Are we friends yet?

Closer to You

Warning : Religion issue

~*~

"How's my girl doing?"

I smile at what I hear and I can imagine how Cheondung's eyes glint with enthusiasm.

It's two hours before my birthday and he has told me through a message that he can't call at midnight for he might be too sleepy  that made me immediately call him.

"I'm wondering if someone out there has a boyfriend like you who'd rather sleep early than wait till midnight for sending a birthday greeting."

"Hey," he protests and I chuckle for that.

"How was your day?"

"Good, I suppose. We had a long march and had so much fun with villagers building a bridge. The weather was so great. I wish you were here."

I smile although he can't see. We're quiet after that. Then, he says, "So you're twenty eight in two hours. Remind me...  how old were you when we met as part timers in the coffee shop?"

"It was early days in year eleven. You do the maths."

"It's more than a decade with two years being spent as my girlfriend. Ready for another decade-and-more of life with me?"

"Are you proposing?"

He laughs. "If I say yes, what do you say?" I scoff as he chuckles more. "Sometimes, I think that marriage isn't a bad idea."

"Yeah, until you remember that a difference lies between us."

"I stopped thinking about that," He responds quickly.

"You can show an effort to make me believe."

Religions have been an issue between us although we respect each other, but I still remember how Cheondung has been hesitant to introduce me to his mother since we're different.

I'm waiting for him to speak more, but I only listen to the silence. And in the end, I'm the one who can't seem to bear with it.

"Let's not talk about it," I say.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" He asks, but it isn't the same enthusiasm.

I'm not sure who ruins the moment, but our call ends shortly after he tells that he's been preparing a gift and has asked his sister to send it to me in Seoul.

And after that, it's another lonely night. Only this time, I'm waiting for the clock on my phone to hit midnight.

It's my twenty eighth birthday and I don't really know what I wish anymore.

~*~

"Happy birthday!"

Finding Chanyeol standing in front of me as he's grinning with a cake in his hands reminds me of the first and the last time he got me a cake for my eighteenth birthday.

He didn't fail to surprise me this time although not in the same way as he did ten years ago.

Earlier I was with my aunt sorting my things that I need to bring to Seoul when my ringtone blared in my room. He asked me to give him direction as he got lost and I barely comprehended the situation until everything sank in. 

"Are you going to stare at me the whole time or what?" He delivers the question with so much confidence. I want to laugh when he says he's hungry and suggests having the cake right away, but I don't let him step in just yet.