Chapter Text
Jisung sat up straight in his bed. Tears were streaming down his face, though he could barely remember why. He vaguely remembered a complicated dream about having a boyfriend. He squeezed his eyes shut, and leftover tears spilled out. A deep part of him, what he could only imagine was his soul, was trying to remember all the details he could.
Trees, doors, animals…liking cats?
He desperately reached for more.
Flowers, camping, cuddles…
The more he remembered, the warmer he felt.
An island but not, pastel trees, daisies, roses, a church.
The church. Arms around his waist. The double doors. A soft kiss on his neck. Cold tears.
Jisung could not stop crying. It felt like a part of his soul was ripped from him as soon as he woke up. The longer he stayed awake, the more the man in his dreams slipped away.
Animals, cats, about his height, older than him…animals…shelter?
Animal shelter!
Jisung aggressively pushed his blankets to the side. His clock said 5:37AM, so couldn’t travel anywhere at this hour, but he could look up animal shelters around the area. He opened the maps app on his phone and searched for the strongest clue he had to find whoever won his heart. It was silly for him to think that the mystery man (what was his name?) would instantly fall for him, but maybe if he offered to volunteer, they could get to know each other better. Whatever his name was, he was amazing. Jisung was convinced there was no other person in the world for him.
So ridiculous. All over a stupid dream.
He tagged a few candidate locations and forced his mind to calm the hell down and go back to sleep! He was tempted to text one of his (many) insomniac friends, but they would probably think he was dreaming up another crazy idea. It wouldn’t be the first time he shared a dream adventure with them, but this was so different, so real. They wouldn’t understand.
Jisung bundled himself tightly under his sheets, rocking himself back and forth. He sharply inhaled, puffing out his cheeks on each exhale as the tears started falling again. Closing his eyes, he held a mental picture of the double doors in his mind where he could find his love, with some kind of design on the windows that was too blurry to make out properly. As he forced himself to remember the details between every violent gasp of breath, and every tear falling on his pillow, he exhausted himself into a restless slumber.
Jisung had no new dreams since his journey traveling through the doors and meeting the boy over and over again. As much as he tried to force his mind to relive the flashes of memories he had during the week, he just couldn’t. They were only pictures, not videos. His travel plans had also been delayed by a heavier-than-normal load of college classwork. Despite all that, by Saturday, he had a route to visit three different animal shelters.
He knew as he drove to the first location that following the instructions of a dream in real life was crazy. Telling his friends seemed out of the question. Not to mention he didn’t remember this person’s name! And how should he go about asking for this person if he didn’t recognize him? Jisung sensed there was an extra piece of the puzzle he was missing, but it was too frustrating to go through all the scenery to remember what.
All he knows is that the man of his dreams wants to be found, and by God, Jisung is willing to tear up the town trying to find him.
The first shelter he entered doesn’t feel right. He found it too serious for the playful boy he met. Jisung doesn’t even know what his job is at the animal shelter, just that he works at one! The second shelter didn’t quite feel right either, devoid of trees or flowers, so Jisung didn’t even enter it. Instead of getting more anxious as he approached the third shelter, he started to feel more calm. He had never been to the neighboring college before, but the trees looked too familiar to him.
Once he entered the parking lot, he was drawn to the doors by an invisible force. He almost broke into tears right then, because suddenly he remembered once he looked up at them.
Brown double doors, two glass panels, two decals, one cat, and one dog.
His love was inside.
Jisung took a deep breath, shook the oncoming tears away, and walked in the building. The air was light and joyful, reminding him how he felt in the dream man’s presence.
“Hello, can I help you?” A young man behind the desk asked, wearing the name tag ‘Jeongin(nie).’
Jisung chuckled at the parentheses in his name. “I’d like to talk to someone about volunteering, if that’s something you do here.”
“Yeah! We could always use some help around here! Let me find the volunteer coordinator. He’s probably babying the cats again. I’ll be right back.”
Jeongin rushed back, and Jisung took a look around at the various decorations on the walls. Among various pictures of cute animals and their success stories, there were three paintings. The first was a bouquet of daisies and yellow roses. The second was an abstract painting full of pastel colors. And the third was an island surrounded by a body of water that was barely tinted blue.
And Jisung 100% knew he was in the right place.
The memories came flooding back to him. Vivid videos playing in his mind of conversations with his soul bound mate. Them holding hands, cuddling, crying together...everything about that dream made Jisung smile. The more time he spends here, the more likely he’ll get to know…
“Hello, can I help you?”
Jisung turned around to see a man around his height arrive from the back. He had severely faded orange hair, blending with his brown roots. His stained overalls covered a long-sleeved white shirt with blue trim.
“What’s your name?” Jisung knew it was him, but the name was on the tip of his tongue.
“My name’s Minho. What’s yours?”
Jisung wanted to run right into his arms, elated that he finally knew his name, but instead awkwardly walked forward and reached his hand out. “My name is Jisung.”
Minho gave him a strange look. “Nice to meet you, Jisung-ssi. Have we met before?”
Jisung didn’t know how to answer. Saying no was the truth, but somehow a lie too. “Do you remember me from somewhere?”
“It feels like it.” Minho shook Jisung’s hand, and they both felt warmth in their hearts. “Jeonginnie said you want to volunteer?”
“Yeah.” Jisung’s eyes turned glassy, not believing Minho was actually in front of him. “I like cats. A lot.”
“Enough to cry over them?” Minho teased with the smile that had been burned in Jisung’s memory for days now.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“What kind of conversation is this?”
Both men turned to look at Jeongin, settled back into his office chair, looking amused and confused, forgetting that he even existed. Jisung certainly knew Minho could do that to him, and hoped Minho would feel the same way soon enough.
Jisung did the hard part. He found Minho and, at least for now, didn’t scare him off. Based on their first real life interaction, things seemed to be looking up. For them to work out, he needed to stay patient. Some force outside of themselves had brought them together, and that extended dream was the happiest Jisung felt in a long time. Jisung bashfully smiled at Minho, realizing he missed something he said after being so lost in his thoughts.
“What was that?”
“Let’s meet the cats, if you like them so much.” The smile Minho gave Jisung was full of love. “Follow me, and I’ll tell you all about them.”