“I wish I could go with you guys,” you whined for the millionth time that night as Yongguk showed you another of his new purchases over Skype. The boys were in Los Angeles, and while it was 11pm at night for you, it was only 7am where they were. It was strange seeing the bright sunlight streaming into Yongguk’s hotel room in the background while you were sitting in the darkness of your apartment, with only your bedside lamp on. You were sitting upright in bed with your laptop balanced on your lap, and from what you could see, Yongguk appeared to be in a similar position.

“I offered to buy you a ticket but you said you didn’t want it,” he pointed out, his eyes looking downwards. He was clearly still rummaging through what you imagined to be a pile of new clothes and shoes on his bed. The shopaholic within you screamed in jealousy, but Yongguk appeared determined to torture you by giving you a detailed breakdown of everything he’d bought and where he’d bought them.

“What will people think if they see me?” you argued, groaning. “People will be wondering why Kim Himchan brought his sister on tour!”

Yongguk extracted a cap from the pile and put it on his head. “Our fans know that you’re TS staff. You could have just joined our stylists and coordis, and no one would harass you.”

“Your fans already hate me because they know I’m working with you,” you grumbled, thinking of that conversation you’d overheard in the washroom in the office. You sighed, deciding to drop the topic. “Did you buy me anything?”

Yongguk grinned. “Of course I did. Ya, I’ve been talking to you for fifteen minutes and you haven’t once said anything about missing me! What kind of girlfriend are you?”

“I thought that was obvious,” you said, leaning forward towards the camera so Yongguk could have a closer look at your t-shirt. “Look, I’m wearing your clothes to sleep.” You could see a satisfied smile on his face as you turned to your side and pulled his favorite soft toy towards you, waving it in front of the camera as well. “And Tigger is right here.” It was the old soft toy that he kept on his bed and slept with every night, and you were safeguarding it (or as he put it, Tigger was safeguarding you) while he was away.

“I still want to hear you say it.”

You sighed at his petulance, clutching Tigger tightly to your chest. “Fine. I miss you. Happy now?”

Yongguk had a triumphant look on his face as he looked somewhere outside of the frame. “See? I told you I could get her to say it!”

“It doesn’t count if you have to tell her to!” you heard your brother’s voice protest.

“Ya! Bang Yongguk! You tricked me?”

He laughed as he waved his arm violently, seemingly gesturing for Himchan to get lost before he looked back at the webcam again. “Sorry, babe. He bet me that you wouldn’t ever tell me that you miss me, even if you really did. I just had to prove him wrong.”

“You’re both idiots,” you stated, pouting. You couldn’t hit him since he was on the other side of the planet, so you took out your anger on his soft toy. “This is you,” you declared, holding Tigger out in front of the camera before landing a punch on its head.

“Ya, don’t do that!” he protested, still laughing. “I’m sorry, okay?” His expression softened as he gazed at you through the camera. “I know it’s only been two days, but I really miss you. Everything here’s been amazing, and I wish you were here to experience it all with me.”

You gave him a small smile. “Well, you can take photos and show me. And while you’re at it, buy me more gifts.”

Yongguk laughed again and stuck his tongue out at you, removing the snapback he was wearing and replacing it with another one in a different design. “Anyway, we’re flying early tomorrow morning so I probably won’t be able to catch you on Skype. I’ll text you when we land, okay?”

“Okay,” you replied. “I’ll find something else to do. It’s not like I’m sitting around and waiting for you to get an Internet connection. I have a life too, you know?”

“Aren’t I lucky to have a girlfriend who doesn’t need me?” he joked, shaking his head reproachfully at you.

You shrugged. “It’s something we have to get used to anyway. You’re going to be away a lot, and I can’t just mope around waiting for you, can I?”

“Yes, I know you’re an independent woman,” Yongguk teased. “You might wanna influence Hyosung noona with your positivity though. I heard from your oppa that she’s having a hard time being away from him.”

“Ah, new relationships,” you mused, letting out a dramatic sigh. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. I’ll teach her to appreciate the rare bit of peace that we have when Himchan oppa is not around.”

“Ya, are you guys talking about me behind my back?” you heard your brother’s loud voice from outside the frame again.

“He’s still there?” you asked, furrowing your brows.

Himchan popped his head into the frame. “I just came in and caught you saying something mean about me! What were you going to tell Hyosung?”

Yongguk pushed his head away. “Ya, what do you want?”

“I want to know why your girlfriend is badmouthing me to my girlfriend!” he complained. “And also, Suk Goo hyung wants us down for breakfast.”

You waved at the camera. “Okay, you guys go have breakfast. I should be heading to bed anyway.”

Yongguk kicked Himchan off his bed and you heard your brother’s loud curses as he hit the floor with a ‘thump’. Yongguk turned back to you, waving to the camera as well. “Okay, we’re going down. I’ll text you. Love you.”

You blew him a kiss. “Love you. Bye!”

“Bye, babe.”

Just before the connection cut, you heard Himchan whine, “Gross! I’m right here!”

You opened the door of the practice room just in time to see the Secret girls collapse to the floor, sweaty and exhausted. When they saw the bag of isotonic drinks you held in your hand, their expressions brightened.

“It’s Little Hana!”

You greeted them politely before handing out the bottled drinks, which they all took gratefully. As the girls gulped down their beverages thirstily, you sat down beside Hyosung. She looked a little more tired than the other girls, and you could tell that her eyes were a little puffy. She had a cheerful smile on her face when she turned to you, though. “Are you having a break too?”

You nodded, even though it wasn’t the whole truth. You’d known that the girls were going to end practice at this time because they had another schedule later, and you’d wanted to catch Hyosung for a few minutes before she left. She was conveniently sitting a little apart from the rest of the girls, who were now engrossed with checking their phones, so you didn’t have to actually move anywhere else to talk to her privately. You gave her a small smile. “Are you doing okay?”

She was still smiling widely when she nodded. “Yeah. It’s a little tiring, but it’s like this whenever we have a comeback. We have to practice hard so we don’t mess up on stage. I’m used to it.”

“I meant… about Himchan oppa being away.”

Her expression faltered a little. “Yeah, this, I’m still trying to get used to.” She laughed slightly. “Is it that obvious that I’ve been crying?”

You almost nodded, but hesitated and shook your head instead. “Yongguk oppa told me when I talked to him last night. I think Himchan oppa is pretty worried about you.”

Hyosung laughed again. “I’m a babo, aren’t I? He’s not even going to be gone that long and I’m crying like he’s never going to come back. I just… I don’t think I’ve ever missed someone this much.”

“It’s normal to feel this way,” you assured her, patting her gently on her shoulder.

“How are you so unaffected?” she asked, incredulous.

You laughed. “We’re used to being apart from each other. You and Himchan oppa haven’t been together that long. It’s normal that you’re missing each other so much. I bet he isn’t as strong as he appears either.”

Hyosung sighed, looking down as she fiddled with the bottle in her hands. “Yeah, I guess. With his injury, he was around all the time, you know? It’s the first time since we got together that he’s not actually here. It just feels…” she looked up at you, not knowing what to say.

“Empty?”

“Exactly.”

The two of you were silent for a moment. Of course you missed Yongguk, but even when you lived and worked in such close proximity with each other, you didn’t spend that much time together. He was always busy working, and even though you worked in the same office, you worked separately most of the time. Not to mention, you’d lived abroad for a whole year without any contact with him. You were used to spending very little time together, and that made that time all the more precious. Your relationship with Yongguk had grown into a comfortable one where you both had enough space to be together but apart. He’d been really possessive when you were teenagers, which really annoyed you because you had to be your own person, but as he aged, he seemed to have let go a little. Either that, or he was just too busy now to control you too much, but that arrangement worked too. You loved being together with him, but you didn’t mind spending time by yourself either. You didn’t see being alone as a bad thing.

“I’ll be fine,” Hyosung said finally, her lips setting into a determined line. “I’ll get used to it. We’re getting busy too, so I have less time to think. Besides, I’m stuck with these girls all the time now, so I can’t feel like I’m alone. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“You should enjoy the peace while the boys are gone,” you joked. “Once they’re back, it’ll be chaos again.”

Hyosung laughed, and you were glad to see that she wasn’t doing as badly as you’d expected. Your brother was just being a worrywart as usual. You chuckled inwardly at how he was acting like a mother even with his girlfriend.

“Ah, Hana ya,” Hyosung said suddenly, pulling her phone from her backpack, which was lying on the floor beside her. “I’ve been meaning to ask you; are you interested in getting back into modeling? I got this offer to shoot for a catalogue, but we’re busy with promotions now and I don’t have time to do it. If you’re interested, I can recommend you for the job.”

You bit your lower lip as you thought about it. You hadn’t had any intention of picking it up again since you were enjoying your songwriting job, but if the opportunity arose, you probably didn’t mind doing it again. “What kind of catalogue is it? If they asked you, they’re probably looking for an idol to endorse their brand, aren’t they?”

“It’s for this department store brand called Cavalier and they’re launching a range of clothing for young people in their 20’s,” she explained, holding out her phone so you could read the information on it together. “They’re paying pretty well since they’re doing a whole catalogue, plus print-ads and in-store posters. They probably won’t pay you as much as they’re offering me, but we can negotiate the fees if they cast you. Do you want to try?”

You were hesitating until Hyosung scrolled down and you saw the amount that they were offering her. Your mouth fell open in a soundless gasp. “Wow, they’re generous, huh? I’d be happy with half that amount.”

“So that’s a yes?” she asked, amused. “I can ask our management to set up a meeting, and let them settle the fees. I’m sure they’ll get you an amount that will be fair to you.”

“I’ll do it,” you agreed. “They probably aren’t looking for a nobody, but it’s worth a shot, right?”

Hyosung nodded earnestly. “There’s one thing though. The reason why they approached me was um, that there was going to be a fair bit of… exposure. It’s summer, and they’re going to include swimwear in their collection. Are you okay with that?”

“I’ve done a swimwear shoot before, a couple of years back,” you told her. “It’s not a problem.”

“And there’s going to be a male model working with you too,” Hyosung continued, scrolling further down on her phone. She looked up at you. “You sure you don’t want to ask Yongguk first?”

You laughed. “Ask for what, permission? Is he my father? It’s work; he’ll understand.” You checked your watch. “He’s on a plane now, anyway. I’ll just drop him a text and let him know if I do get cast.”

Hyosung grinned. “Great! I’m sure you’ll be perfect for this shoot!”