Seungcheol opened the door to his apartment in a rush. He had good news to share with his boyfriend. Seungcheol was getting his big break. After years of training under his father’s management, he was finally going to have the chance to live his dream and take over his father’s company as a producer. He was ecstatic when he heard the news. The first thing he did was run straight home where he could tell Jihoon, his boyfriend of several years, the good news.

“Jihoon?” says Seungcheol as he closes the door and pokes his head in the kitchen. No Jihoon there, so he checked the bathroom and still no Jihoon. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found Jihoon sitting by the porch with a pile of homework in his hands. “Jihoon!” says Seungcheol as he startles the younger male. He hugs Jihoon from behind as he looks at Jihoon. “Cheol, you scared me!” says Jihoon as he lifts his head so he can see Seungcheol.

“Sorry, I was just in a rush to come home. How was your day?”

“Well, college is college. I’ve got tons of homework. And I don’t go to work today, so it was pretty okay. What about you?”

“Today was great.  Guess what?”

“What?” asked Jihoon as he could sense the level of excitement in Seungcheol’s voice.

“Well, guess,” says Seungcheol as he takes a seat next to Jihoon. Jihoon is just staring into space with a concentrated look. Seungcheol thinks Jihoon looks absolutely adorable when he’s deep in thought. “Um…” says Jihoon but nothing comes to mind. After a few minutes he gets impatient.  “I dunno just tell me,” he says as he too begins to get excited as well.  “Well, you know how I’ve been training to take over my dad’s company right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I have a meeting with his board of directors. If it goes well, I can finally take over,” he says as Jihoon eyes widen. Seungcheol’s worked so hard for this day to come. Jihoon has seen how many hours he’s put into the company.

“That’s great!” he says as he flings his arms tightly around Seungcheol’s neck and hugs him. Jihoon feels so proud of him. Since the day Jihoon met Seungcheol in elementary school, he knew Seungcheol would grow up to be someone important. He knew that Seungcheol had so much potential.

“This is the second best thing that ever happened to me,” says Seungcheol as Jihoon looks at him.  “What was the first?” he asks.

“Meeting you," is all Seungcheol says as Jihoon’s face flushes completely. Seungcheol can be such a sap sometime, well more like all of the time. But in this case, he can agree with what Seungcheol has said, so he’ll let it slide.

“You’re such a sap,” says Jihoon as he removes himself from Seungcheol’s grasp. Seungcheol brings them both inside the living room as they take a seat on the couch.

“So when’s the meeting?”

“Well, that’s the thing; I’ll be gone for probably two weeks. I have to leave by tomorrow,” says Seungcheol as he looks at Jihoon.  “What do you mean by leave for two weeks? Isn’t the meeting here in Seoul?”

“No, my dad says that the meeting is going to be held in Tokyo.”

Huh, that’s weird. Since the company is located here in Seoul, it’s weird that they’re having a meeting in another place. “Oh,” is all Jihoon says. “So um what time are you and your father leaving,” says Jihoon as he feels as if something weird is going on. “He’s not going with me,” says Seungcheol with a disappointed look.  

Why?”

“Well, he says that he has something important to do here, so I’ll have to go with one of his representatives,” say Seungcheol as Jihoon looks confused. Shouldn’t his father go with him since it’s about his company? This all seems weird to Jihoon. He’s not very fond of Seungcheol’s father, and he doesn’t exactly understand the whole business management thing, but he doesn’t want to questions Mr. Choi’s decisions. “Are you okay?” asks Seungcheol as he looks at Jihoon with a worried expression.

“Yeah, I am. I just don’t know how I’ll be able to survive without you for two weeks is all.” And it’s true. Jihoon and Seungcheol have been together since, well, since forever. He doesn’t remember a single day when he wasn’t with Seungcheol. Two weeks might not seem like much to an average person, but to Jihoon, It felt like a lifetime.

 “I don’t have to go if that’s-” Seungcheol starts to say but he’s interrupted by Jihoon.  “Of course you have to go. You’ve waited for so long for this day to come. You’re going,” says Jihoon as he puts on a smile and kisses Seungcheol on the cheek. This is about Seungcheol, not him. He has to be there for Seungcheol, every step of the way.

“Okay, but I’m nervous. What if I-”

“No, don’t think about ‘what if's’. You’ll do great, I know it. Now, we should start packing so you can be ready to leave in the morning,” says Jihoon as he starts to raise himself from Seungcheol’s lap. He grabs Seungcheol’s hand as he directs him to the room they both share.

“What about you college assignments?” Seungcheol asks.

“It can wait.”

They spend the rest of the day packing Seungcheol’s luggage as Seungcheol tries to sneak in spider-man pajamas on various occasions, but Jihoon has a quick eye. “You’re not bringing those to Japan,” he says as Seungcheol pouts. “But they’re comfortable and they’ll remind me of home,” Seungcheol says as Jihoon laughs. Jihoon lifts his wrist as he takes off his bracelet. He walks over to Seungcheol as he lifts his arm and ties it around Seungcheol’s wrist. “Here,” he says as Seungcheol looks at the metallic bracelet that is now around his wrist. Seungcheol stares at it for a while as he looks to Jihoon.

“What’s this for?”

Jihoon stay silent for a while. He’s embarrassed to say it, but he does anyway. “Well, you’re always saying how no matter where you are, as long as I’m with you, you’re home. So if you can take a piece of me with you, then you won’t have to bring those pajamas,” Jihoon finishes saying as he feels his face flush again. He’s never said something so cheesy in his life. Even if he’s just restating something Seungcheol’s said, it still makes him feel embarrassed.

“Aww, you remembered,” says Seungcheol as he sports a bright smile. Jihoon feels like he can practically die of embarrassment at this moment. “Well, you say it all the time, so yeah I was bound to memorize it,” Jihoon says as he tries to hide his face with his hands.

“Don’t hide away. I like it. I promise I won’t lose it,” says Seungcheol as he brings Jihoon’s hands down to look at him in the eyes. Jihoon sighs as he looks at Seungcheol. “You’re not even leaving yet and I want to cry already,” he says as Seungcheol brings him closer and hugs him tightly. They’ve already packed enough clothes for the trip so they leave the suit case discarded by the chair. Seungcheol slowly carries Jihoon bridal styles as he gently places Jihoon on the bed and climbs on behind him. He wraps his arms around Jihoon from behind as he sighs.

“Cheol,” says Jihoon as he tries to wake him up. It takes him a few tries to wake the older male, but after a good five minutes or so, he’s able to successfully wake him up. Seungcheol opens his eyes as Jihoon looks down on him. “Get up. It’s almost eight and you need to leave pretty soon,” says Jihoon as Seungcheol gets up hesitantly. He just wants to sleep in today, but he can’t. He has a very important meeting to get to, so he walks into the bathroom as Jihoon walks over to the kitchen. By the time Seungcheol’s already finished showering and brushing his teeth, Jihoon has already placed the breakfast on the table.

Seungcheol walks into the kitchen as he puts on the bracelet that Jihoon had given him yesterday. “I can’t believe I’m already doing this,” says Seungcheol as he sits by the counter. Jihoon places a plate in front of him as Seungcheol just pokes it around with his fork.

“Not hungry?” asks Jihoon as he stands on the opposite of the counter. He rests his head on his hands as he looks at Seungcheol. “I’m nervous,” says Seungcheol as his stomach starts turning. Jihoon walks over to Seungcheol and he puts both hands on his shoulders.

“Repeat after me, I Choi Seungcheol will do my best to remain confident and I know that I will succeed.”

“I Choi Seungcheol will do my best to remain confident and I know that I will succeed,” repeated Seungcheol. Jihoon kissed Seungcheol on the lips as he took the plate and put it in the sink. He looked at the clocked, which read 8:30. If Seungcheol wanted to make it on time, he would have to leave right now.

“I should probably leave now,” says Seungcheol as his expression is a mix between being nervous, excited, and sad. He gets up from his place on the chair and walks over to the room where he picks up his suitcase. He walks over to Jihoon as he gives him a tight hug and a kiss on the lips.

“I love you,” he says as Jihoon walks him over to the door.

Jihoon sighs as he walks around the apartment aimlessly. He’s tried watching television but that doesn’t work. Jihoon looks at the clock to see that it’s only been two hours since Seungcheol left. He’s tried texting Seungcheol to see if he’s already on his flight, but so far there’s been no reply.

Jihoon was about to start playing games on his phone when he heard a knock on the door. He wasn’t expecting any visitors. He thinks it might be Soonyoung, since he has a tendency of just popping up at random times. ‘He’s probably put himself in another situation that he needs help getting out of’ thought Jihoon as he walks over to the door. He laughed at the thought of Soonyoung getting in trouble yet again.

“Soonyoung I can’t always help you get out o-” Jihoon’s voice dies out as he realizes that it’s not Soonyoung who’s at the door, but Seungcheol’s father. His stops smiling as he looks up at Mr. Choi.

“Jihoon,” is all Mr. Choi  says as he enters the apartment without waiting to be invited. Jihoon closes the door behind him as he follow Seungcheol’s father into the living room.

“If you’re looking for Seungcheol, he already-”

“Left, yes I know. I actually came here to speak with you.” Oh boy, this could not be good. If Jihoon knows one thing, it’s that Seungcheol’s father is a real hard . He never approved of Seungcheol’s relationship with Jihoon. No matter how hard he tried to prove himself to him, it always failed. He just didn’t get along with the man.

“What can I do for you?” asks Jihoon as he tries to muster a polite attitude.

“Well, it’s not much what you can do for me, but what you can do for Seungcheol,” says the older man as he sits down on the couch.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, as you know, this fling that you have with Seungcheol-”

“It’s not a fling,” says Jihoon through gritted teeth.

“Seungcheol and I are in a serious relationship,” says Jihoon defensively.

“Of course you are,” says Mr. Choi in a sarcastic tone.

“As I was saying, this thing you have with Seungcheol is not right. I do believe my son has told you about his promotion?” says Mr. Choi as Jihoon nods.

“It’s a matter of time before Seungcheol becomes the head of my company, and this thing with you two has to stop. Every company needs an heir, so that someday they can take over as well. For me, it’s Seungcheol. If you remain with my son, the same cannot be said about him,” said Mr. Choi with an air of arrogance.

“I don’t think you under-” begins Jihoon, but he’s quickly interrupted.

“No, it’s you who doesn’t understand. You see, my son is confused right now. He’s not fully aware of what he’s doing with himself and that involves this relationship. He’s obviously confused about what he wants. He needs a pretty woman to wed. He needs children. If he stays with you, his life will crumble.”

Jihoon sits quietly as he listens to ever word that comes out of the man’s mouth. It’s not true; Seungcheol loves Jihoon. “You’re wrong,” he says as the older man laughs.

“No, you’re wrong. You see, right now my son is having a meeting with important people. If they close the deal and they see Seungcheol fit to be the next CEO, well his career can take off, but not while they see the kind of person he’s dating. You’re not worthy of my son and to be honest I never even approved of your friendship. It’ll be better if you cut ties with Seungcheol,” he says as he slowly gets up.

“Truthfully, the meeting could have been held here in Seoul, but I decided to have it in Tokyo to give you some time to think about this. If you really love my son, you’ll leave him alone. My staff has confiscated his phone so you can think things through without the influence of my son.  He’s young and he thinks he’s in love, so he’ll try to convince you to stay. What you two have going on is not love, It’s a disgrace. Think about this, you can give him the life he deserves by leaving him and going far away from here. He’s probably already meeting a pretty young lady already. Think about it,” he says as Jihoon’s blood starts to boil.

“I don’t need to think this through because I’m not leaving his side. So thank you, but no thank you. If you can leave my apartmen-”

“You’re apartment? Don’t make me laugh. You’re a college student who works the afternoons at a small shop,” he begins. Jihoon knows where he’s taking it and he does his best no to cry.

“You can barely afford this apartment. While you believe you’re paying your half of the rent, you’re really not. This room costs more than you can earn in three years. Seungcheol only makes you believe that you’re paying half, but in reality you’re only paying a small percent.”

Okay, now Jihoon can’t stop the tears from rolling. “Don’t you see? You’re weighing him down. This isn’t what he needs and you know it. You have two weeks to think about this,” he says as he reaches the door.

“Oh and it would be preferable if you don’t mention this to anyone. This is between you and me.” And with that he closes the door behind him as he leaves Jihoon in a crying state.

No, this can’t be true. He’s not weighing Seungcheol down. He’s worked hard to balance college and a job, so he could help pay for as much expenses as possible. Seungcheol wouldn’t be with him if he was only impeding his chances of succeeding, would he?