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Renjun wakes up to his phone’s incessant ringing.
He stretches his arms and buries his head on the pillow. He knows he needs to get up but his body refuses. He is still sleepy after cramming his Philosophy paper last night and he is sure he has only gotten four hours of sleep. Just when he’s drifting off to sleep, his phone rings again. And worse, accompanied by loud and heavy knocks on his dorm door.
“For fucking sake-” he immediately rises and curses mentally whoever is trying to interrupt his sleep.
“I’m coming! Stop knocking!” he shouts crossly as he heads to his door. He has an inkling whoever is outside and he is ready to jab him. Thankfully, it stopped.
“What on earth is-”
When Renjun opens the door, all his grumpiness fades as he sees Jisung holding a brown bag and a cup of hot tea.
“Good morning hyung! Breakfast delivery! I’m sorry to wake you up but I can’t let you sleep in or else you’ll be late for school.” Jisung pouts. Renjun laughs at his cuteness and gently ruffles the hair of his favorite dongsaeng .
“Thank God you’re not Donghyuck,” he smiles. He takes the food from Jisung’s hands. “Don’t worry, I will eat these well. Go, you can’t be late for your class too.”
Jisung waves at him and Renjun watches as his figure disappears to the elevator.
He looks at the food fondly and goes inside.
He places the food on his coffee table. He savors the warmth and the aroma of the freshly baked buns he always misses to eat. He takes a pink note inside the brown paper bag. He feels his mood lifts as he reads the note:
“Start your morning right by eating fresh food from your favorite bakeshop, drinking your favorite tea, and lastly, receiving I love you from me. Eat well, my love.”
No more grumpy morning for him, he guesses.
They say happiness is a choice but today, Renjun chooses not to feel one.
He’s been holding his breath for a while now, and he won’t stop tapping his feet. His eyes are closed, afraid that if he sees his laptop screen one more time and reads the excuses of his useless freeloader group mates, he would smash it on the floor.
Class has ended and he’s currently in the university hall, waiting for his group mates to arrive to do their project when he received a chat from his group mates bailing out of their meeting. He doesn’t care whether their reasons are valid or not; he just wishes they told him sooner so he can, at least, have done something else. He could have gone to the supermarket to buy groceries since he’s running out of stock in the dorm but no, his group mates chose to ruin his schedule.
He types aggressively on his phone, ranting on their group chat.
Renjun: Guess what, my group mates didn’t come
Donghyuck: That sucks, Jun. But did they say why?
Renjun: Idk. Didn’t ask.
Jisung: Are you going home hyung?
Renjun: Yeah.
Donghyuck: Take care, Junnie <3 Make sure to look both ways before crossing the street.
Renjun: Goodness, it’s just a 10 minute walk.
Donghyuck: You know I always care for you right?
Renjun: I know. Thank you and thanks guys. Talk to you later!
As Renjun stuffs his laptop inside his bag, his eyes catch his other friend, Chenle, walking towards him. In his hand is a familiar plastic bag from the school’s minimart. And is that-
“Ice cream delivery!” Renjun winces at his friend’s loud voice. “I just read your message in the group chat. Talk about great timing.”
He hands Renjun his favorite milk-flavored ice cream. Attached to it is a familiar note, similar to what he received that morning.
Chenle taps his shoulder and bids goodbye. Renjun sits down and reads the note carefully.
“I know I have told you countless times that you are the most beautiful person on earth. It’s unfair how you still look pretty and cute even if you’re mad. But I hope you’re having a great day today! Don’t stress yourself out if things don’t go your way, okay? Here’s your favorite ice cream! Reminds me how my heart always melts everytime you smile. :) Pretty.”
Renjun chuckles at the silly message he receives. He neatly folds the paper and keeps it in his wallet.
It’s not sunshine and rainbows everyday but at the end of the day, he has something to be grateful for. So today, Renjun chooses to be happy.
When Renjun arrives at his dorm, Ms. Kim, the receptionist, calls him.
“Hi Renjun! Someone dropped huge boxes for you. I already asked someone to bring it to your dorm.”
Renjun nods, and thanks Ms. Kim.
“Delivery? I didn’t buy anything though…”
When he reaches his floor, there he sees 3 boxes with a white note on top.
“You work too hard but please do not forget to take care of your body. You are precious to me.”
Renjun groans. He immediately unlocks the door and pushes the boxes inside his room. He can’t believe his arms already hurt from the simple task. Maybe he is right.
The boxes are filled with groceries (as he expected). He takes all the items one by one and spends an hour filling the cupboard.
At six o’ clock, he cooks himself a nice dinner. He prepares steak, enough to last until tomorrow morning for breakfast. He’s a broke college student who needs to be frugal. After he eats, he washes the dishes, and takes a warm shower.
He puts on his comfiest sleeping clothes and he fixes his laptop. He runs the KakaoTalk app and waits.
As the clock strikes 8:00 PM, the app rings.
He smiles and mutters, “He’s always on time.”
He accepts the call and Renjun feels his heart thump. He watches fondly as the other person on the call adjusts his camera. This is something that they do regularly but it still makes him feel overwhelmed. A variety of emotions take over him every time.
“Good morning baby,” Renjun greets sweetly.
The other person on the call chuckles. He rubs his eyes and quickly fixes his tousled hair.
‘Cute,’ Renjun thinks. He watches his boyfriend fondly.
“Good evening, baby Injunnie.”
For a minute or two, Renjun and Jaemin are just staring at each other on the screen. Renjun’s eyes trailing on his boyfriend’s appearance. There are obvious bags under his eyes, similar to what he has. Jaemin’s eyes blink non stop, fighting off his sleepiness. Renjun’s heart clenches.
“Thank you for today, baby.” Renjun says and Jaemin smiles widely. “I do not remember any special occasion today though.”
“There’s no celebration. I just want to pamper you.” Jaemin replies. Renjun feels heat on his cheeks. Three years of being together but he is still not accustomed to Jaemin’s straightforward and cheesy answers.
“Just because I’m not physically there to watch over you doesn’t mean I can’t find ways to spoil you.” Jaemin raises his eyebrows slightly, a smug plastered on his face.
Renjun grabs his moomin stuffed toy and squeezes it hard. He groans and replies. “Jaemin, please!”
Jaemin giggles as he watches Renjun cringe.
“Thank you,” Renjun replies softly. “I wish I can do something for you too, Jaemin.”
His boyfriend shakes his head and moves closer to the camera.
“Just you believing and trying your best to work our relationship out is more than enough.”
Renjun stretches his hand to the screen. He imagines the softness and warmth of Jaemin’s face on his palm. “It takes two to tango. Thank you, baby.”
He sees Jaemin close his eyes, so Renjun does too. He presses his lips on the screen.
‘I’ll take this for now’ he muses.
“I love you, Renjun.”
“I love you more, Jaemin.”
“Goodnight, Renjun.”
“Have a great day, Jaemin.”