Dream of the night wind

Rosé It was already approaching eight in the evening, and I was unforgivably late. To make matters worse, my bus hadn't come, and I'd had to make the entire journey to my friend's house on foot. Jaw clenched, I pushed hurriedly through the crowds of people out for an evening stroll — couples breathing in the fresh night air — and envied them with a ferocity I was powerless to suppress. Yes, as painful as it was to admit, I was a complete failure when it came to my personal life, and I felt genuinely sorry for myself. I was bitter at this whole cursed world for containing none of the things I actually needed. But the most disheartening thing of all was that in this world there had never been him — my beloved. The one from my dreams. Sometimes it seemed to me that I had wanted someone's love so desperately that, having failed to find it in reality, I had simply invented it for myself — along with a stranger who loved me. And naturally he was strikingly handsome. How could he be anything less? I smirked, but then sighed. Knowing my wild imagination, which had begun making itself known practically from infancy, the fact that I had conjured up a virtual boyfriend in the absence of a real one didn't seem all that incredible. Since no one I'd ever been drawn to in this world had been drawn to me in return, I had simply retreated into myself in protest — building my own worlds inside my imagination. And that had suited me perfectly well. Until today. For some reason, my own loneliness felt particularly sharp today — after that impossibly vivid dream I still hadn't managed to shake. And then on top of that, the hallucinations… all in all, a complete breakdown. Like the old joke: "Motion is life!" said my mind — and promptly drove off. I sighed heavily again, mentally lamenting my failed personal life, but pulled myself together when I spotted my friend's enormous mansion up ahead, blazing with bright lights. Actually, I had already guessed I was getting close from the noise alone — the music screaming out into the street was probably audible several blocks away. All that remained was to cross the rather busy road — and the night of "unbridled fun" was ready to throw open its drunk, sweaty arms — but I was suddenly distracted by a movement beside me. I lurched back in fright and nearly fell when, mere centimeters from my face and nearly brushing it with its wings, a black owl flew past — appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the city. Its soft feathers grazed my cheek like a weightless, velvety caress, and I stood frozen, stunned. What on earth was that?! A nocturnal bird of prey — and a rare one at that — flying down a busy Seoul street where it had absolutely no business being? Nonsense. I drew a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and finally shook off the paralysis gripping my entire body and stepped out onto the road. But when I raised my head… I froze again, barely breathing, unable to believe my eyes — because in the crowd of passersby, my gaze suddenly snagged on a face I knew with an almost painful certainty. It was him. There was not a shadow of a doubt. The boy from my dreams. The one who had visited me every night for as long as I could remember. The one I had spent last night with too… He was standing on the other side of the street, looking directly at me, and I was utterly powerless to look away. I felt as though time itself had stopped, and the world around me had simply ceased to exist. Every color and sound vanished, severing the two of us from everything else, and the only thing I could see were his eyes — deep navy, bottomless as outer space, and just as hypnotically beautiful. I felt as though I was drowning in them even across the distance between us, and some unknown, invisible force was quite literally pulling me toward him. And then… he smiled at me — so tenderly, as though he had spent his whole life waiting for me alone — and raising his hand, beckoned me to him, and I, as if bewitched, stepped out onto the road, no longer seeing anything but his hypnotic blue eyes and that gentle smile that was making my heart go completely to pieces… The distance between us was shrinking rapidly, and it seemed to me that just a little more — and I would reach out my hands and finally, finally be able to touch him… But… it was not to be. The screech of tires rang out suddenly, very close — slicing through my nerves that were already stretched to breaking point — and I managed only to turn my head, tearing myself away from the spellbinding eyes of the dark-haired boy waiting on the other side, just in time to see a Mercedes hurtling straight toward me. My heart missed a beat and froze in terror, but… it was too late. And then came… the shriek of brakes, a sharp burst of pain that turned everything black, someone's loud screaming — and finally, the merciful darkness, which opened its arms and received me.