Inspired by Come Back, Be Here

Two weeks.

Two weeks without her boyfriend by her side. It wouldn’t be so bad, right?

Song Ji Hyo wasn’t the clingy type. For as long as anyone knew her, she had been very independent on her own— she’d do grocery shopping, run errands, enjoy long bike rides at the park, walk her dog after work, eat at restaurants for meals, or go to bars for some late night drinks. It didn’t matter if she was single or she was involved in a relationship. Ji Hyo had always loved being in control of her time and spending it alone— that was until Kim Jong Kook came into the picture.

Kim Jong Kook. What was it about him that broke her walls of autonomy? For one, he’s the perfect gentleman. She could never deny that by the extravagance of his thoughtfulness like opening the car door for her, getting her an iced americano before filming, serving food on her plate (and occasionally, when no one’s looking, feeding her first just to see her eyes light up), walking next to her with an arm protectively wrapped around her waist, or carrying her wallet and phone so she could freely browse while shopping. Out of all the men she has dated, she could confidently say that he scores a gazillion out of ten. An exaggeration? She thinks not. He is simply the purest person she is grateful to receive love from and she has fallen hard for him— big time.

Perhaps this was the cause of the awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. It’s not like it’s their first time being apart. They’ve travelled far and wide for work and vacation. She knows the drill. He’ll be back before she knows it. Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three hundred thirty-six hours. Only twenty thousand one hundred sixty minutes. It’s manageable. It should be bearable. They’ll make it through his jet lag episodes and her sleep cycle. They’ll facetime one another when the sun is up on the west and the moon is up on the east. He even made sure that their calendars were synced with each other so she wouldn’t forget their time difference when she goes mong. She could go on and on about her plans of pulling herself together for the next couple of days but no matter how hard she argued, she could already feel the void he would leave without him by her side.

“Ji Hyo-ah,” Jong Kook catches her attention as she snaps out of her thoughts. Staring at the scene before her eyes, they were standing in front of his trunk inside the airport basement. Her boyfriend was miraculously able to find a good parking slot for his jeep that was spacious and empty. With barely any cars in the area, it was an excellent place to say their goodbyes privately and a convenient spot for Ji Hyo so she could easily drive his huge car out of. He hasn’t even left the country yet and he’s already in the business of tugging her heartstrings. What more then will she feel in the coming hours?

“Hey, you seem quieter. Is everything okay?” He raises his brow at her in concern.

“Neh,” she timidly responds and smiles at him reassuringly. “You’ve got everything that you need, Oppa?”

He returns a grin, “Let’s see.” Rummaging through his trunk, he takes out his travel belt bag and puts it over his shoulder before pulling out the two pieces of silver-coated luggage and a medium-sized box containing a month-long supply of shin ramyun for his Tiny hyung and LA dongsaengs.

“Looks like I’m all set,” he declares after carefully closing the door while holding the box of ramyun in one arm.

She tries to mask her disappointment upon hearing his announcement but fails. The moment he places down the box on the ground, she nearly tackles him in a hug catching him off-guard.

He heaves a sigh and embraces her tighter, nuzzling his face in her hair.

“Aigoo, I thought you hated making a scene at the airport,” he jokes, trying to make light of the situation but she only shakes her head against his chest.

He chuckles as he withdraws himself from her. Cupping her face with his right hand, he checks on her and sees a glint of sadness in her eyes.

“Sweetheart… it’s only two weeks. It’ll fly by so fast,” he comforts her while brushing his thumb gently across her cheek. “Hmm?”

She forces a smile for him, “I know. You’ll be back by my side soon.”

“And you’ll be back in my arms before you know it.”

She curls her fingers into a fist, “I can do this—”

“We can do this,” he corrects, raising his brows playfully.

She lightly laughs at this and presses a kiss on his lips, “Yes, we can.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I land,” he assures her and adds, “I’ve set your calendar reminders. Don’t forget to unmute your notifications so you won’t miss our calls.”

She leans in to capture his lips once again but not as swift as before, much to his delight. He responds vigorously as he hungrily pulls her closer, snaking his arm on her lower back and sliding a finger behind the pocket of her jeans. She giggles at this, causing her to break free from him.

“Wae?” He sends her a teasing pout, “I’m beginning to have second doubts if I should take my flight to LA.”

She purses her lips and playfully shoves his face with her right hand, “Aish. Go or you’ll really miss your flight!”

He laughs, “Arasso, I should leave since you want me gone so bad.”

“Call me when you get there?” she bites her lip as it’s starting to dawn on her how bad she’ll miss him.

He grabs her face one last time for another kiss, “I promise and I’ll see you in two weeks.”

.::.

Jong Kook keeps his promise and calls Ji Hyo straight away as soon as he lands in LAX. Everything is going smoothly for him: from easily passing through immigration to quickly retrieving his luggage from the conveyor belt and spotting Tiny’s ‘Welcome Back, Home Boy’ note at the arrival area, he couldn’t be more excited about his trip — except for one thing, Ji Hyo’s not with him in the City of Angels.

They nearly made it to fixing their schedules together. Not only were they able to work around his shows with hers but they also got the Running Man cast and PDs onboard with the idea of having the staff go on their much needed break. Besides, Jong Kook wasn’t only going to the States for a holiday. He was attending a friend’s wedding, a fitting event to bring Ji Hyo as his date without having the news articles on their tails. He met the groom, Max, from one of his first fourth of July experiences many years ago. The guy had no clue who Jong Kook was and had no interest in Korea’s showbiz industry either. They became good friends and have often hung out together when he was in town. However, the plan was too good to be true. Just as they were about to book their tickets, Ji Hyo got a call from her agency that they couldn’t postpone her cf schedule due to the tight timeframe of the products’ launch. While the idea to drop the deal was very tempting, she couldn’t risk it for the sake of going on a dream vacation to LA and accompanying her oppa at a wedding— or else she'll end up facing a messy lawsuit that will welcome her back in Korea. Maybe another time.

Jong Kook stretches his legs in the passenger seat of Tiny’s car while his hyung tops up their gas for the long drive ahead. He fishes out his phone and immediately opens FaceTime to check on his girlfriend. While waiting for her to pick up, he hums a tune and uses the front camera as a mirror to comb his fingers through his hair.

1...2...3

Ji Hyo wasn’t answering.

4….5…

Jong Kook’s eyes stumble upon the car navigator’s clock and suddenly realizes the mistake he has made. He’s only been in LA for a few minutes and he has already screwed up their time difference. It was four am in Seoul. In panic, he accidentally drops his phone and unsuccessfully cancels the call.

“Oppa?” Ji Hyo finally picks up. Her voice is a bit hoarse from being woken up at such an ungodly hour. She opens one eye and groggily casts a tired smile to her boyfriend.

“Hey,” he greets her then apologizes immediately. “I’m sorry I forgot what time it was.”

She lets out a low laugh and blinks both eyes open, “Gwenchana. I’m glad you called.”

He then notices the familiar room Ji Hyo was at— the pitch black duvet covering her head, the black pillow she was resting on, and the oversized black hoodie she was wearing.

“Ji Hyo-ah, are you at my place?” The corner of his mouth twitches upward when he sees her face turning red.

“Busted,” she scrunches her nose. “I didn’t feel like going home after dropping your car.”

“Did the drive tire you out?” He asks worriedly.

“Not really. I had a few drinks and lounged in your living room to finish the series we saw last week—”

He gasps dramatically, “You finished it without me?”

She scoffs, “Stop pretending that you haven’t done the same. You’ve seen Modern Family behind my back and lied about it.”

He widely grins and sticks his tongue to the side for a second, “We’re even then.”

“Not quite,” she teases him back.

“And why is that?” His smirks.

“You’re not back yet.”

Jong Kook sighs in defeat and stares into her sleepy eyes, “I miss you.”

“Nado,” she replies with her eyelids becoming heavier by the minute. Jong Kook chuckles knowing that she’s fighting the urge to fall back to bed.

“Alright, I should let you sleep.”

Ji Hyo blows him a kiss before and Jong Kook pretends to catch it before hanging up.

.::.

On their next video call, Ji Hyo proudly shows him her work of art, a croiffle topped with vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and a dash of chocolate syrup.

Jong Kook squints his eyes and examines her masterpiece on his phone’s tiny screen, “What’s it called again?”

“A croiffle,” she repeats and zooms her camera’s focus on the food. “Simply put a frozen croissant inside the waffle maker!” She moves her fork and lifts the bread at an angle so her boyfriend could see better.

“Ahhh,” Jongkook says and rubs his chin. “The ice cream and chocolate…are they necessary?” He asks unsure.

“Of course they are! It wouldn’t be a croiffle without it!” She raises her voice then shifts her front cam on, “And don’t think about nagging me about the sugar content. I know what I did!”

“But it does have a lot of sugar,” he raises both his brows.

“Who cares? You’re not here to sweet talk me—,” she stops and he presses his lips together, fighting a laugh.

“Sweet talk?” he picks on her as an amused grin forms across his face.

Ji Hyo ignores him, realizing that he won’t let this one go and takes a bite of the croiffle.

“Ji Hyo,” Jong Kook calls her but she continues to avoid him by getting another mouthful of her food. He clears his throat and gives it another shot, “Babe.”

It works as she looks up to meet his gaze through the lens. Putting up a face, she points the fork at him, “Please don’t.”

He doesn’t budge, “Be honest with me, do you like it when I sweet talk you?”

“What time is it? Shouldn’t you be sleeping by now?” She cuts him, still refusing to answer.

Jong Kook slyly smirks, “So you like it when I go cheesy on you.”

Ji Hyo drops her fork and stares at him, “Fine. I miss it and your stupid sweet talk. I’m splurging on all these sweets cause I imagined you walking in on me and scolding me by the amount of ice cream I’ll be finishing by myself tonight and—”

“First order of business when I get back, let’s make croiffles together and I’ll fight with you on how much sugar you put on them and sweet talk to you after.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she the chocolate syrup off her thumb.

.::.

“Which is better— black or white?” Jong Kook lifts two hoodies from the rack for Ji Hyo to choose from.

It’s their fourth day apart when Jong Kook calls her from Vegas, specifically from an outlet store. Jong Kook and his buddies have driven to Las Vegas for Max’s Bachelor’s party that weekend. Since the clubbing and drinking won’t start till 9pm, he asked Tin