Work Text:
APPLICANT: #00004677
LUCIDITY: 94% DREAMING: 100%
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Wooseok wakes up in a cold sweat most mornings.
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“You’ve been tracking my brain activity?” Wooseok asks, pulling at the hem of his nightclothes. It is all they let him wear while he’s in the facility. These are made of downy cotton, comfortable, and pale pink. “Why?” He licks his lips, still pulling at the fabric. The Dream Zone makes him nervous. He almost never knows if he’s actually dreaming or not. This doesn’t feel like one, but Jinhyuk isn’t here to confirm. Instead, Seungwoo, his sleep therapist, is walking the grounds with him.
Seungwoo looks up at the artificial night sky above them. It looks real. Constellations dot the ceiling, but Wooseok has been here so long that he knows it is fake. “You are among the Lucids,” he explains without explaining. “We need to know more about your kind. Without you, our research won’t ever take off. The government is interested in understanding people like you .” How he says it makes Wooseok feel used.
He knows there is more to it. Jinhyuk has mentioned how the government wanted to know if they could control lucid dreaming in a way that could be utilized as a war tactic. That’s why the facility was underground. No real night sky.
Full darkness.
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Like clockwork, he’s handed off to Jinhyuk. The gears in the machine run smooth. He tiptoes the line he is not supposed to cross by brushing his fingers against Jinhyuk’s arm. He watches as he shivers under the brief touch. “Seungwoo said you were in a bad mood today.” He says, casually, tiptoeing a line that he is not supposed to cross.
“Seungwoo puts me in a bad mood. I hate his fake happiness.” Wooseok scowls at the floor.
Suddenly, abruptly, he begins to panic. He flounders for breath even as he continues to walk beside Jinhyuk. When he looks at him, there is a silent plea in his eyes. “Not a dream,” Jinhyuk comforts him immediately, bowing his head to swipe his ID. He’s taking Wooseok back to the Lounge which is consistent with his normal routine.
He hates his normal routine.
--
They are two blocks away from the Lounge when Wooseok pushes a shoulder against Jinhyuk, forcing him into a nearby closet. The linen closets are the only ones not locked. Anyone can access them, but the cameras are always watching. Wooseok keeps pushing until Jinhyuk’s back is against the wall. “Wooseok—”
Before Jinhyuk can tell him that this is a bad idea, he kisses Jinhyuk. It isn’t the first time.. Immediately, Wooseok’s head feels like it is full of cotton underwater. He can’t hear anything. He feels heavy, enamored. All he feels is Jinhyuk’s fingertips running down his arms. He knows that he wants to both push him away and pull him closer. Wooseok wishes that he’d just let his knees buckle under the weight of how big this feeling is.
Wooseok pulls away first, but then begins peppering kisses along Jinhyuk’s jawline. He has to stretch to reach. “Dream, dream, dream.” Jinhyuk chants, like a prayer, but Wooseok doesn’t relent. He intends to leave his mark. “This is a dream, Wooseokie. We can’t do this here.”
--
Wooseok wakes up in a cold sweat most mornings.
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APPLICANT: #00004677
LUCIDITY: 98% DREAMING: 98%
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Jinhyuk kicks at a rock on the ground. It is just a tiny pebble. Someone’s been outside. Wooseok doesn’t even know how Earth looks anymore. All he has known for the past six years is this facility. “Why do you keep lying to me?” Wooseok asks, balling his hands into fists. His anger is rightful, he thinks, but he loves Jinhyuk too much to take it out on him. “Dream or reality?”
“Everything’s a dream from now on.” Jinhyuk says with a sheepish, sad expression. “You haven’t woken up in awhile now.” The news should hit him harder than it does, but it makes sense. All these sensations feel real, but they aren’t. He’s living in a dream that feels like his reality.
“What will happen to me?” He asks, tilting his head to the side to watch Jinhyuk. He just wants the truth.
“Well, your body can only survive for so long before your muscles atrophy.” His news still doesn’t fully register. The weight doesn’t settle in. “I’m trying to get you back, but you are our biggest success. I have a lot of pushback. The Committee wants to try to see if your consciousness can continue lingering within mine…”
“Even after I die?” Wooseok asks, laughing bitterly. “They truly care about my wellbeing, I see.” He’s tired, even though there’s no possible way for him to be. It feels like he’s not slept in awhile. “If I die and you lose me, you lose me twice.” He says, voice hard. Stern. He needs Jinhyuk to feel the loss that he cannot.
Jinhyuk’s eyes glisten with a sadness he can’t begin to comprehend. “I know.” His voice echoes, pained.
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Wooseok wakes up.
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The sunlight is what he registers first. It is streaming in through his window like a dream. Lazily, he trails his fingers through it. They don’t catch. There’s no catch. Reality. “You’re awake.” Seungyoun says, rubbing his hands together. “Jinhyuk reassured us that if we saved you, it would be a bigger win. If you could materialize your consciousness in multiple places… . I agree. It is nice to have you back.”
“Where’s Jinhyuk?” Wooseok asks, voice hoarse from disuse.
Seungyoung purses his lips, rolls his eyes. “Your priorities… Sheesh.”
--
“Reality.” Jinhyuk says, softly, as Wooseok crawls into his lap. His hands slip underneath Jinhyuk’s shirt and run up his chest. He feels sturdy, strong, underneath him. He leans down, pressing his lips against the side of his neck to feel his heartbeat.
Real.
This is real. “I love you.” Wooseok says, finally. He means it. He’s giddy, love drunk.
“I love you,” Jinhyuk says back, hands sliding to rest at Wooseok’s hips, pulling him in.