Title: hearts that beat in time with mine
Fandom: While You Were Sleeping (2017 TV)
Rating: PG
Length: ~820 words
Note: Nam Hong Joo/Jung Jae Chan/Han Woo Tak. While You Were Sleeping is a Korean drama about three people who have prophetic dreams.
Summary: Was it a prophesy dream or merely the product of secret yearning and wishful thinking?


The bookshelf held an array of framed photos – Hong Joo and her mother; Jae Chan and Seung Won; Hong Joo, Jae Chan and Woo Tak smiling together – but the largest, in pride of place, was a wedding photo of Hong Joo and Jae Chan, the two of them radiantly happy, absorbed in each other.

Somehow, though, it was Woo Tak lying on the wide bed nearby, holding Hong Joo, the two of them kissing luxuriantly. He slid his hands through Hong Joo’s long hair, his fingertips brushing the soft column of her neck. She hummed and arched into his touch like a cat, shifting against him. She was so perfect, he had to stop kissing and gather her even closer, burying his grin against her.

“You started without me!”

The complaint from the doorway made him whip his head around.

It was Jae Chan, already loosening his tie, unfastening his watch and coming over to put it on the nightstand. He sat on the side of the bed, pouting those full lips.

“Well, you were late,” said Hong Joo, reasonably.

“We’ll make it up to you,” offered Woo Tak, and Jae Chan licked his lips, his pout disappearing. He curled his long fingers around Woo Tak’s hip, gripping tight, making Woo Tak’s pulse kick up, and bent to give him a slow, generous kiss hello, while Hong Joo watched, waiting her turn to greet her husband.

---

Woo Tak woke up flushed and hard. What on earth was that? It had been so real, every detail sharp and distinct. It was as if Hong Joo’s hair were still sliding through his fingers. He touched the tingling patch on his hip where Jae Chan had held him. Was it a prophesy dream or merely the product of secret yearning and wishful thinking? How could it ever come true? It should be impossible!

Jae Chan and Hong Joo were obviously dating these days, even if they hadn’t announced it yet, and they were so complete together, and Jae Chan so prone to jealousy, that Woo Tak had actually considered leaving. Leaving Seoul, leaving this new family he’d found, leaving them in peace. He didn’t want to pine and grow bitter—maybe it would be easier to wish them well from afar.

But if there was even a faint chance of this dream coming true, no power on earth would move him. If he could live this dream one day, then he could keep smiling, keep loving them whole-heartedly in the meantime, right here.

---

Jae Chan woke, his heart pounding. He buried his face in his arms. If that dream ever came true… If that dream were to come true, it would mean he couldn’t keep his secret forever.

From the start, he’d known that if he wanted to win Hong Joo’s love, he had to beat Woo Tak, who was handsome, good and kind. Who always seemed to know what he was doing, while Jae Chan only pretended to have a plan. If Jae Chan wanted to win Hong Joo’s love, he had to make sure Woo Tak didn’t get too close to her.

Even more importantly, Jae Chan had to make sure to keep his own distance. He’d known that the moment Woo Tak introduced himself—that was why he’d insisted they remain polite, even though it was rude. Even though what he really wanted was to get shockingly close. But he’d known: if he didn’t hide his attraction, he’d lose both of them.

But in the dream, Hong Joo and Woo Tak had been together, engrossed in each other, and they’d still welcomed him. If that dream came true, he wouldn’t have to keep his secret forever. And Hong Joo will love him anyway. They both will.

---

Hong Joo woke with a start, her face hot with embarrassment. Had she really just dreamed of being in bed with two men? Had she really dreamed of them kissing each other, warm and eager?

She’d sometimes thought Woo Tak liked her, though he hid behind amusement and that ready smile. She could easily picture a sunlit, happy future with him. But she’d chosen Jae Chan, the one who needed her most. Jae Chan who’d captured her heart first, whose life was bound to hers. She’d thought there was no room for another, no way to have both.

Of course, it couldn’t happen immediately—in the dream her hair had been long, she and Jae Chan had been married—but this new possibility called to her, right and true. Her favourite people in the world both loving her, wanting her, and how delicious that they would love each other, too. Perhaps they already did. Now the idea had presented itself, it seemed joyfully inevitable.

She reached for her post-it notes. We’ll make it up to you, she wrote, and We are the luckiest people in the whole world! She decorated it with hearts.