KANG SIAN
I'm still sulking pitifully when someone lifts me up from the ground.
"You shouldn't be sitting on the cold floor, Sian." Taehyung says, and relief washes through me when he pats the top of my head. "You'll get sick."
He hands me a something white.
"For you." He says, folding my hands around the thick envelope. "And I'm sorry, Sian-ah. I didn't mean to be so angry."
"It's okay." I say, smiling. I was just relieved that he'd said sorry first, because I wouldn't have known what to say. "Thank you."
"Let's go."
"Hold on— shouldn't we wait for Jungkook?" I say, spotting him shooting in another set. "I think he's nearly done."
"Jungkook?" He repeats, his eyes following mine before turning uncertain. "I don't know him that well."
"Of course you don't." I laugh. "But that's how you meet new people. Make more friends."
His arms wrap around my neck. "I don't want to meet new people. It's enough with you."
My cheeks warm as my hands tighten in my pockets, and I can't help but avoid his curious eyes as he tilts his head at me.
"Still." I manage out at his gaze, looking at Jungkook so I wouldn't have to see his large brown eyes. "You should be really thankful. If he hadn't helped you, you might be lying sick in bed right now."
Taehyung seems to think for a long second before he finally marches right up to Jungkook, whose doe eyes go wide as he bows a strict ninety degrees.
"Thanks." I hear him announce, and I nearly explode into laughter as Jungkook's confused eyes flash to me for answer.
"You're welcome?"
________________________
KANG SIAN
I'm still laughing by the time we get home and I'm brushing my teeth in ready for sleep.
"He's younger than you, Taehyung!" I say as he looks at me with a mouth full of foam bubbles. "You could've just said thanks, you know."
"I was just copying what you did to that woman when you said you were sorry." He pouts, and I nearly hug him right then— foam bubbles and all.
"You're so socially innocent that I'm actually thinking that you come from Mars." I joke, and his face turns serious.
"I am from Mars, Sian-ah. Why won't you believe me?"
"Then I'm from Mercury." I announce, and he begins to nod thoughtfully.
"I mean, I've heard that it's really hot because it's so close to the Sun— but I guess if you had the right technology you could survive—"
"Taehyung!" I laugh as I rinse my mouth. "I'm just kidding."
"But you still won't believe me." He says, looking down on me with serene eyes. "Don't you know that I nearly died trying to come find you?"
"If you say it like that—" I start, suddenly recalling the Han River incident. "Wait. So you didn't fall off the bridge by accident?"
"No! My craft crashed there."
I don't know what to say at this point. Because of what he was saying was true, then there would've been bold, bold headlines.
Unless he was kept as a secret.
Wait— why am I actually considering this?
But because he looks so forlorn, I nod assent before going to grab an extra blanket. When I return to the the living room, I see him playing with the collar of his dark shirt as he lies on the couch.
"Go sleep on my bed," I say as he glances at me. "That couch is way too small for you."
"Isn't it dangerous if a boy and a girl sleeps together?" He asks in the most purest way possible, and a blush rises up to the tips of my ears as I throw the blanket at him.
"And who taught you that?"
"Di."
My glance is curious as I wonder who in the world could D possibly be. Definitely wasn't Korean— couldn't be, with a single alphabet as a name.
"I'm the one who's going to be on the couch, not you." I say, trying to cool my face down. "My bed's too small for two people."
"Besides, you're going to get cramps in the morning if you sleep like that."
He was tall— I'd guess between 5'10 and 11, six entire inches taller than me. His feet was sticking out like they didn't know where to go at the end of the couch.
"Okay." He says as he slides off the couch, poking his head out of the doorway before disappearing into my room.
"Good night."
A soft smile finds my face as I see the light click off in my room, and the sound of the blankets rustling echo all the way here.
It'd been so lonely before— so stressful, with the worry of money and having to deal with it all by myself.
Falling asleep in class had been regular, with the long night shifts I worked. I'd even learned how to sleep with my eyes open at times. It was a wonder I was passing— I guess my parents had given me something useful after all.
I'd only barely dealt with my loneliness by chatting with Taehyung.
And then he'd fallen out of nowhere into my darkened life, and now...
And now everything seemed so much better.
________________________
KANG SIAN
The sound of harsh breathing wakes me up, and I blink with cloudy eyes at the dark silhouette in front of me.
"Taehyung?"
Then the rest of my sleep dissipates as the pillow he'd been crushing to his chest slips from his grip, hitting the ground with a soft thud.
"Are you okay?" I ask worriedly as I get to my feet, rubbing at my eyes with the back of my hands. "Taehyung?"
He crushes me to his chest, and my eyes widen in surprise when I feel how violently he's trembling.
"Hey—" I start as I pat the back of his shirt, and the surprise grows when I feel it drenched in sweat.
Then all of a sudden, he breaks free and pulls me in the direction of my room. The blanket is nearly kicked off the bed, and only then do I realize how serious of a nightmare he'd had.
What did he dream that had freaked him out this bad?
"I-I'm sorry." He says, and I smile assuringly as I direct him back to the bed. When I glance at the clock, it only reads 3:01– still late night.
"It's fine."
When I turn to leave, the rapid sound of blankets shifting echo behind me as a hand grips the back of my shirt.
"Wait."
"Where are you going?"
I blink.
"To go back to sleep...?" I mumble, my mouth dropping open a little bit when I see his eyes turn wild.
He tugs me back.
"You're not going anywhere."
