STRAWBERRIES & CIGARETTES

CHAPTER 26

The pure bliss of happiness and relief filled the air as Harae basked in the warmth that her boyfriend was giving her.

Boyfriend. Harae giggles as she wonders at that fact—not very confident about the preceding days, but at least she knew that she had the right choice between so many wrongs.

Chenle is still sound asleep beside her, with his head on her shoulder and an arm around her waist.

They are in his apartment unit, with her feeling undeniably cozy and comfortable now that she has been here a lot before.

His personal space became a space for two after they treated it as another corner for them to have fun.

But now, Harae wasn't sure if she'd just barge in here for sex because she swore she heard the guy asking her if she wanted to move in right before she fell asleep.

Another thing, Mark Lee, has crossed her mind.

It kept her in the middle of the ghost hours when she suddenly woke up. It's as if her brain woke her up purposefully to think about Mark.

Harae felt guilty, to be exact. But she never felt regretful.

She knew that choosing Chenle would not only satisfy her greed or her own escape, but she also knew that being with him would make them both rest.

They are each other's shortcuts between the thorny maze and the last hope of genuine happiness and contentment. They understand each other like the back of their hands.

Though it's as if Chenle felt her distress, he snapped out of his deep slumber, and his eyes immediately looked for her.

His arm gripped onto her tighter, pulling her closer at the same time as the rush of energy crawled through his body.

"Good morning?", Harae greeted. "Are you okay? Weird dream?"

"No, I didn't dream", Chenle says in his deep sleepy voice. "Good morning", he says, kissing her cheek automatically, making her smile.

"You're still sleepy? It's only Sunday."

"Do you want breakfast?", he asks while sitting up and yawning.

"Yeah, I can take some. We should start living healthily, Le. We're both not fans of breakfast."

Chenle chuckled and hovered on top of her to leave a peck on her lips, then got out of bed.

"Alright, I'll make some toasts", he says.

"Good choice. And Le?"

"Hmm?"

Harae licks her lower lip and hesitantly says, "About Mark."

Chenle just looked at her, asking her to continue.

"Umm, is it okay if I meet up with him and talk? I find it pretty rude to just tell him over the phone. He could at least deserve some decency."