Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

25

Lee simply pulled me up onto the roof behind her and placed me on one of the rattan sofas that we had in a U-shape under the wooden pavilion and pressed a bottle of beer into my hand. The others were already there, Mingi and Seonghwa were at the barbecue, while San was cuddling with Yeosang on the sofa opposite.

"Lee, I don't want a drink..." I tried to defend myself, but she shook her head.

"You're drinking this without argument, I insist. It's about time you had something else on your mind than your constant worries. You'll get depressed at some point and we can't have that, we need you." She insisted on her opinion and as I had no strength to fight her, I simply gave in and drank one sip after another in frustration. Before we even started to eat what Seonghwa had given us, I had finished two bottles without even realizing it. Seonghwa sat down next to me and smiled, but it was a sad smile. He looked tired...

While the others sat there talking and eating, I just poked at my food until I heard a frustrated sigh next to me. Seonghwa simply took my chopsticks out of my hand and started feeding me. I wanted to shake my head grumpily, but he looked me in the eye with determination.

"You're going to eat this now, how else are you going to be able to help Wooyoung because you're not eating and therefore getting too weak?" he reproached me and even though I didn't want to admit it, I knew he was right. So I reluctantly opened my mouth and chewed on the piece of meat he had shoved into it. It actually tasted really good, I had just lost my appetite. But with every bite, I realized that I was still hungry and ate everything he fed me. Which was a lot, as he wasn't satisfied until there was nothing left on my plate.

"It's okay." he said with a satisfied smile and then pulled me close to hug me.

"I'm very worried about you... You're sinking too much into your sadness and Wooyoung wouldn't want that... What if he wakes up and you're no longer the person he fell in love with? Please don't change. I know it's a lot to ask, but we have to stick together and I don't want to lose you. This virus isn't through with us yet, you haven't had the vaccine and if you get this weak, how are you going to fight it?" he quietly shared his concerns with me as he stroked my hair. His words touched me, went straight to my heart and I suddenly felt selfish for letting myself go like that... I had let my friends down. Wordlessly, I clung to him and cried silently. He was right, I was giving up and that couldn't happen, I had to get back to my old strength. After a while, my tears dried up and I moved away a little so that I could look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry... I'll try to pull myself together more." I promised him and he hugged me tightly again.

"You know, you can be sad, you can cry and you can be weak... but don't deal with it on your own, we're here for you... I am here for you, you can cry in my arms as much as you want, I will never complain about it. Let me help you through this please. I lo... You mean so much to me... lean on me." he offered, his voice trembling as if he was on the verge of tears too.

"Thank you, Seonghwa... I'll do that from now on. But the reverse is also true. We'll get through this together," I replied, touched, and he kissed my forehead with relief, and I noticed that his cheeks were actually wet too.