→ JHS / 23:59

hoseok really didn't want to sleep, but he had to. of course he had to. he was a living, breathing human, in the flesh. he climbed into bed, searching up 'how long can you go without sleep?', before being disappointed that it was a mere eleven days.

he sighed, setting his alarm at nine in the morning. he pulled the covers over his body and turned off the lamp. and there he lied, staring at the dark ceiling, waiting for the familiar drowsiness to take over. his eyelids fluttered, and he closed his eyes.

almost immediately, he could feel himself being dragged into a dream. it wasn't surprising—he was so worn out. but this wasn't a welcoming feeling he had embraced with his arms like years ago—it was more like he was sinking.

and he was.

he couldn't breathe, and he could feel liquid filling his lungs. it wasn't heavy enough to be blood or chemicals—it felt like water. was he drowning this time? he opened his eyes with some struggle, wincing as the water burned his eyes. it was dark, but he could definitely tell he was submerged. hoseok choked, a salty taste spreading inside his mouth. he couldn't tell if he was in a pool or in the ocean; his mind was hazy, and his eyelids felt heavier than before. 

when he tried to swim up, he realized that he physically was unable to—his wrists were tied together behind his back, and his ankles were also. he felt as if he was being dragged underwater, and he figured there was something heavy tied to him. he wasn't sure, though; maybe it felt like that because of his inability to swim at the moment.

hoseok looked down, and he saw that nothing heavy was tied to him, but he couldn't see the end. it felt as if he was being dragged into a bottomless pit; all he could see was black. he could feel his eyes rolling back, his conscience slipping away between his fingers.

he suddenly gasped, shooting up from his bed and coughing. he swiped his forehead with the back of his hand, feeling the beads of sweat gather on his skin. his tee was drenched as if he was actually drowning in the water. hoseok sighed, feeling distraught as he looked around his room.

"oh my god," hoseok bit the bottom of his lip, putting his head in his hands. "oh my god, oh god."

with shaking fingers, he reached for his phone. hoseok winced at the brightness of his screen, and the time read out to be four in the morning. the four hours that he had supposedly slept felt like a mere ten minutes.

hoseok quickly changed out of his sweat-soaked shirt that clung onto his skin. his eyelids seemed to betray him, feeling as heavy as ever; he pulled himself to bed, closing his eyes shut and hoping to dream of nothing this time.

it worked.

❀

[ a / n ] : hi guys ! ! it's been so long (it's been a year and a whole ass sixteen days), and i apologize. after i came back from my long ass hiatus of literally half a year, i focused on the sequel to 'doppelganger', aka 'vox diabolus' ! :) i'll be focusing in this book now as well, so i can complete my 'prophet trilogy' soon enough :)