With Seonghwa by his side, Hongjoong had experienced quite a lot of ups and downs. Like the seasons changing in his dreams, they had been hotter and colder, closer and farther apart. Hongjoong had watched Seonghwa shine like the bright sun of summer and gloom like the winter blues.

Whenever there was an up, there could be expected a down. The fewest developments in real life rose linearly towards perfection. But Hongjoong could foresee only so many downs. Because they played like the faint music in the back of Seonghwa's dreams, an eerie reminder of the dwelling shadows. Shadows that Hongjoong couldn't get rid of.

Shadows that were about to manifest as the music reached its crescendo.

Snow clung to the silver plaque with the quote on it as Hongjoong went to work on Wednesday. Seonghwa and he hadn't found the time to meet again since their last date, and only spent his dreams flirting and laughing with each other.

A long time ago, Jongho had explained why he had chosen this sign specifically for their building. Primarily, of course, since it had to do with their work. But he had argued about the meaning of eternity, as well. Eternity could be beautiful, full of learning and the charms of life as it was.

But eternity could mean suffering, too. Suffering, that prolonged until forever. As humans, the only way to experience eternity was within those dreams. Because dreams were timeless and untamed, tricking the brain into accepting eternity as its new reality.

Hongjoong trudged up the stairs shivering. He met Mingi in the middle, where the man was busy putting up Christmas decorations for the incoming festivities. As he wished the man a good day, Hongjoong wondered how Seonghwa would spend this Christmas. Maybe he would return to his hometown to be with his family. After a long while, Hongjoong might get to know his parents in the man's sleep.

His boyfriend's parents, Hongjoong reminded himself with a grin.

Hongjoong put his bag down and powered up the PC in routine. While he snacked on the box of berries he had brought, he chatted with San. His friend promised to inform Jongho of today's healthy meal plan to get Hongjoong some respect points. Amused by their antics downstairs while Mingi worked so hard to get their office ready for festivities, Hongjoong leaned back as he waited for Seonghwa to fall asleep. The sun had long since set and darkness shrouded the buildings outside in a mysterious veil. Alone with the little lamp on his desk, Hongjoong scrolled through his social media.

Seonghwa laid awake for several hours before he could fall asleep. Hongjoong read a blog about insomnia and cast several worried glances at the monitor. His heart ached for Seonghwa's misery.

By the time Seonghwa finally fell asleep, his nightmare dawned upon him instantly. And it came with the darkness. The list of instant impressions was long. Cold, dim, and back in that basement. With his grandmother around. None of those light-hearted dreams that Seonghwa had for the past few days.

Hongjoong rushed to the door, never wanting to be late again. Sometimes, the memory of failing Seonghwa that one night invaded Hongjoong's mind at night. And each time guilt so raw and painful punched his heart like a pillow. Those two dreams, the zombie one and the car crash were Hongjoong's biggest fails on Seonghwa's account.

Hongjoong dropped onto the floor. He hastily brought along his gun and an emergency kit before he jumped blindly into the dream.

Like a wave, disorientation crashed on him.

The first thing he heard was the music. It hammered down on his senses in the dark and confined space he was. Violins, several of them that pierced his eardrums with their resounding and irregular notes. They screeched like animals in pain, triggering a rush of adrenaline and fear in Hongjoong's body. He pressed his hands to his ears, trying to blend out the dissonance. The music purposefully hurt him, making it unsettling to listen to. Especially since he was in the dark. Alone without Seonghwa.

Disoriented, Hongjoong tried to figure out the horrific screeching and wailing of the instruments that sounded as if they were being ripped apart. Alarm triggered in him for how agitated the music was, much more close and personal than the usual faint piano tunes.

The music mirrored Seonghwa's dreams and peace of mind. Wherever he was, he was in great distress.

Sweat formed on Hongjoong's forehead. He had to take one of his hands down to feel over the wooden walls around him. There was no door handle, no gap to dig his fingers into. He was trapped. Not even pounding against the solid walls helped.

A faint giggle had Hongjoong halt and strain his ears over the music. His primal instincts told him to flee, to get out of his sudden claustrophobic environment. The confusion impaired his judgment as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Seonghwa?! Seonghwa, are you out there?" He didn't know behind which wall to search. They all looked the same and his eyes wouldn't adjust.

Hongjoong had to reign himself in to avoid a panic attack. The need to throw himself against his cage just so he could turn off that horrible music overwhelmed him.

"And so he arrives. But your little hero won't help you today, sweetheart."

The maniac giggle sounded again, blending with the screeching violins.

Hongjoong clawed on the wood again. He believed to hear Seonghwa breathing nearby, flat and rattling as if he were hurt. The lack of an answer from his side had Hongjoong's legs go numb with fear.

He strained his ears, trying to pick up on anything.

"Seonghwa! Let me out!"

His only answer was a chilling cry of pain.

For a moment, Hongjoong's heart stood still. He had never heard Seonghwa so agonised before. Most times he was partly detached, too used to everything that was going on to mind too much. Especially since he started to lucid dream.

When icy terror reached for Hongjoong's insides to pull at his guts with icy hands, he threw his shoulder against the unyielding wall. Seonghwa's sobs that were so near and yet so unattainable made him tear up in desperation.

"Seonghwa!" Hongjoong choked around his name as fear suffocated him. Like a thin thread around his neck, it cut into his windpipe and strangled him.

Hongjoong's fingers ripped over the wood, probably bleeding by now. The pain didn't register through his panicking brain.

Another screech of the violins. Hongjoong curled in on himself as it stabbed at his nerves like a knife.

Seonghwa didn't answer. The lack of any noise drove Hongjoong mad.

If his mind had been clear, he would have been able to figure out the problem. In the time that Seonghwa had learned about Hongjoong and his job, he had also learned how to help him move in the dream. At the same time, however, he had become so alert of him that he knew how to restrain him. It was only a matter of time until he would dream Hongjoong into a position that kept him from helping.

And the lack of the help he expected drove Seonghwa's frightened brain to insanity.

Seonghwa had successfully trapped both of them in the worst possible horror scenario with no way out.

Pounding his bruised wrists against the door, Hongjoong tried to break free again. Like an animal in a cage, he paced around and delivered powerful kicks and hits. But only faint giggling and desperate wailing came out of it.

Hongjoong didn't know what she was doing to him. He was blind. But the faint smell of blood in the air underlined his worry.

"Seonghwa, please-" Hongjoong's fist slid down on the door. He tried to swallow his dread. Whatever was happening, it was the worst probable scenario. Even worse than a regular nightmare because Seonghwa's brain triggered him for getting no guidance.

Hongjoong could taste his tangy panic in the air.

Slumping against a wall, Hongjoong shook his head as he tried to get the rising music out of his head. It slashed away at his sanity and tortured him just as much as Seonghwa.

"Do you need that still, sweetheart? You touched that boy with that hand, didn't you? Fear not. I will cleanse it for you."

Seonghwa's resounding scream echoed from the walls. Hongjoong collapsed onto the floor, his trembling fingers pressed onto his ears. Tears spilt hotly over his cheeks to wet his collar. Futile, his cries mixed with Seonghwa's.

They were on both sides of that wall. But Hongjoong couldn't reach him. The dream locked them away.

"H-Hongjoong?"

At the broken call, Hongjoong instantly swallowed his next sob. Weak, he pawed on the wood separating them once more.

"Seonghwa, what's going on? You need to let me out, please." Hongjoong hiccuped around his wet call. His sleeve came up to dry his face to the best of his ability.

"It's- It's fine, Hongjoong. Don't worry. If... If she hurts me, that's fine. She wouldn't do it if I didn't deserve it."

Tears made Hongjoong sight blurry and had him angrily rub at his eyes.

"No. No, that's all wrong. Don't believe that, Seonghwa," he begged. His heart got stabbed by a thousand knives at the acceptance in Seonghwa's strained voice.

"You don't deserve to be hurt... You need love, you deserve love. Please, don't excuse what she is doing to you."

Seonghwa didn't respond anymore, and Hongjoong's cries only got worse. He trembled so bad that he felt as if he had to throw up. Since they were in a dream, he could only gag around his bitter bile, nauseous from how helpless he was.

Metal clanged, then a huff escaped Seonghwa. The sound of flesh hitting against a solid surface had Hongjoong's stomach churn.

"You two are so quiet. Don't you want to share some final thoughts with your lover?" The grandmother asked, giggling. Her words cut into Hongjoong's skin like physical injuries. No doubt, this dream was Seonghwa's translation of the same experience.

"This isn't the end, Seonghwa. This is just a dream," Hongjoong reminded the other man weakly. While he had no issues believing that, he knew Seonghwa was anything but receptive to the truth.

Something thin, metallic dragged over a different metallic surface. Seonghwa's breath quickened. Hongjoong grit his teeth, not ready to hear him scream again. It ripped Hongjoong apart in emotional pain just as bad as what Seonghwa felt right now.

Before the cry could come, however, the dream cut suddenly. With wide-open eyes and shivering all over, Hongjoong laid in the psycho room. He had curled up against a wall, probably rolling around a lot in his turmoil.

Why was he awake?

Confused and with his ears still ringing from the gruesome crescendo in the dream, he looked around. His shaking hands came around his body to hug himself.

For a minute, he waited to fall asleep again. But no connection built.

Had Seonghwa woken up just like that? It felt different; as if only Hongjoong had woken. Even though the anaesthesia should prevent that.

Confused, Hongjoong got up on his wobbly legs and tumbled to the door. He was still crying, and nearly ran into the desk when he bent down over it.

Seonghwa was still asleep. His heart rate was going crazy, and the peeping alert of a possible medical emergency blinked red next to his name.

Befuddled, Hongjoong clicked around. The information of what was going on inside the dream had disappeared. But Seonghwa was definitely still dreaming. The same dream, too.

Panicking, Hongjoong ran over to the cell and checked if it was defective. It wasn't. Everything worked as usual. But even as Hongjoong powered up the left cell and laid down in it, he couldn't fall asleep.

What was going on?

Fear seized him once more. Only that this time, it was very real and had him claw at his arms in confusion. The responsibility of having to take care of Seonghwa and his confusion on how to, ripped him apart at the seams.

Hongjoong felt like a balloon seconds away from bursting.

What if Seonghwa noticed he had left? If he knew that all help had forsaken him?

Petrified, Hongjoong stared at the blinking screen, just waiting for Seonghwa to wake up. But he wouldn't. Even after two minutes, he hadn't regained consciousness.

Hongjoong couldn't take it any longer. With wet tears and snot clogging his breathing ways, he called Jongho. The clock showed 4 am.

Despite the late hour, Jongho picked up his phone after the second ring. Groggily, he muttered a 'hello' into the speaker. Hongjoong left him no time to regain his bearings.

"Jongho, please- I can't reach Seonghwa but he is doing awful. I got kicked out of his worst nightmare so far."

The panic and fear in Hongjoong's voice instantly woke Jongho up. His next question sounded far more poised.

"Did he wake up?"

"No, it felt different, more violent. The monitor shows his heart rate still, but I can't enter his dreams anymore!"

Jongho rustled around.

"Let me check. Breathe, Hongjoong. It will be fine."

Hongjoong tried. His sobs reduced to choked whimpers. But when Jongho gave an update seconds later, Hongjoong's heart plummeted to his feet right again.

"Oh, this looks bad. His dreamcatcher got damaged, probably by violent twisting in his sleep. You won't be able to connect back into it."

Hongjoong sweated. His brain was empty, no solution to help him coming up. Only the blurry red alert on the screen.

"How- I need to help him, Jongho, please!"

As if Jongho knew any better. But Hongjoong had no patience to feel bad for shouting at him.

"Hongjoong. Listen closely. I want you to contact Wooyoung about his door code in case you don't know it. Go there, right now. Seonghwa has sleep apnoea. He has risks of suffering a heart attack if you don't resolve this."

"But-"

"If he presses charges, I will take full responsibility. You are close to him. He trusts you. Just go, and take care."

Hongjoong instantly ended the call to text Wooyoung. Everything loaded far too long. While he waited, Hongjoong chewed on his index knuckles.

Wooyoung didn't respond. Not after a minute, not after two. Seonghwa was still trapped in his dream.

Wailing, Hongjoong called San. He grabbed his keys on his way down, breaking through the building and for his car already.

San woke up just as groggy as Jongho, but he picked up.

"Hongjoong? Are you crying? Is everything alright?"

"Is Wooyoung with you right now?"

Cold air permeated Hongjoong's lungs and made it difficult to breathe. His sweaty hair abruptly chilled.

"He is." San sounded reluctant still.

"Wake him. I need Seonghwa's door code, right now."

The severity of the situation pulled all concern from San. Moments later, he replied.

"It's 5392. Hongjoong-"

Hongjoong ended the call. On his nav, he hastily typed in Seonghwa's address.

He was in no emotional condition to drive, but he didn't care. As fast as possible and above the speed limit, he made his way to wake up Seonghwa.