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Nightmares are just a given. You’ve had them since you were little and have just accepted them as part of the price of sleep. Some nightmares are simple, the standard ‘being chased’ dream, or losing something, being late to class, while others are far, far more traumatizing.
Yeosang learned about your nightmares by accident. Your date ran particularly long, you had drank a bit too much, and you didn’t feel safe driving home. So, you accepted his offer of the couch for the night. You didn’t really remember the dream, and it was nothing bad enough to be memorable looking back, but apparently the dream version of you didn’t quite get the memo.
Yeosang was woken up from his sleep by the sound of sharp inhales, shrill screeches, and thrashing. He quickly got out of bed and entered the living room to see you flailing, obviously distressed by whatever dream you seemed to be trapped in. He spoke your name softly once, and when there was no answer, he crossed the room and knelt by the couch. Gently, he placed a hand on your shoulder, trying fruitlessly to wake you up. He was rewarded with a scream the moment he touched you– still deep in your dream. “Babe. Babe, wake up. Jagiya. Please wake up.” He spoke softly, getting slightly louder with each word. He slowly ran his hand down your arm and shook you gently. “Honey, it’s okay. Wake up.”
You woke in a haze. As adrenaline coursed through your veins, you tried to take in your surroundings. You weren’t at home, where the fuck were you? Someone was touching you. Your eyes flung open in a panic and you saw a clearly concerned Yeosang looking down at you.
“Jagiya, are you okay? You were having a really bad dream.”
“I- I’m sorry. Yeah I’m fine,” the concern across his face and his messy bedhead hit you like a slap to the face. You woke him up. You scared him. You didn’t deserve his kindness or sympathy. This was your problem. With a deep ache in your stomach, you spoke quietly.
“I’m so sorry I woke you up. I can go home now so you can get a solid night’s sleep.”
“What are you talking about?”
You met Yeosang’s eyes once again, but this time his expression was almost unreadable, and he continued, “Why would you leave? Just to have a nightmare by yourself when you get home?”
He inhaled slowly, and lifted his hand to your cheek, wiping a tear you didn’t realize had fallen from your eye. “Are you okay? Would you like to talk about your dream? You were literally screaming, jagiya.”
You shifted to sit up a little on the couch and curled yourself up into a ball, hugging your knees. “Truthfully I get nightmares a lot.” You felt your breath hitch as you tried to find the words, words that wouldn’t scare him away. “I… I really don’t want to tell you what was happening in my dream. You don’t deserve to experience it too. I.. I’ll be okay.” You heard your voice get quieter, and you shrunk in on yourself. “Since I moved out of my parents’ house I had no way to know if I still made noises when they happened. If I had known I would have waited and went home. I’m sorry.”
“Jagiya ,” he sighed then gently tucked some hairs that had fallen in front of your face behind your ear, “You’re missing the point. I don’t care that you woke me up. I want to know if you’re okay or not.” He brought his other hand to your arm and started to rub your arm soothingly. “Do you think you’ll be able to fall back asleep? Is there anything I can do to help?”
You didn’t know where it came from, but you started sobbing. Overwhelmed by the dream, being awoken from it and still seeing it flashing in front of you eyes while Yeosang spoke softly to you, his tender caresses and kindness all broke you at once.
“Oh honey,” Yeosang shifted forward to envelop you in a hug. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. It’s okay.” He felt your entire body shaking as he stroked your back softly until you began to calm down. You felt a soft kiss on your cheek, and looked up at him. You were acutely aware that there were tear stains running on your face, and your eyes were bloodshot.
“I won’t be leaving here anytime soon,” Yeosang told you softly. “Whether you need to talk about it or not. Let’s get you some water and we can snuggle here on the couch, okay? That way you won’t be alone.”
“I-” you hesitated, fear of being a burden ran through you but you felt your body sag in exhaustion. “Th- that would be nice.”
“Anything for you, beloved.”