AU: Hyunseong studying abroad in America and Jeongmin attending school in Korea

‘Let’s video chat! 9pm, your time.’

Hyunseong smiled as he glanced again at the text message that came in that morning. Thanks to the message, he had spent the entire day grinning to himself. When he felt class was going too slowly, he would take out his phone and look at the message. A smile would immediately appear on his face, and he would quickly cover his mouth with his hand so his professor wouldn’t ask questions.

His friends found his overflowing happiness amusing. “What did your boyfriend say to make you this happy?” they asked.

It was no lie that Hyunseong’s boyfriend, Jeongmin, had major influence over the older boy’s moods. When Hyunseong first moved to America from Korea, he was a despondent sight. He attended his college classes and socialized with his fellow students well, but he missed Jeongmin terribly and often had a faraway look in his eyes.

However, he gradually improved as time passed. Jeongmin texted and called Hyunseong often enough to lessen the pain of his absence. When something good happened, Hyunseong would be the first one Jeongmin contacted, and Hyunseong would be in a good mood for days on end.

Just like how he controlled Hyunseong’s good moods, Jeongmin could also put Hyunseong in a bad mood. Once, the younger called and was crying about how his parents had been fighting again. Hyunseong stayed on the phone, soothing his distraught boyfriend until Jeongmin fell asleep. He was tormented by Jeongmin’s distressed voice for days afterward.

Most of Hyunseong’s friends were amazed with how well the long-distance relationship worked. They expected that one party would have cheated or fallen out of love by now, but neither Hyunseong nor Jeongmin showed any sign of unfaithfulness. Since successful long-distance relationships were rare, Hyunseong and Jeongmin’s relationship was regarded with envy by many.

When nine o’clock finally rolled around, Hyunseong’s laptop lit up with a ding, letting him know that a call was coming in. He answered almost immediately, and Jeongmin’s face appeared on the screen. Hyunseong could hear quiet murmurs in the background and guessed his boyfriend was calling from the library.

“Are you allowed to eat lunch in the library?” Hyunseong asked once he and Jeongmin got their greetings out of the way.

“The librarian doesn’t mind as long as I clean up after myself,” Jeongmin reassured as he swallowed his bite of chicken sandwich. “What have you been up to lately?”

The two of them talked about their lives with a subtle urgency. Jeongmin had only an hour before he had to go to class, and he and Hyunseong had much to talk about.

“I met some new friends in music class, too.” Jeongmin beckoned to someone off screen, and three unfamiliar faces appeared, crowding Hyunseong’s view as they peered at him curiously. “The twins are Youngmin and Kwangmin, and this is Minwoo.” Jeongmin gestured to each in turn, and they politely greeted Hyunseong, who returned the greeting. “They’re all younger than us, so we’re their hyungs!”

Hyunseong spoke to the three underclassmen for a bit and found that he liked them. After a few minutes, Jeongmin pushed them aside, saying he wanted to say goodbye to his boyfriend before they went to class. The three younger boys scampered off, leaving Jeongmin and Hyunseong alone. The two of them sadly said farewell, and Jeongmin was the first to exit the chat, leaving Hyunseong staring at the blackened window on his laptop screen.

“You know,” a voice from his doorway made him jump. Hyunseong turned to see his roommate standing there with a curious look on his face. “You don’t seem very worried about your boyfriend being friends with other guys. Aren’t you afraid you might lose him to one of them?”

“No.” Hyunseong did not even contemplate his answer. It was as obvious as the green on oak leaves in spring. “He would never cheat on me.”

His roommate looked at him skeptically. “You really trust him that much?”

Hyunseong smiled. “Of course. He is my boyfriend. I trust him the most.”