Chapter Text
It’s dark.
Jungwon’s head feels as heavy as the weight of the inkyness around him, which doesn't feel as suffocating as much as it does like a thick blanket over his body. It’s comforting.
Ah, he thinks belatedly. He must have fallen asleep. He should really stop letting Sunoo rope him into spontaneously watching all those k-dramas. (He won't. He likes spending time with his hyung, as he does with any of his members.)
The dark hasn't eased, and Jungwon doesn't think it's time for him to get up yet, but he's learnt long ago that you’re almost never right when it comes to assuming the time.
He knows he should probably go check, at least, but he makes no move to get up.
He doesn’t particularly feel like getting up, and judging by the lack of feeling in his limbs, neither does his body. Gosh, they must have had a long schedule the day before, although Jungwon can’t recall what they had at all.
An interview, maybe?
Jungwon's face scrunches into a frown at that.
In the privacy of the dark, he’ll let himself be honest. He’s not a fan of interviews, especially not since that interview, but the lack of boundaries is astounding. He'll never understand why they feel the need to ask such personal questions.
Jungwon stops himself from thinking anymore. He’s tired, and working his inner voice is too much work right now. He closes his eyes, determined to get as much rest as possible before he really has to get up.
By pure compulsion, and maybe as a byproduct of his poor sleeping habits, Jungwon starts to drift back to sleep.
(If only his head could get the message, too.)
He’s able to fall into the clutches of a deep slumber when he comes back that stupid question he wishes he’d never heard and that he’d just forget.
“If we never met each other?
…I think we’d be doing well”
Something akin to unease wraps around him, and pulls him down into the dark.
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When Jungwon wakes up again, it’s not to his alarm on his phone, nor is it to his members.
Instead, he’s greeted by the damp nose that is Maeumi’s. It’s a little gross if he’s being honest; he’d much rather an alarm, but hey, at least he’s awa-
Wait-
Maeumi?
Jungwon shoots up, eyes flying open at a speed that’ll make them hurt for the rest of the day, the glaring feeling of wrong hitting him like vertigo.
Why is Maeumi in their dorm-
Oh. This is most definitely not their dorm.
Instead of the glaringly white wall that Jungwon has grown accustomed to waking up to is a large window, which gives way to a clear view of the rising sun. And in the corner where another bunk usually sits, is instead a desk scattered with pens and highlighters. He turns to see a charging phone on the bedside table - he frowns at that - and a white Maltese grumbling on the floor. Jungwon winces - the poor dog must have fallen off when Jungwon suddenly sat up. Sorry Maeumi (?).
Despite the fact that Jungwon has no fucking idea where he is, the room is familiar. It looks like Jungwon’s own room at his parents’ house, only... more lived in.
He looks back at the dog now settling on a discarded jumper, the gears in his head turning rapidly. He blindly reaches for the phone - oh, and it is his phone too - and checks the date in a daze.
It’s the day after he last remembers, so unless the company’s decided to pull a prank on him, or he’d magically made it home, something isn’t right.
The more he thinks about it - the clothes that he’s currently has on that he definitely didn’t put on last night, the extra posters on the walls that he’s never seen before, the bag next to his desk that he doesn’t remember buying, the black hair on his head that feels untouched and undyed - the more the pieces start to come together.
Oh. Jungwon’s heart sinks.
This isn’t my world.
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As much as Jungwon wishes he could say that he was processing this well, he was raised to be a good and honest child (even if lying seems to come so naturally to him nowadays). At the very least, he can truthfully say that he is not panicking.
That’s probably because he completely blanked out after his… conclusion, of sorts. He has no idea how long he zoned out for, but he can’t bring himself to get out of bed.
He lets out a sigh, flopping back onto the mattress and turning onto his side to face the wall. He wraps the blankets around him, letting the smell of the lavender detergent he always uses surround him.
As comforting as it is, it’s missing something, and for some reason, it makes his heart ache.
Pulling the blanket over his head, Jungwon can’t help but feel so out of his depth, and for once, he’ll admit that he doesn’t know what to do.
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When Jungwon wakes again (for the third time now), the sun is notably higher in the sky than it was before. He hopes that maybe he’s returned to his original universe, but if the white dog curled up beside him is any indication, he hasn’t been so lucky. He isn’t surprised; he’s been on a bad luck streak lately.
Not wanting to push Maeumi off the bed for the second time today (he’s still sorry about that), Jungwon carefully slips out of the bed and heads to the bathroom.
He’s a bit reluctant to use a toothbrush that isn’t really his, so he opts for a new one altogether. At the back of his head, his halmeoni scolds him for wasting the toothbrush. He counters that he’s just being polite.
He does use the same shampoo and body wash though - but tsks at the poor choice of conditioner - since it's not uncommon for him to use somebody else's when he's lazy.
It’s only after Jungwon finishes his shower that he realises how quiet the house is. How strange, he thinks as he changes into a different pair of sweats and a shirt. It’s probably late morning by now, but no one has come up to check on him.
He’s grateful for it though. He doesn’t know how he’d be able to interact with anyone right now.
Maeumi gives him a look, clearly affronted by the idea that the headpats Jungwon gave him earlier weren’t considered interactions. Jungwon levels him with a stare of his own.
“You’re a dog, Maeumi. You don’t count as a person.”
He’s a dog, and yet you’re still talking to him anyways, Jungwon thinks.
Maeumi huffs, turning his head the other way.
“With that attitude, you might as well be a person,” Jungwon mutters as he turns to his closet to grab a hoodie.
He has no idea how Maeumi managed to hear his thoughts and understand what he was saying or whatever, but, like everything else he's had to deal with today, he’s choosing to ignore it.
(He’s also ignoring how empty his closet looks without Sunoo’s oversized sweaters or Sunghoon’s full length coats or Riki’s assortment of shirts mixed in.)
He’s pleasantly surprised to see that he still has most of the same clothes he has back home, choosing to put on the dark blue hoodie.
He finally makes his way to the kitchen, Maeumi following closely behind, where he finds a note on the counter.
‘I know you don’t check your phone in the morning, so I left this note. I’m staying over at Hyejin’s place for a few days. Don’t tell mom or dad ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’
His lips twitch upwards. From his sister, then.
A quick glance at the calendar on the fridge tells Jungwon that his parents must be on a business trip again. Huh. He supposes that’s still the same here too. Well, that explains why the house is so quiet. He’s glad for it, though.
“Guess it’s just you and me, Maeumi.” he turns to face the dog again.
Except, Maeumi has scurried off somewhere, undoubtedly with better things to do.
Jungwon sighs. Just me, then.
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Jungwon ends up on the couch for a couple of hours. Not even watching TV or anything. Just. Sitting there. Blankly. He’s still processing things.
Actually, he’d gotten everything through his head a while ago. He just doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t even know how to start.
Okay, okay.
Let’s break this down.
Right now, he has a problem. What does he usually do when he has a problem? Turn to some trusted of course.
Oh.
Okay, he can’t do that either, so it's back to square one.
He’s interrupted out of his thoughts by a soft plunk of metal at his feet. Looking down, he sees the tail end of a leash on the floor, eyes following it to find the other end in Maeumi’s mouth.
He glances at the dog, the unspoken request coming together all too slowly for his liking. Maeumi nudges at his leg before pointing his nose towards the door. Ah. A walk.
A walk. Yeah. He can do that.
Slowly, he moves to crouch beside the dog, picking up the metal clip. He’s only done this a few times before, but thankfully Maeumi just sits there patiently.
“So you do know how to be nice,” he says weakly, ruffling Maeumi’s white fur.
He trails after the dog as he pads to the door, where he stops and turns to look at Jungwon expectantly. Huffing a smile, Jungwon opens the door, before slipping on his shoes and following.
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By the time Jungwon flops back onto his bed for the night, he’s way more tired than he thought he’d be.
Seriously, though. Considering the fact that he usually has hours of dance practice and vocal lessons on top of all these schedules, today was nothing compared to that.
It was only after he’d gotten to the park that he realised that he basically had a couple of free days, but it’s not like he knows how to spend them either.
The walk had done him some good. It’s amazing what fresh air can do for some wallowing in self pity.
On their way back. he’d regained enough of his bearings to make a detour to the convenience store for some ice cream and to buy some conditioner that was not going to dry out his hair (there was no way he was letting that sorry excuse of a hair product anywhere near his hair).
Then, he’d gone back home to catch up on some dramas and do whatever for the rest of the day. So he really shouldn’t be as tired as he is. Maybe it’s his body.
No, that’s not right. When he tried to cook dinner before, he was thoroughly disappointed that his poor cooking skills had translated through to this world as well.
Hah. Cooking classes don't sound like a bad idea. Maybe he’ll learn to cook now that he’s free.
Jungwon hums in thought. It’s starting to look like he might be here for a while.
From what he gathered, school didn’t start for another couple of weeks and his homework was, thankfully, already completed. Good work this-Jungwon! He’d quit taekwondo just recently too, at least, he thinks so, so he doesn't have to worry about that either. The amount of relief he felt when he found out - he doesn’t know how much he trusts his muscle memory to help him.
Everything else is mostly the same, except for the fact that, well, Enhypen was never formed. It really is as though they’d never met.
(The thought leaves a bitter taste on his tongue.)
He wonders if everyone else is really doing well. Is it worth looking for them and finding out?
He's curious, he'll admit, and maybe he misses them just a bit. And, he knows that some of them have admitted to being so much happier after the group was formed, so maybe…
Maybe it’d be worth it.
Tomorrow , Jungwon decides. He’ll start looking tomorrow.