Idol(s): Park Chan Yeol (EXO)

Genre: Drama, Romance

The following story is a standalone one shot (split in half because of its length, so really a two shot) from the My Puppy Park Chan Yeol universe. You do NOT have to read that story to understand this one. It is the ending I planned for my first fanfiction I discontinued almost three years ago. I had somewhat of a draft of it, but in order to make it a standalone, I had to take out a lot of references to the main story and insert some background information so the premise made sense. It’s also been a while since I’ve written anything related to My Puppy Park Chan Yeol, so I’m not sure if I stayed true to the characters’ personalities. But feel free to give me any feedback you have.

Inspiration: I haven’t written for months and I wanted to slowly ease my way back with something short, so I checked out the First Frost Writing Challenge by Korekrypta. My inspiration comes from an image prompt (below). This is NOT an entry though.

Dedication: I’ve never done this before, but I would like to dedicate the following to yeolliepopyeol, who’s remained a loyal fan of My Puppy Park Chan Yeol to this day. Check out Girl x Friend, the one shot she’s dedicated to me!

Synopsis: Newlyweds Lee Ri Ah and Park Chan Yeol are about to face their first big hurdle as a married couple – a long distance relationship. But Ri Ah’s separation anxiety has her reconsidering choosing her dream over her husband.

Individaul Story Link: Miles

Posted: 11 January 2017, 20:00 EDT

Word Count: 2,931

~//~

It’s amazing how a busy schedule can keep the mind off certain unpleasant matters. Chan Yeol was right. With settling into my new apartment, reconnecting with my old friends, and beginning classes, I haven’t been able to focus on how Chan Yeol and I aren’t physically together. He does cross my mind every night though when I come home to an empty apartment, and especially when I go to bed in his t-shirt. His scent has already faded from the cloth, but I still wear it, imagining myself in his arms as I stare at a picture of him on my bedside table.

We’ve talked every day since I arrived three weeks ago, though lately he seems distant. Our conversations have become repetitive with the obligatory greetings and trivial questions and his answers laconic. I try to engage with him more, but he always seems tired. He mentioned an internship he had accepted, though he didn’t give me many details, just that he’s been spending the past few days preparing for it. I can only attribute his terse behavior with that since I always catch him at the end of his day when he’s worn out. My schedule and the nine-hour time difference don’t really allow for many opportunities to talk with him at any other times of the day.

Despite the excuses I give myself, I’m unable to shake the doubts which sprout in my mind like creeping vines. Are we already growing apart? I try to find comfort in the fact that we say “I love you” to each other before ending the call, but even then I find cracks in our relationship. Maybe it’s all in my head, but it felt like Chan Yeol was tired of saying those words on the phone earlier today. He may have just been tired in general, but my paranoia makes me believe his fatigue and frustrations were towards me rather than his upcoming internship. I have looked up flights for Seoul a few times already today.

Unable to focus on my reading for tomorrow any longer with these thoughts, I grab a light jacket and make my way to the park across the street. On our way back to Korea from our honeymoon, Chan Yeol and I made a stop in London to pick my apartment. I settled on this place largely by his influence. It was a bit pricier than some of the other more remote locations we looked at, but Chan Yeol insisted the nearby lake and the extra space were worth the extra rent. I wasn’t so sure at the time. With my school fees, we’re already running a large debt to his parents who have helped me out greatly. But I’ve mentioned to you of Chan Yeol’s stubbornness. He would not let up on this location, though I’m not quite sure why. I was the one living here.

Nevertheless, I am once again grateful for his tenacity. When I feel troubled, as I often have been since moving here, I like being able to take walks and watch the sun shine rays of gold and pink along the lake’s water. The view calms me and reminds me that London is not so different from Seoul. The sun sets in both places. I take comfort in these small, whimsical similarities.

My phone buzzes in my jacket pocket. I pull it out and am surprised to find Chan Yeol calling me. It must be just before five a.m. where he is.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Chan Yeol brightly replies.

“I’m taking a walk,” I say with suspicion in my voice. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking a walk myself as well.”

I pull my phone away and stare at the contact name, thinking I’ve misread it and am actually speaking to an unknown caller who sounds like my husband. I haven’t. It spells “My Puppy”, a pet name for Chan Yeol from when we were just friends. I never changed it because I still think he resembles a puppy sometimes, though not as much as when I first came up with the comparison the day I moved in to his house. He’s grown out of some of his hyperactive, childish tendencies since then, but thankfully some still remain. I know he’s been trying to act more mature, but I first fell for him when he was still “my puppy”.

Convinced that I am in fact speaking to Chan Yeol, I return my phone back to my ear. “Is everything okay? You’re up really late.”

“It’s not even eight in the evening where you are.”

“Which means it’s not even five in the morning where you are.”

Chan Yeol chuckles. “Everything’s fine. More than fine in fact, they’re great!”

Calling me out of the blue like this, and with so much exuberance, I feel like Chan Yeol is back to his jovial self. His lackluster call earlier was most definitely stress-related. Relief inundates me and I involuntarily start smiling. “I’m glad to hear that. Are you going to tell me what’s got you in such a good mood?” I ask as I continue to walk along the cobblestone leading towards the water’s bank.

“Lots of things, but at the moment it’s the beautiful sunset in front of me.”

I freeze in my tracks. “Sunset? But that’s impossible.” And then my mind offers a rational reason, “Oh…you mean on TV?” Until I remember something else and I become even more confused. “Except you said you were on a walk. So how’s that possible?”

“Yes,” Chan Yeol replies matter-of-factly, “I am on a walk. It’s possible because there’s always a sunset somewhere in the world.”

“Somewhere in the world…” I try not to get my hopes up. It can’t be. There’s no way. He would have told me.

“You know what would make this beautiful view even better?”

“What?” I answer in a far-off voice. I’m still trying to process Chan Yeol’s previous words.

“If you would walk a hundred feet more and meet me at the bench by the lake.”

I in a breath and slowly raise my line of sight. I must be in a dream, or else I’m hallucinating the tall, slim figure with big ears, a wide smile, and a brown suede jacket that looks exactly like the one I gifted Chan Yeol for Christmas waving at me. The man drops the arm holding a phone to his ear and makes the short hike towards me.

“Hi,” the Chan Yeol lookalike casually says when he is a mere two feet away.

My own phone is still glued to my ear. I let my arm fall and open my mouth, but no words come out.

He tilts his head inquisitively. There is no denying this is my Chan Yeol. “Are you okay?”

“You, why are you here?”

“Do you not want me to be here?” he pouts.

That’s when I just drop reason and jump into Chan Yeol’s arms, inhaling the scent of his body wash and cologne that I’ve missed dearly. “Of course I want you here.” I drag my eyes up to his. “I’m just confused. You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

He smirks. “That would have ruined the surprise, wouldn’t it?”

I laugh. I’m so happy to see him that I can’t do anything but smile. “How long are you here for?”

“That’s the best part. I’m here for as long as you are.”

My smile falters and my confusion reigns once again. “What do you mean for as long as I am?”

“I mean,” he says ecstatically, like a kid about to break the suspension of a story he’s telling, “I’m moving in with you!” He looks so proud of himself grinning from ear-to-ear, believing himself to have given me the greatest gift possible.

He hasn’t.

I shrug him away and take a step back, frustration and irritation building. “But what about your internship? We promised each other we’d both pursue our dreams. How can you just move to England when your job is in Korea?”

Chan Yeol’s grin starts to fade. I see hurt in his eyes and in any other situation, I would immediately give in and apologize for my tone, but if he’s truly quit his job just to be with me, however romantic the notion, I also know it’s a terrible and stupid idea. He threatened me when I attempted to give up my on my aspirations for King’s College, even though I was never going to relinquish on medicine completely, and now he dares to do worse by giving up directing entirely?

“But I haven’t quit my job,” he hurriedly tries to explain. “My job is here, in London.” I furrow my brows, uncomprehending. He further elucidates, “The company I ended up choosing has an overseas department here and they’ve agreed to let me transfer to it.” He takes my hands in his. “Ri Ah, we’re both going to live out our dreams, together.”

I’m still flabbergasted. “And you were able to get everything sorted out in three weeks?”

“Well…about that,” he gives me an uncertain smile. “I’ve actually had this sorted out before graduation.”

I frown. “Before graduation? You mean the whole summer, you knew you’d be joining me here?”

Chan Yeol lets out a hesitant laugh. “Yeah.”

I retreat from him with a glare. “So since before we were even married, you’ve been lying to me?”

“What?” Chan Yeol says in panic, “No! I never lied. I just…haven’t been telling you the whole truth.”

All I can do is scoff at his bravado. I’m so overcome with anger that I turn on my heel and march my way back to the apartment.

I hear Chan Yeol shouting my name but I don’t respond. I don’t turn around. I just keep walking faster as I try to wrap my head around what he’s done. I’m vaguely aware of footsteps approaching but don’t realize that he’s been running after me until I am jerked around by the elbow. That is when I break and the tears flow. Tears of disbelief, pain, and betrayal.

Chan Yeol is shocked. “Y-you’re crying.”

“How could you?!” I cry. We’re in a public space, but I don’t care who sees or hears me. The man I trusted to spend the rest of my life with has hurt me. “For months, you’ve been keeping this secret from me. And for months, I’ve been scared of what the long distance would do to us. You knew how I felt about our separation. You had so many chances to tell me your plans. You should have told me before you even made them.”

Chan Yeol cradles my face with his hands and tries to dry my tears. “Please stop crying,” he begs me.

I quickly break from him and continue my tirade. “Instead, you strung me along, lying about how you were a mess on the inside and that you understood what I felt when really you had no idea what I was going through!”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I was a mess on the inside,” Chan Yeol fervently claimed. “When I found out you were accepted to King’s College, I was happy for about a minute until I realized what that would mean for us, that you would have to leave. So before I’d even gotten local offers, I started looking for opportunities near your school. I was going to go with you no matter what.” He pauses. His eyes trail guiltily down to the floor. “I know I said we should both pursue our dreams, but…the truth is if I didn’t find a job in London, I would have given up on film altogether and followed you here anyways.”

I am stunned to hear his confession. A mess of emotions inundate me. Flattery is the first – Chan Yeol would have given up his dream for me? Then I’m outraged. I wasn’t going to give up medicine altogether by wanting to go to school in Seoul, yet he lectured me about rejecting King’s College when he’d considered giving up directing completely. Sympathy joins the mix. Chan Yeol, my poor puppy, was scared of being abandoned. Maybe he did understand what I was going through.

But that still doesn’t excuse keeping me out of the loop.

My tears have stopped and I no longer take big, ragged gasps of air to breathe. “We’re partners,” I reason with him. “We’re supposed to make life decisions together.” I remember the conversation we had the night before and a painful realization makes my heart drop. “When you asked if you could lean on me…did you think you couldn’t? These feelings you had before securing your job, did you not feel comfortable telling me?”

“No, of course not!” He hesitates and takes a moment to process his thoughts. “I mean, at first I didn’t want to tell you how I felt in case it made you decide not to go, and then as I started looking for jobs, I wanted to prove to you how capable I am, that you can rely on me to always be there for you, and when I finally got the job, I thought it would be a good idea to keep it a secret until I could surprise you when I got here. I see now how shortsighted that plan was. I’m sorry.”

My ire dissipates some, but the hurt still lingers and the frown on my face makes the message clear to him.

“You know…” he says nervously. “You did give me that rain check. Remember? The one for neglecting me? Well you would completely make it up to me if you forgave me now.”

I cross my arms defensively over my chest. “I wouldn’t have neglected you if you’d told me the truth from the beginning.”

“Touché.” Chan Yeol attempts a laugh. It diminishes when he sees my unwavering frown.

His eyes are shifty as he bites his lip. He looks like a child caught red-handed and running out of viable excuses to throw. The thought almost makes me smile, but I force myself to remain stern before him. After the stunt he’s pulled, he deserves to suffer.

When he finally speaks, his shoulders slump like he’s given up. “I guess there’s only one thing I can do. I should just go back.” Head down and hands in his pockets, Chan Yeol walks past me towards the street.

Mouth gaping, my hands fall to my side. What does he mean go back? Back to Korea? But he just arrived, how can he just up and leave? I hesitate only a second before I’m running after him. I attack him from the back with a halting embrace.

“Don’t go.” My voice is small because I’m ashamed of my caprice. I used to be so good at keeping my emotions to myself, but I’ve changed because of Chan Yeol. He’s rubbed some of his impulsiveness onto me. I might still be upset about what he’s done, but I’m not letting him leave now that he’s here. I’m going to make sure he achieves expiation, just not by punishing myself with his absence in the process.

I feel Chan Yeol’s body bubble with laughter. My face burns red with embarrassment as he turns around and captures me in his arms. “Thank god you held me back. I was about to run back to you and beg on my knees for you to forgive me if you didn’t, and that would have been embarrassing.”

I sulk at the trick he’s pulled. “I didn’t forgive you.”

“But you don’t want me to leave either,” he smartly points out. “I can work with that. I am going to wear you down until you do forgive me. You know I can be very persistent when I really want to be.”

I roll my eyes. He could be persistent even when he didn’t want to be. Chan Yeol was stubborn to a fault.

And I love him for it. He wouldn’t be before me if he wasn’t.

By now the sun has set and the street lamps have come on to give the cobblestone path an eerie glow along the base of the poles. I shiver a little as a gust of wind passes, but am warmed by Chan Yeol rubbing his hands along my back.

I remember I still have my reading to finish and take the initiative to return to it. I fully realize I may not complete it with Chan Yeol here. “Okay, Mr. Persistent, we should get home. You’re probably hungry, right?”

Chan Yeol’s lips curve into an adoring smile as he silently gazes at me.

“What?”

“I’m just happy,” he states.

I mimic his smile. I don’t believe I’ll be able to stay mad at him for long. “So tell me, how did you think I would react when you showed up?”

“Honestly? I imagined you running into my arms, maybe with some tears of joy in your eyes, giving me a big kiss, and then us going back to the apartment and testing out how durable that new bed you bought is.”

With a chuckle, I take his cheeks in my hands, stand on my toes, and give him a big, wet kiss. “How about we go back to the apartment and test out our new bed?” I whisper. I definitely wasn’t going to get my reading done tonight.

Chan Yeol breaks out into an ecstatic smile. “It’s like you read my mind.”

~//~

Author's Note