Jooheon sits up on the bed with a loud gasp, pushing down the covers. His bed creaks from the sudden action, loud in the silent room. Pearls of sweat are forming on his head, slowly dropping down his face and onto his shirt. He's breathing hard, trying to regulate his heart beat as images of the nightmare run through his vision. The fear. The helplessness.

 

All in all, Jooheon shouldn't have watched horror movies before bed.

 

He's still breathing loudly, scanning the room. Across his bunk bed, Kihyun lies beneath heavy blankets in deep sleep. In the dark, a muffled voice below him grumbles. Movement causes the lower bunk to creak, and light promptly fills the room. 

 

"Hng...Hyung?" Changkyun's sleep-filled voice rises up. Jooheon creeps to the edge of his bed, then grips on the rails as he peeks down.

 

"Changkyun? You're awake?" 

 

The maknae lifts his blankets away. Legs clad in black sweatpants appear, in contrast to the dull white sheets. The top of Changkyun's head appear next, then his face, blinking groggily in the bright light. "I am now. I heard something...?"

 

Jooheon gives him a sheepy smile, eyes curling into themselves. "Ah, I woke up from a nightmare. And I might not be able to sleep."

 

Changkyun nods, not even processing half the words. He just rubs at his eyes for a few seconds in silence. "Come here, then."

 

The elder raises an eyebrow at the order. What are they going to do? Tossing his covers aside, Jooheon makes his way down the ladder and slips into Changkyun's bed, squishing the maknae in the narrow space. Changkyun is ruffling through his items by the bed, searching for something. Then, he lets out a small "ah" and faces his hyung, bringing out an old, yellowed picture book.

 

Jooheon observes the maknae, who opens the book to reveal illustrations of seven dwarfs and a pretty girl. Changkyun places his hand on the page and looks up at his hyung. "Come closer."

 

The elder obeys, inching over the sheets to get to the maknae's side. Squished in the cramped width of the bed, the two rappers sit side by side in intimate warmth. Changkyun pushes Jooheon's head to his shoulders, forcing him to rest, as he opens his mouth and begins to read. 

 

"Once upon a time in midwinter, when snowflakes were falling from heaven," Changkyun reads, deep voice emitting warmth. Immediately, Jooheon is lulled into the story, eyelids drooping. 

 

"...If only I had a child, as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as wood in this frame." The maknae pauses to peer at his hyung, whose head lay heavy on his shoulder by now. He stares at eyelashes fanning over cheeks, lips parting out just a bit. Then snaps the book close.

 

Reaching out, Changkyun slips the picture book back into place and switches the light off. Pulling Jooheon down into bed, he throws the blankets over them and closes his eyes, returning to sleep.