BOOK 3: The Seventeen Heirs Series; Yoon Jeonghan (SEVENTEEN FANFIC)

54: CRADLE

I rather wish that you were having a rougher time

I want you to think of me

Because it's hard

I want to be okay too

- Yoon Jeonghan; Habit

"JEONGHAN!" Jae Kyung screamed, forcing herself awake.

She quickly scrambled up from bed and stared at the vast darkness of her room. Her breath was heaving and she was sucking in deep air as though she went running in miles. Beads of cold sweat covered her forehead, her heartbeat was racing. And realizing that it was just a horrible nightmare made her want to cry.

She covered her face weakly. She really felt like crying right now. Her hands were shaking in fear. She couldn't help it.

She licked her suddenly dry lips. But what if it's a sign?! What if something bad happens to Jeonghan?

Oh my God! It can't be! I'm sure he's fine. He's okay . . .

But what are the odds?

With shaking legs, Jae Kyung tried to walk. She didn't even bother reaching for her robe. She just picked up her phone at the bed side table and immediately called Jeonghan's private number.

She was hardly breathing as the ringing starts. The cold's starting to envelope her on every ring and on how he's still not answering.

Wearing her thin nighties, she went out of her room. It was still dark, barely four in the morning. She wasn't sure what she's doing or where she was heading. She just wanted to get out of there, away from the suffocating air strangling her.

And then, she found herself padding across Jeonghan's bedroom. Because in the deepest of her soul, she knew she'd feel him there. And that's what she badly needs at this time. She closed her eyes shut as she held the doorknob.

The ringing still continued and fear was coiling around her spine like a rope made of ice. She opened the door and slowly pushed it. The ringing stopped and she heard his rough breathing. "Jae?"

She stopped breathing, not because of Jeonghan's voice but because of what she's seeing.

She was beyond speechless. Words were stuck in her throat as her eyes adjusted to the masculine silhouette sitting on the rumpled bed sheet.

"Jeonghan?" She croaked in absolute helplessness and relief. And she didn't stop her tears from voluntarily rolling down her cheeks.

In the shadow of the room, she saw Jeonghan went completely still. He slowly turned to where she's standing. Right then, Jae Kyung had no doubt. Jeonghan was very much alive and safe. And he's here. That's why she didn't stop herself anymore. She ran to him and cried all her fears in his arms.

Jeonghan stood still, not moving when she hugged him. She knows he was surprised on what she did. He was naked under that sheet, but she can't think about that now. She couldn't stop herself. Her fear felt so strong, it overwhelmed her. She just wants to hug him and feel him alive.

So she just did that. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his tight small waist, her nose buried in his strong chest, smelling his own personal scent as she listened to the steady thud of his heartbeat. She didn't care if he was half naked. Or that her chest was flushed against his hard body.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Jeonghan's hand gently touched her back. She could sense the hesitation in his action. And she understands that. But she's not planning to move away and remove herself from him.