Oneiric Tryst

25. Down Bad

Once Seonghwa had awoken and it was time for Hongjoong to go home, he had received a message from the officer that said to take care. While Hongjoong ate and prepared to go to sleep, he texted some more with Seonghwa. The other man was on his way to visit his grandma as well, but not too much worry sounded from his voice. Rather, he seemed to bask in satisfaction still, despite their time only happening in a dream.

That was - what they agreed on - the weirdest part about all of this. The fact that they had developed such an affectionate bond only through the oneiric world beyond reality.

As he read through Seonghwa's rambling with a smile on his lips, Hongjoong pondered suggesting a meeting in real life. Apart from their busy schedules, nothing kept them from it. Only the slight inhibition to face as actual people.

The dream world dictated them no rules, they could be idealised versions of themselves there. But whether they would get along in real life was an entirely new chapter in both of their books.

Hongjoong didn't ask. He didn't want to occupy Seonghwa's mind with it and possibly ruin their current development.

When Seonghwa took off to the nursing home, Hongjoong told him to be safe. Inwardly, he already prepared for another nightmare worse than the last few. Seonghwa had made rapid progress in getting more used to them and defeating them with his lucid tricks. The only setback he suffered repeatedly came from the foul curse that the abusive woman put on him.

Hongjoong laid in his bed for a while, thinking about last night and about how he and Seonghwa should interact in the future. Despite having arrived at his destination by now, Seonghwa didn't write him a message anymore, so after a while of mulling things over and the occasional smiles breaking out on Hongjoong's lips, he soon fell asleep.

-

The first thing Hongjoong did after waking up was checking for new messages from Seonghwa. When he found his inbox gapingly empty, he rushed out of bed with new determination.

Hongjoong got ready even quicker than normal today. As soon as he finished his breakfast, he was out of the door and on his way to work. Tension clung to him like a film of sticky goo he couldn't get himself rid of. He was both nervous about Seonghwa's condition tonight and hoped that he would be well and playful as always.

San and Mingi had their scheduled meeting tonight and crawled into the left cell together already. As Hongjoong set up everything for Seonghwa, he spotted a new paint flower on San's desk. He chuckled at it.

Seonghwa couldn't fall asleep. For hours Hongjoong sat on his chair, rocking himself back and forth while he chewed on his nails. He had texted Seonghwa twice already and checked the clock anxiously every five minutes. After no progress in six hours, Hongjoong was about to pack up and check if he could find out more about that grandma. Just when he stretched out his hands to collect his report, however, the monitor came to life. Slow and lethargic, it displayed Seonghwa's heart rate.

Tunnel, predator, darkness.

Hongjoong was on his feet faster than a bolt of lightning. He raced into his own cell and slammed the door shut to collapse right onto the ground. If not for the cushions, his elbow would have taken a painful hit.

In limbo, Hongjoong rushed through the process of thinking up a flashlight and his gun. He loaded extra many bullets to shred that damn dream grandma like a piece of cheese.

When he stepped into the eerie icy darkness of the tunnel Seonghwa had dreamed up, the first thing that Hongjoong noticed was his breath in the air.

No light breached the gloomy tunnel, but Hongjoong's mind mapped it out to be on some faraway country road leading through a little hill. It was just long enough that his flashlight wouldn't reach until the end of the arched stone walls as he clicked it on.