Archive of Our Own

Sae-bom’s throat felt as if it had been slashed and ripped into pieces. 

She screamed and screamed, calling for her husband’s consciousness to return. Her cold hands held Yi-hyun’s cool, bloody body with a tight grip. She wanted to hit him; she wanted to beat him up for leaving her like that. What was the reason? What matter did it make if he had decided not to volunteer to head into a room with a serial killer holding a knife covered in fresh blood?

“Hyun! Hey, Jung Yi-hyun!” she wailed, hot tears streaming down her face. The screams echoed across the entire hallway. Despite the repetitive thundering calls of his name, Yi-hyun laid as still as ever, his gaze empty and silent. The desperate call escaped her burning throat one last time.

“ YAH! JUNG YI-HYUN!”

Sae-bom woke with a start, gasping for air. Outside, a pitch-black blanket still covered the sky. Her face drenched in cold sweat, she quickly wiped her wet eyes and immediately stirred around to check on her husband, who was, to the absolute relief of Sae-bom, sleeping sound and well, completely oblivious of the distress his wife had just gone through.

Sniffling, Sae-bom let out a sigh. Somehow, her throat seemed to be throbbing with pain now. She slipped into her slippers and trudged towards the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of lukewarm water. Every swallow of liquid felt like fire, leaving her with an aggravating sensation. More than just the incredibly realistic pain across her vocal cords, the dream itself continued to linger, bothering her with intense irk. 

Why did her dreams have to haunt her in such ways? Why did they have to bring so much confusion? Above all, why did they have to feel so painfully realistic? Sae-bom was distraught that these kinds of dreams still overpowered her during nighttime. The pain of having to convince herself that such an event was merely a dream, yet so affecting, filled the already-wet eyes of Sae-bom with thicker tears again.

She dropped the glass of water onto the dining table and fell to the floor, letting the tears stream freely down her cheeks. In a matter of minutes, her face and sleeves were drenched with tears she could not see in the dark. Knowing how much of a light sleeper her husband was, Sae-bom attempted to stifle her sobs with her sleeve, but apparently, it was not soft enough to keep him asleep.

Yi-hyun switched on the lights with a sleepy face, wondering what this sound was and where his wife was. Noticing the silhouette of the person appearing to be his very own wife, he was quick to go and crouch down to the floor level at which Sae-bom was. He held her hand tightly in his.

“Bom, I’m here! What’s wrong??” 

“Hyun…” Sae-bom looked up into his eyes, her vision blurry from the tears. Before she realized, her feelings were now spiraling out of control under the overwhelming presence of her safe place—Yi-hyun himself. 

Her safe place immediately understood the intentions beneath her actions and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a deep hug with silence. Sae-bom leaned her head on his shoulders and continued sobbing and sobbing.

At least twenty minutes had passed. Sae-bom had now calmed down in the comforting presence of her husband. She sniffled, seated at the edge of the chair outside the balcony while Yi-hyun brought her another glass of water. He took a seat beside her as she rehydrated herself.

Sae-bom was the first to bring up the conversation even before Yi-hyun could ask about it.

“I dreamt of you… leaving me again.” 

She muttered the latter with a faint voice.

“Oh dear. Was it that upsetting?” Yi-hyun asked with a concern etched all over his face. Sae-bom nodded slowly, keeping her gaze downwards with the mug firmly clutched in her hands. 

“I’m so sick of these kinds of dreams. Why do they keep coming to me?” she sighed.

“They’re all meaningless dreams that you’ll forget in a few days. Why would I ever leave you? You know you’re all I’ve been relying on.” Yi-hyun tried to give her a smile.

However, Sae-bom’s eyes did not meet his, her gaze still on the floor. She was gloomy and quite dissipated from the Yoon Sae-bom that Yi-hyun knew of. He realized that this dream of hers had really twisted her insides with worry and melancholy.

Yi-hyun took both of her hands in his and looked into her chocolate eyes. “Bom , I want you to forget about that dream, okay? It’s all futile; all completely useless.” Her eyes finally met his. “You’re everything to me, Bom.”

Sae-bom nodded, managing to form a little smile. A deep exhale left her lungs.

“Okay,” she responded firmly. Yi-hyun let out a short sigh and softly wiped the wet remains at the ends of her eyes. Sae-bom sniffled, to which Yi-hyun chuckled and expanded his arms, signaling her to lean on his chest.

Sae-bom agreeingly fell onto Yi-hyun. He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her slim figure until she had to cough for breath.

“Whoops, sorry!” He immediately let her go, to which Sae-bom let out a laugh. The sound of her short giggle alone was enough to relieve Yi-hyun. Letting out one last sigh, Sae-bom leaned her head across Yi-hyun’s wide shoulders. “We can stay out here all night, until you feel better.” he whispered. 

Sae-bom shook her head, glancing at his watch. “It’s almost 4, though. I don’t want to keep you awake for too long.”

Although she said this, the hour’s worth of sleep she had just missed out on was quick to take control again. Above that, leaning on Yi-hyun really triggered her melatonin to rise smoothly but quickly. Her husband really was the most comfortable space for her to sleep on , she realized anew.

From above, Yi-hyun noticed Sae-bom’s eyelids drooping. He gently stroked her hand with a smile on his face.

“I’ll be fine, Bom. I want to be right here for you, no matter what kind of dream you’re going through.”

“Can you promise me that you’ll wake me up if I look like I’m having those dreams again?” Sae-bom mumbled.

“What was that?” Yi-hyun slightly leaned his ear towards her.

“Promise me that you’ll wake me up if I start having that kind of dream again, please.”

“Oh,” Yi-hyun slid his hand over her back, caressing it lightly. “Of course, Sae-bom. I’m not going to let you go through this alone.”

He nuzzled the top of her head. Sae-bom’s shampoo smelled so fresh, a green smell that accurately described her springlike, comforting presence in his life. Sae-bom then let out a satisfied exhale and stifled a yawn that escaped her. A sense of safety enveloped her, the fear in her dispersing like storm clouds after the morning sun.

Within a few minutes, Yi-hyun could hear that Sae-bom’s breaths had steadied down. He had stayed as motionless as he could, just as he had done for her back in lunchtime during high school when she’d nap on him like so. He was so, so grateful that his legs were not the type to cramp up often. 

With extra care, Yi-hyun let Sae-bom’s head lean against the pillow attached to the rocking chair she was sitting on, one that he and Sae-bom had purchased a while ago to place in the balcony for their late night talks. What a great purchase , Yi-hyun thought as he draped a light blanket over his slumbering wife. A beauty even in sleep…

He really, really was lucky to have her. And so was she.