𝖔𝖓𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖞 𝖆𝖙 𝖆 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊 | 𝘄𝗼𝗼𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴

❝can't sleep?❞

MIKI sat on the couch with a glass of milk, eyes staring blankly ahead of her. She just couldn't, for the life of her, bring herself to fall asleep.

The next few months were going to be some of the most stressful months of her life, and the thought alone kept her mind racing at night.

When she saw someone else join her, holding their own glass, she merely smiled.

"You too?" she said weakly.

Wooyoung eased himself onto the cushion beside her, a soft groan leaving his lips. "No, actually," he replied, "by choice."

She wanted to say you didn't have to but knew he would argue against it, so she settled for a quiet thank you. They both settled into their own thoughts.

When their late night beverages were finished, he collected the glasses to place in the sink.

Then he came to stand near her. "Sleepy yet?"

Miki sighed. "To be honest... no."

"What's gotten into you tonight?" he questioned gently. "Are you sure you're Jung Miki?"

She smiled, secure in the dim lighting of a nearby lamp.

Wooyoung moved to the other side of the living room, lying down on the identical couch opposite her.

"What are you doing?" she whispered in confusion.

There was a rustle of blankets as he quickly got comfortable. "Isn't it obvious? I'll stay down here with you."

"It's too cold down here, trust me, I'm fine."

"That's what blankets are for." She heard him shifting again.

She didn't know why she said it. Maybe the late hour ignited a feeling of boldness she would have otherwise lacked. But as Miki, too, lay on the opposite couch, she impulsively opened her mouth.

"Body heat works as well."

The silence. The weight of the silence could not be emphasised enough. 

And then she spoke again. 

"Ha... just kidding." It was a tiny apology, with large undertones of embarrassment.

"No, no you're right." Wooyoung's voice had grown deeper, unstable even. "If you're feeling too cold, I definitely wouldn't mind."

Miki was yodelling inside. Partly due to the awkward tension, and to the way butterflies erupted in her stomach when he said that.

She needed some sleep.

"Actually, a blanket will do just fine after all," she mumbled lamely. 

Wooyoung replied a heartbeat later, tone noticeably more sombre than before. "Right. Same."

She could tell he had withdrawn, closed himself off for the evening.

Miki couldn't find the strength to say goodnight.