Warnings for this part: none 

You groaned. The cramps seemed to be getting worse by minute and you were lying in your bed, trying to live through them.

“Are you about to turn into an animal?” Minhyuk’s voice - that couldn’t have been more annoying at that moment - asked. He dared to sound amused.

“Yes, a very angry one,” you hissed from under the blanket.

“Oh, how horrifying! It sounds like I’m about to be killed by an angry mouse,” he teased.

You couldn’t take his voice anymore and sat up so fast it caused you to feel slightly dizzy.

“Hungry?” he asked, holding a tray in his hands.

“Where did you get that?” you furrowed while looking at the tray you definitely did not remember owning.

“The food? Your mom left it when she visited.”

You let out a small sigh.

“Are you going to eat this or not?” he asked, impatient.

“I am,” you reached your arms out and he walked over to the bed before giving you the tray.

While you ate the food, Minhyuk sat on the one and only armchair you had in the whole apartment. It was in the corner of the room, almost exactly opposite the bed.

“Why are you still here?” you asked him and he immediately looked at you. “I never thought you’d be scared enough for your life to live with me.”

He remained quiet for a few seconds before smirking and looking away. “Scared people do all kinds of weird stuff, you know?”

“Not this weird,” you stated. “This is literally crazy. Unbelievable. Mind-blowing.”

He gave a laugh. “Yeah, I know, right?”

You continued eating while looking at him who was focused on something you couldn’t point out. Maybe it was the floor, maybe his own fingers, maybe the air.

“Have you come to terms with your weakness?” you asked and lowered your gaze just in time before he looked up to look at you.

Once again, he was silent for a few seconds before opening his mouth to respond. “I think you could say that,” he said nonchalantly even though there was a very faint smile on his lips - which you happened to miss.

Without a word, you kept eating until the plate was empty and your stomach full.

“Do you ever think about how quickly our lives could change?” this time, he was the one to initiate the conversation.

Though a little surprised, you answered calmly. “Not really… Why?”

He didn’t look at you. His expression looked somewhat bothered, like he was having some disturbing thoughts.

“What’s wrong?” you asked more nonchalantly than you had intended.

“What if you had died there?” he asked quietly and your body stiffened at the question. “What if we hadn’t arrived at that exact second?” he lifted his gaze to look at you. “What if someone else had found you in the forest?”

You gulped and let your gaze fall. The questions made you uncomfortable. You didn’t want to think about those things. You wanted to forget that whole nightmare. All of it.

“Useless what ifs,” you mumbled.

Suddenly, Minhyuk stood up and walked over to the bed before grabbing the tray from your lap. He didn’t even glance at you before turning around and walking out of the room. Right at the second when he disappeared from your sight, your phone started ringing. You picked it up and looked at the screen.

Mom is calling.

“He-“

“Are you feeling better?” she asked immediately when you picked up the call. “Is your boyfriend still there? Is everything okay?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you told her.

“He isn’t? Why though?”

“We-“

“You spend more time with him than you spend with anyone else, I heard. He seemed nice and well-mannered.”

“I know, but-“

“Do you like someone else? Is that it?”

“What?” you frowned. “No!”

“Then I don’t see why you two shouldn’t date.”

“We’re just too different,” you mumbled.

There was a brief silence. “But you like him?”

You hesitated for a second. “Mom, it really isn’t your business who I like and dislike. I’m a grown woman, I can take care of it myself.”

“Oh, I see, so you do.”

“Mom!”

“What’s the big deal?” she asked. “Just tell him you like him. You can still be friends even if he rejects you.”

“I’m hanging up,” you were more than ready to end the call.

“Wait! I’m sorry, I’ll shut up about him.”

You sighed.

“How are you feeling? Was the cold really bad?”

“It was milder than I thought it would be.”

“How so?”

“I thought I’d die from all that running. Really, it was crazy.”

“Running? What kind of camping trip did you two go on?” she sounded really confused.

Your heart skipped a beat.

Crap. I forgot.

“_____?”

“We’re playful like that together,” you lied, faking a small laugh. “We ran around a lot.”

“Aa, I see,” you could almost see her smiling widely.

“Anyway, I’m fine now,” you wanted to change the topic as quickly as possible.

“That’s good, we were really worried about you. Are you going to go back to work soon?”

“I…” you didn’t know what to say. Honestly, you weren’t sure if you even had a job anymore. “I’ll go back after resting for some time. That cold really exhausted me.”

“Okay. I’ll visit you some day.”

“I don’t-“

“See you later!”

You let out a sigh. You loved your mother but having her over didn’t sound like the best idea at that moment.

Is this a dream?

You were surrounded by warmth, a very familiar one. It reminded you of the warm hugs Eunkyung used to give you whenever you were feeling down. For a mere passing second you dreamed of that being the moment you woke up from the nightmare that had been going on for way too long.

There is no way for me to wake up from this nightmare. This is real…

You just lay there and listened to your breathing. Soon you came to the realization that it wasn’t you breathing but someone else.

Slowly, you opened your eyes slightly to see who was the source of the peaceful breathing. It was dark in the room and it took your eyes a few seconds to see the face in front of you clearly. When they did, you didn’t hesitate to push him off the bed.

“What the hell?!” Minhyuk groaned on the floor and sat up while rubbing his side.

“I should be the one asking that!” you looked at him, your heart racing and eyes wide. You were taken aback, to say the least.

“What?” he asked obliviously, irritation evident in his raspy voice.

“You were in my bed!”

He opened his mouth to respond but before he could, the door opposite the bed was opened rapidly. It took a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to the light that was coming in from the opened door.

“Oh, did I interrupt you two?” your mother asked in the doorway. Even though she tried not to, a wide grin appeared on her lips.

“What are you doing here?” you asked her, surprised.

“I told you I was going to visit,” she said innocently.

“I thought you would come later,” you were slightly annoyed.

“Well, what’s done is done,” she beamed. “Now, I’ll let you two finish whatever you were doing and make some breakfast for us all.”

With that she closed the door and you could hear her walk to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Minhyuk crawled back in to the bed and earned an angry look from you.

“I’m tired,” he mumbled and closed his eyes.

You gave him a push to express your discontent with his actions. Then you got off the bed before walking to the door and exiting the room. You left the door open to make sure that Minhyuk wouldn’t get too comfortable.

“Done already?” your mothe