Warning(s): suggestive and mildly ual scenes (no )
Length: 11.4k words

Areum’s back is as stiff as a board when she and Sehun sit across from each other at their dinner table. The sound of Silence, contrary to popular belief, is actually loud. It sits on top of their plates, it whispers in their ears, slams its hands against the table, and begs for so much attention that Areum wishes that that the walls would crumble—leaving in them a pile of debris that at least sounds like destruction. But neither one of them acknowledge the stain Silence leaves on the wall, so Silence continues to mock them both.

Finally, Sehun says something.

“Areum.” His voice is raspier than normal, and she looks up into his never-endingly mysterious eyes. Usually, his eyes are stormy without the intention to be, but now they’re hazy and tired—much like her. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” she says, and that’s half of the truth. She’s not mad at him; she’s mad at the situation, but the situation is him.

“Then tell me what’s wrong.”

There are a million things that is oh-so-ing wrong with everything, and Areum wishes she could say them all, but a part of her has long stopped caring.

“It’s nothing.” Areum picks at her plate with her fork and stares at her uneaten fish. “Nothing new, at least. You know what’s wrong, Sehun.”

20 arduous months of marriage (yes, she cared enough to count) and she only had four that she actually spent face-to-face with her husband. Where the other 17 went, Sehun knows. Back-to-back films, TV shows, interviews, promotions—Areum didn’t want to count them, but she reached the point where it felt like a necessity. Each day she woke up, she felt like she had to count down until he came back home for a week or two. And then the cycle started again; he had to pack up and go somewhere, and she stayed home and counted the months and weeks.

“I’m sorry,” Sehun says once more. “Ever since 94, I’ve been flocked with—”

“Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities with once-in-a-lifetime directors,” Areum finishes for him. She drops her fork onto her plate where it makes a clattering sound that makes Silence shut the hell up. “I know, Sehun. Each time you come here, you apologize and say the same thing.”

Sehun sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose—as if he’s the one who’s feeling left out.

“Areum, I love you, you know that. I would do anything for you, but—”

There he goes off with an apology that Areumw has already heard. She rolls her eyes and stands up abruptly from the dining table.

“Areum.”

She walks to their backyard for a taste of the cool air, ignoring Sehun’s footsteps behind her. Their enormous mansion in Bel Air comes complete with a pool and a view of the outlying landscape, but Areum never wanted any of that because she always wanted Sehun and Sehun’s presence. It’s ironic that she now finds some sort of broken peace in the view she didn’t even want.

“Areum.” Sehun finally catches up with her. He grabs her by the wrist, his hand rougher than she last remembered. “Look at me.” He turns her around, making her go breathless in the familiar way he likes to hold her—on her waist and hips with his large hands. “I’m sorry.”

“You say that a lot,” Areum’s voice cracks because the truth is, she can’t just stop loving Sehun. Even if he leaves for months, her heart unknowingly sets her up for excitement. Her joy can’t be contained when she hears him whisper her name for the first time in what always feels like forever. “I’ve stopped believing you,” she confesses. “You never mean it. If you did, then you wouldn’t be leaving in the morning.”

Sehun trails his hand upward from her waist, back, and then to her cheek. Areum wants to cry—she really does because she really misses this.

“This is the last time, I swear.”

Areum chokes back a sob; this is the first time Sehun has said that.

“You ,” she mumbles, burying her face into his chest. He always smells like Sehun—sweet and strong—no matter what kind of cologne he wore. And no matter what he wears—a suit, a shirt, or ing nothing—he always feels like Sehun, both hard and soft in all kinds of places. “Just come back soon. I miss you all the time. I miss you when you’re away and I miss you when you’re here.”

“I know.” His voice grumbles through his chest, and Areum buries herself further into him. He reciprocates by tightening his arms around her, and it feels so much like how it used to feel when they first met. “You may not believe me when I say sorry, but it doesn’t mean I’m not telling the truth.”

Areum hugs his waist harder, trying to remember what he feels like. It doesn’t take much time because Sehun always feels like Sehun. Home and an adventure all at once. She breathes in his scent and wants to bury herself in it, but he pulls away.

“Areum.” He says her name like it’s a chocolate éclair and looks at her with stormy eyes that are never stormy for her. “It’s been too long. Let’s,” his hand snakes its way in between her thighs, “do something before I go.”

She cracks a smile at his not-so subtle request. “Sehun, it’s a long trip to Italy. Maybe it’s best if you take a long rest.”

“I don’t want to sleep just yet.” His frown highlights his already sharp features. The wind has picked up, and he steps closer to her. “I want you before I leave.”

“Sehun,” she laughs under her breath, “I was just upset at you less than five minutes ago.”

“Well, you won’t be upset with me after I’m done with you.”

Sehun tucks a lock of loose hair behind her ear and lets his hands roam freely on her body. He has no shame whatsoever in groping her s and her cheeks as he waits for her decide. She ponders the effects of his wants, because while he has a long flight to Italy in the very early morning, she too has to rise nearly at the same time to film her own movie in Downtown LA, but has no trouble in choosing.

“Okay,” Areum agrees after a minute. She doesn’t wait for anything else afterwards; she just leans in and captures Sehun’s lips in hers.

In the next few minutes, the two of them are nearly tripping over each other in a messy attempt to get to their bedroom without separating their lips. When they do finally get to their room, Sehun nearly rips off Areum’s dress, but she whines and tells him to be gentle, and he complies by ping it from the side. From there, Areum straddles Sehun’s lap, giggling as she does so because she hasn’t seen him like this in a while, and he’s changed since the last time.

“What’s so funny?” he murmurs in question. “Do I have something on my face, baby?”

Areum’s heart beats a little faster when Sehun touches his face with his hand, enabling her to see the veiny back of his palm—and the wedding on his finger. “I just missed you,” she replies, staring at his hand and the symbol of their vow to each other. “My handsome knight.” Her fingers trace the outline of his chest, and she blushes upon realizing that he’s gotten more muscular—probably due to a new diet for his movie.

Sehun rolls his eyes playfully. “Just take off my clothes, Areum.”

She does as he tells her, and they begin a languid night with Sehun above her and between her legs. He kisses her in every place he can, making sure to leave marks and faint bruises where his fingertips dig a little too deep in her flesh. As always, he steers clear of her neck so her makeup team won’t have to worry about covering anything up there.

Sehun’s movements are slow and delectable, giving Areum’s mind moments and moments to revel in each. She stops trying to regulate her breathing against Sehun’s irregularly moving hands and gives into his desires as he pushes her thighs apart to make room him. She moans and whimpers against his growls and grunts, him burying himself in her in more ways than one. Their bed creaks and shakes from Sehun’s efforts, and the annoying squeaks accompany the sounds they make like some sort of rejected symphony of love.

When they near their , Sehun whispers sweet somethings into Areum’s ear, coaxing her to relax in soft breaths. Sehun slows himself to hold her in a tight hug, and like that—like a wave crashing back to shore—they once again consummated their love for each other. At that point, when Areum is lying on her side thinking about what just happened and Sehun is breathing heavily behind her, all the arguments that they had seem like little squabbles.

“Where are you going?” Sehun whispers huskily when Areum rises.

“I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” she answers.

When she comes back on shaky legs, Sehun has thrown the comforter sheets on himself, covering his lower half but not his gorgeous upper torso. Areum smiles at him when she crawls beside him. Like him, she’s still warm from her afterglow but unbothered by the heat they emanate.

Sehun spoons Areum when she lies back down, gently pressing himself against her.

“I love you so much,” he whispers into her shoulder. His hand makes its way from her waist to her hand. Her hand is much smaller than his, so his easily swallows hers up. The platinum of his wedding band glints in the moonlight, and Areum has never felt so loved. Sehun—her beloved, darling, handsome Sehun—is ever present with her now. “Even if it doesn’t seem like it,” he continues, “I love you.”

The corners of Areum’s lips curl upwards.

“I love you more.”

It’s the first time in a while that she has said that.

- - - - -

Areum wakes up to the sound of her alarm going off on the nightstand. She rolls over to Sehun’s bedside and to her dismay, he’s not there. With a heavy sigh, she rises out of bed where she’s greeted by the cold morning air. Even the floor is cold underneath her bare feet, causing her to shiver.

“I miss seeing this.”

At the sound of his voice, Areum turns around in surprise. Emerging from the bathroom is Sehun, already dressed and ready to go for his flight.

“What are you doing here?” Areum fights the bite of the cold air against her form. “I thought you had to leave early for your flight.”

“I can always get on another one.” Sehun walks over to where she’s sitting and places a kiss on her forehead. “I just wanted to see you wake up. I’ve missed seeing that. And,” he her cheek with the pad of his thumb, “I wanted to say goodbye.”

“Sehun.” Areum giggles at his cheesiness. “You’re so sappy, I hate it.”

“Hey.” He places a hand over his chest and feigns hurt. “Why can’t I love my beautiful wife and treat her right?”

Areum hums in response, nuzzling her cheek against Sehun’s shoulder when he sits down beside her. For a moment, they sit together in a comforting sound of silence. Unlike the night before, this silence is really what it is—an absence of sound and not an absence of love.

“Can you lay down for me?” Sehun says after a few minutes.

“Why?” Areum pulls away and tries to look at Sehun. To her surprise, his eyes are stormy and narrowed. “Are you okay?”

“Just lay down and spread your legs.” Sehun stands up abruptly. Areum wordlessly watches him as he takes off his jacket and begins to unbuckle his pants.

“Sehun.” Areum tries to laugh it since she really doesn’t feel like doing the act after last night. “We only have less than half an hour. I should just get dressed, and you should be on your way to the—”

Areum silences herself when Sehun turns around with a frown. “Did I stutter?” He takes the covers off of her and reveals her bare torso. “Areum, please. It’ll take five minutes. Besides,” he her cheek, “don’t you miss it? Don’t you love me?”

“Yes, Sehun.” Areum nods furiously. “I really do, but…” She trails off when the small smile on Sehun’s lips fades away. “Okay, fine. Let’s be quick. Can you do that?”

“Of course.” Sehun smirks and leans in for a short kiss.

Sehun isn’t lying. He leaves Areum chasing after her own breaths within a few seconds of placing her thighs around his shoulders. The pace he sets is much faster than last night, and there is no mercy in sight. When Sehun is in the mood, he is the mood. Areum can do nothing but say to go slower, but her requests aren’t guaranteed. But Sehun isn’t lying. It takes him ten minutes, and he’s satisfied with himself and so is Areum.

“I have to go,” Sehun says once he has pulled away. He glances at his watch. “It’s almost eight, Areum. You have to go too. You can’t miss your first day on set.”

“I don’t really care if I do,” she whines. It’s second nature for her to want to hold Sehun close after such an intimate moment, but he moves away too quickly for her to enjoy it. “We should just stay here for the next week.”

Sehun shakes his head. “Areum, you should get dressed.”

Areum huffs as she rises from her comfortable spot and walks into their closet. She picks up a few clothes and then heads into the bathroom. Later, when she exits fully dressed with her makeup on, Sehun is standing by their bedside, arms crossed and a frown on his steely features.

“What?” Areum asks him as she grabs her phone and a purse.

“I’m just thinking,” Sehun says as they make their way downstairs. “I want to make it up to you, Areum. It’s not fair to you that I’m gone all the time.” He holds her hand tightly in his as they make their way out the front door and their sprawling driveway. “How can I make it up to you? Is there anything you want of me?”

Areum purses her lips, unsure of what to say. In front of them, their chauffeur has finished packing up Sehun’s luggage and has started the car. Sehun shifts his weight from one foot to the other. It seems as if everything else is sure of what to do except her. With all her honesty, however, she doesn’t know what she wants except for Sehun to return home. She has already taken several extravagant vacations in her life time, she already owns more houses than she can visit, she is still unready for the role of being a mother; the only thing Areum really wants is the hole in her heart to be filled by Sehun’s presence.

“Let’s talk about it when you get back.” Areum shakes her head. “I can’t just say what I want, Sehun, when all I want is you.”

Sehun nods, half a smile on his lips. “Okay. I’ll come home the moment I get the chance.”

“Thank you.”

Because Sehun has a time constraint on his flight, their chauffer drops him off there first. Areum exchanges final kisses with Sehun, and in return, he makes promises of how everything will be okay once he gets back. And then he has to leave.

Areum watches as he does so—his tall figure striding into the airport as awaiting paparazzi start to take pictures of him.

“Jay,” she asks her chauffer, “how do long do you think until he comes back?”

Jay peers at her through the rearview mirror as he begins to pull out of the drop-off zone.

“I don’t know how movie schedules work, ma’am, but if I had to guess, I would say five months. That’s usually how long it takes. More or less.”

Areum nods to herself. “I hope it’s sooner.”

“Sure,” Jay mumbles, but Areum catches it.

- - - - -

“Have you met him yet?” Areum’s makeup artist and close friend, Seulgi, asks Areum. Since today is the first day on set, they had to wait until the director arrived and re-briefed them regarding her vision, demands, and all other necessities. Seulgi took this as the time to fix Areum’s hair and ask her about the cast. “I heard he’s really famous in Korea.”

“You know his name?” Areum asks without much thought. She has had plenty of love interests in her film career—even if that career is still short—that she doesn’t care much for them anymore.

“Chanyeol,” Seulgi answers, brushing Areum’s hair. “He was in a movie called Citadel in 2016. Have you heard of it?”

Areum, having been asked to audition for several movies with several other actors, has. However, she only vaguely remembers the name.

“Is it the one about the fortress in the sky and there was an invasion from another planet?” Areum doesn’t know if that’s even mildly correct, but Seulgi confirms her accuracy.

“Yeah, that’s it. He was a part of the main cast. A cast that included several noteworthy American and Asian actors. It picked up a lot of traction, and now he’s pretty famous in Korea.”

“That’s nice.” Areum yawns. The director, a woman named Candice Lam, is still not present. “I think I’ve never heard of him, but he must be an amazing actor.”

“Oh, he is.” Seulgi beams. She places the hairbrush back down on the dresser and spritzes Areum’s hair with a bit of hair spray. “He’s one of my favorite actors. He’s starred in a few dramas too, and he’s so dreamy, Areum.”

Areum rolls her eyes, but she smiles at Seulgi’s smiling reflection. When Areum first met Sehun on the set of their first drama together, she found him dreamy from the start. And when they starred in their first film together, she found herself nearly falling head over heels the quiet actor with stormy eyes.

“Look.” Seulgi shows her phone to Areum. There’s a picture of a man with black, coifed hair. He dons a dapper midnight blue suit. On his face is an aloof look matched with a bit of smugness. “Isn’t he handsome?”

“Sure.” Areum nods in approval. Almost as handsome as Sehun.

A few minutes later, Areum and Seulgi exit the dressing room area and out onto the stage where Candince Lam is just arriving.

“Good morning!” Candice Lam, for a small woman, has a surprisingly loud voice. Dressed in her rather meek outfit consisting of a striped dress and childlike flats, Candice radiated a power to her. “Today, the first day of Stay Longer, we must keep good spirits throughout the filming and make sure that we do our best to do everything perfectly as possible.”

Candice drones on about the movie, and Areum finds her eyes drifting to other places.

Areum stops looking around when she sees who can only be Chanyeol. Unlike the whimsical photo that Seulgi showed her, Chanyeol today is dressed lazily and darkly in a black shirt topped with a gray overcoat that reaches his knees.

Suddenly, Chanyeol shifts his gaze from Candice to Areum. When their eyes meet, the bored look he had on his face turns into a dimpled smile.

Areum smiles back, remembering her first time looking into Sehun’s eyes nearly the same way.

Chanyeol waves and motions at his head. He spins his index finger a few times as if to make the notion that Candice was crazy. To add salt to the insult, he yawns and shakes his head as if he to say that Candice was boring. At that, Areum laughs under her breath and nods to agree.

“I see the chemistry has begun,” Seulgi whispers into Areum’s ear.

“I have a charm,” Areum whispers back to Seulgi. Areum has shifted her attention back to Candice out of respect, but she wants to walk over to Chanyeol and formally introduce herself.

“Be careful, he has one too.”

- - - - -

“Hey.”

Areum turns around to meet Chanyeol’s charming smile.

“Hey,” she greets back. As the production crew finishes setting up, Chanyeol must have seen this as time to get acquainted with her. “So, I guess you’re my co-star.”

The movie, Stay Longer, revolves around three different love stories. One of them is about a pair of teenage lovers on the cusp of the rest of their lives—or, the months prior to graduation and college. Another is about a 25-year-old woman who feels as if she’s falling out of style because all of her friends are getting married, and she’s not. Finally, the last love story is about an elderly couple coping with disease and death. Areum plays the 25-year-old woman in this one, and Chanyeol is the man she meets who’s in a similar period of his life.

“I play Chance.” Chanyeol nods, holding his hand out for Areum to shake. “And you play Miranda, Areum Oh.”

“That’s correct,” Areum beams. “It’s nice to meet you, Chanyeol. I’ve heard great things.”

“You have?” He grins, obviously liking the sound of his fame. “If the great and beautiful Areum Oh has heard of me, then perhaps I have won at life.”

Areum chuckles, already liking how charming Chanyeol is. “I didn’t know it would be you. I’m surprised that Candice didn’t choose an American actor. Hollywood is so filled with bull.”

“Whoa.” Chanyeol’s eyes widen at her slight curse. “I didn’t know you were passionate about such controversy.”

The controversy Chanyeol speaks of refers to the “yellowface” and general racism in Hollywood. It’s not pretty out here, and despite the luxurious lives that Areum and Sehun have here, they still face immense discrimination. Even with their high status in Asia and Korea, people still find it within themselves to look over them for simply being Asian. So, of course, this sort of controversy has a special place in Areum’s heart. She wants more equality in the film industry—because all races have talent and skill, and not all roles are suited for someone with white skin.

“Of course, I’m passionate.” Areum frowns. “I want Asian-American girls like me to know that it’s possible to make it. And not only that, it would be strange to see white people play every role because that’s not how the real-world works.”

“I get it.” Chanyeol chuckles. His aloofness gets under Areum’s skin since she’s so passionate about it, but she can’t be angry that he doesn’t care as much as her. “I think that’s great.”

“It is.” Areum glances at him as she turns to see how the crew is doing with the lights. “You didn’t have it as hard as me. I started in the American market. Did you?”

“No,” Chanyeol confesses. “It must have been hard.” Areum can see that he feels sorry for bringing up the topic—as most people are when they talk to Areum about it—but she doesn’t care. “Anyways,” and now he’s redirecting the subject, “I think it’s hard in general to ‘make it’ in the film industry.” Maybe he’s not. “Even in Korea, it’s hard to distinguish yourself from other people. You have to be something else. Your husband, Sehun, knows.”

Areum raises her brows. “You know about Sehun’s struggles?”

Sehun once told her how he used to stay up all night as a teenager wondering if he would ever become successful. He had been scouted by an entertainment company when he was barely a teen, and they had groomed him to become an actor and model, but it was still hard for him to have a breakthrough among all the other talented and beautiful people already in the film industry.

Of course, now Sehun is a revered actor for someone his age, and he has several successful movies and dramas under his belt.

“Yes,” Chanyeol says. “I worked with him a few months ago, actually.”

At that, Areum’s eyes widen. “That was you? He never says anything about his unreleased movies, but he did say he had an amazing co-star.”

Chanyeol grins. “That was me. What else did he say?”

“Hey!” Areum shakes her head, knowing exactly what Chanyeol’s doing—fishing for compliments. “Don’t try to fish for compliments, Chanyeol. It won’t work. So how was working with him like?”

Areum already knows how it’s like to work with her husband, but Sehun’s mood with her is different.

“He was very quiet,” Chanyeol notes, frowning. That part of Sehun is always true; even around Areum, he is quiet and very dissimilar compared with how energetic and bouncy she is. “I didn’t expect it from him, even if I watched interviews and his interactions with other actors. But he’s very skilled in what he does.”

“That’s true.” Areum smiles with plenty of pride. “When I met him, we barely exchanged words.”

“And now you’re married.”

“And now we’re married,” Areum repeats. “Life is crazy.” She turns back to him and sees that his eyes are already on her. “What about you? Do you have a wife? Are you dating anyone?”

Chanyeol grins, shaking his head. “I’m too much for the girls I meet. Besides,” he shrugs, “I prefer to have a little taste of everything.”

Areum wrinkles her nose at his interesting choice of words. “Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone. Much like Chance in Stay Longer, hm?”

“Perhaps. Maybe if you’ll be my Miranda.”

Areum laughs at Chanyeol’s joke. It’s almost as bad as when teenagers wish they were Romeo and Juliet.

“We should practice some of these lines while we’re waiting.” Areum holds up today’s copy of the script. “We can’t be standing around making bad jokes.”

“Are you calling me a bad joker?” Chanyeol feigns pain by placing his hand over his heart. “How could you? You were just laughing!”

Areum can’t help smiling at his ridiculously cute antics. Already, the atmosphere between them feels comfortable despite having just met today. With Sehun, Areum recalls, it took a little while longer since Sehun was quiet to the point where she thought he despised her.

- - - - -

Areum yawns as Seulgi helps her out of an outfit. They had just spent the entire day filming, and now that the day was wrapping up, Areum is doused with fatigue and feet that hurt from walking and running around in heels.

“Today was something,” Areum tells Seulgi. “I had a lot of fun even if we were just getting through the pleasantries.”

Candice Lam’s movies are known for the multiple shots of unmoving objects and general introspection. Half of today was filled with Areum lying on a bed motionlessly as multiple crew members adjusted the lighting and filmed her from different angles. It was the same for Chanyeol and the other actors. But as easy and simple their tasks were, Areum found herself bored and antsy because of it.

“I think you looked really pretty,” Seulgi says as she unclasps a necklace. “I like that shot of you looking out the window as it rained.”

“Me too.”

Areum is tugging her feet back into a comfortable pair of tennis shoes when someone enters the dressing room.

“Chanyeol.” Seulgi almost misses putting a comb in the brush holder when she spots him. “What are you doing here? Did you forget something?”

“No.” Chanyeol shakes his head. His eyes fall down onto Areum, and she looks back up at him with curiosity. “Areum. Do you need anyone to drive you home?”

Seulgi exchanges a quick glance at Areum.

“Sure,” Areum says with a shrug. “Can you wait for me by the front parking lot?”

“Okay.”

With that,