Not a Problem

To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys.  And I have no need of you.  And you, on your part, have no need of me.  To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.  But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.  To me, you will be unique in all the world.  To you, I shall be unique in all the world…

Late May, 2016…

            At some point, it finally hit me that I no longer had months left, but only weeks.  In fact, I could even count the number of days without thinking too hard about it and that bothered me.  Ryeowook had already given me four extra months.  I couldn’t ask him for more time.  I doubt the government would have willingly granted it to him otherwise, although they were willing to put up with quite a lot from celebrities, as long as they eventually did their patriotic duty.  Still, I promised him I wouldn’t and I meant to keep my own promises.  But that meant I had to find a way of coming to terms with the fact that we weren’t going to be together again for a long stretch.  Not like the way we were then.  I just didn’t know how.

            When we left for Macau together, I was thrilled.  It meant that he was stuck with me for two full days.  This almost never happened.  I was in the middle of rehearsing for my summer theater performance and still had a billion other engagements.  Ryeowook was doing random fan meets and shows before his service started.  I felt like we barely saw one another, but we often did have our evenings free.  I begged Ryeowook to cook nearly every night.  I know it wasn’t right of me to ask him to do it, but I was going to miss his food almost as much as I missed him.  Plus, he wasn’t going to be cooking for a while. 

            “I’m surprised the government let me leave the country.  SM must have bribed them or something,” Ryeowook mentioned, packing most of the toiletries into our shared suitcase.  “Remind me not to put any of these into your carryon before we leave the hotel in Macau, Kyu.”

            I looked up from my computer.  “Why?”

            “Because I’m going to need them in Hong Kong.”

            “Hong Kong?” I questioned, pausing my game.

            Ryeowook looked up from packing.  “Didn’t I tell you I was going from Macau to Hong Kong for a fan meet?”

            “No,” I said, shaking my head.  “Is it just you?”

            “Yeah,” he said, walking over to the dresser to grab clothes.  “I won’t be there long.”

            “Do you want me to come with?”

            “Don’t you have rehearsal bright and early on Monday morning?” Ryeowook asked.

            I cursed under my breath.  “Sorry, you’re right.  I just don’t like the idea of you being away from me when you’re going to be gone in just a few weeks.”

            “I know,” he said, smiling as he walked back to the bed with a pile of underwear and socks.  He set them into the suitcase and then walked over to me.  When he reached me, he sat down on my lap and wrapped his arms around me.  “But more than likely, I’ll be able to take a leave before you start your own enlistment.  So, you’ll still see me in a few months.”

            “I am used to seeing you nearly every day,” I pointed out, pecking his lips.  “And I’m used to you taking good care of me, so I’m a little terrified of what I’m going to forget to pack when I have to fly somewhere after you’re gone.  My pajamas?  Toothpaste?  My phone charger?  Pants?”

            “Your popularity would probably go up if you forgot pants.”

            “Thanks, dear.”

            “You’re welcome,” he said, kissing me more thoroughly.

            After a long while, I finally broke my lips away to continue my rant.  “But packing my bags isn’t the only thing you do for me.  You make sure I eat healthy, you lecture me about getting more sleep when I’ve been up too late playing computer games, you remind me of what I have going on every day, you keep the apartment tidy, you do all the laundry—except when I’ve spilled wine on one of your good shirts, then I do it and pray for miracles.  I’m going to be a complete mess when you’re gone.”

            “I think you should hire a cook, a maid, and a personal assistant to take my place.  But I’ll just have mom call to give you a hard time about staying up too late playing games.  It was her job before it was mine, anyway.”

            I shook my head.  “I don’t need my mom calling me.  Yours either.  That isn’t going to help my stress levels any,” I warned him.

            “My mother will probably only call you to tell you she talked to me, so I’d answer the phone when she calls,” Ryeowook warned.

            “I always do.”

            “Good, we have it all figured out then,” he said, starting to stand back up. 

            I grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back down on my lap. 

            “Kyu!  Stop it!” he said, smacking my chest.  “I have to finish packing for Macau.”

            “I can help you pack later,” I offered, leaning in for another kiss. 

            “I mean it,” Ryeowook mumbled, his lips still pressed against mine.  “I have a billion things to do!  I have laundry to finish.  I have to clean the bathroom.  I want to make dinner for tonight.”

            “I’ll order us food,” I said, moving to kiss his neck.

            Ryeowook smacked my chest again.  Hard.  I finally grasped his wrist to stop him.  “Be nice.  I stopped playing my game, didn’t I?”

            Ryeowook laughed at this.  “I didn’t mean for you to play with me instead.”

            My hand released his and wandered under his shirt, roaming over his toned abdomen.  “You’re the only sufficient substitute,” I explained, slowly lowering us both onto the bedroom floor, since the bed was already occupied by our half-packed carry-ons and suitcase. 

            We didn’t finish packing until the next morning, but I never heard him whine about it once.  In fact, he was well rested and in stellar humor.  We were in such good moods, Heechul kept glaring at us.  Even without us bragging about our lust filled night, he caught on quickly and preempted any attempt of ours at bragging about it. 

            “You breathe one word about your wonderful, happy lives to me and I’ll rip your tongues out of your mouths.  Understood?” Heechul only said, waiting in the corner of the airport café with us.

            I looked at Leeteuk and Yesung, hoping for an answer as Heechul meandered off to order himself a drink. 

            “Clearly he didn’t get laid last night,” Yesung replied.

            “He’s having some romantic problems at the moment,” Leeteuk only said.

            Yesung took a drink of his macchiato.  “Probably because he keeps making out with you onstage.”

            Leeteuk shrugged his shoulders.   “You two do look perky.”

“Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.  Right?” Yesung said, smacking me hard in the shoulder.  He was just as perky as Ryeowook and I, but probably because he’d drunk five cups of coffee already.  Hope he has an aisle seat on the plane or someone’s going to get sick of letting him use the bathroom ten times during the flight.  All I know is he’s not sitting next to me because Ryeowook always does…but what would the seating arrangement be once he was gone?

            I reached over and brushed my hand against Ryeowook’s.  I know better than to outright hold his hand in public where we mig