The rest of the day kind of goes by at an odd pace for Jeongguk.

He tries to enjoy himself, and he does, to an extent, but he can't fully get his mind off the incident from earlier. Or several days ago, because the fact that it happened again makes Jeongguk even more uncomfortable. If it were just once, maybe he could learn to brush it off, to forget about it. But it's been twice in one week now.

It's not a good feeling. Jeongguk has never experienced hallucinations before, so it doesn't make sense to him why it would start now - and so vividly, messages, cryptic messages addressed directly to him.

He's never believed in supernatural things. And he has to admit, he doesn't particularly want to, either.

But the fact that the messages disappeared both times makes him wonder - convinces Jeongguk, rather, that it has to be either one of those two things. Either some strange, supernatural being is creating and erasing these messages, or something in Jeongguk's brain is causing him to experience these visual hallucinations and become paranoid from them. Well, either way, he's starting to become paranoid.

"Tae, you wanna drive home?"

"Tuckered out?" His friend chuckles and heartily pats Jeongguk's back. "I told you not to have too much fun, Guk."

"I'm tired..."

"I can tell," Hoseok pipes up. "For real, are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good."

He feels the subtlest tug at the hem of his shirt.

Jimin's staring at him with questioning eyes of concern.

"For real, I'm just tired."

He smiles, but it doesn't seem to help reassure the boy this time. However Jimin doesn't push the subject on him. He stays quiet, as does Jeongguk for the entire ride home that evening, sitting in the passenger's side of his own car as he stares out the window. He contemplates whether to wonder or sleep. Sleeping doesn't seem to be on his mind's, agenda, however. So wondering it is.

It's around 11 p.m. by the time Taehyung finishes dropping everyone off but himself and Jeongguk. He pulls up to his own house, puts the car in park, then taps his friend's shoulder till the boy finally moves his gaze away from the window.

"Oh, right." Jeongguk unbuckles his seatbelt and prepares to get out of the car so he can move over to the driver's seat.

"Guk, you're kinda bumming me out, man."

Taehyung's tone of disappointment stops him from opening the door. "What's wrong?"

"That's what I'm asking you. Are you sick? You looked like you were gonna throw up. Several times today, and not just 'cus of the rides."

Jeongguk shakes his head, forcing a laugh. "Nah, that's passed, I'm all good."

"You're acting weird lately."

"Sleep deprivation."

"Is that it?" Taehyung tilts his head skeptically. "You've never mentioned having trouble sleeping."

"Look, Tae, it's like you said before." Opening the car door, Jeongguk drapes his legs out and stands up. "Probably stress." He closes the door, then walks around the front of the car to meet Taehyung at the other side. "I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning. Okay?"

"Mm." Taehyung scans his friend's face and sighs. Then, with one final goodbye wave, he heads down the short walkway to his house and goes inside.

Jeongguk drives himself home in silence.

Arriving at his house, he locks the door after himself, greeting his mother who's downstairs and asks him right away about his day. Normally, he'd give an enthusiastic answer to her enthusiastic question, but in his state of fatigue he responds with a blunt, "sorry, Mom, I wanna go to bed, but I'll tell you tomorrow."

He brushes his teeth, takes a quick shower, and crawls into bed. His minds tries to drift to the messages but he pulls it back to the good things that happened.

Jimin...

Just thinking about him puts a smile on Jeongguk's face. Despite not being able to fully enjoy the day, he's still grateful Taehyung won those tickets, and that the five of them could all go out and have fun together. Jimin had the chance to experience an amusement park for the first time. And he enjoyed himself, so it seemed.

Jeongguk urges himself to focus on that, to recall those soft smiles he was granted by Jimin, the touch of that boy's hands.

His happy thoughts guide him to sleep but abandon him mid-way through the night.

It's distorted. The presence of a dream, as if he's not fully dreaming, but falling in and out of one, a familiar feeling from when Jeongguk was a kid and had trouble sleeping at night, and he'd go knock on his parents' bedroom door to sleep in their bed.

But this is much worse. It's vivid and unclear at the same time, much like those messages.

Shouting, crying, pained crying in his head.

Jimin's voice. Distinctly, he recognizes it, and it jolts him awake in a cold sweat.

He sits up in bed and breathes heavily for a few seconds before hastily searching for his phone.

It's three in the morning. Disregarding this entirely, Jeongguk goes through with his urge and calls Jimin.

The phone rings five times before a groggy voice answers.

"Jeongguk-?"

"Jimin, are you alright??"

Logic is abandoned. Acting completely on impulse, Jeongguk fails to camouflage the sheer panic in his voice. There's a pause before he gets a response.

"W-...what are you talking about?" Jimin asks. "It's...3:19, why are you-"

"Are you okay?"

Another pause. "Jeongguk, did you...have a bad dream or something...?"

"I did, and I heard you crying. Are you okay?"

"I was sleeping just fine before you called and woke me up."

These words snap him from his daze. "Oh." He lets out another ragged breath, reaching up to comb his hair off his sweaty forehead. "You're right, you're right, I'm sorry, Jimin, I'm so sorry, I woke you up-"

"Did something happen?"

Jeongguk's quick to drop the subject. From guilt more than anything. "No, just the dream," he insists, swallowing his breath nervously. "I'm gonna go back to sleep. I'm sorry for waking you up, Jimin. Really sorry."

He hangs up before Jimin can say anything more.

"What's wrong with you?" He says aloud to himself. "Calling Jimin at three in the morning..."

Tossing his phone aside onto the nightstand beside his bed, Jeongguk pulls his covers over himself again and lays down to fall asleep. It's more of a struggle this time, but he refuses to let all of this get to him, and squeezes his eyes tightly shut until sleep finally welcomes him.

It's a dreamless sleep this time.

The next morning, Jeongguk wakes up feeling somewhat better, at least enough that he believes he can take on the day. It's Sunday, so it's not as though he has to worry about going to school or anything, and that alone eases him a bit. Just a day to relax at home.

Draping his legs over the bed, Jeongguk is about to stand up when he hears his phone buzz on his night stand. He takes the device in hand. Taehyung and Jimin both texted him.

-

Taegchi
you good today my guy

me
yep, no worries :)

me
well tbh i had a somewhat unsettling dream but after that passed i feel better

Taegchi
jeez man is it something you've eaten recently??

Taegchi
maybe you're lactose intolerant and the stuffs doing stuff to you

me
can that happen lol

Taegchi
idk do i look like a nutritionist

me
idk you could be

Taegchi
i'm just saying guk, maybe watch what you eat a little? it's the only thing i can think of

me
but i love dairy :(

Taegchi
well if you keep having issues then i'd say no spicy things or dairy

me
lol if you say so, certified nutritionist kim taehyung

Taegchi
is this an attack

me
i'll talk to you later tae lol

-

Jimin
are you sure you're ok

me
aww are you worried about me ( '∀｀)

Jimin
you called me in a panic at three in the morning i think that justifies a lot of reactions...

me
i'm ok

Jimin
...why were you asking if i was alright

me
lol just the dream, like i said

Jimin
what about yesterday at everland, were you sick and didn't want to tell anybody?

Jimin
cus you were acting strange then too

me
jimin, it's fine, everything's good now ✌️

me
i'll talk to you later ok? gotta get my lil brother up and get him breakfast

me
bye 👋

Jimin
bye...

-

It's conflicting. Knowing Jimin is worried about him warms a part of Jeongguk's heart but spites another, as he reminds himself the boy probably has enough to deal with already.

Sighing, Jeongguk gets to his feet and walks over to the door and opens it, then steps out into the hallway. Down the stairs, he can hear Hyungi's voice, meaning either the kid woke up on his own this morning or their mother got him up. That being said, he begins to head downstairs so that he can get breakfast for himself.

Apparently, however, Hyungi had been playing with his toys by the stairs and left them lying around instead of picking them up as he's supposed to. Jeongguk, in his sleepy state, fails to take notice of the toys and steps on one, a small wooden train with wheels that causes him to slip and fall down the stairs, all the way to the very foot of the staircase.

The noise is enough to alert his mother in the next room. She rushes out, takes in the sight of her son collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, and immediately hurries to help him up.

"Are you alright??"

He only manages to open his mouth before a sharp surge of pain in his ankle makes him clench his teeth. His mother assists him over to the living room couch as Hyungi pokes his head out of the kitchen.

"Gukkie, d'you fall?"

"I'm gonna go get your father to take a look at your ankle, okay, Jeongguk?"

"It's fine, Mom. It just twisted a little bit."

Without waiting another moment, his mother turns to go back upstairs, but she stops suddenly as she sees her husband already making his way down.

"I heard that," he says right away, face painted in confusion and concern. "Did someone fall down the stairs or something?"

"Yeah..."

"Honey, come take a look at his ankle, he may have sprained it-"

"Is Gukkie hurt?"

"Hyungi, go finish your breakfast, okay, sweetie?"

Jeongguk's father comes out into the living room, slipping on his glasses before lowering himself to the floor. "Which foot hurts?"

Jeongguk moves his left one, then winces sharply. His father placed his hand over it, presses on the ankle, then tells the boy to try moving it in a few different directions.

"It's sprained, it's definitely sprained," Jeongguk blurts. "Don't make me move it anymore, it hurts..."

"Prop it up on a pillow, I've got an old brace you can use."

"I don't wanna use a brace," the boy mumbles. "I'll just be careful with it..."

"A pair of crutches at least?"

"I don't think it's necessary."

"Do you want us to carry you everywhere, then?" His father says with a lighthearted laugh, patting his son's shoulder. "If you're gonna sit in one place all day, that's fine, but it's best not to put much pressure on it till it heals."

Jeongguk has no choice but to avoid movement as much as possible. Staying stationary on the couch...not the best way to get his mind off things, but it's what he has to do.

Hyungi sneaks up and climbs up onto the couch to lean into his brother's shoulder.

"We can watch SpongeBob. Would that make you feel better, Gukkie?"

It's impossible to be mad at him. Those were his toys inconveniently placed at the top of the stairs, but he's four years old...he didn't mean to hurt his brother and Jeongguk knows it.

"Yeah, we can watch SpongeBob, Hyun-ie..."

—