Jisung
The 1st time
The argument with his father had gone exactly as expected.
Exhausting.
"You're not getting any younger, Jisung. You need to start thinking about the family business-and marriage."
"I am thinking," Jisung replied flatly, phone pressed to his ear as he walked down the hallway. "And my answer is still no."
"This isn't a choice."
"It is for me."
A pause.
Tense. Heavy.
"You will regret this," his father said.
Jisung let out a quiet sigh.
"I doubt that."
And with that, he hung up.
Silence.
He ran a hand through his hair, irritation still lingering as he made his way toward the exit. Honestly, conversations with his father felt more draining than any mission he'd ever been on.
"...Marriage," he muttered. "As if."
He barely had time to take another step-
Thud.
Someone ran straight into him.
Jisung blinked.
"...You okay?" he asked automatically.
The boy in front of him looked completely startled-like a deer caught in headlights.
"I-uh-yes-I mean-sorry-I didn't-" he stammered, stepping back quickly, face slightly flushed.
Jisung paused.
And then-
Oh.
Well, that was unexpected.
At first glance alone, something about him just... clicked.
Jisung tilted his head slightly, studying him for a second longer than necessary.
"...Be careful," he said.
"Y-Yes," the boy replied quickly, stepping aside like he wanted to disappear into the floor.
Jisung walked past him.
But for some reason-
The irritation from earlier was gone.
Replaced by something lighter.
"...Interesting," he murmured.
And just like that-
His day had gotten better.
The 2nd time
Jisung had almost forgotten about the boy.
Almost.
"Are you even listening?" Felix asked, nudging him.
"No," Jisung replied honestly.
Felix sighed dramatically.
"Wow. I'm hurt."
"You'll survive."
Beside them, Seo-wu chuckled.
"He always does this. Don't take it personally."
For context-
Felix: loud, dramatic, and somehow always involved in things he shouldn't be.
Seo-wu: calm, observant, and unfortunately very good at reading people.
Both of them were his closest friends.
And both were currently walking with him toward the garden after lunch.
"You've been distracted all day," Seo-wu noted. "Something on your mind?"
"Not really," Jisung said.
Which was technically true.
He just hadn't expected-
THUD.
"...Ah."
Felix blinked.
"...Did that guy just run into you?"
"Yes."
They all turned.
And there he was.
The same boy from earlier.
Looking just as panicked.
"Sorry!" the boy said quickly-before immediately running off again.
Silence.
Felix slowly turned to Jisung.
"...Do you attract people or something?"
"I'd rather not," Jisung replied.
Seo-wu hummed slightly.
"That's the same person, isn't it?"
"...Yeah."
Felix grinned.
"Ooooh. Repeat encounter. That's suspicious."
"It's not."
"Fate," Felix said dramatically.
"It's bad spatial awareness."
Still-
Jisung found himself glancing in the direction the boy had run off to.
"...Huh."
The 3rd time
This time, it was technically Jisung's fault.
He had his earphones in, music playing softly as he walked, half-focused on his own thoughts.
Which meant-
He didn't notice the group walking toward him.
Thud.
"Oh-sorry-!"
Jisung pulled one earbud out.
"...You again."
The boy froze.
He wasn't alone this time-two friends stood beside him, both looking equally surprised.
"I-I didn't see you," the boy said quickly.
"I didn't see you either," Jisung replied.
A pause.
"...This is the third time," he added.
"...That's not concerning at all," one of the friends muttered.
The other one looked way too amused.
"Maybe you should both just walk together at this point," he said.
"No," both Jisung and the boy said at the same time.
They paused.
"...That was weird," the boy said.
"Very."
Jisung glanced at him again.
Still flushed.
Still awkward.
Still-
Interesting.
"...Try not to make it a fourth time," Jisung said lightly.
"...I will try very hard," the boy replied.
Jisung almost smiled.
The 4th time
The café was supposed to be peaceful.
Keyword: supposed.
Jisung sat with Felix and Seo-wu, half-listening to their conversation while scrolling through his phone.
"And then I told him-"
Felix suddenly stopped.
"...Wait."
"What?" Seo-wu asked.
Felix pointed toward the counter.
Jisung followed his gaze.
And there-
"...You've got to be kidding me," Felix said.
Jisung sighed softly.
Because of course.
Of course he was here.
The boy.
Again.
This time looking like he was trying very hard to not exist.
"...He's avoiding eye contact," Seo-wu noted.
"Suspicious," Felix added.
"Or embarrassed," Jisung said.
Before they could say anything else-
The boy suddenly turned and rushed off.
"...Did he just run away?" Felix asked.
"Yes."
"...You're definitely the problem."
"I didn't do anything."
"Exactly. That's suspicious."
Jisung ignored them.
A few minutes later, he stood up to leave.
And just as he reached the exit-
Thud.
Silence.
Jisung closed his eyes briefly.
"...Fourth time," he said.
"...I was just thinking that," the boy replied.
They both paused.
"...You said that out loud."
"So did you."
"...Right."
Felix, somewhere in the background, was definitely enjoying this too much.
Jisung looked at the boy-really looked this time.
There was something...
Off.
Not in a bad way.
Just-
Different.
"...You should be more careful," Jisung said.
"I will," the boy replied quickly.
A pause.
"...Bye."
"Bye."
The boy turned-
And nearly walked into the door.
"I'm fine!" he said immediately.
Jisung watched him leave.
Then-
"...Yeah," Felix said, walking up beside him. "That's not normal."
"No," Seo-wu agreed quietly. "It's not."
Jisung didn't respond right away.
His gaze lingered on the door.
"...Interesting," he said softly.
Because one thing was certain.
This-
Wasn't coincidence anymore.
°Back to Bae Yeon-Hwa°
☆~~~~~☆
3:00 AM.
Yeon-hwa woke up suddenly.
"...What."
He blinked at the ceiling, his brain still half asleep.
Then it hit him.
"...Oh."
A pause.
"...Oh."
His face immediately turned red.
"I-no. Nope. We are NOT thinking about that," he muttered, sitting up and aggressively running a hand through his hair. "Absolutely not. That did not happen."
Because the dream he had just woken up from was-
"...Why was he there?" Yeon whispered in horror.
He buried his face in his pillow for a few seconds.
"Okay. Forget it. Forget everything. I am deleting that from my memory."
(He was not going to mention the details. Ever. Not even to himself.)
After a moment, he sighed and got out of bed, walking toward the window to clear his head.
"...I need fresh air."
He pulled the curtain aside-
And froze.
"...Huh?"
Right outside his apartment building, under the dim streetlight-
Someone was lying on the ground.
"...Is that person... sleeping?"
Yeon squinted.
"...No, that's not normal."
He hesitated.
This could be dangerous.
This could be suspicious.
This could also be none of his business.
"...I'm going back to bed," he decided, turning away.
He took one step.
Stopped.
Turned back.
"...No, I can't just ignore that."
He groaned quietly.
"Why am I like this?"
After making sure his parents' room was silent-and that his younger sister was asleep-Yeon quietly slipped out of the apartment and made his way downstairs.
The night air was cold.
Colder than expected.
"...Okay, this was a bad idea," he muttered, hugging himself slightly as he approached the person.
Up close, it was worse.
The person was lying directly on the cold ground, unmoving.
"...Hey?" Yeon said, crouching down. "Are you okay?"
No response.
"...Hello?"
Still nothing.
Yeon frowned and gently shook the person's shoulder.
"Hey, wake up."
Nothing.
"...Did they pass out?"
His expression shifted slightly.
Then-
Something clicked.
"...Wait."
His eyes widened just a little.
"I'm a Dream Hunter now."
A pause.
"...Oh."
A longer pause.
"...Oh."
Curiosity sparked immediately.
"I mean... I should help," he said, nodding to himself. "And also... test my powers. For completely responsible reasons."
(Definitely not because he was curious.)
"...Okay. Think. How do I do this again?"
He closed his eyes, trying to remember the lessons from years ago.
"Focus... connect... enter..."
"...Or something like that."
"...This is very vague."
After a few failed attempts and increasingly frustrated muttering-
"...Oh! Right."
He placed a hand on the person's forehead.
"Let's try this."
Everything shifted.
The world around him dissolved-
And then reformed.
"...Whoa."
Yeon blinked.
He was standing in... a forest?
"...Okay. Cool. Very fantasy. I like it."
A rustling sound came from behind him.
"...I do not like that."
He turned-
And immediately jumped back.
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
A strange, shadowy creature lunged at him.
"NOPE-!"
Yeon instinctively dodged, nearly tripping over his own feet.
"Okay-okay-calm down-fight it-fight it-"
"...HOW DO I FIGHT IT?!"
The creature lunged again.
Yeon panicked-
And somehow, a weapon formed in his hand.
"...Oh."
A split second.
"...OH."
"OKAY, THAT WORKS-"
He swung wildly.
It worked.
The monster dissolved.
Yeon stood there, breathing heavily.
"...I meant to do that."
A pause.
"...I did not mean to do that."
After that, things only got worse.
He got lost.
Very lost.
"Why does every path look the same?!" he complained, walking in circles.
Another monster appeared.
"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF YOU?!"
He fought it.
Badly.
But he won.
Then a third one showed up.
"DO YOU GUYS NOT HAVE A SCHEDULE OR SOMETHING?!"
By the time he defeated the third creature, Yeon was tired, annoyed, and questioning his life choices.
"...This better be worth it."
Finally-
He found it.
A glowing core, floating in the center of a clearing.
"...Oh. That's definitely important."
He approached it carefully.
"...Please don't explode."
It didn't.
So he hit it.
Crack.
The core shattered.
The dream began to collapse.
"...Yes! I did it!"
The ground trembled.
"Okay, maybe less collapsing-"
Suddenly-
The ground beneath him broke.
"...Wait."
"...WAIT."
"WHY AM I FALLING-?!"
Darkness.
Then-
Another world formed.
Yeon hit the ground.
"...Ow."
He looked up.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
A completely different environment surrounded him now.
"...Another dream?"
Realization hit.
"...That dream had layers?!"
Before he could process further-
A monster roared.
"...Of course it did."
The second layer was worse.
Stronger monsters.
More chaos.
And Yeon?
"WHY DID I DO THIS AT 3 AM?! I SHOULD BE SLEEPING!"
At one point, he ran in the wrong direction for five minutes.
At another, he accidentally summoned his weapon backwards.
"WHY IS THIS SO COMPLICATED-?!"
But eventually-
After a lot of running, fighting, and complaining-
He found the second core.
"...Finally."
This time, he didn't hesitate.
"Goodbye."
CRACK.
The core shattered.
Everything collapsed.
Yeon opened his eyes-
Back outside his apartment building.
"...I'm alive."
The person on the ground stirred slightly.
"...Oh no."
Yeon immediately panicked.
"NOPE."
He turned and ran.
Quietly.
Quickly.
As if nothing had happened.
Back in his room, Yeon collapsed onto his bed.
"...What just happened."
He stared at the ceiling.
"...That dream had layers?"
A pause.
"...I only remember learning about one core..."
Another pause.
"...I feel like I just unlocked something I wasn't supposed to."
He turned over, pulling his blanket over his head.
"...I'm never leaving my room again."
(He absolutely would.)