Sungmin didn’t wake Yesung before he left.  He felt a pang of guilt over it now that he was aboard the plane but, at the same time, he didn’t want Yesung to have the chance to go down that don’t wait for me road that they’d started on in Singapore.  Separating for several years was hard enough when you felt assured that they meant to be there when you got back.  His uncertainty over Yesung sticking it out was more than he could handle.

            Perhaps it was silly, to dream of a life together down the road when you’d only been dating for a few weeks.  But for Sungmin, this was different.  He had loved Yesung for years already.  He couldn’t even pinpoint when it had begun, it probably grew gradually over time, but he knew for certain that he’d loved him too long already to give up just because their relationship became a little complicated.  It wasn’t as if they couldn’t communicate at all.  And it wasn’t going to last forever.  He would wait as long as he had to.

            Ryeowook looked over at Sungmin so often, he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

            “Just say what’s on your mind, Wookie,” Sungmin said, looking out the window as the plane began to move.

            “You should have said good-bye to him.  He’s going to be upset when he wakes up and you aren’t there.”

            “I can’t say good-bye to him.”

            “But, you still should have woken him.  I think you’ll regret it later.”

            Sungmin shook his head.  “This isn’t good-bye, so it’s okay.  Trust me.”

            Ryeowook dropped the subject and began talking to Eunhyuk in the seat next to him.  Why the maknaes weren’t sitting together wasn’t high on his list of priorities to figure out, so he didn’t bother asking about it.  They’d probably argued and were staying away from each other to cool off. 

           Sungmin needed time to let the fact that he wasn’t going to see Yesung again for a long time settle in.  He’d been trying to prepare himself since that night they first got together but nothing can really ready you for it until it begins and they aren’t there to share news with or hold you when you’re down.  His heart ached so bad already and it hadn’t even been more than a couple hours. 

            Yesung woke up and noticed how bright the room was already and glanced over at the clock.  2:13 pm.  He shot up straight in bed and looked around and found himself alone in the room.  Didn’t Sungmin say they’d leave at eleven in the morning to catch their one o’clock flight?  He jumped out of bed and pulled on his flannel pants.  Perhaps he’d heard the departure time wrong.  Or maybe the flight was cancelled and they’d let him sleep in without telling him.

            He pulled on his robe and tied it hurriedly, walking out of the room and crossing the hall to Sungmin’s room, knocking frantically.  No answer.  Opening the door, he noticed the luggage that had been there last night was gone. 

            After searching the whole apartment and dialing several numbers on his phone, he realized that they’d already left and although he said his good-byes to the other members last night, he still expected to see his boyfriend and roommates before they took off.  They weren’t due back until Monday night and he would leave early that morning. 

            He sat down on the couch and covered his face with his hands.  How could Sungmin leave, knowing they wouldn’t see each other for so long, and not say good-bye?  Had he done this to himself?  Was this Sungmin’s way of saying he didn’t matter?  This was his own fault.  He’d tried to make things easier on Sungmin and told him they could part ways if he wanted or separate if it became too hard.  Without taking into account how Sungmin felt, he made it sound like it didn’t matter if he was there when he returned or not but that wasn’t really how he felt.

            Back when he was in Hong Kong, during that first long weekend away from his boyfriend, the truth hit him, overwhelming in its intensity.  He was hooked.  He was already well past the point of being able to walk away.  It was almost devastating to discover that it had become so complicated in so little time.  For the last two weeks, he’d thought about telling him but was afraid that it would only make matters worse but now he realized that he may have had it all wrong.   In fact, maybe it would have helped.

            Yesung felt his eyes begin to sting with unshed tears when he heard the lock click.

            “I just knew that you’d still be here, overanalyzing everything and doing nothing.  It’s a shocker