Chapter Five:

An Understanding

“Our truest life is when we are in our dreams, awake.”

Eunhyuk sighed for the nth time that day, flopping down onto the bed that he and Donghae shared. With a tug, he pulled the pillow out from under his head and cuddled up to it as he inhaled the scent that was buried within the soft cotton. He thought back to the past week and all the awkward moments that had managed to keep happening between himself and his best friend ever since his talk with Shindong. Eunhyuk managed to stumble over his words every time he tried to speak to Donghae, his heart would pound every time they touched, and the butterflies would flutter along his insides to the point that the only way Eunhyuk could get himself back together was to physically hide from Donghae.

So, here was where he found himself. After a week of hiding and avoiding his best friend, Eunhyuk was snuggled into the younger’s pillow, breathing in the soft scent, and trying once more to calm his racing heart. Eunhyuk closed his eyes after yet another sigh, how did he let the feels for his best friend grow up to this point? With that last though, he allowed a restless sleep to take over and he drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

A gentle hand on his shoulder stirred Eunhyuk into semiawarness and he rolled over, pressing his face farther into his the pillow he was cradling to his chest.

“Hyukkie... I want to talk to you...”

The words fell onto mostly deaf ears as Eunhyuk tried to block out the noise with the pillow.

“Eunhyuk.... Eunhyuk... Hyukkie!... HYUKJAE!”

At the sound of his first name, eunhyuk managed to open his eyes just a sliver. “Hmm?”

“Are you mad at me?”

Eunhyuk shook his head sleepily, “ ‘Course not, Hae... could never be mad at my fishy...” Eunhyuk murmured, his brain still in such a sleepy state that he was not thinking fully straight. In fact, Eunhyuk began to ponder if this was all actually just a dream.

“Hyuk... wake up...”

Eunhyuk hummed out a responce as the soft voice broke his sleepy thoughts, “ ‘Mawake...” He rolled over across the bed and patted the warm spot where he had been sleeping.

Donghae sighed softly, understanding Eunhyuk’s tired request. He pulled his pillow out from Eunhyuk’s grasp and placed it back into its spot. He lay down on his side to face Eunhyuk, covering up as he watched Eunhyuk roll over and get comfortable to face Donghae also. “Hyukkie... Why have you been avoiding me?”

“ ‘Mconfused...”

“Wae? What did I do?” Donghae asked, staring at Eunhyuk and taking in every detail of the others sleepy features as Eunhyuk tried his hardest to keep his eyes open for more than a few second at a time.

“Too pretty...” Eunhyuk hummed, reaching across the bed and resting his hand on Donghae’s chest. “Every time you smile at me... My heart goes kung kung kung~” He patted the fast rhythm gently on Donghae’s chest, right over the youngers own heart. Eunhyuk turned his gaze up to Donghae as the younger placed his hand over Eunhyuk’s, holding it against his chest so that the elder could feel his own heartbeat.

“I know what you mean...”

Eunhyuk scooted closer slowly, the heartbeat beneath his palm beating a steady reassuring pulse into his skin as the distance between them grew smaller. Eunhyuk’s forehead was now rested against Donghae’s, “Can I kiss you?” he whispered, the warm breath ghosting across Donghae’s face as the younger smiled, “Do you have to ask?”

Their lips pressed together in the most innocent of kisses. The pulled apart, resting their foreheads together as they stared deeply into each other’s eyes. “This isn’t a dream... is it?” Eunhyuk asked.

Donghae’s smile lit all the way up to his eyes as he shook his head, “Nope... You’re stuck with me from now on...”

With a gummy smile of his own, Eunhyuk quickly pecked Donghae’s lips once more, “Hmm, I think I can live with that...”

“Yah! Don’t be like that, Hyukkie!” Donghae said, hitting Eunhyuk’s arm lightly. He fell into a small bit of giggles as Eunhyuk pulled him close to his chest, snuggling him just as he had previously done to the pillow.

“Shhh, Hae... ‘M still sleepy.” He said, holding Donghae close as the younger made himself comfortable snuggled down into his chest. The two fell asleep in each other’s arms, unmoving as a solitary figure opened the bedroom door sometime in the night and peaked in, smiling softly at the sight before whispering a quiet “Eunhae, whaiting!” before sneaking back out to go find an extra bedroom in the dorm to sleep in so he didn’t disturb the sleeping couple. “I knew you could do it, Eunhyuk...” Shindong whispered as he shut the door silently and walked away.

The room was dark; the only source of light having been a bulb flickering above him, but it had long since blinked out. The boy silently wished that he could do the same, that he could just let go and slip away from the world as silently as the light bulb had. He pulled against the restraints of the strait jacket he had been locked in by that psychopath. The boy shook his head, trying to get his sweaty blonde hair out of his eyes as slipped from where he had been propped up against the padded wall and lay on his side with a small sob. He’d lost track of time he’d been left in this room, but, with each heart beat that pounded against his ribcage, he found himself drifting farther and farther away from himself.

The claustrophobia smothered him again as he tried to shift his stiff arms and he gasped for breath and rolled onto his stomach, pressing his face into the padding of the floor and holding his breath. His chest burned as he continued to hold onto his breath, his mind growing hazy as his brain tried to kick in and tell him to take a breath. White spots came in and out of his vision and he wasn’t sure if his eyes were opened or closed at this point. He smiled into the padding beneath him before finally allowing himself to drift off with a final prayer to not have to wake up to this nightmare again.

As he fell into a heavy unconsciousness, his body reacted naturally and he tried to take a breath. The thick padding beneath him smothered the air, and it didn’t take long for the boy to fully suffocate. His final wish was granted as he passed into the afterlife, a smile still upon his face as he willingly walked away from his body and toward the ever growing, soft, white light.

To say that Woojin was unhappy when he walked into the padded room to check on his Minjae was an understatement. He scooped up the boy with a tiny huff of anger. “I do not get why you will not let me help you, Minjae.” He spoke to the cold body of the once lively boy. He walked carefully threw the abandoned building, coming to a stop at a door in the basement. He dropped the body to the floor with a sickening ‘thud’ as he dug out a set of keys and unlocked the padlock before opening the heavy door to the freezer. He removed the strait jacket from the boy before setting it on the floor and scooping up the body once more. He walked passed his first three attempts to help his dearest Minjae before adding the next in to the growing collection.

“I will help you, Minjae. I will not stop until I do.” He whispered, brushing the blonde hair out of ‘Minjae’s face before smiling and walking back out of the freezer, locking the door once more behind himself and heading upstairs.

Woojin left the abandoned building in search for where Minjae was hidding, upset that the boy had once more gotten out of his grasp. Didn’t his patient realize that the world was a scary place without Hyung? He shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets with a scoff. He would just have to try harder next time; Minjae needed his help, no matter what the younger said. Woojin had been so lost in his thoughts that he had almost missed the most important thing. He backtracked quickly, turning to look at the television screen that was being displayed in the window of an electronic store, a smile crossing his features as he touched the glass gently. “There you are, Minjae... Don’t worry, okay... Hyung will come and help you soon.” He promised as he watched the figure on the TV laugh along with a thin brunette who was sitting way to close to his Minjae. “Hyung is coming.”

My next update. My umma has made me very happy. As long as I don't use the internet on her laptop, I can use it to type (which is great, because, that is basically what I do at the library!). So now I can write twice as often, yay! I hope you guys aren't to confused as the story begins to progress. I am excited to introduce Dr. Park Woojin, but, there will still be just a few more chapters before he gets to really come into play. I hope you will all stick around, and thank you to those who have commented! You have made me so happy! Hope you enjoy this update~! -Lynn