I.

I closed my eyes and inhaled the comforting smell of my boyfriend as I nuzzled deeper into his lap; his thighs were certainly my favourite part of his body. Yes, it may not be the most bulky and firm set of lower body limbs, but he wasn’t thin enough to render a thigh gap and I guess it was the way my head seem to rest perfectly in the middle of the two lengths that determined my biasness.

A loud sigh left the lips of my beloved and my lids fluttered open as I peered upwards and was greeted with his distinctive jawline,  which I failed to resist in giving a gentle with my fingers.

“What’s wrong baby?” I asked out of concern as I flipped off him and lay propped on my elbows on the bed.

“Nothing…” came the distracted muttered reply as delicate fingers continued tapping and scrolling away on the laptop placed beside him.

I took a glance at the screen which contained Super Junior’s schedules for upcoming months before placing a soft peck on his exposed knee.

“Don’t lie to me.”

A softened expression replaced the stressed one as eye contact was finally established and light brown met darker ones as my leader finally relented.

“Leeteuk-hyung has everything planned out already; I don’t even need to do anything.”

Understanding Hyukjae’s frustration over the lack of control, I tried my best to console him, “Who says you don’t need to do anything, you have to ensure that the plans are executed successfully and that’s the most crucial part of any plan.”

“But…I am a useless leader then; I don’t get a say in the group’s future or anything, I don’t make any decisions or plans.”

“Only for the next six months,” I sounded out the fact, confirming that Hyukjae’s worry was simply uncalled for.

“Yah, so until then…I don’t get any chance to prove myself as a capable enough person to lead Super Junior for the two years…people are going to think I’m useless…Leeteuk’s knows my inadequacy right? He planned for this right?”

Shutting him up with a firm kiss on his lips, I launched into a full-scale debate against his false assumptions.

“What rubbish are you talking about?” I whispered against his lips before giving it a soft and continuing with my speech, taking advantage of his surprised state.

“Yes Leeteuk-hyung planned this out nicely. He made sure that you were not thrown into the deepest end of the pool without any floating aids; fixing the timetable for the next six months so you can make full use of this lull period to make the transition from a follower to a leader. Creating milestones within the Super Junior career will come later after your seamless dissemination into your new role. There’s still so much to do that Leeteuk-hyung hasn’t settled; are we going to have a new album without him? How about a Super Show this year? What is going to happen to our sub-units? There’s just so much you have to give thoughts to and I know you’re going to make the right choices.”

Exhaling, my boyfriend finally broke out into a smile as he finally agreed with me, “You’re right, I guess I worry too much. I should just take it easy and take this time to chill and relax.”

“Uh huh…and make plans for our future,” I suggested as I crawled onto his lap, straddling him as I sat facing him.

“You’re right. We need to decide where we’re going huh?” he lovingly accepted my idea as he gently rubbed his nose against mine.

“I know where I want us to go…” I seductively stated before tackling him onto the bed and started placing kisses all over his face as my hands roamed his body, squeezing onto places I knew were sensitive.

“No Donghae no, stop it, get off me.”

His giggles were like music to my ears and as I peered downwards at that face I loved so much, I received affirmation from my heart once again that his gummy smile was the most beautiful.

II.

“You should visit Tous Les Jours with me.”

“What?!”

That was a very honest surprised reaction ignited from me when my boyfriend suddenly broke the calm silence between us on one of our romantic late night Han River strolls.

Hyukjae recently opened a branch of Tous Les Jours (TLJ) down at Guro Digital Complex as a business investment, for his mother particularly. I suppose it was one of his ways of fulfilling his duties as a filial son; setting up a small shop for her to run and supporting the franchise actively. I was glad Hyukjae was making full use of this time to catch up with his family before the workload as Super Junior’s interim leader started flowing in.

The idea of setting up TLJ however was a rather amusing story which I was involved in. It was one faithful night after a session of Sukira’s Kiss the Radio and I had chosen to drive my car down to fetch Hyukjae after a long and tiring day. As my best friend climbed into the passenger seat, he threw out a request that he wanted to have some strawberry smoothie. Not one to leave my precious friend hanging without satisfying his craving, I made several rounds around the vicinity in search of a café which sold his favorite drink only to fail miserably.

Flashback

“It’s alright Donghae, let’s just go home.”

Despite plastering a forced tired smile on his face, I knew he was deeply disappointed then.

“Hey! You still have a basket of strawberries back in the dorm right? How about I make some for you when we get home while you take a shower alright?”

His smile then had caused a flutter in my heart and suddenly everything was made worthwhile.

End of Flashback

Staring at the gorgeous face lit by the moonlight, I smiled at the thought of how far we had gone from being strangers to what we were now. I loved Hyukjae with all my heart and asking him to be my boyfriend has to be the best decision I have made in my life.

“Mum misses her son-in-law you know? It’s been a while since you last came to visit and…you haven’t seen the shop so I’m sure you’d like to check it out and all…” Hyukjae trailed as he brought me out of my daydream with a slight stutter.

Feeling my ego being inflated, I smirked as I proudly declared, “Aww I bet she misses her second son doesn’t she? I bet she adores me more than she adores you…I’m like so much cuter…and I’m sure she loves me more than her own son…”

“…wait! Did you…say…son…in-law?!” I ended off as realisation hit me.

Staring at my boyfriend with widened orbs and a gaping mouth, I noticed the red blush on his cheeks, a sure sign that my slow brain had not comprehended his words wrongly. I admit I was slow but I wasn’t entirely stupid; I knew what this meant.

“You told her?!” I shrieked out in pure shock when I finally computed the mathematics in my head.

My loud high-pitched voice rang throughout the still quietness and Hyukjae frantically tried to get me to lower down my volume but I did not comply; I was simply too excited. I couldn’t believe that Hyukjae had told his mother about our relationship.

Our connection with our families was quite different from one another, mainly due to our dissimilar characters. I have always been open about my feelings to my mother; she knew I adored Hyukjae from the start, and as a caring mother who was fond of my best friend, she never failed to encourage me in my pursuit. She was the first person I had called after Hyukjae said yes, yelling incoherently down the phone line.

Hyukjae on the other hand has always been on the conservative side with his emotions, never bothering anyone with what he truly felt and choosing to hide it all within. With regards to matters pertaining to dating, Hyukjae has only been known to go out with girls and hence for him to have confessed to his family that he was gay and attached to his best friend must not have been an easy task. The idea of him putting aside his shyness and pride to come clean about us touched me deeply, I guess that was his way of expressing his seriousness about us.

“Of course I’ll come…hubby,” I teased as I placed a soft peck on the smooth red cheeks.

The trip down to the shop happened two weeks later and my visit was announced the day before in a subtle manner as Hyukjae sent out a tweet saying that his best friend will be making an appearance alongside him. Scrolling through my own twitter timeline, I found that a bulk of our fans had instantaneously deduced that it was me and it warmed my heart to know that that was the value of our friendship to them.

As we stepped out of his newly acquired white Porsche, we were greeted with the screams of fans waving banners and posters; mostly of Eunhae. Hyukjae’s mother was quick to reach our side and she enveloped me into a tight hug as I greeted her with a soft “umma”. Keeping her arms around me, we were ushered into the shop as the fans flanked both sides of our red carpet walk in. It truly felt as though we were making our first public appearance as a couple as we strutted down the human constructed path.

We stood behind the counter and helped with the orders, enjoying the up-close and personal interaction with the fans. Most of them were showering us with gifts, congratulating Hyukjae for the opening of his first investment and basically just sending well wishes to us and the rest of Super Junior. However, a huge percentage of the positive messages were directed to Eunhae; us as a duo.

Some of the more cheeky questions even included, “when are the two of you getting married?” to which we both responded with giggles.

As I stared upon his face with his eyes twinkling, cheeks filled with a tinge of pink and a bright smile which could light up the room, I could feel the happiness radiating from within. Clinging onto his arms as I broke out into fits of laughter at all the teasing, I felt him wrap his arm around me, pulling me close to him protectively and that action spoke a thousand words.

At the end of the day, I was floating with joy as I realized how much I meant to him and how proud he was of our status; we were both happily attached to each other. I was a source of happiness to him and I intended to keep it that way.  

III.

2012 going into 2013, it had been an exciting year for me and here we were in China with the rest of the Super Junior M members welcoming the new year. I felt rather uneasy when I learnt that we were not part of the year end celebrations in Korea for the first time ever but this was all part of Leeteuk’s grand plan for Super Junior and my boyfriend merely ensured that orders were carried out. I assumed it was a tactical move on his part to boost Super Junior M’s soaring popularity in China and launch the strategy of letting Super Junior M take up the bulk of the responsibility of promoting the name “Super Junior” for the next twenty months.

As I stood on stage surrounded by international acts from all over the region, the wave of discomfort flowed through my body again as I shifted awkwardly in front of the camera and allowed my body to flush against my boyfriend’s as a form of consolation. His arm snaking around my waist soothed my nerves by a tad bit but it still wasn’t enough to make me ignore the lurch in my stomach.

“5…4…3…2…1! Happy New Year!”

The hosts yelled into the microphones in sync with the ticking digital clock as an explosion of streamers and confetti surrounded my view at the of midnight. The various artists on stage broke out into hugs and wishes and without diverting from tradition, Super Junior M gathered into a group hug as we wished each other a year of success and happiness as brothers and as fellow members. Siwon also delved into his ritual prayers thanking god for the blessed year we had and for an even amazing one next year. As I inhaled the all-too-familiar scent from my right, I knew it was going to come true; it would be start of a new year for me and Hyukjae as a couple.

“Happy new year, my love,” the sweet words drifted into my ears as my boyfriend enveloped me into a tight hug after we broke away from the group.

As I pulled away and peered into mirroring loving orbs, it seemed that everything surrounding me had disappeared, leaving behind just me and Hyukjae in our own world. Finally, the location of where I welcomed the new year was insignificant, all that mattered was the person I was with; Hyukjae.

“I love you Hae.”

A wide smile spread across my face before the nerves caught up with me as I became both scared and excited for my first new year plans for us to usher in 2013 as an item.

____ 

The phone vibration on the bedside table woke me up as I switched off my silent alarm and glanced over to the other side of the bed where my boyfriend was still sleeping peacefully, looking like an angel. His right arm was still wrapped protectively across my waist and I turned my body towards him, maneuvering myself so I was supporting my body with my left elbow, lifting the top half of my body upwards so I could stare down at the sleeping beauty.

Caressing the sides of his face, I gently planted kisses all over his face from his closed lids to his nose, cheeks, forehead and lips.

“Yes baby?” my beloved ily asked with his husky voice as he slowly got roused awake.

I suddenly got shy as I remained silent for a couple of seconds before answering him slowly.

“I planned something for us…there’s somewhere I wanna take you. I’ve already arranged for the driver to pick us up in fifteen minutes so just wash up and remember to wear some warm clothes alright? It’s going to be cold.”

The last part of my statement was redundant considering it was currently four in the morning in the middle of winter but without a single fuss, Hyukjae nodded before dragging himself to the bathroom. I felt tears spring to my eyes as I realized how trusting Hyukjae was of me, adhering to my requests without a single doubt. Rubbing the moisture away and telling myself that this emotion was something I wanted Hyukjae to experience as well, I followed my boyfriend into the bathroom to wash my face.

We were in our arranged transport exactly fifteen minutes later according to plan and throughout our exit from the hotel, Hyukjae never once spoke, merely holding onto me and allowing me to lead the way.

“Are you ok baby?”

“Yeah…I’m fine,” I muttered back as I felt the grip on our intertwined hands tighten.

“No you’re not. You’ve been all jittery since you woke me up,” Hyukjae whispered back, keeping his voice low to avoid any form of eavesdropping from the driver in front.

“It’s a surprise, you’ll see when we get there,” I replied with a smile as guilt crawled up to me.

Why did Hyukjae have to be this perfect sweet boyfriend? Instead of questioning me about our destination, he was more concerned about his pathetic petrified boyfriend.

“How far are we?” Hyukjae queried, ending it with an unsuccessful stifled yawn.

“It’s a short twenty minute ride…just enough time for a cuddle,” I replied as I moved into my boyfriend and wrapped my arms around his waist, burrowing my face into his toned chest to enjoy the warmth.

My head vibrated along with the tempo of his chest as he let out a laugh before enveloping me into his arms and pulling me impossibly closer. As I felt his lips meet my forehead, all my anxiety dissipated and I was lulled into a peaceful nap by his constant rhythmic heartbeat.

We were woken up some half an hour later by the Chinese driver shouting “Li Xian Shen”; addressing me as Mr Lee in his native language. Thanking him for his services in Chinese and handing him a wad of cash, I pushed my boyfriend out of the vehicle and took his hand in mine.

“Let’s go,” I announced as I tugged on the linked hands and began leading Hyukjae to a clearing.

Arriving at our destination, we found ourselves looking over a beautiful river as we stood on a pile of snow.

“Oh nice, this is the Yangtze River right?” my boyfriend asked as he turned towards me with a slight sparkle in his eye.

Nodding vigorously, I inhaled deeply before explaining my choice of location, “erm…we’re not in Korea so we can’t really visit the Han River which holds a strong significance to us so…I erm…kind of looked up for a substitute here in China…I heard this is the longest river in the world so I figured it’d be cool to come here and you know…erm…well I know it’s not the Han River but…”

“Baby, it’s perfect,” Hyukjae interrupted me as he grasped both of my cold hands with his own freezing ones.

Pulling my left hand away from his hold, I took a glance at my watch, not failing to notice the puzzled expression on his face.

“Just about ten more minutes love,” I announced to him and his orbs widened in pure confusion.

“Ten more minutes to….”

I ignored his prompt for me to reveal what I had up my sleeves and threw myself into his arms instead, soaking up the warmth of each other as we enjoyed the serenity of the peaceful landscape.

Exactly ten minutes passed before I heard Hyukjae whisper above my head, “Oh my god.”

I knew what exactly he was astonished by; the stunningly gorgeous bright orange rays peeking out from across the horizon.

“I wanted to catch the first sunrise of the year with you,” I explained my actions as I tilted my head up to place a peck on his cold cheek.

“This is the most romantic thing ever, thank you so much baby,” Hyukjae thanked me as he turned his head to capture my lips, conveying his gratitude with the deep kiss.

Pulling away, we stood there in the arms of each other, admiring the sunrise while seeking each other’s embrace for warmth. It was truly a great start to a new year for me and I could not imagine anything more wonderful than having Hyukjae by my side.

“It’s so beautiful Hyuk…just like you,” I allowed the words in my heart to be heard.

Rotating towards the object of beauty I had just described, my boyfriend underwent the same motion upon hearing those heartfelt words and I came face to face with the definition of a perfect beauty; single eyelids semi-closed yet allowing the first rays of sunlight to shine into his eyes, amplifying the shine within as his lips pulled into a tight smile. As I peered into his glistening orbs, I could see the happiness radiating from within and it was then that it occurred to me; yes Hyukjae was happy with me but I never seen him actually shed tears of joy. I started imagining how beautiful that sight would be and took it upon myself as his boyfriend to achieve it.

After getting over the touching moment we shared, and sensing that the sun was currently high up enough for us to capture stunning photos, we appro