Being far from each other was becoming more and more difficult for both of them. While Jae Eun was completely okay with him leaving for a week, Baekhyun could not stop giving her words and touches of affection the days before leading to his departure. Of course, Jae Eun thought he was always this way since he could not live an hour separated, even if it was a trip to the grocery store. 

But now her loneliness had caught up and the many times she had bad days to share she would be talking to no one unconsciously thinking he was there with her; she realized his presence was needed more than ever and she took it for granted. Texting wasn’t as exciting as talking, especially when she has a boyfriend with a calming voice. Besides, he rarely replied back only to say he fell asleep or that he was busy.

Sleeping was also not as enjoyable. The first two days was occupied by her work as a substantive editor. Revising manuscripts of an upcoming book of a famous author took up her time that it was easy to fall asleep. 

But now as she and the author argued over the structure of an upcoming book, Jae Eun needed Baekhyun. As a freelance substantive editor, she built her reputation by helping new writers get their books high ratings and in magazines. Now her reputation may crumble if she does not succeed in making this book a hit, especially since the author is already successful.

Hugging Baekhyun after a long day was what she liked coming home to. But Jae Eun didn’t think of that when he announced he was leaving for a week as his brand Prive was starting to become popular and almost everyone wanted to interview him.

‘One more day’, Jae Eun thought to herself as she hugged a pillow while watching whatever she could find on TV.

It was Saturday and the day where she thought she could enjoy whatever comfort she had, the author once again messaged her but this time, it did her a good amount of damage.

She could not remember the email word for words but some words stuck out and made her feel as if she was sinking into a black abyss:

‘A new editor…hired…taking over…you are dismissed’.

That early Saturday morning, she spent it crying, wondering where she went wrong. And now that there were no more tears to cry, the message still haunted her and she could image how it was read in his voice.

‘Come home soon, Baek.’ She thought before falling asleep.

A few minutes afterwards, Baekhyun showed up on screen in an interview.

‘Today’s the day!’ Jae Eun took a moment in bed to ponder why she was awake if she didn’t have anything to edit.

The thought of finally feeling him, hugging him, the feeling of his lips against her in a chaste kiss – sometimes playful and other times it escalated to the bedroom with – but most of all she missed the comforting silence between them in one room as Jae Eun would be busy editing and Baekhyun busy brainstorming ideas for his collection.

The email, though still fresh in her mind, no longer bothered her. After reflecting and crying herself to sleep, she came to terms that it wasn’t her fault. Maybe the author wanted to have approval rather than a second opinion. One person wasn’t going to ruin her reputation, famous or not.

Finding a purpose to get up, she began to clean around the house – even deep cleaning the refrigerator. Today she was going to greet Baekhyun beautifully. Clean floors, furniture, table tops. Today was a much-needed hug and pampering from Baekhyun after a horrible week. Between the two, Baekhyun was more affectionate than Jae Eun, at least more open display of affection. Jae Eun, well…you’ll see.

The time it took her to clean everything spotless and bought groceries, it was already three in the afternoon. Thinking of what else to do, Jae Eun suddenly though of what to cook for him before he comes home. He loves everything she cooks so it shouldn’t be hard, but she wanted his first meal from her after a whole week to be memorable.

Scrolling and searching on her computer, she found what she thought was basic meals until she disappointed herself because nothing seemed to appeal to her on what would impress Baekhyun. Dejected, she closed her laptop and put it to her side on the bed and picked up her phone on the nightstand to distract herself while thinking about dinner.

Unbeknownst to her, an hour ago a message was sent to her, as indicated by the icon on her screen.

It was Baekhyun.

And it wasn’t was she expected.

Baekhyun

I don’t think I will arrive today.

I’m sorry.

No explanation, just that he wasn’t coming home today.

“What the is this? Why Not?” Jae Eun typed on her phone. She was ready to pour her anger into a long paragraph when she stopped herself mid-sentence. ‘It might not be his fault. Maybe he had to check something that went wrong. Or added a last-minute interview’.

Deleting her hateful paragraph, she thought of how she could best rephrase her concerns but all she could respond is:

Jae Eun

Okay

‘Well, I guess I got my hopes up for nothing’. And while this little remark was meant to ease the hurt, it really did hit her hard. The longing of the feeling of his lips was going to go on for another day.

‘Well, at least I have another day to think of what to make’.

Tired, disappointed, and hungry, Jae Eun figured she might as well solve one of her three problems – first her hunger. Craving cheese and meat, she opted for a simple but extra cheesy lasagna. A messy process but worth it, except when cleaning came afterwards.

Keeping her mind off Baekhyun for a while, she salivated at the smell emanating from the oven. While she stood there watching it cook and her stomach growling, she came out of her thoughts when she heard the doorknob of the front door jiggle loudly.

Startled, all she could think and do was stare at the front door standing still in the kitchen; the door opened slightly, a suitcase entered first before the door opened wide. And then, Jae Eun really couldn’t function properly.

Was it a hallucination? No, the noises are sure real. But wasn’t he supposed to return tomorrow?

Checking the time on the kitchen clock it was only 9 in the evening.

“How-Who-Wha-Whe-Baekhyun!” Jae Eun sighed as she approached him with quick steps, smashing into him with force into a hug, but Baekhyun was more eager.

They hugged, relishing in the contact they both craved, thinking how it was possible to miss someone so much. But that didn’t matter now, everything is as it should be.

“Welcome Home,” She said into his ear. Pulling back, she cupped his face to inspect the face she has been waiting to see. The Baekhyun a week before was much different than the Baekhyun now.

Dark circles clearly contrasted his paler-than-usual skin. The sclera, the white part of his eyes, painted with red. A few pimples starting to form on his cheeks, but nonetheless still handsome with the same love in his eyes as he smiled to her, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you,” he hugged her again.

“I missed you,” Jae Eun said as she took in the smell of him. His scent had started to disappear from the bed they shared. She was glad to have the scent come back, and he himself of course.

“I missed you more, love”.

Love.

When they first started dating, Jae Eun was annoyed that he chose to call her that instead of something original. Now, she somehow found comfort and a deeper meaning for that word.

Love.

The love he held for her and she for him.  An endearing word that expressed his emotions for her. Many people may call their significant other that word, but when Baekhyun say it, it’s like honey. Her heart is showered in affection.  And every time he says it, her heart fills and spreads its warmth throughout her body. She is complete.

“I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow,” she said as they both embraced with eyes closed.

“I couldn’t stay away any longer. I had to bribe people until someone gave up their seat. I had to sit next to a woman and her crying child who would not stop until arrival”.

And those words somehow made her smile more.

Baekhyun has always been a pleaser, especially to her when they went to the mall to buy a simple cheap dress for Jae Eun, she took a detour to window shop at the Gucci store – looking at its diamond covered slippers. Jae Eun insisted she didn’t need it but it was nice to look at. After they got home and without Jae Eun knowing, as she was busy with her work, Baekhyun returned again with the slippers she eyed earlier.

And when she’s on her monthly cycle, he is there with a heating pad, her favorite chocolate, and orders her the greasiest foods she likes to eat. And all he asks in return is for a hug or a kiss.

He would move mountains for her and this was one of the many ways he shows his love. Not even a long-distanced trip could make him stay away from her.

She smiles into his shoulders until a thought came to mind and a pang of guilt strained her heart.

How could I be so selfish?

Earlier that day she was planning on telling him (more like complaining) the awful week she has had with the rudest person who was, in a way, her boss. But, how could she? Here is the most selfless man standing with blood-red eyes probably dying for a need of a good night’s rest after suffering on an airplane listening to a child’s cries. And yet, she expected more from him. For him to listen to her ranting while he was going off of however much energy he had left.

“You must be hungry. I’m making lasagna. Do you want some?”

His stomach answered before he verbally expressed himself. Laughing at his stomach’s response, Jae Eun lead him to the kitchen where the timer had just gone off.

Opening the oven, the smell of the melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese hit her nostril before she knew it and it reached Baekhyun too as a faint grumble erupted from behind her.

With a plate in front of him, she watched amusingly as she cut up a piece for him and put it on his plate, the cheese staining the table as it was being transported.  Baekhyun was salivating like a dog at that point and as soon as he took a bite, it was over.

With table manner seemingly thrown out the window, he dug in, spilling food around the table as he tried to stuff his mouth with as much as he could handle. All Jae Eun could do was watch in amusement. The pride of seeing him enjoy her food made her want to cook a whole buffet if it meant she’d get to see him happily munch and hum in approval.

If she didn’t love editing a writer’s idea and making it come to life, she would most likely choose cooking as a second option of a career.

Jae Eun was too immersed in her thoughts when Baekhyun spoke.

“Huh?” she asked. Missing what he said.

“Are you not eating?”

Seeing as the baking dish was halfway eaten, her stomach growled in response.

“Yeah. I guess I am.”

“Do you want to shower?”

“You go ahead. I’m full.” A satisfied Baekhyun laid in bed rubbing his belly.

Happy that she was able to satisfy his hunger, she went ahead.

An hour later after a dry brushing session, shower, and skin care regimen – she was out, only to see Baekhyun sleeping with his mouth open and one leg dangling from the bed. Smiling, Jae Eun went over to wake him up, even though he did need a good rest.

Groggily, he woke up, looking around while mumbling “What, what?”

How is a twenty-seven-year-old man this cute? Looking like a dazed baby?

“Go take a shower so you sleep better”.

“I’ll do it tomorrow,” he turned away from her and curled into a ball.

Laughing, she said, “No, you nasty. You must be uncomfortable with that suit on. The water is ready. Come on. I’ll dry brush you”.

Rocking him back and forth, Baekhyun finally agreed and went to the bathroom.

With clothes already discarded, Baekhyun sat on a shower stool (as directed by Jae Eun) and let her brush his dead skin away – all while Jae Eun looked at him from the body mirror. His sunken eyes and dark circles were a dead giveaway on how badly he wanted to sleep. Even so, he still tried his best to stay awake as she gave him a bath.

Done washing him, she led Baekhyun to the bathtub where he leaned over the edge and laid his head there, letting Jae Eun pour warm water onto his back.

“This feels nice…could you do it again?”

“Do what?” Jae Eun asked as she rubbed the water she poured on his back.

“Massage my head”. And that she did.

Baekhyun was starting to slide underwater. He was losing the fight to stay awake.

“Come on, Baekhyun, let’s get out. The waters turning cold”.

He jolted up, realizing he was falling asleep in the bath tub, and got out to dry himself while Jae Eun went to get clothes for him.

He left the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his hips. Jae Eun didn’t let him clothe himself as she pulled his clothes behind her back and he gave up and let her do the honors. Afterwards, he rubbed his hair hastily with the towel before dropping himself on the bed and the towel on the ground.

Silence engulfed the air as Jae Eun look at him, her heart almost breaking seeing him …well, done. The thought of him under watchful eyes, always on the lookout and filming his every move must be much more tiring than working from home without having any cameras or flashes in your face all the time.

“Baekhyun.”

“Hm.”

“Come here”. He turned to look at her, his eyes half opened. Jae Eun was patting her chest and he needn’t any more to say for him to go and rest his head on top of her chest. He rubbed his head against her, um, s?

To be honest, she didn’t have the big plump s most girls had. At just an A cup size, there was nothing more she was insecure about than her s and her insecurities heightened when she saw on television and in person, when Baekhyun asked her to come to local events with him, the beautiful models and guests Baekhyun interacted with who clearly were much better than her.

Baekhyun always tells her that with or without big , he’d still love her. As for why, since most of the men she dated always pointed out her flat chest and recommended her to get a job, she will never understand how he would choose hers over anyone else. But if he’s happy then she’ll take it.

“You’re going to get sick if you don’t dry your hair properly,” she put the discarded towel she picked up earlier on his head and rubbed his hair in circles.

“I’m sorry.” he mumbled.

“For what?”

“You probably wanted to talk about your week and I’m so ing tired right now.”

Another pang of guilt filled Jae Eun’s heart. He was selfless to the core and, not to mention, attentive as well. Even when he was tired, he still thought of her and is now apologizing for wanting something every human being needed - sleep.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s not important, it can wait.” Jae Eun threw the towel to the ground and ran her finger through his hair, massaging his scalp in tiny circles down to the back of his neck. “To be honest, I wanted you to come home more than me talking about my week…I missed you”.

Baekhyun chuckled, his breath tickled her chest.

“Says the one that was fine with me leaving.”

“I didn’t think it was going to be difficult,” she shrugged.

“I missed you too. God was that whole week hell for me,” he said. But then again, he always expressed himself that way for even the tiniest amount of time they were apart. 

But maybe he wasn’t exaggerating this time as Jae Eun could imagine her longing for him must have been tripled the amount of his longing for her.

“I can’t remember when or if I took a proper rest or a decent meal. It felt like after one interview I hopped on a plan to another location nonstop. I’m ing done for.”

Jae Eun Laughed. Baekhyun’s vocabulary tended to be colorful when he was tired, irritated, or both. And those two combined , while at work, was the scariest of all.

Without thinking, she said, “Why don’t you stop for a little bit then. You look like you’re about to die.”

“You know I’ve been dreaming of this since we met. And if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have been able to see it become reality”.

“Hmm…true,” she smiled reminiscing of the past. 

Oh but what true opposites they were. With Baekhyun dressing in luxurious clothing and Jae Eun dressed in what looked like it was passed down to her (later to reveal she bought her clothes at a thrift store), who would’ve thought that it was not like it seemed.

With Jae Eun being born into a family of wealthy and famous writers, her simple and cheap lifestyle did not give away her origins. As for Baekhyun, having been born to parents who work in repairing machinery and reselling them, his choice of clothing did not scream poor. 

And it did not stop there. Baekhyun openly expressed his feelings towards her and she, being reserved, did not reply back the same.Though they spoke of love differently, they both understand each others language. Even when others thought Jae Eun was with Baekhyun for his rising brand and money, they both knew better than that.

And boy were they going to be surprised if their background were to be revealed to the public.

“Besides, I can handle the stress of my company. I just need you to help me get through it all.”

And Jae Eun could not agree more. She was stupid to believe Baekhyun went overboard when showering her with adoration. Now, as she realized throughout the whole week, if she was as open as Baekhyun, she could show how much Baekhyun had become part of her life. She too needed Baekhyun to get through hard times.

But right now, Baekhyun needed her more. He, who seemed to have an unlimited supply of love for her, is now burnt out. Now, it’s her turn to take care of him. Not that she didn’t, she always took care of him when he was sick or injured but this time she was nursing his soul back to health. 

She has a love big enough for the both of them. And what better way to return his affections than by giving him what he wants - cuddles and kisses with a little mix of her own affection of food.

“So now what? Are you done?”

“No…I have three days free before I need to do another week of traveling,” he sighed and groaned at the thought of leaving again.

Jae Eun also shared the same feeling. After being away for one week, three days wasn’t going to be enough to return the contact she craved from Baekhyun. Would she be able to do it again? After a messy firing and stressful days of arguing, she needed him to ease her ache. 

Jae Eun took everything to heart but Baekhyun always knows what to say to ease her heart. But now that there was no book to edit, what was she going to do over the next seven days after these upcoming three days they had left to be together?

Come to think of it, she didn’t have people who she could call friends. Maybe acquaintances or fill-in-the-void people but she always hung out with Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun.”

“Mmm,” he said. His face between her chest.

“When it’s time to leave…could you take me with you?"

And suddenly, that simple question made Baekhyun come to life. His face lifted to see her and though he still had dark circles, his wide smile contrasted his tiring look.

While Jae Eun’s career was at home, Baekhyun’s was spreading worldwide.

And being the selfless pleaser that he is, he didn’t want to ask her to drop her work for a whole week just for him. Once again he thought of what she wanted, but now as Jae Eun herself asked to come along with him he didn’t feel bad. After all, she was going to come on her own volition.

“You want to?” His breath was shaky.

“Yeah…to be honest. I don’t think I can be away from you another week. Besides, who’s gonna cook you delicious food?”

And though Jae Eun tried to dismiss her deep affirmation of love for him, Baekhyun would always see through her. He knew her more than she knew herself.

“I love you, too, love”.

And with that, he saw cheeks slowly turn red as she bit her lip and rolled her eyes.

“Shut up and go to sleep,” Jae Eun pressed his head back on her chest.

With a smile plastered in both of their faces, they knew the effect they had on each other. Especially when Baekhyun openly said the magic word:

love.

This is Home.

A/N:

OMG! I'm nervous!

Was it okay?

I think I misplaced past and present tenses so IDK.

What do you think?

Also, I was half inspired by a prompt generator and half inspired by Catie Turner's song 'Home'.