Ryujin jolted up out of sleep. Her entire body was wet from sweat. She sat on her bed, complete darkness all around her. She knew it was her room. Her old room, from when she lived with her mother. 

Ryujin looked around, she could barely make out her old mirror and dresser. The room was small, barely any space to walk. Her bed was pushed into a corner, next to the only window which was displaying darkness outside. 

Ryujin pushed the covers back and rose from the bed. She walked over to where the light switch would have been, but found it to not be working. 

“Oh no.” 

Suddenly, a low moan came from behind her. Ryujin turned quickly to see a pair of yellow eyes staring at her in the darkness of the corner of the room. A mouth appeared below, slowly forming into a massive grin. 

“Come to me, sweet child.”

”No.”

A pair of hands, darker than the darkness itself, reached out. Ryujin cowered near the light switch.

”Come be with mama.”

”Go away!”

The hands grabbed Ryujin by her arms, squeezing her tight and begun dragging her back. 

“No. No.”

”I’m lonely.” Out of the darkness came a round head, the yellow eyes and grin etched on. “Join me in purgatory, darling. I miss my darling.”

Ryujin tried to fight the pull, but couldn’t find the strength. She tried to scream but couldn’t find the strength to even open anymore.

She thought of the being ravaging her. It frightened her to no end. She had no means to fight it, she was powerless. 

Ryujin closed her eyes, awaiting the end. However, even closing her eyes didn’t stop her from seeing the terrifying thing pulling her close. 

Ryujin finally opened her eyes, finding herself just being dragged past her mirror. She looked at herself, now ten years old in the mirror. 

Ryujin turned to the dark being. Finding it so close to her, she could feel its icy cold breath. It smiled at her, staring intensely. 

“Leave me alone.” Ryujin managed to say.

”But you’re powerless in my grasp, darling. I like you like this. Don’t mind me.”

The word ‘mind’ made Ryujin shiver. It was something in the way the word sticked with her, it distracted her from the being in front of her.

Ryujin looked directly into the yellow eyes. She had remembered. 

“I’m not powerless.” Ryujin said, finding strength in her own words. The being’s smile turned slowly into a frown. “I’m a telepath.” Ryujin focused her words at the being. Release me.

The hands around Ryujin disappeared. 

Go away. Leave my sight. You will not have me tonight. 

It was the same rhyme her mother taught her when she has nightmares. Ryujin realized what was going on now. 

Break this nightmare for me.

The being dissolved into the darkness. 

Ryujin closed her eyes then opened them. She was in the living room, the tv was on and a bowl of popcorn littered the floor. There was no sign of the four eyed man. 

Yoongi awoke, unable to move. He looked around and gasped at the environment around him. He was in a massive cavern, every inch covered in spider webs. A ungodly sight was feeding on a webbed carcass nearby. 

“What the ?!” Yoongi exclaimed. His voice caught the attention of the beast feeding. 

A massive spider, about the size of a school bus, turned to him. Its pincers making a clamping motion as it started to crawl towards the firestarter. 

“ off!” 

The spider halted its advancement for a moment, eyeing Yoongi hungrily, before continuing closer towards him. Yoongi tried to summon a fire but nothing happened.

”Leave me alone!”

The spider shot a web at Yoongi’s mouth, covering it. Yoongi couldn’t hold back his fear, tears began escaping his wide eyes. His screams were muffled. 

The spider opened its pincers once reaching Yoongi. It began to cover Yoongi in web. Yoongi closed his eyes, awaiting the pain to come.

As his eyes were closed, a small light shined weakly in the darkness. He ignored it, opening his eyes to see the spider looking directly at him. Yoongi screamed, his voice still muffled. He closed his eyes once more, the light still weakly shining. 

Yoongi prayed to every possible god to save him, but he knew no help would come. The only thing he was to see before death was a small light. 

Yoongi opened his eyes again. However, this time his vision was obscured. His entire body was covered in web. Yoongi closed his eyes again. He could feel the tears on his face. 

The light remained. Yoongi didn’t know why. It began to feel warm. His body slowly warming up, as if a fire was passing over him. Then it occurred to him.

Yoongi opened his eyes again, seeing a huge dark shadow looming on top him. He closed his eyes once more, calling out to the light. The light beckoned, flickering ever so slightly. It was all Yoongi needed. 

Outside the web cocoon, a small sliver of flame appeared beside the spider. The spider turned its attention to it, intrigued by the presence. 

The fire spit at the spider, as if to mock it. The spider shot web at the flame, but found it useless as the web shot immediately combusted. 

Yoongi could barely see the outline of the fire through the web. He urged the fire to set him free, burn the webbing. It obeyed, shooting at Yoongi at fast speed. It has burned a hole, exposing Yoongi’s head. Yoongi took in the fresh air before setting his sight on the confused spider.

”Immolate spider man over there. Make it hurt.” Yoongi said to the flame. 

The flame bounced, as if happy by the request, before growing in size. It towered over the spider before turning into a snake, hissing before consuming the spider whole. All that was left was a burnt carcass. 

The web around Yoongi dissolved. He rose and walked over to the carcass, he flipped it off before suddenly waking up in his car. The woman in his passenger seat dead beside him. Yoongi stared at her for a second before bursting into tears.

Woozi eyes opened. He stood in a corner of an auditorium. He was on the stage, people talking behind the closed curtain. A familiar man walked up beside him, nudging his side.

Woozi turned to see Seongchul, smiling down at him. “Ready?”

”Ready for what?”

”Your big day.”

Seongchul grabbed Woozi and led him to the curtain. Before Woozi could say anything, the curtain opened to reveal a full audience. However, the audience were his high school classmates. He recognized all of his old crushes and bullies.

Woozi stared at the crowd, who had completely quieted and were staring at him. Woozi tried to freeze the audience but nothing was happening.

Some of the classmates whispered to one another at his attempt. Woozi tried again, but still no one was frozen. 

Woozi tried to move, but found his feet stuck to the stage. He tried to pull his foot out of his shoes but couldn’t muster the strength. 

Woozi looked back at the audience. His body started to shake and his breath was shaky. He turned to where Seongchul was, but found him laughing at him. 

Woozi turned back to the audience to find them laughing. Some screaming profanities while others simply walked out. 

Woozi tried to speak but nothing came out. He tried to freeze the audience again. He turned back to Seongchul who was now recording Woozi with his phone. 

Woozi couldn’t understand why Seongchul was doing this. It wasn’t like him. Woozi turned to the audience and found some of them wielding knifes, walking towards him slowly.

Woozi tried to freeze them but couldn’t find the strength to even raise his arms. Woozi looked back to Seongchul, now finding him juggling a fireball in his hands. That’s when it finally occurred to him.

It wasn’t real. Woozi knew that now. Woozi remembered the four eyed man. Woozi had assumed the man had done this, whatever it was. Woozi had a few ideas of what needed to be done. 

Woozi looked back at the audience, but found the seats all empty. Suddenly, a knife blade came to his neck. One of Woozi’s crushes appeared by his side, holding the knife. He was very handsome, tall and muscular, with dark brown hair tied in a short tight bun. 

“You’re a .” He said as he poked Woozi in the neck with the knife.

”A huge .” Another man said, appearing in front of Woozi with a cleaver in his hand.

Woozi tried to close his eyes but had no control over his body anymore. Woozi decided to stare directly at the dark haired man holding the knife. 

“I always had a crush on you.” Woozi said. His words shocked the knife wielding man. “You were my first crush.”

”Who gives a ?!” The man screamed, pushing the blade deeper into his neck. 

“But you were too violent. I overlooked it for the longest time. I let you use me because I had a crush on me. I lost count of how many bruises you gave me.” Woozi added. The man suddenly disappeared. Woozi turned to the other man.  “You made me feel like I was worth it, but then when you refused to date me. I blamed you for my childish reactions. I believed you were the reason I thought I wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t you, it was me.” Woozi held back tears. The other man dropped the cleaver then disappeared. 

Woozi could now move his entire body. He turned to Seongchul. Seongchul immediately threw the fireball he juggled at Woozi.

”And I’m afraid I’ll blame you for something. I can’t risk ruining this, us.” 

The fireball dissipated. Seongchul disappeared right after. 

Woozi closed his eyes then opened them. He found Seongchul leaning over him, calling his name with concern on his face. 

“Oh thank god.” Seongchul said, pulling Woozi close into a hug.

Woozi couldn’t hold back a smile. He wrapped his arms around his boss, squeezing Seongchul closer to him. 

“I had a nightmare.”

Seongchul rubbed Woozi’s arms to comfort him, “it’s over, Woozi. It wasn’t real.”

Woozi wiggled out of Seongchul’s hold and sighed “It actually was. I assume the demon we are after did it, put me in the nightmare.” Woozi rose and stretched. “I got to get to Ryujin and Yoongi. I’m hoping they weren’t effected.” Woozi looked at Seongchul, “I’ll call you later tonight. I promise.”

Seongchul closed the space between them with another hug, “you better.” 

It didn’t take long for the three friends to regroup at the house. Ryujin and Yoongi were already discussing their experience when Woozi walked in. 

“Oh hey.” Yoongi said before continuing, “and then I blew it up.”

”I faced my fear of darkness.” Ryujin turned to Woozi, “how about you?”

”So you guys know they were all tests. My smarts are rubbing off on you guys. I’m so proud. I had to face my insecurities and past.”

”Awesome. So how are we going to kill this guy?” Ryujin asked.

”You won’t.” 

The four eyed man appeared beside Ryujin and kicked her aside. She crashed into the wall, going unconscious. Woozi tried to freeze the man but was taken by surprise by a fireball hitting him from behind, sending him flying onto the couch. 

“How did you do that?!” Yoongi asked.

”You won’t ever know.” The man said before creating a fireball in his hand.

”Yeah you’re right.” Yoongi snapped his fingers. The fireball in the man’s hand suddenly combusted. “You’ll be dead.”

Before the four eyed man could react, Woozi froze him from the couch. Yoongi conjured a ball of fire then sent it hurtling towards the man. As soon as it hit, the man burst into flames before exploding. 

Yoongi and Woozi exchanged looks before running to Ryujin’s side. 

That night, Woozi was sitting at the end of his bed. Seongchul sat behind him, applying burn cream to the fist sized burn wound on his back. 

“Thanks for doing this.” Woozi said. 

“No problem,” Seongchul replied as he rubbed the cream in. ”What was your nightmare about?” Seongchul asked. “I’m curious.”

Woozi looked down at the floor, “you don’t want to know.”

”Amuse me.” 

Woozi turned to look at Seongchul, who stopped rubbing his back. “Insecurities about myself. My love life, or lack there of. You.”

”What about me?”

”I don’t want to ruin our relationship.” Woozi blurted out. 

“We are in a relationship?” Seongchul teased. He leaned closer to Woozi with a grin. “I didn’t know.”

”I mean our friendship relationship!” Woozi said. His face was beat red and he couldn’t keep his eyes off the floor.

Seongchul adjusted himself so he was sitting beside Woozi at the end of the bed. Woozi glanced at him for a moment before looking back down. Seongchul put his arm around a Woozi’s waist and pulled him closer. 

“Woozi?”

”What?”

”What do you think the office would say if they found out I kissed you?”

Woozi looked up at him, “but you didn’t.”

Seongchul closed the space between him and Woozi with a kiss. Before it could go any further, a loud bang came from the living room.

“ with wings!” Yoongi cried.

Woozi immediately rose and ran out. Seongchul sighed and his lips. 

“Hey.” Seongchul looked up. Woozi peeked his head in, a slight blush on his cheeks. “Don’t leave, please.”

Seongchul smiled “I wouldn’t dream of it.”