Face The Truth - Han Jisung x Reader (Fae AU)

Chapter 7

You released a guttural groan from the back of your throat, your eyes opening slowly, eyelashes still sticking together with sleep. Something was gripped on to your side and was violently shaking you.

In seconds you were once again plunged into freezing water. Inky darkness swarmed your eyes, the sudden blackness making your chest constrict. Your throat closed, your breath cut short. Your hands clawed at your throat restlessly, desperately trying to suck in a breath of air. You were drowning, once again suffocating under the heavy blanket of the icy cold swamp water.

"Y/N! It's just me!" A voice swam through the darkness, clean and sharp. Your eyes flew open. Sitting before you was Jisung, his own face drenched in panic and worry. For a second you just sucked in air, letting your lungs expand and deflate as quickly as you could. Everything came back to you slowly. Jisung's face, eyes wide as he waited for your response, the silky moonlight shining in from the window to fall on your face, the clean cotton bed sheets that were fisted in your hands, now drenched in cold sweat. And Jisung's hands, firm but gentle, pressed into your shoulders, rooting you into place.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm uh, I'm fine." You breathed. Your hands were sore from how tightly you were holding on to the bedsheets. You let go, leaving behind circles of wrinkles. "I, just, uh, I was confused for a second there." The memory of being pulled deep within the depths of the swamp was still fresh in your mind. So much so that you swore you could feel the tight pain of the swamp monster on your ankle, tugging you further into darkness. Your heart was still beating a million miles an hour.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jisung asked softly. With the initial fear of the day before having passed, you realised how close his face now was to yours.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, really." You desperately didn't feel like talking about what had happened. Any reminder of what happened was sure to bring those feelings racing back. Jisung seemed to understand this, nodding slightly. You looked at him for a few more seconds, highly aware of the little space there was between you. He seemed to notice a few seconds later as he quickly retracted his hands, hopping off the bed seconds later.

"I was just waking you up 'cause we need to get going soon." Jisung said, eyes diverted to the floor. You remembered quickly the reason you had been waken from your sleep. It was time for your second task.

"Right, yes, when do we need to leave?" You asked, getting out of the bed. Jisung had given you one of the guest rooms in his house to sleep in. You'd dumped your bag at the foot of the bed, and apart from that and the bed, there was virtually nothing else in the room.

"It's just hit midnight, so maybe like half an hour? Thought you might want to eat and get dressed and stuff." He said, still avoiding looking at you in your eyes.

"Sounds good, I'll be down in a minute." You said. Jisung nodded and left the room quickly, shutting the door behind him. You dropped your head into your hands when he was gone, letting out a deep sigh. It was distant now, but fear still gripped your insides. Coming back from the swamp you had been fine, and the rest of the day you spent with Jisung, you'd thought you were totally okay with everything that had happened. But as soon as you were alone again, and that darkness came pressing into you from all sides, you felt yourself falling back into the embraces of that swamp monster. Falling asleep had been a challenge, but it seemed waking up had proved to be even harder.

You felt a little embarrassed that Jisung had caught you in such a vulnerable moment, but with that came the realisation that it was not the first time, and very likely not the last time. Both of you would most probably be seeing each other like that many times in the next week. You tried to shove all of those thoughts away for a while, and focused on getting changed into clean clothes. Your pajamas were now damp with sweat.