It became pitch black in front of my eyes, as if all the lights in the world had been extinguished, and my limbs felt paralyzed as if crushed under dozens of tons of concrete. Even falling into a sand hell of a blistering desert under the scorching sun wouldn’t feel as agonizing as this.
“No.”
Kwon Jae-jin stubbornly shook his head.
He then tried to escape from Seo Ui-woo, who was comforting and soothing him, pushing him away from his chest and retreating to a corner of the bed.
“You’re saying no to you…!”
“…….”
“It’s not you… I… ah, damn…”
Kwon Jae-jin furrowed his brow in frustration. In the darkness of the turned-off bedroom, he concealed his expression and gasped for breath. For a while, he suffered alone, struggling to come back to his senses from the nightmare.
“Mr. Seo Ui-woo, I’m sorry… I just had a strange nightmare.”
When Jae-jin barely regained his composure, the first thing he did was apologize.
The deep darkness made it impossible to see Seo Ui-woo’s face across the bed. Only a sliver of moonlight, quietly shining in the deep dawn, allowed him to barely make out his silhouette.
However, the two eyes that shone in the pitch-black shadow were distinctly visible.
Their intense glow pierced the darkness like a spear, stabbing at Kwon Jae-jin. It felt like facing a nocturnal predator that was on the hunt.
“…You’re saying it’s not you? What do you mean by that?”
Seo Ui-woo asked in a lowered, calm voice.
His tone was dozens of times more threatening than if he had been shouting.
“What kind of dream did you have that’s got you so worked up? It’s unlike you, Jae-jin… You seem really startled.”
“…….”
“Did someone… die in your dream? Someone other than me?”
Seo Ui-woo chuckled. Then he gestured for Jae-jin to come closer by patting the pillow next to him. Kwon Jae-jin could not bring himself to approach hastily and remained frozen on the edge of the bed.
“It’s okay. I’m not trying to be a nuisance this time. I just want to comfort you, okay?”
Seo Ui-woo continued patting the pillow and then stopped, tilting his head slightly. His eyes flickered slyly before gradually calming down. The eerie feeling was wrapped up and suppressed, becoming tranquil and unapparent.
“I’m serious. I’ve spent my life not sleeping well, so I understand that feeling quite well.”
“…….”
“Should I give you some medicine? I have a variety of sleeping pills. And alcohol too. I’ve got many kinds.”
“Ah… no… I don’t need it…”
At last, Jae-jin’s tension released, and he slowly returned to his pillow, laying his head down and turning away from Seo Ui-woo.
“Mr. Seo Ui-woo… Medicine and alcohol are bad for the body. Get rid of all that.”
Seo Ui-woo naturally lay down behind him, pulling Jae-jin into an embrace.
“Should I? Should I throw them away?”
“…….”
“Now that I have Jae-jin, should I just get rid of everything else…?”
Kwon Jae-jin did not reply and closed his eyes, pretending to go back to sleep. He breathed slowly in and out, maintaining a nonchalant demeanor as if nothing was amiss.
He kept telling himself that it was just a silly thought that led to the silly dream, which would be forgotten upon waking.
But the voice of Seo Ui-woo he heard in his dream remained unforgettable.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧