This is kinda long so i'm sorry lol

The last time Ten saw Johnny was the worst day of his life. He can still vividly see his love, the sparkle fading from his eyes, a steady stream of blood pouring from his chest and mouth.

Johnny's dark blue robes were now stained black, the deep crimson seeping deep into the tightly woven fibers. Ten ran to him supporting his weight under his frail shaking hands. He cradled johnny's body against his, the sounds of swords slashing and anger growing behind him as the battle raged on.

Ten lightly slapped johnny's cheeks trying to get his eyes to stay open, his pale hand was pressed firmly against the slash wound quickly reddening his skin.

"stay with me johnny, come on stay awake! You're going to be okay just stay awake for me." ten's voice shook as he pressed into the wound using his other hand to fish out the bottle of medicine from his robes. He poured the supplements into his palm and moved his hand to johnny's lips.

"here, take these." Ten said frantically. Johnny slowly raised his hand up to grab tens weakly. He pushed his hand away from his lips but held onto it firmly.

Ten looked at johnny confused.

"ten, save these for yourself, you're injured too." Johnny squeaked out in a raspy voice the sentence ending in a hoarse cough.

"johnny, what are you saying?! You are clearly in need of this more than me, stop being stubborn and take it!" ten scolded as he forced the pills back to johnny.

Suddenly the mood changed, ten felt something in the pit of his stomach as he stared into johnny's eyes.

"ten." He said softly, his shaking, blood-soaked hands reaching up to brush ten's cheek.

Tears filled ten's eyes. He gripped johnny's hand with one hand and continued putting pressure on the gushing wound.

"listen to me ten, you need to keep yourself safe... you aren't skilled in martial arts and you need to get away from the battle." Johnny choked.

"stop. Don't act like I'm leaving this alone. You're going to be fine johnny, we're gonna get out of this." Ten spoke quickly, his breath quickening, his eyes watering.

"ten... we both know how this is going to end... you can't pretend you don't." johnny smiled up at him as he felt his body become weaker and weaker.

Ten squeezed johnny's hand tight as tears rushed down his pale cheeks.

"no. no I'm not letting you go johnny! Please don't give up on me now..." ten cried miserably pressing his hands to johhnys chest firmly.

Johnny chuckled weakly. He placed his palm against ten's cheek, rubbing his thumb under ten's eye.

"look at you, come now don't cry. You know men don't cry, don't you?" johnny teased wiping away his tears.

"you're going to be fine; you need to get back to your clan and take care of your sister, it's your duty as her brother."

"johnny... how will I go on without you?" ten whimpered sadly.

Johnny smirked giving him a bloody smile. "ten, you will be just fine without me. and I'll never be truly gone, I'll always be here." Johnny croaked out as he pressed a shaky hand to tens heart, a golden light emitting from his hand. Ten placed his hand over johnny's as the last light of johnny's eyes faded and his body went limp in ten's arms.

Ten screamed in agony as his love went ice cold in his arms. He cried miserably holding johnny close to him pressing his face into johnny's messy long hair. A warmth lingered on ten's chest where johnny's hand had been, his heart swelling with the golden energy.

Ten shot up in bed, horrible breathy sobs escaping his dry, cracked lips. His sister came running in upon hearing her brother scream.

"ten! Sweetie what's wrong!? Are you okay?!" she rushed to his side and held him close.

Ten gripped onto her sweater burying his head into her shoulder his tears soaking the thick fabric.

"k... kuli... it was... that dream again!" ten sobbed.

Kulisara sighed sadly as she stroked ten's hair.

"was it about that boy again?" she asked softly. Ten nodded into her shoulder as he tried to calm his tears.

"I don't even... know who he is but... every time I see him, I feel so...sad."

"well ten, they say that people who appear in our dreams are people we've seen in real life. Our brains cannot make up faces but remind us of faces we have already seen."

Ten wiped his face and rose off of kulisara's shoulder. "but I've never seen him before sis... I don't know him at all."

"well, didn't you say that you guys are dressed in ancient battle robes? And you both carry swords?" she asked.

Ten nodded sniffling slightly.

"well, maybe you knew him in your past life then, maybe the dream is like a window into your previous life."

Ten looked at her with glossy eyes.

"do you really think that's possible?"

She smiled at him ruffling his hair.

"I think anything is possible. You have a real connection to this dream ten, it has to mean something."

Ten thought about what she said thinking it made some sense.

"are you okay now?" she asked sweetly placing her hand on ten's cheek.

"he gave her a small smile and nodded into her touch.

"thank you kuli..."

She leaned over and kissed the top of his head.

"anytime bub. I love you." She smiled before she got up off of ten's bed and left to the door.

Ten sat up in his bed his mind still racing. "there's no way I would be able to remember my past life, right? You forget all of it when you enter the afterlife and are reincarnated... how would I remember him?" he said out loud to himself. He glanced at his clock and noticed it was almost time for school.

He got up and showered trying to eliminate the evidence of his crying and headed off to school.

He was walking through the hall when he saw his best friend Mark walking towards him.

"ten! Hey there you are! I was looking for you dude!" mark's bubbly voice and gummy smile made ten smile.

"hey mark." He waved as mark started walking next to him.

"so, you're still coming over tonight right? To do our project?" mark said adjusting his backpack straps.

"yeah of course man, I'll just go to your place after school." Ten said with a friendly smile.

"sick! Oh, and hey, my brothers coming home from college tonight too, so you'll actually get to meet him."

"oh cool, sounds great." Ten said as they walked into their first period.

By the end of the day ten walked home with mark. They entered his house and went upstairs to mark's room to start their project. They worked on their presentation for a few hours before they heard the door downstairs open and some happy voices fill the first floor.

"oh! Johnny must be here!" mark expressed excitedly as he stood up from the floor. they entered the hallway and heard a voice from downstairs.

Ten paused for a second. "johnny? Did I always know his brother's name was johnny?" he said to himself as he stood up and followed mark.

"yo mark! Do me a favor and grab my Adidas hoodie from my closet!"

Mark groaned and looked at ten.

"hey bro can you grab that for me? I gotta use the bathroom real quick." Mark said entering the hallway bathroom.

"yeah, sure thing." Ten said as he entered the furthest room. He entered the room and carefully walked to the closet. He took a black adidas hoodie off of the hanger and draped it gently over his forearm. He was about to leave when he stopped dead in his tracks.

He saw a framed photo sitting on a dresser against the far wall. The photo was of johnny and mark at some sort of sporting event. His brown floppy hair falling gracefully over his tanned face. His strong arm wrapped tightly around mark's shoulders.

Ten stared at the photo unable to move, his brain malfunctioning. The face in the photo seemed so eerily familiar to him, a weird feeling sitting in the pit of his stomach.

He slowly reached his arm out and brushed the glass with his fingertip.

"uh... excuse me?"

A voice startled ten. The voice came from behind him and ten froze.

He slowly turned around and felt his heart stop.

The face in front of him sent chills up his spine, a strange feeling spreading through his limbs, his knees shaking, his hands sweating, his eyes welling with tears. He clutched the hoodie in his grip without realizing it as he stepped an inch closer to johnny.

Johnny looked at him with a puzzled expression, an equally as odd feeling washing over him as well.

"um, hey I don't think we've met, I'm-

"johnny." Ten cut him off with a trembling voice.

Johnny's eyes widened in surprise.

"uh, yeah, how did you-

"you're... you're johnny... it's really you right?!" ten was unable to think rationally. His emotions taking over.

Johnny raised his eyebrow, a concerned expression on his face.

Tears quickly brimmed ten's eyes as he continued looking upon the face in front of him.

Johnny had no idea what was going on but something in the back of his head told him to take care of this boy. He approached ten cautiously and gave him a concerned expression.

"woah woah, hey, are you okay? Why are you crying?" he stepped to ten placing his hand on his shoulder.

As soon as contact was made, they both felt like they were in a dream. A huge burst of energy flowing between them an unexplainable feeling washing over them. Johnny gasped and blinked his eyes a few times, water filling them unexpectedly.

Johnny stared into ten's eyes, the glossy dark orbs glowing brightly.

Tears were now in a constant flow falling down ten's cheeks, his eyes fixated on johnny's. one single tear fell down johhnys cheek. He shakily reached up and wiped the tears off of tens cheek with his thumb no words were exchanged but the feelings being shared between them.

Just then mark came in the doorway.

"hey! What's taking yo guys so long?" mark called which snapped them both out of their trance.

Ten blinked quickly and looked at johnny his cheeks turning bright red as realization hit him. His eyes went wide as he saw johnny staring at him and mark in the doorway. Ten quickly hid his face and raced out of the room past mark. Mark grabbed his forearm.

"woah hey! Where are you going?" mark asked before he looked at ten's face and saw his tears.

"woah, ten? What's wrong?!"

Ten shook his head violently and released from mark's grip.

"i...I gotta go." He said softly before he ran down the stairs and ran out the door.

Mark furrowed his brows and turned to johnny crossing his arms.

"what did you do?" mark said thinking johnny hurt ten in some way.

Johhny quickly wiped his cheeks and turned to face mark.

"what?"

Mark angrily approached his brother.

"did you say something to ten?"

"what? Mark, no of course not!"

"then why did he run away crying?" mark said sitting on johnny's bed.

Johnny scratched the top of his head.

"I don't know, but I promise I didn't do anything to him."

Mark sighed his tense shoulders relaxing.

"I'm... I'm sorry I accused you john, it's just, ten's my best friend and he's just... he's really sensitive and emotional and I just hate seeing him hurt y'know?"

"it's okay mark, I get it."

"I just wish I knew what upset him though, he must be hurting right now."

"hey mark?" johnny said looking out the window.

"yeah?"

"I've never met him before have i?"

"I don't think so, you've been at college the whole time we've been friends. Why?"

Johnny rubbed his hands over his face.

"I don't know...I just, he seemed so... familiar."

"john, I think your jet lagged" mark giggled as he playfully punched johnny's arm

"maybe you're right, I think I'll take a nap." Johnny said rubbing the back of his head.

"okay johnny, it's good to have you home." Mark smiled before he left the room closing the door behind him.

Johnny jumped out of bed and grabbed his phone dialing a number quickly.

"hello?"

"jae!"

"woah, woah, john? Are you okay?"

"dude! You know those horrible scary weird nightmares I keep having?!"

"yeah dude, they happen like every night how could I forget."

"I saw him jae. I saw him!"

"wait, what?"

"the boy from the dream, I saw him in real life."

"what? Dude that's impossible."

"I know. I know. But listen to me, you can call me crazy or whatever, but mark's best friend has the same name as the dream boy, Ten. He looks exactly like the boy except he has shorter hair and listen to this."

"I'm listening."

"I saw him in my room, he was looking at my photo right, and then he turned around and looked at me. I felt... something, I don't know what it was but my heart like swelled in my chest and my whole body felt weird. We just kinda stared at each other and he knew my name before I said it."

"okay, that's kinda weird johnny, are you sure he's not just some creepy highschool kid?"

"jae! Listen to me, I felt something looking at him. After he said my name he started to cry and then weirdly, I started to cry too. I couldn't control it like at all."

"jeez, johnny I think you need therapy or something."

"dude I'm being serious. Do me a favor, under my bed there's a book can you grab it?"

"okay, I got it." Jae said after a few minutes.

"there should be a bookmark in it, turn to that page."

"alright, now what?"

Johnny paced around his room gnawing on his thumbnail.

"read the highlighted paragraph for me."

"Jesus johnny, isn't this a library book?"

"shut up and read the paragraph jae!"

"okay, okay, Christ you're bossy."

"People in dreams, while our mind is capable of many amazing things, making up faces is not one of them. Inside of our dreams it is not uncommon to see familiar people inside of them, whether it's someone we know really well, or someone we passed on the sidewalk. Our brains can manifest people we have seen inside of our dreams but we cannot make up people in our minds. All people within our dreams are people we have encountered in our real lives before. It is said that some people see relatives they never actually met, the ghosts of long-gone people, and some people claim that they have seen people from their past lives within dreams."

Johnny blinked biting on his thumbnail hard. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to think.

"johnny, you aren't seriously considering that this kid is someone from your past life, are you?" jae said from the other line as he raised an eyebrow at the paragraph he just read.

"i...I don't know jae... what else would explain this...connection I have with this kid? I've seen his face a gazillion times in the dream, I'm telling you he looks just like him."

"I'll admit that it's weird that he looks like him and has the same name but I think it's impossible to remember anything from your past life john, even if we are re-born or whatever, we can't remember it right?"

Johnny groaned loudly into the phone frustrated and confused.

"look bro, I know this is frustrating but I really don't think this is something you need to worry about. It's late your time isn't it? Why don't you get some sleep huh? I'll do some research for you in the library tomorrow and tell you what I find okay?"

Johnny sighed deeply.

"okay."

"take a hot shower and get some sleep man, I'll text you tomorrow."

"okay, thanks jae."

"no problem bro, night."

Johnny hung up the call and tossed his phone on his bed. He went into his bathroom and hopped in the shower letting the warm water hit his face and shoulders as he thought about his situation.

When he finished, he threw on a pair of shorts and collapsed into bed burying his face in his pillow. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

Mark was in his room, his mind racing. He really wanted to know why ten was so upset and it was driving him crazy that he didn't run after him earlier. He had his phone clutched in his hand contemplating calling ten or not.

Eventually he decided to call him just to make sure he was okay.

"hello?"

"ten! Oh, thank god you picked up, I was really worried you wouldn't."

"so... what's up?"

"what's up? ten, I think you know why I'm calling."

Ten stayed quiet.

Mark sighed softly.

"you wanna talk?" mark said gently as he slipped on his shoes.

"yeah... I'll be over in five..." ten said sadly.

"I'll wait for you, the ladders by the tree." Mark said as he lifted up his bedroom window and stepped out onto the roof.

"okay, see you soon." Ten said before he hung up.

Mark sat on the tiled surface his knees to his chest. The light breeze blowing his hair softly.

A few minutes later, the metal ladder appeared at the edge of the roof and sounds of feet scaling the steps filled the quiet night. Ten climbed onto the roof and crawled over to sit next to mark.

It was quiet for a few seconds, mark just kind of looking at ten with curled eyebrows.

"listen, I'm...really sorry I ran out earlier... I just... I couldn't be there right then... i... i- "

"hey, hey, slow down." Mark said softly placing a gentle hand on ten's shoulder.

"you don't have to apologize for anything, you didn't do anything wrong, I'm not mad you left man, I was just worried... when I saw you crying, I didn't know what to do, I shouldn't have grabbed you like that, I'm sorry."

"no, it's okay mark, it wasn't you." Ten looked down at his dusty converse, scraping the soles against the rough tiles.

"ten?" mark said looking into ten's eyes.

Ten lifted his head up and met mark's eyes.

"did... did johnny do something? Did he say something to you?"

Ten's eyes went wide at the mention of his name. he stayed quiet which answered mark's question.

His brows furrows in anger.

"what did he do ten? Did he hurt you? Did he yell at you? What happened?"

Ten shook his head no aggressively.

"no, mark, it's not johnny's fault."

Mark raised his eyebrow.

"huh? What do you mean?"

Ten went quiet again looking down at his slim hands that were folded on top of his knees.

"what happened ten? ... you know you can tell me anything." Mark said softly as he placed a hand on top of tens.

Ten took a deep breath.

"mark... if I tell you this... promise me you won't think I'm crazy..."

Mark gave him a small smile, the moonlight making his teeth look blue.

"ten, I would never call you crazy, whatever is on your mind is valid and I will listen to you. I'm always on your side man, you know that."

Ten took another breath and brought his legs down to sit in a Criss cross position.

"mark, do you think... it's possible to remember things from your past life?"

Mark thought for a moment.

"I mean, I'm sure it's possible I just thought that once we are reincarnated, we forget all those memories."

Ten sighed.

"yeah... that's what I thought too."

Mark looked at ten.

"why do you ask?"

"okay so... I've... I've been having these dreams-well, they're more like nightmares, I guess. In them, it's me and another boy in like the 1300's or something. We're both wearing traditional robes and we have long hair and carry swords, the whole thing. And there's this horrible bloodbath happening around us, swords flying, painful screams and sounds of death everywhere..." ten paused as his voice shook. He stared out at one of the trees as he tried to tell the story.

Mark noticed his body language and squeezed tens hand firmly.

"it's in my point of view... and I'm looking down at this boy with long chocolate brown hair and shiny brown eyes... he has these thick dark lips and a chiseled face with a warm skin tone. And the feeling I feel in my heart when I look at him is pure... love. I'm in love with him and he's in love with me too..."

"he... he collapses in my arms with a huge slash wound over his heart and... there's just...so much blood pouring from it it seems endless... we both fall to the ground and I'm holding him in my arms... pressing on the gash as hard as I can trying to stop the bleeding..." ten's eyes filled with tears his voice getting caught in his throat.

Mark's eyes widened when he saw tens tears. He took his other hand and began to slowly stroke ten's back hoping it could calm him as he didn't want to interrupt his story.

"no... no matter how hard I try it just keeps bleeding... both of our robes are stained dark red now and I begin to cry... he just smiles at me and places his hand on my cheek... telling me it's going to be okay. I tell him I'm not giving up on him, and he tells me that... that I have to get to safety so I can... take care of my sister and be a good br... brother."

Ten pauses for a second to wipe his cheeks.

"before I know it... he dies in my arms and I just... start sobbing... and screaming in agony. My heart hurts so bad, my whole body goes numb and that's when I wake up." ten choked as he bit back the angry flow of tears threatening to spill.

"ten... oh my god, that's... horrible. I'm so sorry you have to go through that." Mark said gently still stroking ten's back.

"mark... it feels so...so real. When I wake up, I have tears streaming down my face, I can barely breathe, and I can feel all the pain from the dream even when it's over."

Mark rubbed his thumb over tens knuckles.

"what made you think of the dream earlier? While you were with johnny?" mark asked softly being cautious not to upset his friend further.

"johnny... he... he looks just like the boy in my dream mark. Like, exactly the same... it's him mark... I don't know why or how but it's him... and when I saw him in real life for the first time... I felt like I'd gotten shot in the heart. My body went numb, my heart was aching... my brain went all fuzzy and all I could see was johnny from the dream standing in front of me. johnny put his hand on my shoulder and I swear it felt like we... I don't know, connected or something... like my soul was connected with his."

"and that's why you were crying, because you felt all the feelings from the dream?" mark asked connecting all the pieces.

"yeah... you think I'm crazy, don't you?" ten said quietly avoiding mark's eyes.

"of course not ten. I believe you, of course I believe you."

"you do?" ten looked at mark, slow tears still rolling down his cheeks.

Mark gave him a sympathetic look and placed his hands on tens cheeks wiping away the tears with his thumbs.

"ten, you are clearly in so much pain because of this dream, these feelings are real. There's something going on with this dream, we're just gonna have to work together to figure it out."

Ten looked at mark with shiny eyes an appreciative smile on his face.

"so, does this mean that you and johnny were lovers in your past lives?" mark asked after ten had calmed down.

"I guess so, I mean I guess that explains the setting... I just don't understand how I could remember any of it... you're supposed to forget everything after you get reincarnated."

"well, maybe it has something to do with you and johnny's connection... I mean, there's gotta be a reason you two ended up in the same reality again right?"

"I mean, there would have to be... but I don't remember anything from the past besides what happens in the dream."

"hmm, we're gonna have to do some research about this I think."

"yeah, for sure." Ten replied with a yawn.

"I think I'm gonna head home now, try to get some sleep tonight." Ten said stretching his legs.

"okay ten, be careful." Mark said as he leaned his head against the siding of the house.

Before ten got on the ladder, he rushed back to mark and wrapped his arms around him tightly.

"thank you for listening to me mark, thank you for believing me."

Mark smiled as he hugged ten back running his hand over the back of ten's hair.

"of course man, I'm always here for you, you know that." Mark said softly.

They stayed in the hug for a few minutes before they broke apart and ten left the roof.

Mark took a deep breath taking in the cool night air before he climbed back through his window and shut it tightly.

He was about to crawl into bed when he heard something from down the hall. He raised an eyebrow and walked into the hallway to investigate. He stopped by johhnys room hearing the sound get louder. He pressed his ear to the smooth white wood and knocked.

"johnny? Bro you okay?" he called.

The sound didn't stop so he opened the door anyway. He walked into johnny's room and immediately noticed something was wrong. He looked at his brother who was thrashing around in his sleep, tears staining his tan cheeks and miserable whimpers and cries leaving his mouth. Mark rushed to his side and noticed that he was still asleep. He shook johnny's shoulders calling his name trying to wake him up.

After a few tries johnny finally woke up. his eyes shot open, them bloodshot and red. He gasped for air his hand clutching his heart tightly. His bare skin was sweating profusely, his hands shaking.

"johnny! Hey, hey calm down, calm down, it's okay, I'm here." Mark said softly as he took his older brother into his slim arms, his hand running through his messy brown locks.

Johnny was breathing quickly, tears rushing down his cheeks, his hand still gripping his bare chest.

"shhhh, shhhh it's okay johnny. You're awake now, I've got you, everything's okay." Mark cooed softly.

Johnny slowly began to recognize his surroundings as his eyes adjusted to his bedroom. He felt mark's arms around him and he relaxed a little.

"that's it, just breathe for me johnny, deep breaths." Mark instructed as he took a deep breath encouraging johnny to copy it.

Johnny took a few breaths and his heartbeat finally slowed.

"m... mark?" johnny choked.

"yes john, it's me."

Johnny sighed in relief as he sat upright on his own. He reached up and wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand.

"are you okay johnny?" mark asked softly.

Johnny nodded his head yes as he tried to calm himself completely down.

"I'm... sorry mark, I guess I had a nightmare." Johnny said somewhat embarrassed.

"don't be sorry johnny, it's okay." Mark said.

"hang on." Mark said before he disappeared into johnny's bathroom for a second. He returned with a dixie cup full of water. He sat on johnny's bed next to him and placed one hand on his back.

"drink this." Mark said handing him the cup.

Johnny rose his shaking hand to take the cup from mark.

"geez, you're really shaking johnny, here let me help you." Mark said taking the cup back from johnny and raising the paper rim to johnny's lips. Johnny sipped the water and sighed afterwards.

"how do you feel?" mark asked placing the empty cup on johnny's side table.

"better... thanks." Johnny said in an exhale.

Mark thought for a second before he made a decision. He sat in front of johnny crossing his legs.

"johnny?"

"yeah?"

"was it about that boy? The one from the past?" mark said cautiously.

Johnny's eyes went wide in shock.

"how did you-

"he looks like ten, right? "mark cut him off.

Johnny's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"mark, how... how do you know that?"

"ten has the same nightmare almost every night... the exact same one over and over, he says the boy in his dream looks... just like you."

Johnny's mind was racing.

"what? Wait wait, how... how is that possible?"

"i... I don't know but when you saw him... you felt something right?"

Johnny blinked at mark before finding words to reply with.

"...uh... yeah... yeah I felt... weird. Something I've never felt before."

"you felt connected to him... like your souls were attached right?"

Johnny stared at mark a slight hint of fear behind his eyes.

"yeah... almost exactly like that."

"and you started crying when ten did didn't you?"

"yeah..." johnny said scooting closer to mark.

"johnny, you and ten felt the exact same thing at the exact same time. You two have the same dream, and you both are in each other's dreams... I don't know how it's possible but I think you two were lovers in your past lives."

Johnny gasped.

"oh my god, like the book..." he said out loud.

"huh? What book?" mark asked.

Johnny hopped out of bed and raced to his desk. He opened his laptop and aggressively typed something on google. Mark raised an eyebrow and followed johnny to the desk. He stood behind him watching the screen closely.

Johnny pulled up an image of a book on google images and pointed at it.

"this book... I borrowed it at school because I started having these nightmares. I wanted to know why I was having them... I read the book and it said... something about past lives... or something... hang on." Johnny said as he closed google and opened his skype app. He clicked Jaehyun's contact photo and called him.

It rang a few times before the call was answered. An exhausted looking jaehyun appeared on the screen, his hair a mess, his eyelids droopy.

"ughh johnnnyyy it's 2 in the morning! What could you possibly nee- woah, hey? Are you okay? Have you been crying?"

"jae. Shut up for a second." Johnny cut him off.

Jae stopped and listened to johnny.

"get that book again." He said still slightly breathless.

"got it. Hang on." Jae stumbled through the dimly lit room and grabbed the book.

"okay, I got it, same page?" he said opening the book.

"yeah."

Jae clicked on his desk lamp and began reading the paragraph to johnny.

"People in dreams, while our mind is capable of many amazing things, making up faces is not one of them. Inside of our dreams it is not uncommon to see familiar people inside of them, whether it's someone we know really well, or someone we passed on the sidewalk. Our brains can manifest people we have seen inside of our dreams but we cannot make up people in our minds. All people within our dreams are people we have encountered in our real lives before. It is said that some people see relatives they never actually met, the ghosts of long-gone people, and some people claim that they have seen people from their past lives within dreams."

"dude..." mark said as he scooted closer to the computer screen.

"there's no way this is real right?" johnny said running his hands through his hair.

"john, what's going on?" jae said.

Johnny was already up and pacing around his room.

"johnny, don't freak out, we'll figure this out." Mark said softly as he turned his attention to jaehyun.

"johnny? Dude are you okay?" jaehyun said from the computer screen.

"he'll be okay, I think he's just processing. How about we call you later when he's calmed down." Mark said as he turned his attention back to his brother.

"okay, sounds good." Jaehyun said before hanging up the call.

Mark got up and grabbed johnny's shoulders.

"bro calm down, just take a breath and sit down." Mark said as he sat mark on the bed.

"look, I can't explain how this is possible but it's clearly true because of what happened between you two. I think we should get together and talk about this, all three of us and sort this out."

Johnny nodded slowly.

"it'll be okay johnny, just try to get some sleep okay?"

"okay mark, thank you."

The next day mark woke up and raced to johnny's room.

"johnny? Are you awake?"

Johnny appeared at the door with dark circles under his eyes.

"woah! Johnny? Did you get any sleep last night?"

"no, not after my... episode."

"jeez, okay listen, mom and dad are already at work, I'm gonna grab ten, call the school and say I'm sick. I'll be back in five." Mark said as he raced down the stairs grabbing his shoes haphazardly putting them on as he sprinted to ten's house. He grabbed the spare key under the doormat and let himself into the house removing his shoes at the door.

He burst through ten's room to find him awake in his bed. His eyes were bloodshot, his cheeks red.

"you didn't get any sleep last night either?" mark said sitting on the edge of ten's bed.

Ten shook his head no as he swung his legs over the bed and began getting dressed.

"why are you here so early? You usually don't get here till seven." He said with a yawn.

"ten, we aren't going to school today, we need to figure this out now."

"mark, we can't just ditch school."

"ten, this is way more important than school! Now get dressed, we're going to my house."

Ten sighed in defeat as he pulled his sweater over his thin body.

They arrived back at mark's house and walked upstairs to johnny's room.

"mark, I'm scared of what will happen if I see him again." Ten mumbled picking at his nails.

"don't worry ten, whatever happens, we'll figure it out okay?"

Ten nodded and mark opened the door. Johnny was sitting at his desk waiting patiently, his chin resting on the palm of his hand.

He heard the door open and slowly turned in his chair to see the two juniors in the doorway. Mark walked into the room but ten stayed still, his feet unable to move from the carpet. Mark sat on johnny's bed and watched the interaction.

Johnny's eyes met tens; his body froze for a second. Once again, tens eyes filled with hot tears, his lip quivering, his mind fuzzy. His heart ached at the sight of the taller male; his chest felt like an empty hole a terrible pain coursing through his body. Johnny was quick to his feet, his only sight being ten. His bedroom faded into an inky blackness, a bright light emitting around ten's body. He walked to the smaller his eyes also welling up involuntarily.

Johnny placed both hands on ten's cheeks, his hands feeling warm on tens skin. He brushed the pads of his thumbs underneath tens eyes wiping away the tears that flowed continuously down his face. Their eyes stayed locked the entire time, the two absolutely lost within each other. Ten reached up and grabbed johnny's hand a burst of energy shooting from their hands through their bodies. They both gasped at the feeling, the warm energy lingering inside of them.

"this... this can't be real... it's you. It's... it's really you. The boy from my dreams... you're really him." Johnny said quietly as he looked into ten's glossy eyes.

Ten choked as he forced a sob back into his throat.

"what is happening... why do we know each other? I can't really remember... can you? Do you know what happened?" johnny asked softly.

Ten took a breath before shaking his head no.

"there has to be a way to find out..." johnny said more to himself than to anyone else.

Mark suddenly appeared in front of them.

"I have an idea."

"what is it?" ten said in a tiny voice as he wiped his tears away.

"what if you both have the dream at the same time? Maybe if you both see what happened we can figure it out."

"it's worth a shot." Johnny said not realizing he was still holding ten's hand.

"okay, I guess you guys need to go to sleep then." Mark said.

Johnny and ten looked at each other before they nodded. Johnny squeezed tens hand before he led him to his bed. They both crawled in and faced opposite ways. After a few awkward moments of silence, they both fell asleep. Mark waited at the desk observing them for any signs of the nightmare.

This time, the boy's dreams were in each other point of view. Ten saw himself staring down at him, miserable tears falling down his bloody face. His hands pressed firmly to the wound on johnny's chest. Ten felt johnny's body dying as an indescribable pain took over his body. He began to feel sleepy, his eyes falling closed. Ten was screaming above him begging for him to stay awake. Before he died, he felt johnny reach his hand up and press it to ten's heart. Right before his eyes closed, he saw a bright orangey gold glow emit from his palm which spread through both of their bodies filling them with warmth. Then, he died in tens arms the rest of his world fading into darkness.

Johnny saw the opposite in his dream. Being in tens point of view he saw himself dying in his arms. He felt all the crippling fear and despair that hung in tens heart as he watched his lover fade. He also felt the energy that passed through him, it's glow comparable to the sun. it was warm and felt powerful within him. The warmth lingered inside of him without going away even after johnny took his last breath.

Both boys were moving around in their sleep, sounds of pain and distress coming from each of them. Mark desperately wanted to wake them from the nightmares but knew he couldn't. he tried to focus somewhere else his heart aching at the sounds of his friend and brother.

Like clockwork, both boys shot up at the same time, their hands clutching their hearts breathless gasps filled the room, heaving chests and shaking limbs. They both had tears dripping down their cheeks, johhnys quiet, ten's loud breathy sobs.

Mark rushed over to the bed sitting in between them. He took both of them into his small arms holding them tightly.

"it's okay guys, I'm right here, you're awake now. Deep breaths okay? "mark spoke softly as he coached the boys back to reality. When johnny calmed he removed himself from mark and turned to ten who was struggling to stop his tears. He placed his strong hands on tens shoulder and pulled him to face him.

"johnny... i...did you... did you feel it too?" ten whimpered his eyes filled with water.

Johnny brushed tens cheek with his knuckle and nodded.

"yeah... yeah I did... ten.... I'm so sorry, I didn't know putting my golden core in you would carry on into our next lives...I've been putting you through this pain for so long... I never meant to hurt you..." tears flowed down johnny's cheeks as guilt filled his chest.

Ten shakily placed his hand on johnny's cheek giving him a crooked smile.

"johnny... you've been hurting too... we both have these dreams and, your last moments were filled with nothing but agony... I can't imagine how hard it's been on you."

Johnny covered his mouth with his hand to stifle a sob.

"johnny... don't you see what you did? You gave up your golden core so we could stay together forever... that's the reason we're connected... you connected us with your core." Ten choked.

Johnny looked up with watering eyes to meet tens. They both looked at each other for a few seconds before ten threw his body into johnny's chest. He clutched Johnny's t-shirt in his small fist as he sobbed into his shoulder.

Johnny held him tight stroking the back of his head softly with one hand using the other the firmly wrap around ten's waist.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Johnny whispered tearfully as he hugged the smaller as tight as possible.

Mark stood in the corner of the room a soft smile on his face. Johnny made eye contact with him and smiled mouthing "thank you" to him.

Mark nodded warmly before he sat down at the edge of the mattress placing a soft hand on tens back.

Once tens cries finally calmed, he sat up from Johnny's hold and wiped his eyes looking at the two next to him.

"are you okay now ten?" johnny said softly running his hand through ten's messy black hair.

Ten nodded with a small smile.

"so, did you guys figure it out? Why you're connected?" mark asked cautiously.

Johnny cleared his throat, his hand interlocking with tens on the mattress.

"me and ten were from separate clans during the Joseon Dynasty. I was a well-trained martial artist and ten was a young servant boy from a different clan. Most of the memories are fuzzy but we ended up together sometime before a huge battle between clans. Ten didn't know how to fight but I did. I tried to protect him, but I failed. I got stabbed in the heart and died in tens arms."

Ten squeezed johnny's hand.

Marks eyes were big as saucers.

Johnny took a breath. "before I died, I transferred my golden core to ten connecting our souls and spirits within it. I guess it was more powerful than I had thought."

"dude... that's literally crazy. How is that even possible?" mark said as his brain finally processed what johnny said.

"I don't know, I guess my skills were more advanced than I thought."

"well, what does this mean now? Do you think the dreams will stop since you guys found each other?"

"god I hope so." Johnny said as he eyed ten in his peripheral.

Mark looked at ten and then johnny. "well, I think you guys should talk about this, I'll be downstairs okay?" mark said softly as he left johnny's room closing the door behind him.

Johnny and ten still had their hands interlocked, tens grip tighter than johnny's. ten was looking down at the comforter beneath them, not having said a word in the past ten minutes.

"hey, are you okay?" johnny asked softly.

Ten slowly shook his head no and johnny was instantly concerned.

"talk to me ten, what's on your mind?"

Ten sniffled before he looked up at johnny.

"what does this mean now?"

"what do you mean?" johnny scooted closer to ten rubbing his thumb over tens knuckles.

"I mean... we figured out the dreams... we know what happened... is that it? Do we just go back to our own lives now? I don't think I can... let you go again johnny... I watched you die... I can't... I can't watch you leave again... all those feelings... they're still there... I feel them every time I look at you. How am I supposed to just... get over them?" ten whimpered as he avoided johnny's soft brown eyes.

Johnny placed his hand on tens cheek, his pointer and middle finger sliding around his ear, his thumb softly caressing his cheek.

"ten look at me." he said gently, his voice low and soft.

Ten looked at him hesitantly.

"who said anything about saying goodbye? Ten, I feel all those things too, I'm not going to pretend they don't exist because we live different lives now. Just because we reincarnated doesn't mean I ever stopped loving you, if anything it means our love is so strong that it lived on within us." Ten looked into johnny's eyes with big glossy ones.

"really?" ten squeaked.

Johnny gave him a soft smile. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to tens forehead.

"there's a reason my golden core was so powerful ten. Our spirits have always been connected we just made it stronger." Johnny leaned his head down and pressed their noses together. He stared deep into tens eyes his hands coming up to rest around tens waist.

"ten, you are my soulmate. You always have been... and you always will be." He whispered softly as he pulled ten closer to him.

Ten smiled wrapping his arms around johnny's shoulders.

"I love you johnny." Ten whispered.

Johnny pulled ten forward connecting their lips in a passionate desperate kiss, the same warm energy flowing through them like before.

Ten kissed back more tears flowing down his cheeks. When they broke apart, johnny wiped them away.

"you're still a crybaby." Johnny softly teased as he pressed his thumbs to the apples of tens cheeks.

Ten just tearfully giggled as he playfully smacked johnny's shoulder.

"and you're still mean to me." he pouted.

Johnny laughed before he grabbed ten and planted a thousand little pecks all over his face causing ten to giggle uncontrollably.

"oh really? I'm mean to you?" johnny teased as he continued to peck tens cheeks.

"okay okay! Mercy!" ten laughed as he pushed johnny's chest.

Johnny smirked before he placed one final kiss to the tip of tens nose.

He gently grabbed tens thin body and pulled him into his chest giving him a warm safe embrace.

Ten wrapped his hands around johnny's back melting into the hug.

"I promise I will never abandon you like that again. I'll never hurt you, I'll never make you sad, and I'll protect you properly this time. I'll do anything I can for you ten."

Ten smiled into johhnys chest.

After a few minutes they broke apart.

"should we go find mark now?" ten said as he sat upright.

"yeah, he said he's downstairs." Johnny replied as he stood up from the bed. He reached out his hand for ten to take and they walked downstairs to find mark.

"hey mark." Johnny said which immediately caught marks attention. He sprang up from the couch and looked at the two in front of him taking note of their interlocked fingers.

"hey! So... everything okay now?"

Ten and johnny looked at each other rand then back at mark, both of them nodding.

"so, you guys are a couple now?" mark said with an excited grin.

"yes." Johnny said confidently with a smile.

"bro that's so sick! My best friend and my brother? dude ten! Were gonna be bothers in law! "mark squealed excitedly.

"alright mark calm down." Johnny teased. "but seriously thank you for helping us mark." Ten said genuinely.

"dude of course! Anytime man."

"oh, hey johnny? Don' you need to call jae back?" mark said.

"oh! Yeah, I do! He's probably really confused."

"well, you should introduce him to you're boooyyyyfffrrriiieend!" mark teased.

"mark I swear to god I'll kick you." Johnny play threatened.

"alright alright, no violence, let's go." Mark said as he ran up the stairs to johnny's room. johnny opened skype and called jaehyun.

"johnny? Dude what is going on? It's been like ten hours! Do you know how worried I've been!?" jaehyun scolded through the screen.

"jae, calm down and listen to me."

"okay, okay I'm calm."

Johnny explained the story to jaehyun sparing no detail and when he was finished, he looked at jaehyun nervously.

"Jesus dude, that makes literally no sense."

Johnny's face fell. "you don't believe me?"

"oh no I believe you, how could I not? Those dreams you had were horrible john, I knew you weren't making it up. even though I don't understand it, I believe you and I'm glad you figured it out. Who knew that hippie book you checked out was actually right?" he teased.

"well, there's someone I want you to meet jae." Johnny took a deep breath before he gently grabbed tens hand and pulled him into the camera frame.

"this is Ten, he's my boyfriend..." johnny was slightly afraid of what jaehyun would say. He had never had a boyfriend before, and he never even mentioned the fact that he liked boys to jaehyun before.

"oh my god you're the dream boy! Wow, it's crazy to actually see you! I'm jaehyun johnny's way hotter and cooler best friend, it's great to meet you ten!" jaehyun laughed as he teased johnny which made johhnys eyes go wide.

"so, you're okay with this?" johnny asked cautiously.

"dude, the fact that you had any doubts greatly offends me. why wouldn't I be okay with it? You are my best friend johnny and all I ever want is for you to be happy, that is literally all that matters man. I still love you just as much as I did before, nothing will change that you understand me?"

Johnny smiled at his best friend.

"thank you jae, I love you too." Johnny said genuinely as he squeezed tens hand.

"alright enough of the sappy stuff, what are you guys wearing for your wedding? I'm thinking the color turquoise what you think?"

Mark laughed loudly from the side of the room as johnny rolled his eyes.

"alright enough of that jae, I'm hanging up now." Johnny said playfully.

"alright loser, ill text you later." Jaehyun said warmly.

"okay dork, text you later, bye jae."

Johnny sighed and closed his laptop. "well, that went better than I expected."

"johnny our parents will be home soon, me and ten gotta get outta here or they'll know we ditched."

"okay, hurry, I'll watch the driveway you two sneak out the back." Johnny said as they rushed back downstairs. Mark grabbed his backpack and they raced to tens house to grab his. They hung out in tens backyard until 3 PM before they walked back to marks. Both of marks parents were home now. The boys walked through the front door being greeted by both of them.

"hey boys! How was school today?" marks mom said brightly.

Mark and ten made eye contact before mark smiled.

"it was fine, not super eventful." Mark lied as he hung his backpack on the hook near the door.

"ten do you wanna stay for dinner?" his dad chimed in from the dining room.

"oh uh, sure if you'll have me." ten bowed politely.

"oh nonsense, you're basically family at this point, you're always welcome here."

"why don't you boys help johnny set the table?" his mom said as she handed mark a handful of napkins.

They rushed into the dining room and greeted johnny as if they hadn't seen him just twenty minutes prior. Johnny handed ten a plate and kissed his cheek quickly before he left to get glasses from the kitchen. Ten's face went red as he placed the plate down folding a napkin beside it.

Mark stuck his tongue out teasing the younger as he finished placing the silverware.

Soon the family sat down for dinner, johnny across from ten and mark, their parents at each end of the rectangular table. Dinner went by as normal, a very comfortable atmosphere blanketing them as they chatted. Amongst the conversation, johnny suddenly spoke up.

"hey, mom, dad can I say something?"

It went silent as everyone turned their attention to johnny.

"of course son, what is it?" his father said putting his fork down.

"i... I wanna transfer schools."

"what? Why honey? Is something going on at school?" his mother said with a worried tone lacing her voice.

"no, no, nothing's going on I just..." he paused to look at ten and then back at his parents. "I just really miss being home, the U.S is really far from you guys and being back here just makes me want to stay in Korea even more." Johnny looked away shyly.

"oh honey, we miss you too. We thought you really wanted to study abroad?" his mother said softly.

"well, I did but... now I think I'd rather be home, with the people I love." He looked at ten again for a brief moment giving him an almost undetectable smile. Ten's cheeks turned pink as he shifted his gaze from johnny's.

"okay son, if that's what you really want, I have no problem with it." His father smiled taking his wife's hand into his.

"thank you guys." Johnny smiled.

The family were all in high spirits the rest of the evening chatting and laughing together like they always do. Pretty soon it was time for ten to go home.

"hey mark Hun it's 9:30 can you walk ten home?" his mother said as she finished clearing the table.

Mark smirked and looked at johnny.

"actually, I have some homework I should get to, johnny? Can you walk ten home for me?" mark winked at his brother before he got off his chair and walked towards the staircase.

"yeah of course." Johnny said as he stood up being followed by ten.

Once they stepped onto the porch johnny took tens hand in his and they began walking down the street towards tens house.

"johnny? Are you really gonna transfer schools for me?" ten said with a worried face.

"of course I am. I told you, I'm never leaving you again."

"but, what about all your friends back in the U.S? what about jaehyun?"

Johnny stopped walking making ten stop as well.

"baby don't worry so much. Saying goodbye to you is way more painful then switching schools, I can't be apart from you again ten, I would go crazy."

"are you sure this is what you want?" ten looked down at his shoes.

Johnny placed his thumb and pointer finger underneath ten's chin and lifted his head up slowly.

"I'm positive." He smiled.

"okay johnny, I believe you." Johnny ruffled tens hair before they continued to tens house. When they arrived, johnny stood in front of ten both hand son tens shoulders.

"I'll see you tomorrow after school?" ten said softly.

"obviously." Johnny said tapping the tip of tens nose.

Ten smiled shyly before he stretched up on his tippy toes and planted a soft kiss to johnny's cheek. He turned to walk into his house but johnny grabbed his wrist and pulled him back crashing his lips into his, his strong hands lacing through tens soft black locks. Ten melted into the kiss, his eyes fluttering closed as johnny's lips moved with his.

They broke apart breathless. "goodnight my love." Johnny said softly.

"goodnight johnny." Ten smiled warmly before he happily bounced up his porch steps and waved from the front door. Johnny waved back and watched ten close the door and disappear into the house.

johnny was grinning ear to ear as he entered his house but stopped when he saw both his parents standing in front of him with straight faces, mark was at the dining room table with a confused face.

"what's going on?" he said nervously as he closed the door.

"when were you planning on telling us?" his father said with his arms crossed across his chest.

Johnny felt panic rise in his chest.

"telling you...what?" he swallowed hard.

His mom stepped forward and looked into johnny's eyes. She waited a second before she broke into a smile unable to keep her composure.

"your adorable little boyfriend of course!" she squealed which made johnny's body relax. His father began laughing as he approached johnny placing his hand on his wife's shoulder.

"what?" johnny said confused.

"oh, come on son, we aren't that stupid. You and ten, you're a couple, right?" his dad said.

Johnny shot mark an angry glare.

"what did you say to them?"

Mark stood with his hands up in defense. "I didn't tell them anything dude, I swear."

"johnny, sweetie anybody with eyes can tell you two are dating. You think we didn't see you kiss him on the cheek before dinner?" she laughed as johnny's face went bright red.

"so... you guys aren't mad?"

"mad? Why on earth would we be mad? Johnny you are our son and nothing you do will ever make us stop loving you. If you're in love with a boy who cares? As long as you're happy, so are we." His dad placed a gentle hand on johnny's shoulder to assure him.

"plus, you're nineteen years old honey, you can live your life however you want to, we can't control you even if we wanted to!" his mother giggled as she pinched johnny's cheek.

"thank you guys... just for everything." He said with a soft smile.

"aww come here johnny." His mother grabbed him and pulled him into a hug which was followed by his father.

"just don't break that cute boy's heart you understand?" his mother teased.

"I won't, I promise."