Sleep Well, Noah
That night,
Dohyun let out a silent sigh and rubbed his dry face with both hands.
He couldn’t even let the sound of his sigh escape, because Noah was terrified of it.
There was too much to think about. Too much to figure out.
He had stared at the monitor for hours, clicking the mouse and tapping the keyboard, but nothing felt clear. All he got was aching eyes, a stiff neck, and sore shoulders.
He stretched his shoulders and back for a moment, drank some coffee to reset, and when he looked back at the screen, the glare panel monitor had gone dark. In its black reflection, he saw Noah.
“You can relax, you know.”
Noah was curled up on the sofa, shoulders hunched, looking utterly intimidated.
“Ah… y-yeah? Sorry.”
“What’s there to be sorry about? It’s our house.”
“Right… hehe…”
At Dohyun’s words, Noah gave a shy little smile and unfolded her knees.
…She still shrank back again right after, but those occasional moments of loosening up seemed to help.
Probably.
Dohyun turned the mouse back on and glared at the screen once more.
He went through everything he had frantically bookmarked, one by one.
“…”
Reporting it was out—Noah had refused—so that was off the table for now.
The unhealed wounds and burns obviously needed immediate medical attention.
This would probably be…
Dermatology or surgery, right?
As for her physical and mental condition…
He had spent hours looking up what kind of problems people who had suffered sexual assault or sexual abuse usually faced, but since he wasn’t an expert, none of it made any real sense to him.
There were also policy-related things—counseling for sexual assault victims, coverage for medical costs, livelihood support, and so on…
There was a lot more than he had expected.
And then—
Tests and treatment for STDs… vaccinations…
People like Noah, who carried demi-human blood, did have naturally strong immune systems and regenerative abilities. But given her current state…
She would still need to get tested.
From what he had read online, it wasn’t uncommon for people in denial to accidentally let incubation periods pass and end up in serious trouble.
And also…
…Pregnancy.
He almost sighed, but held it in.
Noah had already had three abortions. After that, she had continued having unprotected sex with countless strangers. There was no way to rule out the possibility.
His stomach twisted.
There was just so much that needed to be done.
…Though, of course, all of it depended on whether Noah would accept any of it.
Then, suddenly—
“It’s already this late?”
The clock caught his eye.
Two in the morning.
Thankfully it was summer break, and he had nothing scheduled for tomorrow.
But—
“Noah, aren’t you going to sleep?”
Noah was still sitting on the sofa, rubbing her sleepy eyes, fidgeting restlessly.
She kept watching his every move.
“Ah, um, that is…”
“Sorry, is it the light? I can turn it off. I’ll just lower the screen brightness…”
The moment Dohyun reached for the wall switch—
“Don’t turn it off!!”
Noah let out a high-pitched scream.
“Noah…?”
“S-sorry… I yelled again…”
Noah’s entire body trembled violently.
It’s too scary when it’s dark. I hate the dark so much. I’m so scared… but you have to sleep too, Dohyun. What do I do? I’m sorry. I don’t know. I don’t know but I’m so scared…
She burst into hysterical sobs.
“…”
Her terror must have loosened her bladder; a small puddle formed on the sofa.
“Ah, ah, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It’s dirty… the sofa’s dirty now.”
Noah babbled incoherently and dropped to her knees in front of Dohyun with a heavy thud.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. It’s waterproof anyway. See? Waterproof, right?”
Dohyun quickly grabbed a handful of tissues and began wiping the sofa.
Fortunately, the expensive leather sofa’s waterproof coating worked perfectly. After a few wipes, it was clean again.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. See?”
Without hesitation, Dohyun lifted the tissue soaked in Noah’s fluids to his mouth and pretended to lick it.
“You saw my ‘h□rny’ tag, didn’t you?”
He looked at her with an exaggeratedly proud expression.
“Still… 2D and 3D are two different things…”
“Want me to show you my p□rn browser history too?”
“…It’s okay…”
Only after Dohyun’s desperate attempt at reassurance did Noah’s panic finally begin to subside.
…Looks like deleting his internet history would have to wait a little longer, Dohyun thought.
“I’ll be fine if I wear an eye mask later, so you can sleep first.”
After confirming that Noah’s episode had passed, Dohyun spoke gently.
“No, um… that is…”
Even so, Noah kept hesitating, unable to settle down.
“Do you need something? Should I run to the convenience store?”
“No! Don’t go!!”
Noah screamed again, then added in a voice that sounded like she was crawling on the floor,
“I… I can’t sleep alone. If I sleep by myself… I keep having weird dreams…”
She kept glancing at Dohyun’s expression, terrified.
“I see.”
Dohyun gave a small laugh.
“You’re right. I’m pretty tired too. Guess I should get some sleep now.”
He adjusted himself to match Noah’s needs.
Dohyun half-heartedly brushed his teeth at the sink and then headed up to the second floor.
“You’re not sleeping alone, right?”
Noah’s anxious tone followed him.
“I’m just grabbing the mattress.”
“Okay…”
While Dohyun climbed the stairs and dragged the cheap mattress from the corner of the loft toward the steps,
“…”
Noah peeked just her head over the low railing, watching his every move.
It looked a bit like a crocodile lurking at the surface of the water, searching for prey. But Dohyun chose not to say anything.
When the mattress reached the edge of the stairs,
“I’ll bring it down.”
Noah’s massive hand reached up like a crane and effortlessly lowered the mattress.
She really did have monstrous strength that matched her size.
And yet even with that kind of power, those bastards still…
“…”
Just thinking about it made his chest ache unbearably.
With a body that big and strength like that, how helpless she must have felt.
How much it must have hurt.
How terrified she must have been.
A little while later,
“Good night, Dohyun.”
Luckily the studio wasn’t too cramped; there was enough space for both of them to lie down side by side.
Dohyun placed the mattress right next to the sofa.
Noah laid out several folding mattresses in the slightly wider space beside the staircase landing.
Even then, her height nearly spanned the entire width of the room, making it look almost claustrophobic.
“Sleep well, Noah.”
It had been an incredibly long day.
The moment exhaustion began to pull him under, his mind growing hazy—
“Um… Dohyun?”
Noah spoke hesitantly.
“Yeah?”
“Well… um…”
“You can say it comfortably.”
“Can I… sleep over there?”
“I’ll come to you.”
Dohyun lay down right beside Noah.
“Sleep well, Noah.”
“Sleep well, Dohyun.”
And then, a little later—
“Hey, Dohyun.”
“What is it?”
I’m scared if I can’t see you…
When he turned toward her, their eyes met.
Noah was lying on her side as well.
Come to think of it, Noah usually preferred sleeping on her back. The reason she was lying on her side now was probably because of the burn scars on her back—the wide, iron-shaped marks. It must hurt too much to have her back against the floor.
Noah’s snoring was also enormous, fitting her massive frame. Sometimes it was so loud that the floor of the upper level where Dohyun used to sleep would shake like it was under renovation.
He used to yell down, “If you’re going to snore, at least turn on your side!”
And Noah would grumble back, “If I don’t sleep properly and my grades tank, are you going to take responsibility?”
Her grades were a disaster anyway, but she was stubborn as hell.
Still…
Still, he should have told her it was okay to sleep on her back. That it was fine if she snored. He should have said something.
His chest hurt.
“…”
Without a word, Dohyun reached out and gently stroked Noah’s cheek.
“Hehe…”
Noah flinched for a second, but then the tension in her facial muscles melted away. Her expression softened into a shy, melting smile.
She really was pretty.
And huge.
His palm couldn’t even cover half her cheek.
She was also incredibly cute.
It was probably the same feeling people had when they watched videos of big predators on YouTube and commented “so cute.” The thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“Sleep well, Noah.”
“Sleep well, Dohyun.”
They exchanged greetings again.
But soon after—
“Dohyun.”
“Yeah?”
“Um…”
This time the pause was longer.
“It’s okay. You can tell me.”
“Really?”
“I’ll listen to everything. All of it.”
“Then…”
Noah hesitated again, then looked up with a slightly coy, pleading gaze.
Her freckled, adorable face flushed shyly. Her large golden eyes darted around, carefully reading his expression.
What man in the world could possibly resist that gesture, that expression, that look in her eyes?
“…”
Without answering, Dohyun pulled Noah’s head into his arms.
She really was huge. Her head was practically the size of a basketball.
“Dohyun.”
Another request, this time without any pause.
“Pet me.”
She was getting bolder, but that was a good thing.
“…”
Without saying anything, Dohyun simply stroked her head.
Since she hadn’t used shampoo, her hair was still greasy. She hadn’t dried it properly either, so it carried a damp, musty scent.
Even so, it was a good smell.
Noah’s smell.
Dohyun held his breath so she wouldn’t notice, then slowly—deeply—inhaled.
Along with the scent of her hair came the smell of her body, which had soaked into the blanket. It was like the smell of a grassy field the day after rain—sweet and thick with the scent of milk fat.
Warmed by Noah’s gentle body heat, the fragrance fermented and drifted in front of his eyes like haze.
Every time he stroked her head, her thick strands of hair tickled between his fingers.
It felt less like human hair and more like the stiff, coarse mane of a wild beast (though he had never actually touched one).
Maybe her hair had grown thicker in proportion to her massive body.
Each time Dohyun’s hand moved, Noah’s body relaxed further and her breathing gradually became slow and steady.
Please, at least for tonight…
No, tomorrow too. And the day after that. I hope you can keep sleeping well like this.
Sleep well, Noah.
Dohyun said his silent goodnight.
But Noah couldn’t fall asleep properly.
Every few dozen minutes she would wake up crying or screaming. Each time, Dohyun had to comfort her.
“It’s okay, Noah. There’s no one scary here.”
“There’s nothing scary here at all. No one who will hurt you, Noah.”
“I’m right beside you. I’m not going anywhere.”
He had to keep soothing her, over and over.
In the end, the two of them only fell into a deep sleep when the light of dawn began to tickle their eyelids.
