#f: the grand budapest hotel | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

slightlymore · 2 years

Text

if I lose my mind

dream sorter haechan x dreamer fem reader

genre: fantasy/tim burton-esque??, romance, smut, angst!!, fluffy moments

warnings: nightmare content (tame), strong language, explicit sexual content [oral f, fingering, mutual masturbation, spit, cum play, dirty talk, manhandling, overstimulation, biting, hickey m]

other characters: taeyong and doyoung as yn’s friends; mark, chenle and taeil as haechan’s friends, jisung

words: 14.5k

you’ve never cared much for your dreams. they were always confusing nonsense you forgot in the morning. this until you started to have the same dream again and again and again: a lobby, pleasant elevator music in the background, many golden doors, a handsome young man welcoming you and asking where you wanted to go that night. his name was haechan and apparently you weren’t supposed to know that, let alone fall in love with him.

______

Third time's a charm, they say, and the third time you had the same eerie dream of the same hotel lobby, even your careless ass had to ask yourself what the hell was going on.

You’ve never thought much of your dreams - just a bunch of scenarios your brain was trying to get rid of information through.

But lately, eyes still full of sleep after waking up in a cold sweat, you'd wonder what the hell you've been watching for your brain to create the same scenario again and again during the night.

"And it's all purple," you recounted, telling your friend Taeyong the story of your recurring dream for the third time that week. "A hotel lobby and this little music in the background. It's not scary at all but it's weird. I've been dreaming of the same scene so many times in a row now."

"Yeah," he hummed as if seriously concerned. "Maybe it's class and the workload. It's been a bit stressful lately."

You were walking towards the university building not actually seeing where you put your feet. "Well, it's not like we're learning anything about hotels and purple," you replied then chuckled to yourself.

"Maybe you're falling asleep listening to specific music which translates into elevator tunes in your brain."

You sighed. "Maybe I should stop drinking Red Bulls."

"Anyway, the dreams will eventually stop," Taeyong assured you.

You nodded, starting to feel a bit uneasy at Taeyong’s serious replies. You wanted him to perhaps laugh at your weird dreams with you. That way they would have become stupid laughing matter. Yet, Taeyong just made you more nervous.

And, no matter how much he could assure you that the dreams will eventually stop, when you went to sleep that night you found yourself opening your eyes to that same damned hotel lobby.

Same shit as every night. You scratched your eyebrow then huffed. Then you crossed your arms.

Was it normal to be mad inside your dreams? Because you were mad.

Wait, were you lucid dreaming? Because you were pretty aware that it was a dream.

Your eyes scanned the already familiar room and you counted what you could remember: purple floors, purple walls, pink counter, green wall? Your eyebrows furrowed and you took a step forward.

There was no green accent wall before.

"Oh, this wall was added today so I can pop up better against it," a voice suddenly vibrated into the air and you jumped in place, an embarrassing sound coming from your chest.

On your side was standing a man. He was looking at the wall as if analyzing it from your perspective.

Then he looked at you. His eyes were dark and amused.

You gulped.

He was wearing a bellboy uniform, all purple, and his hair was an uncertain mix of curly pink. His pouty lips stretched in a smile and he walked behind the baby pink counter.

"Like this," he explained, posing against the green wall, one hand on the hip as if to explain the eccentric colour choice of the place. It actually looked pretty well together, you found yourself thinking for a second.

Then you shook your head. It felt like being in that Grand Budapest Hotel movie but directed by both Tim Burton and Hayao Miyazaki at the same time.

"What the actual fuck is going on?" you asked when you found your voice.

The man straightened his back while clearing his throat and he put his gloved hands on the counter in a proper pose. "Good night. This is the Dreaming Lobby. Where do you want to go this time?" he recited.

You blinked at him then looked around as if a filming crew could come out any time soon to yell "hidden camera prank".

But it was impossible.

Because you were dreaming. Dreams were allowed to be weird, right?

"Who greets with good night?" you walked over trying to read the cards on the counter but they were all gibberish.

You felt like a Sim. It was weird the man wasn’t talking in Simlish.

Maybe he was.

"This is a dream. Right?" you added.

The man's customer service smile didn't leave his face. "It's night so I wish you a good night,” he explained.

He didn't comment on the possibility of you being in a dream or not.

"Well, that's what you say at the end of things. When you leave or when you put someone to sleep," you tried to reason with him.

"At the end, when you leave, I say good morning."

You closed your eyes for a moment as if your head hurt. "What's this place?"

"The Dreaming Lobby."

"Who are you?"

The man hesitated for a second as if not expecting that question. "The Dream Sorter?"

His voice sounded unsure. You’d think dream people were confident in their weirdness.

You inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to oxygenate your brain. "So you sort dreams?"

The man shook his head. "I sort you into dreams."

"So it's your fault I've been having this dream for the fourth time now?"

The bell boy's eyebrows furrowed and his customer service face disappeared.

"What do you mean?" His real voice was so different from the polite tune he put on that you shivered.

You crossed your arms on your chest. "I keep dreaming of this purple lobby and this shit ass music in the background."

"You dream," the man gulped silently, "me too?"

You eyed his adam apple move for a moment then your gaze went back to his face. He looked calm and panicked at the same time.

"No. This is the first time seeing you," you replied, giving him a suspicious look.

The other nodded soon after as if relieved. "This must have been some error on my part. You're not supposed to remember this place when you wake up. You won't dream of this again. I apologize,” he recited quickly, back to his trilly tone.

"What do you mean remember? You're telling me every night I come to this place and I don't remember it when I wake up?"

The man made a face as if regretting talking too much. But then his expression relaxed just as quickly. "Precisely."

"You know me?"

The bell boy leaned on his elbows and put his face on his palms.

His eyes were calm and soft like a cat’s. You were expecting to hear purring any time soon.

"You always come in, look around with furrowed eyebrows and ask what this place is. Then you choose a door and you leave. Then again and again and again every night,” he explained. "You never ask me who I am, though," he mumbled to himself.

"What?" you asked, not having heard him properly over your thoughts making you dizzy while trying to understand that damned dream.

"No, it's okay. You'll forget about this anyway. Don't worry,” he waved one hand in front of his face. “I'll make sure you don't remember this place again. You'll only remember the dreams you actually have after you walk through those doors."

You looked at his polite face then at the doors he indicated. They were big golden doors, 3 on one side of the room and 3 on the other.

"Which door is the waking up one?"

The man pondered. "I don't know. You just need to choose and see where that takes you."

You gave him a last look, and with weak legs, you walked towards the closest one.

The handle was cold and you took in just how huge and expensive they looked. You expected the door to be very heavy so you almost tripped when you pulled. A silent scream erupted from you and you felt like going blind because of the light. It engulfed you all and you woke up gasping in your bed. Your chest was shaking with your heavy breath and when you passed one hand on your face and you felt sweat.

The man told you you'd forget that dream yet his perfect face was burned inside your eyelids.

_________

As soon as your back disappeared behind the golden door, Haechan exhaled deeply, feeling his knees wobbly as every time he'd see you.

But that was routine.

This time something else happened.

He passed one hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating too fast for his liking. His brain was working just as fast trying to make sense of that exchange.

Recurring dreams? Of course. It was possible if your subconscious needed that. Dreams after all were realities each person created for themselves. Not even him could tell what one would find behind one of those doors: a nice dream or a nightmare.

But not once he'd heard of a Dreamer remembering the Lobby before.

There could be only one reason why a Dreamer would remember it. But Haechan didn’t want to think about it.

Lost in his thoughts he almost missed the ding of the elevator and your figure appearing again.

What the hell were you doing back in the same night?

Shit.

He put his best smile on.

"Good night. This is the Dreaming Lobby. Where do you want to go this time?"

He was used to faking it after all. That was the main training part. Act as if you see the Dreamer for the first time even if you've seen them every single night for years. He was a pro at it - being fake. Top of his class. He smugly accepted the trophy of being the best fake bitch.

Your eyes scanned him and the surroundings as usual.

Then your eyes locked and he could see the way you looked at him.

Not as if seeing him for the first time like usual.

"This can't fucking be," you whispered.

Haechan's guts felt like dropping.

"You said I'd stop remembering this," you walked the distance separating Haechan from you.

Your voice sounded mad but Haechan learned to sense fear underneath that.

He panicked, unsure if showing you how shocked he was as well or gaslighting you.

Why were you remembering the Lobby? No. Fuck the Lobby.

Why were you remembering him?

Then your eyes fell on his chest.

"Haechan?" you read the little shiny tag. The man's eyes widened and he was quick to cover it with his hand.

"How did you understand that?"

"You're asking me questions? I woke up in the middle of the night and I could remember everything and when I fell asleep again I ended up here again? And now I can read these too," you grabbed the pamphlets from the counter you couldn’t decipher before.

Feeling tired? Just sleep.

Falling teeth, falling down, or just falling: the guide.

Stop dreaming of going to school in underwear in 5 simple steps.

"Choose a door, please."

Haechan's voice became suddenly low and very grave.

You lifted your eyes from the papers to see his serious expression.

"What?"

"Choose a door and dream. You need to get out of here. Quick."

"Wait!" you tried to stop him but he was already walking around the counter and his hands were on your arms, urging you to walk towards a random golden door.

"Wait a second-," you mumbled.

He opened it and pushed you inside.

Haechan's hands were trembling when he grabbed the phone and a lazy voice picked up.

"What do you want?"

"Listen, I hate hearing from you but I need help."

The man on the other side of the line groaned and Haechan could almost see the way Chenle rolled his eyes. "What? My Dreamer is about to come. I’m busy."

"My Dreamer remembered the Lobby. Four times."

"Shit," the other's tone changed. "I'll put you through with the Boss."

Haechan bit his lower lip.

He didn't add that you were remembering him too.

__________

That morning you chose to not tell Taeyong everything about the crazy dreaming night you had. After that man, Haechan you remembered he was called, pushed you past a door, you had one of the worst nightmares of your life.

"I was driving in the middle of nowhere and it was night. Perhaps raining too. And in front of me suddenly a figure appeared and I yelled and hit the brakes but instead of crashing I looked to the passenger seat and the figure was there and I yelled again and woke up," you told Taeyong only the last dream.

"Fucking hell. You must indeed be very stressed. Maybe you were sleeping weirdly. If you're hot or if you had food close to when you go to bed it's common to have nightmares. If you sleep on your back too. You might even end up having sleep paralysis-"

"Okay, that's enough." You didn't want Taeyong to fuel your dreams even more with those scenarios. “How do you even know all of that stuff?”

"No lobby dream though? That's an improvement,” he ignored your question with a smile.

You remained quiet. For some reason, you felt weird to share such vivid dreams with him. It sounded too crazy.

Haechan said you would always end up there, in the Lobby, and he'd help you choose a door, or a dream. Meaning he allegedly saw you night after night while you used to forget everything in the morning. That up until now. Did something shift?

What dream could that be? Should you start seeing a therapist?

The day ran quickly as you tried to not think of dreaming. Or the way the sun kept sliding away underneath the horizon making you dread the moment you'd have to go to bed and sleep.

The thought of having another confusing encounter with the lobby man and a nightmare afterwards was terrifying.

Not that he looked bad or scary or anything. He was a rather pleasant-looking man, even handsome. Hell, he was a dreamy man, pun intended.

But the recurring dream was too confusing for you to enjoy any of its happenings. You had to understand what was going on first.

You thought you could skip one night of sleep that night for your own sanity, but as soon as you put your head on the pillow the tiredness got the best of you.

You opened your eyes to the sound of an elevator ding and its doors opening.

Usually, you’d already be in the Lobby. That night, though, you woke up in the elevator. The hue of purple and lime green came first through the doors sliding to the sides, before you actually saw that damned room.

"Good night. This is the-

"You can cut it," you stopped Haechan from finishing his usual line.

The man was at his usual spot behind the counter, his open lips frozen around the vowel. "Whatever you are doing, it's not working. I'm still remembering everything."

You walked towards him and eyed the pamphlets as if expecting something new to pop up but they were the same. Then you looked at his name tag - Haechan. Then you locked eyes with him. He closed his mouth. You furrowed your eyebrows analyzing his features. You had no idea if he had moles before or if that place birthed new details for you to notice every time.

"I had the most terrifying nightmare last night," your tone was accusatory.

"I am aware."

"You-," you stopped and took one step back. "What do you mean you are aware? Can you see my dreams?"

Haechan hesitated. "Yes? I am a Dream Sorter."

"You see in my brain when I sleep?" you were dumbfounded.

Then you became mortified just as quickly, your eyes losing focus as you realized: the list of wet dreams you've had before flashing before your eyes making you almost dizzy.

Haechan seemed to have understood what you were thinking about because he cleared his throat and looked elsewhere.

"I am sorry I shoved you into a dream like that last night. Please choose one door by yourself calmly this time."

"Oh no, I am not going into one of those."

Haechan blinked at you. "What?" He visibly didn’t expect you to say that.

You blinked back, lifting your chin as if daring him to push past one door again if he had the balls.

"I am staying here."

Haechan sighed as if to compose himself and he put on the little customer service smile you were growing to find annoying. "I am afraid you can't do that. You need to choose one door to have a dream or to wake up," he indicated both options with his palms like a scale.

"Or," you stepped back, turning around the room as if about to explore, "I can hang out with you here until I understand what the hell is going on."

"Y/N," he said, dropping the fake smile and walking around the counter to get to you.

Your name on his lips took you by surprise.

"How do you know my name?"

"I know everything about you," he cut it short. "Please, just go into dreams until I figure this out. It's dangerous for you to be here too long."

You looked him up and down.

"Are you- what are you anyway?"

He blinked, taken by surprise. "A man. I know I'm gorgeous and all but like-"

"No, I mean, are you real? A human?"

Haechan scoffed once. "Unbelievable. Is this what you want to know? Touch me and see for yourself."

You lifted one hand but hesitated. The man grabbed it and gently pushed your palm against his chest.

You gulped, eyes trained on the way your fingers could feel the fabric of his uniform and the heart beating underneath. His hand was warm and soft. A real human hand.

Then you slid it up on his chest until reachin his jaw, feeling the very short stubble growing, and then you poked his cheek with one finger.

Haechan closed the eye above the cheek you touched.

"Are you done?"

You touched his hair. It was very fluffy and a bit damaged.

"This is not your real colour."

"No shit Sherlock. Who comes out of the womb with faded pink hair?"

"So you're a real human. Like a human from my real world."

Haechan bit his lower lip. "Classified information."

"Classified information my ass. If you explain this place maybe I can understand what's going on and help you too. Given your reaction, I understand that me remembering this place is causing you serious issues."

"Listen. I appreciate your help. But I can deal with this on my own. Please just go inside a dream."

"You're coming with me or I'm not going."

Haechan's eyes rounded. "What? You’re such a-"

"You heard me. I'm not risking getting into a nightmare alone."

"I can't-,"

"Then I'll stay here. Forever. You’ll probably lose your job or whatever, right? Well, I don’t care."

"You're so fucking annoying," he shook his head and headed back to the counter to get something. It was a cellphone.

"Uhm rude? You're literally a hotel bellboy and I'm apparently your customer."

"I think we're past that formality at this point," he turned around and opened his palms. "Well? Where to?"

__________

You opened your eyes to a dark forest. It was cold and wet and you almost slipped as you took a step back. You hit a wall with your blades and you yelped turning around.

"Calm down. You almost broke my nose with that hard-ass head you got."

It wasn't a wall. It was Haechan.

You felt weak. Haechan was actually with you in your dream.

"It worked!" you yelled.

The man sighed at your excitement.

"This means it's all real. You're actually a Dream Sorter. The Lobby is real. I'm lucid dreaming. Am I lucid dreaming right now? Or am I shifting? Is this shifting? Am I moving realities when I dream?"

Haechan let you recite your anxious monologue for a moment, watching your face go through all sorts of emotions at the same time.

"If this is lucid dreaming it means I can just create the dream I want to?" you kept going.

He watched you close your eyes with hands clasped together under your chin as if praying and he scoffed.

“Are you trying to create something right now?”

When you opened your eyes and looked around nothing changed.

"It's more complicated than that. Let's go,” Haechan continued, seeing your disappointment.

You looked at his back as he started to walk the dirt path in the forest and you noticed he had different clothes - dark jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket instead of the obnoxious purple uniform.

"Where are we going?" you sprinted a bit to catch up with him.

"I don't know. This is your dream."

Then you noticed his hair, a dark cold brown, longer in the back as to create a short mullet.

"Why did you change appearance?"

Haechan passed one hand through his fringe as if he didn’t know he didn’t have pink hair anymore. "You did this."

"I did? No, I didn't."

"It's your dream, baby. You did this all. Maybe you like bikers and brunettes better."

The thought of your subconscious being open to Haechan made you anxious. And that baby just added to it.

“You also changed appearance,” he pointed out and you stopped in place. You were wearing a white thin sleeping gown like those creepy women in horror movies. You had no idea why that and not a cute outfit like Haechan.

"Wow, you're literally walking inside the deepest parts of me right now," you reflected, starting to walk again and looking around the forest.

"I'm honoured. There are many deep parts of you I'd like to be in but this one is also good."

You stopped in place. "Oh my God. You didn’t just say that."

Haechan chuckled at your expression and lifted his palms in front of himself. "Sorry. This is the personality you're giving me in your dream."

“That’s not true.”

“Unfortunately it is. I am whoever you want me to be right now.”

"You're fucking with me."

"Not yet."

You ignored his smirk. "You're lying. This is probably just you being you. I can't possibly give you-," you indicated his whole being, "-all of this." You felt your whole face on fire.

"Well, not consciously. You had so many dreams like this. Remember that dream of Taeyong wearing a choker and being on his knees begging-"

"Shut the fuck up! That dream never happened!"

Haechan laughed delightedly at your pointed finger.

"I was so disturbed by that, what the hell. He's my friend. I don't like him like that."

The bell boy - well, now a biker for the time being - didn't reply.

"Which means it's not me who creates dreams,” you continued your reflection. “They're just weird shit my brain creates randomly. Meaning you're not this way because I want to. It’s random. Case closed." You were satisfied with your brainstorm session.

"It's okay if you want to see my ass in tight pants. Don't excuse yourself."

"Stop with this attitude! Also, that would be a plothole. I'm not dreaming of you. You're a person with me in my dream. You have autonomy."

You finished the debate then looked around. The forest starting to look even darker than before. A chill travelled down your spine and you rubbed your arms as if to soothe yourself.

"What tells you I am a real person in your dream right now? Maybe I'm just a figment of your imagination," Haechan’s voice lowered. "You're dreaming after all,” he added.

You tried to see his face but it was half-hidden in the darkness of the forest.

"Haechan, don't scare me."

He turned around and you could see his eyes. He smiled.

"You're safe with me. But still, be careful. Don’t trust people in your dreams.”

That sounded like a warning.

Then a trill made the forest shift. It sounded like a bird or something else you were sure you've heard before.

Haechan looked around peacefully as if he was used to that, and then his eyes found yours again.

"Time to wake up."

You furrowed your eyebrows and yelled as he suddenly pushed you but no sound came out of you.

You woke up in your bed, head spinning and throat dry to the sound of your alarm.

__________

Taeyong said you looked mad all day. And well, how could you not be after Haechan pushed you like that to wake you up? You were still feeling like falling although you were walking.

When you were dreaming everything seemed so real that you wouldn't even question if that was reality or not.

But when you were awake, walking around campus with your friends and having lunch under the shining sun, you kept calling yourself stupid for believing there was actually a place where a man was sorting you into dreams.

And that man being the closest to an ideal man you’ve ever encountered.

Of course, it had to be a dream.

“Do you reckon day dreams are different from night dreams?” you asked after gulping your food.

Taeyong and Doyoung were focusing on their own lunch. “Huh?” the second asked.

“She’s been having weird dreams lately so she’s very into the topic,” Taeyong explained with a chuckle.

“Oh, really? I don’t think there’s any difference between sleeping and dreaming during the day and doing that at night,” Doyoung commented.

“We don’t reach REM during a nap though, do we? That’s the moment we have the most vivid dreams,” Taeyong questioned, gaining an impressed look from the other. “What? I took some classes about it.”

You whipped your phone to Google. Do we reach REM during naps? you typed.

The results made your eyes widen. “We do it if it's longer than 90 minutes.”

“Great. What do you need all this info for, though?” Doyoung had a sip of water.

“I’m going to see if I dream the same things during the day outside of REM or not,” you mumbled quickly, standing and grabbing your stuff.

The two men watched you a bit concerned. “Where are you going? We have afternoon class.”

“I’m going to nap less than 90 minutes so I won't reach REM and hopefully I don’t dream at all or I dream something else for once,” you filled them in quickly leaving so fast to almost throw them away from their chairs. “It’s an experiment!”

You weren’t a big napper. Not because you didn’t want to but because you didn’t have the luxury of time as a college student. But that issue was bigger than anything. You had to understand what the hell those dreams meant before you could go insane.

You enjoyed doing research for class and you decided to consider that situation just something to research.

Does Haechan and the Lobby exist? If yes, how? If not, how, and why were you having the same lucid dreams again and again?

The spot you chose for your nap wasn’t ideal but an empty class felt safer than a full one. You sighed, placing your head on your arms and closing your eyes after setting your alarm for 30 minutes, wondering if you were going to dream anything or if you were about to waste your time.

But you didn’t have to wonder too long, because almost in the blink of an eye you inhaled deeply and the ding of the elevator entered your ears.

Your eyes were still closed and you tried to feel your body.

You felt very real.

You begged all entities to just give you something else, anything else, besides that fucking Lobby.

But when you opened your eyes slowly it was there.

“Shit,” you mumbled.

You stepped outside the elevator feeling your blood pressure go up. “Fuck,” you repeated. “This can’t be real.”

It was the same place as ever. The purple walls and the green accent one. The golden doors, the pink counter.

The only thing missing was Haechan.

You looked at the pamphlets. How was it possible for you to dream the same writings again and again?

Looking around and seeing no sign of the Bellboy you walked around the counter taking his place. You eyed an old-style phone and some empty journals. You opened the drawers to see some snacks and a pair of white gloves. You took one to try it on. It fit you a bit loosely on the tips of the fingers.

You sighed. Why wasn’t Haechan there? So it was a random dream afterwards? Or was he in the bathroom or something?

Then you looked behind you, trying to see if there were any other hidden doors when the phone rang and you jolted.

You stared at it for a few seconds as if it were a poisonous snake. Ringing phones in horror movies and dreams weren’t lovely.

But then you inhaled and got closer. It was a dream after all.

You could wake up anytime. Right?

You picked it up and brought it to your ear, waiting.

“Good afternoon, this is Mark from the Data sector. We’ve been notified that your Dreamer is dreaming right now. As it rarely happens during the day we were trying to check if you got notified of it too and had taken the position yet or not.”

You felt your blood flow out of your body.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” the voice, you understood was some man called Mark, spoke again.

You brought one hand to your mouth so as to not make any noise.

“Haechan?” he repeated.

You put down the phone with a clang and you ran towards the first golden door you could see. The whiteness engulfed you all and you gasped, waking up in the classroom, your hair messy and dry mouth at the sound of your alarm. With trembling fingers, you tried to turn it off but for some reason, you couldn’t touch the phone screen well.

Then you realized it was because you were wearing a white glove.

__________

"Rule number fucking 1! No falling in love! Are you perhaps dumb?"

Haechan stared at Taeil’s furrowed eyebrows and his index finger hitting the desk in front of him.

As a Boss, he didn’t look intimidating at all.

"Rules are meant to be broken,” Haechan replied simply just for the sake of it.

"Say that again and I am spanking you."

Haechan lifted one eyebrow and opened his mouth to invite Taeil to go on.

"Don't you dare,” was the reply.

Haechan nodded once and zipped the imaginary zipper on his lips.

Taeil scoffed. “You don’t want to be funny right now, I assure you.”

Haechan sighed. “I am not in love. That makes no sense. Something else must have happened.”

“If a Dreamer remembers the Lobby and the Dream Sorter it means the Dream Sorter created some sort of connection with the Dreamer.”

Haechan listened to Taeil recite that while mimicking the words with his own mouth. He had to learn that by heart in school until he got sick.

“Well, I didn’t,” Haechan replied.

Taeil was his friend and that gave Haechan enough guts to act the way he wanted to. Unfortunately, their friendship also meant Taeil was an expert on Haechan shenanigans.

Taeil crossed his arms on his chest and waited.

“Okay, okay, listen. I am as shocked as you are, alright?” Haechan sat down in front of Taeil’s desk. “I have no clue what’s going on. Suddenly she came in and she could remember the Lobby then after a few nights she could remember me too. But I didn’t do anything, I swear.”

Taeil didn’t comment.

“I am doing my best! I haven’t been giving her any information. We don’t talk much. She's entering dreams. All good. I have things under control.”

“I think we just need to give your another Dreamer-”

“No!”

“Aha!” Taeil got up with an accusatory smile. “Why not?”

Haechan’s cheeks bloomed with dust of red. He got up as well.

“If you don’t care about her, why do you care if you get another Dreamer or not?” Taeil went on.

“I will fix this,” Haechan replied while touching his buzzing inner jacket pocket. “I promise. Just give me some time. But don’t give me another Dreamer.”

Taeil scoffed incredulously, hands on the hips. “What’s wrong?” he asked after seeing Haechan reading his texts.

“She’s here in the middle of the afternoon,” he mumbled.

Taeil’s fringe got a new wave from the sheer velocity of Haechan running away.

_________

You had no idea who you could talk to about that whole issue. Even if you showed the glove to someone they’d still think you were slowly descending into madness.

And you were feeling like that indeed.

But you knew you had no damn glove on your hand before going to nap.

The afternoon classes were forgotten as you stormed home, your mind busy only with dreams. Google had no answers for your questions and the fact that the afternoon nap gave you even more questions than answers drove you insane.

But what could you do? It’s not like you could stop sleeping. You’d probably die.

Turning around in your chair you almost didn't notice the ding of the elevator.

You inhaled deeply.

"Hey," Haechan was near the entrance that night as if waiting for you. He looked worried.

"Hey," you stepped out, a sudden wave of anxiety washing over you too.

Did he notice you came in the afternoon? You felt as if you got caught doing something you shouldn’t have.

"Are you having a good day?" you tried to sound casual. "I mean, night."

You walked towards the counter as if bored, while your brain was busy trying to understand if it was a good idea to tell him that you woke up with a glove. You felt your throat dry.

Then you realized he wasn't real anyway so there was no reason to feel anxious.

When you turned around to speak, Haechan's hands were lifted in front of himself. One has a white glove. The other was bare.

"Right! About that," you indicated his fingers with a fake chuckle. "Yeah, I took it by mistake this afternoon.”

He blinked as if the confirmation of his doubts still shocked him.

"I have no idea how it happened but at this point, I'm probably just going insane," you chuckled again, with no amusement in your voice, looking a bit crazy indeed.

"Y/N," Haechan said softly, taking a step further, but without touching you.

You felt your cheeks getting warm with tears. You wiped them off fast as if they enraged you.

"I just- don't understand anything and no one would believe me and I'm so exhausted all the time because I feel like I don't sleep well and my brain is all mush and during the day all I do is think of this damn lobby and you and I think I’m about to get real hysterical-"

"Shh, it's okay," Haechan hesitated then patted your arm a bit.

"No, it's fucking not. And I don't want to go into one of those doors and walk into a forest and have you push me awake like that ever again!"

"It's a Friday," he said all of a sudden.

"What?" you wiped your tears again, a bit annoyed at the interruption but also surprised.

"You can sleep in. You have no alarms on the weekends,” he explained.

"And how do you know that?"

"I told you I know everything about you. Let's find a nice dream, come."

You stared at Haechan's fingers grabbing your hand. His touch felt so nice that you wanted to hold onto it tighter.

"What about the glove? How is that possible?"

You let go of his hand.

Haechan stopped.

"I also-," you gulped. "I picked up a call,” you confessed. “They were saying your Dreamer was dreaming and they were asking you whether you were notified. This is no damn dream. This has to be reality."

The man sighed and turned around at your piercing gaze. "I can't tell you anything about it, Y/N. I am sorry."

He looked genuinely sad and apologetic.

You felt new frustrating tears sting your eyes but you exhaled. “I just wish to forget this place.” Then you walked around him and got past a random golden door.

__________

The forest this time was windy and rainy. You looked down at your body, the thin pyjamas soaked although you came in just a moment ago.

"Fuck," you looked around for something.

Then you pinched yourself like they do in the movies.

Then you slapped your face.

"Shit!" you soothed the cheek.

That was a real slap. And unfortunately, you didn't wake up.

A far away howling sound made your skin crawl so you just started to walk, trying to understand how to wake up alone.

What kind of dream was that? Was it possible for you to not have one single peaceful dream? You really missed feeling refreshed in the morning.

The howling got closer and you picked up the pace, your nude feet splashing in the dirt. Then the howling became a growl right behind you and you screamed, running as fast as you could. And when you reached a bottomless pit and your feet slipped, you could only turn around as you started to fall, your throat silent but sore because of the scream you couldn't hear.

A tight hug engulfed your body as you fell.

"I'm here. I'm here. It's okay. You're okay. You're safe," the soft lullaby started to fill your ears and you felt your chest full.

You slowly opened your eyes then your fingers gained sensitivity. They felt a thin material on a soft surface.

A shirt.

Then you felt the surface.

A human back.

Then you made sense of Haechan's body on top of you, his arms caging your head and yours hugging his torso.

"You're okay," he kept saying, eyes searching for yours.

His hair was a warm brown and his skin looked even more glowy than usual. Then you noticed the shining sun in the sky behind him and the flowers you were lying down between.

"What?" you finally spoke.

"Everything is fine," his voice sounded soft.

"Where are we?"

Haechan sighed and rolled over. It looked like he fell with you while trying to grab you.

"This is-,” he hesitated, “-my dream," he finally said.

You sat up. "What?"

Haechan passed one hand in his hair. His white summer shirt was open on his chest and although he was lying on grass it kept looking pristine.

"This is my dream. I took you in my dream," he said again.

You felt your brain hurt. "This can't be your dream. I am the one dreaming. You're in my dream."

"We're both dreaming."

"You can't be dreaming! You're not real!" you were on your feet, hands thrown around as if about to yell.

Haechan stood up as well. You locked eyes. His were black like carbons.

"Right? You're not real," your voice was becoming a little whine.

He looked away while standing and dusting his black slacks.

"What is this place? How is this possible? You have to explain now, Haechan. This is not funny anymore. I haven’t heard of dreams like these before.”

“Can’t you just trust me on this? Dreams are not something to understand with your logical mind. Just let go. I know you want to understand but nothing good will come out of it. Just-” he interrupted himself, “-just dream, please.”

You wrapped your body with your arms and sighed, looking around.

You didn’t know what to add.

“You keep having the forest nightmare because you’re confused.”

“Of course I am confused. Wouldn’t you be?”

The place was silent but peaceful. The greenery was luscious and the flowers looked like infinite dots on those hills.

A soft breeze made Haechan’s fringe gently wave on his forehead.

You bit your lower lip after calming a bit. “You look like Howl. That’s one of my favourite movies.”

His eyebrows furrowed and he looked down to eye his clothes as if he didn’t realize what he had on until that moment. Then he looked up to try and see his hair.

“Do you know who he is?” you asked.

“Yes, and this is still not my doing.”

“Well, you said this is your dream. This time it has to be you,” you shrugged and touched one flower to your side.

The place was so peaceful that your anger about the situation was diminishing. It wasn’t fair to take it on Haechan although he was keeping stuff away from you.

“I think it’s a mix of me and you.”

You looked back at him. “I did the place and you did the rest,” he added.

“Just tell me one thing. If you’re dreaming, it means you can wake up, right?”

Haechan bit his lower lip. “Maybe.”

You exhaled. “Okay. That’s the only thing I had to know. Won’t ask other questions.”

__________

Haechan couldn’t talk about that situation with anyone else. He caressed the only white glove that remained in the drawer with a mix of worry and excitement. Then he rested his hands on the counter and closed his eyes.

"Forgive me my weakness,” he mumbled to himself like a prayer. He had no idea who he was addressing to.

It was his fault. All of it. He was aware but couldn’t find the guilt in himself.

You were there, remembering him.

He has always dreamt of that, pun included.

But then he saw your expression that night and he wavered in his choice and delight.

And when you started to cry he felt sick. Of himself.

Would you forgive him if he told you it was all his fault you were in that situation?

“I just wish to forget this place,” you said and he felt his chest physically hurt.

He was the only one dying to see you night after night. After all, you didn’t know him and you were probably tired of seeing his face. He could tell that you were exhausted.

He let the heavy air out of his lungs and he was ready to grab the phone and ask to meet Taeil again. Perhaps having another Dreamer would be the right choice. He was holding onto you because of his selfish feelings, after all, causing your pain and confusion.

But then you screamed his name, his name out of all names that you could choose from.

His body has never moved faster.

“Haechan!” it was clear and loud, your arms extended towards him as your body fell into the dark pit.

He didn’t think twice.

Your body felt soft between his arms and he let that sensation as well as your scent guide the reality in its creation.

"I'm here. I'm here. It's okay. You're okay. You're safe.”

Your eyes opened and they looked so full of his image that he gulped.

No one looked at him like that before.

“You’re okay.”

"What?" you finally spoke.

Your hands palming his back made his skin shiver.

"Everything is fine,” he repeated.

"Where are we?"

He had to roll over before leaning down and just kissing you.

"This is my dream," he said.

Fuck. That wasn’t his dream. That was just his reality. He took you outside.

If anyone discovered that he was dead.

You sat up. "What?" You looked shocked.

"This is my dream. I took you in my dream," he said again, trying to not show the tremble in his voice.

"This can't be your dream. I am the one dreaming. You're in my dream."

"We're both dreaming right now."

"You can't be dreaming! You're not real!" you were on your feet, hands thrown around as if about to yell.

Haechan stood up as well. You locked eyes.

I am real. I am here and real. And madly in love with you.

"Right? You're not real," your voice was becoming a little whine.

Haechan had to look away.

"What is this place? How is this possible? You have to explain now, Haechan."

His brain was hurting. He wanted to yell as well. It was frustrating.

You wrapped your body with your arms and sighed, looking around. He wanted to hold you.

“You keep having the forest nightmare because you’re confused,” Haechan tried to give you the little information he could give.

“Of course I am confused. Wouldn’t you be?”

He was confused as well.

“Do you actually want to forget all of this? I can fix this. I can make you forget the Lobby and my existence. I can do that for you,” he was about to say but you talked before he could.

“You look like Howl. That’s one of my favourite movies”

Your expression was more peaceful and you were looking at his clothes. You’d always have that expression after a nightmare, he recounted although you couldn’t remember yourself: the face of someone scared but willing to show they’re tough through lightheartedness. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked down to eye his clothes as if he didn’t realize what he had on until that moment. Then he looked up to try and see his hair.

“Do you know who he is?”

“Yes, and this is still not my doing.”

“Well, you said this is your dream. It has to be you this time,” you shrugged and touched one flower to your side.

“I think it’s a mix of me and you.”

Could that be possible? Haechan tried to remember all the manuals he had to memorize.

You looked back at him as if waiting for more information. “I did the place and you did the rest,” he added.

He couldn’t tell you that was his reality - that all dreams people had were just his normal world.

Your eyes grew heavy again and Haechan waited.

“Just tell me one thing. If you’re dreaming, it means you can wake up.”

The silent implication was almost physical between you two: meaning he was real, meaning he was a real person asleep somewhere and dreaming just like you.

He wasn’t.

Not the way you meant it anyway.

But he was real for himself. And you were the dream for him.

Haechan bit his lower lip. “Maybe.”

You exhaled. “Okay. That’s the only thing I had to know. Won’t ask other questions.”

Then you turned around and started to walk in the flower field.

Haechan hesitated for a second then followed you.

The white clouds were huge and fluffy above you and the breeze was perfect.

You turned around all of a sudden, hands behind your back.

“How do you know I am real?” you asked.

Haechan asked himself that question often. They were all assured that Dreamers were real beings, some sort of gods with the power of creation, but how can any of them prove it? Where did these people come from? Why did they need a Dream Sorter? Haechan had no idea.

“I don’t know,” Haechan simply replied.

He started to work as a Dream Sorter to try and figure out all the secrets of his world in the first place. He still hasn’t figured out anything.

You stopped walking. “Well, I know I am real. Although this place is not.”

“I know that much too.”

“How are you both a real person and a Dream Sorter? Who sorts your dreams then?”

Haechan chuckled once. “I guess you do.”

Your expression faltered and your body suddenly became more transparent. You exchanged a last look before you woke up, leaving Haechan alone in his flower field.

__________

You do. You do. You do.

Haechan's voice rang in your ear for a while after you woke up. You rested your forehead on your palm for a moment.

Nothing made sense.

Then you looked around your sunlit room.

For the first time in a long time, you didn’t feel exhausted. That was actually a lovely dream and you could almost feel Haechans arms still around your waist.

You inhaled and exhaled slowly. Then you noticed the white glove on your nightstand.

You took it and for some reason, you brought it to your face. The fabric that used to touch his wrist had his scent. It engulfed you before just as the way he wrapped your body in his arms.

You could remember it clearly.

“Fuck,” you fell back on the bed, hitting the pillow with your head.

__________

Haechan slowly sat down at the table. On his right Chenle sat down as well and sighed, trying to place his food down the way he felt was the most optimal for consumption.

“Fucking hell. This dude has had only nightmares lately. I’ve almost died.” He was talking about his Dreamer, a boy that went by the name of Jisung. He was famous for forcing the weirdest realities upon the Dream Sorters and he had to change a bunch of them until Chenle said he could handle it.

Chenle bit on his apple before noticing Haechan’s empty expression. Other Dream Sorters started to gather as well, the gentle murmur filling the hall for breakfast.

“What’s wrong with you? Is your Dreamer still remembering the Lobby? I thought Taeil would force you to change them.”

Haechan tilted his head to the side without replying.

Chenle shrugged as if he had no force to deal with nostalgic people that day.

“Do you think Dreamers are real people?” Haechan asked after a moment.

“Who the hell cares? They’re making our world possible and if it’s not them doing that, who the hell cares anyway?”

“I do if I’m asking, you rude ass-”

“Listen, I’m not your friend or anything-” Chenle started and Haechan scoffed at the lie, “but if you’re falling in love with your Dreamer I suggest you change Dreamer or change job. I think that’s your issue.”

Chenle finished and Haechan’s smile died.

The following night Haechan was behind the counter in his purple uniform. He was postponing any real change to that situation.

Living the day.

Reality was that he was too scared to lose you so he delayed the parting moment as much as possible.

You gave him a little smile as you walked the distance. He smiled back a bit surprised at your good mood.

“Here as always. How are you doing tonight?” you asked.

Haechan let his eyes fall on the new pyjama set you were wearing. You gulped looking elsewhere. You had no idea why you felt the urge to buy a new one but for some reason, you wanted to look cute for once.

“I am doing good. How are you?”

“I was thinking-”

“As usual,” Haechan commented.

You ignored him. “-and I’ve decided I will just make the most out of this dreaming situation.”

Your chin was lifted and Haechan chuckled once at your fake confidence. “Sounds great.”

“Only if you first tell me what you mean with me sorting your dreams. I woke up before you could explain.”

Haechan sighed. He thought about that all day. “I was lying.”

Your face fell.

“No! I mean, I wasn’t really. But,” he sighed and walked around the counter.

It was already too late to keep any more secrets and he was so exhausted himself. It wasn’t in his nature to deny himself anything and he has been denying himself your touch for too long.

“I am a real person in my perspective. And for me, you are not a real person. Just like you must be a real person in your perspective and I am not.”

You blinked at him.

Haechan sighed again at your confused expression and crossed his arms on his chest, leaning against the counter as if thinking of other ways to explain that.

“In my world, you people are some sort of gods. You create our reality and we live in it. Dream Sorters are a bunch of people like me that are assigned to make sure things don’t go to shit. We destroy crazy nightmares so we don’t have to live in them and we keep the good ones, the fun ones. Let’s say I am working for the government from your perspective.”

You felt your eyebrows furrow. “Oh. I thought I was a bellgirl in some hotel as well pushing you past golden doors and I had no idea.”

Haechan chuckled once.

“There are many jobs in my world and I happen to do this. We learn how to work with you and we need to keep the secret of your dreams being just our world,” Haechan felt safe to add.

“Your world. Because we don’t share the same.”

“Not that I am aware of.”

“What other jobs does your world have?” you asked.

You were taking the situation better than he expected. This only if you weren’t just so shocked that the reality of events still had to hit you.

Haechan thought about it. “Creating colours.”

You laughed waiting for the eventual “I am fucking with you” line but Haechan looked serious.

“Creating colours? Really? What does that even mean?”

Haechan chuckled with you trying to understand your perspective. “Just, making colours.”

“Okay, this conversation is really dream-worthy but I will believe you even if it sounds insane,” you turned towards the doors with a sigh.

“Where do you want to go?” he asked, seeing you pondering over the doors.

You hummed. “I want to have fun. Also,” you showed him your gloved hand. “I brought this back.”

Haechan looked at your fingers and at the way you gently slid the material off. He held onto that glove for a second then looked up at you.

You were extending your hand.

He hesitated then held onto it, slowly letting his fingers between yours.

“Is it okay if you come with me again? What is your boss saying?”

“He doesn’t have to know,” he whispered and you bit your lip.

Then you looked away and you walked towards a random room, dragging Haechan with you.

Then you opened it. It felt heavier that usual and when you finally pulled enough, you gasped, feeling your chest hit by something.

When you opened your eyes you realized it was the sheer volume of a bass hitting your body again and again, rhythmically.

The dark place was full of people, all dancing as a single wave under the strobing lights.

You felt your heels sting and you noticed you were wearing heels. Behind you, Haechan placed his hand on your waist to guide you in the crowd. Then you faced him when you found an empty spot.

He leaned towards your ear and you heard his “Nice dream. I’ll keep this one for ourselves.”

You smiled.

“I wonder how you made me look tonight,” he added.

He straightened his back for you to admire, and you took in the hair pushed back and the sharp jaw.

“I guess I’m very hot,” Haechan lifted one corner of his mouth at your dreamy expression. His eyelids were droopy and his collarbones were too much on display in the outfit you presumably subconsciously chose for him.

You cleared your throat and looked away.

Some people passed by you and Haechan pulled you towards himself, hands sliding even more on your body. “Careful,” he said, or yelled, in your ear again. You felt your breath shake and stop as you inhaled the cologne on his neck.

You were starting to get too used to it.

Your hands imitated his touch and you slid them upward his arms to reach his neck in an attempt to dance. The music was overwhelming but you couldn’t make sense of its rhythm, although the lyrics were loud and clear.

“I wonder, I wonder about the end, Closer, A little closer, I dream, I’m in my big dream, Closer, A little closer.”

You felt intoxicated and confused.

The lights, the music, his touch, his scent, the warmth of his skin. Drunk and dazy just like dreams could make you, you leaned in and placed a kiss on his throat, right on top of his moles.

Haechan’s fingers shifted on your back and you saw his eyelids flutter at the sensation from the corner of your eyes.

You liked that reaction, so you kissed his neck again, going up, reaching his jaw, moaning into his lips as he pressed his hand on your nape, pulling you closer.

The kiss felt messy and needy, and you bit his lower lip and he sucked on yours.

Your dress straps fell down your arm and he pressed one soft kiss to your nude shoulder. Then another one and another one, peppering soft wet kisses all over your chest. You let your head fall back, tangling your hands in his hair.

The music’s beat was as quick as your heart and when you looked Haechan in the eyes they seemed so dark and lustful that you gulped.

“Take me elsewhere,” you mouthed and he presumably understood, or maybe not because he just grabbed your chin to kiss you again, this time slower, sliding his tongue inside of your mouth.

And when you couldn’t breathe anymore and gasped, breaking that intoxicating kiss, you realized the music stopped, replaced by the sound of heavy rain hitting the glass.

You were in Haechan’s lap, tightly straddling his thighs, and he was staring at you, back flush against the headboard of a luscious bed. Then you made sense of his palms, gently moving up and down your hips.

“Where are we?”

“Elsewhere,” he simply replied.

The room was dark with the edges looking like an incomplete painting. On your left, half of the wall was just a tall window, separating you both from a huge storm.

“Elsewhere where?”

Haechan’s lips turned into a smile. “You want me to check the coordinates?”

Your eyes lightened up. “Really? You can?”

He scoffed and pulled you towards him. You grunted at the sudden kiss and he moved your hips to sit more comfortably.

You gulped, a single ‘oh’ escaping your lips like a whine as you felt yourself rub on his hard cock once.

“Yeah?” Haechan looked at you from under his eyelids.

“I’ve never had a wet dream like this before,” you mumbled, foreheads touching as you looked at each other’s lips, your breaths heavy.

“There’s always a first time.”

“Is it okay if I fuck my own Dream Sorter?”

“Do you care?”

“I care about you,” you exhaled and Haechan closed his eyes for a second as if savouring that line. “Is this going to cause you any problem?” you continued.

“You’re still as rational as ever. Just give in.”

“What if you’re one of those incubus demons and you’ve just been tricking me all of this time?”

Haechan smiled again at your fantasy. “Does it matter?”

“Well-,” you tried to keep reasoning but Haechan’s open lips went to your neck, slowly rubbing on your skin. They felt soft and his mouth was so warm that you wanted him to suck on it, biting you.

You couldn’t speak anymore.

No, you couldn’t even think.

So you just let your body do the talking, sliding your fingers into his hair and ruining the hairstyle your subconscious mind kindly gave him.

His palms were still on your hips, nudging at you ever so slightly until he fully slid his hands on your ass instead and cupped it, squeezing the flesh.

You whined as he made you rub against him for a second time, and he looked up at your face, enjoying your expression. Then his gaze fell on your chest flush against his. He adventured on it, helping himself with the tongue.

“Haechan-” your shaky voice caressed the top of his head.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to feel your body against mine,” he whispered, lips tracing your almost nude breasts.

You inhaled through your teeth at his deep husky voice and when you felt his warm palms on the underside of your boobs, helping himself reach your hard nipples, you bit your lower lip until almost drawing blood.

That dream was feeling too real to be a dream and the wet patch you were creating on Haechan’s jeans was definitely there.

You felt his tongue swirl around one nipple and you gazed down with difficulty, trying to see him through your eyelashes. You had no idea if the shiver that travelled down your spine was caused by his devilish smirk or the darkness of his eyes.

“Fuck, Haechan,” you grabbed his chin and directed his pretty face back towards your lips, knocking the air out of his lungs. His hum reverberated inside your mouth and his fingers danced on your back, drawing messy circles on your spine.

Then he grabbed your nape and pulled you back only to roll you off himself and push you into the mattress.

Your legs were quick to tighten around his hips as if you’d been used to doing that for a long time. But your thighs slid off as he lifted himself on the knees, giving you a breathtaking view of his quick hands sliding his shirt off by the collar.

You exhaled shakily, sliding your hands back into his now messy curls as he leaned back and kissed your jaw, following the line until reaching your throat. You extended your neck and he chuckled against your skin, his palms reaching the flesh of your thighs just like yours were caressing down his nude shoulders.

“Cute,” he whispered, his plump lips now travelling down to the swell of your breasts again.

He slipped away from your arms and you could only watch as he flicked your nipples with his tongue again, eyes deep and cutting under his lowered eyebrows to not miss any of your expressions. Your knees pushed on his ribs at the last kitty lick just when your whimpers started to become full-on loud moans. Haechan clicked his tongue and grabbed the underside of them, spreading your legs apart.

Your satin dress was gathered around your waist by now but Haechan didn’t bother to get rid of it.

He kissed your inner thigh instead, then the other, giving you a knowing smirk as he hooked his fingers under your panties and slid them slowly off your thighs.

You lifted your legs in the air to help him out, feeling your head dizzy and face on fire, and when you felt his delicate fingers on your calves and ankles, a little whimper escaped your chest that you concealed with a loose fist on your lips.

Haechan shook his head in disapproval.

“Hands off. I want to hear you,” he mumbled against the spots that made you shiver, lazily placing wet kisses on your legs, coming closer and closer until you lifted your hips and closed your eyes with a deep hum.

But then you opened them again at the sudden feeling of his hands on your wrists instead, harshly pressing them on the pillow above your head.

You bit your lower lip, wondering how you looked to him at that moment.

As if reading your mind, he leaned down to whisper, his fingers slowly sliding on your palms and intertwining them with yours. “You’re so fucking gorgeous right now, I might go insane.”

You gulped those words he slipped in your mouth with his tongue and curved your spine, urging him to do something more as you were going insane as well.

“Are you going to be a good girl and keep your hands off your face?”

“I can’t make any promises if you keep touching me like this,” you replied.

“I haven’t even started,” he murmured with an amused tone in his voice.

Oh, you were so wet.

Just so fucking wet.

And you felt even slicker as Haechan suddenly got back on his knees and spread you with his index and middle finger, spitting right on your sensitive clit. The saliva slowly descended to your hole and you shivered at the sensation. And when you felt those two fingers nudge at your entrance, feeling how hot and soft you were, Haechan grunted, sliding them in slowly and curling after one pump.

You whined loudly, hands grabbing at his shoulders while your head was thrown back. He kissed your inner thigh as his bicep flexed, fingerfucking you just the way you’d always wanted someone to do, and then he kissed your other thigh, while his thumb started to circle your clit.

“Oh, God,” your voice was shaky.

Your hips lifted and your legs trembled, his name escaping your throat.

Haechan grabbed those legs harshly, pressing on the underside of them and putting them on his shoulders, letting you curl your toes in the air at the way his tongue felt on you, licking one stripe up until flicking your clit once with the tip of his tongue. You felt electricity burn in your blood and you grabbed at the sheets underneath you uncontrollably. Haechan’s hums and the wet sounds made your head so dizzy that you felt high. His tongue felt flat between your folds then his lips sucked on your clit. Your hands flew to his soft hair, trying hard not to pull too much.

“Look at me,” he ordered, and the view of his wet pink tongue flicking you mercilessly while his eyes were lit up by the most mischievous sparkles was enough for you to go over the edge.

“Cumming- Haechan, cumming,” you mumbled and Haechan’s fingers tightened their hold on your thighs. They didn’t let go and his mouth didn’t stop when your body seized in his hold.

“Please please please,” you were begging.

If that was for urging him to stop or not, you weren’t sure yourself.

Haechan groaned deeply as if he came himself, and he licked up every drop of your wetness, feeling you pulsating rhythmically against his tongue.

You felt spent, your arms abandoned around your head and muscles still shivering.

“Stay with me,” you heard him closer than you expected, so you opened your eyes to his dreamy face on top of you, his dainty necklace that adorned his prominent collarbones now dangling on your own chest instead. “Don’t go so quickly,” he added.

You wrapped his neck with your arms and pulled him closer. “I am not going.”

Haechan exhaled and kissed your lips once, then he kissed your cheek and temple, and when he dipped his fingers inside of you again you dug your nails into his back for a moment, hissing with him in unison.

“The second one is the best,” he murmured into your ear, holding your body tight against him while his fingers lazily moved in and out of you.

And when he scissored you palmed his lower stomach, opening his jeans button, hungry to hear his pretty voice mixed with your own whimpers.

He didn’t disappoint and your skin shivered at the sound of his moan caressing the crook of your neck as you slid your palm under his pants.

Your name has never been pronounced with such desire and need before and it just added to the growing new heat inside your navel.

Haechan lifted himself on the knees again to be able to see you and when you slid your fist up and down his pretty hard cock you could see his furrowed eyebrows and his plump lower lip being bit.

“Fuck,” he grabbed your dress with one hand and pulled your body on the sheets closer to his hips, giving you a better reach while his fingers didn’t stop for a second.

You imitated him, your wrists bumping, and you kept chanting his name laced with curses, feeling how heavy he was in your hand until your muscles started to burn.

But you couldn’t stop, not when his voice became a higher whine and his thick neck looked so delicious extended for you to the side to see his crazy pulse.

“I’m close,” he grunted and you’ve never heard him huskier.

That just gave you the last crumb of force to make him cum on you with a shudder, his hot slick coating your fingers and sliding to your core.

Haechan’s hand stopped for a moment, his eyes adjusting from the high back to the view of you still spread for him.

The only sound in the dark room was the rain still mercilessly hitting the window and your breaths, both quick and heavy.

But then a moan disrupted the peace as he curled his fingers inside of you again, making you push your head back into the pillow.

Haechan cursed under his breath, pushing his cum inside of you. That felt so foreign to you yet so right that you just abandoned yourself to Haechan, shaky legs lifted as to beg for more, and palms frantically touching his chest and abs until you had to dig your nails into his skin again, body shuddering at the wave of pleasure that washed over you.

Haechan was right, the second time was even better, and you couldn’t see or hear for a moment until Haechan’s sweet voice murmured nothings inside your ear.

Your chest was still lifting and falling frantically when you felt your body wrapped in his arms, pulling you towards his own chest.

You rested your head on his arm and you let him gently kiss your abused lips.

“Are you okay?” he whispered and you nodded, probably with the most fucked up expression ever because he chuckled a bit.

Your body was feeling like putty and you just wanted him to keep holding you like that forever.

But after you dozed to sleep and woke up, you weren’t in his arms anymore and the dreamy room was nowhere to be seen.

The morning light looked too septic in your sensitive eyes, concealing every remnant of the dream from under your eyelids.

__________

“Shit, dude, are you finally seeing someone?”

Mark’s sudden voice made Haechan jolt in place. The young man sat down near him with his tray of food and looked at Haechan’s intact plates with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not eating?”

“I’m not seeing anyone,” Haechan replied, grabbing his water.

Mark chewed on his food for a moment then hit Haechan’s neck with two fingers. “Yeah, so you sucked on your own neck last night, huh?”

“Can’t believe you’re funny for once,” Haechan scoffed, palming his skin and getting out of his trance.

“Or, perhaps you need to change mattress? Them bugs huge if they can leave hickeys that big.”

“Are you in a good mood today?”

“I am and you should also be if you finally got your dick wet, yet you’re frowning like you got blue balls all night. That, unless you actually did and I’m sorry.”

“I think I did a mistake.”

Mark watched Haechan’s eyes gazing at nothing in particular over the dining hall’s huge windows.

“I mean, you often do. What’s the issue?”

Haechan shook his head. “No, this time it’s huge.”

“Like the hickey you got yourself?”

“I can’t believe I’m being the serious one for once and you the clown.”

Mark lifted his palms apologetically. “Okay, what’s the issue?”

“I fucked my dreamer.”

Mark’s eyes got huge and his face red as he choked on the piece of food he was chewing.

“Shit,” Haechan mumbled and got up to hit the other in the back.

Mark exhaled and grabbed his wrist to stop him. “That hit was personal.”

“Don’t die on me, dumbass.”

“Are you mad at me? You’re the one fucking dreamers!”

Haechan lightly slapped Mark’s mouth with his palm. “Yell that louder, would you? Let everyone know.”

Mark shook his head to free himself. “Listen, it’s not a big deal. Your dreamer doesn’t remember you.”

Haechan sighed and looked at his friend with a grave expression. Mark opened his mouth.

“God fucking damn it, Lee Haechan. Do I understand this correctly? Your issue’s that you fell in love with your fucking dreamer? Oh my God,” Mark closed his eyes for a second then got up in disbelief.

“Sit down,” Haechan pulled him by the cuff. “People are watching.”

“Do you know the most important rule?”

Haechan interrupted the other before he could get schooled. “Yes, thank you very much.”

Mark scoffed and sat back down heavily.

“So she remembers it all. What did you tell her?”

Haechan scratched the back of his neck. “Nothing much.”

“Haechan.”

“Okay okay. Just enough so she would not go insane.”

Mark let his head fall into his palm. “God, you’re so dumb.”

“What would you have done in my place?”

“Maybe not fall in love with a goddess?”

“She’s not a goddess. I mean she is. But like she’s not. You get me.”

“You got into something bigger than you. If they catch you, you’re dead.”

Haechan exhaled and leaned back in his chair.

“I know of someone. It’s more a legend than anything. He also fell in love with his dreamer and he got put out.”

“Thank you, Mark. I really want to hear about people in my situation getting killed now.”

“No, hear me out. They say he became one of the Dreamers.”

Haechan furrowed his eyebrows.

“What do you mean?”

Mark looked around for a moment then his eyes fell on Haechan’s face again. They looked blacker than ever. “When we die, we become Dreamers. We go to their world.”

Haechan felt his mouth go dry. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

____________

The mix of bliss and sadness accompanied you all day.

If you closed your eyes you could still taste Haechan on your lips and feel his touch on your skin. The dream kept rolling in your mind again and again making your guts twist on themselves.

“Taeyong, I feel like I’m going insane,” you sputtered all of sudden, not having heard anything of what your friend has been saying for the past hours.

The young man closed his mouth surprised and blinked at you.

“Is it about your dreams again?”

You bit your lower lip as if ashamed and nodded.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

You inhaled as to speak but then your throat closed. How could you tell someone that you fell in love with someone you probably made up in your head and be taken seriously?

“I just keep having the same dream again and again. The Lobby one. I lied to you but I’ve dreamt the same thing all of this time.”

Taeyong’s expression was still serious and his big eyes gave you enough courage to add the crucial element.

“I keep dreaming this man and- it is all just so fucking real. I lost track of what’s real and what’s not and I am so afraid I’m going to actually lose my mind over someone that doesn’t exist.”

“Is he-” Taeyong started after listening, “-a Dream Sorter?”

__________

Mark closed the door to his apartment after making sure no one was following them and turned around to face a confused Haechan.

“Listen, I work so closely with the higher-ups. I see and hear shit in the Data sector that you Dream Sorters don’t even dream about.”

Haechan made a single unamused ‘ha’ at the pun. Mark ignored him and walked quickly to his studio, opening drawers as if looking for something.

“The life cycle is that they become us and we become them. We still have no clue which state is the initial one. This is still being researched.”

“Wait, wait, Mark,” Haechan had to close his eyes for a moment and rest his hands on the friend’s desk to collect himself. “Are you saying that we were them? I was a Dreamer?”

“Yes, and your lady has been a Dream Sorter or whatever,” Mark replied quickly and let a huge pile of paper hit his desk. Haechan coughed at the sudden dust, swinging his hand in front of his face.

“Me too, and everyone here,” Mark added.

“And everyone there.”

Mark found the file he was looking for and nodded. “Exactly.”

Haechan looked down at the other’s hand and eyed the slim file for a second before taking it and opening it. “Fuck,” he murmured after reading the first line.

__________

You felt your limbs weak. Then you chuckled once.

“Dream Sorter? How do you know about that?”

Taeyong inhaled and exhaled while looking at the students’ faces sitting on the grass around you.

“I was one,” he simply said.

You shook your head and slid backwards. “You’re joking. You’re fucking with me right now. This is not funny, Taeyong.”

Your friend’s eyes looked sincere though so you didn’t flinch when he took your hand in his.

“I would never joke about this. I was a Dream Sorter and I got-,” he paused as if trying to find the right word, “exiled.”

You put the other hand to your mouth as hot tears started to slide down your cheeks. You had no idea why you were crying, perhaps you were overwhelmed, or perhaps you were relieved.

Maybe, you were finally losing your mind and that was just another dream.

“How?” you asked with a broken voice.

__________

Haechan sat down on the only chair in the studio, reading the file for a second time, this time slowly.

“It was before we were born so we wouldn’t know. But yes, that dude was a Dream Sorter who fell in love with his Dreamer and got killed off. The thing is, when we die naturally, we become like them with no memories. Just normal people dreaming. When you get killed off or you kill yourself, you remember everything and you can’t dream anymore.”

Haechan listened to Mark’s summary of the file while his pupils moved across the lines saying the same thing as him.

“Also, in that case, you can’t come back here in the usual cycle when you die,” Mark added.

“And where do they go?”

Mark shrugged sadly. “We still have no idea. Perhaps their idea of hell.”

Haechan leaned down in his chair at a loss of words. “This is her friend. She knows him. I’ve seen him in her dreams before. What are the odds?”

He put down the file titled “Lee Taeyong”.

“I don’t know Haechan. What I’m telling you is that you better not get killed off like him,” Mark warned him and took back the file, locking it away with the others.

__________

“If your man gets caught, he’ll have my same destiny, Y/N. Not dreaming anymore and not going back to the dream world after death. I just wanted you to be aware of this. It is not worth it, I promise you.”

Taeyong ended his tale and you had to just blink back, taking in the huge amount of information. Your head felt like splitting in half.

“And what do you suggest doing?”

“Dying naturally.”

You shook your head in disbelief. “We might as well just swap at this point. He’ll be a Dreamer and I’ll be a Dream Sorter and we’ll forget about each other. Not seeing each other anymore. That’s not a solution to be together.”

“I wasn’t giving a solution for you to be together. It’s a survival solution.”

You groaned frustrated. Taeyong didn’t speak anymore.

“Where is your lover now?” you asked after a moment of whole long minutes.

Taeyong looked down at his lap and then he bit the corner of his lip. “She doesn’t remember me.”

You felt tears prickle your eye corners again.

“I am so sorry, Taeyong.”

“I thought I could have a chance by being around, make her fall in love with me from the start again, but nothing happened so far. I think it’s already too late.”

His kind smile was so full of sad acceptance that you felt your heart hurt. Then you thought of Haechan. Imagining him getting killed off for you just to be reborn and you not remembering him was making you nauseous.

“You’ll go insane if you keep this relationship with him in your dreams. And he might get killed off. You need to break all ties. Ask him to get you a new Dream Sorter. It’s the only solution, trust me.”

__________

Haechan was pacing around the Lobby nervously waiting for the ding of the elevator.

Mark was right, as soon as you would get another Dream Sorter you’d forget about him.

It was the right thing to do for both of you.

But he couldn’t accept it.

Lost in his thought he almost jolted feeling your arms around his waist. He exhaled and closed his eyes, bathing in that sensation as long as possible.

Then he turned around and gasped softly.

“Why are you crying?” he cupped your face as his thumbs delicately tried to wipe your abundant tears.

“Haechan-” your voice broke and you hugged him tightly, face buried deep into his purple Bellboy uniform.

The young man sighed, your daily memories invading his mind. His fingers delicately massaged your nape as his lips went to your temple. “So you know too. I am sorry,” he whispered and your body started to shake even more. “I didn’t know either.”

“No, I am sorry. It’s- I am privileged and you’re the one risking-” you tried to express your confusing thoughts.

“Maybe I’ll never get caught,” Haechan gave you a small smile but you didn’t smile back.

“I would never forgive myself if they-” you started again but couldn’t finish.

Killed you.

“I don’t care, Y/N. For me it would be enough to life one human life and be over with it if it means to be with you.”

You shook your head. “Listen to me.”

Haechan shook his head too. “No.”

You took a step back. “I want this to be over,” you lied. “Get me a new Dream Sorter. I can’t keep being with you only in my dreams. I’d rather forget you. And I can’t let you lose your soul for me.”

Those words cut in your heart so deeply that you fought the urge to fall to your knees and hug your own body.

Haechan inhaled and looked up to not make the tears escape his eyes. His tongue wandered inside his cheek for a second then he exhaled deeply.

“This is for the best,” you added with a tiny voice.

Haechan chuckled dryly. “It’s easy for you to say that. You’ll forget everything and I’ll be the one-,” he interrupted himself and turned around, pacing towards the counter and resting his palms on it.

You put your hand to your mouth, forcing yourself to not run to him and beg him to not make you forget.

But Taeyong’s words came to mind. There was no other option for happiness.

Haechan will eventually forget you himself. You didn’t spend much time together.

He’ll fall in love with someone else, you were sure of it.

__________

When you woke up that morning, your head was hurting from the confusing nightmare you had.

You sighed and passed one hand on your face to brush the last remnants of it away and you felt your cheeks wet.

With a tentative hand, you looked for your phone near the pillow.

There was no phone in sight but you felt a soft fabric. You grabbed it and stared at it under the shining light.

It was a white glove and you furrowed your eyebrows. It was a bit loose on the fingertips when you put it on.

Then the alarm went off and you finally eyed your phone on the floor. With a groan, you spent the buzz and getting up you put away the strange glove in your closet.

Then you smiled at the sight of your boyfriend’s text.

From Taeyong <3: hey sleepyhead, I'm already downstairs, hurry up

__________

Haechan looked in the mirror that evening, staring at his new uniform.

He didn’t need a new one and this was just the same shade of purple as the previous one. But a new job meant a new uniform and he was missing a glove after you asked for it.

He sighed walking into the Lobby and winced staring at the pamphlets on the counter, remembering your expression while reading them.

Then a ding made him raise his face and a small person exited the lift.

“Hey there. Is this your first time dreaming?” Haechan asked with a kind and bright voice.

The little boy looked around as if scared and nodded, so Haechan walked the distance and knelt on one knee in front of him.

“I am Haechan. It’s not important because you’ll forget this anyway. But you can trust me to have a very fun time. Come,” he stood up extending one hand. The child took it slowly and Haechan smiled again. “I’ll show you how dreaming works.”

__________

PREVIEW FROM PART 2

Haechan was rolling peas on his plate when a hard slap on his shoulder made him cough.

“Are you fucking insane?” he asked when he found his voice. “What’s wrong with you?”

But Mark’s spirited expression didn’t care about Haechan’s tone. “You need to come with me.”

“Whatever is going on there’s no need to beat me over it.”

“Get up right now. I found something.”

Haechan sighed, not in the mood to hang out with anyone.

“It’s about Y/N,” the other lowered his voice.

Haechan closed his mouth.

Mark grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up to his feet.

“I talked to her new Dream Sorter. I know, I shouldn’t get involved but this whole thing made me want to research further. No one knows, so you understand this is confidential, right?”

Mark was talking quietly and fast while walking just as fast towards what Haechan guessed was his apartment.

“Slow the fuck down. What exactly is going on? Is she okay? Is he hurt?”

Mark stopped in his place. “You said it was weird that she was friends with Taeyong, the dude killed over his Dreamer.”

Haechan blinked emptily for a moment before the realization made his whole body turn into mush.

Mark held onto his shoulders so he wouldn’t fall over.

“Yeah. She was his Dreamer. And she couldn’t remember that. Why? We don’t know yet. But he of course could remember her and he sabotaged you two when he discovered she was in love with you. Now they’re dating. Her new Dream Sorter told me.”

Haechan felt his head full of cotton. “Wait, wait. And so what? She was right. It was not worth it. Dating in her dreams? Absurd. If she’s happy with him then so be it. They’re in the same world. I was ready to go to hell after being killed but she didn’t want me anymore-”

“She got convinced she did it for your sake. Taeyong didn’t tell her there is a way for you two to be together so he could have her for himself.”

Haechan couldn’t process fast enough.

Mark patted his cheek with a little smile.

“I found the way. I’m going to help you get back with her.”

3K notes · View notes