I Miss You (Ryeji)

I miss you

Ryuddaeng and Yeddeong are supposed to be my girlfriend's turtles.

These were the same turtles that she whined, pout and threw a fit in the middle of the pet store for me to buy.

It's not like I'm whipped like Lia always teased me about. I swear, I hold it as long as I could, trying to prove to that girl that I was the boss in our relationship. And when I say no, I meant no...

But one sight of those tears brimming in her eyes and I didn't end up buying one, but two turtles. Since she gives out this excuse that they're like us, they need to have each other.

Now Ryuddaeng and Yeddeong turtles have camouflage on the algae infested water since she didn't bother cleaning up the tank again. And I could hear myself half groaning and half growling at the thought that it's me who's going to end up cleaning it.

Hmmm... but maybe this time I won't... maybe this time I shouldn't. maybe this time when we fight, I'm not going to let those fake tears get to me.

It's time for a change and it starts now...

"HEY!" I scream, hoping that she'll get the hint.

"YOH! What's up dude?"

Yup, that's my girlfriend a freaking hopeless romantic.

"Do you have any plans on cleaning up the turtle tank?"

"Yeah maybe tomorrow..."

Tomorrow is Ryujin's way of saying never.

"Maybe we should just give them away since you obviously run out of interest for them."

That sure grabbed her interest. She looks at me with such disdain and hate, as if I just told her that Itzy sucks or I like Choi Yeonjun or something completely disgusting like that.

"How dare you? I love them..." she announces it, hoping the turtles could hear.

"You have a horrible way of showing it! You won't even clean up their tank!"

"I'M BUSY!"

"BUSY WITH WHAT?!"

"WITH SCHOOL AND STUFF! I HAVE BEEN STUDYING, I WAS JUST EATING NOW!"

I could just roll my eyes at her sad attempt of arguing. Yup, she was busy alright, busy of making a mess of my place.

We don't live together yet, but she practically lives here. Since she can't stand cafeteria food and she's scared that her emo roommate would murder her in her sleep.

There was no point fighting with her and I decided to just head to the shower and cool off, when you saw the Hatt furry socks cozily warming her feet.

"Are those? Are those my socks?"

She wriggles those long toes inside your socks.

"I borrowed it..."

"WHERE'S THE TTUK SOCKS I BOUGHT YOU?!"

"I couldn't find them..."

"Maybe you didn't make the effort to even look"

For once she didn't pick a fight and just changed the topic.

"I ordered dinner..."

Hmmm... at least she did something right...

While most couples share romantic candlelit dinners or sharing coffee in a café, me and Ryujin will always have our stuff crust pizza.

I felt like I was in a TV commercial for a pizza as I walk slowly to the pizza box in our kitchen counter. After a full day of racking numbers in my head, I couldn't wait to bite in that crunchy crust before my teeth sink in to that gooey cheese that just melts in your mouth.

I could feel my mouth watering at the thought of that piece of heaven.

But damn... damn the world the moment I opened that box.

The stuff crust pizza, wasn't stuff crust no more.

This was it, it was war.

"HEY! YEJI!!! WHAT THE?!"

That got her attention when I grab the stuff crust from her plate and wolf it down in front of her.

"THAT'S MINE!"

I laugh at her face in victory, bwahahaha...

Hwang Yeji one, Shin Ryujin zero.

Yes I won...

For now anyway.

*

After a few minutes...

This was so damn ridiculous... Me lock out of my own bedroom... I mean what should I even do? Scream or just freaking laugh?

"Ryujinie?"

Bad move there, Hwang, now you're just going to admit that you're surrendering.

"Ryujinie please... open up..."

Wait... hold on a second? Are you... Hwang Yeji? Are you begging?

"Leave me alone!"

It's my house and I could kick her out if I want too. But it's either I'm too in love or too stupid to do it...

"I'll just wait here until you open up..."

Yeah right as if I have anywhere else to go...



*

Where have those times go?

I often wondered as I was kept company by my couch. I couldn't help but just laugh at this, I mean what else can I do?

Where have those times go though?

When we would stay up late, as I help her with school, we eat, we laugh, we steal kisses at each other, although we never move away from the same page she was supposed to study from.

Now it feels like we need to fight just cause it's how our relationship is, it's both tiring and annoying.

Those little fights could either feel like a little headache or something worse like a heartache. Today wasn't so bad, no harsh words, no insults, just the stomping and locking me out. It's those jealousy issues that usually eat the two of us up.

My head was suddenly filled with memories like a video of our love story.

*

Like every breathing human being on Earth, I fell head over heels at the sight of Shin Ryujin. I saw her in Lia's cousin's birthday party and I fell for her ever since.

I have fallen so deep that that night, even if I wasn't religious or anything, I had never prayed as hard as now, begging for God to give me a chance with the doe eyed angel.

I did my own Hwang Yeji version of the chicken dance when she replied to my test. And for weeks we became insomniac choosing texting over sleep.

I have fallen for her so easily...

And I have fallen so hard, that I still kept the napkin where she first wrote her phone number.

Ryujin have became the one thing running in my mind and at the same time, the only one that seems to stay.

Now after almost a year together, It was funny how God never mention anything about cleaning up turtle tanks and giving up my beloved stuff crust pizza.

Maybe these stupid fights sprung because of our age difference. I was already working while she was still in college. I gotten to the age where I skip the whole crush thing and go to the this is the guy I'm gonna marry stage... That was going pretty well...

Until she came along...

And then I was back to the kind of relationship I was glad to be out of. The one where you find yourself arguing about every single thing, now I'm back to that again.

I could almost hear my friends teasing me for being a cradle snatcher. I was annoyed at first, defending myself that Ryujin is going to be twenty this year. But those jokes have started getting so stale, I even joke along with them.

I could imagine the horror when even after a year, me and Ryujin haven't pass the stage of making out yet. I tried to move forward though but the moment I slip my hand under her shirt, she slaps me so hard, my face has like a handprint tattoo for a week, but worse she didn't answer my text or call for a week.

My friends told me to let it go, find someone else. But I was too in love that I did what I can to win her back.

Ryujin explained to me that as much as she loves me, she wants to keep her promise of giving herself to the one she was going to marry. And I respected that just cause...

It's not like the two of us aren't serious, in fact, I brought Ryujin a couple of times to one of our family dinners. And as much as my parents adore her, they see the two of us as nothing more as a fling. They want me to find someone who's settled and financially stable who I could spend my life with.

They even went to the point of saying how they're reaching the age where they want grandkids. I just joke that they could treat Ryujin as their grand child since she's practically a kid anyway.

It was one of those half truths and half jokes kind of things. But since it's me, it's more of leaning to half truth. And truth was, Ryujin is already the one I wished to spend my life with. But that idea seems a bit far fetched for now...

It's not like Ryujin doesn't love me, in fact she does. She's just too inexperienced in relationships that the two of us couldn't help but butt heads all the time. She sends me texts and gets pissed when it takes me more than 5 minutes to reply, she gets jealous with girls who like my photos in FB. The two of us fight about the stupidest things like fluffy socks and who's going to clean up the tank and of course stuff crust pizzas...

I woke up and didn't even realize that the bedroom door is now slightly open.

'Ryujinie?"

I walk to my bedroom, careful in opening the door, because knowing her she might throw a pillow right smack in my face.

But instead of an angry girl standing on my bed armed with a pillow, I found the bedroom empty.

"Ryujin?"

I walk around my apartment, maybe Ryujin sneak into the bathroom while I was sleeping. But she wasn't there... She wasn't in the kitchen either...

And just the thought of her not being beside me scared the life out of me.

It was silly and I know we're going to fix this, but still I need my baby next to me.

I plop lifelessly on the couch, trying to reason to myself that it's going to work out. I look around and realize even if Ryujin is not here, she's everywhere in my home... Little pieces left behind like her mess in my kitchen, and my unruly bed or her books scattered around in my coffee table.

How could I not miss her when she's in everything I see?

*

Since I'll probably stay awake for the rest of the night waiting for her anyway, I just started cleaning up the turtle tank. I put the shelled creature back into the tank and I couldn't help but smile, when Yeddeong (the turtle) quickly swims beside the other one.

Man... even you're whipped...

DING. DONG.

"Hold on a second"

I quickly took my gloves off and headed to the sink to wash my hands before answering who's behind the door.

DING. DONG.DING.DONG.DING.DONG.DING.DONG.DING.DONG.DING.DONG.

I felt my face breaking into a grin as I recognize who was already behind that door.

"What took you so... OOOMMMPPPHHH"

I shut my girlfriend up by laying our lips together. I pulled away, smiling as I see her cheeks all flushed.

"I miss you" I nuzzle our noses together before kissing her again...

"You're silly, I was only gone for an hour..."

This time it was her who initiate the kiss...

"But still... I don't like you being apart from me..."

"Me too... I miss you..."

We find ourselves breathless in our kisses again...

It was Ryujin who started it. When we started dating, instead of texting I love you, she would text I miss you. I asked her about it and she reasons out that I was a part of her, and the moment we're apart she always feels incomplete. So, she would miss me until I complete her again.

It was cute but quite naive. But as our relationship grows, I finally understood what Ryujin was trying to say... A relationship is not about the one you could live with, but the one who you couldn't live without.

And Ryujin with her mess, her turtles, her sock stealing ways and stuff crust devouring self. This girl, this one is the girl I couldn't live without.

DING.DONG

I let out a growl as someone was trying to break our moment, but Ryujin just laugh nudging me to open the door.

"Yes?"

"A meat lovers stuffed crust pizza for Hwang Yeji?"

Ryujin smiles proudly as she sees the look of surprise in my face.

"Yeah, that's me..."

"Just sign in here..."

"Wait... what?"

I turned around at the girl who curled up next to me.

"I charge it on your credit card. I promise I'll pay u back when I get my allowance." She squeaks out

I just sighed heavily before signing...

Ryujin claps happily as I opened the box, both of us sighed happily as the tempting aroma had filled our senses.

"So, this pizza is mine right?"

"Ummm... oh... you could finish that?" Ryujin asks while I try to stop myself from laughing.

"Ummm yeah..."

"Oh ok..." She sits down beside me, her face the look of a kicked puppy as she sits dejectedly.

I chuckled while tearing off the stuff crust, putting it on the plate before handing it to her.

"Huh?" she says surprisingly.

I smiled before tilting her face towards me, I press a kiss on her lips...


And let's just say the pizza ended up staying cold as here we are keeping our lips warm.


Funny how God never mention about someone stealing my furry socks, or cleaning up turtle tanks or someone wolfing down my stuff crust pizza, maybe because He knew I won't end up needing any of them.


Since right here, this girl whose lips are pressed against mine is the only one in this world that I could never live without.


THE END