𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘀; haechan x dream

❥eighteen

╰─➤ and you'll be safe under my control
just let me in

➳༻❀✿❀༺➳

the nightmares persisted like like an ugly cold coming back again and again. donghyuck got about five nights of decent sleep a week and usually two or three nights were plagued with horrible sleep paralysis and shadows whispering around them. he remembered them better each time he awoke, and yet he didn't know what to tell the others. he could've been losing his mind...or something could've been amiss. it made him nervous.

regardless, life went on. training never stopped and he felt himself getting closer to his goals — which looked a lot like the rest of the harem's strength. he wasn't such a weak link anymore, but not overly helpful yet either. his relationships also grew stronger, particularly where renjun was concerned as he'd started getting quite bossy and protective. the reasons were still evading donghyuck as to why.

the sandy-blonde sat cross-legged against a tree in the garden, finally allowed to be out on his own. across his lap lay a tome detailing a lot of gang history dating back to the eighties. when a lot of gemstones starting leaving their marks on the underworld.

pictures and articles littered every page, but it was all interesting and useful stuff. he reached the modern years last night while the others were sleeping, too alert himself to rest. now he could recognise most leaders and gangs and list what they did as well, but he couldn't chase the feeling of despair away with how much information he had to cover.

flicking over a page about amethyst, he was once again faced with topaz, quite a powerful gang neighbouring garnet territory. they'd been getting stronger since the early naughties, and now they were the only group, apparently, that garnet really struggled to contend with.

jeno never mentioned them much, though. donghyuck pursed his lips as he looked into the current gang lord, jang jiho. an unusual breath of fresh air after taking in the beaten, savage faces of the rest of the mafias. jiho was quite good-looking, in a pretty way. his hair, in the photo from two years ago anyway, was a bit longer and tied back into a fountain. his eyes were intense and frosty but he smiled like he'd won something. overall his features were gentle curves like his cheekbones and a pronounced cupid's bow over his lips. had he not been a nasty gang leader, one could've mistaken him for a model.

hyuck arched his brow and read a bit more about him — about topaz. they were more into weapon distribution as well and only dabbled in the prostitution ring. something about the whole thing seemed too obvious...too safe, maybe? what made them so tough?

a stick snapped somewhere in the distance to donghyuck's right. he flinched, gripping the book a little tighter and looking around cautiously. he waited a moment, listening intently before realising that everything had gone very quiet. the breeze that had been rustling the leaves over his head had stopped and any wildlife that had been chittering before now ebbed into silence.