Yewon was pulled from sleep by a startled shout. Instantly wide awake, she turned to Eunbi, whose chest was rising and falling rapidly as she sat with her head in her hands. Hesitantly, Yewon put her hand on Eunbi’s shoulder, and Eunbi covered it with her own, giving it a reassuring pat.

“I’m fine,” Eunbi mumbled, letting go of Yewon’s hand and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She sat with her back to Yewon for a few moments.

“Eunbi-” Yewon whispered.

“Just...go back to sleep Yewon,” Eunbi said, standing up in one fluid motion and crossing the room to her door. She slipped out slightly, leaving Yewon staring at the door with a helpless expression on her face. After Yewon unfroze, she quickly scrambled out of bed and followed Eunbi.

Eunbi was gone by the time Yewon made it downstairs, and Angkko was gone too, leaving Yewon to assume that Eunbi had taken her outside. Grabbing her coat, and slipping on the first pair of shoes she found, Yewon opened the front door and walked outside. It was still dark outside, and the sky was only just starting to lighten on the horizon as she looked around. Yewon squinted as she tried to make out Eunbi in the dum light, but she could only make out dark shadows.

Yewon couldn’t find her, so she sat down on the porch swing, tightly hugging her coat to herself as her breath came out in clouds before her. She sat there shivering as she waited for Eunbi to come back, her stubbornness kicking in as she refused to wait inside in the warmth. She sat outside for almost an hour before Eunbi came back, watching the sky lighten as she huddled up on the swing, but eventually Eunbi came into view, with Angkko padding along before her with a small stick in .

“Oh! What are you doing out here?” Eunbi asked wearily climbing the steps and frowning as she spotted Yewon.

“I-I was waiting for you to come b-back,” Yewon stammered as her teeth chattered together. Eunbi walked over and sat down next to her, picking up Yewon’s hands on her own and grimacing at how cold they were.

“You’re freezing,” Eunbi murmured, raising Yewon’s hands to and blowing and rubbing them to warm them up. “You should’ve waited inside.”

“Where did you go?” Yewon asked, taking in Eunbi’s slightly flushed cheeks and the locks of sweat-soaked hair stuck to her cheeks.

Eunbi shrugged halfheartedly. “I just went for a jog to clear my head.”

They were both silent for a moment, and Yewon stared down at their hands, watching Eunbi gently rub the warmth back into them. “Eunbi...I just- tell me how I can help you, please,” Yewon whispered.

“You can’t,” Eunbis sighed, letting go of Yewon’s hands so she could cup her cheek. Leaning in, she gave Yewon a quick kiss, “I’m fine, I promise.”

“This is the second time you’ve woken up yelling,” Yewon said, frowning in concern. “I don't know what it’s like, and I don’t want to push you but…”

“It’s like this whenever I come home. “It’s like everything catches up with me like I have time to think about everything that happened over there,” Eunbi whispered, surprising Yewon by her reply. “Over there, I don’t really think about everything; I’m always too busy working, and then when I finish for the night I talk to you and then I go to bed...and I’m so tired that I don’t even remember dreaming. And then I come home, and there’s nothing to do, so I’m not exhausted when I go to bed...and I dream. And I dream about the bad things, and I see the faces of the soldiers that I’ve seen die, and I can hear the explosions.”

Yewon’s face was white as she listened to Eunbi talk, and she felt a lump form in . She didn’t know what to say and she didn’t know what to do. Yewon had never felt so helpless before. She wanted to take Eunbi’s pain away, but she couldn’t.

“Eunbi,” she whispered, her voice cracking slightly.

“It’s okay,” Eunbi replied, giving her a small smile. “I just need a couple of days to get everything back in order. You know, like just get used to being back here.”

Yewon hesitated before she spoke slowly. “Have you ever thought about...seeing someone?”

“You mean a therapist?” Eunbi asked, laughing quietly. “It’s not that serious.”

“Eunbi, this is serious. It’s not just bad dreams, it’s something you’ve lived through. W-Wouldn’t it just, I don’t know….help to talk to someone. It’s not a bad thing to need professional help. I-I saw a therapist for a while, it was...it was helpful. It might help you too.”

“It’s not that bad,” Eunbi whispered, looking down at her hands.

“I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to...but I want to help you, and this is the only way that I can,” Yewon said, cupping Eunbi’s face between her hands and kissing her on the forehead.

Eunbi sighed and looked up, meeting Yewon’s gaze. She took one of the hands pressed to her cheek and kissed the palm of Yewon’s hand before giving her a small smile. “You’re probably right. I’ll think about it while I’m away, but I...I don’t know, Yewon, I just don’t think I’m there yet.”

“And that’s okay, but I want you to take care of yourself, and if you need help then there’s nothing wrong with that,” Yewon told her, kissing the back of Eunbi’s hand. “Whatever you need, if I can give it to you, then I will.”

“All I need right now is to get you inside before you freeze, and a nice cup of coffee,” Eunbi smiled, scrunching her nose slightly. “And maybe a shower.”

Yewon laughed as she shook her head. “Okay, I get it, I’ll let the conversation go for now.”

“Thank you,” Eunbi said quietly, gently Yewon’s cheek. “But really, I think your lips are turning purple, so you should really go inside. I can help you warm them up if you would like.”

Yewon rolled her eyes and stood up, holding a hand out for Eunbi to take and pulling her up. She briefly pressed her lips to Eunbi’s, before opening the front door and walking inside. They shrugged their coats off and Yewon quietly whistled for Angkko to come inside, stopping to wrestle the stick out of before she brought it inside.

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