It was the first time Sunggyu had taken a girl home.

And, as so often, he was confused by his own actions but tonight he had decided to trust his feelings for once.
Like every other night he had thought of his friends, or of one friend in particular who he had left behind more than a year ago. So, when he was confronted with an unpredictable situation and a choice he had to make, he thought of what Sungjong would have wanted him to do...

It was raining in the streets of Osaka. And it was dark. Raindrops broke the white and orange light of street and paper lamps, making the scenery dim and filling it with the calming, loud whispers of them hitting the ground one after another.
Sunggyu liked the atmosphere after each concert and rainy weather was even better. He was sweaty from jumping around on stage, singing, interacting and enjoying the music and the music lovers that were cheering for him.
Every concert day was a mental exercise and challenge to him. When he got up from a sleep, that was not seldomly interrupted by a nightmare, he first of all felt like . He felt lonely and poor and nothing made sense when he opened his eyes, gazing at the cloudy sky outside – the sky that arched over a city and a life that was not really his, he thought.

The nightmares were eating him up. Both of them. And he didn't know which was worse.

One of them he called the 'old nightmare', the one he had known for a long time. It brought him back to that night when Seoul had been burning in Korean War and to his self back then. The running, fearful Sunggyu. Going through it again was like hell but when he woke up, he knew that he was this person no more – so much at least.

The other nightmare though was different. It wasn't even what people would call a typical nightmare, probably.
No, this nightmare was sweet and lighthearted. It was like he was taken to heaven for a few minutes one more time, feeling that person's touch again. Smelling his hair, his lips and kissing his neck. And Sunggyu never wanted to wake up again. But he did. Now there was no relief awaiting him, just realization.
He was here, Japan, Osaka, far from Busan were his joy was unreachable to him.
Both dreams, either sorrowful and cruelly beautiful, triggered the same symptoms, so he had decided to call them both nightmares.
He didn't cry anymore. He just lay still, letting the memories subside and his breath calm down. Then he showered and prepared himself for another day. He knew that he would feel better once he ate something and spoke to someone. The first task was to get out of his house and meet people.

But after a concert everything was different. He felt fulfilled, fraught with music. He liked the energy of a moving concert just as much as he loved the content quietness that followed.
Humming to himself, he stepped into the rain toward his manager's car.
There were no fans to greet anymore. It was just himself and it was good.

"Good evening, Sunggyu-san!“, the manager said the way he always said things with a little more excitement than necessary. He sat behind the steering wheel, smiling politely although Sunggyu knew that his manager didn't like it when he spend hours into the night with the band after concert.
If the front seats were not separated by a camouflage from the back seats, Sunggyu most likely would not have come across the sight that met his eyes now as he attempted to get into the back of the car.

Sunggyu opened the door and paused immediately. The rear bench seat was partially occupied already.

"Is everything alright, Sunggyu-san?“, the manager asked. His voice was polite but his fingertips were tapping the steering wheel impatiently.
Sunggyu's eyes went over the sleeping girl in surprise but also slight amusement.
Her incredibly long red hair (it was not red like fire, more red like poppy) fell undulating over her shoulders, curling at the tips. She was skinny but not thin or bony. Accept for her rather pale complexion she looked quite healthy and, well, tired.

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong.“, Sunggyu replied eventually and got into the car, squeezing himself awkwardly onto the rear bench seat without waking the odd passenger up.

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