Dream Seller - Part 3 (Final)
 

The boy who stole his scarf because it smelled comfortably peaceful, the boy who made him smile for the first time since forever, was the one person he never thought he would ever see again. Glass had slipped out of his fingertips and turned into flesh again in front of his eyes, making him think how he could have ever possibly forgotten about him. Having spent so much time with this young man who smiled like a child but always with a kind of naive maturity should have made him remember him, but it never did. Ripped off his dream made him almost completely forget about the past he still could not remember completely right now, but he was certain of one thing.

That the boy was part of his past he had sold.

The previous owner of a dream was never supposed to meet his sold dream again, was never supposed to cross roads with a past he sold for a dollar. A dream seller, above anyone else, was not supposed to mingle himself with dreams that were not in his shop. Yet, his own dream had started to found his way to him, found his way back to his unfaithful used-to-be owner that did not deserve forgiveness.

Lu Han knew very well what he should be doing right now, and it hurt him more than it should.

The boy – Sehun, but even thinking about his name made Lu Han feel terribly sad – came back sooner than Lu Han had hoped for, too quickly for the dream seller to organize his chaotic mind and to come across as calmly. And even though Lu Han wanted the boy out of sight and out of his life, he knew very well that it was already too late. Even out of sight would not mean out of his life anymore, and the thought alone frightened Lu Han because it was too late now. It was way too late for things to end prettily and goodbyes to be said sincerely.

“Hello!” Sehun said as he stepped inside the shop, causing Lu Han to drop his gaze quickly to the ground.

“What brings you here?” Lu Han asked, a little too cold for his own liking.

He did not have to look up to know that the boy’s expression would be one of surprise, “I told you I would come to visit you soon again.”

“I’m not one to really think too much about words spoken and promises made.” Lu Han said, eyes fluttering close for a moment before he looked straight into the boy’s eyes, “I thought I made it clear already what my intentions were when I told you to spend more time with your boyfriend.”

Hopeless desperation filled the boy’s eyes, making Lu Han’s heart clench, “What’s wrong with you…?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Lu Han said, voice a little too frightening and gestures too exaggerated, “Did you forget what I am? I’m a dream seller, a seller of broken hopes and abandoned children. I sell dreams for a living without even taking a glance at them as they slip out of my hands and out of the shop. I’m a bad person.”
 
“A bad person wouldn’t give me his scarf when I was freezing to death. A bad person wouldn’t crack a smile on his cold mask when talking to me. A bad person wouldn’t stop me from buying a dream. Most importantly,” The boy approached him with serious eyes, “a bad person wouldn’t make me feel so frighteningly comfortable when I’m around this person.”

Lu Han’s eyes blinked furiously at this, mind too slow to elaborate what the other had just said. All he realized was that the words this boy had spoken were not supposed to leave his mouth, were not supposed to reach his ears and affect him from the inside out. Lu Han knew nothing, nothing except for the fact that this was wrong, wrong, wrong.

“You shouldn’t have said that.” Lu Han said with stern eyes, which were really merely pretense, “Now I’ve to ask you to leave and never come back. Please, don’t ever come back here again.”

“Why?” The boy reached out to hold onto one of his hands, making him flinch visibly, “Why do you’ve to make me leave? Tell me, why! Am I really that unbearable to be around with?”

How dearly Lu Han wanted to tell the other that he was anything but unbearable, anything but that, but that was not something he was permitted to say. He needed to send this boy away before it was too late. Jonghyun would surely find out about it sooner or later, and Lu Han knew very well the consequences of dream sellers mixing themselves with dreams, their own dreams being the biggest sin of all.

“Yes,” It sounded like poison to his own ears, but he endured it all as he continued, “yes, you’re unbearable, terribly annoying and I wish to have you out of my life immediately. I don’t want to entertain little kids when I already have too little time in my hands.”

“I’m not like a child!” The tall male yelled angrily, momentarily shocking Lu Han with his loud voice he had never heard before, “I’m not a little kid!”

Lu Han remembered clearly already how a boy used to fill his life, used to make his days bright and made him enjoy every second of time. It hurt his head terribly, but he remembered nevertheless. Lu Han remembered vividly now how there used to be a young man who found joy in teasing him and would pretend to be angry when Lu Han would back. Lu Han remembered accurately how there used to be a person that he called his, and how halcyon days turned into nightmares. He remembered it all, flashes in front of his eyes leaving not one memory forgotten.

“Why won’t you leave me alone?” Was all that could escape Lu Han’s trembling lips.

The boy frowned at this, eyes casted down, “I don’t know.”

“What do you remember?” Lu Han spoke out hesitantly.

This caused the boy to look up again in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Something troubles you, makes you want to get answers,” Lu Han gestured around the shop, “and something tells you this is the place to get answers from.”

The boy’s fingers clenched onto his scarf – Lu Han’s scarf - hesitation swimming in his eyes as he looked Lu Han in the eyes. Lu Han waited patiently but eagerly on his reply, his answer, wanting to know if it was exactly what he thought it was that brought this boy here.

“I… I found a bottle, and images filled my mind when I held onto it, vivid intrusive thoughts that made my body burn.” The young male glanced around the shop, “It brought me here.”

The boy took off his bag, fumbled in it before showing Lu Han a terribly familiar empty glass bottle. It made Lu Han’s breath hitch and made his eyes widen in horror.

“I… I wanted to know who the dream he bought belonged to.”

 “Selling dreams, buying dreams… Making dreams look like objects, products that can be put into bottles. But people… You can’t put people in bottles. You can’t buy yourself a person, not even if it’s a dream. That’s just wrong.”

“I want to know who the person was who sold me for a dollar.”

☼

The day Lu Han sold his own dream was a moment deeply engraved in his mind, something he was sure would haunt him for a lifetime. It had been as if pieces of his soul had been ripped off, burning him intensely while he consciously saw the happiness slipping out of his hands before his very own eyes. His left hand had clenched tightly onto the hem of his shirt, while his right hand wishfully tried to reach out for the dream that was no longer his. In front of his eyes, it had been sold to a tan skinned boy with distinctive lips and intense eyes, dark ruffled hair partly shielding his eyes. Dreams of dream sellers were different, were not meant to be put on the wooden shelf, were not meant to wait for a new owner.

What Lu Han did not remember, failed to remember, or maybe deliberately did not want to remember, is that his dream was a person.

His dream went by the name Oh Sehun, a combination of expressionless ignorance and eternal youth, a rough mixture of dominance and childish submissiveness. A paradoxical boy, because it was not a contrast, never a contrast, but always a bittersweet paradox that he loved more than he loved himself.

He had been the one to put Sehun in a bottle, put him on a thin line between dreaming and being dreamed of.

He was the one Sehun was looking for, the one Sehun had been longing to find so desperately.

The Sehun he loved was always like that always persistent when it came to things he liked and loved, adored and wanted. The Sehun he knew always held onto things like a little child, wanting to find out the truth, even if it would hurt him severely. The Sehun he loved taught him about both heaven and hell on earth.

Lu Han eyed the wooden shelves with empty eyes, not being able to get himself to clean, to do anything he normally already disliked to do. For the first time since he became the infamous dream seller, Lu Han wanted nothing more but to rip this title off of him, because the words dream seller sound like a curse.

The distinct, high-pitched ring sound caught his attention instantly, making his head jerk up to face the door that opened, heart rate increasing as he anticipated the boy. Even though he told the other to stay away from him, it was still a foolish wish of the dream seller to see the other, even just a glimpse. However, all drumming excitement deafened at the sight of his worst nightmare, loathed boss that always seems to find ways to make his life a little bit more unbearable.

“What brings you here?” Lu Han snapped, not even bothering with formulating his question nicer.

Jonghyun’s dark expression remained unchanged, “Like I said before, I just want to make sure my beloved dream seller still follows the rules obediently,” A sudden darkness flashed in Jonghyun’s eyes, “like he should.”

A cold shiver ran through Lu Han’s body, “I do.”

The dark haired young man with his usual black hat and evil grin scoffed at this, “I know how you dream sellers are. You’re all the same, always pretending to be so good at this job but always, always getting lured by those dreams you’re all surrounded with. It’s hard not to, I realize that, but nevertheless forbidden. After a while, dream sellers tend to get lost, get attracted by those sinful products in bottles,” Jonghyun’s stare seemed to warn him as he looked straight into his eyes, “and end everything.”

Jonghyun reached out for one of the bottles, eyeing it with so much disgust that it saddened and angered Lu Han at the same time. Dreams and dream sellers had a special kind of connection that only the dream seller would ever be able to understand.

“I could crush this dream so easily,” Jonghyun said with wide, serious eyes as he glanced at the dusty green liquid, “and it wouldn’t even have the chance to defend itself. Dreams, what are they?”

And with that he dropped the bottle mercilessly on the ground, in front of Lu Han’s eyes, and the moment the bottle broke into thousands of pieces was the moment Lu Han’s own heart of stone crumbled into nothingness because the dream disappeared right on front of his eyes, silently while mixing itself with the air. In his mind, Lu Han could hear the agony, the painful cries as the dream turned into nothing but a lost past.

Lu Han gritted his teeth together in utmost fury, “Why did you do that?!”

“To make you realize that dreams aren’t something to bother about. Dreams are products, products that mean nothing but business. This is a cold business, Lu Han, a cold business that doesn’t permit emotions to mingle itself with it. Filthy liquid sold for a dollar is nothing but a lie, a fraud because people are ignorant and we take advantage of such stupidity.”

A tear rolled down Lu Han’s right cheek – as always right, making Jonghyun smirk satisfied. Jonghyun gave one last glance at the scattered glass pieces on the ground, before walking to the door again.

“Remember, Lu Han, you’re nothing but a fraud.”

Lu Han waited silently until he was certain Jonghyun was long gone, before he crouched down in front of him, eyeing the ashes of an innocent dream with apologetic eyes. Lu Han had a heart of stone, because this was an ice cold business, but always with an intense amount of warm passion. That warm passion was the only thing close to sanity he had left to continue this job, because he did not sell dreams, did not sell hopes, but sold pieces of a human’s soul that were abandoned by its rightful owner. The shop was filled with thousands, millions of incomplete souls that each had its story, its past, but awaited a person that would truly appreciate it for what it truly was.

Lu Han was the person who understood what dreams really were.

☼

Sunbeams bashfully reached inside the shop, filling it with energy it desperately needed. Wooden shelves were flawlessly clean, bottles stood proudly on them, and the counter was shining. Maybe only Lu Han would ever understand the reason for cleaning, for wanting to make this place look more beautiful than it really was, but nevertheless, it was the only thing he could do.

What he wished, though, was that this boy would not come to bother him anymore. Would not come and try to make everything harder than it already was. He always stepped inside the shop with a kind of confidence he was not supposed to have, with a kind of familiarity plastered on his expression he was never supposed to wear. This place made him feel comfortable, and that was simply wrong.

“Why don’t you take my words seriously?” Lu Han hissed the moment he locked eyes with the other.

The boy wore a pleasant kind of black today, and again he was wearing the scarf Lu Han was beginning to loath to see. The tall male with dark brown hair smiled softly, ignoring the dislike Lu Han showed so openly.

“You already know why I’m here.”

“And you already know I won’t give you answers,” Was all that Lu Han replied.

Lu Han placed the broom away before walking over to the counter, busying himself just so he did not have to talk to the other. He felt the burning stare directed to him, felt his own hands itching to reach out for the other, but he knew very well that such actions would be the end. His hands were to touch cold bottles and burning coins, not warm hands and soft skin. His hands were rough and blood covered, and not meant to touch purity of any sort.

“Does it disgust you?” The boy asked, hurt wrapped around his serious voice, “The fact that I’m a dream, does it make you dislike me that much?”

This caused Lu Han’s eyes to widen in shock, “What?! No!”

The young man’s eyes softened at this, “Then what exactly is it?”

Lu Han bit his lips harshly, not replying at this. The boy, though, did not accept silence as an answer, and pulled at Lu Han’s wrist hardly, making Lu Han stumble into the other. The way the boy wrapped his fingers around him felt so terribly familiar, made him reminisce about so many things, and most importantly made him feel something akin to happiness, but these were all things Lu Han should not have felt in the first place so he pushed it all back into the corners of his mind, trying his best to get out of the other’s tight grasp.

“You don’t need to know, and let go of me immediately before I really get angry,” Lu Han hissed as he continued to stare at how the other held onto him.

The child inside the boy surfaced at this, “I don’t want to.”

The reason why dream sellers should keep their distance is because if they were to get too emotional about dreams, about what they were and what they were supposed to be, they would lose themselves. The reason why dream sellers should not even dare to think of ever getting back their dream again, or any dream at that, was because they were not permitted a dream anymore. Any dream that wished to infiltrate their mind would be crushed and kill the dream seller at the same time.

Dream sellers were meant to life the remaining of their life without a dream of their own.

But the fact that this young man, this person standing in front of him that was his beautiful dream, made his heart clench tightly and made him want to cry because in front of him was his very own dream he sold. In front of him was the dream he had sold for a dollar, not because he wanted to, but because he had to. And this haunting thought made him drop on the floor weakly, face buried in his hands because it was so terribly tiresome to keep up with this all. It was so deadly to keep seeing him, but never being able to tell him anything.

“Please…” Lu Han said tiredly, trying his best to hide his crying face as he leaned against the counter, “Please, just leave me alone…”

He did not mean that. He might say he wanted to the other gone, but it was already too late for those words to not come out as a lie. It was already too late, and Lu Han knew that. His trembling body flinched at the boy’s gentle touch, because it had been so long since he last felt something as warm as that holding onto him. It had been so long, and the realization burned down his last defense of staying calm. 

“I’m sorry,” The boy said as he leaned his forehead against Lu Han’s, fingers intertwining with Lu Han’s reluctant ones, “I didn’t know I hurt you this bad by just appearing in your life.”

Fingers linked together burned sinfully, spread warmth through Lu Han’s body that intensified the warm passion inside of him a thousand fold. When he dared to look up to meet the other’s eyes through his own watery, blurry ones, all he could see was a kind of gentleness he did not remember seeing for so long. All he could see was warmth so lovingly that made him feel special, and not a fraud that did not deserve any of this.

“Is it because I’m a dream, and you’re a dream seller? Is it because I’m not meant to show up here? Is it-”

As much as Lu Han wanted to listen to the boy’s voice, could never get over the softness of his low, gentle voice that sounded like music in his ears, he could not resist to move closer and closer to the other’s face and press his lips against the other. As much as this was forbidden, was not allowed, he wanted to seize the moment and capture this heavenly bliss. Hesitant lips pressed against each other, before Lu Han moved his head to deepen the kiss because the other did not move away but merely used his own hands to hold onto Lu Han’s face. And Lu Han remembered why he had fallen for this boy called Sehun in the first place, because he was a child and an adult at the same time, made Lu Han want to take care of him and was always taken care of by the other at the same time. This boy was perfect, flawless, and everything he ever dreamed of.

It was only when the both of them were in desperate need of air that their lips moved away from each other, filling the room with soft panting and deep breathing. Eyes were locked together, and Lu Han could see a reflection of his own emotions in the other’s eyes. He could see the exact replica of what he was feeling right now in the other’s orbs.

“Yes, it has everything to do with you, with you being around me, but not because you’re a dream or anything as irrelevant as that.” Lu Han glanced at the other as he continued, “It’s because you remind me of what I can never have anymore.”

“Do… Do I remind you of your dream?” The boy asked tentatively.

Lu Han cried at this, coming undone perfectly ugly as a voice screamed in his mind that the boy did not remind him of his dream.

He was his dream.

☼

It was not like Lu Han did not know he was picking a fight with Hades by letting this boy stay by his side, trying to test his limits like a naive child that had nothing to be afraid of. Maybe it was because being a dream seller already stole him from his motivation, turned his once warm heart into a heart of stone, but he would just be lying to himself if he were to hold onto that belief. Because he knew very well it was because this young man that wore colors as if he was born to shine was the boy he adored, loved with a passion, and nothing could really ever change that. Not even the cold title of dream seller that hung above his head.

The changes in Lu Han were so vividly seen, so clearly visible on Lu Han’s face. The way he would smile naturally, because he was no longer faking it, and the way he seemed to glow, because he was no longer chained down by a cold business. Little moments they spent together meant too much for him, and the sight of dusted shelves confirmed to him that he was lost. He was getting lost, losing track of reality, but that did not matter because dreams were meant to make him see life in a color his heart held onto dearly. Being lost never felt as good as it did now.

“I think he bought me because he felt lonely,” Sehun said while he held onto Lu Han tightly, letting Lu Han lean his head against his shoulder, “because he didn’t want to be on his own.”

Lu Han glanced up to look at him, “Do you love him?”

Sehun heaved a sigh at this, leaning his own head against Lu Han’s, “Love? From the beginning, he was the one who bought me for a dollar. He loves me, holds onto me dearly, as if he would break the moment I would disappear out of his life. I like him, I like him a lot, but it doesn’t feel right. I’m just being a replacement of his original dream,” Sehun’s voice turned into a whisper, “and that doesn’t feel right.”

“Do… Do you really think of yourself as a dream?” Lu Han asked after a short moment of silence.

“It’s not like I want to think of myself as a dream, but constantly being reminded by that bottle that I’m nothing but a product he bought in this shop, that I used to spent my days inside the bottle on one of these shelves, never really gave me the chance to think of myself as a real person. Sometimes, I don’t even know whether I’m real or not, because all I know is because of what he told me. It’s like without him, I wouldn’t even exist.” Sehun’s grip around Lu Han tightened, “It’s as if on my own, I’d be nothing.”

Lu Han turned around with concern swimming in his eyes, the sight of a crying Sehun never doing his heart any good. There was no way Lu Han could ever understand what Sehun was going through, being a dream of someone who bought him for the sake of having something to hold onto.

“And it makes me think if I was meant to be a dream from the beginning, or whether there’s something walking around this world that isn’t a dream but the real me. I’m a dream, that’s a fact, but is there the real Oh Sehun walking somewhere outside on this world, having his own dream?”

“Every dream has its own source of reality to build onto.” Lu Han’s eyes fluttered closed, “You were build on the real Oh Sehun, so in a way, you’re as real as the real Oh Sehun.”

“Then what’s the difference between reality and a dream?”

“Because the beauty of some dreams lies in that they can never be reached.”

All Lu Han did was smile.

☼

The changes in Lu Han were so vividly seen, so clearly visible on Lu Han’s face, and Jonghyun would have been a fool not to notice any of this. Lu Han should have known better than to think he would be able to hide anything from Jonghyun.

“I thought I made it clear that dream sellers shouldn’t mingle themselves with the dreams they sell. It seems my message didn’t come across well.” Jonghyun held onto his collar suffocating tight, “It seems you still lost track.”

“I’ve absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” Lu Han said while trying to escape from Jonghyun’s grasp.

“You’re a dream seller, Lu Han, a dream seller. You should know very well what dreams are. You should also know very well what you did to become a dream seller.” Jonghyun grinned maliciously at this, “Dreams aren’t real. You’re a fraud, Lu Han, a fraud, and a magician should not fall for its own trick.”

“You told me you would protect him!” Lu Han yelled at the other, angry eyes staring into evil ones.

Jonghyun scoffed, “But I do! You just don’t realize it, do you?”

“What?” Lu Han blinked at this, eyebrows knitted together, “What do you mean?”

“Your dream you sold, the boy you wanted to help escape, doesn’t it all make sense to you? What’s a dream, what’s reality?”

“Every dream has its own source of reality to build onto.”

“Dream sellers will always be able to distinguish between a dream and reality, what’s real and what’s not. Dreams are made of reality, Lu Han.” Jonghyun let go of him while wearing a knowing expression, “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking of building a dream on a dream, bending reality so the two of you can really be together, because dreams are fragile and break apart so easily. But you’re a dream seller, Lu Han, you should know that you can’t get yourself a dream, and what isn’t your dream can never be truly your dream. Just because he seems to resemble him so much, doesn’t mean he is him. When you try to make sense of a dream, it’ll fall apart.”

Lu Han did not say anything, because nothing could possibly be said against this. Lu Han was a dream seller with a heart of stone and a warm passion. He knew very well what a dream was, and how it all worked. He had seen dreams breaking and owners dying in front of his eyes way too much many times not to realize what exactly he was dealing with.

“I always thought you were more suitable for the job as a dream seller than Sehun.”

Lu Han gritted his teeth at this, “He never, ever did anything to disappoint you.”

Jonghyun shook his head at this, “No, but he did do something to disappoint you.”

A sudden ring filled the shop, causing Lu Han’s eyes to widen in horror. Both Lu Han and Jonghyun turned to look at the door, an amused grin dancing on Jonghyun’s lip when he saw Sehun. Sehun stepped inside the shop obliviously, a small smile lingering on his lips, before it disappeared when he saw Jonghyun.

“Y-You…”

“Well, if it isn’t Sehun? I never thought I would ever see your face anymore.”

“Do…” Sehun furrowed his eyebrows, “Do I know you?”

“You should, but you don’t,” Jonghyun said matter-of-factly, before putting an arm around Lu Han’s shoulders, “Lu Han made sure that the past wouldn’t haunt you.”

Sehun looked at the two with confusion all written over his face, “W-What…”

Then suddenly, Sehun’s eyes widened in horror, as if realization finally hit him. The sudden overwhelming impact made him drop on the ground, clutching onto his head tightly as he hissed in pain. It made Lu Han want to rush to his side immediately, but Jonghyun stopped him from even moving an inch towards the other.

“How is it, being a dream? How does it feel? Lu Han made sure you-”

“Shut up!” Lu Han yelled when he saw how Sehun was suffering, “Don’t say anything anymore! He doesn’t need to know!”

“I…” Sehun whispered, before his eyes fluttered to Lu Han’s direction, “You…”

Lu Han glanced curiously inside the shop, mesmerized by many bottles capturing all the possible colors he could dream of. He then directed his gaze to the young man cleaning the counter, a tall handsome male with dark brown hair and sleepy eyes. Lu Han was about to turn away when the young man looked up, locking eyes with Lu Han. Those eyes made Lu Han want feel warm and cold at the same time.

“Birds of a feather flock together, it seems,” Jonghyun said with an uncaring sigh, “but I really have no time for this.”

Lu Han’s eyes widened at this. He knew what Jonghyun planned on doing, and he would do anything to stop that. He did not want all the efforts he had done to turn into vain. So he quickly pushed Jonghyun off of him, rushed to Sehun’s side and pulled him up, before rushing to the storage room. His hands were trembling severely as he tried his best to look the door as soon as possible, breathing deeply as his heart pumped vigorously.

“Lu Han, don’t think I won’t be able to get you!”

Lu Han ignored the angry voice on the other side of the door, knowing he had too little time left to care about it. Instead, he turned to look at Sehun, who was still suffering but looking at him with confusion all written on his face. He needed to do this quick, so no questions could be asked.

“I need you to give me a dollar.”

Sehun furrowed his eyebrows at this, “W-Why?”

“Just give me a dollar, don’t ask questions.”

“No! You need to tell me what’s going on!” Sehun yelled angrily, backing away from Lu Han as the dark blonde haired boy tried to reach out for him.

Lu Han sighed loudly at this, “It’s… It’s too complicated, you won’t understand.”

“If I won’t understand, then explain! Don’t let me in the dark!” Sehun said with a sad grin, “And if you think I don’t understand that a dream buying a dream will cause something, then you’re terribly wrong.”

Of course Sehun would be able to figure that out. The Oh Sehun he loved had always been clever, was always capable of seeing right through secrets and schemes. Most importantly, Sehun was once a dream seller himself. The rules were deeply imprinted in his unconscious, never to be erased.

“You won’t be buying any dream,” Lu Han said in a soft voice, own hands already looking around for a coin of his own, “it’s me who’s going to, in a sense, buy a dream.”

And with that, he handed Sehun a cold dollar, a dollar he had been keeping for such a long time, because it meant so much to him. The coin Sehun gave him burned the skin of his hand tenderly. He slowly moved his head to Sehun, giving the other a small kiss on the lips before speaking.

“Once upon a time, there was a dream seller,” Lu Han began while tears rolled down his cheeks, “who had a dream, but dreams and dream sellers can’t be together in the same body. It never goes well. But dream sellers are humans too, so they make mistakes too.” Lu Han put the coin on Sehun’s hand, “They make mistakes too.”

Lu Han wiped off the tears on his face before moving away from Sehun. There was no more time left to spill. There was no guarantee that this would work, but it was always worth the try.

“Did you remember what you said before, Sehun?” Lu Han said with a melancholic smile, “You said the beauty of some dreams lies in that they can never be reached.”

And with that, he held onto Sehun’s hand, gentleness swimming in his eyes as he looked at the other, before he grabbed the knife that was lying on one of the shelves. His teary eyes glanced at the sharp knife with a kind of sorrow that only he could comprehend.

“What? No! What are you trying to do?!” Sehun yelled as he tried to reach for the knife.

“Sehun-ah,” Tears rolled down again as he looked at Sehun, knife already pushed against his pale neck, “remember not to get too lost in your dream.”

The knife cut through his skin so terribly easily, and it did not even hurt the first few seconds. All he could feel was the warm coin still being held in his fingers, before the world turned dark.

☼ ☼ ☼

He looked through the window curiously, attracted by the endless rows of bottles with different colors of the rainbow. It felt kind of refreshing to look at it, before his eyes landed on the young man standing by the counter, busy writing something down. He seemed to be rid off any emotions, wearing an expression so distant that it made him shiver.

“Are you here to buy a dream?”

His eyes blinked in surprise at the sudden intrusion of a voice, catching his attention. He moved his head to his right, gaze landing on a slightly smaller young male who wore a gentle smile. He reminded him of someone, but he was not sure who.

“No, not really. I was just curious, and you?”

The boy with dark blonde hair shook his head slightly, eyes plastered to the scene in front of him, “Me neither. It’s too dangerous buying a dream that was never yours to begin with.”

He let the words of the other sink in, before giving a nod in agreement, “I think you’re right.”

The smaller male turned to look at him, warmth swimming in his eyes, “Excuse me, but do you happen to have a dollar with you?”

He looked at the other with surprise, causing the other to chuckle. Still, his hand darted into his pocket, revealing a dollar coin he always held close to himself. He was always very reluctant to show the coin to the world, because for some reason, the coin meant a lot to him. So he held onto the coin tightly, wrapped securely around his fingers but giving the other a glance of it.

“I only have one,” He said as he showed the coin to the other.

The other smiled at this, “Then it seems you already have a dream.”



Sooooo... *looks around* This what it, huh? Here is the last part lol!
Okay, I hope you enjoyed it :). It was not supposed to be all clear, as I said before. There has been a lot of things I put into this that means something, but it cannot really be explained. This ending was the ending I thought fit the most. I purposely let this end like this, leaving it somewhat open. As I said in the foreword, this will be the last hunhan story for me for a while. The baekyeol story that accompanies this one will be posted soon (link will be put here when it is posted here).
Dream sellers... This was just a story, of course, but I do think there is something akin in the real world to this. Dreams... Just what exactly do they really mean? We dream when we are sleeping, we dream when we are awake, and really, a dream can mean so many things. And sometimes... Sometimes we may be selling dreams, may be buying dreams. Who knows.
Nevertheless, thank you for reading!