Warning, super cheesy and cringy ^u^"

The door unlocked itself with a short tune once the correct password was keyed in, as a figure carefully turned the handle and slipped through. He entered the kitchen and placed a few bags on the kitchen counter and felt something fluffy and soft nuzzling at his feet, glancing down to see a ball of fur meowing loudly to get his attention. His expression brightened as he lifted the feline up in his arms and it purred in content when the boy scratched its head softly before he walking upstairs to find its owner, most likely still in dreamland. Due to his large build and tall stature, he walked on tiptoes into the bedroom, being thoughtful of the figure bundled up with her head poking out of the thick blankets. He kneeled beside the bed, taking his time to admire her features for a few good minutes before deciding to wake her up. She was no sleeping beauty from the messy tangled hair and slightly puffed up cheeks, and he never expected her to be one. Yet, he was never disappointed whenever he laid eyes on her because he had grown to love her beauty and imperfections just as she did for him. She was perfect in his eyes because her personality and demeanor outshine her good looks, and he loved her for that.

“Wake up Hani,” Daniel spoke softly near her ear with his deep and gentle voice, after a few minutes of staring. Hani stirred in her sleep, rolling on her side and pulled the blanket closer as she mumbled something incoherent before breathing calmly again. He chuckled as she pushed her cat away when it tried to cuddle with her and attempted again, “Good morning babe,” this time, he caressed her cheek gently and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Her eyes were still closed, but she smiled and sighed heavily as she held his hand firmly on her cheek with her own, identifying the owner instantly just by his warm touch and soothing voice.

“Is this a dream?” she questioned in her raspy morning voice and nuzzled further into his hand. He simply replied with a short laugh before lifting himself up from the floor and lying down next to her, “You know it’s harder for me to wake up now that you’re here,” she joked, finally opening her eyes to find her boyfriend already inches away from her face.

“Did you sleep late?” Daniel asked, encircling his arms around her waist.

“Yes, talking to this boy who took twenty minutes just to say goodnight,” Hani playfully nudged him with her finger as he chuckled in return, remembering their late night phone call. Both of them were clearly tired and drowsy after spending an hour sharing casual conversations and telling each other about their day, but Daniel took his sweet time to say goodbye although he heard his girlfriend’s sleepy voice and constant yawns, ending the call only when his phone beeped loudly, signally that the battery life was at five percent. His deep and soothing over-the-phone voice sounded like a lullaby in her ears, it’s no wonder she was already yawning twenty minutes into the conversation.

His hand moved from caressing her face to her silky hair, noticing her freshly washed hair when he breathed in the calming scent of her favourite shampoo, “Babe, I’m making some breakfast later,” he mumbled into her hair.

Hani snuggled closer to him, pressing her face in his warm embrace, “Breakfast in bed?” she asked, hopefully. He knew very well that she would be begging for more affection when she’s sleepy, but he wasn’t about to give in because sadly he only had enough time to eat breakfast with her before attending other important matters.

“No,” Daniel curtly replied, pulling away a minute later and getting off the bed, as she whined, “Freshen up now. I’ll be waiting downstairs,” he reminded, heading out the door while picking the cat up with both hands, before she could protest further.

Twenty minutes later, Hani skipped happily down the steps and into the kitchen, eager to start her day on a good note. Seeing him first thing in the morning gave her enough energy that could last throughout the day.

She was welcomed with the sight of her boyfriend by the stove who was calmly stirring into a frying pan with a spatula with his back facing her, making what smelled like scrambled eggs. She leaned against the wall, appreciating the view of Daniel clad in a dark blue apron which she thought looked rather good on him, and wondering whether she saved a country in her past life to deserve him as her lover. Hani chuckled softly wondering why was he wearing a pair of oven mitts despite not even switching on the oven, let alone baking anything in it. Drinking in the sight for a few more minutes, she later sauntered closer and encircled her arms around his waist from behind, startling the tall male, “Well, good morning to you too beautiful,” Daniel snickered, as he could feel his girlfriend clinging to his back and nuzzling her face into his shoulder. He already sensed her presence in the kitchen a few minutes earlier and wondered when is she deciding to announce herself. Hani stayed quiet, inhaling his manly scent, “I missed this,” he smiled broadly, holding onto her hands clasped on his torso.

“Me too,” she agreed, peeking over at the stove from behind him, “And your cooking too,” she added before kissing him lightly on the cheek as he smiled. Daniel turned around to face Hani, his lips automatically reached his ears at the sight of her own sunny smile. “You look nice in that apron. My kind of boyfriend material,” she made a witty remark, earning a soft chuckle from him.

“Well, I am your perfect match after all,” Daniel responded lightheartedly. His bright expression faltered slightly as he bit his lower lip, pondering on when and how to tell his girlfriend a matter that has been bothering him ever since he woke up that morning. It certainly didn’t help when he couldn’t recall what it was, and made him feel worse because he was thoroughly convinced it had to be something of great importance from the heavy invisible weight both his heart and shoulders were feeling. He has to start considering one of those reminder apps that Jisung has been introducing to him, ever since he’d decided to make this romantic relationship a full time commitment. He took off the oven mitts and inhaled deeply before speaking, “Noona…” he started calmly, gazing into Hani’s eyes while taking both of her hands in his.

She frowned at the new and rarely used term of endearment, one that she preferred to be called as the least, but something in his voice and the way he said it while smiling softly and gently brushing the back of her hand with his thumb, made her go slightly weak in the knees, “What’s wrong?” Hani encouraged him to continue with a small smile. It took her less than a minute to later conclude that Daniel was hiding something or might have done something wrong, because he would only behave like the few years younger boyfriend that he was when he wanted to apologise. The only problem was, she couldn’t think of anything wrong when she looked back on their interaction for the past few days.

“I’m sorry,” came the expected apology from the younger male which further confirmed Hani’s suspicions. She kept her gaze on him, soft but reassuring, giving him a chance to continue, “I kept thinking that I forgot something important, but I can’t figure out what is it,” Daniel sighed heavily, the guilt-ridden look in his eyes softened her heart in a way that she had already decided to forgive him regardless of the matter, “So I’m apologizing in advance, just in case,” he gave her a sheepish smile.

“Good morning you two,” a voice greeted from behind, successfully ending the light tension between the two as they both turned around to greet granny who just walked into the kitchen, “What’s that smell?,” granny commented, sniffing the air while walking around the kitchen to search for the source.

“Daniel, the eggs!” Hani exclaimed a few seconds later, as Daniel jolted and gasped in surprise. He glanced into the frying pan to see the once perfectly golden brown scrambled eggs has turned into some unidentifiable and inedible black clumps. He quickly turned off the stove and grabbed the frying pan with the oven mitts, before tossing it in the sink and turning on the tap to cool it down.

“Well, thank god that wasn’t the main dish,” he laughed nervously.

Despite burning the side dish for their breakfast, the three of them had a nice meal from the kimchi fried rice made earlier by Daniel. The apologetic feeling he had towards Hani doubled at his half-failed attempt to make it up for his forgetfulness, but later he felt relieved to hear compliments for his cooking as granny tried to lighten the atmosphere by asking Hani’s opinion on the food. “Are you two going out on a date later?” Granny shifted her gaze from Hani to Daniel as she scooped a spoonful of rice.

Daniel took a sip of water before answering, “N-no, I have to leave soon,”

“Where are you going?” Hani quickly asked.

“Some officials are coming to the café to renew our licenses and all the staffs have to be present,” he replied while quickly checking the time on his watch, “Then, I’ll leave for my hometown in the evening with my mother,”

“To Busan? You didn’t tell me about this,” Hani slowly placed her spoon down as she muttered, her bright tone of voice gradually fading at the same time as the feeling of her heart weighing down to the pit of her stomach.

“I was going to last night, but I guess it slipped my mind. That’s why I came early today,” Daniel took another gulp of water before turning his body and full attention to his girlfriend, “Don’t worry babe, I won’t be gone for long,” he assured her, reaching for one of her hands.

Granny cleared before standing up to head towards the kitchen when she has yet to finish her food. The elder lady sensed that the couple needed some alone time to discuss the sudden news when she read the still clueless look on Daniel’s face versus Hani’s gloomy eyes and pouty lips. Once granny was out of sight, Hani spoke again, “But tomorrow’s my graduation day,”

“Graduation?” Daniel repeated the word again and again in his head before he widened his eyes, finally being able to read the crestfallen expression she has been showing him for the past few minutes. He bit his lower lip, mentally smacking his head as he silently groaned, “Ah… so that’s it,”

“You promised to be my date for the dinner too,” Hani sighed heavily, coming to the conclusion of his sudden apology earlier.

Daniel silently scolded himself, how could he possibly forget the most important day of Hani’s life as a university student. He wondered how did his brain failed to retrieve that critical information, especially when Hani always brought up the matter since the last couple of weeks, telling him how nervous and excited she felt for her graduation that she even showed him the dress she planned to wear the week before. He grabbed both of her hands and brought them closer to his chest, “I’m sorry babe,” he started off with another apology, “I’ll be staying there w