Pa.s.sing through the lounge, I pus.h.i.+ng open the dong or which I a.s.sume leads to her bedroom. Sticking my head inside, my thoughts are confirmed. The interior is stylized much like the rest of the apartment, modern furnis.h.i.+ng and single toned colour scheme of white and black. It reminds one more of an art museum's aesthetic rather than a home.

Making my way over to the queen-sized bed, I lay her down gently as possible and slowly tuck her in. Fixing her hair that's covering her face and taking off her shoes. She squirms a bit but she doesn't wake.

I offer one final check, to ensure that she is comfortable, and then prepare to leave. Just as I'm about to turn the lights off, Chae-won begins coughing violently

*arghu arghu*

Rus.h.i.+ng over, I notice that her expression is a bit off. Her eyebrows are t.i.tling knitted together and her complexion is paler than before. Is she having a nightmare?

I lightly pat her back like a mother would when burping her child. Luckily this seems to have done the trick. She is soon pacified. I continue for a while however, I seemed to have entered a trance.

Seeing her vulnerability makes me wonder, if this is the calm and collected person I know. I guess everyone hides something.

Thinking back to my first adopted family, I can't help but remember my mom, or more accurately the only woman who treated me like her own child. That year with her was the happiest of my life. She saved the little kid cowering in fear, with a simple smile.

My reminiscing is thankfully cut short before any of the sombre moments are thought of. Chae-won has grabbed onto my free hand and is holding onto it for dear life.

'What's scaring you so Chae-won?'

With not much thought, I climb onto her bed and lift her up to my chest. Holding her close, her breath tickles but in a comfortable way. Slowly in this room , a rhythm begins to form between the beating of our hearts, the tapping of her back and our breathing.

I am sleepy. My eyelids grow heavy. Down and the back up. Up and then back down.

My surroundings have vanished and I drift off to sleep dreaming of my mother again

'It's been a while. Your face may have changed but you are still the same' She says

'You were never one to hurt others. But don't keep it bottled in my boy, you'll only hurt yourself. Share your pain with others. You don't have to pretend. It's tiring isn't it ' She proceeds to kiss me on the forehead like she would always do when sending me off to school, she then hugs me like she did that night. Tight. Unbearably Tight. Where she got that strength from in that tiny little frame always remains a mystery

A train's siren whistles, and my mom turns in its direction.

'I have to leave now, my boy. But whenever you need me, I'm always there for you' She says pointing to my heart.

My chest aches so much. I try and reach out to stop her but my body is frozen. Fighting against every instinct that tries to stop me. I scream, I scream but no sound comes out

The words, that I want to say trapped inside of me. Only once her back has entirely vanished and she offers me one last smile. Am I able to move, running after her, chasing after the train and failing.

'Mom, Mom! I ... love you... I miss you! and ... and Goodbye!!' I scream as tears begin flowing uncontrollably

When a blinding wall of light appears and I suddenly awake. Realizing that everything that just happened was a pigment of my imagination. Feeling a tear on my face, I wipe it and the evidence of sleep that remains.

Grabbing my phone on the bedside table. I check the time, and much like I suspected. I had stayed over the night.

'I definitely overstayed my welcome' I chuckle

Looking down, I find Chae-won still thankfully still asleep in the same position she had settled in the night before. She looked so beautiful as she lay there with her eyes shut and her breathing made her look so relaxed.

Unable to resist the urge, I stroke her hair and watch her slowly stir, wrinkling her nose. This little action of hers is s.e.xier than you can imagine, it is overwhelmingly so. I felt like touching her face that was so soft as her cheeks had a little colour to them. She starts to stir and move her head and arms dragging me closer to her, sighing in delight.

Opening her eyes and rubs them with her hands, ever so slowly she faces me and after a minute of ogling she says groggily

"If this is a dream, let me get 5 more minutes"

Seems like even Chae-won finds this situation unbelievable. I tease her, "Oh! do you dream of me often?"

"Not really, but every once in a while" She says, "Hey! since when can I have a conversation in my dream" She asks

"I don't know, but I think it's because .... this isn't one"

She proceeds to pinch herself , and then pinch me.

"Ouch! That hurts Chae-won" I yelp in pain

Her eyes bulge as she confirms the state of affairs is true and real. She pushes me from her embrace which sends me cras.h.i.+ng hard onto the floor

'Seriously, why are all the women in my life freakishly strong?'

A high pitched scream then echoes in the room, "DYLAN!!!"

"Dylan..... what are you doing here?"

"(hehe)..... #cliffkun"