▲▼ CHAPTER 42 

     The sunlight slowly seeped through the cracks of the window pane, allowing a ray of light to enter the darkened living room. You yawned, pushing the blanket over your body and slammed your head back onto the fluffy pillow. Soon, your alarm clock – which was neatly placed on top of the desk – irritatingly screamed through your eardrums. It was time for work but you were extremely tired. Maybe exhausted was a much more suitable word to describe your situation. You did not have much sleep for the whole night which was weird because the nightmares had not been haunting you ever since. Oddly, Daehyun was the one who had encountered those nightmares and it occurred to him the previous night.

         For the first few hours, you heard Daehyun struggling in his sleep. He would grunt and let out a slight yelp from his sleep. You were cautious at first, thinking that maybe it was not something serious. His yelping continued to creep in through the night and it gradually turned into loud screams. When you heard his screams, it felt somewhat threatening. You were bewildered as you saw how he was wriggling underneath his blankets, his veins bulging out slightly and how his voice almost went huskier than before. It was odd because Daehyun had never experienced such nightmares ever since you had lived with him. You held him down back onto his mattress and wiped the beads of perspirations from his forehead. After a few minutes of calming down, Daehyun was awake and his face was paler than ever.

         You gnawed onto your lower lip, it was shocking for you to witness such actions from Daehyun. He was screaming on top of his lungs, begging you to let him go. It was odd and appalling – you were afraid that these nightmares would soon take over his body like how it did to you. He would call out your name non-stop and as if calling someone to let you go. For the whole night, you could not bear to slack in some sleep. After witnessing the horrifying incident, you were more than cautious and had looked over Daehyun.

         A small sigh escaped from your lips as you jumped out from the bed, taking all your necessities and got ready for work. You then peeked your head through the door which was slightly opened and smiled when you saw Daehyun sleeping soundly on his bed. The calmed expression that he had – his long eyelashes flaring out and his succulent lips pressed amongst each other – washed away your worries. You closed the door shut, took the key and exited the apartment before Daehyun woke up. As you made your way to the café, the area was already packed which was surprising since it was only 9 in the morning. As usual, you placed your purse under one of the drawers and started taking down orders from the usual customers. Thankfully, the café was not as packed as any other days. Customers were much more calmed as they waited patiently for their turn and soon, the queue grew shorter. During your breaks, you sat right behind the counter and watched the others rushing onto their work.

         Your eyes wandered around the whole café, witnessing the usual customers ordering their usual beverages and light snacks. A small knot could be felt right inside your stomach. Out of nowhere, you were hurt. You stared at the vacant bar stool which was right in front of you and memories started flashing through your mind. You remembered the day when Daehyun came into your workplace and ordered a beverage for yourself. That was probably the first time where you developed weird feelings for him because he was just so intriguing. You had never met anybody who was so friendly and outgoing like Daehyun. At that point of time, he seemed so opened and pleased about making friends with you. Of course you were sceptical at first – due to the problem of trust that you had with him – but soon, you grew fond of how Daehyun enjoyed spending his time with you.

         A sudden rang came from the door as you jerked upwards, knowing that another customer had entered the café. You took position right behind the counter and wiped the tables until it was spotless. A small tap from the counter was heard and you craned your neck only to be greeted with a familiar face. A wide smile was plastered onto his face as his chubby cheeks rose instantly. “Hey, it’s been a long time eh?” He called out and extended his arms for a hug. A small chuckle escaped from your mouth and you allowed yourself to be buried in his heartful hug. Youngjae immediately took a seat onto the vacant bar stool right in front of you and ordered a beverage off the menu. You handled his cup carefully and placed it onto the counter. “What are you doing here? How did you know I work here?” You questioned. So far in your knowledge, you had never informed Youngjae about your workplace.

         He chuckled and for once, you missed his presence around you. “Daehyun told me,” He said shortly. Slowly, his cheerful expression changed into a slightly bitter one while he bit onto his lower lip. “How are you?” He pressed his lips firmly against each other. Fine, you thought. But you knew Youngjae was exactly like Daehyun, he could read through you so easily. You knew that he was not merely asking how your condition was but he was also asking how were you able to cope with all of the mishaps that had happened in your life. Right after he got the call on what had happened to Daehyun, he did not took his feelings into consideration but he was more worried about you.

         On the day Youngjae had met you – which was in the police station – he saw a certain twinkle in Daehyun’s eyes that he had not witnessed in a very long time. Just by looking at Daehyun’s facial expressions and body language, he knew that Daehyun was serious about you. Everytime when Youngjae met up with him, every subject that came up was about you. He never failed to include you in the topic, explaining to Youngjae how hard your life was.

         You showed an effortless shrug, “I guess I’m trying to stay alive.” Well, it was technically true. If it was not for Daehyun, maybe you would have given up and killed yourself by now. That was what you had wanted to do for the past few months to be exact. Youngjae took a small sip from his coffee and leaned onto the counter. He cleared his throat and glanced at you. “We’re still tracking them down.” He stated. By them, he meant the bad guys. And by the bad guys he meant Jaewook and the entire gang. “Good news, they won’t be hiding out there for long.” He stated. A huge wave of relief washed over your entire body. It was amazing and entirely grateful how Youngjae wanted to catch the guys.

         “How were they able to run away for months? That’s crazy.” It was absurd how Jaewook was able to flee that easily. A part of you were still terrified that he might be lurking in the areas to attempt his attack on you again. Youngjae shrugged and sipped down his coffee again, “We have a hunch that they left the country. Well, they couldn’t get a hold of you and after knowing about the incident, they knew it will not be easy if they continued staying here.” You nodded and gnawed onto your lower lip, well that apparently made sense.

         Youngjae stayed in the café for a few more minutes as he talked about what projects he was up to and how he had been doing. He also decided to share with you the memories he had shared with Daehyun before and you pitied him. The both of them rarely met each other because Youngjae tends to live further away and he was often busy with his Officer work. To know that a dear friend of his was admitted in the hospital and had a coma was simply devastating. You sensed the sadness in Youngjae’s voice as he stated how he was dying to meet with Daehyun eventhough he knew and was prepared for the consequences. Before he could go any further, a small voice from a distance interrupted your thoughts.

         The both of you turned and you saw the young man standing proudly in front of the counter, attempting to steal a seat from one of the other customers.

         Youngjae’s eyes instantly sparkled in the darkness and you saw a sincere yet overwhelming smile he gave off. “Daehyun!!!” He exclaimed, pulling the young man into his embrace and let out a raspy laugh.