June 2014

 

At first, it was absurdly easy to keep in touch on a regular basis.

 

The first three weeks meant that Lay only had to become familiarised with his new barracks, his new commanding officer and his fellow recruits that he would be sharing a dormitory with.

 

Sulli’s job was consistently mundane enough that she could find many excuses to still keep in touch with her new boyfriend.

 

With the advents of a modern lifestyle that had come to pass in  the space of 20 years, Sulli and Lay could not only stay connected through the telephone, but they were even allowed rare opportunities to see each other’s faces on Skype Video Chat.

 

And like any love story told before these creature comforts became readily accessible to the average person, they both resorted the most timeless of communications: writing letters to each other.

 

There was nothing terribly thrilling or poetic about the letters they wrote to each other during their first month together.

 

But through them, they were able to garner an uncanny ability to only recite those details from their mundane and busy schedules that they knew would inherently pique the others’ interests.

 

Because Sulli had never lived in the countryside, Lay made a point of telling her all about the wild flowers ripe with summery renaissance that had sprung up in the meadows just north of the army base where he practised his drills. In that short space of time, he’d discovered just how much Sulli loved flowers and how she constantly lamented that the urban parts of Seoul didn’t house flowers as beautiful as ones found in the countryside.

 

For Sulli’s part, she made sure to keep Lay up to date with various things she noticed about people she saw on the billowing streets of Jamsil each day. Even though he never said it explicitly, she could tell that her new boyfriend missed Seoul terribly. So she made a point of telling him all about the different clothes people wore, the strange conversations she’d purposely eavesdropped on when travelling on the subway for work. She already knew how much he loved to be around other people, watching them in their natural habitats and taking part in effervescent camaraderie.  

 

And then of course, there were the sweet nothings and trivial banter of complacent comfort that were whispered with sardonic delight over every single page that was torn out of notebooks, folded unscrupulously and crammed into envelopes much too small for this express purpose:

 

How is your health?

 

Did you sleep ok?

 

Are you eating well?

 

Our great nation’s most loyal and worthy soldiers salute you!

 

All the little girls at school are madly in love with you and your prince-like hair!

 

Oppa, this songsaengnim is a pabo! He made me print 500 pages for one meeting! Your yeoja chingu is tired.

 

Your namja chingu is very tired of his roommate eating too much curdled beans and farting in a small space. Please come rescue me, Yeppeun Yeoja-shi!

 

You make me smile.

 

I miss you.

 

Run to me soon.

 

I’m waiting with open arms for you.

 

No matter how exhausted Lay was after running incessant drills all day long till the trivial practise of breathing became painful, he read over Sulli’s emails and handwritten letters at least twice every single night before drifting off in a tired heap on his small single bed.

 

Sulli barely got through reading every single one of Lay’s long detailed letters and emails in a single thread before dozing off. With that said, she could be seen lying stretched out on her bed each night, clutching Lay’s words tightly in her hands like she was afraid to let them go even for a split second.

 

So they grew to live and breathe one another in a short amount of time.

 

And with this new routine came unexpected happiness.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

July 2014

 

After hearing once about Lay complaining about the military-styled rice cakes, she grew concerned and began sending her boyfriend ‘care packages’ filled with home-made snacks her mother made along with several plastic bags of dried octopus that she knew he loved and missed.

 

She succumbed to her first bout of annoyance after sending off one of these care packages through a courier and not receiving any word from Lay for a good 3 days.

 

And when she was getting ready to finally scold him (she was the kind of woman who found it imperative to first work themselves up sufficiently for a good scolding), Lay surprised her with an extremely long email.

 

But the words he wrote weren’t nearly as memorable as the video he’d attached and recorded especially for her.

 

He apologised for not contacting her sooner and explained that he’d spent 3 nights editing said video so it would be perfect.

 

In it he was sitting on top of the single bed in his dorm room with a guitar in his hand.

 

“You're a part time lover and a full time friend. The monkey on your back is the latest trend. I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else but you.”
 

Sulli’s heart leapt like crazy in her chest when she recognised the song 'Anyone Else But You' Lay was singing to her from the soundtrack of ‘Juno’.

 

“Here is the church and here is the steeple. We sure are cute for two ugly people. I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else but you.”

Sulli positioned herself more comfortably on her bed by lying flat on her stomach with her laptop in front of her, resting her face on her perched hands while listening to her boyfriend singing to her.

 

“You’re always trying to keep it real. And I'm in love with how you feel. I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else but you.”

 

It took more than 30 takes before Lay was absolutely satisfied with the recording he made for his girlfriend.

 

He’d never admit it in a million years (least of all to an obsessive-compulsive Sulli), but he had moments where he was a perfectionist to his core.

 

Even the minute of exercises or routines had to be done just right.

“I kiss you on the brain in the shadow of the train. I kiss you all starry eyed, my body's swinging from side to side...”

 

And he really wanted to get this just right for someone as special as Choi Sulli.

 

“I don’t see what anyone can see in anyone else, but you.”

 

He put his guitar down and gazed at the screen with a serious expression on his face.

 

“Baby...I’m so sorry that I missed out on talking with you the past three nights. My commanding officer had us doing midnight drills till 3am and I was dog tired. But that’s still no excuse for missing out on even a second of you. So this is my apology; I hope you can forgive me. Happy 2-month anniversary, sweetheart.”

 

Then he blew her a kiss, which made Sulli’s heart melt into a gooey cheesy muddle.

 

Even if he hadn’t apologised, Sulli still would’ve probably forgiven Lay.

 

His nature was so sweet and earnest, it was difficult to stay angry at him for too long.

 

Even though a long distance relationship was incredibly hard and hadn’t been in the cards, Sulli still felt salty tears of happiness falling from her eyes just from how blessed she felt to have someone like Lay in her life.

 

She abruptly clicked ‘pause’ on the video Lay sent to her so that it remained frozen on his handsome smiling face a little while longer.

 

“Happy 2-month anniversary, honey,” Sulli whispered.

 

She brushed the tips of her two fingers against her parted lips and reached forward to press a silent kiss on Lay’s mouth.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

August 2014

 

It was another gruelling day of marching with heavy backpacks filled to the brim with survival equipment and weapons across the giant field at the Korean Army Academy in Yeongcheon otherwise known as KAAY to the outside world.

 

Lay was beyond exhausted.

 

With his lanky build and some muscles evident on his chest, arms and calves, he wasn’t exactly obese.

 

But he wasn’t nearly as fit as he would’ve hoped when he had first begun his training as an army recruit.

 

Why hadn’t he put this off for another year or so?

 

He was less than pleased when his fellow recruit and roommate jogged behind him and slapped him hard on his aching shoulder when he’d fallen down into a ditch earlier during their drills.

 

“Chen, pabo!” Lay cursed loudly, hunched over while massaging his throbbing shoulder.

 

Instead of apologising, Chen ran back to Lay and kicked him playfully in the ankle, jumping around on the spot just to taunt his roommate.

 

The first thing that Lay had gotten to know about Chen when they met was that most things didn’t phase the older guy.

 

Especially the suicidal drills they did every day on the field’s makeshift obstacle course.

 

Kim Jongdae was prone to playing incessant pranks (of which Lay was usually the unfortunate) victim and generally filling the dreary dormitory with endless laughter.

 

But more than that, he was a decent sort that Lay had become fast friends with.

 

He had even told Chen all about Sulli and the older guy had been surprisingly mature and supportive whenever Lay needed advice or just felt depressed about being away from the object of his affections.

 

“Give it a rest, you weakling,” Chen joked amiably, keeping pace with Lay as they walked back in the general direction of their dorm room.

 

“How are you able to stay chipper after lugging that planet on your back for 3 hours straight?” Lay complained, referring to the massive backpack Chen had been carrying during their drills.

 

A light bout of drizzle had started in the final hour of their drill for that afternoon and both young men were walking over the sodden grass in their damp uniforms.

 

“Because I’m all brawn unlike that cheese stick you call a body,” Chen teased, ruffling up the younger man’s hair in a playful manner which he knew full well irked the latter in the extreme.

 

“Jackass,” Lay             quipped, but with a broad smile on his face. “You feel like bragging some more about how special you are over a round of ‘Call of Duty’?” he inquired in a casual tone.

 

Chen had very sportingly brought his Playstation 4 with him to the army. Which made for some eventful nights past curfew when he and Lay would often stay up till 4am trying to outdo one another.

 

“Can’t, I promised Siwon The Behemoth that I’d kick his at ping pong in the Wreck Room. Besides, you should be spending quality time writing a cheesy poem to your girlfriend.”

 

“I can do any time of the night. Come on, you’re just too chicken to challenge my undefeated pole position.”

 

“Tempting, but I think I’ll pass. You’ll thank me later for not disturbing you.”

 

After shooting Lay a sly wink, Chen skipped off, leaving Lay to wonder just what exactly his roommate was up to.

 

Had he decorated their bedroom from ceiling to floor with crazy string?

 

He really wasn’t in the mood for that.

 

With a deep sigh of exhaustion, Lay took out his room key and unlocked the door.

 

And he was met with an unexpected sight.

 

There was a woman sitting cross-legged on his cramped single bed.

 

A very beautiful woman with short black hair, an angelic face, wearing only a threadbare beige trench coat and a y smile.

 

Lay sincerely hoped that she wasn’t here for anyone else but him.

 

“Sulli???”

 

“Hey there, Sailor.”

 

“Actually, I’m a soldier and not a sailor-”

 

“Just get over here and kiss me already. I need to give my man a proper welcome.”

 

Lay wasn’t about to argue with that logic when he practically bounded over the bouncy mattress to where his girlfriend was sitting waiting for him.

 

Her fingers draped themselves around his neck as he scooped her up into his arms.

 

They held each other for a long time, neither one saying anything to break the comfortable silence.

 

Sulli was more than surprised when Lay moved his face towards hers, cupping her cheek with one hand while he struggled not to start crying.

 

“Baby, what’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy to see me,” Sulli murmured, hoping she’d done the right thing coming all the way to see her boyfriend.

 

Lay chuckled and nuzzled Sulli’s nose with his.

 

“I’m extremely happy to see you. Just surprised – how did you get time off from work to come here?” he inquired.

 

“I had to get on my hands and knees begging my boss till he finally approved my leave form. But it was worth it just to see the look of surprise on your face.” Sulli answered, a radiant smile appearing on her face.

 

Lay leant in and captured Sulli’s lips in a chaste kiss. She was more than ready to reciprocate, her hands curling around his muscular back while they drowned further into each other.

 

They hadn’t been together like this since the night they met.

 

And Sulli was more than eager to do some catching up with her hunky boyfriend.

 

When they broke apart, it was her turn to trace every line of his face in case she forgot any part of it when she left again. “I missed you so much.”

 

“I missed you too. I’m so glad you’re here.”

 

“Show me,” Sulli implored with a sultry wink that made Lay’s heart thump wildly in his chest.

 

That brought him right back to thinking about what she was wearing underneath her trench coat.

 

He pushed her down gently onto his bed and covered her lithe body with his, running his hands over her exposed thigh.

 

Sulli brought Lay’s head back down to meet hers as she traced the curves of his y mouth with the tip of her tongue as her fingers danced through the short tresses of his closely cropped hair.

 

Lay leant just a little out of reach to undo the buttons of his camo jacket, which was still a little damp from the drizzle outside.

 

Now Sulli had an unimpeded view of her boyfriend’s arm muscles on display from the black wife beater he was wearing underneath his army uniform. She bit her lip in anticipation, clasping the metal buckle on his pants and yanking him back towards her.

 

Then it was Lay’s turn to unfasten the buttons on her trench coat, revealing the y black bra and matching she’d picked out for the occasion.

 

Instead of being disappointed, it made Lay all the more desperate to claim her there and then.

 

“Wait, what if Chen comes barging in here and inadvertently blocks me?” Lay asked with sudden trepidation after Sulli’s fingers had found their way underneath his shirt.

 

Sulli giggled and wrapped her two fingers around the edges of her boyfriend’s dog tags protruding from inside his wife beater.

 

“Do you think I would’ve been able to surprise my boyfriend without the help of his roommate?”

 

“I love that beautiful bastard...”

 

“Thank him later. Right now, I want you all to myself.” Sulli said with growing confidence.

 

“I think I can oblige,” Lay replied, a big smile forming on his handsome face.

 

Sulli closed her eyes and in her breath sharply as he left a trail of scorching kisses all along her collarbone.

 

“Tell me, Miss: have you been ravished by a soldier before?” Lay questioned in a teasing manner, wrapping Sulli’s legs around his bare waist.

 

“Hmm, I can’t say I have,” Sulli answered with a smile. “Happy 3 months, honey.” She whispered a few seconds later in earnest.

 

“Happy 3 months,” Lay whispered back.

 

Their lips met over and over in a blazing torrent of desire as they shed their clothes and made love in time to the soft pitter patter of the rain outside.