(Right…) I exhaled. (It was getting good for a second there.)
I went back inside, but left the gap slightly wider than before— just enough that the starlight came through at a low angle across the floor, dim but good, enough that a person waking up wouldn't open their eyes to pure black.
Then I picked up a bag of chips and two packs of chocolate bread from the counter and walked over to Jisoo's corner and crouched down.
I patted her shoulder.
Nothing.
Patted it again, slightly less gently.
Nothing. Her breathing didn't even hitch.
I sat back on my heels and looked at her.
The grey blanket was pulled up almost completely over her head, just the dark ends of her hair visible above the edge of it. Completely under.
I tried again— calling her name this time, quiet, then slightly less quiet, then a sustained pat on what I was fairly sure was her shoulder and not just a fold of blanket.
Several minutes passed.
