requested by anon

t/w: past abusive relationship

"Hey."

"Hey yourself, Xing. What's up? You usually don't call me, we do live on the same street after all..."

"Yeah... About that... We're not going to be living next to each other anymore."

"Huh? Why? Where are you moving to? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Remember how I was going to all those auditions before?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Well... I got accepted."

"Really? That's awesome, Yixing!"

"But..."

"I knew there was going to be a 'but'..."

"I have to move. To Korea."

"When?"

"Now."

~*~*~*~*~

It' had been a year since you'd last spoken to Yixing.

After he'd gotten accepeted into SM, the two of you had begun to communicate less and less. He hadn't had time to talk to you due to his intense training, and when he did manage to get some free time, he spent it sleeping or hanging out with other trainees.

Not that you blamed him, of course.

You knew that performing was his dream, his one true calling, and you didn't want to be the one holding him back.

So you let him go.

You missed him dearly, of course--nobody had ever understood you the way he did, loved you the way he did.

Unfortunately, your parents didn't seem to agree.

The moment they found out that Yixing had left China, they set you up with the son of one of their friends. They'd never liked Yixing, and they thought he was weak and stupid for wanting to perform instead of being a doctor or some other 'more respectable' career.

But you didn't care.

Anything would be better than this.

Zhongwen, the man you'd been forced into a relationship with, was a horrible man, to put it simply.

He had little respect for women, and that included you.

He often got drunk, and when he did, he would return home and abuse you, shouting insults and shoving you up against the wall.

But there was nothing you could do.

You couldn't go stay with a friend because your parents would find you.

You couldn't report him to the government because they probably wouldn't care.

And you couldn't leave the country because there was nowhere for you to go.

So you were stuck.

Stuck in a never-ending cycle of hurt and loneliness.

Until the day Yixing returned.

~*~*~*~*~

It started with a phone call.

You glanced at the screen of your phone, an unknown number printed upon it.

Confused about who would be calling you, you pressed the green button and held up the phone to your ear.

"Hello?"

"Wow, you still use the same number after all this time."

"Who is this?"

"It's me, Yixing! You couldn't tell?"

"Yixing? Why are you calling me?" you asked. He hadn't called in over a year—so why now?

"Well, I mean, I'm back in Changsha for a bit. Do you wanna hang out or something? You know, catch up?"

Without any hesitation, you agreed. Luckily, Zhongwen was out for some sort of business trip for the week, so you didn't need to try and make up some sort of excuse.

"Great! How about we meet at that restaurant we always used to go to at six?"

"Sure, sounds great."

"I'll see you then."

He hung up, and you let out a soft squeal of happiness.

At long last, Yixing was finally back.

~*~*~*~*~

At 5:50, you stood outside the restaurant, your arms crossed as you waited for Yixing to arrive. Hopefully, he hadn't forgotten.

"Hey!" you hear someone yell, and you turned to the side, and saw Yixing waving as he walked toward you.

He looked much thinner since the last time you'd seen him; the chubby cheeks he'd had before thinned out to reveal more prominent cheekbones, and something in his eyes seemed more somber than before. No longer did he seem the cute, innocent Yixing from before, but you didn't really mind the change.

"Wow, you're still beautiful after all this time," he said as he grew closer, and you blushed—it really had been a while since anyone had called you beautiful, or even complimented you.

"I'm just the same as ever," you chuckled. "Shall we go in?"

"After you." Yixing opened the door for you and gestured for you to walk in, and once again, you found yourself reminded all over again of why you'd fallen in love with him. In your eyes, he was the perfect man, and no one else could compare.

"So how've you been?" you asked as the two of you got settled down. "Training been okay?"

"It's been decent," he said vaguely. "Singing and dancing a lot. You?"

"Not good," you confessed, looking down into your lap as you pleated the edge of your shirt in your hands. "My