When Sunwoo woke up, Seolhee was still fast asleep in his arms, and he couldn't help just watching her sleep for a few moments. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful, and having her in his arms was the best feeling in the world.
He'd been trying to push back his feelings for a long time.
His growing feelings for her had scared him from the start. Even when she was just acting like a friend, they'd scared him.
After all, he'd always thought his parents were in love until his father cheated on his mother and she was thrown out of the household, never to be seen again.
He was young when it happened, so he didn't remember much about the actual incidents. But the pain remained, something that he carried with him daily.
So he'd tried to push away the feelings. He'd never wanted to fall in love. Having people he trusted and cared about only meant that there'd be more ways for him to get hurt, and he'd spent years building up a wall around his heart.
But watching her sleeping figure, that wall crumbled completely. It was demolished.
He liked her.
He liked her a lot. He was genuinely happy when he was with her. Seeing her smile made him smile again.
When he'd seen her earlier with her red, tearstained face, his heart had dropped to the floor. Hearing her cries seemed to break his heart into millions of tiny little pieces. All he wanted to do was to help her, to make everything okay for her. He wanted her to be happy.
He wanted to confess. He wanted to kiss her again.
Sunwoo sighed, knowing that he couldn't. Not now, when she was in such a fragile state. It would be inconsiderate of him to confess now, when her brother was hurt and on the other side of the world.
Beside him, Seolhee stirred in her sleep and let out a small whimper. Beads of sweat were on her forehead and her brows were furrowed. It took Sunwoo a moment to realize she was having a bad dream.
"Hey, wake up," he said gently, shaking her shoulder.
Her eyes blinked open, and she looked terrified. "Jacob?" she asked, her face crumpling. "He died-"
"He didn't," Sunwoo said quickly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest. "You had a bad dream, that's all. Everything is alright."
She cried, her fingers gripping the material of his shirt. He stroked her hair, wishing that he could do more for her.
"I'm sorry," she muttered after a moment, pulling away a tiny bit and wiping at her tears. "I shouldn't cry. I should be strong."
"Being strong and crying aren't mutually exclusive," he told her gently. "You can cry. It doesn't make you any less strong. In fact, I think it takes a lot of courage to admit your feelings. Crying and admitting that you're sad and scared, that makes you strong too."
Seolhee gave him a small smile, though there was devastation and worry lingering in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said again. "You should probably go home-"
"No!" he said quickly, then blushed. He looked away. "I mean... um... I'd rather stay with you. If you don't mind. I mean, if it's uncomfortable, I can go, but-"
She laughed, the sound making his heart flutter, and he dared to look at her again. She cuddled close to him again, placing her head on his chest.
"Your heart is beating awfully fast," she murmured, her voice teasing.
"Um... well..."
"Mine is too," she said, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around him.
Sunwoo smiled, holding her tight as they both drifted off into sleep again.
