“Separate cities, separate timelines
Waking up to different skylines
Won’t change what we’ve been through
You know you’ll only lose me if you want to”
                                "I'll Be There" King Henry feat. Sasha Sloan
 

“Okay, so I’ve been thinking about your English lessons, and I have a new idea. I think this might help you focus and not get bored so quickly.”

Junhoe waited for Donghyuk’s explanation, curious about his idea. He’d been working on his woeful English skills over the past month, just in case. Unfortunately for him, English wasn’t really something he found all that interesting to study. “I have faith in you.”

Donghyuk grinned back at him. “We’re going to practice conversational questions, but instead of normal questions, I’m going to ask you about song lyrics, and I want you to answer me with song lyrics you know.”

Junhoe looked at him in confusion. “We’re doing what?”

“Just work with me, we’re going to start with one of your favourite songs,” Donghyuk replied, “Billie Jean. I’m going to ask you questions and you answer with lines from the song.”

Junhoe nodded, starting to understand. “Okay, let’s do it!”

Donghyuk looked down at his sheet of printed lyrics, hoping this idea of his would last for more than five minutes. “Okay, first question, who is Billie Jean?”

Junhoe thought for a moment, recalling the song in his head. “Billie Jean is not my lover,” he replied, grinning at Donghyuk.

Donghyuk nodded encouragingly. “What else?”

Junhoe pondered for a second before answering. “She’s just a girl!”

“Right. Now, what does Billie Jean say?”

Junhoe was ready for this one. “She says I am the one!”

Donghyuk nodded again, trying his best not to laugh. Junhoe’s enthusiasm was showing on his face. “Does she? Billie Jean needs better taste in men.”

“Hey!” Junhoe yelled, but he laughed.

Donghyuk checked off a few lines on his sheet and carried on. “People always told you be careful what you do, and don’t do what?”

“Don’t go around breaking young girl’s hearts!” Junhoe replied quickly, settling into the routine.

“Very good. Did you sleep with Billie Jean?” Donghyuk asked, amused at the confused look on Junhoe’s face.

“No?”

“But she had a baby, and he has your eyes.”

Junhoe grinned again and shook his head. “No! The kid is not my son.”

Donghyuk again had to try not to laugh at Junhoe’s enthusiastic answer, but he was also happy that Junhoe was remembering lines out of order and reciting them quickly. “Okay, you did good! Your pronunciation was pretty good too,” he said, in English.

Junhoe smiled at the praise. “Thank you!”

“Okay let’s move on. Let’s do Beat It.” Donghyuk gave him a moment to focus before starting. “This time I want you to answer in your own words, so don’t just repeat the lyrics, okay?” Junhoe nodded. “In Beat It, what do they tell you?”

Junhoe took a minute to think about his answer, his brain working to counter the upped difficulty level. “They tell me don’t go where they are, because they don’t want to see my face. I should disappear.”

Donghyuk nodded. “Good. Now tell me what you should do?”

“I should run, because I don’t want to see blood.” He couldn’t help but grin before reciting the next line of his answer. “I am not supposed to be a macho man.” He laughed after saying it, realizing that the lyrics clearly didn’t apply to him. He’d never run from a fight. “I should just beat it!” He belted out, launching into a rendition of the chorus.

Donghyuk let him go, shaking his head and wishing he would sing a little quieter, at least. But Junhoe was in a good mood, and Donghyuk wasn’t the type to avoid having a good time, so he smiled and even sang along at the end. Then he corralled Junhoe back to work and they did a few more songs, and he was impressed by Junhoe’s ability to deal with his mounting levels of difficulty. By giving him a topic of conversation with words to reference for answers, Junhoe’s ability to focus and answer well saw a vast improvement from their usual attempts at conversation.

But eventually Junhoe’s focus waned, and Donghyuk didn’t want to keep pushing him. “Okay, that’s enough for now. You did really good though, like you did better than I thought you would.”

Junhoe grinned back at him, impressed with himself. He’d actually impressed himself too with some of his answers, and it made him feel a little more confident about the English that he did know. Now that they were done he settled back on his bed, grabbing a pillow and leaning back against the wall. “So how’s Yunhyeong hyung? I need details from you since I don’t really see him as much anymore.”

Donghyuk finished putting his study materials away before answering. “He’s good, he’s enjoying university. His classes are really interesting.”

“And how’s the relationship? Is he being good to you?” Junhoe asked, grinning when it made Donghyuk blush.

“It’s good! He’s actually a great boyfriend, he always plans stuff for us to go out and do. I’ve visited so many interesting cafes and fun places that I normally might not go to. And he’s gotten really good about us being together in public, like he was pretty nervous at first, I could tell. Any time we were on an obvious date, he’d seem nervous and would always be looking around, but I can tell he’s worked on it. And he always holds my hand now, because I told him I like it.”

Junhoe made a face at him. “Gross.”

Donghyuk threw a pillow at him. “It’s not gross! You and Jinhwan hyung hold hands all the time!”

Junhoe grinned back at him. “Yeah, well, that’s different.”

“Oh? Different how?” Donghyuk knew Junhoe was just messing with him to get a reaction, but he couldn’t stop himself from overreacting to the teasing.

“It just is, okay? It’s not you, it’s Yunhyeong!” Junhoe threw the pillow back at him.

Donghyuk caught the pillow and whacked Junhoe in the leg with it before sitting back comfortably. Now that they were on the topic of Yunhyeong, he wondered if he could talk to Junhoe about something that had been bothering him lately. Out of all of his friends, Junhoe knew Yunhyeong the best. Maybe he’d have some insight.

Junhoe was about to a bit more, but then he noticed the suddenly serious look on Donghyuk’s face. It was out of place given their laughter. “You got something on your mind?”

Donghyuk looked at him in surprise, not used to Junhoe getting inquisitive. Usually that was Hanbin’s role. “Ah, actually, there kind of is something that’s been bothering me lately. I said things are good, and they are, but I’ve been noticing something lately and I can’t help but worry about it. I know he likes me, but I don’t know if he really likes me.”

Junhoe looked at him in confusion. “If he’s holding your hand then he definitely likes you.”

“No, I mean, when we’re alone, he never does anything. He never tries anything.” Donghyuk tried to be calm but it felt weird to finally be discussing his worries with someone. It was a little embarrassing too.

Junhoe’s expression looked uncharacteristically pensive. “You’ve kissed him, right?”

“Yeah, but our kisses are like, barely kisses. There’s no tongue.”

Junhoe frowned. “Okay, that’s weird.”

Hearing Junhoe agree that it was weird felt like a weight off his shoulders, like he was confident that it wasn’t just an overreaction on his part. “Right?! We were at my place alone, in my bedroom, and I changed in front of him. Like I just stood up, said I was hot, just to see what he’d do. But he actually looked away until I was done changing. Not even a glance at me the whole time.”

Junhoe was half surprised, but then half not. “Well, I mean he is super old fashioned. Maybe he doesn’t think you’ve been together long enough to get to that stage yet. Maybe he doesn’t want you to feel cheap.”

“Maybe I want to feel cheap!” Donghyuk said, and he could feel himself getting heated over it. The whole thing had been bothering him way more than he’d allowed himself to realize, and he’d been trying to forget about it and move on, but his brain was stuck on that day. Why hadn’t Yunhyeong snuck even one glance at him?

“Have you talked to him about it?” Junhoe asked, surprised that Donghyuk was just complaining.

Donghyuk pouted and shook his head. “No.”

“Well, speaking from experience, you shouldn’t leave stuff like that. You can’t put off important talks, it’ll just make you more heated when you finally do talk about it. I don’t think he’d date you if he didn’t really like you, he’s not that kind of guy. I can guarantee there’s a good reason why he’s not doing anything with you.”

“Is there ever a good reason for not taking advantage of your half boyfriend?” Donghyuk whined bitterly, because he didn’t want to have to say it out loud, his real concern. He wanted Junhoe to address it without the words having to come out of his mouth.

“Well sure, for guys like you and me. But not everyone thinks the same, you have to remember that. Yunhyeong isn’t as open about that stuff, so you should talk to him. Or you could just make a move on your own? Why are you waiting for him, anyway? You kinda know what you’re doing, right? You’ve dated a guy before. So you make the move.”

Donghyuk frowned, because he had thought of that, but he was wary about it. “Do you think I should? What if that intimidates him?”

Junhoe gave him a disappointing look. “If he gets intimidated by you making a move on him, then honestly you’re doing yourself a favour by finding out now.”

Donghyuk knew he had a good point, but still… He wanted to feel like he had a boyfriend who would take care of him, and part of that included someone who wanted to pursue him ually. He’d been struggling from the onset of their relationship to accept that someone as gorgeous as Yunhyeong would want to date someone as average as him. It wasn’t that he thought he was ugly, or anything. He just wasn’t on Yunhyeong’s level. Not even close.

Junhoe watched him struggling with his thoughts, and he felt a weird flare of irritation creep up towards Yunhyeong. Should he text him and tell him to talk to Donghyuk, or would he just make things worse? Probably better to leave it alone for now. “Honestly, Dong, just talk to him.”

Donghyuk sighed and resigned himself to the fact that he’d have to step up in some way. “Yeah, you’re right. How did things between you and Jinan get started? Was it like us, or different?”

Junhoe grinned, because he and Jinhwan had been the exact opposite. “Jinan completely steamrolled me, to be honest. Like I hadn’t even really been thinking of him that way, and he just came in and like, made me his .” He could laugh about it now, because it was kind of funny.

Donghyuk laughed too. “Why am I not surprised?”

Junhoe grinned at him. “I should resent that comment! Listen, don’t tell Hanbin I said that. I never really gave him details about how it started, and he’d never let me live it down.”

“Oh don’t worry, I’m sure he already knows,” Donghyuk teased back. “Just because you didn’t tell him, doesn’t mean Jinhwan hyung didn’t!”

Junhoe frowned. “He wouldn’t.”

“I don’t know, I think he would if Hanbin asked him.” Donghyuk teased again. Maybe he’d ask Hanbin for details about how he and Bobby got started. Just to see if he and Yunhyeong really were lagging behind.
 

Jinhwan clamped a hand over Junhoe’s mouth, struggling to hear over his frantically pounding heart. They should have had at least another half hour before anyone came back! But he could have sworn he’d just heard the door opening…

Junhoe looked at him in confusion, fingers on Jinhwan’s wrist about to yank his hand away, but then they both heard the opening and closing of the door across the hall from Junhoe’s.

Yejin! Jinhwan slumped on top of Junhoe’s chest, panting hard now that the momentary panic was over. At least it wasn’t Junhoe’s parents, home early. Not that he wanted Yejin to walk in on them mid-, but it would be significantly less traumatic. At least he thought so. It would probably be just as traumatic either way for Junhoe.

Jinhwan’s eyes met Junhoe’s and he couldn’t help but laugh, given Junhoe’s look of frustration.

“I’m going to murder Yejin,” Junhoe whispered, frowning when Jinhwan slid off of him. They’d been taking their time today, trying to have slower that wasn’t as rushed as usual. And then his sister had come home a day early and ruined his plans!

Jinhwan grinned down at him, not happy their time had been cut prematurely short, but amused anyway. Then again, he’d already come once. Junhoe, however, had not. “You want a hand with that?” He asked quietly, eyes on Junhoe’s .

Junhoe’s face turned red and he sat up, unsure who to be more annoyed at. “Not with Yejin across the hall!”

“Come on,” Jinhwan said, sinking down to kneel before Junhoe, “I’ll blow you, I’ll be quick about it.”

Junhoe glared at him, tempted to take him up on the offer. It just felt weird with his sister in her room. Just as he was about to agree to it they heard the apartment door open again—which meant that his parents were also back home early!

“!” Junhoe whispered, flopping angrily on his bed. Now he definitely couldn’t let Jinhwan give him a !

Jinhwan stood up and started hastily pulling his clothes back on, not wanting to get caught by Junhoe’s parents. He tossed Junhoe’s pants at him after buttoning his jeans back up and then stood by the bedroom door, ready to keep it closed if Junhoe’s mother tried to come in. He watched in amusement as Junhoe hastily pulled his pants on, clearly unhappy. He felt bad, but it was kind of funny.

Junhoe stood up, struggling with his jeans, trying to will his away. It wasn’t working, though, and he felt weird about it. He didn’t want to risk anything with his whole family home, but he felt restless and frustrated and watching Jinhwan smirk at him was certainly not helping!

“Let’s go say hi to your parents,” Jinhwan suggested, “just to like get it out of the way. Be less conspicuous.” Jinhwan suggested, leaning against the door.

Junhoe glared at him but stood up, knowing that he had a point. Not that he really wanted to look at his parents while he was in his present state, but still… His mother sometimes had a tendency to come into his room unannounced. Maybe if he went to her first she’d leave them alone. He followed Jinhwan down the hall into the kitchen, where his parents were putting away groceries they’d returned with.

“Oh, hello, Jinhwan! I didn’t realize you were here,” Mrs. Koo addressed him.

“I got here not that long ago,” Jinhwan replied, a tiny lie, because he’d shown up the moment they’d left, “we’ve been practicing English together.”

“Oh that’s nice,” she answered, smiling at him, “I guess soon enough you’ll be needing to take Korean classes because you’ll be speaking English all the time!” She said teasingly.

“It won’t be that bad,” he replied, “my old jiu jitsu trainer’s trying to get me set up to live with family of an old friend of his, the guy’s Korean. So I shouldn’t be too rusty after a few months away.”

“That’s nice of him. Would you like to stay for dinner? I’m about to start cooking now, it won’t be a bother if you’d like to stick around.”

“I’d love to stay for dinner, thanks Mrs. Koo!” Jinhwan replied, smiling brightly at her. He turned to Junhoe then, winking at him. “Well, we should get back to our English studies. Can’t wait for your food!”

Junhoe got a Pepsi out of the fridge, just for appearances, before he followed Jinhwan back to his room. He took a drink to calm his nerves, feeling jittery still. Jinhwan closed the bedroom door and approached him, pushing him back against the wall. Junhoe’s breath caught in his throat and of course the second Jinhwan’s eyes locked onto his own, he was hard again.

Jinhwan knew, of course. He slid hands up to Junhoe’s cheeks, holding his head in place and kissing him, all while nudging a knee in between his legs. He was feeling playful and couldn’t resist the opportunity.

“Hyung, quit it!” Junhoe whispered angrily, even though he wanted nothing more than for Jinhwan to handle him at the moment.

“You sure you don’t want a ?” Jinhwan whispered back, grinning at him.

Junhoe glared, but then wondered if he shouldn’t accept? He wasn’t going to be able to focus on anything like this, and Jinhwan had offered… If his mother was cooking, then he ought to be safe for a bit.

Jinhwan made his move without waiting for an answer, sliding down to his knees and ing Junhoe’s jeans. He tugged them down just far enough to pull his out, winking at Junhoe before clamping his lips over the head.

Junhoe hissed and closed his eyes, happy but concerned at the same time. But just as Jinhwan had promised, it didn’t really last long. Jinhwan knew exactly how to play him, and two minutes later Junhoe came in Jinhwan’s mouth, his head lolling to the side, panting hard and not thinking about potentially getting caught. Jinhwan pulled him over to the bed, knocking him down onto the mattress. He lied down next to Junhoe, head on his chest, finger tracing patterns over his back. It was nice and peaceful and not really that scandalous, if anyone were to walk in on them. He sat up and grabbed Junhoe’s Pepsi, taking a sip to wash the taste of Junhoe out of his mouth.

Jinhwan was trying not to think about it too often, but he was very well aware of the passage of time. Every day ticked closer to the day he’d be leaving. He wasn’t sure how he was going to manage, wasn’t even sure what would happen. He was going to miss moments like this, where he could lie down with Junhoe and have some great unguarded moment. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at him, smiling happily.

“You okay, hyung?” Junhoe asked, and he wasn’t even sure what he was asking about. He just saw Jinhwan staring at him and wanted to make sure it was for a good reason.

“Yeah, I’m just having a moment,” Jinhwan replied with a grin, “sometimes I forget how beautiful you are.”

Junhoe would usually give a disgusted sigh at comments like that (because usually Jinhwan would only say them to ) but right now Junhoe just smiled back at him and reached out to pull him down on top of him again.

“You’re pretty too, hyung.”

Jinhwan cuddled against his chest, smiling when Junhoe tucked his chin in against his head. He was 99% certain he knew what Junhoe was about to say, but it never really got old, their back and forth  teasing. “Oh I’m pretty, am I?” He asked, setting up the retort.

“Yeah, you’re pretty,” Junhoe replied sleepily, “pretty lame.”

Jinhwan couldn’t help but laugh, happy to still have all of this. He’d miss it when he left. Moments like this made him contemplate moving his flight again, wanting to squeeze every last day out of this relationship that he could. It would be irresponsible, though, and as much as it was going to hurt, he had to prioritize his future. Even if he didn’t want to imagine a future without Junhoe.

Junhoe, on the other hand, was doing his best to flat out ignore the pending separation. If he ignored it, maybe the problem would solve itself in some unexpected way. If not, well, he’d deal with the problem when it came. For now all he cared about was the fact that Jinhwan was here, in his room, lying next to him. That’s all he wanted.

He shifted slightly, moving his arm a little for a more comfortable position. He pressed a kiss to the top of Jinhwan’s head. “I got to lecture Hanbin the other day, I forgot to tell you.”

Jinhwan was surprised at the statement and actually propped himself up on his elbow, looking down at Junhoe. “You did what?”

Junhoe grinned back at him. “You’d have been proud of me, it was really good. Made him super uncomfortable.”

Jinhwan laughed. “I love that you’re so proud of that.”

“It was karma for me having to listen to his lectures all the time, I gave it back just as good.”

“You call it karma, I call it character growth,” Jinhwan teased. “What was it about?”

“Taeyong, obviously,” Junhoe replied, “no one knows Hanbin’s bad habits better than I do. I just called him out on his approach, you know he loves to dig his big nose into other people’s business, he does it to me all the time. Just needles and digs until he finally gets what he wants. And sure, most of the time with me, it’s for a good cause. But you can’t do that to someone who actively despises you. It’s not gonna get him anywhere, but he keeps doing it.”

Jinhwan nodded, amused to hear Junhoe speaking so maturely and rationally. “You make a good point.”

“I told him that he and Taeyong are kind of like you and me when we first met. Woosung is doing Hanbin’s job and he has to stand back and let him.” Junhoe grinned. “I was pretty proud of that analogy, like it fits, doesn’t it?”

Jinhwan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “Yeah actually it does. Except for one problem.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Well, let’s say that Hanbin is playing my role, and Taeyong is playing you. Now we have to make sure that sparks don’t start flying between them.” Jinhwan grinned when Junhoe shook his head, but a second later Junhoe was looking devious too.

“I’ll tell Hanbin to make sure he always has a chaperone in the shower after games so they don’t start eye ing each other.” They both burst into laughter at that comment, and eventually Jinhwan’s arm got tired so he laid down against Junhoe again.

“I’m really proud of you,” Jinhwan said suddenly, “it’s hard to call your friends out on their ty behaviour, but you have to. Sometimes people don’t realize they’re doing something wrong until someone they really care about tells them off for it.” He knew that first hand after last year, when Bobby had snapped and lashed out at his selfish behaviour. It had stung at the time, but the lesson stuck with him. There’s nothing quite like disappointing your best friend to ensure you change your habits.

Junhoe felt good, hearing that praise, because he was quite proud of himself as well. “It’s shocking, isn’t it? A year ago I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me that I’d be lecturing him over something important.”

“You’re growing into a fine young man, Junhoe!” Jinhwan teased.

“Thanks, hyung. We all have to do it at some point, I guess.” He tightened his arm around Jinhwan. pulling him in closer. It felt good to hear that kind of praise from Jinhwan, even if there was a teasing aspect to it.
 

“I mean, on one hand, I’m glad he’s not going to be there. On the other, I wish he was going to be. If I really follow through on this music thing, I feel like I’ll probably regret not having him there at my first performance.” Bobby whined, flopping back and forth.

Jinhwan smiled at him, amused at the confusion. “Look at it this way, it’ll be less pressure without him there. If you completely up and embarrass yourself at least he won’t be there to see it.”

Bobby glared at him. “I don’t intend to up. But you’re right. I really just wanted to look out and see him there, you know? I’m a nobody there, no one’s going to be cheering for me. It would be nice to look out and see his face.”

Jinhwan sat up, and affronted look on his face. “No one’s going to be cheering for you? Is that your way of telling me to support someone else? Cause that’s what I’m going to do now. In fact, I might even heckle you during your time.”

Bobby waved his comment off. “Oh quiet, you know what I mean!”

Jinhwan shook his head. “I’ll throw my shoe at you.”

Bobby frowned. “No the Doc Marten’s, those are heavy! You might actually hurt me.”

Jinhwan grinned at him. “I’ll bring a pair of your mom’s slippers and throw those.” Bobby laughed at the comment and finally stopped pacing, sitting down on Jinhwan’s bed.

“Honestly though, I’m nervous about this. What do I do if I up?” Bobby wasn’t usually so nervous about things, and maybe it was because he was actually starting to get really passionate about this. Rapping was different from basketball. There was a defined way to judge whether or not you were a good basketball player, there were statistics and predefined actions for you to perform.. But rapping was subjective, and just because one person enjoyed his rap, it didn’t mean that anyone else would. And even if people enjoyed it, that still wouldn’t mean that it was actually good.

Jinhwan patted his leg. “You’ll be fine. You’re not rapping to save lives or anything. If you it up, just try again the following week. This is your first time, after all, you’re bound to be garbage, objectively speaking.”

Bobby frowned at him, playing up the insult even if it did make him feel a tiny bit better. “Thanks, Jinan. You always know exactly what to say to make me doubt myself even more.”

Jinhwan grinned back at him and leaned forward to wrap his arms around him. “That’s what I’m here for!”

Bobby smiled and leaned against Jinhwan grateful that he was always willing to be cuddly when Bobby was feeling insecure. It was a side of himself he didn’t want anyone else seeing. He was working on it with Hanbin, but it came out more naturally around Jinhwan. “What am I gonna do when you leave me?”

Jinhwan wrapped his arms tighter around Bobby, and he knew the comment was equally honest as it was teasing. “You’ll be fine, you have Hanbin now.”

Bobby sighed and while he agreed on one level, sometimes what you needed was your best friend, and not your boyfriend. “Yeah, and I love Hanbin, but he’s not you. Sometimes I just need you.”

Jinhwan understood the feeling, especially since he and Bobby were both older than their boyfriends. Even though Hanbin was easily more mature and attuned with himself than Bobby was, he knew that Bobby still wanted to act strong in front of him. “I’d say call me anytime you need me, but if you wake me up at four in the morning I’m gonna be pissed.”

Bobby grinned. “Come on, Jinan, our feelings don’t operate on timed schedules. I’d wake up at 4 for you!”

“No you wouldn’t! You’re a heavier sleeper than me, you probably wouldn’t even hear the phone.” Jinhwan shot back.

“Well, okay, true. But I’d want to!”

“I’m gonna call you at 4 in the morning just to test that theory.”

“Go for it,” Bobby replied, “but I probably won’t answer. Actually call me at 6 in the morning, two hours won’t make that much of a difference, right?”

“Weren’t you the one saying we weren’t operating on timed schedules?!” Jinhwan replied, pinching his arm for good measure.

“Ow! I’m just trying to find a good resolution. We should set up a communication schedule, find the best time for us.” Bobby said, and he did mean it, seriously. It was still a few months away, but he was going to miss having Jinhwan available to him at all hours of the day. How can you go to having someone be just down the hall from you, to having them halfway across the world?

Jinhwan smiled and patted his head. “Let’s do that. It’ll give us peace of mind, at least.”

Bobby smiled at the answer, because he knew Jinhwan wasn’t just joking around. They always had that way of knowing with each other, when to switch from jokes to being serious. He was going to miss it. “Have you and Junhoe set up something like that?” Bobby asked.

Jinhwan shook his head. “No, we haven’t really talked about it.”

“What do you mean you haven’t talked about it?” Bobby was surprised to hear it. If he was leaving Hanbin for months, the first thing he’d want to do is establish when and how they were going to talk.

“Well, we kind of promised each other to not talk about it until it was closer,” Jinhwan replied, “I mean, I don’t even know what we’re going to do.” He struggled to keep his voice from cracking, because suddenly emotions were rushing in.

“Oh,” Bobby replied, like he’d finally put it together, “you might not stay together.”

Jinhwan nodded. “Yeah.” He wanted to say more, but he didn’t trust himself not to get upset. He didn’t want to cry over this, not yet, at any rate.

Bobby wasn’t sure why it surprised him so much. He’d just assumed they’d stay together and deal with the long distance separation. But what if they didn’t? What if they split up and couldn’t even bring themselves to stay in touch because it would hurt too much?

“I’m sorry for asking,” Bobby replied, tightening his arm around Jinhwan.

“It’s okay,” Jinhwan replied, “I don’t blame you, I’d be curious too if I were you.”

“What do you hope happens?” Bobby asked, and he hopes that Jinhwan doesn’t get upset over the question.

Jinhwan’s been thinking about this off and on, even though he tries not to. But he always comes to the same conclusion. “I don’t want to break up with him.”

“You’re going to make him make the decision, then?” Bobby asked.

Jinhwan shuddered a little at the thought. “Yeah. I’ll tell him that I’ll do whatever he wants. I don’t want to pressure him, not everyone can handle long distance.”

“Yeah,” Bobby replied, “but you should tell him how you feel. So he knows.”

Jinhwan nodded but didn’t say anything. Bobby was right, he knew that. But that still wouldn’t make it any easier.