That night, Eli dreamed again.
He stood beneath an archway of carved stone, dressed in layered silk robes. Moonlight bathed the courtyard, where cherry blossoms drifted in the wind. And there, as always, he was waiting.
Kai—no,the man who looks like kai.His hair was longer, his presence regal, his eyes filled with the same quiet devotion.
"Eli," the man whispered, voice heavy with sorrow. "Don't go."
Eli reached out, but just as their hands touched, the dream dissolved into morning light.
---
He rubbed his temples as he walked to class. "These dreams… they're too real. And why does Kai look exactly like him?"
The day unfolded with strange familiarity.
At lunch, Eli reached for a tray in the cafeteria only to bump into someone—Kai again. The soup nearly spilled, but Kai's hand steadied it before it fell.
"You should be more careful," Kai said softly.
Eli muttered thanks, heart stuttering. That exact line—he swore he had heard it before, not here, but in his dreams.
Later, in the hallway, Eli dropped his notebook. Before he could bend to pick it up, Kai was already there, handing it to him with the faintest smile. Their fingers brushed, and Eli's breath hitched.
That night, he dreamed of a scroll slipping from his hands in a candlelit chamber. And there was Kai again—dressed as a king—picking it up for him with that same gentle smile.
Eli jolted awake, chest tight. The line between dream and reality was starting to blur.
And everywhere he turned, Kai was there—waiting, watching, as though protecting something fragile.
---