"Ijin?" Her words jolted him out of his daze, almost startling him as he snapped to attention. He looked up at her, his eyebags looked even bigger at the angle she was standing at," Can you take care of Ye-Jun while I take a nap?"
He agreed readily, holding out his hands for the child as he shifted his position for the first time in a while so he could hold her. Looking alert for once as he waited for her to pass the child over to him.
Eun handed over her child, kissing her on the head and ruffling Ijin's hair before she retreated to her bedroom for her nap. Ye-Jun babbling as she closed the door behind her, Ijin's quiet shushes soothing her.
It had been almost a week since she had originally brought Ijin into her home, almost a week since his remaining family was killed in the accident.
Unfortunately, since Ijin was not legally related to Major Kang or Han-Gyeol, they couldn't ask for time off to help the teenager process the loss.
And even more unfortunate, Ijin had fallen into this state where he would sit on the sofa listlessly, staring off into the distance the moment he had nothing to do. Everything had already been fixed that could have been fixed, and all of the non-invasive chores had already been done. She was positive that he would have repainted the entire house if she let him, maybe rearrange the furniture just so he could be busy with something.
While she had heard that Ijin was a very quiet person, she was sure that pre-accident, he would have been answering her questions verbally, instead using head and hand motions to answer every chance he could. It was like he had decided that it was better if he just stayed silent, as if the action of him speaking would cause something.
And as the cherry on top of everything.
He had developed what she believed to be severe insomnia. The little color the already pale teenager had left his face, his cheeks looked almost sunk in as exhaustion started to set. But yet, for the life of him, he just wasn't able to go to sleep.
She's seen him try, seen him stretch, try breathing exercises, go for jogs etc. she's even tried helping by giving him melatonin gummies and pills, sleeping teas, and an over the counter sleeping pill (that only made him throw up everything he had) but he just wasn't able to sleep.
Save for the first day, she's only seen him take small 30 minutes naps before his body forced him awake. And she wasn't even sure if he was getting any form of sleep at night.
At this point, he could suggest smacking him over the head to knock him out and she would probably cave concerningly fast.
The only reason she wasn't truly panicking over her guest was because Ijin was eating everything she gave him. Most likely in an attempt to get what energy he could from food rather than sleep.
She climbed into her bed with a tired sigh.
She wanted to help the poor kid. she truly did. She's seen the videos and pictures Han-Gyeol, the stories from some of the other men when they came over for a meal. She knew that Ijin was a good kid that had gone through far too much in his short life. The last thing she wanted to do was let him suffer.
She just had no idea how to help.
.
By the time she woke up, she found Ijin laying on the couch. Ye-Jun sleeping on top of his chest as he held her in place, his eyes distant as he stared up at the ceiling.
Glancing over at the kitchen, she realized that while she was sleeping, Ijin had feed Ye-Jun and based on the way there were regular dishes mixed in with the baby dishes, he had also fed himself.
Well at least he wasn't forgetting how to take care of himself in his depressive state.
A covered plate caught her attention, and a small smile spread across his face.
Nor was he forgetting to think about others.
Looking over back at her guest, she internally cringed when she realized that he looked even paler than she remembered. It was moments like those where the kid looked exhausted to the bone, as if he was just waiting for someone to come along and end whatever he was going through.
Restraining a sigh of disappointment, Eun sat down on the arm of the sofa. Ijin looked up at her in curiosity, but when she started to talk about the stuff she needed from the store absentmindedly, he stared off into the distance again.
She started to read the list she made off her phone, talking to herself as she reasoned and remembered the items she needed to get. A habit she had taken up in an effort of filling the silence and getting the kid to talk. It took her a few minutes to notice, but by the time she realized it, her fingers were threading through the teenagers hair. Another habit that she had picked up after leaning that her husband loved it when she massaged his scalp.
"Ah," she retracted her hand, looking over the edge of her phone to look down at the teenager," Sorry. I didn't…Ijin…?"
She blinked once, and then twice.
He twitched, taking a deep breath as he shifted on the couch, quickly settling back down.
Relief washed over her. She almost teared up.
He was finally sleeping.
She didn't dwell on it for long. As fast and as silently as she could, she picked up her sleeping daughter, and covered the teenager with a blanket. Her heart soaring for joy when Ijin remained asleep in the process.
She felt almost giddy at the fact that Ijin was finally sleeping. But as much as she wanted to celebrate over the fact that he was sleeping for once, she also had a few things to do.
The duffel bag she had packed for him when she picked him up was enough for a week, but he was going to need more clothes if he was going to need more clothes if he was going to stay any longer.
And at the rate it was going.
She was going to make sure that Ijin stayed with her.
Quickly getting dressed, she went over the list of everything she needed to grab from Ijin's bedroom over in her head. Slipping out the front door within minutes, but not without closing the blinds so Ijin could sleep in a nice, dark, environment.
Note to self: Massaging the teenagers scalp could potentially help him sleep.