"You said her therapy isn't helping her? Why didn't she consult different doctors? Does she even know what's triggering her issues?" Hyunsu asked as his sister drove him home.
"It's about her past," Nina responded, her voice tinged with concern. "She probably can't let go of it. She's still trying to uncover details about her past, but her parents won't let her. I think there's some trauma buried deep within her, but she won't let anyone in. She acts too tough, brother."
Hyunsu's face softened as he listened, his expression thoughtful. "You should help her. You're her only friend, right?" he said, a slight pout forming on his lips.
"What help can I offer? You didn't see her, brother," Nina said, her voice tinged with worry. "There was a time I watched her cry non-stop, staring at the rain.
Even to this day, if she sees rain, either she loses her balance or cries her heart out. That's why I kept her house dark and played music—just to drown out the sound of the raindrops."
Hyunsu's heart ached as he listened to Nina's words, the weight of Luna's pain sinking in.
Nina continued, her voice soft yet insistent, "Brother, we should help her. I truly believe you're the only one who can."
"Without her cooperation, I can't do anything either," Hyunsu replied quietly, his thoughts drifting back to the events of the previous night. After a pause, he added, "But I think I have a way to handle it."
The night before...
After Hyunsu and Nina took care of Luna's condition, he was supposed to sleep on the couch outside, while Nina rested in another room.
But sleep eluded him, the weight of his anxiety for Luna keeping him restless. Unable to ignore his concern, he quietly got up and tiptoed into Luna's room. What he saw made his heart tighten—Luna was tossing in her bed, drenched in sweat, murmuring incoherently.
Without hesitation, he rushed to her side, taking her hand in his. He gently wiped the sweat from her forehead, his thumb brushing against her skin as he whispered softly, trying to soothe her.
"It's okay, Luna... you're safe now."
Gradually, her restless movements slowed, and she quieted down, though her grip on his hand remained strong.
Hyunsu hesitated, his body yearning to pull away, but afraid of waking her, he quietly pulled up a chair beside her. He sat there, watching her intently as she slept, his gaze soft but full of concern.
"Long time, Luna. I really missed you..." he whispered, his voice low, carrying a weight of unspoken emotion.
"I wished for your health, but why are you still holding onto something you've lost?" he murmured gently, his words floating into the quiet room, knowing she couldn't hear him but needing to speak anyway.
As time passed, the fatigue from his long journey began to weigh on Hyunsu, and he finally drifted into a deep sleep beside her, unaware of when exactly sleep had overtaken him.
That's when the unexpected happened. He could never have imagined the truth of what Luna had been going through all these years.
As Hyunsu slipped further into slumber, the atmosphere in Luna's room shifted, becoming something entirely different. The walls and furniture faded, replaced by the soft, gentle rustling of trees in a peaceful park.
Tall, graceful trees swayed with the breeze, their leaves shimmering in the light. People walked along winding paths, some in wheelchairs, others holding hands with loved ones, offering quiet support and care.
In the distance, a large, imposing building stood—a hospital, its towering presence somehow both unsettling and calm, nestled within the tranquil park.
"What's happening to you? Why are we here today? Are you not feeling well? Why are we at the hospital?" a young man asked the woman sitting in the chair.
He kept talking, but she didn't respond. She sat motionless, her eyes fixed on nothing, her expression distant. The young man watched her helplessly, his brow furrowed in confusion, unsure of what was going on.
"Isn't that Luna?
"Where am I? Why does everything feel so real?" Hyunsu thought to himself, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
His gaze shifted to the other figure beside Luna, the presence beside her almost as familiar as her own.
"Who is that other person sitting next to her?" Hyunsu wondered, his curiosity tugging at him as he slowly moved closer, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation, drawn by an unfamiliar tension in the air.
Little did Hyunsu know, this was all just a dream Luna was having. The young man sitting beside her was Jae, her long-lost companion, and he had unknowingly been dragged into her dream world.
With time, Jae also grew up in Luna's dreams. Over the years, he relived the same accident countless times, trapped in a never-ending cycle that seemed to repeat with every turn of Luna's mind.
Each version of him that appeared in her dream world seemed to carry the weight of another failed attempt to break the cycle. He would change his approach, trying to reach her through different means, yet it always felt like he was chasing a ghost of a life they could never reclaim.
On some days, Jae would try to make her smile—small jokes, playful gestures, anything to spark a flicker of recognition. He had seen her smile before. He had witnessed the moments when her laugh would light up the world around them.
But each time, his efforts were met with an unspoken distance, as though Luna was untouchable, lost in the labyrinth of her own memories.
On other days, Jae would sit beside her in silence, the two of them together yet so far apart. The quiet hours stretched endlessly as they waited for something, anything, to break the tension, to bridge the gap between them.
But Luna never spoke. Her eyes were distant, locked in a place he couldn't reach, unable to hear his silent pleas.
There were days when his instincts to protect her surged, pushing him to be her shield against whatever danger her dreams conjured.
No matter how much time passed or how many times he tried, Jae was still confined to this endless cycle, locked in a world that wasn't his own, at the mercy of Luna's deepest fears and unspoken desires.
"LuLu, even though I see you every day, I still miss you. I miss our conversations, your laughter, you calling me Jae—I miss everything about you," he said softly, gently holding her hand.
"Who is Jae?" Hyunsu thought, still unaware of the dream's true nature, watched helplessly from the sidelines, his gaze torn between the vivid dream unfolding before him.
Jae's eyes, dark and deep, were filled with unspoken concern, constantly scanning her as if searching for a sign that she would wake up. He was dressed casually, in a plain shirt and jeans, but there was something about him that made him stand out—his posture was tense, yet tender, as though he was trying to be both strong and gentle at the same time.
His hand was gently placed over hers, his fingers curling around her hand in a protective yet uncertain way, as if afraid of letting go. Though he seemed calm on the outside, there was a vulnerability in his gaze, a raw emotion that he couldn't hide.
"When will everything go back to normal? I feel like I'm suffocating more every day. Can you help me get out of here?" Jae's voice was sharp, but his eyes glistened with tears as he spoke to her, holding her hand tightly.
Just as Hyunsu reached out to touch Luna from behind, a powerful gust of wind swept through the space, pulling him back. The force was so strong that he couldn't resist, and before he knew it, he was back in the room. His surroundings blurred, and when his eyes finally opened, he found himself back at Luna's side.
For a moment, the world felt suspended in time. Hyunsu blinked, trying to make sense of what had just happened, his mind racing. The hospital, the dream, Jae—it all seemed so real, yet here he was, back in the present, looking at Luna.
***
"Was all of that just a dream?" Hyunsu wondered. "Even if it was, why would I dream about some stranger I've never met in my entire life? It's so strange." Hyunsu muttered aloud, his thoughts drifting back to the vivid memory.
"What dream? Who is this stranger?" his sister asked, pulling him back to reality as they arrived home.
"Nothing," he replied quickly, brushing off his thoughts.
As they got out of the car, Hyunsu hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should ask, but eventually, he did.
"Have you ever heard the name 'Jae' from Luna?"
"No, not that I remember. Why?" Nina replied, opening the trunk to grab the luggage.
"I think I heard that name while she was murmuring last night in her sleep. Maybe it could help us figure something out?" Hyunsu said, as they both walked toward the house.
"Ah, finally. I'm back," Hyunsu muttered, a sense of relief washing over him as he entered the house.
"Okay, take some rest. Our parents will be here in the evening. I'll pick them up on my way back from work. We can have a family dinner."
"Can you check on the status of my car while you're coming back?" Hyunsu asked his sister as she was about to leave.
"Is it urgent? When are you starting your work at the hospital?" she asked.
"In a week. Let me settle down a little first. We also need to find an apartment closer to the hospital," he said.
"Why don't you just stay here with us? You've already been away for so long. At least spend some time with us, please, brother," she pleaded, her face filled with concern.
After she left, Hyunsu quickly opened his laptop and began sifting through his research documents, his mind focused on Luna and the strange, vivid dream he'd had.
The memory of Jae and the questions that had lingered since his encounter with Luna's subconscious kept nagging at him. There had to be a connection, something he could find in his research that would explain it all.
He quickly sent an email to a colleague, requesting some case files related to patients who had experienced similar symptoms to Luna—nightmares, memory loss, and emotional detachment. Hyunsu knew that Luna's condition was more than just a regular sleep disorder.
It was as if her mind was trapped, trying to hold onto something that she couldn't fully remember.
His hands moved over the keyboard in a rush, and he could feel the pressure mounting as he typed. There was something significant about Luna's situation, and he couldn't let it slip through his fingers.
But even as he searched for answers, a lingering thought haunted him: what if his dream about Jae wasn't just a figment of his imagination? What if it was somehow linked to Luna's past, something deeper than he could understand?
As he hit "send" on the email, he leaned back in his chair, his thoughts swirling with more questions than answers.