You had fallen asleep in his arms after reliving the past couple of hours in your mind. It was all still a blur, everything had happened so quickly, so unexpectedly. But regardless of that it was definitely the happiest night you had experienced in awhile.

Before you was able to answer Jonghyun, Jinki appeared out of nowhere letting go confetti; achieving a glare from Jonghyun for appearing too early. He let out a nervous laugh and you couldn’t help but laugh along with him. You shifted your focus from Jinki back to Jonghyun, in which he was still waiting for your response. You let go of his hands and instead wrapped your arms around the base of his neck.

“I wouldn’t mind being yours,” you whispered.

He locked you into a secure embrace and buried his forehead into the crook of your neck.

 “You guys are so cheesy, I love it! But please don’t forget you’re leaving a lone man standing here.” Jinki complained as he began to gather the confetti to re-throw back up into the air.

Jonghyun chuckled and motioned Jinki over “Couldn’t forget you even if I wanted to.”

Jonghyun and you had spent the rest of the evening replaying the video he had made and you both could not stop laughing at his shyness. A personality he had hardly shown before. You were wedged between him and the couch soaking in the warmth from all sides. Jinki had started a fire in his living room fireplace, it wasn’t long after that your eyelids started to droop. It also wasn’t long before your nightmare began:

You heard someone in the kitchen shuffling and moving around pots. You cautiously made your way towards the noise in fear someone had broken into your house. As soon as you entered the living room a wave of smoke and alcohol burned your nose and you noticed a familiar dark figure. “Dad? Is that you?” The figure stopped moving and slowly turned around, you were able to make out his almond shaped eyes behind the mask, it was your father. “Dad, I missed you. Please come back to us, please. We can all live happily again; it would be like the old times. Mom is making money again and you can find a job again.” You pleaded as you tried to fight back tears. He stopped what he was doing and placed the bowl he was holding on the counter. You started to approach him faster; however, he suddenly ran outside the backdoor and jumped over the gate. You began to chase after him, you swore that was your father, he couldn’t just leave, not again. “Dad come back! Don’t leave me here by myself! Dad...please!!” You screamed after him. You kept running as fast as your body would allow you to. “What makes you think I deserved any of this? If you weren’t happy you shouldn’t have had me in the first place. Why are you making me live in this world of Hell alone?! Dad are you even listen—”. A pair of headlights slammed into your side as you fell forwards, crushing you beneath it. “Seo-yeon! Wake up, please. Seo-yeon!!”

“Seo-yeon! Wake up! It was just a dream, it’s okay.”

Your eyes flew open but the ringing in your ears would not cease. The dream was still so vivid in your mind that you couldn’t grasp reality.

“He came back home, I have to find him,” you whispered before you started after the door.

Jonghyun grabbed your arm and held you back, “you’re not going anywhere, do you know how late it is right now?”

“It doesn’t matter, he’s here. He came back I know he did, I have to see if he’s okay!” You screamed at Jonghyun.

You heard feet running down the stairs as you struggled to get out of his hold but his grasp was too strong.

“What’s going on?” Jinki asked with a face filled with concern.

“She dreamed of her dad.”

“He’s here, let me go. Let me go see him, I need to know if he’s doing okay. I need to talk to him to come back home,” you sobbed quietly.

You froze midway as your mind began to shift away from the dream and back into reality. You crumbled onto the carpet, “he didn’t come back…he’s never coming back…” You said as you realized what was happening.  

“Seo-yeon listen to me,” Jonghyun pleaded.

He pulled you up so you were up against his side and placed the palm of your hand near his heart to slow down your breathing.

“He’s going to come back, just not now. He’ll come back when the time feels right to him.”

“No one is going to come back Jonghyun; they all left for a reason,” you continued to cry on his shoulders.

“I can’t stop everything from happening, but I promise you I will find a way to ease your pain, just trust me okay?”

A small nod was all you could manage to give.

“I promise you Seo-yeon,” he said softly.

And he sealed it with a kiss.