-the memories of short happiness, and dreams broken into pieces, can i find it again?-

Hongjoong woke up with a massive headache.

He looked around. The sunlight was spilling through the crevices, and his eyes took a little time to adjust as he ran them around him. The boys were asleep too. It looked like he was the first one to wake up.

Hongjoong lazily ran his hand around in search for his phone, unlocking it to check the time. It was past 10. They had overslept. But since it was the weekend, it was okay. They must have been up too long last night for everyone to still be asleep.

Hongjoong got up, stretching his arms, looking for water and taking a long drink. Something was nagging at his mind, it felt like he had the strangest dream but couldn't recall it. He shook his head, checking his phone for updates.

A few moments later, he heard a groan and his head shifted to the source. It was, of all people, San who always woke up late.

"Go back to sleep, I should say," Hongjoong smiled at the sleepy head, "it's too early for you."

San took a deep breath, blinking. "We had a sleepover?"

"You don't remember?"

"Nah, I think I do, it's just..." San bent his neck, "I feel like I had the strangest dream and now my head hurts."

"Same," Hongjoong threw the water bottle at him, "Were you lucid dreaming?"

"I don't know. I forgot," San took a big gulp of water.

"Wake the others up, we should be going home now," Hongjoong said, getting up to wake some of them too.

After a few minutes of waking them up which involved massive groans and pleads for more sleep, they finally packed their stuff to go home.

"We're going out for dinner today, remember?" Wooyoung said, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, I do," Hongjoong replied, "because you're paying today."

Wooyoung groaned, muttering under his breath, earning laughs from everyone.

"Should we call Eun Byeol over too?" Seonghwa suggested.

"I texted her but she hasn't replied yet."

"She must be asleep too. It is the weekend after all," Mingi said, and Hongjoong nodded. That must be it.

None of them remembered the dream they had been stuck in.

Eun Byeol never replied.

----------

Hongjoong wondered if he should go over to Eun Byeol's place to check if she was alright, if she was doing well.

It had been two days, and she hadn't replied to any of his texts, hadn't picked any of his calls. He considered if she was too busy with her work to not have noticed her phone, but that was very unlike her. She always replied.

Hongjoong opened the chat box, scrolling through the texts, going up reading the several messages he had sent.

are you alright?

are you busy?

hey, is everything okay?

wake up already!

we're going for dinner tonight, you're joining :)

He came to the last conversation they had, reading through the messages, and all the colour left Hongjoong's face as he read the last thread.

should we really do this? -EB

we're all good at this now, i'm sure we'll be okay. -HJ

still, it's a shared dream. what if one of us gets stuck? -EB

you always think of the worst case scenario. be optimistic for once. -HJ

-_- i sometimes hate you. -EB

i know. come over, we're waiting. -HJ

Hongjoong's mind went racing. Shared dream? He remembered them talking about it, training for it, but had they really done it? Had it worked?

Is that why they boys slept over? Is that why most of them felt like they had the strangest dream, but couldn't recall? 

Hongjoong shut his eyes, trying his best to recall if they had a shared dream. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't remember. It was as if his mind was scratching at it, and that's it.

Hongjoong decided he'd go to Eun Byeol's house. If they did had a shared dream, she should be awake, unless...

He shook his head. 

He tried not to think of the possibilities. Maybe she was too busy with actual work. Maybe she didn't get his notifications. Maybe she forgot to reply.

Hongjoong reached Eun Byeol's house, ringing the door bell, and calling her phone. He got no response. After three tries, he looked around, making sure no one was around and climbed the wall, landing on the soft grass.

He checked the door. Locked. He went around the house until he came to the window of Eun Byeol's room, and peeked inside. The curtains were drawn, but he could see someone lying on the bed through the little gap.

"Eun Byeol, open up!" He knocked at the window, but the figure didn't stir. He called her phone, hearing the faint ringtone, but indeed, she did not respond. She was sleeping.

His suspicions were confirmed. They had a shared dream, and she never woke up.

Hongjoong picked a rock lying on the ground and smashed the window, covering his hand with his jacket, opening the window from inside and entered the room.

Eun Byeol was sleeping, but there was a faint frown etched on her face, almost like she was having a nightmare.

Hongjoong hesitated a little before poking her cheek. She didn't react. He whispered her name before saying it out loud, but she was too deep in sleep and no matter how much he said her name or shook her, she wouldn't wake up.

Hongjoong sank to the floor by her bed, tears of frustration and regret leaving his eyes. He sat with his face in his hands, allowing himself to cry for a while before he finally took a deep breath, getting up.

The first thing he did was look around the house for carboard to nail on the broken window. He'd get that fixed later. 

Next, he made sure Eun Byeol was comfortable. Now he'd find a way to wake her up.

If he had to dream again, he would.

----------

Hongjoong woke up to the sound of footsteps approaching him. He opened his eyes, finding himself on the couch in the warehouse.

He looked in front of him. And for a second, he thought he was hallucinating. 

One of Dark Ateez was standing in front of him.. with the hourglass in his hand.

Hongjoong skidded backwards in the couch as the figure approached him, bringing the hourglass forward. Dark Hongjoong.

A sharp pain went through his head and everything went black.

Hongjoong woke up.

Was I dreaming, he thought. His eyes went to the hourglass in front of him, on the table.

I'm dreaming.

A dream in a dream.

Dark Hongjoong had showed him what to do. He was going back again. He was going to turn back time. 

But first, he needed his friends. 

We're coming, Eun Byeol, he thought as his friends joined him, determined.

-------------

Thank you, to all who read and supported this ff. It was my first fanfiction ever, and it holds a special place in my heart. This is not the end- I will write a sequel to this fanfiction when the storyline is clearer- maybe after Zero era is complete. After all, I can't be a bigger clown with theories than I already am :D 

I hope you enjoyed this book! Check out my other works if you want to :)