Accidentally Parental

07: Establishing Empathy

​​​​​​"I swear, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." She said and forced herself to stood up but to no avail.

Her two sleepless weeks has finally taking its toll on her. As she stood up, Naeun swayed a little and luckily, Taemin is there to caught her by the waist.

Darkly, the concerned man mocked, "I see, you're fine, huh."

"I swear I'm okay." Naeun groaned as she tried prying his hands away but Taemin's grip on her only tightened.

A stifled yelp sounded off her when her feet suddenly left the grounds. With her eyes closed, the musky scent of her CEO hit her nose. The next she knew was she is now being carried by Taemin towards the bed.

"H-Hey!" Her nose instantly flared due to the action. "What are you doing?!"

"Tucking you to bed." Taemin said nonchalantly.

The softness of the mattress hit her back as Taemin laid her down with so much gentleness. Once settled, he then pulled the thick comforter and wrapped it around her like a cocoon. Upon finishing he said, "Sleep. You need it."

Her lips pursed on his demand. "It will be difficult to try getting back to sleep. I'll stay up and wait for nine o'clock to hit."

Taemin let out a long sigh. Without uttering a single word, he forced himself to move and leave the room.

Naeun's mood worsen due to his action. She was a bit hopeful that he will stay and try to console her up but what happened was the contrary. He left. He left with saying not a single word. Feeling disappointed, she snuggle closer to her fur pillow and insisted herself to sleep.

But after a few minutes, the door lightly parted revealing Taemin but this time, he was holding a glass of milk.

"Y-You're here... again." She mumbled in disbelief.

He hesitantly sit at the edge of her bed and whispered softly, "Yeah, I got you some milk. It will help you fall back to sleep."

After seating up, Taemin carefully handed her the glass, offering her a tight smile before pulling  a chair beside her bed.

He licked his lips and asked, "Can I stay here?"

"Hmm?" Naeun looked up suddenly on him while she's drinking from the glass.

"Well, I just want to ensure that you'll be able to sleep." He shrugged. "Uhm, so can I?"

Naeun's brow arched up. "Aren't you going back to sleep as well?"

"I will doze off here on the chair." As he mumbled those words, the CEO drummed over the arm rest due to his anticipation.

Shrugging, Naeun finally said, "If that will put you at ease then fine. You can stay."

With that, she finish up her milk in one gulp then fix the blanket once again and face the other side since she's too conscious of Taemin's presence. But at the same time, an unknowing smile tugged up on her lips. She hates to admit it but him being near her has somehow calms her troubled heart. For some reasons, she feels better when he's around.

Just like what Taemin has told, Naeun did really slept again that moment but with a small smile plastered on her sleeping face.

Taemin also dozed off after ensuring that his woman did fall back asleep after he fetched her a glass of warm milk. It was only a one and a half hour nap but to him, it already means a lot.

When the clock hits 6:30 A.M., his phone vibrated and he wasted no time and get up quickly but before he completely left the room, he did a last check-up on the still sleeping Naeun. A chuckle escaped from his lips as he saw that her lips were slightly parted and he could hear the soft snoring coming from her.