Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

13

Juhee looked after Jongho devotedly, her fever only seemed to rise slowly and she was on her feet again the next morning. She still refused to take it easy as she saw no point in it. That night, I slept with her, wanting to spend as much time with her as I could. Of course, she didn't know that I wasn't really vaccinated, otherwise she would have thrown me out on edge so I wouldn't get infected. But I was just as stubborn as she was.

Wooyoung was already preparing breakfast in the kitchen when I came to help him. He smiled tiredly at me and then put his hand on my forehead, which must have felt normal because his smile now looked relieved.

Shaking my head, I looked at him.

"I'd tell you if I felt sick," I said before I started cutting fruit into chunks, but only heard him snort.

"Don't lie, you'd be hiding it just like Juhee."

I looked up in surprise.

"You know?"

"I think we all know, it's just that no one dares to mess with her." he explained, sighing.

"I know what you mean. I really tried, but she's more stubborn than a donkey..." I replied resignedly.

"All this, it's so much to take in... the world as we knew it will never exist again. Half of humanity is simply gone... for the rest, it's a race against time. It's just us here and even now I'm trembling not to lose you both too. I don't know how much more I can take..." embarrassed, he tried to wipe away the tears that were making their way down his cheeks with his sleeve.

Seeing him like this hurt me and I walked around the kitchen island, on the other side of which he was standing, and fell into his arms.

"We'll get through this somehow. I'm not sick yet... I promise I'll tell you the minute I feel bad... but you'll have to nurse me back to health."

"We've been making a lot of promises lately," he said quietly.

"I'll do my best to stick to it." I mumbled against his chest.

"I'd like another promise from you." he replied and I lifted my head curiously to look at him expectantly.

His tears had dried by now and his eyes looked serious but gentle at the same time. He lifted a hand to my cheek and stroked it tenderly, causing my eyes to widen. The loving touch of his fingertips left an electrifying tingling sensation and the mood between us suddenly changed.

A tension arose that made me swallow due to its intensity. He didn't take his eyes off me for a second as he ran his fingers along my neck and then pulled me closer by the shoulders. I didn't realize my heart could beat so fast... and what was going on with my stomach?

Caught completely off guard, I didn't know how to react. Wooyoung was about to kiss me and I had no idea what to feel, but my body decided to just escalate with joy without my permission. So I closed my eyes when I could already feel his breath on my lips.

The gentle kiss that had just turned my whole emotional world upside down lasted just 4 seconds, then we were startled by Sans desperate cries.

"Help me, please. Yunho... he won't wake up... No matter what I try, I can't get him to wake up..."