Iseul’s POV

“Are you not going to go home?” Junhyung asked.

“Am I disrupting you guys?” I asked.

“You know I don’t mean it this way. It’s just that you have been blankly watching him sleep for hours. You should go get some rest.” He said.

I shook my head.

“I am okay. I shall wait for him to wake up.” I said.

“Then come outside instead. The sofa is much more comfortable. Or lie on the bed.” He said.

“I am really fine, Junhyung.” I smiled at him.

“I can’t convince you, can I?” He smiled tiredly at me.

“I’ll be fine.” I assured him.

“Alright, alright. Lie down if you’re tired.” He said as he headed out.

I turned back to Doojoon after he left. I smoothed his hair as I watch him sleep.

/FLASHBACK

I left my phone in my room while I went out for a meeting. When I came back, I was surprised to find more than ten missed calls from the boys. Just as I was about to call again, my phone rang, Yoseob’s name flashing on the screen.

“Hello?” I hurried to answer the call.

“You’re finally answering!” He exclaimed.

“I’m sorry. I was in a meeting and I left my phone. Is everything okay?” I asked.

“NO! Everything is not okay!” He said.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Doojoonie had a bad nightmare. We could not wake him up. He was screaming and struggling.” He explained.

“Again?” I asked.

After asking the boys to pick him up from my office that night, I had not had a chance to meet him because work tied me down. But I was told by them that Doojoon had been having a hard time falling asleep since a week ago. He was having constant nightmares and tend to get slightly violent when they try to wake him. The boys were all afraid of him.

“Yes, again. But this time it’s really bad.” He said.

“How is he now?” I asked.

“He woke up and fell back asleep.” He said.

“Alright. I am coming.” I said.

“Please do.” He said.

I hurried to pack up my stuff and went to their dorm.

“You’re here.” Dongwoon said tiredly as he opened the door for me.

They were all scattered around the living room, looking tired.

“Are you guys alright?” I asked, surprised by their lifelessness.

“What do you think?” Hyunseung asked, his eyes barely able to stay open.

I looked over at the couch. Junhyung was lying on Yoseob’s lap, one of his hand covering half of his face.

“Are you sick?” I asked him as I walked over.

He covered his face with both his palms and shook his head.

I looked at Yoseob. He smiled slightly and pulled Junhyung’s hands away. I gasped when I saw a long scratch across his face.

“Oh my gosh! Did you fight with a cat!?” I exclaimed.

He glared at me.

“DOOVERINE DID THIS TO ME!” He shouted at me.

“Shhh shhh~” Yoseob hushed him.

“Dooverine?” I asked, confused.

“Doojoonie scratched his face when he tried to wake him up.” Yoseob explained.

“Ohhh~ Dooverine hahahaha!” I laughed, earning another glare from Junhyung.

“Sorry, sorry. Did you get it cleaned? It looks bad.” I said, examining the scratch on his face.

“He wouldn’t let us clean it.” Kikwang said.

“It hurts!” Junhyung grumbled.

“Come, let me clean it for you before it gets infected and then your handsome face will be ruined forever.” I scared him.

It worked because he looked genuinely afraid.

He kept whining about how painful it was to the point it was funny.

“Why are you laughing!?” He shouted suddenly.

“You’re funny.” I said.

“How am I funny!?” He got angry.

“You’re a grown man. Your image is a badass rapper. You are nicknamed Joker. And yet! You whine over a scratch!” I said.

“It really hurts.” He pouted.

“It’ll be done soon. Just bear with it, okay?” I said to him.

The moment I was done with the scratch on his face, Doojoon’s loud cry shocked all of us.

“Damn it!” Junhyung got up immediately and raced towards the room, forgetting about the pain.

All of us rushed into the room where Doojoon was. Junhyung was hugging onto him tightly while he cried and punched Junhyung’s back. Junhyung did not even let go of him despite the fact Doojoon was hurting him, but instead, he held onto him tighter, whispering words into his ear.

“Let me.” I said when Doojoon did not seem to calm down.

“Sure?” Junhyung asked.

I nodded.

He let go of Doojoon, his back bend forward slightly, perhaps painful from the beating.

I grabbed Doojoon’s hands and held onto them tightly, then locked him in my embrace. The boys stayed for a while before leaving us alone.

“Shhh~ Doo, you’re okay. You’re alright. You’re safe.” I hushed him.

I bit my lower lip to prevent myself from crying loudly as I thought of the words he said to me last week; It’s very painful, Iseul ah. Everywhere hurts. Let me go. I don’t want to live like that anymore. I cannot live this life anymore. Iseul, please.

He calmed down after a while, and then drifted back into sleep.

/END OF FLASHBACK

I almost dozed off when I heard noises. I opened my eyes to find him awake.

“You’re up. Are you feeling okay?” I asked.

He blinked at me, and then his expression changed.

“What are you doing here?” He asked coldly.

“I… You.. You were having bad nightmares. The boys called me. I was worried, so I came.” I said.

“Well, then now that you’ve seen me, you can go home.” He said.

“Doojoon ah~” I called out, surprised by his attitude.

“Get out of my sight. I really don’t wish to be seeing you.” He said.

“Doo, what did I do?” I asked.

 “You talked about nightmares just now?” He scoffed.

I looked at him, saying nothing.

“You know what’s the scariest out of all?” He asked.

I shook my head.

“You.” He said, pointing at me.

“You. Are. My. Biggest. Nightmare.” He said, poking my chest at every word, before pushing pass me and heading out.

“Doo…” I muttered, standing in the middle of the room, shell-shocked by his words.