The next time when I go to open my eyes, I stretch out my limbs, and then proceed to rub the sleep out of them.

It's now morning, and my water bottle is still hot.

Hold up—my water bottle is still hot?

Perplexed, it makes me blink a little, before I slowly sit up, to see a cup, placed on a stool, which is situated next to me. There's also a sticky note of some sort attached to it, along with a small bottle of medicated oil.

My curiosity about the note, makes me reach out for it, to read the message.

"Apply some of the oil onto your stomach, to keep it warm—the drink should also make you feel a little better, as well."

A warm feeling of appreciation spreads over me, as I gently set down the paper—I feel as though this thoughtful gesture is enough to lift me up completely.

With the tiny smile playing across my lips, I now pick up the hot drink, and take a gentle sip. It’s honey and ginger tea, something that I quite enjoy, when feeling rather fatigued. The drink boosts up my mood, and as I continue to quietly enjoy it, I'm aware of its temperature. The liquid is reasonably hot, and it makes me curious, as to when this was prepared for me. I ponder about it some more, but when something finally comes into my mind, allowing me to piece the two things together...

Could it be that those footsteps that I heard in my dream, were not actually from a dream, after all?

And that it was actually Kris himself, coming to check up on me, every now and then?

Because that would explain how everything has managed to keep its heat, but...

My free hand picks up the sticky note once more, for my eyes to skim across the message. "Despite your cold exterior, and how aloof you appear to be...you're actually a very kind person, huh?" I muse, to myself.

Finishing the rest of my tea, I now feel much more energized, to begin the day.

———————————————

After work, I make it my absolute mission, to head over to the super market, to do a little shopping, for tonight's dinner. When I'm finished, I then hurry back home, to start preparing. I wash the chicken, remove the non-edibles, and then cut it up, into reasonable sized pieces. After that, I season it, and then allow for the meat to simmer away, inside a pot. While this happens, I slice up the vegetables, and then go over to boil some glass noodles. I now taste the seasoning of the chicken again, but then suddenly remember something.

Taking out my phone, I quickly search for Kris' number, but then pause my finger over his name for a bit; should I call him, or should I text him?

Deciding that a message is probably safer, I do that, and tell him not to eat anything, before coming back here—something that I'm sure he won't have too much trouble in doing, since he apparently, isn't so "into eating" or something. Setting down my phone, I then check the fire's level on the stove, just before making my way out of the kitchen, and towards the bathroom. My shower goes by smoothly, and once I'm done drying my hair, I then hop back down into the kitchen, excited to complete the surprise meal.

But as soon as I enter, I see that the person who I'm waiting for, is already here.

Kris appears to be deep in thought, with how he's inspecting the cooking pot of chicken, so I take this chance, to creep up behind him, and hush-yell out his name.

His mini jump of shock makes me instantly laugh, as he goes to recompose himself. "Don't do that," grumbles the cranky model.

But it just makes me giggle even more. "Sorry," I sheepishly chime. "I just couldn't resist!"

Hearing my comment, all Kris does, is shake his head at me, with a sigh.

"Anyway," I say, now with an unimpressed frown. "You shouldn't be in here right now!"

Kris blinks at me, and I guess it's due to my change in mood. "And why is that...?" he confusedly questions.

"Because this is supposed to be a surprise!" I lightly chide, while still frowning.

This just makes Kris look a bit more puzzled. "It is?" he blankly says.

"Yes!" I respond. "Now come on—out, out, out!"

All Kris is able to do, is give me a weird eye, before I begin to nudge him outside of the cooking space. The perplexed expression is still seen on his face, and so I tell him to go and freshen himself up, for the time being. He looks as though he wants to say something, but then decides against it, and just resorts to shaking his head at me. In response, I just flash him a beam, before returning myself to the cooking, where I then bit by bit, begin to start setting up the table.

———————————————

"Ta-dah!" I sing, while placing down the dish of chicken.

The blank look on Kris' face, finally focuses on me, when I go to take a seat in front of him. "So what is this...?" he slowly questions.

I smile at him. "Braised chicken!" is my happy answer, but then I begin to grow wary. "You...have eaten chicken before, right?"

An unamused look now occupies his face. "Of course I have," he flatly says. "I mean as in why? Why did you cook all of this?"

My lips continue to smile. "As a way of saying thank you!" I cheerfully say. "You went out of your way to get me a pad, helped keep the water bottle hot, and even bought me some tea..."

At the mention of the hot water bottle, Kris' facial expression flickers into one of surprise.

"I just really appreciate your help, so...I wanted to thank you with a home-cooked meal?" I shrug a shoulder. "I mean, I've never seen you eat at home, so I'm just going to assume that you always eat out, right?"

Kris doesn't say anything, but I know that his lack of answer means that my guess is right.

Gesturing towards the food, a feeling of anticipation now fills me. "Anyways, let’s eat!" I eagerly say.

With a keen face, I expectantly gaze at him, and wait for him to take the first bite, but he doesn't move an inch, and it makes me blink.

"Uh, the thing is..." begins Kris, with his eyes avoiding me. "Chicken isn't really my style..."

I do a double-take at him. "Wait, what?" I say, in bafflement. "Are you saying that you don't like chicken?"

Kris is quiet, and this makes me feel uneasy.

"But everyone loves chicken!" I hastily say. "Everyone, except...maybe you, I guess..." A sigh falls out of me, as my shoulders droop down. "I knew I should have asked you what you like to eat, instead of just cooking out of a whim..." The disappointing feeling, now takes over the excited one, that I was feeling just a few seconds ago. "Sorry, you can go out and eat whatever you want," I sadly mumble. "I'll make sure to ask you what you like, the next time I go to cook for—"

My sentence halts to a stop, when I see him suddenly pick up a piece of the chicken, with his chopsticks.

With surprised eyes, I continue to watch, as Kris chews the piece of meat away, and when he's done, I inch forward a little, curious about his thoughts.

"It's good," he utters, after a second or so.

My eyes slowly sparkle, as a relieved smile, inserts itself onto my face. "Really?!" I excitedly say.

And then as if to confirm my thoughts, his chopsticks reach out for another piece, where he even proceeds to take a slice of carrot, and a block of potato as well.

"Mm," he hums, with a nod of his head.

His response is simple, but they're enough to continue lighting up my face.

The fact that he's willing to eat it, (even though he says that he doesn't like chicken) makes me feel incredibly happy, to the point where watching him, is probably enough to fill my stomach.

But of course, it's only natural to feel a bit weird, having someone watching you eat so intently like this, so I don't blame him, when he gives me an odd look.

"What are you doing?" says Kris. "Aren't you going to eat? I can't finish this all on my own."

I'm just too happy right now to comment on that, and so with a thankful smile, finally join him.

———————————————

Dinner goes by a lot better than I thought it would, and even though I was doing most of the talking, Kris didn't seem to mind, because he actually asked questions. We take turns telling each other about our day, so conversation between us flows a little better than usual. I tell him about the weird customers that come into the store, while he tells me about the new products that get sent in, for him to be photographed with. Being reminded of his job, makes me think of how weird it is, to go from seeing his face at the shops, to seeing him physically here in front of me, at home.

And as we continue our light chatter, I come to realise that...for someone who claims to not like eating, he's sure good at emptying his huge servings.

Kris offers to help me clean up the table afterwards, and so I let him. He carries our used bowls and chopsticks over to the sink, while I pack away the leftovers into the fridge. After I'm done, I head over to the sink, to start on the dishes. I pour out some soap, and it surprises me when Kris tells me that he'll help me with the chore, so the two of us resort to me scrubbing, for him to rinse. The last time I washed the dishes with anyone, was when Woohyun came over, but...doing this with Kris feels different.

"Hey, I just thought of something," I suddenly say. "We just ate chicken, so..." A snicker falls out of me. "Cannibalism."

This makes Kris look at me weirdly. "You do know that cannibalism is eating the flesh of your own kind, right...?" he slowly says.

"Of course I do!" I answer, with a laugh. "Since chickens are part of the bird family, and you're an angry bird, you kind of just...ate yourself, ha."

But instead of laughing, Kris just continues to give me that look that screams, 'what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you' and all I can do, is just awkwardly laugh to myself.

"...Okay, I guess that sounded funnier in my head," I quietly mumble.

Kris just shakes his head at me, but the hint of amusement on his face, makes me slightly smile a bit more.

———————————————

Work has just finished, and I'm glad to now be out, and on my way home. A lot of people came in to eat today, so I feel a little tired, from running around from table to table. The sight of a wooden bench from afar, appears to be calling out for me, and so my tired self, trudges itself towards it, for me to sit myself down onto it. I exhale out a loud satisfied breath, as I allow my muscles to now ease up, for some rest. My eyes are just about to close for a bit, until I feel someone suddenly take a seat next to me, causing me to look over in curiosity.

"Ah, so it is you!" says a familiar voice.

His happy grin instantly makes me smile back at him. "Chanyeol-sshi!" I cheerfully say. "It's been a while, huh?"

Chanyeol nods his head at me. "The last time I saw you, you weren't feeling too well," he says. "And now, you also don't look 100%, so are you doing okay?"

I blink a little. "Wow, am I that obvious...?" I confusedly say. "Well...to be honest, I guess things could be worse, but...yeah." My mind now dismisses all thoughts about my housing situation with Kris. "Anyway, right at this moment, I am feeling rather tired," I say, with a sigh. "Work was just a little crazy today, but I'll be alright, with some sleep."

When I shrug my shoulders in indifference, Chanyeol doesn't say anything, except stare at me, with a contemplative look.

"What?" I ask, with a raise of my eyebrow.

This makes the brunette get up from his spot, but he doesn't exactly answer my question. "I'll be right back, okay?" he suddenly says.

I only have enough time to give him a look of confusion, before he suddenly disappears off elsewhere.

Perplexed, my feet stand up too, as I wonder if I should follow him, but then decide against it. He said that he would come right back, so I'll take his word on it, and wait. Minutes fly by, and I eventually see Chanyeol's figure emerging from within the distance. He lightly jogs his way back over here, and I can see that he has two drinks in his hands. My eyes manage to make out what they are once he comes closer, and I smile a little.

"Here," says Chanyeol, upon holding out the small, glass bottle to me. "This should energize you right back up."

I gratefully accept the warm drink, and when I see how the tea's flavour is honey and ginger, I can't help think back to Kris, making me quietly chortle to myself.

Chanyeol manages to pick up my secretive giggle though, and when he questioningly tilts his head at me, I just shake mine, telling him not to worry about it. "It's nothing," I casually say. "But thanks for getting me this!"

The two of us proceed to enjoy our hot drinks together, until he mentions something about fish cakes, making me suddenly crave for the little snack. With that in mind, we then head over to the nearest food cart available, to eat a few. Afterwards, our feet somehow take us towards the shops, to do a little window shopping. My eyes manage to spot a sale taking place at one of the makeup stores nearby, and the excitement in me, makes me pull Chanyeol into the pink place. He doesn't seem to mind it though, and even laughs at my giddiness, when I try to figure out which colours to pick.

It's fun, testing out the different lip glosses, and looking at all of the fancy mascaras. In the end, I resort to buying a couple of face masks, along with four bottles of nail polish. We walk some more, until a very flashy building from a few shops down, perks up our curiosity. The two of us head towards it, and when I see that it's an arcade, my face lights up. I remember overhearing a group of school kids talking about this before, and I guess this must be it. Turning over towards Chanyeol, the look on his face tells me that he's most likely thinking of the same thing.

"Do you want to go in?" he queries.

I bob my head, giving him the affirmative. "Heck yeah!" cheers my eager voice.