“Someone call the doctor, nal butjapgo malhaejwo.”

I woke up with a flinch at the sound of my alarm. With my eyes still closed, I reached out an arm and blindly searched for my phone that I put on the ground before I went to sleep. Once it was found, I tapped on the screen several times, not caring if I didn’t turn it off. I just needed it to stop singing, even if the song was one of my favourites.

A minute later (it was actually five minutes in reality), my darn phone started singing again. I groaned as I picked up the device; this time I made sure that I turned it off. It was Saturday, anyway. I didn’t have to go to work and neither did I have any appointments with anybody. I could just sleep for the rest of the day.

But no matter how hard I tried (lying on my stomach, back, side and the other side, and turning 180 degrees with my feet near the headboard with the former positions attempted), I couldn’t go back to sleep. At that exact moment, I wished I was Yixing. He could sleep through anything. Nothing could disturb him, except this one technique I found out when we first had our night together.

--

It was a few months after we started dating. We had a dinner date at his place where he showed off his cooking skills. It was amazing and left me wanting for more. Simultaneously, it made me feel inadequate and small as I could only cook very simple dishes. But being the nice and understanding guy that he is, he gave me a dimpled smile and lovingly tousled my hair as he told me not to worry. He then proceeded by saying that he would take care of me in terms of cooking and in return, I would in other things. I was very touched at his words so as a thank you, I leaned in to give him a kiss. Things soon turned interesting and all of the sudden, we were walking towards his bedroom with our lips still attached.

The next morning, I found myself gathered in his arms. Somewhere out the opened bedroom door, someone’s phone was jiggling some ringtone. It stopped at some point, causing me to let out a contented sigh and cuddle closer back to him.

And then I realised the state of our dress, or lack thereof rather. I was currently hugging his bare chest.

The same ringtone was faintly heard again. It was mine. I knew I had to cancel that alarm but I was too shocked to do anything, other than just stay still. So I just stared at his handsome face up close, not really believing what happened the night before.

Five minutes must have passed because my alarm rang again. I pursed my lips in annoyance, getting off the bed slowly and carefully as Yixing looked so peaceful, I would hate it if I disturbed him. My eyes searched around the room for something to wear and they finally landed on his shirt carelessly hung on the back of a chair. As soon as it was worn, I quietly made my way outside to look for my phone.

It took me quite awhile to find it as my memory was still foggy. I forgot where I last put it. So I decided to stand near the dining table with my eyes closed and ears perked up, trying to listen and remember at the same time. The alarm went off, causing my head to turn to its direction, so I immediately dismissed it.

That was when I noticed the state of his place. Dining chairs were not aligned, dirty dishes were not washed, some lights were switched on, and a few items of our clothing were on the ground. The gasp that had been threatening to come up disappeared quickly at those items and instead, I blushed, reminded of the event.

But I shook my head as a resolution was made and attempted to ignore that strange feeling on that area. I had to tidy up this place before I could go back to bed to his arms. I couldn’t stand looking at the mess. My hands were too itchy to overlook everything.

After the house looked somewhat presentable and cozy, I made my way back to his room. Our clothes were scattered everywhere and I couldn’t help but blush as my eyes caught the sight of our undergarments stacked messily on the ground. Gulping to drive away the shyness, I started collecting the clothes and folding them neatly before placing them on top of his chair. Once completed, I threw myself on the bed behind him and surprisingly he didn’t even stir at the new weight.

His position now on his side, I snuggled closer to his exposed back. But all of the sudden, he started twitching. His hand appeared on the back of his head, particularly his neck, and brushed something off before returning to its original position. I placed a kiss on his shoulder so he could calm down, but apparently (and unfortunately) that act was the wrong move to do: a groan was heard and the same hand made its appearance again.

Then I realised that he’s ticklish on his neck area. My breath and most probably my hair must have tickled him. I had to hold the urge to laugh and swallow it back down. He’s too adorable.

Another groan was heard, causing me to wince and shifted backwards. He was half awake, judging by the new arrival of a scowl on his face as he turned to lie on his back. Meanwhile, I lay on my stomach with my chin propped on my left hand. This was my first time looking at him this close while he’s unconscious.

To say that he’s handsome was an understatement. He’s beyond gorgeous. I still couldn’t believe how I managed to get caught by him. With a dreamy sigh, I reached out my free hand and pointed at his seemingly perfect face with my index finger. The said finger hovered everywhere from his hairline, to his eyebrows, to his eyelashes, to his neck, to his right cheek where his dimple would be, and lastly to his lips. I lingered there the longest.

Before I realised what was happening, the man in front of me opened his mouth slightly and bit a tiny part of my finger. Blood rushed to my face as I could feel heat forming on my neck and cheeks. My heart skipped a beat and suddenly it started doing jumping jacks. He might even hear it because I was certain of its volume.

“Having fun?” he mumbled, my finger no longer bitten and instead he took the whole hand and placed it in front of his chest that was doing its own workout session.

“How long have you been up?”

“Since you tickled my neck,” he replied, a lazy smile plastered. “I couldn’t sleep anymore after that.”

Shyness completely forgotten, I gasped. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t done on purpose.”

There were a headshake and a genuine smile afterwards, so I added, “But was it really ticklish?”

“My neck is very sensitive.”

“Wouldn’t that mean that I can’t give you a back-hug?”

He changed his position to face me fully. “As much as I want you to do that, I will be the one giving you. In return, you’ll just have to hug me twice as much.”

--

While rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand, I sat up on the bed and left my legs dangling. I stretched out my arms and rolled my head around, giving out moans when I heard the bones popped some noise. Once satisfied, I made my way to the bathroom to do my ritual every morning.

The day passed by as slow as snails lining up to get free food. There’s nothing interesting on TV, every DVD at home has already been watched, the internet was boring, and worst of all, my stock of food has decreased to a worrying level as if a monster had come to eat everything. So in the end, I decided to crash at Yixing’s place.

And here I was, looking at his sleeping form on the sofa of his living room with his jacket and bags on the ground. Then I remembered what he told me: he just returned from an overseas business trip. I figured he was too exhausted to even go to his room to sleep.

I heaved a sigh and looked around to see how disorganised the place was. I might as well do some cleaning to kill the time. He might not wake up until afternoon, anyway.

It did not come as a surprise when I saw that he was still sleeping through all the noise I didn’t bother to cover up when cleaning. He was fast asleep like a baby; only this time he has turned his torso towards the back of the sofa. Noticing his new position, I smirked and decided to wake him up. He must be hungry (and so was I).

I sat with my legs crossed on the ground, facing the back of his neck. I leaned in and called out his name as a soft whisper. He started to flinch, causing me to bite my inside cheek so I wouldn’t laugh.

“Zhang Yixing…” I tried again, intentionally extending that last word.

And there it was, his signature groan that indicated he’s awake. “Yixing is tired. Go away,” he grunted, burying even deeper to the sofa.

A smile made its appearance on my mouth and I reached out a hand to caress his soft hair. “It’s noon already. Aren’t you starving?” I asked as I changed my seating position because my legs started to fall asleep.

“I am. Feed me.”

“You know I can’t cook.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself.” He finally turned the other way around, his whole sleepy face greeting me but still as handsome as ever. A lazy smile was stretched, causing his dimple to come out. “I actually like your omurice.”

I snorted. “Yeah, that’s because it’s the only dish I’m confident about.” I paused and just looked at him.

At first, he was wearing his normal and blank expression. Then it slowly turned; I felt like watching a slow-motion movie. There was a pout on his mouth. His bottom lip jutted out. He gave me his puppy eyes, causing me to sigh. He knew I couldn’t refuse him whenever he does that. Not to mention that this time, there was exhaustion written all over his face so he looked more adorable and slightly pitiful.

I heaved another (dramatic) sigh. “Okay, I guess we’re having omurice for lunch.”

His puppy eyes disappeared and in turn they got bigger, lighting up as if he just received the best birthday present in his whole life. “And while I wait for you to finish, I’m going to take a shower.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” I replied,” because you smell funny.”

His pout made its grand entrance once again, causing me to laugh wholeheartedly. I gave him a peck on the cheek and made the move to stand up to start cooking. But he pulled on my hand and as a result, I fell on top of him with an ‘oof’ from each of us.

“I need to start preparing your lunch, Mr Zhang.” But instead of freeing myself from his grip around my waist, I crossed my arms so my chin could take a rest at the top. He must have wanted something because he was serious all of the sudden.

“Don’t I get a proper kiss?”

And so he did. But it was unfortunately cut short as someone’s stomach made a grumbling sound. It was mine.

He needed a lot of coaxing to finally start taking a shower. I had to even accompany him to the bathroom just so he wouldn’t make a stop at his untouched bed. As he was taking off his clothes, I got out and made my way to the kitchen to start on my current task.

Thankfully, he had the appropriate ingredients. As I checked his fridge, it was still almost full. It reminded of the time around a week ago where we went grocery shopping for both of our residences. A fleeting thought then crossed my mind: maybe I should take some home. I laughed to myself at that as I started cooking.

Less than half an hour later, two plates of omurice were done. All that was left to do was to serve them on the table. When I was washing my hands clean, there appeared to be a very fragrant scent. My nose caught the smell of men shower gel. I smiled when a pair of arms encircled my waist from behind.

“Something smells nice,” he said, pecking me on the temple.

“You do.”

He laughed, vibration running through my back. “Thank you, but I meant our lunch.”

Once my hands were cleaned and dried on the apron currently worn, I turned around on the spot and encircled my own arms around his neck. “So, are you saying that I don’t smell nice?” I decided to make fun of him. I missed this moment too much.

“Of course you do,” he replied, “like omurice.”

I frowned at his ridiculous answer but it was immediately dismissed as he has always been this weird and pretty much random. “I’ll take that as a compliment, I guess, since you like that dish very much.”

“Okay, first off all: you’ve been cooking for a while, so there’s no doubt about the smell. And second of all: it was a compliment. You smell good enough to eat.”

At the innuendo spoken by him, I put a sly smile on my face. “As much as I want you to eat me, why don’t we eat real food first? I’m hungry.” I gave him a kiss on the corner of his mouth as my hands slowly dropped to his chest to slightly give him a push. “Let’s go.”

The meal was spent in silence, but it was comforting because we knew we had each other nearby. There was a compliment of ‘oh, this is very nice’ thrown here and there a number of times by him. I had to remind him that we were eating so he wouldn’t choke. We wouldn’t want that.

Just like our first night a long time ago, we didn’t immediately wash the dishes and instead, we remained seated. My legs were stretched out all the way and rested on top of his under the table. He started massaging one, earning himself a relaxed sigh. Then I realised he was staring right at me, complete with that smile I adore so much.

“Why? Do I have something on my face?” I asked as my hand searched the area around my mouth.

“Nope, you’re perfect.”

I smiled and brushed the air off with a wave of my hand. “Compliments will get you nowhere, mister,” I replied, “but thank you. You are perfectly perfect as well.”

The grin on his face widened. “So my perfection is double?”

“Of course,” I answered, “you can cook much better than me.”

Without any warning, he gently put down my feet on the ground and motioned me to take a seat on his lap. I complied, even though confusion was all over the place. I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck, whereas his were on my waist.

“Just listen to me first, okay? A nod or a headshake would be nice as a reply if you agree or disagree with me.”

Confusion was even more obvious but I nodded to show my understanding.

“You know that I love you, right?”

A nod.

“And I know that you love me too.”

Vigorous nods.

“We’ve been together for years,” he continued, cupping my face so I couldn’t do anything. “I think we’re compatible, even if we do sometimes fight. But that’s what makes our relationship fun and interesting. One of my mentors used to say that to me all the time.”

I nodded softly as my head was still caught in his hands.

“I need you because I love you. I can’t imagine my life without you right here with me,” he said, his right thumb starting to my cheekbone. “What I’m saying is,” he paused.

And it was the longest pause I have ever encountered. The wait was excruciating. The way he was looking at me felt like his stare could pierce into my soul. Yet at the same time, the gaze was soft. I couldn’t even look away as it was too mesmerising to do so. The more time passed, the faster my heart beat. My hands even unconsciously slid down from their comfortable position around his neck to my lap.

“Marry me.”

My heart suddenly stopped before going full speed. It travelled up to my throat, causing me to have the sensation of choking. In time, it got slightly harder to breathe.

“I don’t have the ring yet. But I’ll buy you one in near future.”

The thought of him asking for my hand, or vice versa, has been on my mind for at least the past two years. I knew he was it ever since he told me he loved me with all his heart, body, and soul. He was so sincere back then, that I felt like crying happy tears as I eventually found someone. And now that he has finally asked me to marry him, I was shocked to say the least. Nothing in this world has prepared me for this moment.

“You can say something, you know.”

But instead of answering quickly (I couldn’t find the right words), I wrapped my arms around his waist to give him a hug. I carefully placed my head on the crook of his neck, not wanting to ruin this moment by tickling him. And before I knew it, tears were dropping.

“You don’t have to answer it now,” he said, not realising yet that the front of his shirt was wet, I noticed. “I just want to let you know that I want you as my one and only.”

Some deep breaths later, I dared myself to look up. I must have looked like a mess because his eyes were suddenly widened and his hand immediately went to dry my wet face.

“Yixing,” I managed to croak out. My throat was so dry, I had the urge to get something to drink. But looking away from him somehow made me think twice. What if I lost the courage to answer him now?

“Zhang Yixing,” I called out, after I gulped. And I stopped. I just stared at him. In my head, pages and pages of a photo album containing our pictures were turned over automatically. Images flashed slowly.

On page one was our first meeting in High School where we were seat mates for three straight years. It passed several pages until it landed on the day when I told him I had a crush on him at our graduation.

It was one of the saddest days of my life. He didn’t accept nor reject me; instead he told me that he was returning to his hometown in China for further education. But he promised to keep in touch and gave me a long hug before we parted.

More pages were opened and it was on the day he visited me during my last summer as a university student as a surprise. I was busy doing my countless assignments when my mother called me to come downstairs. I just ignored her at first so I kept going until the door to my bedroom was harshly opened. I looked up, all ready to scream my head off for the disturbance, but the anger evaporated as I came face to face with the handsome guy I couldn’t stop thinking about all this time. To make it even better, he answered my confession with a long kiss. And he came with the best news: he had a job offer in the country so he’s moving back immediately after graduation.

On the nth page, it was our first night. Next was his love confession. And the last filled page was this moment: when he asked me to marry him and be his wife.

We’ve been through so much together. I couldn’t think of anything else but to answer yes. And so I did. The look on his face was priceless. He looked happy and surprised at the same time. But I figured I might have the same look.

We shared so many kisses, I lost count. I didn’t even realise he has carried me in a bridal style until my back hit the soft bed sheet in his room. But just after I helped him take off his shirt, he suddenly moved away.

“What is it?” I asked, feeling nervous for some reason. He was staring at me with his dimpled smile plastered, making me conscious of myself.

“Can I eat you up now? You’re too beautiful to not get eaten tonight.”

Anxiety and the urge to laugh were mixed into one. It was the strangest feeling, but I ignored his randomness (that’s one of the things I love about him, anyway) and pulled him closer.

We spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms.

THE END

--

A/N: I don't know why, but these days writing for EXO members seems to be (much) easier than Yongseo >_< Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment please :)