Jisun woke up the next morning and groggily looked at the clock. If she slept any longer, she would probably end up late for work. Which of course brought a disgruntled groan from her. Her body felt heavy as she sat up and stumbled out of bed. In the kitchen, she found Yongguk setting the table.
"Hey." he greeted brightly. "I was just thinking about waking you. You slept in pretty late."
"Yeah." she mumbled and shuffled over to the coffee machine. She started brewing a small pot before going over to the table and collapsing in to a chair.
"Are you alright?" Yongguk asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
Stifling a yawn, she nodded her head. "Yeah. Just didn't sleep well."
"Oh." he replied with a pout. Then he indicated the plate in front of her. "I made breakfast."
She glanced down and noticed the food in front of her for the first time. She eyed the omelet and him suspiciously before cutting it open. After inspecting the contents, she put a piece in .
"Is it good?" he questioned and nervously chewed on his bottom lip as he stared at her.
She swallowed and shook her head. "It's absolutely horrible." she declared.
His mouth dropped open in shock before he quickly looked at the omelet on his plate. Not being able to hide it anymore, Jisun burst out laughing and Yongguk gave her a confused look.
"I'm kidding." she informed him. "It's good."
He blinked for a few seconds before scoffing and chuckling. "See if I cook for you again."
"I'm sorry." she offered and giggled.
He smiled at her and then took a bite of his food. He nodded in approval and kept eating.
"So how did you sleep?" she asked.
His shoulders shrugged a little. "Pretty good."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?" Then she let out a scoff.
"What?" he questioned curiously.
"Not fair that you sleep fine when you're the one sleep walking." she commented.
"Huh?"
She stopped eating and looked up at him. It was obvious by the confused look on his face that he didn't know what she was talking about.
"Are you serious??" she demanded in disbelief. "You don't remember anything from last night?"
His face flushed as he stammered in surprise.
Sighing, she set her fork down and rubbed her eyes. "I found you in the living room this time but you kept saying you didn't know where you were. That you were lost."
"Oh." he uttered and set his fork down as well.
"I lead you to your room but you begged me to stay. So I sat with you until you fell asleep." she finished.
He looked down at his plate and swallowed. "I'm sorry." he whispered.
She stared at him for a moment before letting out a breath. "Don't worry about it. Not like you can help it."
"You can turn the doorknob around." he suddenly blurted and looked up at her. "That way the door locks from the outside."
She furrowed her eyebrows. "No." she told him. "I'm not gonna.."
He stood up. "I can do it for you." he continued adamantly. "I'll do it right now."
She stood as well. "No." she firmly declared, raising her voice. "You're not a prisoner Yongguk. I'm not going to lock you in your room."
He opened and closed his mouth a few times before weakly saying, "But..."
Waving her hand dismissively, she glanced at the time. "I need to get going before I'm late." She pointed at him. "Touch that doorknob and you will be in trouble." she threatened. "This is your home."
He pressed his lips together and swallowed before nodding. Then he glanced around the kitchen. "Here." he said and hurried over to a cupboard. He pulled out a travel mug and took it to the coffee machine.
"Thanks." she said before quickly going down the hallway to get ready.

Jisun locked the car and hurried across the lot to the back door. She stepped in to the building and set her stuff down on the break counter. Her boss came out of the office and raised an eyebrow. She quickly explained that she hadn't slept well and he merely nodded in understanding. Then she smoothed her clothes and went out to the front.
Time dragged by and all she could think about was how much a nap sounded good. She didn't even realize her shift was over until another employee pointed out the time to her. Jisun let out a small cheer, making her co-worker laugh. Then she disappeared in to the back to retrieve her things.
Before she headed out the door, she checked the schedule and saw that she had the next couple days off. Feeling a small burst of energy, she smiled brightly and went outside. She dug her keys out of her purse as she came up to her car and dropped them on to the pavement.
She mentally laughed at herself as she bent down to pick them up. Then she went to put them in to the lock but stopped. Her smile quickly faded away as she saw the little lock stick through the window. It was sticking up. She reached for the handle and the door opened. Her car was unlocked.
Her mind raced back to the morning, after she had parked. She kept retracing her steps, every movement she had made, and was sure she had locked her car.
She took a step back as her heart pounded in her chest. She quickly glanced around but the lot was empty of anyone else. Then she stepped to the side and peered in to the back seat. No one there either.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the driver door and got in. She closed the door and promptly locked it. Then she carefully examined the inside of the car. The stereo was still in place with no signs that anyone had tried to take it out. Nothing seemed to be out of place that she could find.
She sighed and leaned her head against the head rest. Maybe she only thought she locked the door considering how tired she was. After all, would someone really have broken in to her car for nothing?
Just as she told herself to forget about it, her mind thought of Yongguk. Then she swiftly put on her seatbelt and started the car. She drove out of the parking lot and on to the road, anxious to get home.

Jisun came through the front door and hurriedly kicked off her shoes. The living room was empty so she made her way to the kitchen. There she found Yongguk sitting at the table with a book in his hands.
He looked up at the sound of her footsteps and smiled. "Hey. How was work?"
She observed him for a moment before forcing a smile on her face. "Fine." she replied, keeping the car incident to herself. "How was your day?" she then asked.
"Good." he said and indicated the book. "I was wiping out the cupboards and found some cookbooks. I want to make dinner tonight."
A glance at the book and she did indeed recognize it. It was one of the cookbooks in the tiny cupboard above the fridge.
"I assume they were your grandmother's." he continued. "I hope it's okay that I looked at them."
She chuckled a little and shook her head. "There were my grandpa's actually. He was the one that liked to cook. And he definitely would not care that you used them." She sat down in a chair next to him, relieved that he obviously had an uneventful day. "Grandma was the gardener though. You can look at those books too if you would like."
He perked up at her offer, delighted. "I'd like that." he told her. Then he closed the book and set it aside. "Can we make the jam now or are you too tired?"
With her running late yesterday from meeting Yoonjung, she decided to put off the jam making until today. The strawberries were waiting for them in the fridge.
Leaning back in her chair, she smirked at him. "Yes I am too tired but you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself." She pointed to one of the cupboards. "Get the largest mixing bowl to mash the fruit in and grab the largest pot to boil the water." Then she pointed at the mud room. "The canning jars are in the cupboard in there."
Yongguk chuckled before jumping to his feet. "Yes ma'am." he said and brought his hand up to his head to salute her. Then he quickly fetched the required items.
He followed her instructions perfectly but Jisun still stood to go over to the counter to check what he was doing. Then she let out a surprised yelp when he grabbed her and lifted, helping her on to the counter.
"Sit." he ordered and went back to mixing the jam ingredients.
She laughed and made her self comfortable as she supervised him. Soon enough though. He was setting another two jars of strawberry jam aside to cool. And was very much pleased with himself as he smiled proudly.

After eating dinner, which Yongguk insisted on doing all by himself, they both relaxed on the couch to watch another war movie of his choosing. It was almost becoming a routine with them and Jisun smiled to herself about that. She didn't quite make it all the way through though, her eyes closing on their own as she feel asleep. Then she was awaken by Yongguk gently shaking her and whispering her name.
"Movie's over sleepyhead." he teased. "Time for bed."
She gave him a playful glare before nodding and stretching a little. Then she stood up and glanced out the window. What she saw made her step closer as she gazed up at the sky. "Looks like we're going to have a storm tonight." she commented.
"Really?" he asked and moved next to her to look out the window as well.
The sky was quickly filling with dark clouds and lightning streaked across the sky in the distance.
"We should make sure the garden coverings are secure and that nothing is outside that can blow away." she told him.
"I'll take care of that." he said and left the window. He hurried across the living room and went into the kitchen.
Jisun stared out the window a bit longer, remembering the stormy night when she had found Yongguk. It wasn't even that long ago to her amazement. It seemed like almost another lifetime ago though.
She turned away from the window and opened the front door. She glanced around the yard and made sure the windows of the car were up. Then she went back inside and locked the door.
She crossed the living to the kitchen and through the mud room. Standing on the back porch, she watched Yongguk check the metal meshing the protect the plants from the animals. She surveyed the rest of the yard but didn't see anything that needed to be brought in. She did go to the patio table though and turned the chairs over. More than likely they would tip in the storm and this way too, the seats wouldn't be wet if she wanted to sit outside in the morning.
"I said I would do it."
Jisun turned around to find Yongguk on the porch and frowning at her. "I can help too." she laughed. "It's my home also."
The frown faded from his face and was replaced by an odd expression as he stared at her.
"What?" she questioned.
He blushed a bit and looked down at the ground. "It's just... That's the second time today you called your house my home." he mumbled. Then he lifted his head to look at her again. "Thank you."
She shyly smiled, feeling her own face heat up a little. "That's your one 'thank you' for the day. So no more." she informed him.
A burst of laughter escaped from him and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I know, I know. I'll just have to keep cooking and cleaning for you to show my gratitude."
She groaned and rolled her eyes. Then they both giggled before heading inside while a boom of thunder sounded in the distance.

A loud crack of thunder startled Jisun awake. Her heart raced in her chest and she took a few deep breaths to help calm herself. Mentally cursing the storm, she rolled over and buried her head under her pillow. Sleep didn't find her again though as another thought entered her mind.
Sighing, she threw the blanket off. She climbed out of bed while wondering where she would find Yongguk this time.
Much to her surprise, his door was closed and she suspiciously checked the doorknob. It was still set in the proper way, meaning he took her threat seriously. Then she lifted her hand to knock but stopped herself. If he was actually sleeping in his bed tonight, did she really want to wake him?
She stood there for a while, chewing on her lip and debating. Finally she rolled her eyes and grabbed the doorknob. She twisted it slowly and gently pushed the door open just enough for her to peek inside. Her heart skipped a beat and then she pushed the door open all the way.
Yongguk was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands gripping the mattress tightly. Panic etched his face and there was fear in his eyes. The same eyes where tears spilled from to roll down his cheeks.
"Yongguk!" she exclaimed and quickly went to him. "What's wrong?"
"They... can't... We... We're not..."
She knelt down on the floor in front of him and grabbed his arms. "Yongguk, you're dreaming. Everything's fine."
His gaze met her's and he shook his head. "We're not ready."
Her eyes widened in shock at those words. "What? What do you mean?"
"We're not ready." he repeated in a raspy voice. "They can't come yet."
"Who?" she questioned. "Who can't.."
A loud boom of thunder cut her off and made her jump. At the same time, Yongguk's hands flew up to cover his eyes and he squeezed his eyes shut.
"Tell them to go back!" he yelled, his voice shaking with panic.
She swore her heart was going to explode with how fast it was beating. Her jaw quivered as she stared at him, at a lost as to what to do. She reached up and placed her hands over his hands, making him open his eyes.
"It's just a dream." she told him in the steadiest voice she could manage. Not wanting her own panic to show.
He shook his head again as even more tears appeared. "It's not a dream, it's a storm."
A bright flash of light filled the room before everything went dark. The power was out.
"I'll be right back." she said and scrambled off the floor.
She felt her way through the dark to the kitchen. The candles were on top of the fridge like they should be as well as the lighter. Taking them down, she lit one candle and the light illuminated the room. Then she hurried back to the bedroom.
She gasped and came to a halt when she saw Yongguk kneeling on the floor, hands covering his ears as he rocked back in forth. Swallowing, she set the candle on the dresser and made sure nothing was close to it. Then she sat on the floor in front of Yongguk.
"I'm back." she stated and gently touched his arms.
He stopped rocking to look at her. "Make it stop." he sobbed with pleading eyes. "Please make it stop."
Pain ripped through her chest and she felt her own eyes start to water. Without thinking, she pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around him. "The storm will pass." she whispered. "It'll stop soon."
He brought his hands down and s his arms around her. He buried his head in to her neck, curling up against her. Which made it easy for her to feel just how badly he was trembling.
"It'll be okay." she assured him, her voice cracking. "The storm will go away soon."