Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

39

It had been a week since the boys had woken up and Hongjoong was still not doing anything. Lee said his vitals were all fine and he should have woken up by now, so we suspected that his mental state was to blame for the fact that he just wouldn't wake up. We had no choice but to give him time and wait patiently.

The drug developed by Lee and her professor was now being used worldwide and gradually everyone woke up again, doubling the proportion of the world's productive and active population and making it easier for everyone to return to normality. Of course, many marriages had been contracted because of the new law, while the real partners were in a coma, now awake again, which led to a revision of the law. You could get divorced quickly and discreetly, without much fuss, so you were free to marry the right person. Two signatures and it was all over.

Wooyoung was literally glued to me the last few days, constantly holding me in his arms and burying his face in my neck. I liked his touch, yes... but I also saw the pain in Seonghwa's eyes and I missed his hugs terribly now that he kept away from us as much as he could. I kept catching myself looking sadly after him and I wasn't the only one who noticed this, because Wooyoung was also getting quieter and more thoughtful. Then the day came when Seonghwa called me up to the roof to talk to me and I was so happy, as we hadn't really spoken to each other for a long time, that I went up to him with a smile while he just stared dumbly at the table.

Irritated, I sat down next to him and looked at him questioningly.

"What's in the envelope?" I wanted to know, curious as to why he was looking at it so intently and avoiding eye contact with me.

His next words felt like a punch in the gut...

"Our divorce papers. All that's missing is your signature, then we'll file it and be free again in a few days..." he explained quietly, but I heard the little unevenness in his voice, felt how difficult every word was for him and when he looked at me, I saw the tears in his eyes.

I swallowed the lump in my throat with difficulty, it felt as if someone had pulled the rug out from under me, my heart hurt and I had the feeling that I was finding it harder to breathe. So this was it? The end of our marriage, which was never real, but still the union of two lovers... I sobbed quietly when he finally took me in his arms and I felt so much at home in his embrace, I had missed this feeling so much... more than I ever thought I would.

But then he let go of me and went back inside, unable to even look at me... he was probably just controlling himself not to cry as loudly in front of me as I had done.

I didn't know how long I sat here staring at the envelope, I had lost all sense of time. My thoughts were racing, confusing me, because at the same time my head felt so empty... I kept seeing all my beautiful moments with him, I didn't want to lose him... then Wooyoung came to my mind, I saw our moments too and realized that we hardly ever had moments like that. I had clung to a relationship that barely existed... why? Out of false loyalty? Out of misunderstood love? And the man who was really by my side, who loved me with all his heart, whom I also loved, sacrificed himself and his feelings for his friend and for my happiness. Didn't he even know that he was my happiness? It was all wrong, I had hurt him out of fear of hurting Wooyoung... and myself at the same time.

So lost in my thoughts, I hadn't realized that someone had sat down next to me until he hugged me and put his head on my shoulder.

"Noona... I love you. But... not as much as he does. Let's just be honest. I've always leaned on you, taken comfort from you, taken and taken from you without ever giving... that was selfish. Hyung gives you everything of himself, just like you do. You're perfect for each other. I don't want you to stay with me just because I need you, because I'm not what you need. I'll let you go and if you're both happy... then so am I." With these words, Wooyoung took the envelope and tore it into small pieces, along with the divorce papers inside.