#HappyXiuminDay ♥♥♥

"So nnyou nnon't have nnwork nnoday?" Kai asked in between quick munches, "AAH!"

He fanned his burnt tongue with his hand.

"Eat slowly!" I reprimanded, rushing from the kitchen with a glass of water. He chugged it down and sighed in relief.

"Sorry! It's been long since I had pizza. Guess I was too excited" he explained shyly.

"Well, take your time. We have the entire box to ourselves" I told him.

"Thanks! Haneul jjang~" he grinned.

"It's Jang Haneul, not Haneul jjang" I chuckled.

"No, no. Haneul jjang! You are really jjang" he smiled happily. I couldn't decide if he was doing aegyo on purpose or if it comes naturally.

"Do you practice those smiles?" I teased.

His face went curious. "Huh?"

"Nothing" I shrugged off.

"Whyyy, do you find them cute?" he smiled again, this time he was intentionally making it cutesy, even tapping his cheeks with his index fingers.

"What are you doing?" I asked, hiding my smile by taking a bite from my pizza slice.

"Ah, Jjang Haneul finds me cute" he clapped before munching on his pizza once more.

"Yah~ you're imagining things. You're that confident in yourself?" I joked.

He just continued munching, making a peace sign with his left hand.

"It took me some time choosing this flavor, you know" I said to change the topic, "I have no idea if you'd like Hawaiian or this one better."

Kai's eyes rounded. "This is a good choice then. I'm allergic to pineapples."

I sat straight up. "Really? Pineapple allergy? That's a thing?"

"I can attest to it" he nodded.

"Wow, never heard of anyone with it before. Oh well, I'm no doctor anyway so I'll take your word for it" I replied.

"Doctor..." he mumbled, "I wanted to be one before. When I was still a kid."

"And now you don't anymore? Why not?" I pouted.

"I've stopped schooling because of my condition. And can you imagine what will happen if I were performing surgery and suddenly teleported away?" he said, trying to make a joke out of it. But underneath that was a bitter crack in his voice.

"Well, maybe there's a way to fix it. If your ability is dependent on your wave of emotions, maybe you can control it if you try" I told him.

"Ah, I thought you weren't the doctor type? What a diagnosis!" he laughed, "how about you Haneul? What's your dream?"

"My...dream?"

I suddenly became aware of how intimate such a harmless question is. Here I am, about to open up my life aspirations to a guy I've only known for not even a year.

"I don't really know...now that you ask about it," I looked down, "all I've been doing my whole life is surviving the day, with no time to think of tomorrow."

He prodded on reassuringly then before I knew it, I've told him all about how I used to sell newspapers in the morning and other details about myself that I've always hidden in the past.

But saying these things now surprisingly didn't make me sad as they usually did. Kai took both of my hands with a gentle squeeze and I knew why. It's because I'm not alone this time.

"It's ok to not have a ready-made answer about your dream. Sometimes, I think, those answers are just made up by kids to impress the elder ones. Parents, relatives, friends. Sometimes...it's not even what they truly want to be" he began.

"But any time, any day, we can set a new dream. That's what we'll do, Haneul. So take your time" he smiled.

"That's if..." I trailed off.

"What is it?" he asked with concern.

"...if you also take your time with the pizza" I laughed.

"Yah, Haneul. I was being serious!" he laughed as well.

"I know," I said, allowing my laughter to subside, "thank you, Kai."

"You're welcome. And yes, I will take my time with the pizza" he grinned, "I was just sooo excited because I rarely get one."

"Not fond of ordering back at home?" I inquired.

"No, it's just that...well, I just get food brought to my room by a helper since I'm not allowed to go out. The food is really good though. What I'm not fond of is eating alone. I'd rather eat something simple and get to share it with someone" he explained.

"You know what you said about setting a new dream? Well, let's set this dream. We'll eat pizza someday. Not here. Outside. In a restaurant" I told him.

"But how can I go out? It's risky. I can't control it" he pointed out again.

"That is my new dream for now" I answered.

We'll find a way, Kai. Then you'll never have to find yourself locked up alone again. Because now, you don't have to be.