You’re stressing for the upcoming test when you heard a loud thud followed by the crack of your bedroom window. You had no intention of lifting your off the chair while you had mountains of work piled up to finish for you Anatomy test. It was nearing midnight and you thought it could be just some hobo pulling some lame prank on you.

Then it hit again, the crack of the window threatening to for ma hole which could earn you harsh investigations from your mother later on. You got up annoyed and opened the window to see who exactly was messing with you. What you never expected was to see the dashingly handsome Kim JongIn with an eye-blinding smile looking up at you. His face brightened when hew saw you and waved at you to come down. Your mind went numb, you brain stopped functioning for a while, mesmerized at his sudden appearance and a gush of emotions washed over you to remind you that how much you had been missing him. As if breaking out of your own trance, you rushed to you wardrobe to find the hidden mast-climbing rope you stole from your father months ago. You found it at the bottom of your clothes as you hadn’t used it in a while. As you ran back to the balcony, you didn’t forget to check how you look in the mirror, to see yourself acceptable for someone about to go to bed. You tried to soothe your thumping heart against the ribcage. Then you draped the rope over the balcony and started climbing down slowly and as quietly as possible not to wake your parents. You mouthed, “Move over,” before you touched the ground, to your boyfriend who gave his signature smirk in return and said, “I’ll just catch you.” You landed into his chest and he was wearing a low cut V-shaped shirt again. You blushed as red as a tomato, still unable to find any words to say to him that the words choked up in your throat.

“When did you get back? You didn’t even call.” You finally managed to recover from the shock.

“I caught an evening flight as soon as the schedules ended. I didn’t get to be with you on your birthday last year. Just being a perfect boyfriend, I am.” He flashed a smile then stared adoringly into your eyes as he planted a soft kiss on your forehead. You blushed again and that uncontrollable heart of yours was beating loud and fast.

With a soft “ding”, the watch of JongIn struck 12.

He pulled you closer and started to kiss you softly and passionately. He tasted as sweet as ever. Strawberries. Then he breathed low and y in your ears. “Happy birthday, baby boo.”

And that’s it. This is the relationship you’ve committed yourself in. It all started when you went to Korea as an exchange one summer before you entered medical school. As cliché as it sounded, you bumped into him in the streets of Hongdae when you were leisurely strolling in your free time and he was sneaking out of his hectic schedules. He promised to make this long-distance relationship work when you had to go back to your country. The goodbye definitely wasn’t pretty and it mostly consisted of choked tears, suppressed sobs and unsaid words taken place in front of the dorm of EXO.

This is the 3^rd time you had seen him in a year. He would catch an early flight and return within the day although he really tries to visit you whenever the chance is given. The longest time he had stayed with you was merely 14 hours and it could be considered as a long time. It is even a wonder that the relationship is still going steady no matter how unfrequent calls or visits might be.

Nobody knows. Not even your best friends. You have thousands of pictures of him in your phone and you have him as your laptop background. You live as a hardcore fangirl of him, perfectly deceiving your family and friends. You get mad when other girl idols bet intimate with him. That’s completely normal for a fangirl. But what nobody will ever know is that you make oversea calls and whine big time and he does so much as to soothing you the whole night until you’re satisfied despite his sleepless nights and seemingly endless schedules.

You guys talked through the night lying on the grass on your front porch using his arm as a pillow. You stared at his face for as long as you like, taking in all of his features and making up for the months you didn’t get to see him. You took a deep breath and in with his scent. You’re missing him even before he leaves.

The morning came faster than you ever want it to be. It was time for him to go and your parents to wake up. Your eyes were stinging from the numerous stay-ups and the familiar pressure was pushing the back of your eyes. He took out a small jewelry box and it consisted of a sparkling bracelet with the words “KAI” dangling around it.

“Thank you so much. This is really pretty. You didn’t have to get me anything.” Because your presence itself is the greatest present to me. You didn’t get to say the last part because you were too busy trying not to cry.

“Goodbye baby. I’ll miss you so much and don’t lose that bracelet.” He smiled so brightly that it blinded your eyes and then he stole one last kiss from you and walked away. Watched his back, you felt your heart drop, shattering into a thousand smithereens, the same you feel every time he leaves. This time seemed to hit you harder because it was your birthday and you have to go through your own birthday with a mask that you’re happy.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped you again. You felt relieved as the void of him was filled again. Just to let him go. You sobbed hard into his shirt as he held you close. Then you two broke apart, it was the time for another indefinite goodbye. “I love you hon, don’t cry, I’ll be here again sooner than you think.”

This kind of moment is the strength that gets your through each day without him. He’s there on your mind even if he’s not beside you. It’s hard being in a relationship where you barely get to see each other and missing him tastes like death, you would take twice the pain just to see him again, no matter how unrealistic it sounded. Even if the time watching him through videos and photos are much more than the times seeing him for real, you love him and you very well know that he loves you too. Long-distance relationships are also bound to work out for the two people who believe in each other enough and love each other whole-heartedly despite the miles separating them.