Dream Girl
tripleS Sohyun x Male Reader (OC)
Word count: 4.9k | Tags: Fluff
A/n: Hello itâs been a while! This story had been in the making for quite a while. Iâm still having troubles with writing good dialogue but I think I got this one nailed (still working on it tho). Anyways, please enjoy the fic. Thanks!!
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Sleep comes as a luxury for a guy like me nowadays. Most nights, I'm swamped, catching up on readings about a new shark fossil discovery in the Grand Canyon, or doomscrolling on my phone until the sun creeps through my blinds. Some nights, I'm just laying there, spiraling about a job hunt that feels like it's never going to pan out. And on the rare nights when sleep does come, it's only for a couple of hours. I can't afford any more absences in my courses.
Today's different, though. I'm finally getting some sunlight because I have a lecture to attend about a dinosaur fossil discovered fifty years ago. A part of me really didn't want to go, but my roommate pointed out that being trapped in my room for weeks was probably doing more harm than good. Plus, there's an extra credit opportunity, literally just my signature on the attendance list, and extra credit is guaranteed. So, here I am.
On my way there, my phone buzzed. It was a text from my best friend, Nakyoung: "On your way to the auditorium?" I replied with a simple "Yes," and not a minute later, she answered back: "Ok, see you at the campus." I rubbed the side of my head, pocketed my phone, and moseyed on toward the university.
The bright blue gates of our school were already in sight when a familiar voice called out, "Hey, Younghyuâ" and as soon as I turned toward it, "OMG! What happened to you?" It was Nakyoung, her eyes wide with shock. I guess my sleepless state was more obvious than I thought.
"Nice to see you too, Naky," I huffed.
She walked closer, her expression shifting from surprise to concern. "Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing my face and tilting it side to side to get a better look.
"Do I look like I'm okay?" I mumbled as she manhandled my face, inspecting every unwanted blemish and dark circle. "I haven't had a good night's sleep in almost two weeks."
Being the studious, type-A person she is, Nakyoung is always prepared. She let go of my face and started digging through her purse, finally fishing out a box of pimple patches. "At least cover up your 'new friends,'" she teased, handing me the box. She pulled me toward a nearby bench and started applying them for me, trying to make me look at least half-presentable, even if I ended up looking like a sticker book.
When she was done, we made our way to the auditorium. We were a few minutes late, and the professor was already stepping up to the podium when we slipped in. They didn't seem to mind, so we found a couple of empty seats near the back, pulled out our laptops, and settled in to take notes on anything that might show up during exams week.
The professor launched into a lecture about the discovery of the Maiasaura and how it proved maternal instincts in dinosaursâsomething researchers previously thought didn't exist, since they assumed dinosaurs were solitary creatures. It should have been fascinating. It was fascinating. But as the professor droned on, their voice started to fade, becoming muffled, like I was listening from underwater. My breathing grew heavy, and my eyelids felt like they were made of lead. I fought to stay focused, but it was a losing battle. Soon enough, I gave in. My head dropped, the professor's voice melted into a low hum, and darkness took over. Sleep had finally consumed me.
Then she appeared.
Everything was hazy, but I could clearly make out a figure looking directly at me. A woman. The first thing I noticed was her warm smileâthe kind that could light up an entire city. Then, her beauty marks, perfectly placed under her eyes, on the bridge of her nose, and on her left cheek, as if a celestial being had carefully mapped them to help her guide wayward travelers like me. But what truly captivated me were her eyes: dark, dreamy, warm, and calming, yet with a hint of mischief. They felt like a gentle ray of sun breaking through a cold, barren field.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my side. I didn't know what it was at first, and it persisted, but the beautiful woman in front of me was enough of a distraction that I barely noticed. But the pain kept coming, sharper each time, until it became unbearable. Then, fluorescent lights flooded my vision, and reality came crashing back. I was in the auditorium. The shooting pain in my side? Nakyoung, pinching me, trying to wake me up.
"Ow! What the hell is wrong with you?" I whispered angrily, my head still groggy from the remnants of the dream.
"What do you mean, 'what's wrong with me'? You literally slept through the entire lecture!" Nakyoung scolded, her voice low but sharp.
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked around. The lights were on. The room was nearly empty, and the professor was packing up at the front.
"Wait, it's over?" I asked, dazed.
"Yes! And. You. Slept. Through. It!" She punctuated each word with another pinch to my side.
"Ow, okay, okay! Stop!" I stood up, rubbing the sore spot.
"Now come on," she said, the tone of the lectureâlingering in her voice. "It's almost noon. Let's go get lunch."
The walk from the auditorium was uneventfulâNakyoung and I fell into our usual rhythm of conversation. But as we walked, my mind kept circling back to the woman in my dream. Her dark eyes, like black holes pulling me in. The way they seemed to both drown me and let me breathe at the same time. Her star-like beauty marks lingered behind my eyelids, and I couldn't shake them.
Then my vision blurred. Everything started spinning. I ignored it at first, but it only got worse. Finally, I called out, "Hey, Naky." I rubbed the side of my head as we passed through the university gates. "I think I'm gonna skip lunch. I really need to crash."
Concern flashed across her face, and she pulled me aside. "Are you sure you're okay? It's not like you to skip a meal."
I huffed, trying to lighten the mood. "I'll be fine. I just really need sleep."
She studied me for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "Alright. But text or call me if you need anything, or if something happens, okay?"
I nodded and pulled her into a quick, friendly hug. She hugged me back, and we said our goodbyes.
The walk back to my apartment was quiet, and I was grateful for it. People I knew gave polite nods or soft waves, and I returned them in kind. But the lack of sleep was catching up fast. My eyes were watery and sore, my steps sluggish, my breathing heavy. And then something strange happened.
As I struggled to lift my feet off the ground, a familiar figure stood out among the handful of people passing by. When I glanced over, I saw those eyes againâthe woman from my dreams, standing right there on the sidewalk. I froze, rubbed my eyes, and when I looked again, she was gone. A jolt of panic shot through me, and suddenly I was wide awake. "Okay," I muttered to myself, picking up my pace. "I definitely need more sleep."
The rest of the walk passed in a blur. Every step was fueled by a mix of purpose and unease. Finally, the faded blue paint of my apartment complex came into view, and relief washed over me.
As soon as I opened the front door, I heard the faint sound of a drama playing in the living room. "Hey, you're home early," my roommate Giselle called out. "Did class end early or something?"
"No, just dead tired," I mumbled, kicking off my shoes.
She paused the TV and padded over to the doorway, her face scrunching with concern. "Whoa. I know school's been hectic, but not this hectic. Seriously, are you good, bro?"
I managed a weak nod and a small smile before heading to my room. When I opened the door, my bed welcomed me like an oasis in the desert. I collapsed onto it, letting the comfort of my pillow and sheets pull me under.
This time, the dream was different. Still hazy, but clearer than before. Tangible. Like I had some control over everythingâexcept for her.
It was a sunny afternoon in a park. Birds sang, children laughed, and the sun's warmth hit just right. I was sitting alone on a bench under a big oak tree when she appeared. She wore a sundress paired with a cardigan, a purse hanging from her shoulder, and she was carrying two cups of ìëȘœììŽë(Grapefruit Juice). She was sunshine personified.
She approached my bench and asked if she could join me. I agreed immediately. She set the drinks down between us, condensation pooling on the wood, and pulled out her phone. Watching her up close, I noticed that rare quality about herâthe way she made life look easy. She smiled as she scrolled, until her screen lit up with a notification. Her face went blank, like someone had flipped a switch and plunged the room into darkness.
I decided to break the ice.
"So," I said, nodding at the drinks, "do you often drink two grapefruitades at the same time?"
She glanced at me, then at the cups, and let out a huffed laugh, a little embarrassed. "Oh, no. Turns out my date would rather block my number than drink these with me."
My stomach dropped. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry. If I'd known, I would'veâ"
She waved her hands, cutting me off. "No, no, it's fine. Really."
A beat of awkward silence passed. I thought that was it, but thenâ
"Do you want the other one?" She held out the cup, her finger leaving a faint smudge on the frosty plastic. When I hesitated, she tilted her head. "Come on. It's way too sweet for one person anyway."
I was caught off guard, but when I looked at her, she was already smilingânot the kind that lights up a room, but the kind that creases the corners of her eyes. The kind that says she knows something about the world, and it's not all bad.
"Thanks." Our fingers brushed as I took the cup, and for a second, the ice between us melted.
"Guess I'm your rebound date now," I said, immediately wanting to punch myself.
But she laughed. "I guess you are."
We laughed together, the sound mingling with the birdsong.
"I'm Younghyun, by the way." I reached out my hand.
She looked at it, then took it. "Sâun!"
I frowned. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."
"It's Sâun!" she repeated, but her voice came out warbled, distorted.
Then everything started to fizzle. The trees, the grass, the peopleâall dissolving. She remained, but a void was consuming the park, swallowing everything into darkness.
And then, like a bolt of lightning, I was awake.
I was back in my room, staring at the ceiling, the remnants of the dream already slipping away. I dragged a hand down my face, scrubbing away the clinging traces of sleep. Fumbling around on my messy sheets, I found my phone under my pillow and checked the time. I slept for twelve hours. Skipped lunch and dinner.
I decided to call Nakyoung, partly to make up for bailing on her earlier. I scrolled through my contacts and found her number. The phone rang for a while, but she didn't pick up. It was past midnightâshe was probably asleep.
I got out of bed and decided to head to the convenience store down the street. Maybe some ramyeon and microwaved kimbap would hit the spot. As I padded through the apartment, I saw Giselle asleep on the couch, her phone still in her hand, looping the same short video over and over. I gently took the phone, turned it off, and draped a blanket over her before heading out.
The streets were quiet at this hour. The walk was peaceful, the cold night air a relief after being cooped up for so long.
The bright lights of the convenience store were already in sight, but something else caught my attention: steam rising from a small tteokbokki stand on the sidewalk. The scent triggered an immediate growl from my stomach. Fresh, piping hot tteokbokki sounded way better than microwaved food. I glanced at the store and noticed they also sold ë§ìœêčë°„ and ice-cold grapefruitade. Perfect.
As I approached the stand, a sweet old lady greeted me with a warm smile. "Oh, young man! Good evening. What can I get for you?"
"Good evening, Halmeoni!" I said, matching her energy. "Can I have one tteokbokki and five kimbaps, please?"
She got right to work, scooping a generous portion of tteokbokki onto a plate and arranging the kimbaps neatly. "Enjoy!" she said, sliding the plate toward me.
"ë€, ì ëščêČ ì”ëë€.(Yes, I will eat well.)"
I was about to take my first bite when I heard footsteps approaching the stand, accompanied by a voice that sounded strangely familiar. "Halmeoni! One tteokbokki and three kimbaps, please!"
I turned to look, and my body froze.
It was her. The girl from my dreams.
My chopsticks slipped from my fingers and clattered onto the tray.
"Oh? Sohyun-ah!" the old lady said, her face lighting up. "It's so late! I thought you already had dinner?"
While they chatted, I sat there, stunned. Am I still asleep? No. I definitely woke up.
Sohyun's voice pulled me out of my daze as she pointed at my fallen chopsticks. "Hey, I think you dropped these."
I looked down, embarrassed, but before I could reach for them, Halmeoni handed me a fresh pair with a knowing smile.
I took a bite of my food, trying to compose myself. Sohyun sat down beside me and, to my surprise, tried to start a conversation.
"You're not a regular here, are you?" she asked.
My mouth full of tteokbokki, I could only manage a derpy, "Huh?"
She let out a breathy laugh and repeated herself.
I swallowed quickly. "No, actually. I didn't even know this place existed."
"Yeah, not many people do," she said, nodding. "It's either too late at night, or they just go for the convenience store food."
I nodded and kept eating, the silence between us a little awkward. But she broke it easily.
"I'm Sohyun, by the way." She extended her hand.
I stared at it for a second, then shook it. "Younghyun."
"So, what brings you here tonight, Younghyun?" she asked, chewing thoughtfully.
I gestured vaguely with my chopsticks. "This was one of the only places open this late. It was either this or pre-packaged food."
She hummed in understanding, popping a piece of kimbap into her mouth. We ate in comfortable silence for a moment, the only sounds were the gentle bubbling of the tteokbokki and the distant hum of a streetlight.
But I couldn't shake the feeling. The way she tilted her head when she chewed. The way her beauty marks caught the faint glow from the stand's hanging lamp. It was her. Exactly her.
Finally, curiosity burned through me. "This is going to sound insane," I blurted out, "but have we⊠met before?"
Sohyun glanced at me, one eyebrow raised. "I don't think so, no."
"No, I meanâ" I hesitated, already feeling ridiculous. "I've seen you. In my dreams. Like, multiple times."
I expected her to laugh, or edge away, or maybe flag down Halmeoni for help. Instead, she went completely still. Her chopsticks hovered mid-air, a piece of tteokbokki dripping red sauce back onto her plate.
"What did you say?" she asked, her voice quiet.
"I know how it sounds," I said quickly, rubbing the back of my neck. "It's justâthere was this park. A sunny afternoon. You were wearing a sundress and a cardigan, carrying two grapefruitades. You sat next to me on a bench because your date stood you up."
The color drained from her face, then rushed back in a deep blush, then she whispered. "On the bench. Under the oak tree."
My heart slammed against my ribs. "Yeah, how did you know that?"
"I thought it was just a dream, a really vivid one." she said, setting her chopsticks down. âYou even made a joke about being my rebound date."
"I still cringe thinking about it," I admitted with a wince.
A shaky laugh escaped her. "No, It was funny. And thenâ" She paused, her brow furrowing. "Everything started to fade. Like static on a TV. And I couldn't tell you my name properly."
"It came out all warbled," I finished. We stared at each other, the weight of the realization settling between us like a living thing.
"This isâŠ" Sohyun trailed off, shaking her head. "This isn't normal, right? Two people having the same dream?"
"It shouldnât be," I admitted. "But I've been thinking about it and you all day. Your eyes, your smile, the way you looked at me like you knew something about the world that wasn't all bad. I couldn't shake it."
Her lips parted slightly, her dark eyes, those eyes, searching mine. "I couldn't either," she confessed quietly. "I woke up and felt like I'd lost something. Someone. And I didn't even know your name."
The night air felt charged, electric. Halmeoni busied herself with wiping down the counter, pretending very hard not to listen, though the occasional glance she threw our way suggested she was thoroughly invested in this late-night drama.
I took a breath. Then another. My heart was hammering so loud I was half-convinced she could hear it. I set my chopsticks down carefully, lining them up neatly on the edge of my plate, a pointless gesture, but it gave my hands something to do.
Sohyun watched me, her dark eyes unreadable but warm, that tiny smile still playing at the corner of her lips. Up close, under the warm glow of the stand's hanging lamp, I could see every detail I'd only glimpsed in my dreams: the way her hair fell softly against her cheeks, the faint shimmer of lip balm, the beauty mark on her left cheek that I'd wanted to reach out and touch since the moment I saw her.
Say something, you idiot.
"Sohyun," I started, then immediately forgot every word I'd ever known. My mouth felt dry. I grabbed my grapefruitade and took a long sip, the cold sweetness doing nothing to calm my nerves.
She tilted her head, amused. "Yes?"
"I know we literally just met," I began again, setting the drink down carefully so she wouldn't see how my hand was shaking. "Like, actually met, not dream-met. And I know this is probably the most insane thing that's ever happened to youâto either of us, really. Two strangers having the same dream? That's not something that happens in real life. That's something that happens in dramas, or in those webtoons my roommate is always reading where the characters are secretly soulmates or whatever."
I was rambling. I knew I was rambling. But I couldn't stop.
"And maybe this is just some weird coincidence. Maybe we both drank too much Grapefruit juice and had weird dreams and our brains just happened to make up the same person. That's possible, right? That's a thing that can happen?"
Sohyun's smile widened, but she stayed quiet, letting me dig my own grave.
"But what if it's not?" The words tumbled out faster now. "What if there's actually something here? Because I've been thinking about you all day and I didn't even know your name until five minutes ago. I walked home from campus looking for you. I literally thought I saw you on the street and I rubbed my eyes so hard I almost gave myself a headache. And when I woke up from that second dream, I feltâ" I stopped, struggling to find the right word. "Empty. Like something was missing. Like you were missing."
The admission hung in the air between us. Sohyun's expression shifted, the playful amusement softening into something deeper, more vulnerable.
I swallowed hard. "So I'm just going to say this before I lose what's left of my nerve."
I turned on my stool to face her fully, my knee almost bumping hers under the narrow counter. The world around us, the convenience store, the empty street, Halmeoni pretending to rearrange her sauce bottlesâall of it faded into background noise.
"Sohyun, would you want to go on a date with me? A real one." I gestured vaguely between us. "Not in a dream. Not in a park that might dissolve into static the second I try to look at you or whatever. But here. In the real world. Where I can actually talk to you and you can actually answer back."
A breathless laugh escaped her, and the sound made my chest ache in the best way.
"I know this is fast," I continued, lowering my hand. "I know we're basically strangers who accidentally shared a brainwave or whatever the hell just happened. But I also know that when I woke up from that first dream, I felt like I'd lost someone I'd known my whole life. And when I saw you standing here tonight, I felt likeâ" I pressed a hand to my chest, right over my heart. "Like something clicked into place. Like my body knew you before my brain caught up."
I looked down at my plate, suddenly embarrassed by my own honesty. "And I just yapped and you probably think I'm crazy."
For a long, agonizing moment, she didn't respond. I could feel her gaze on me, studying my face like she was searching for something. The silence stretched, filled only by the distant hum of the streetlight and the soft bubbling of the tteokbokki.
Then I felt her hand cover mine on the counter.
I looked up.
Her eyes,those eyes, dark and warm and full of that familiar mischiefâwere glistening. Not with tears, exactly, but with something close. Something tender.
"Younghyun," she said softly, and the way my name sounded in her voice made my heart stutter. "When I woke up from that dream this afternoon, I cried."
The confession hit me like a wave.
"I didn't understand why," she continued, her thumb tracing a slow circle on the back of my hand. "But I woke up, and my cheeks were wet, and I just lay there staring at the ceiling, feeling like someone had reached into my chest and taken something important."
She let out a shaky breath. "I tried to forget about it. I told myself it was just a dream, just my brain being weird. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw you. Sitting on that bench. Making that stupid joke about being my rebound date. Looking at me like I wasâ" She paused, her voice catching. "Like I was someone worth looking at."
My throat tightened.
"And then Halmeoni texted me," she said, a watery laugh escaping her. "She said she was staying late to clean the stand and asked if I wanted free dinner because she made too much food. I almost said no. I was tired, I had homework, it didn't make sense to walk all the way here at midnight. But somethingâ" She pressed her free hand to her chest, mirroring my gesture from earlier. "Something told me to come."
She squeezed my hand. "And now you're here. Sitting next to me. Telling me you dreamed of me too. Telling me you felt empty without me." Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "How is that possible, Younghyun? How is any of this possible?"
I shook my head slowly. "I don't know. But I don't think I care."
She laughed again, softer this time, and a single tear slipped down her cheek. Before I could think about it, my free hand lifted, and I caught it with my thumb, wiping it away gently. Her skin was warm, soft. She leaned slightly into my touch, just for a second, and the gesture felt more intimate than anything I'd ever experienced.
"Sohyun," I whispered. "Go on a date with me."
She turned her head, leaning towards the warmth of my palm before pulling back. The action was so impossibly tender, that I forgot how to breathe.
"Yes," she said, and the word was firm, certain, even as her eyes shimmered. "Yes, Younghyun. I'll go on a date with you."
"Yeah?" My voice cracked embarrassingly.
"Yeah." She smiled, that smile, the one that creased the corners of her eyes, the one that said she knew something about the world and it wasn't all bad. "But you're buying grapefruitade this time. The ones in the fancy cafes."
A laugh burst out of me, loud and unguarded, and she joined in, our laughter mingling in the cool night air like it belonged together. Like it had always belonged together.
From behind the counter, Halmeoni let out a satisfied "Aigoo," and I swear I saw her wipe her eye with the corner of her apron.
Sohyun and I looked at each other, her hands still on mine across the narrow counter, and I realized that for the first time in weeks I didn't feel tired. I didn't feel empty. I didn't feel like I was just barely surviving.
I felt awake.
"Saturday?" I asked. "There's this little cafĂ© near Hongdae that does amazing egg tarts. And after, if you want, we could walk along the stream.â
âOh my god, I love egg tarts!â She nodded quickly, still smiling. "Yes, Saturday sounds perfect."
"Great, youâre gonna enjoy the place then. But now that we have that, can I please get your number? The real one, I mean. Not the dream version where it's just a jumble of numbers that don't actually work."Â
She laughed and pulled out her phone. We exchanged numbers, the simple act feeling monumental, and I saved her contact with a photo I took right thereâher mid-laugh, head tilted back, beauty marks on full display.
She also took a photo of me while saving her contact on my phone. "This is going to be my contact photo for you."
"What am I going to be saved as?" I asked.
She glanced at her phone when it buzzed, then looked up at me with that mischievous glint in her eyes. "Dream Boy."
I groaned. "Seriously?"
"Seriously." She typed something, and my phone buzzed. I looked down.
"Dream Girl"
I stared at the screen, then at her, then back at the screen. She was watching me, clearly delighted by my reaction.
"See? Even you did it!" She teased.
"That'sâ" I started.
"Thatâs what, perfect?" She further teased.
âYes. Yes it is perfect!â I retaliated.
Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and she ducked her head, hiding her smile behind her hand. The gesture was so shy, so different from the confident way she'd teased me moments before, that I felt my heart squeeze all over again.
Halmeoni chose that moment to reappear, sliding two small cups of complimentary kimbap toward us. "On the house," she announced, beaming. "For the happy couple."
"We're not a couple yet," Sohyun protested weakly.
"Yet," Halmeoni repeated, winking at me. "Young man, don't mess this up."
"Yes halmeoni," I said, and I meant it with my whole chest. "I wonât."
Sohyun looked at me, really looked at me, and in her eyes I saw the same thing I felt: wonder, hope, and the faintest trace of fear, the kind that comes with finding something precious and being terrified of losing it.
We ate our meals in comfortable silence, shoulders almost touching, the night stretching endlessly ahead of us. And when we finally said goodbye an hour later, after exchanging numbers, social media handles, birth dates, favorite colors, and a dozen other small details that made her feel more real than any dream ever could, she hugged me.
Not a friendly hug, not a polite hug. A real one. Her arms wrapped around my waist, her head tucked under my chin, and she fit there like she'd been made for it.
"Saturday," she murmured against my chest.
"Saturday," I promised, leaning my chin on the top of her head.
Walking home, I caught myself smiling like an idiot. My phone buzzed.
Dream Girl: Just so you know, if this turns out to be another dream and I wake up alone tomorrow, I'm going to find you in real life and yell at you.
Me: It's not a dream. I promise.
Dream Girl: How do you know?
I stopped walking, looking up at the stars scattered across the night sky. For the first time in weeks, I felt rested. I felt present. I felt like the version of myself I'd been before the sleepless nights and the endless doomscrolling and the quiet despair of a job hunt that went nowhere.
Me: Because in my dreams, I always wake up before the good part. And right now? This feels like just the beginning.
Her reply came instantly.
Dream Girl: â€ïž
Dream Girl: Saturday can't come soon enough.
I pocketed my phone, still grinning, and walked the rest of the way home under a canopy of stars, already counting the hours until I'd see her again.










