When you call my name

(Seunghyun's P.O.V)

That night I had a really strange dream. It was actually more like a nightmare that I was scared of even after waking up.

At first it was pitch dark. I couldn’t see anything. I lifted my hand and waved it in front of my face, but it changed nothing. My stomach turned icy. It was the kind of feeling you get, suddenly realising that something is wrong with you. During the next few seconds I was sure, I was blind. It overwhelmed me so much that I almost started crying. Not knowing what to do, I began trembling. I was close to a panic attack. Then, all of sudden, I heard steps behind me, followed by the sound of lights being switched on. The room lit up and relief rushed through my body. I gained my sight back, or maybe I hadn’t ever lost it. It didn’t matter.

I looked around the room, I had found myself in. It was an enormous hall with black walls and intensive white ceiling lighting.

 “Would you be my model, Seunghyun?” Unfamiliar voice blasted out from above and echoed.

I turned around quickly, but there wasn’t a single sign of anybody’s presence. There was only a narrow long shining platform in the middle of the hall. I realised that it was a runway, leading to an auditorium. Someone must have been hiding there.

“Is anybody here?” I asked loudly.

In reaction I heard an amused laughter.

I passed round rows of chairs and reached the runway. I clambered onto the platform and when I pushed myself on my feet, loud music started flowing out of the speakers. It was a typical catwalk beat, you can hear while watching fashion shows.

Two shadows emerged from the auditorium. The figures were getting closer and closer, but I still couldn’t see their faces. My heart froze, when they came close enough and I realised, who they were. Jiyong and G-Dragon stood in front of me, holding their hands and smiling like mad. Jiyong was in his school uniform and looked exactly the same as when I last saw him near the locker rooms. G-Dragon, however, looked the way I had always imagined him - with his blond faux hawk hairstyle, wearing stylish clothes from a leading clothing brand. The only thing that really confused me about his appearance was his striking similarity to Jiyong. They were the same height, had the same body build and face shape… The only things that let me tell one from another were their hairstyles and clothes they were wearing.

‘What’s going on?’ I was about to exclaim, but suddenly Jiyong started sobbing. It surprised me that much that I completely didn’t know how to react. G-Dragon put his arms around Jiyong and pulled him closer. He looked behind me with an enraged expression.

I wanted to turn around to see what caused their strange behaviour, but someone pushed me hard from behind and I fell on my knees. I looked up and saw the person who attacked me and who was now heading towards Jiyong and G-Dragon. It was Dongwook.

“Do something, Seunghyun!” G-Dragon cried out, utterly terrified. Jiyong was shaking in his arms.

I wanted to rise to my feet, but I couldn’t. I was stuck to the surface of the platform.

Jiyong’s wail grew louder, but I wasn’t able to help him.

“Seunghyun, please!” G-Dragon’s shout tore my heart into pieces.

My struggles to make a move didn’t give any effect. Dongwook started laughing and screams of his innocent victims pierced the air, waking me up.

“Seunghyun! Seunghyun!” I still could hear those screams echoing in my head.

“Seunghyun! Choi Seunghyun!” The voice calling my name changed. Someone tapped my shoulder. “Hey, do you hear me?”

I raised my head and saw the team coach who had a concerned expression on his face.

“You started trembling all of sudden.”

I blinked and shook off unpleasant memories of my dream. A deafening noise finally reached my ears. How is it possible that I haven’t heard it before? It was a booming mixture of loud voices, joyful screams, laughter, whistles and the sound of ball being dribbled.

It came to my mind that it was probably the middle of the basketball match and I hadn’t seen a single minute of the two first quarters.

The dream had affected me so much that I spent the whole day walking around in a daze. It was almost impossible, but I didn’t remember anything apart from waking up in a cold sweat.

I looked at the scoreboard - we were losing only 46 to 58. It really surprised me, as it was probably one of the best results our team had ever obtained.

I found my brother on the court. He was really in his element. Determination and his desire of winning were visible on his face. He had just stolen the ball from the opponent team and was now heading towards their basket. A few dribbles later the ball went straight through the hoop. The crowd behind me started screaming, but Dongwook didn’t have time to enjoy his glory. The match hadn’t finished yet. Daesung passed the ball to Yongbae and he dribbled to the left, where he was attacked by the player from Cheonggu school. The audience booed. Dongwook mumbled something under his breath and sent Yongbae an angry look.

“Choi, you’ll have to replace Dong. He’s drained and only disturbs the others,” said the coach who was also watching every single move of that action.

I nodded, even though I knew it would be better for me to stay here, on the substitute bench. It was Dongwook who loved basketball, not me. I admitted that I was quite good at it, but it didn’t give me any pleasure. I decided to help Dongwook win this match and later leave the team. He would regain his good reputation and my supervision wouldn’t be needed anymore. Then I would finally have time to focus on things I was interested in: theatre, fashion and... I quickly pushed away the thought that came to my mind. No no no. It wasn’t a good time to think about him.

I stood up and stretched out to liven up my muscles. The refugee blew his whistle to announce the stoppage in the play. Yongbae left the court and patted my shoulder.

“Seunghyun, don’t let us down,” he said, gasping for a breath.

“I’ll do my best,” I smiled and watched him sit on the bench. A freshman girl handed him a bottle of water and a towel.

“Choi, you’re coming in!”

My sneakers squeezed on the glossy parquet. I took my position in the middle of the court and the game was resumed. I kept a steady pace and managed to steal the ball from the opponents a few times and passed it to Dongwook and the others. I wasn’t the fastest in the team, but I had a good skill to organise the offense properly, always making sure that the ball went to the right player at the right moment. We scored another 10 points in less than 2 minutes. The ball found itself in my hands again, but I realised that there is no one I could pass it to. Everyone stood in the wrong positions and I couldn’t let our lucky streak stop. I dribbled to the right, leaving the surprised opponents behind and performed a successful shot. Dongwook gave me a high-five.

“You’re the ace up my sleeve, Seunghyun,” he grinned. “Stay close to Daesung.”

The crowd cheered, some people were yelling my name.

I looked at the audience, smiling. It was a white mass of people, as the majority was wearing the colour of our team. There were only few yellow spots and I was sure that the people, who came with the visiting team, were sitting there.

I was about to focus back on the game, when I noticed something weird in the corner of my eye. In the middle of the crowd dressed in white there was someone wearing a blue shirt. I couldn’t see the person’s face from such a distance, so I looked hard and then my heart froze. I suddenly became aware that it weren’t people screaming my name. It was a single person. And to make matters worse - it was Jiyong. My heart lifted unexpectedly. I couldn’t understand why it was so, but I wasn’t allowed to distract myself by thinking about it during the game.

Jiyong was sitting next to some girls, who were also yelling like mad, but I knew only he shouted my name. I recognised CL, Dongwook’s girlfriend, who leant to Jiyong and told him something what made him laugh. I forced myself to stop looking at them and came back to the game.

I sent the ball to the basket a few times, but concentrated mainly on guarding Daesung. My brother was dashing all over the court, successfully blocking the opponents and taking the ball back, when it wasn’t in our hands for more than a 30 seconds. My appearance on the parquet gave him even more energy. He was sure we could win and wanted to make the opponents realise it. He was a real beast. The visiting team members were almost jumping away, when they saw him coming at them. He was easily stealing the ball and passing it to Daesung, who was really good at aiming to the basket and almost never failed to make a direct shot. There were only 2 minutes left, but we didn’t have to worry anymore. Our trio completely dominated the game and the team scored 34 points more than the visitors.

“Seunghyun! Seunghyun!” I heard Jiyong’s loud screams.

It reminded me of my nightmare. Especially the end of it. The part I wished to forget.

I stepped in front of Daesung and caught the ball thrown by Dongwook. I dribbled it angrily, heading towards the basket, when I was suddenly blocked and lost it.

Daesung ran to me.

“Hyung, what’s going on?” He asked, surprised by my sudden action. He put his hand on my shoulder, but I shook it off.

I looked at Dongwook who was trying not to let the visitors score. I felt anger rushing through my veins. He behaved like a wild animal, treating his opponents like obstacles, he had to eliminate. Seeing him like that ensured me, that he would also remove me from his way, if we found ourselves in a situation similar to that from my dream. I promised myself that I would never let him push me to my knees.

“Get yourself together,” Daesung grabbed my arm and looked me straight in the eyes. “We have to win this thing in a good style.”

He ran towards Dongwook who finally managed to get the ball back. It was passed between our team members and finally landed in my hands. The audience went silent.

I looked at the ball with hesitation, listening to the ticking clock which was counting down the seconds to the end of the match.

“Do it, Seunghyun!” Jiyong’s scream pierced the silence, waking me up from the haze.

Glad that this time I could fulfill his plea, I rested the ball on my fingertips and extended my arms powerfully, releasing it to the air. The ball hit the backboard and fell through the hoop at the exact moment, when the buzzer sounded.