Taemin POV

Someone told told me to pray, to dream,

That it will come true no matter what it is

Tell me everything- look at me and tell me

Tell me to please stop

I stared at the dust particles under the shaft of sunlight that shone into the room through the dusty window pane. Sitting at the corner of the empty room, I rested my head against the edge of the bed—the only decent furniture in the room.

I was too tired to think—too weak to move, too hopeless to pray that someone could save me.

I wet my dry lips with my saliva as I let out a cough.

It’s been 4 days since I found myself in this room after I woke up.

Have I done anything wrong that I deserved to die in this manner?

It was then when I heard the muffled footsteps on the corridor outside the room. Supporting myself to get up, I staggered across the room and picked up a piece broken glass from the wooden floor. Gripping the glass in my hands with anxiety, the sharp edges sunk into my palm—I could feel the crimson red liquid trickling down the glass onto the floor.

 I watched nervously as the door creaked open.

When the man walked into the room with a glass of milk and a plate of sandwiches, I charged towards him and plunged the glass towards his direction. The glass of milk smashed on the floor as he grabbed hold of my hand swiftly and pulled the piece of glass away from my bloodied palm.

“Please…” I mumbled at the verge of tears, as I tugged his sleeve, leaving red stains on them, “Help me…”

Why am I begging even though I knew that he could not free me? But as I met his eyes that was half hidden behind the white face mask, I was deceived by that gentle gaze. Heartlessly, he pushed on the ground and slammed the door behind him.

Collapsed on the floor beside the spilt milk, my energy drained out along with the blood flowing out from my right palm.

I concede defeat to death.

The darkness began to engulf me as I closed my eyes.

I lay by my side, my left ear pressing against the wooden floor. I could hear the footsteps approaching me a few metres away. Twitching my eyes open, I observed the dried blood on my palm—it seemed as if I had been unconscious for a long time.

I spotted the young man in white walking towards me.

“H—Help…” I croaked.

He was near perfection—he was tall, his hair was dyed in the nicest shade of brown, his lips slivered into a smile, so gentle.

Kneeling down beside me, the boy ran his long fingers down my face and held me up from the floor in his arms.

“I’m here to take you away, Taemin.” He pulled my left arm across his broad shoulder and wrapped his around my waist and legs. Carrying me up effortless, I closed my eyes and rested my head against his shoulder blade.

I had never felt so warm and safe before.

His scent lingered into my nose as I wrapped another arm around him.

“What is your name?” I finally asked, without opening my eyes—but his looks were carved deeply into my mind.

“Choi Minho.” His voice was low but musical, just like a serenade—a lullaby.

“Why did you save me?”

“Because you don’t deserve to die; someone like you doesn’t deserve to die.”

He finally came to a stop—putting me down from his arms, my bare feet stood on the cold concrete floor. But one of his arms continued to hold me by myself, holding me closely to him. I opened my eyes but I couldn’t make out where I was.

 All I could see was him.

Slowly, I cupped my palm on his cheek, making a trail down to his chin with the tips of my fingers. Minho wrapped his fingers on my chin and lifted it up gently. He pressed his warm lips against my chin and began making a trail towards my lips.

Caressing my lips slowly with his, I could feel Minho’s arms slipping away from me. His lips shifted away from me as he took a few steps backwards.

“Choi—Minho?”

“This is all I can do, Lee Taemin.”

He turned around and walked away from me towards the darkness.

“Don’t go…”  As he finally disappeared from my sight, I felt too lethargic and weak—it felt as if he was the one that kept me alive.

But since Choi Minho is gone, I could no longer feel the strength to keep myself alive. Falling on the floor, I clasped on to my chest breathlessly.

Wake me up from being still

Bring back the time from standing still

Smile for me like you did yesterday

… … …

It was just a dream.

Choi Minho was just a dream.

I twitched my eyes open and found myself lying in the same room, on the wooden floor. I could feel the tears that rolled down from the corner of my eyes onto the floor.

I thought he was true—the way he held me in his arms, the way he kissed my lips…

His scent continued to linger on my skin.

When I spotted the figure standing across the room, my tears continued rolling down from my cheeks.

“Why don’t you just kill me?”

“I can’t.” His voice echoed in the room—a voice that sounded too familiar. Reaching out for the white mask that he hid his face with, he removed it and threw it on the floor.

Thud.

I watched as the plastic mask dropped on the floor beside me. Tilting my head up to look at the man, I bit my lips and curled my lips weakly.

“Choi... Choi Minho.”

He is real.