going? We walk to class together.” Danbi jogged to keep up with her, putting a gentle hand on her arm to stop before she walked out of the room. “Are you alright? Maybe you should just go home for the day. I’ll stop by Minseok’s cafe and get you some tea and a cupcake on my way, if you’d like.”

Myunghee frowned and shook her head, her mind finally processing the task she needed to set out and do. “Thanks for the offer. I just need to go speak to Mr. Kim in his office first. I’ll be late to class, so go on without me.”

Danbi eyed her skeptically but didn’t question her words before nodding. “Alright then. You can copy my notes this weekend.”

“Thank you, Dan. You’re the best.” She pulled her into a quick hug bef