Adventure Timeless

Time stops for Kyungsoo and Jongin.

    Singapore wasn’t at the top of Jongin’s list of places to visit, nor was it a priority on Kyungsoo’s. Singapore hardly even broke their top ten—for they both had a stronger desire to travel Europe, aching to see Italy, Spain, and France, and share soft kisses under the easy European sun.

    But, stronger than their desire to travel Europe, was their desire to move—to travel and see new things regardless of where or when.

    However, on Lunar New Year, whilst popping bottles of champagne with their friends—a large group of twelve—and gorging themselves with classic Korean dishes, Kyungsoo sitting in between Jongin’s legs, occasionally spooning food from his bowl into his boyfriend’s mouth, Jongin cranes his head down, full lips brushing the shell of Kyungsoo’s ear, causing the smaller man to shiver, and lean further into Jongin, a shy smile playing his lips.

    Jongin whispers, so quietly, so lowly into Kyungsoo’s ear that he’d love to welcome the new year somewhere else—somewhere new, that they’ve never been before—and he can practically feel Kyungsoo’s pre-travel jitters.

    The seed that Jongin had planted within Kyungsoo that day had only continued to grow as the days multiplied, and almost every time Jongin looked at Kyungsoo, the latter was buried in his phone, navigating the Korean Air app, or surfing through flight times on his laptop.

    Then, on a Friday morning, at ten forty-five, Kyungsoo wakes Jongin by plopping a duffle bag at the foot of their bed and telling him to throw together something for the weekend before disappearing into the bathroom to ready himself for the day, humming a soft tune.

    Jongin, who’s always somewhat disoriented upon waking up in the mornings, sits up slowly, eyes squinty, blonde hair sticking up as if he’s stuck his finger in a socket, and rubs the heel of his hand against his tired eyes.

    He clears his throat before calling to the bathroom, “And where are we going?”

    The humming stops—replaced by an even more musical laugh, and the bathroom door opens. Kyungsoo pops his head out, holding a toothbrush in one hand, and the door handle in the other, lips pulled into a smile that resembles a heart—perhaps the one he’s stolen from Jongin.

    “Singapore.” Kyungsoo says, and Jongin’s brows shoot up.

    “Singapore?” He repeats, but his voice cracks on the final syllable, which makes his cheeks grow pink, and Kyungsoo laugh again.

    “Singapore.” Kyungsoo says again, with sweet finality in his voice, hiding away in the bathroom once more—this time leaving the door open so they can converse comfortably.

    Jongin shrugs—he can’t really find a reason to argue, though the location seems more spontaneous than their usual destinations. He stretches his arms upward, groaning at the pop! that his left shoulder makes, peels the black blanket from his waist, and swings his legs over the edge of the bed.

    “Why Singapore?” Jongin asks, purely curious. Neither of them have really show interest in Singapore before, aside from seeing pictures of it on Instagram here and there, and murmuring quiet comments of oh, that’s cool to each other. While waiting for a response, Jongin slides open the doors to the closet, and browses through his impressive collection of clothes, picking out a few items that he knows he can piece outfits out of that are easy, but still somewhat true to his personal style.

    “I looked on the Korean Air website and it was the first international flight out,” Kyungsoo says from the bathroom, and for some reason, this makes Jongin smile widely to himself as he pulls a black and white color-blocked shirt from a hanger.

    What an incredibly Kyungsoo way of going about things.

    The rest of the morning is spent comfortably between the two, both preparing for their short weekend getaway, Kyungsoo excitedly chatting about the sight-seeing that they can do, and Jongin making comments about the food, and how he’d love to get his hands on a jackfruit smoothie. Kyungsoo rather off-handedly tells Jongin to pack something to swim in.

    In the commotion of the spur-of-the-moment trip, Jongin and Kyungsoo completely neglect to announce their vacation to their friends, phones lying forgotten, charging on the nightstands.

    Oh well—people would find out one way or another that they had given in to their nomadic impulses and run off together once again.

    Their flight departed in the afternoon, so by time they land, the sun has dipped below the horizon and the city is sparkling at their feet, buildings, tall and architecturally baffling, high and alight above them.

    Kyungsoo seems to have forgotten to tell Jongin that they’re staying in a world-famous five star hotel, and Jongin’s jaw hits the ground as their cab driver pulls into the Marina Bay Sands hotel, and he looks at Kyungsoo with wide eyes, and the older only smiles at Jongin and bounces a bit on his feet, nodding in excitement like a child.

    The Marina Bay Sands Hotel isn’t really anything special—it’s a very nice hotel, with grand furnishings and fifty-seven floors that make it stand tall along the Singapore skyline—but what makes the hotel so well known amongst travellers is the wonder that lies at the very top—the SkyPark Infinity Pool.

    The SkyPark Infinity Pool spans the entire roof of the hotel, but what makes it so incredibly breathtaking, is the glass panels along the side of the pool that presses against the edge of the building, giving the illusion of a cliffside. This, combined with Singapore’s mind-boggling skyline, creates a photograph that’s worth a million words.

    A million words that are lost upon Jongin’s tongue as they check in—a million words that Jongin can’t find as Kyungsoo presses their room key into the door that leads to their hotel room on the fifty-third floor, and ushers Jongin in, smiling that pretty, heart-shaped smile all along the way.

    Only when Jongin drops their one duffle bag onto a lounge chair that’s near the bed, and mindlessly moves to the window, taking in the view of the city, pressing himself so close that his breath fogs up the glass, can he find the words to speak.

    “Kyungsoo,” He breathes, somehow managing to drag himself away from the glass to look at his boyfriend. Kyungsoo is standing in the middle of the room, his hands clasped together and hanging about his hips, and he’s smiling so hard that his face looks like it’s about to crack.

    “Kyungsoo,” Jongin repeats again, lips trembling as a cast of a grin begins to take his face. Considering how oft