The morning couldn't be more promising.

As Baekhyun rubbed his tired eyes and drank his gross americano, he couldn't help but feel like he was about to pass out from the lack of sleep. Nightmares after nightmares after nightmares of nightmares. The never-ending chain of horror, pain, and fear.

"What has my life come to?" Baekhyun asked himself as he buried his head in his own hands, closing his hurting eyes for just a second, for a short, short second.

A second too short that time was.

"Pull yourself together," Baekhyun whined into his own hands, pulling away from the darkness into the broad light of the morning sun. It hurt his sore eyes. Days and days without sleep, it was all too much. A drop after a drop after a drop was threatening to overflow the bucket full of water.

Slowly but painfully, Baekhyun was killing himself, waiting for the day when the bucket would overflow.

The wait was long.

And so was the wait for Park Chanyeol.

"That bastard, Park Chanyeol... is he even going to show up?" Baekhyun groaned in annoyance as he put his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.

"I could've slept in if I knew that they wouldn't even show up..." Baekhyun continued his pity party as he closed his tired eyes for a mere second once again.

This morning a nurse had notified Baekhyun that Kyungsoo was feeling sick, feverish even, and so they decided to call off today's therapy session to let the boy rest and get well.

Now Chanyeol or Loey was nowhere to be seen.

Could've slept in two hours...

Two hours...

No, I wouldn't be able to sleep even if I wanted to.

I wish I could sleep.

The tired, sleep-deprived doctor rested his head on the back of his white office chair and closed his tired eyes yet again.

'This is torture...' - he thought as he could feel himself drifting off to sleep, his head, hands, and legs becoming heavier and heavier, unable to move from the weight of the fatigue that washed over his small body like a tsunami.

And with his limbs unable to move, the bright morning sun didn't seem as piercingly luminous as it did just a few seconds ago, the room became smaller and smaller, somehow resembling the comfort of the doctor's own bedroom.

He was so close to landing in the dreamland. So close yet so far at the same time because when three knocks rung through his ears like piercing sirens, Baekhyun was startled awake from his state of 'half-asleep'.

"Come in..." the doctor replied to the knocks ever so tiredly, his eyes not fully open just yet, his mind - hazy. The boy's voice was so groggy, so husky.

And so the door opened to reveal Park someone. Baekhyun didn't know just yet.

"Morning, Baekhyunee!"

Loey.

It was Park Loey. He could tell right away.

"Morning, Loey," the doctor rubbed his eyes once again. He was sure that they would have become red by now from all the rubbing.

"Didn't sleep well, baby?" Loey asked as he took a seat opposite of Baekhyun's slouching body. The boy could do nothing but just sigh at the name 'baby'. He was too tired to deal with Loey as of the moment. His mind was screaming: 'SLEEP!' at him with a burning passion.

"As you can see - no," Baekhyun fixed his messy hair as he saw his own reflection in the dim monitor of his computer. He looked terrible.

"Someone's grumpy... Bad dreams or was it someone keeping you awake all night?" Chanyeol winked at the doctor but Baekhyun couldn't even see his face since he was busy trying to make himself look presentable.

"Very funny, Mr. Park," Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

He slept not more than 5 hours during the whole week in total. The young doctor was sleepy, yes. But he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep out of fear. He didn't want to see him anymore. Not in his dreams, not ever. He was afraid.

It's been so long since the boy had last seen that monster yet he never left him alone even in his sleep. He was always there, making Baekhyun's life into misery like he had been doing for the past couple of years. And somehow, the nightmares have been getting worse and worse lately. There was no escape.

It was not healthy, Baekhyun knew. But there was no escape.

"Did something happen? Or just a sleepless night?" Weirdly enough, Loey seemed concerned. He was a man of mystery, really.

"More like a sleepless week. Nightmares have been keeping me awake for far too long. Mr. Park, do me a favor and shoot me..." Baekhyun whined as he caught the reflection of his dark circles in the black monitor of his computer. He looked like a horror movie character. The doctor had to put an end to it all.

"Nightmares about what? Is something bothering you, doctor?" Chanyeol reached forward to set his own hand on Baekhyun's pale white one. He looked worryingly tired and pale - the sleepless nights reflecting on his face like poison. However, his puffy cheeks, his pouty lips somehow made the doctor look even cuter if possible.

"That's none of your business, Mr. Park," he could feel the thumb of Loey's the back of his hand. It made him feel rather uncomfortable but somehow the gesture seemed calming. Weird. Baekhyun hated touches, he hated being touched.

"But it is, if it concerns you, Baekhyunee," he looked at the bespectacled boy who was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

"Let's just begin the session, Mr. Park. I'm not in the mood for all the small talk today..." Baekhyun sighed once again, feeling faint, weak.

"I have a much better idea, doctor," Loey leaned into his leather seat as his hand left Baekhyun's. His touch was still lingering onto the doctor's pale skin. "How about we take a nap?"

A nap?

Sounds tempting.

"Are you actually joking, Mr. Park?" Baekhyun chuckled in misery as he looked up through his droopy eyelashes at the taller with red hair, finally meeting his eyes. To Loey, he looked like a puppy.

"No, why would I joke about sleeping when you look like you're at the brink of your deathbed. Doctor, sleep is important, you should know that..." Loey said mockingly. Why wasn't he obeying the rules of having a functioning sleeping schedule? Shouldn't doctors do that without giving it a second thought and be a good example to all their patients?

"I can't sleep during work hours. I could get into trouble if the head doctor was to find out," Baekhyun said, tempted to just lay down on the soft white couch. The softest