Nocturnal Buddies ✩ Yang Jeongin

Chapter 25

The sunlight making its way into Hyunjoo's bedroom was evidently different from the times she would usually wake up on the weekdays. The tired girl laid in her bed, unaware that she had fallen back asleep after turning off her six o'clock alarm. Her features were lit up by the sunlight as she basked in the warm sensation it created. The door opened seconds later, going unheard by the sleeping girl, before Minjoon entered her room.

He walked over to his daughter's bed and sat down on the edge, dipping it down with his weight. His eyes scanned over her face, noting how peaceful and stress-free she appeared. Although he didn't want to wake her up, especially knowing how tired she has been the past few days, he knew that she had classes to attend. With some hesitation, he began to shake her shoulder, calling her name as he did so.

Hyunjoo started to stir, yet she wasn't fully conscious enough to process her dad's attempt to draw her out of her slumber. A groan fell from her lips as she squeezed her eyes together, slowly becoming aware of the sunlight streaming into her room.

"Sweetheart, you should get up now, it's almost nine."

A hum of acknowledgement left her as an overwhelming amount of tiredness rushed over her, his words going into one ear and out the other. Instead of getting up, she made an attempt to fall back asleep, snuggling further into her cozy bed. It only took a few seconds before his words finally registered in her mind, causing her to spring up from her bed quickly after. Her attention frantically went from her dad and then to her alarm clock.

She slapped a hand over her mouth when she noticed the time displayed on the small screen. With wide eyes, she tried to recall what happened when she first woke up. Regret quickly overtook her when she remembered how she opted to sleep for five more minutes- that was two hours ago. Those feelings were immediately replaced with panic, realizing how much time had passed by and how much she failed to complete because of that.

"Dohyun." His name rushed out her lips at an alarmingly fast rate, as she looked back at her dad for an answer.

"I drove him to school today, so just get ready and eat breakfast, okay?" Minjoon rubbed his daughter's back, trying to calm her down from her panicked state.

Her tense shoulders dropped at his words, feeling a bit better. However, she couldn't help but feel guilty for "bothering" her dad due to her careless actions. Upon noticing her expression, Minjoon placed an assuring kiss on her forehead, hoping to ease her mind. A small smile spread across her lips, but she was already losing a fight with her own mind, creating a mental prison that would take her captive for however long it wanted.

The overwhelming amount of exhaustion taking over the past few days caused her to feel utterly defenseless, unable to prevent the negative thoughts from consuming her. Nonetheless, she forced the smile to remain on her face and quietly thanked her dad. Before he could notice the emotions crawling its way up, she hurried off to the bathroom. She wanted to get immediately ready for the day since so much time was already wasted.

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The OGs 😎

Hyunjoo
Guys I woke up late today 😭
Sent at 8:45

Jaehyun
Wait did you just wake up?

Hyunjoo
Kindaaa 😭
My dad woke me up like 15 mins ago
But I'm fr panicking 🥴

Areum
Why are you panicking baby? 🥺

Hyunjoo
Idk I'm kinda freaking out
Like this happens once in a while, where I wake up late
But each time I do, I hate it sooo much
I feel like I wasted sooo much time already