Soobin wasn’t worried, of course not. Okay, he was a bit nervous but he couldn’t help it. He had spent every day of the last eighteen years stuck at the hip with Yeonjun, his childhood friend and boyfriend of five years. Just the thought of being apart from Yeonjun for even a whole day made him fidgety and nervous.

“Soobinie? Aren’t you gonna say something?” Yeonjun’s soft voice got him out of his thoughts.

“I’m sorry. That’s great, I’m really happy for you.” Soobin said and he was being honest but he couldn’t hide the faint sadness in his voice.

“Are you sure? You don’t sound happy.”

Soobin smiled, getting closer to Yeonjun grabbing his hands.

“I’m very happy for you, baby. I know it’s your dream to be a model. And it’s only one month, right?”

“Yes, that’s what the modelling agency told me.”

“Then that’s okay. I can survive one month without you.” Soobin said, giggling.

Yeonjun kissed him softly on the lips.

“I love you Soobinie.”

“I love you too Yeonjunie.”

 

One week later, Yeonjun was on the plane to New York. Soobin had helped him pack, holding his tears back. Now that he was alone in his room, he could finally cry freely. It had only been one hour and he was already missing Yeonjun to death. Of course, they promised to text and call each other as much as possible but it wasn’t the same thing. Soobin wouldn’t be able to touch Yeonjun, to kiss him, to hug him, to feel him against him at all times.

One month had almost gone by when Soobin received a call from Yeonjun.

“Hi baby.”

“Hi, Junie. How are you?”

“I’m fine sweets, you?”

“I’m okay but I can’t wait for you to be back.”

“Yeah, about that…”

Soobin already knew where this was going.

“You’re not coming back yet.” He simply said and Yeonjun’s deep sigh was enough to confirm his words.

“I’m sorry. I was supposed to come back but Dior want to talk with me. They saw me on the runway yesterday and they want me to go to Paris with them for the Fashion Week.”

Soobin didn’t know how to react. He was incredibly proud of his boyfriend, it was big deal! He was also so happy for Yeonjun, he always wanted to be a model, it was his whole world. But Soobin was also immensely sad that he wouldn’t be able to see his boyfriend soon. He was lonely and he felt empty without Yeonjun beside him. Of course, he had friends at uni but his boyfriend was also his best friend and no one could ever replace him.

“How long are you going to stay in Paris?”

“I don’t really know. I’ll walk the runway for the Fashion Week and then if Dior still want to work with me, I’ll have to stay there long enough to read and sign the contract. And if it happens, I really don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Yeonjun sounded so sad and heartbroken, Soobin was glad they weren’t FaceTiming. He could only imagine his sad expression and it made him teary.

“Look, that’s fine, okay? Don’t be sad. It’s a huge deal, I get it, just go to Paris and don’t worry about me. I know it’s hard but what will we do when you’ll become a supermodel? We have to get used to long distance.” Soobin reasoned, not wanting Yeonjun to feel too sad.

“Don’t you miss me?” Yeonjun asked, sniffling. He was crying.

“Of course I miss you, baby! I miss you so much I feel like dying. But don’t cry, you’re making your dream come true! You should be happy and proud, just like I am!”

“It’s just… I never told you because I didn’t want to be a burden and it was my decision but it’s really hard to be without you. I miss you so much, seeing your face and hearing your voice isn’t enough. I love you so much.”

Yeonjun was full-on sobbing right now and it broke Soobin’s heart. He held back his tears, he couldn’t break when Yeonjun needed him to be strong.

“Baby, you’re never a burden. It’s okay to hurt, to miss me and to feel lonely, I feel exactly the same. But it’s not okay to try to minimise what you feel just because it was your decision to go to New York. I love you to the moon and back, Yeonjunie, never forget that. We’ll get through it.”

After this, Yeonjun calmed down, they talked a little bit more until it was time for Yeonjun to go to sleep and for Soobin to go to class.

 

Years later, the couple is still going strong. They’re married and Soobin is proud to call himself the husband of the supermodel Choi Yeonjun, face of Prada. They can’t see each other very often, only once to twice a year at most but it’s okay. They learnt how to live without having the other right next to them every second of every day but they didn’t love the other less. On the contrary, not being able to see each other often made their love stronger.