Happy Endings ⁘ Chenle

78 ⁘ Overwhelming

⁘ 78 ⁘

Sleeping in felt nice for a change. 

In the absence of the usually daunting noise of their alarms, the two slept until the sun stood high up in the sky. The world had woken up hours ago but within Chenle's house, it was quiet. 

While Da-eun spent the first few days back from the hospital at her own apartment, Hayoon and Juwon looking after her, it was now Chenle's turn to be with her. He had asked director Seung in advance for a day off too and, upon hearing that Da-eun ended up in the hospital, the director agreed right away. 

Chenle woke up first that morning. He could hear Da-eun's soft breaths float through the room alongside Daegal's tiny snores. He turned his head, coming face to face with his sleeping girlfriend. Her lips were parted slightly, her face completely relaxed. 

He didn't realize that he had started to smile. He looked at her for a while, too lost in his thoughts to tell how much time had passed. Not that he cared for it - he was more than happy to spend his time like this. 

It would be nice, he thought to himself, to wake up to this every morning. 

Every morning. From now on until their last day. 

Was that too much to ask? 

When she turned her head away from him, he finally snapped out of the jumble of thoughts she had thrown him into. He exhaled heavily, trying to ease his heart and mind. He leaned back, eyes aimed at the window. He couldn't see outside through the closed curtains, so the uneventful sight allowed him to ponder a little. 

Lately, Da-eun often left him feeling a little overwhelmed. He felt too much that he hadn't yet experienced, too much that was unfamiliar to him. And while it was a little disorienting to be confronted with all these emotions at once, he didn't mind it. 

It was a little frightening though. With every passing day, he felt himself slip a little more into his girlfriend's habit of overthinking and he wasn't sure what to do about it. 

Talking it out was probably a good first step. But who should he talk to? 

He sighed. It didn't matter. Even if he knew who to talk to he wouldn't know what to say. 

What was it? What occupied his mind exactly? 

Cooking presented a much needed distraction. He focused all his attention and effort on preparing a good breakfast for his girlfriend. Cooking for her felt fulfilling in a way. She always showed cute reactions when eating and praised his food. She was always grateful, always ate a lot. 

With that in mind, the time it took to prepare everything passed by quickly. He soon found himself standing in front of a table full of food. The only thing left were the few eggs that were still bouncing lively in their pot. 

So, as breakfast was almost ready, Chenle abandoned the bubbling pot for a minute to go upstairs and wake Da-eun. When he opened the door he met a familiar sight. The girl was curled up underneath her blanket and Daegal cuddled up against her legs. The dog half-heartedly lifted her head to check who dared to disturb them, yet soon lay it back down once she realized it was just Chenle. 

He soundlessly laughed to himself. "They're adorable," he commented as he walked up to Da-eun's side of the bed. He crouched down next to her and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Eun." 

He had called her name too softly for her to actually wake up. Still, the sound of his voice made her move her head a little closer to him. He smiled in adoration, pulled his lips between his teeth.