Falling #6

February 14, 2014.

It has been one and a half years since Kai and I had officially gotten together by this point. We were both nineteen, in our first year of college, and extremely busy.

I had made it into a well-known university in our city, much to my mother’s relief. Her hard work had paid off, and so had mine. I was admitted on a scholarship, but that didn’t stop me from keeping my part time job for a little extra spending money. I also knew it was my responsibility (not that my mom said it was) to help around with some financial things.

Kai on the other hand got into an artistic school also in the city, making it in for, you guessed it, dancing. All those hours of hard work had finally paid off, he made it in with recognition and a small scholarship. That also meant that he had to get a part time job to help pay for living expenses.

He was also a lot happier now, his parents had officially split up after twenty five years of marriage and he was done moping. He had come to the realization that his parents had grown apart and this was for the best. I smiled and hugged him, proud of his maturity. But that didn’t stop me from noticing how he clung onto my shirt much tighter than usual.

Our parents would not let us move in together, they were still very conservative. A couple should not live together unless they were married. And so I was still living at home with my ghost of a mother and he was living in a large apartment with Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, who also went to the same art university for their vocals and songwriting abilities.

Joonymeon, Chanyeol, and Sehun were at my college and I saw them extremely often, sharing the same classes with them. The boys were undeclared majors (but I had already had a good guess myself of what they were going to be) and I was going into education and writing. I wanted to be a teacher as my main career but also write novels on the side.

So, we all sound really busy, don’t we? Different schools, different courses, and part time jobs. It was the beginning of the rest of our lives, and we were all growing up, a fact that still frightens me every time I think about it. Where would we be in ten years? Would we all still be friends? Would we all move away and start our own families? Would our names and memories just fade to the back of our minds? I was selfish. I was afraid of losing them, we grew up together, we spent every day together. How was I supposed to cope on my own?

I kept these thoughts inside, not wanting to stress them out every time we hung out (which had decreased to two times a week). Kai knew it bothered me, but he never brought up the issue. Every time the discussion of our futures came up I would keep quiet, something he would never miss. I would always shoot him a grateful smile in response every time I felt his hand run up and down my spine, comforting me.

And maybe that was all I needed. A future filled with Kai. An occasional phone call or visit from my friends. That would be good enough for me. I hoped.

“Valentine’s day is this Friday.” Kai mentioned casually over the video call. I looked up from my assignment and casted him a fond smile.

“It is, isn’t it?”

I thought back to Valentine’s Day 2013, our first Valentine’s Day together as a couple. Kai had been nothing but romantic and sweet that day, I remembered with a fond smile.

“So, clear up your plans, because I need to borrow my favorite girl that day.”

“How are you going to top last year?” I teased. Flashes of bouquets of flowers and chocolates eased into my mind.

“That’s for me to worry about, and for you to find out.” Kai winked, causing the blood to rush up into my cheeks.

“I’ve got chicken for din- oh hey!” Baekhyun dropped the plastic bag onto the table and walked towards the computer. He bent down and draped an arm around Kai’s shoulders, sending me a wave with his other hand.