Treasure tales

Junkyu #2: Sleep inducing

After the meeting was over, Hyunsuk pulled Yoshi aside.

"There is something I need to dicuss with you," Hyunsuk said to him privately. "It's something that I want to investigate, but I don't yet wish to tell the other members yet. I told you what happened in previous timelines when I told them things too early."

"What is it?" Yoshi enquired.

"There's something I learned from the previous timeline," Hyunsuk responded. "Bigbang...their motives are questionable. Up till now I've always thought they were our enemies. But now...I don't know anymore."

"What makes you say that?" Yoshi asked in alarm.

Hyunsuk quickly explained everything that happened that ended up changing his mind. "Look," He said. "Whether Bigbang is a friend or foe greatly changes everything I've been doing to try to save everyone. I've thought of them as the final boss, but if they're a friend, that complicates things. How do I say it...I guess I rather they be foe. Because if they've actually been helping us, there's likely something even greater, even more dangerous out there that we must fight against. And that there's a reason why they act in such an antagonistic manner. There's just so much we don't know, and we might have only just found out that there's even more we don't know than what we once believed, which is already so much. We need to know this so that we can decide the course of action to take."

"Oh my..." Yoshi let out a deep sigh. "That sounds tough. Really complicated For us, for everyone."

Group chats had been created. Meetups were assigned. Everything was now set. Due to the busy schedule of all of us, however, the first physical meetup was arranged in about two weeks. We had planned to have another online meetup soon.

Everyone began to leave Junkyu's house. After all, we had met on very short notice and most of us had other commitments that day. I myself had to get going, but something told me not to leave just yet.

I walked to the door, and turned around. Junkyu had crawled back to the sofa and had pulled the blanket over himself. He seemed to be asleep already. Silly me. I had been concerned over nothing. I gripped by bag straps tightly and pushed the door opened.

"Don't...go...please," Junkyu mumbled. I turned around in surprise. Was he talking to me?

"I know you're there," Junkyu continued. He trembled. His eyes twitched. "Don't go...I'm scared..."

"Junkyu..." I murmured, my heart softening. I've always felt a little awkward with him, but seeing him so afraid, I felt my courage come into me. Perhaps it was the motherly instinct in me, leaving me unable to leave someone who clearly needed my care. I turned and locked his front door. Then I approached him and took his hands in mind, hoping that some human warmth would soothe him.

"I'm here," I whispered. "I'm here. It's okay."

A single tear slid out of Junkyu's eyes. "I'm so scared," he murmured. "I don't want to see any of those anymore. None of those...but I'm so tired."

His eyes fluttered open. I immediately let go of his hands in embarrassment.

"...Rin?" He said quizzically, clearly confused that I was there. "Uuuu? You're still here?"

"Were you having a bad dream just now?" I asked him curiously, but I was also trying to change the topic.

"What even was that?" Junkyu asked aloud. "It felt like a dream, like I was in and out of consciousness. But it also felt eerily real."

I coughed.

Junkyu groaned and leaned back onto his bed. "I just want to sleep well again...but now I'm too afraid of sleeping because of those horrific nightmares. I keep waking up at night to the sound of my own screams, and then just stay awake until morning comes. I cannot go back to sleep again no matter how hard I try, because I fear. I fear so hard."

"Junkyu-ah..." I said sympathetically. 

"Rin, have you ever had insomnia before?" Junkyu asked me sleepily. "How do you deal with it?"

"Yeah, I struggle with it," I admitted. "I simply try not to care. No matter how horrific my nightmares, no matter how harrowing my worries. When it's time to sleep, stop caring. But I also know full well that this method...this method doesn't always work. But it's already the best for me. Warm milk, counting sheep...nothing else ever works for me."

"You know what's one of my most hated things?" Junkyu asked me as his eyes closed again. Then, without waiting for me to answer, he said "It's this. Nightmares. They interrupt with my ability to enjoy sleep, my favourite hobby. Usually I rarely get them, but recently...I get them everytime I try to fall asleep. I really hate it. I miss sleep so much...(unintelligible noises)"

I saw that his breathing was becoming even. I recognised that he was falling asleep. I took his hand again, hoping that my warmth would reach him in his sleep and chase his nightmares away. Seeing him so upset, I wanted to help him, but I couldn't think of any other way how to.

The sky was darkening. I quickly sent a text to my tuition teacher for that day, apologizing profusely for the sudden cancellation of the session. I simply did not have the heart to leave Junkyu alone. I remembered my studies, but I thought to myself that maybe, just for one day I could turn my head away from it in favour of extending my hands to another person in need of my help. 

I knew I was constantly stressed. I turned to look at Junkyu. I suddenly remembered our conversation about universities. He was stressed too, I realised. I thought then that maybe it would do us both well to know each other better. We were both stressed out people forced to live in a world that walked a little too fast for us, after all. And even our little moments of enjoyments were constantly plagued by a variety of things that affected our ability to enjoy them, such as his nightmares. And my last minute class tests.

I thought then that there might be a possibility that we could understand each other. I was willing to give it a try. Then, with those thoughts in my head, with my body lying cozily beside the sofa on the rug below it, still holding on to Junkyu, I too, fell asleep.