Ryu Chungwoo woke up with a sense that something was off. The room was completely dark and quiet, not a sign of life could be heard. He reached for his handphone to check the time, every part of his brain already fully awake.
2 AM in the morning. Huh.
It felt empty somehow. Like a tilt in the universe where everything didn't feel quite right.
A glance to the left revealed why.
Park Moondae wasn't in his bed.
It only took five seconds for Chungwoo to make a decision.
He scanned the bed first, looking for something that could be considered a distress signal. Besides the lack of warmth, which suggested Moondae had been out of bed for a while, nothing else seemed amiss.
But you can never be too careful with Park Moondae.
Ryu Chungwoo sighed.
Sure enough, he found Park Moondae curled on the sofa with glazed eyes. The light was turned on and the TV played their music video at the smallest volume. Chungwoo walked slowly, making his presence known and trying to appear as gentle as possible like one would do when approaching a wild scared dog. He didn't come close until Park Moondae looked up.
His heart broke a little at the disheveled hair and feral eyes, a sight that he sadly had associated with Park Moondae of the night. Listing off the possible cause in his head (side effect of amnesia, another panic attack, lethargy, nightmare, alcohol withdrawal, the list goes on), Chungwoo sat down.
"Bad dream?" He whispered.
Moondae went quiet, then nodded slightly.
(So, a nightmare, it is, then.)
Chungwoo didn't ask about it. Instead, he picked the remote and changed the channel. When Park Moondae made no move to protest, he sunk himself into the sofa and made himself comfortable.
Fifteen minutes after a shark documentary played on TV, Lee Sejin came out of his room. He sent a sheepish smile to Chungwoo but the facade crumbled as soon as his gaze landed on Park Moondae.
Lee Sejin who always smiled like he knew what he was doing actually looked somber for once, an expression that only Park Moondae (and very rarely, Bae Sejin) could coax out of him.
He went back to his room and came out with a blanket.
Cha Eugene found them like that in front of the TV, sharing a blanket and snuggling close together. His eyes flickered from the TV to each of them one by one. When his heated gaze found Moondae, his whole being softened in a way that Chungwoo didn't know he was capable of. He forced his way between them, grinning so wide as if they shared a secret of the universe and snatching the remote from Chungwoo's hand with lightning speed.
When Moondae's head fall and naturally settled against Eugene's shoulder, Chungwoo allowed himself to completely relax.
Raebin joined them next. He settled on the floor with his own blanket, looking very much at ease. Chungwoo expected Eugene to get noisy now that Raebin had joined, but besides flicking the back of Raebin's head once and Raebin retaliated with a hiss, they were the quietest Chungwoo had ever seen them.
Seon Ahyeon came out at some point with hot chocolates. Chungwoo considered refusing the drink but found the words died in his throat when he met face-to-face with Ahyeon's stupid Bambi eyes. Moondae accepted with less resistance.
Chungwoo could feel the group as a whole breathe a sigh of relief when Moondae murmured a thank you, the first words he uttered that entire night.
Ahyeon blinked then smiled so bright that it could rival a sunrise. The smile stayed when he went to the kitchen to bring out snacks and it was still there when he came back to sit down beside Raebin. At that point, it had spread into the whole group.
They looked at each other and laughed, dissolving into a burst of giggles for no reason.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Chungwoo caught the faintest of a smile on Moondae's lips.
It wasn't quite a promise that everything would be okay.
But, Chungwoo leaned back against the sofa and thought, I promise you will be okay.
When he woke up that morning, all the other members were still sleeping. Except for Bae Sejin.
Eugene apparently had splattered himself across the floor, snoring loudly next to Raebin. As if it was the most natural thing, Bae Sejin took his place on the sofa, letting Moondae borrow his shoulder as a pillow. His gaze directed at Moondae was soft and fierce all at once, an expression that Chungwoo suspected was reserved for Moondae alone.
Feeling like he had intruded on a private moment, Chungwoo turned away from the sight.
Smiling to himself, he thought, We will be okay.
