A bright morning welcomes Chanyeol as he wakes up that morning. He stretches both of his hands upwards, feeling the heat of the sunshine on his skin; happy as always. Today, he’ll make sure it will be a pleasant day as usual.

An empty space is right beside him on the bed, he notices as he sighs, still with a beaming face. His boyfriend must have gone to work before he woke up. The tall, lanky boy finally rises up from the cream colored mattress to start his daily routine. First, he’ll look at his face in the mirror, viewing his messy hair and sleepy-silly-face of his reflection, whilst he’ll be laughing to himself. After washing his face, he will look at the calendar. Every day there are marks on it, because he wants his everyday existence to be special. The most notable one on there is the red crown, marked on the 27^th of the 11^th.

“Hey!” Chanyeol abruptly takes the calendar from the wall. “It’s my birthday!”

Today is not actually that day, but it will be a week from now. He chuckles to himself because it’s the time of the year again where he gets most of the fun he wants. If he didn’t have a boyfriend who pampered him with love, he would not anticipate it this much.

He rests his head on the wall, hugging the calendar as if it is a cuddly pillow or plushie.

“How is he going to surprise me this time?” He grins to himself, with a little giggling. It is too early but he is daydreaming already.

That night, it’s a good thing that Kris arrives from work earlier than expected. Chanyeol prepares his usual delicious dish for their dinner; making sure to ask his boyfriend about his birthday while they were enjoying their meal. Chanyeol cannot feel ease; he has a wide smile on his lips, his feet rubbing against each other.

“Kris.” He excitedly started. When he glanced at his boyfriend, his brightness faded quickly. The evening is just starting, but Kris’ face looks so dead-tired right now.

“Do you want to say something?” His boyfriend must have wondered at the sudden stop of his words.

Chanyeol shakes his head and smiles awkwardly, since the air around them started to feel like that. “Nothing. But… are you feeling well?”

“I’m okay.” Kris demonstrates it by swallowing a large chunk of meat. “Work is not doing okay.”

“I see.” Chanyeol keeps silent then, thinking that this is not the right moment to ask about their plans for his birthday. Kris looks so exhausted; he’ll do it some other time instead.

Three days has passed and seems like it is still difficult to open up the topic about Chanyeol’s birthday. At first, Kris always comes home on time, but he is busier working on his laptop and some papers, rather than talking to Chanyeol. The positive boy lets it pass. The day after that, his boyfriend comes home late and the next day, he doesn’t at all.

“I’m sorry, Babe. I cannot come home tonight; there are a lot of things I need to fix here. I love you.”

The next morning, like a zombie who hasn’t eaten for days, Chanyeol drops his phone onto the bed. He was too sleepy from waiting that he hadn’t noticed this voice message last night.

“Heh, love me? You can’t even sense my burden right now!” Chanyeol gets up from the bed and angrily rushes to the calendar. “I can’t take this! Look! It’s one more day!”

Baby, are you coming home this morning? I need to talk to you about something. He sends a text message to his boyfriend while finding his outfit for today in their closet. It does not take seconds before a reply is sent to him.

I’ll be home tonight. Whatever you need to say, just text me. Chanyeol’s brows furrow after reading the sms he received. This only makes him fully decide to visit Kris at his company. He does not want to look noticeable, so he wears a beanie, sweatshirt, short pants and specs that are all in black. The only thing he is wearing in different color is his white Jordan air.

“I know you’re busy but it’s my birthday, okay?” He said as he checked himself and his full outfit in the mirror.

Disappointment welcomes him when he reaches Kris’ company and asks about his boyfriend to the receptionist. The person told him that Kris is out for lunch. His boyfriend is maybe going to be back after an hour, so he thinks he should eat as well. He has not even had his breakfast yet.

Chanyeol goes to the closest café to the company to have his brunch, but he did not expect he will see something that will give pain to his heart. His boyfriend is there, sitting near the entrance with a woman. It must be his workmate, yes, just his workmate. He keeps his positive vibes, whilst silently and secretly observing Kris from behind a post. His eyes cannot help but widen when the woman suddenly has tears in her eyes. Kris pulls his hanky out of his pocket to wipe the woman’s face, well… he can give it to her but, why does he needs to do it himself? There’s really something fishy.

Chanyeol is clueless as to what is going on, but jealousy is already crawling in his body. He is shaking and sweating, taking his phone out of his pocket with heavy breathing. He roughly punches a phone number on the screen of his phone.

“Hello?” Kris answered the phone and Chanyeol keeps watching him.

He swallows, then forces a smiles when he hears his boyfriend’s voice. “Oh, baby. I’m actually in front of your company right now.”

“What?” Kris, stands from his seat, surprised to hear the bomb that Chanyeol just dropped. The woman looks at him in wonder, still wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. “Why?”

“Why?” Chanyeol irately chuckles at his boyfriend’s question, but he tries to hide the boiling feeling he’s experiencing at that moment. “You’ve been with me for the past few days, but I couldn’t feel your presence at all. I’m worried, so…”

“Babe, if you want to say something, let’s talk about that later. I’m kind of busy right now.”

“Busy doing what? Wiping some girl’s tears?” Kris could not look more dumbfounded as he looks around, checking if Chanyeol is simply observing them. Chanyeol turns his body so Kris will not find out where he is hiding. “Please, if you are sick of me, just say so.”

Chanyeol cannot bear watching his boyfriend anymore, so he leaves his spot. He is already sniffing and surely soon; he will cry as well. He takes off his specs because tears are forming in his eyes, and he wipes them. Before he leaves completely, he is unable to avoid bumping into someone.

“I’m sorry.” Chanyeol continues wiping his eyes whilst bowing for an apology.

“It’s ok.” The man he bumped into is good-looking and tall, taller than him. The man looks a little stunned, maybe because of how he appears right now. The man smiles at him, seemingly interested in him. “W-why is a cute boy like you crying?”

Chanyeol is blushing because of that man’s intense look at him. He avoids making eye-contact with him and shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”

The man suddenly pets his head, giving him Goosebumps. Chanyeol stares at him again and sees that smile and those eyes; he thinks it’s friendly.

“There’s a café behind you. Say, want to have a cup of coffee with me? It’s my treat.” Chanyeol flinches when this man winks at him. He is about to lose a boyfriend, and now there is this person who seems to desire to be a replacement.

Their interaction does not last long, because out of the blue, a hand pulls Chanyeol’s wrist. He stumbles, but he safely falls into the strong arms of someone he so familiar with.

“Sorry, but he has a boyfriend, so don’t try to flirt with him.” Chanyeol looks up at the person who approached him, seeing Kris giving a death glare to the stranger.

“Oh, I thought he was alone. I’m sorry.” The man laughs, along a hint of nervousness. He quickly takes his departure, leaving the couple alone. Chanyeol glimpses the nearby café, and the woman is no longer there.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Kris snaps at him, holding both of his arms tightly. Chanyeol this time sharply moves his stare to his boyfriend, turning around in order to face and shove him away from him.

“From now on, you don’t know me and I don’t know you.” Kris sighs to at his cold statement; he is really upset after all.

His boyfriend tries to take his hand again, but he swiftly dodges it. “Babe, don’t do this to me. Why are you acting this way?”

“Because… Because…” Instead of Chanyeol telling what he seriously feels, he sobs. Kris embraces him, which Chanyeol tries to break free from, but his boyfriend is stronger than he is. Chanyeol is kept in the tight hold, so he gives up fighting. “Tomorrow is my birthday!” He finally spills out.

Kris combs Chanyeol’s hair as he hums on top of his head. “I know babe.”

“Then, why are you killing me with worry? You’re even having business with that woman.”

“Jung Yongju-sshi?” Kris chuckles after Chanyeol is done with his questions. “The company is trying to reduce people, and one of them is Jung-Sshi. These people are under my supervision, so they rely on me in saving them.” Chanyeol quietly listens to Kris’ explanation, now that the situation is getting clearer. “I’ve been working on a proposal of not taking away the jobs for them. Before dusk, I’m going to present it in front of the board, and I’m hoping for a good outcome.”

“You should have told me.” Chanyeol playfully hits his boyfriend on the chest, and Kris simply laughs at him.

“You’re right. I didn’t want you to get worried about me but in the end I still made you do so. I’m sorry, babe.” Chanyeol pouts at him. With his cuteness, Kris could not help cupping his puffy cheeks and pressing his lips to him.

Unfortunately, Chanyeol’s stomach is growling so loudly in hunger that the couple cannot help laughing at it.

“I’m so angry at you that I forgot I’m hungry.”Chanyeol explained with flushed cheeks. Kris sweetly smiles at him while intertwining their hands together.

“I’ll be coming with you because someone might get interested in you again.”

“I’m going to ignore them.”

The couple walks forward the café with charming laughs. Good thing their misunderstanding is solved.

That evening, Kris goes home along with the good news that he was able to save his people from the termination. They celebrate it with the wonderful feast Chanyeol prepared, and it is the right time to receive his gift.

“Wow, ticket to Maldives!” Chanyeol flips the plane ticket with amazement. As he looks closely at the date of the flight, his excitement stops. “14^th of the 2^nd next year? Why am I going to have this gift that long?”

By looking at Kris’ expression, Chanyeol understands that there seems to be something more.

“Give me your hand.”

Chanyeol is confused but, still, he gives his hand to his boyfriend. Kris opens his fingers and, suddenly, he is holding a white gold ring with tiny diamonds around it. He puts it on Chanyeol’s tinier finger, the ring beautifully shining in the night from where they are standing. Chanyeol blinks in astonishment, because this is the first time he ever received a ring from his boyfriend, meaning only one thing.

“The ticket is for the honeymoon.” Chanyeol almost gasped at what Kris said. “Will you settle down with me, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol could not be happier but to answer Kris’ proposal. With tears in his eyes, he wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s neck tightly and says. “Yes, I want to spend my forever with you.”

They part a little and immediately come closer again for a loving kiss. Chanyeol just received the best gift that he’s been wanting all his life. The torturous week paid off, as seen by his good reward.

The next day, on Chanyeol’s birthday, the couple invited their friends and shared the good news about their engagement. They congratulated the couple with a day full of fun and laughter.

Chanyeol’s pleasant days are back in track.

~End~

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