I was never going to watch another horror movie again this late at night. Never.

I crawled under the covers, my heart still pounding. Jaejoong had already started to fall asleep, and his back was turned away from me. I’d thought he’d take another shower or read a bit before hitting the sheets, but instead, he just threw his jacket off and leaped into bed. While I was watching the film, I felt safe with Junsu, even though he was just as freaked out as I was. However, now felt like I was trapped in a room, with some paranormal entity that would suddenly come and kill me or eat me. Both ways sounded pretty bad.

“_______, can you turn off the lights?”

At the sound of Jaejoong’s voice, I flinched. I was about to move and turn them off, but I felt too scared. What if something was going to jump at me from the bathroom?

“No way. Turn it off yourself.” I tried to make my voice sound angry, like I’d already been asleep, but Jaejoong just laughed.

“You’re scared, aren’t you? Was the horror movie a little too much?”

“Shut up, Jaejoong, I’m not!”

I turned my back away from him while he stood up and turned off the lights. I heard the rustle of covers as he stepped into bed, and suddenly, I felt even more frightened and anxious, sitting in this dark room. Though I could hear Jaejoong’s breathing, I wanted nothing more than to turn the lights back on again-or at least hear him talking. Though he was annoying and exasperating, he calmed me down and made me feel like I’d be alright.

“You still scared?” His voice was barely a whisper.

“No.”

“Come here.”

“What?”

I turned my head, and in the darkness, I made out his frame, which was lying on the bed. “Come here.” He pulled at the blanket, motioning at me to sleep there. “Is this some kind of cheap trick to get me to sleep with you?” I snapped back at him.

Jaejoong chuckled. “I would have already forced you to sleep with me if I really wanted to.”

“No.”

“Alright.” He said it in a shrugging tone, which surprised me. I thought he would maybe beg a little longer or ask for a while, but he didn’t. He instantly just went back to sleeping. I felt alone now, like there was no one, and I swore that I could hear something outside of the hotel. There were little creaking sounds and a branch hitting the curtain, and suddenly, there was a loud roaring sound-

“!”

I jumped off my bed and ran into Jaejoong’s, pulling the blanket over my head.

“OH MY GOD GET ME OUT OF HERE OH MY GOD-”

Jaejoong laughed and put an arm around my waist, pulling my frame to his bare chest. He yanked me to him so quickly that I didn’t have time to respond, but for once, I felt safe and sheltered from harm. I stopped trying to fidget and relaxed, noticing how warm Jaejoong’s body was, and just how content I felt. My eyes starting to close, I almost didn’t hear him, but right before I slept, he whispered into my ear.

 “I’ll always protect you.” 

And as I closed my eyes, I would fall into a dreamless sleep - into what was one of the most peaceful nights I'd ever had. 

♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

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