The only thought in your head as you crammed for your final was, “When could I go home?” The smell of your mother’s home cooking was already wafting through your nose and your mind as all focus on the textbook was starting to rapidly fade. As you reread the same sentence for the nth time, you thought about another person and felt a pinch in your heart. If only you could see him as well.

            You crossed your arms and rested your chin on them, already feeling the distraction pull you in. You pictured in your head his angelic smile and the sparkling eyes and sighed. Please. He was so far away. There was no way he’d be able to ditch school and come see you. You’d just have to content yourself with seeing your family, and having all the good food at your disposal.

            You had already bought your bus ticket weeks ago and now have to get through this final test before you were one hundred percent free. The thought was enough to spur you forward and you yanked yourself out of your daydream to focus.

            You continued reading about norms and behaviors until you found yourself with a pretty good grasp of the topic. It was time to move on. You had nearly three hundred pages left. Once you were done, you had to sleep and then review the slides. Sometimes, you regretted studying at the last minute but early studying had never helped you.

            Another hour passed by and you glanced at the time. Looks like it was going to be another all-nighter. There was a bloop and you saw a notification from Skype. Hesitant because you really didn’t have time, you ignored it. Until you heard another angry bleat. Whoever it was really wanted to contact you.

            You clicked on the icon and saw that it was a message from the very person who had rudely invaded your thoughts earlier. There was a video call request coming in and you decided you could sacrifice a few minutes.

            “Daehyun!” you exclaimed once you came into view. He was sitting at his desk and smiling. He waved at you.

            “Hey! Missed me?”

            “No,” you lied. “How would I have space in my brain to think of you when all I can worry about is getting that A in psych?”

            He pouted. “Really? So you didn’t think of me, not once?” There was a gleam in his eye that you chose to ignore.

            “Well, how about you? I know you’re studying abroad and all, but when will you finally be home?” The last few words came out softly and almost a bit like a whine. You couldn’t help it. You really badly wanted him here, on the same soil as you were, no matter how much you pretended otherwise.

            “Soon,” he answered vaguely. There was an almost guilty look on his face.

            “You’re not coming back, are you?” He couldn’t fool you. He was definitely up to something.

            Daehyun shook his head. “I’m just not sure when exactly.”

            “Ah. Well I’ll be home in two days. If you’re not there, I get to eat all the dessert.” You stuck out your tongue. It hurt you, not knowing when he would be back, but you wanted to make light of it.

            “Are you sure you’ll be okay if I’m not home?”

            “Of course. I’m not a needy girlfriend. I already haven’t seen you in an entire semester. I’m sure a few days or a week or whatever you’re thinking wouldn’t be any more bad.”

            He looked relieved but only slightly. The guilty look still didn’t disappear. “Good luck tomorrow.”

            “Yeah. Same to you. Make me proud so I won’t think the time we were apart was wasted. I’m going to go back to studying now.”

            Daehyun’s mouth opened, like he wanted to say something more. But you just gave him a small smile and hung up. Great. The words on the textbook looked like tiny black dots now rather than comprehensive theories and experiments. Why did he have to tell you this now? He could have waited until you were done.

            A million angry rants at Daehyun raced through your brain but that was only because you didn’t want to feel the hurt. You let out a loud sigh that alerted your roommate. “You okay there?”          

            “Dae doesn’t know when he’s coming back,” you told her.

            She pouted and blew you a kiss. “No worries. Next term, you can just move into his room with him.”

            You threw a pillow at her. “Please. I’d much rather stick with you.” But it did make you feel better. She was right. You would be able to see him as much as you wanted later.

            The thought cheered you up and you continued studying.

            “Mom, I’m baaaaack!” You pushed your luggage into the room and smiled brightly. The test had gone well and you were excited to be back after the long bus ride. “Mom?” Where was she?

            You cautiously walked into the kitchen and was greeted by a sudden sight. “D-Daehyun?”

            He was slurping noodles and grinning around his mouthful of food. “Shurpwise!” He said as he swallowed.

            “Gross,” was all you could say but you couldn’t stop smiling at him as he stood up and came towards you with his arms outstretched.

            Daehyun hugged you to him tightly and you held onto him, trying to relay your happiness, but also your annoyance at his little prank. “Ow,” he complained. “I know you love me, but let’s not suffocate me, okay?”

            You smacked his back and took a step back. “Stupid, you could have ruined my entire test,” you told him.

            He stared at you with an increasingly arrogant smirk growing on his face. He lifted one of his eyebrows. “Love me that much?” he asked. Daehyun was leaning in closer.

            You were about to respond when your mom walked in. “No kissing in the house,” she admonished with a just as irritating grin. 

Last final tomorrow! Hehehehe

I wish I could have a Daehyun waiting at home too :P