Nightmare (1/1)

"Ah, this is bad. This is really really bad." Mina sighs.She is restlessly pacing around the table in the living room with her hands on her hips, shaking her head continuously. There's no one else in the room, yet she keeps ranting to herself. Looks like something is going severely wrong."I have to do something!" she says as she finally stops walking, throwing her head back with another sigh."What's wrong, Mina?"Dahyun enters the living room with a bag of chips in her hand, munching away as she takes place on the couch. Mina doesn't reply, instead, she is tapping her foot against the floor."Hey! Stop that, it's annoying!" Dahyun scolds her before grabbing her by the arm and pulling her down onto the couch. "Now tell me what you're so stressed about."Mina snatches the bag from Dahyun before shoving a handful of chips into her mouth, letting crumbs fall all over her lap. Then, she leans back, and again, throws her head back in frustration."It's about Momo unnie," she says with a full mouth."First of all, finish eating before talking. And what about her?" Dahyun asks, suddenly in a much more serious tone."I've noticed that she hasn't properly slept for days. I'm so worried."After hearing that, Dahyun lets out a long, loud sigh, and grabs the bag back from Mina, who is still chewing. Then, Dahyun stands up."Go and wash your hand, it's all oily now! And don't worry, I'll talk talk to her. Is she in her room?"Mina nods before standing up and walking out of the room while licking her fingers. Meanwhile, Dahyun folds the chips bag and leaves it on the table before making her way upstairs, to Momo and Jeongyeon's room. She knocks three times before slowly opening the door. First, she opens only a little, just enough to see the bed and the night lamp. But when she can't spot neither Momo or Jeongyeon in there, she opens it wider to be met with someone sitting on the balcony alone.She guesses that it's Jeongyeon at first, since it's already dark outside and she can't properly see. But as she walks closer, it's clear that the person is Momo. It seems like she's in her pajamas, just watching the cars drive by. The balcony door is already wide open, so not wanting to startle Momo, Dahyun quietly walks behind the older one and gently puts a hand on her shoulder. Although, Momo still gets a little surprised and instantly looks up at her."Ah, you scared me." Momo chuckles, taking Dahyun's hand from her shoulder and gently dragging the younger one to the chair next to her. "Come sit."Dahyun does as she wants, sitting down while intertwining their fingers. She watches as Momo looks forward again, her eyes following every car that passes by. The older one's red eyes with dark eyebags under them certainly don't go unseen by Dahyun. That's why she starts caressing Momo's hand with her thumb, getting ready to confront her about it."Unnie, have you been sleeping fine lately?"Momo stays quiet at first, and Dahyun waits patiently, until, eventually, the older one lets her head drop low."Actually, it's been tough lately," Momo bravely admits."Really? How come?"Finally, Momo turns to Dahyun, who is already gazing back at her with a soft look. And just like that, Momo feels comfortable enough to tell her further. She runs a hand through her hair, her eyes focued on the cars driving by."It's just... I've been having these weird nightmares, but it's nothing important. I'll be fine.""Unnie, don't say that. If it stops you from sleeping, it's obviously important!"When Momo stays quiet, Dahyun suddenly heatedly gets up from the chair with a sigh, pulling the other girl up with her."Dahyuni, what are you—""Starting today, I will be your new roommate until you're getting enough sleep!""But Jeongyeon—""We can just switch rooms, I'm sure she won't mind."Momo doesn't even bother to argue, since she knows Dahyun will win no matter what. So she just gives in, letting Dahyun drag her out of the balcony. She watches as Dahyun closes the balcony and curtains with a furious look on her face. Momo finds it somewhat entertaining, but she also wonders why Dahyun is being so serious about it."Unnie, you should have told me or anyone else sooner. How did you manage to keep up with our schedules like this?" Dahyun's tone is serious, almost too serious, but she wants the best for Momo after all.She pushes Momo onto the bed before crawling over her to get to the other side, causing the older one to laugh. At last, Dahyun pulls the cover over them before getting comfortable."No more laughing, it's time to sleep," Dahyun says with a clap."Dahyuni, I really can't—"Dahyun is quick to cover Momo's mouth with her finger, making the older one roll her eyes."That's why I'm here. Just turn the other way and close your eyes, god damn it!"Momo does as she says, fluffing up her pillow before turning around and trying her best to keep her eyes closed. However, it gets a little easier when she feels a hand on her waist, caressing it up and down. And she can't fight back the smile on her lips as another hand starts playing with her hair."I'll be here with you the entire night. Nothing can hurt you, alright?"Momo nods at Dahyun's sweet and comforting words. The older one puts her hand on top of the one that has moved from her waist further to her stomach, now drawing circles onto it."And if you get a nightmare, we will take it easy and talk about it until you feel ready to sleep again.""Thank you, Dahyuni.""Sleep instead of thanking me, idiot."Momo chuckles as she turns around, now facing the other girl. She gently grabs Dahyun by her waist and pulls her closer before scrunching her face. It's a habit of hers. Dahyun hugs the girl back and her heart melts at the sight, but she tries to hide it by looking angry."Hey, I said sleep!" Dahyun jokingly warns her again.After a moment of Momo giggling and Dahyun secretly taking it in as much as she can, Momo finally focuses on sleeping again. Due to being in Dahyun's embrace and realizing how much care the younger one has for her, it doesn't take Momo long to eventually doze off. Even so, Dahyun continues caressing her hair until she's totally sure that the older one has fallen asleep.It's the middle of the night when the sound of a weak whimper fills the room, causing Dahyun to shoot her eyes open. She looks to the side, getting met with Momo covered in sweat, murmuring things Dahyun is unable to understand. She quickly sits up, slowly and gently grabbing Momo's hand."Unnie, wake up."However, Momo starts squirming around in her spot, shaking her head absurdly. This scene truly breaks Dahyun's heart as she's frozen, not quite sure on what she should do in this situation."Unnie, please wake up!" Dahyun says in a louder tone, gently shaking the girl.And with a deep and sharp gasp, Momo wakes up from the nightmare, instantly sitting up straight and looking around as she's panting deeply. She holds onto Dahyun's hand tightly, almost hurting Dahyun, but that's the last Dahyun cares about right now."I'm here for you, you're fine," Dahyun assures her while looking deep into her teary eyes.Dahyun actually wants to pull the girl into her arms and repeatedly whisper to her that everything is fine, but she holds back for now. Instead, she lets Momo calm down first while holding both her hands until at least her breathing is back to normal. Although, eventually, Momo is the one who throws herself into Dahyun's arms, the younger one immediately hugging her tightly. Momo lets her tears fall as she hides her face in the younger one's hair."Let it out, unnie," Dahyun says as she pats Momo's back and digs her fingers into her hair, massaging her scalp.When Momo begins to sniffle, Dahyun tenderly pulls her back from her shoulder and holds her in place with one hand while she grabs a tissue from the bedside table with the other hand."Let me clean your nose," she says.Dahyun places the tissue against Momo's nose and squeezes lightly, letting Momo blow her nose. Normally, Dahyun absolutely despises it whenever someone cleans their nose next to her or even when she hears it, but this time, she's somewhat happy to be doing it for the other girl. After one last blow, Dahyun throws the tissue to the side before letting Momo cuddle up to her again. But this time she leans her back against the headboard and lets Momo straddle her lap the same way Momo always lets her whenever she is having a bad time."Dahyuni.""Yes?""It was really bad," Momo chokes out with a sob.Again, Dahyun pulls the older one away from her neck and cups her face in her hands, wiping away the tears with her thumbs. And when Momo gives her a slight smile, Dahyun can't help but place a warm kiss on her cheek, right ontop of the tear gliding down, completely ignoring the saltiness of it."Do you want to talk about it?" Dahyun asks.Momo nods as she places her own hands on top of the ones on her cheeks, her tears finally coming to an end. Then, she digs her head back into Dahyun's neck and Dahyun instantly wraps her arms around Momo."Everything felt so real, it was terrifying. Everyone left and I was all alone," Momo says."What do you by mean everyone left?""My parents, my sister, you girls... everyone. It felt like I did something wrong and the next thing I saw was everyone walking away from me, just disappearing into thin air."Momo bursts into more tears as she remembers the sight again. This nightmare also brought her back to the time where she got eliminated in SIXTEEN and to the time where she kept slipping on the stage during a performance. Momo finds it hard to accept that people will still stay by her side and support her even after she makes a mistake or when something she's not in control of happens."Unnie," Dahyun holds the other girl tighter, "we will never leave you. Everyone is so proud of you for being the way you are. Can you look at me?"Momo lifts her head up and looks at the girl. Then, Dahyun puts a hand behind the older one's head and presses their foreheads together. They look each other in the eyes and it helps Momo's sobbing come to a stop.After some time, Momo is sitting in Dahyun's lap, curled in her arms with Dahyun's hand rubbing circles onto her back. Momo tries to focus on the sound of Dahyun's heartbeat, counting it. Dahyun also plants a kiss on her head or her temple every few minutes. Owing to the comfort Dahyun is always ready to provide Momo with, she successfully puts the older girl to a deep sleep that doesn't get interrupted by a bad nightmare for the rest of the long night....