Warnings for this part: violence, blood

Once again you felt yourself being surrounded by warmth. The same one as before, the one that made you think of Eunkyung momentarily. Except this time your mind shifted from her to Minhyuk quite quickly. You opened your eyes slightly to see if Minhyuk was sleeping in front of you once again and after a few seconds of staring at him, you concluded he was.

This time you didn’t push him away but just looked at him. Sure, being so close to him was weird but there was something in his expression that stopped you from pushing him off the bed once again. And somehow you didn’t really mind him, you actually found it somewhat comfortable, though you didn’t admit it to yourself.

He looked calm, peaceful. Even though you knew that under those close eyelids were hidden two icy, blue orbs, he almost seemed like a normal person at that moment. His usual coldness wasn’t showing in any way. He really seemed like a normal person.

His breathing was almost hypnotizing. It was calm just like his expression. You could feel his exhales on your skin very faintly and it gave you a weird feeling. It almost made your heart flutter.

Even when he slowly opened his eyes, you didn’t look away. He didn’t look surprised to find you staring at him.

“Are you going to kick me off the bed because if so, I can get off on my own,” his voice was groggy and silent.

“I don’t feel like it,” you mumbled the truth calmly.

He stopped for a bit to look at you and then closed his eyes. Seemed like he was planning on going back to sleep.

That’s when it hit you. You had slept soundly. Your night had been nightmare-free.

“Minhyuk,” you called his name and he hummed in response. “I didn’t have nightmares.”

There was a short silence. “That’s strange,” Minhyuk mumbled, sounding nonchalant.

You looked at him. He didn’t seem too bothered by your statement. “Now that I think about it, I don’t remember having any yesterday either.”

He opened his eyes and looked at you. While looking at his blue eyes, you realized they weren’t cold or icy, just blue. His soft gaze could have been because of his sleepiness but it still made you feel a little warm inside. You didn’t remember looking at him like that ever before.

“Your eyes are puffy,” he mumbled silently after a while of silence.

“You don’t think this is weird?” you asked.

“You cried yourself to sleep,” he ignored your question.

“Minhyuk,” you wanted him to listen to you.

“How are you feeling?” he asked and looked at you in the eyes as if he was trying to read your mind through them.

You stopped for a second. How were you feeling?

“A little better?” he looked nonchalant but his voice had certain warmth in it.

“A little,” you admitted and he gave you a small smile. “Does it make you happy?”
He even chuckled a little. “You have no idea.”

“Apparently.”

“I think it’s me,” he said and turned to lie on his back, his lips still in a smile.

“What?” you didn’t catch what he meant.

“The nightmares,” he started. “It seems possible that they are gone because of me.”

“Even though you are the one who caused them in the first place?”

He looked at you for a bit. “Maybe it was never me but feelings instead. Maybe your feelings toward me have changed.”

You were perplexed by his statement and attempted to push him away immediately. He just laughed and dodged your foot. “Or not.”

“You can laugh,” you pointed out. It was rare to see him so happy.

He shrugged. “Occasionally.”

The whole day consisted of you sitting inside, doing whatever. One minute you were reading a book, another you spent on your phone. Minhyuk wasn’t in the living room with you so you didn’t know what he was doing but you wouldn’t have been surprised to find him sitting in the kitchen, staring at air. Out of curiosity, you got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen.

He was on his phone - whose existence you had completely forgotten - and seemed unhappy. You hid behind the doorframe to observe him secretly. He hadn’t noticed you.

After a bit, he put the phone down and buried his face in his hands before letting out a deep sigh. It seemed like something was bothering him. He seemed somewhat tired.

He’s probably tired because he must babysit me all the time…

You felt your heart ache suddenly. It surprised you how much the thought of him most likely disliking living with you, hurt you.

“I know you’re curious,” his voice surprised you.

He lifted his head to look at you.

“You heard me?” you asked while walking towards the table.

He watched you stop opposite him and looked up at you since he was sitting down. “How could I not? You’re really loud,” he said.

You snorted.

“Yuna is apparently having a hard time,” he stated and looked down at his phone. “Hoseok keeps texting me about how hard it is for him to take care of her.”
Not knowing what to say, you just listened quietly.

“She keeps telling him about how much she wants to just give up,” he continued with a silent tone. “Hoseok is trying to be patient with her but he says it’s really hard. Having to stay inside for her own safety is just slowly killing her.”

Somehow, I can relate…

“It’s extra hard on him because he cares about his friends so much. It’s his weakness and seeing someone like that in pain is just absolutely frustrating because you know you can’t do much about it.”

“Do you know that from experience?” you asked timidly, making him glance at you.

“Yeah.”

Again, your heart ached.

Am I creating distance between him and the one person who can make him happy? Am I making him sad?

“You know…” you started hesitantly. “You don’t have to stay here.”

Your statement made him furrow his eyebrows and look at you. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean, if you feel frustrated and exhausted, I don’t mind you taking a break. Don’t worry about me, I’ll survive. It’s not like I’ll get kidnapped again. What’s even the possibility of that happening? They saw that I’m not useful, why would they come back and waste that time on me?”

He listened to you like the stuff you were saying was the stupidest thing he had heard in a long time.

“I totally understand if you’d rather be with that person who is your weakness,” this made him give a laugh. “What?”

“I just find it funny how you’re serious about this,” he said.

“I’m not supposed to be?”

He stopped for a few seconds and smiled a little. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

His smile made your heart flutter. It seemed genuine and his voice wasn’t harsh, it was warm.

“W-when did I ever worry about you?” you stuttered. “I was just saying.”

He grinned and shook his head in amusement. “Yeah, I know.”

The next morning you weren’t surrounded by warmth when you woke up. Its absence made you wake up. You discovered that you were alone.

He’s in the kitchen.

You walked out of the room and in to the kitchen, expecting to find the blue-eyed guy sitting there with an expressionless face. But you didn’t. There was no one in the kitchen nor in the living room which you had walked through on your