One year tomorrow would mark the day Jinyoung left to pursue his dream. He was happy and proud that his boyfriend, or fiancé, either word was fine with him, was out there chasing his dream. He held absolutely nothing against him for leaving abruptly like he did. To think that he was doing what he loved easily put a smile on his face, but it never stayed for long.

With his departure, came an overwhelming sadness. Junghwan missed him immensely, and no matter what he did; could never fully get the other off his mind.

Everything he did, there were memories that would come up, playing like a scene in a movie throughout his head.

He was happy, but he was depressed at the same time.

There were memories all over their apartment, even if they were small things. He’d remember them and play them over in his head until finding himself crying. It was ridiculous at times, but not seeing someone he loved for a whole year was difficult.

Currently he sat at the edge of their bed, in their much too empty room. It was a little bit past eleven at night the red numbered alarm clock informed. That creeping loneliness was wrapping over his shoulders, making his chest feel tight and his body rigid.

To say the least it was hard to deal with this nearly every night, and having to wake in the morning without Jinyoung’s face smiling down on him was even harder. He was half the reason he even pulled himself out of bed. Some days were better than other’s; if he’d happened to have gotten a postcard from the other, the day was brighter and he felt happy that Jinyoung was thinking about him. That feeling only lasted about a week before his mind threw him into the pits of despair.

As pathetic as it sounded, there were mornings he’d wake up crying because the dreams were the worst. They were more like nightmares actually, and they were always about Jinyoung forgetting about him and never coming home.

At this point, that was probably his biggest fear. Being forgotten. He trusted Jinyoung, but what if the fame got to his head?

He had to believe that his fiancé knew better, but the spotlight can do strange things to a person. Still, he stood by their relationship. No matter how long Jinyoung was gone, he’d stay true to him because that was how much he loved him.

That was why when he received postcards, he was always relived that he still remembered who was back at home waiting for his return.

Junghwan knew that his leaving had put them both into an unexpected twist, but the day he’d found out he’d been leaving was also the happiest day of his life.

And he still remembered everything that had happened perfectly.

If it had been something he’d done or said to cause Jinyoung to be so silent, Junghwan felt almost horrible. The closer they got to home, the less his boyfriend would speak. Normally he’d at least laugh when he made a stupid joke or said something ridiculously outlandish. He’d even poked him childishly but all Jinyoung did was swat his hand away. The fact that they were still holding hands through all this reassured him that he wasn’t angry, but he just wondered what was going on in his head.

Now that he paid more attention to his face, he appeared lost in thought or deeply thinking about something. He looked way too concentrated for their casual evening out.

When they reached the front door of their apartment building, Junghwan took the opportunity to jump in front of the other and stare into his eyes. He was looking at him, but obviously not really paying attention.

“Jinyoung, what are you thinking about?!” he snapped, trying to get his attention.

Finally he got a reaction; the other looked to have pulled himself out of the daze to actually look more in tune. “What?” Jinyoung asked; completely oblivious to how his partner felt.

Junghwan hit him lightly on the head. “What’s wrong with you?” he said with a frown. “You ignored me the entire walk back.”

Jinyoung gazed at him for many moments until smiling apologetically, reaching out his hand to lightly slide along the other’s cheek. “Sorry.” Lowering his hand; he turned his head the other way. Towards the sun that had begun setting. “Just a lot on my mind.” His response was troubled added with a light sigh.

“Is it about the scouting?” the other wondered aloud. A few weeks ago, Jinyoung had sent a letter and tape to WM Entertainment of him singing and playing his guitar in hopes of being discovered. It was Jinyoung’s dream to be a singer, and this had been the perfect opportunity since the company had sent out an add looking for new talent. They’d said about this time he’d get a reply back in the mail, but so far nothing.

Bringing his head back to gaze at Junghwan, he nodded once then scratched the side of his face. “That and something else…”

This perked the other’s curiosity. “What else?”

Jinyoung simply smiled, walking past him and into the apartment building. “Don’t worry about it.”

His boyfriend frowned again at being brushed off, and planned to find out what else was bothering him before the night was over. Eventually he followed him into the building, but before going into the elevator Jinyoung was stopped at the mailboxes near the front desk that was currently closed. Junghwan beamed happily; standing next to his boyfriend he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The two shared a brief reassuring glance; at least Junghwan did but received a wary look from Jinyoung. Pulling the mailbox key out of his pocket; found their number and put the key inside. Twisting it brashly, and anxiously opening the small box. Jinyoung picked up all of the mail and went through it while Junghwan watched by his side.

Bills.

Bills.

More bills.

Advertising.

A random magazine neither remembered subscribing to; and right underneath that was a letter addressed to a Jung Jinyoung. He immediately felt the other tense; but to remind him that he was still here supporting him, his hand tightened a little more on his shoulder.

“It’s alright, no matter what happens I’ll always be here cheering for you!” he said excitedly, jumping a little on his heels to show his encouragement.

Jinyoung flashed him a beautiful smile that could make anyone’s heart melt. “Thanks.” he muttered, kissing his cheek lightly but it still managed to elicit a small blush from the other.

Both of them brought their attention back to the envelope after putting all of the other junk mail back. After a long sigh and some clear mental confidence building, Jinyoung began slowly opening the letter. They stayed silent throughout the whole ordeal. And once the letter was actually in Jinyoung’s hands; they both began reading it over as quickly as they could.

                                Dear Jung Jinyoung,

                We received your tape and were unexpectedly surprised by the amazing voice that came from such a young man. You have very promising talent and we wish to have you take part in a training program starting 5/14/2--- that will last from a variation of a year or two. In this program you will be taking vocal lessons from teachers around the world, and also be exposed to what a daily life of a singer would be like.

                                More information will be presented if you choose to except.

                                Thank you for your time, we hope to see you soon.

For multiple minutes; the two of them stood motionless. A bubbling happiness was forming in Junghwan’s stomach; they’d liked him! He knew that they would. He’d heard his boyfriend sing many times and he was amazing. There hadn’t been a doubt in his mind that they wouldn’t think the same way, saying Jinyoung had been worrying over nothing. And this just proved him right.

The next thing that happened was a complete blur because it was so abrupt; Jinyoung had wrapped his arms around him and lifted him right off the ground from pure excitement.

“They liked me! I can’t believe it! Can you believe it, Deul?” Jinyoung sounded so happy; it put a huge smile on his face.

“Of course I can believe it! I tell you all the time how great your voice is!” he replied; laughing when Jinyoung visibly blushed.

All throughout the ride on the elevator and the walk to their apartment was filled with uplifting talk of how amazing the opportunity was. Junghwan felt like his cheeks were going to be stuck in place by how much he was smiling at the other. Jinyoung couldn’t keep his eyes off of the letter, he’d probably read it over ten times by now. Just seeing how he’d reacted and the enthusiasm that danced in his eyes filled him with joy.

When they’d walked into their apartment, and after the door was shut, Junghwan had noticed that his boyfriend still stood in front of the door. He walked a little closer out of curiosity, and noticed that his smile was slipping off his face.

“What is it?” he questioned cautiously. The drastic change in his demeanor was troubling.

“The date on here…” he trailed off a few seconds until looking up at Junghwan with sad eyes. “That’s tomorrow. They want me to leave tomorrow.”

That was right; the date on the letter was tomorrow. His heart sank a little as he remembered what the document had said, that he could be away for a year; two at most. He wanted to tell Jinyoung to just forget it and wait for another chance, but there might not be another chance. He had to be supportive; his emotions couldn’t get in the way of Jinyoung’s dreams.

“That’s alright… I-I mean… a chance like this might never happen again.” Junghwan stated. He felt like he was trying to convince more himself than Jinyoung that what he was saying was true. The words hadn’t even wanted to leave his mouth. They’d left a foul after taste; and his throat felt dry. Of course he didn’t want Jinyoung to leave, even imagining it happening tore at his heart. But he’d have to bear with it. This wasn’t about him, it was about Jinyoung and what would make him happy.

“I know.” Jinyoung agreed; but he didn’t look thrilled about it. His eyes wandered to the floor in thought. “It’s just hard to imagine having to be away from you for so long… I don’t think I could live.”

“Yeah, it’ll be hard to live without me.” he responded sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

Jinyoung chuckled lightly, turning his soft eyes to the duck. “How will I get along without your loud, obnoxious voice and thoughtless jokes?”

“Hey!” he stuck his tongue out immaturely. “My voice isn’t obnoxious!” crossing his arms; he turned away from his boyfriend, pretending to actually be hurt by the meaningless jab. “And my jokes are funny.”

“But those are things I love about you.” Jinyoung teased, coming up behind the other to pull him into a back hug.

While he rested his chin on his shoulder, both of them felt much more relaxed in the embrace. But soon after Junghwan could feel his boyfriend slightly trembling, and after hearing a sharp intake of breath, he sighed. Placing his hands over the ones tightly connected on his stomach; he tried to keep back his tears as well. The task wasn’t easy, but he wanted to at least appear stronger.

“I don’t know if I can do this…” whispered Jinyoung into his ear, his voice was shaky and it hurt his chest to hear.

“You can; this is your dream! You’ve wanted to be a singer all your life, why would you pass it up?!” Junghwan was trying so hard to continue sounding happy. But with his lover crying solemnly on his shoulder, it was a challenging task.

Silence followed for a while until Jinyoung finally spoke; and when he did he let go of him. “You're right…” turning around; he saw that his boyfriend had managed to pull himself together again. This time two different emotions were flashing across his face; one of uncertainty and the other of determination. For many minutes; he was internally battling with himself, or that was what Junghwan assumed.

“Jinyoung…?” getting tired of the stillness that had formed between them, he tried to shatter it. His word had gotten through by the way Jinyoung stared at him now; the determination looked to have won him over.

“Could you sit down?” he asked unpredictably.

A second of indecision and he moved to the nearest chair in the kitchen. He sat in front of Jinyoung who stood before him; a hand fishing oddly in his pocket.

Jinyoung was clearly incredibly nervous, he was biting his lip and his eyes would connect with his boyfriends then quickly to something else.           

“What?” Junghwan asked dully; still not sure why he’d asked him to sit. He felt like he was about to tell him some secret he’d been keeping for the past three years they’d been dating.

After taking a deep breath; his eyes finally fell onto Junghwan’s, not wavering once. “I figure now would be a good time to ask you this; I don’t really want to wait another year…” he began.

“Ask me what?” he wondered blunt to the apparent actions.

Jinyoung glared. “Stop talking so I can!” he replied quickly, making the other finally shut up. His glare quickly disappeared; being replaced by that pure determination, but he also managed a smile. “Sandeul, I… I wasn’t really sure how to ask you this, or when the right time would be.” Scratching his neck; his smile turned more embarrassed. “I feel like I’m just throwing this at you right before leaving for a year, but I think it’s better to ask now.” he gradually lowered himself to a knee in front of Junghwan who still was completely clueless as to what was happening. As if it wasn’t cheesy enough, by this time Jinyoung had even managed a blush.

Reaching into his pocket; he pulled out a fair sized black square and held it in front of the male. “We’ve been together for so long, and I’ve never been happier with anyone else. I hope you feel the same way…” he mumbled off until regaining his confidence. “I love you; and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter what happens.” Opening the square reviled two silver rings.

As soon as Junghwan saw them; it all dawned. He jumped up; causing the chair to fly back behind him. His face heated up as bright as a tomato; the blood in his veins all of sudden rushing through every part of his body. “Y-You’re going to- to-!”

Jinyoung nodded once. “I want you to marry me; Junghwan, will you have me?”

“I- I-”all he could do was stutter and make noises he couldn’t even recognize. Was this serious?! He wasn’t dreaming right? Just to make sure he ran to the fridge; opening the freezer he stuck his arm in the ice bucket.

“What are you doing?!” he heard Jinyoung yell from behind him.

The overwhelming coldness turned his hand beat red; almost immediately numbing it. Quickly he pulled it out, holding his hands together to warm them. “I was making sure I wasn’t dreaming!” Junghwan exclaimed; his face as flushed as his hand.

Jinyoung stared at him; completely disoriented by the brunette. Then was in a fit of laughter; while he was leaned forward trying to control himself, Junghwan was frowning feeling completely humiliated. He’d never really thought about marriage before; sure when he was younger but what kid didn’t do that? But actually being proposed to, and by Jinyoung was something he’d never imagined in his lifetime. What was he supposed to say? After embarrassing himself like that he felt like sulking in a corner.

When his partner’s laughter finally subsided; he was smiling, and held the rings out to him again. “This isn’t a dream, please say yes. I love you so much Sandeul, I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else.”

Being unable to manage words, he nodded his head. By the time Jinyoung had taken his hand and was putting the ring onto it; there were tears running down his face. He’d tried so hard to keep them back; but after all this there was no way. He felt filled with so much joy the only way some of it could escape was from crying.

When the other noticed this; he brought his now fiancé into a tight hug. Rubbing circles on his back while he sobbed into Jinyoung’s shoulder.

“You don’t even know how happy you’ve made me tonight.” The burgundy haired man murmured into his ear. “I’m sorry for asking you now, I had been thinking about when the right time would be… but after getting that letter and realizing I was leaving tomorrow, I couldn’t put it off.”

Junghwan couldn’t produce a sound out of his mouth that wasn’t a whimper or sniffle so he said nothing in response. His emotions felt all over the place; he was scared and upset that his lover was going to leave him for a year tomorrow, but he was also overjoyed about being proposed to. How was he supposed to react? What was he supposed to feel? Both of these emotions were so strong that they all mixed together in a bundle of chaos inside his head.

When Jinyoung pulled him back to face him; there was a bright smile on his face, but he had started crying also. It didn’t make sense, and neither did his words at the time.

“Thank you, for everything!”

With a large sigh; he pulled himself off of the bed and to the window, opening it. An hour had already gone by; with him trapped inside his thoughts.

As he gazed at the sky; he realized how large it really was. The stars were bright tonight, and the moon was just as sliver. He couldn’t help a small smile from slipping onto his face.

He chuckled to himself at how silly his thoughts were; but voiced them anyways. “You’re looking at the sky too, aren’t you?” he spoke to no one, but he hoped that Jinyoung could hear his voice where ever he was. “I guess I should tell you something. I didn’t get the chance to say this before you left…”

His heart throbbed thinking about this; these words he’d wanted to tell him so badly but he didn’t have the courage to say as he was leaving the apartment that day.

Mimicking the same smile Jinyoung had given him; and as the tears fell, he managed out the words that had been locked away for much too long.

“I love you.”

Cheer's for cheesy ending! But like i said this orginally was going to be a one-shot, but i decided to keep going with it. 

TBC...