CONFIDENCE —
chapter fifty-five
Shinsou held Korei in his arms, brushing his fingers through her soft hair. She had fallen asleep not too long ago, the superhero movie he had on not entertaining her the same. It wasn't long until Shinsou lost interest in the film either, his ears more focused on the quiet whimpers coming from his girlfriend. Was she having a nightmare?
"Korei?" He spoke, his voice slightly rough since he hadn't talked in a minute. When she didn't awake, he moved on to shaking her. Her quiet whimpers had turned into rushed cries, tears starting to race down her puffy cheeks. "Hey! Come on, baby, wake up. You're okay. I'm right here. Korei! Korei!"
Korei jerked awake, unsure of where she was and what was real. She threw her arms around Shinsou, her face buried in the crook of his neck as she sobbed. Her shoulders shook, the cries getting louder as her boyfriend did his best to soothe her. He's never witnessed this before. Was she okay?
Despite the two having been together for three months, they didn't really know that much about each other. Korei never mentioned her nightmares because she thought she was over them, but how could she have gotten over something so traumatic so quickly? It was only a little over a year that the event happened...the event that led to Korei applying to Yuuei.
"It's okay, I've got you. I'm right here," he whispered to her, holding her tight as her shoulders shook violently. She clutched his shirt between her fingers, crying so loudly that he was worried his neighbors might wake up. "I'm here, Korei. It's okay, you're okay."
It took a while of Shinsou repeating those phrases for Korei to finally settle down. Red-faced and with tear-stained cheeks, she looked up at her boyfriend with the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. "I'm sorry, Toshi." She whispered to him, not knowing what else to say about it. Did he want an explanation? "I-i thought th-that-" he cut her off with a soothing kiss, distracting her from the nightmare she had.
As they pulled apart, Shinsou smiled at her, brushing his thumb over her cheek. "It's alright, baby." The glistening in her eyes blurred her vision slightly and she nodded, returning his smile. "I'm here to listen if you want to talk, but I'm also here to cuddle. Which would you prefer?"
"The last one...?" She whispered back to him, leaning into his gentle touch as he caressed her cheek. How did she get so lucky to find something like this so young? If love was so easy to find then how come people complained about never getting it? Were they just not looking in the right places? Surely she was a lucky girl for being able to find someone like Shinsou.
"You know you're beautiful, right?" He asked, unable to keep his thoughts to himself. Korei's breath hitched in her throat and she just stared at him. What was this tight feeling in his chest? "You want me to get you something to drink before cuddling? I can even put that musical you like on," he was doing his best to make sure she was okay, and Korei appreciated it.
"Please?" Her voice was so quiet and she was so...needy? It made her feel like a child, but she just wanted to be comforted. Shinsou didn't even ask questions about it, he just wanted to make sure she was okay. Why did this make her feel so...loved? Gosh, she's going crazy, right? They're not old enough to fall in love...but there's not really an age limit on that, is there? Screw it, she's in love with Hitoshi Shinsou and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
"I'll be right back, kitten. Let me get everything situated," Shinsou pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before untangling himself from her. Korei sat up in bed, letting him climb over top of her and get off. She watched him as he moved things around in the room, turning his lamp light on and making sure that his sweats were on right before he left.
Korei noticed that he hasn't been wearing a shirt too often, which was something he used to always keep on. He was always so insecure about his body, but he was starting to gain more confidence in it...in himself. That alone made her feel giddy. Since he's confident in himself, why not give it a try? She's only gotten more attracted to him as his confidence grew, so...would that be the same for her? Well, it was worth a shot. She didn't want him to lose interest in her...but at this point, she didn't really think he ever would.
fluoxetine