Skype

하나

___________________♡_________________

Taehyung is sitting at the edge of his seat, impatiently tapping his feet and chewing the insides of his cheeks while waiting to get done with the last lecture, after having successfully not listened to a single word spoken by the professor over the past forty minutes. 

Today, being a Friday, he couldn’t wait to go back to his apartment and be ready for the mandatory weekly video call with his girlfriend of nine years. It has been almost two years since he moved to Paris for his higher education while his girlfriend, Kim Aera, stayed back in Korea for the same. 

They had originally planned to attend the same University for their higher studies and also stay together in a foreign nation for about three years, away from all the interruptions back at home. But, unfortunately, Aera’s parents had flat-out rejected the idea of sending their only daughter away to a foreign country that was completely foreign to them in all senses. 

Aera tried her best to convince them, but to no avail, and this left them with little options. But Aera and Taehyung, being completely supportive of each other’s choices, decided that Taehyung would pursue his higher education in Paris while Aera would pursue hers in Korea, and they would then find jobs and settle down in Korea. 

The plan seemed perfect, and just like that two years have flown by. Originally, they had decided to meet at least once a year when Taehyung flew down for his winter vacation, but his move to Paris was just a few months before the ruthless pandemic started out. 

And ever since he moved to Paris, the only way Taehyung has been meeting his family and his girlfriend in the midst of the pandemic crisis is through skype calls—most planned and some impromptu whenever he was missing them too much. 

Recently, Aera has been busy with her project work, and it has been over two weeks since the two of them had a hearty talk. He has been missing her like crazy, and every fiber in his being longed to fly back home and melt into her embrace, but all he could do was to wait for Friday evenings to see her and hear her. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to him, the professor leaves the classroom, and Taehyung wastes not more than ten seconds to stuff his bag with his things and dash out of the classroom at the speed of a lightning bolt. 

He has to rush back home and take a shower and call her as soon as he could before she falls asleep. Taehyung always wanted his voice to be the last one she would hear before falling asleep, and though it is what he is planning for the future, right now all he could do is talk to her and sing her to sleep on the weekends. 

On his way home, Taehyung remembers that he has run out of shampoo, and so he walks into a convenience store to buy a bottle. As he walks past the array of colourful bottles of shampoo that are neatly arranged on their respective shelves, he spots the exact kind of shampoo that Aera has been using since forever. 

With a fond smile on his lips, Taehyung picks up the bottle and flips open the cap to take a whiff of the smell he has been missing so bad. As he does, his eyelids draw closed, and his heart leaps a little, almost feeling as if she is standing right in front of him. 

Whenever she stood close to him, the top of her head reached exactly below his nose, and the smell of her shampoo on her fine as silk hair was the first thing that he would experience in her presence. 

The smell makes him all nostalgic and a little emotional too as he remembers the last time he hugged her tight amongst their flowing tears, not wanting to let go of each other at the airport before he left for Paris. Taehyung just couldn’t understand how he had survived two whole years without meeting her. 

Dismissing the few stray tears that show up as a proof of his longing, he decides to buy Aera’s shampoo this time instead of buying the one that he usually used. After paying for his purchase, Taehyung practically jogs the rest of his way home and rushes in with an urgency like never before. It is almost 3 pm in Paris, and it would be around 10 pm in Korea. So if he doesn’t hurry up and call her, Aera might fall asleep while waiting for him to call, and he doesn’t want that at any cost. 

In the shower, Taehyung keeps singing and talking to the bottle of shampoo as if it were Aera herself, only for him to end up laughing alone. About ten minutes later, he steps out of the shower and powers on his laptop while shaking out the water from his dripping wet hair. 

Taehyung feels warm and comfortable to be surrounded by the familiar smell of her shampoo, and he even wonders why he hadn’t ever done this little thing in all these years. By the time the laptop boots up, his hair is half-dried, but he still isn’t dressed up. 

Taehyung decides to remain in his towel for today’s call because he has some naughty ideas in mind, and once he lies down on his stomach and opens up Skype, he notices that Aera is online too. A big grin forms on his lips as he looks over his shoulder and double checks that his room door is locked before he proceeds to place a call to his girlfriend. 

Back in Korea, Aera has been missing her boyfriend a lot as well, and she has always been someone who wouldn’t ever be the first one to even end the call with him. But the past couple of weeks have been extremely hectic for her, and she hasn’t been able to spend as much time with Taehyung as she would love to. 

Her project work is nearing completion, and she would have to present it in a week. After that, she would be free for two weeks before her final exams started. 

When Taehyung left to Paris two years and ten months ago, Aera had made sure that the two of them spent as much time as possible together so that they could survive with the memories until they met again. But the pandemic was something completely unexpected, and it was a disappointing change in their plans which neither of them could take well. 

She hates to think about all the video calls where both of them tried to hold back their tears so as not to hurt the other, but in vain. There were those depressing days where at the end of a hard day she needed nothing more than a loving hug and some warmth from Taehyung, but all she got was the cold and lifeless pillows on her bed. 

At some point, the pandemic even seemed like there was no end in sight to it, but now, with the situation under better control, Taehyung could fly down any time. However, he would be completing his course in three more months, and after that he would permanently move back to Korea. 

Aera, on the other hand, would be completing her course more than a month ahead of her boyfriend, and being a fairly good student, she had already been offered a job as well in one of the big companies in Seoul. 

Along with the news of her job placement, Aera also has another great news for Taehyung which she originally intended to tell him last week. But unfortunately, they had to forego their call last week since she couldn’t stay up no matter how hard she tried. 

Aera felt so bad for skipping the call last week, and so this week, she made sure to wind up everything a little earlier than usual and get ready for the call by 10 pm. Taehyung had texted her earlier that he was on his way home, and she was just out of the shower when she read his messages. 

Opening up her wardrobe, Aera’s hand almost magnetically reaches out to the huge hoodie that she raided out of her boyfriend’s closet before he left. Of course, he hadn’t left without taking her largest hoodie in exchange. But knowing him, she was sure that he would sleep hugging the hoodie rather than wearing it himself because when indoors, Taehyung rarely wore anything modest, let alone while in bed. 

Aera slipped on his mighty hoodie, locked the door to her bedroom and drew the curtains closed. She then opened up Skype on her laptop and waited for a few minutes, after which Taehyung appeared online. As soon as she saw his online status change to available, the corners of her lips lifted into a fond smile, and before she could type out a ‘Hi’ to him, he was already calling her on video. 

Sitting upright in bed, Aera answered his call, and immediately the handsome face that every cell in her mind and body had been longing to see flickered on the screen of her laptop. 

“Kwiyomi,” Taehyung squeals, smiling big on her screen, instantly bringing a few drops of happy tears to Aera’s eyes. 

“Jagi, how are you?” She dismisses the few adamant tears that drip down and props up her laptop on top of a fluffy pillow. 

“Been missing you so bad. How are you? How’s your project coming together?” Taehyung asks her, shuffling a little in bed. 

Nodding, Aera fixes some loose strands behind her ears and answers her boyfriend, “Project work is coming along all good, and I’ve started working on the report. One last case study has to be completed, other than that it’s all good. I have another BIGGGG news for you,” she opens her arms wide, making Taehyung’s heart race in excitement. 

“Big news?” He furrows his eyebrows. “No guessing game, jagiya. Tell me what it is,” he demands impatiently, and Aera giggles cutely. 

“Jagi, I’ve been offered a job at Kim Corporation, Gangwon. Placements happened this week, and I got the confirmation just this morning,” Aera informs him excitedly, and Taehyung’s eyes double in size. 

“Wow! Jagiya, this is amazing,” his volume raises in excitement. “I’m so proud of you…” he claps and cheers for his girlfriend, vigorously kissing both his hands and passing on the kisses to her. 

Giggling, Aera turns her head to both sides, receiving his big bunch of kisses on both her cheeks. 

“There’s something else too, but that’s not for now. Forget about all this, I’ve been missing you so much, Taehyungie,” she blows a kiss to him, folding her legs to sit criss-cross on the bed. 

Taehyung catches her kiss and repeatedly presses his lips to his closed fist, showering his own hand with lots of kisses. 

Aera gasps dramatically, and then she begins giggling, pouting and fake-crying, “That’s so unfair. Your hands are so lucky,” she pretends to cry, and all the aegyo and display of cuteness is making Taehyung all blushy. 

“Jagiya, why are you so far away from me?” His voice deepens, with a loud hint of sadness, and Aera stops her actions, her shoulders dropping in defeat. 

“Taehyungie, I’m wearing your hoodie, but it doesn’t at all feel like being in your arms. I’m missing you so so badly,” she smiles sadly, making Taehyung’s smile grow sadder as well. 

“Cheer up, Aera... Let’s wait until we meet again. I just got my final exam schedule today. It starts on the first of November and goes on for a week. So,” Taehyung brings up his fingers in front of the camera and starts counting, “August, September, October,” he folds a finger for each month and beams brightly, tilting his head to the side and poking his head out from behind his hand. 

“Only three more months and maybe two weeks of November. We can make it through, can’t we?” He questions her as he rakes a hand through his half-dried hair strands, pushing them out of his forehead, only for them to eventually end up falling right back over his forehead. 

“Yeah, I can’t wait!!” Aera bounces in her seat, clapping a little in excitement, making Taehyung laugh. 

“Taehyungie is naked?” She peers at him, squinting a little, and he bobs his head in all possible directions. 

“What do you think?” Taehyung raises an eyebrow at her, stroking his chin with his forefinger, still lying on his stomach. 

The view on the camera is just that of his face and his bare shoulders, and knowing him all too well, Aera is pretty sure that he is probably naked or maybe just wearing his underwear alone—which is quite a remote possibility. 

“I think you’re feeling naughty,” she wiggles her eyebrows right back at him, and he laughs letting his head drop; a furious pink blush spreading all over his cheeks. 

“I am,” Taehyung makes his point confidently and clears his throat and adjusts the position of his laptop a little, tilting the screen to give a better view to his girlfriend. 

“Ooohhh,” she lets out a sigh of admiration when she sees the curve of his ass covered in a light brown terry towel that is tied around his waist, and it makes her miss him even more. 

“I think you’re overdressed,” Taehyung comments, sitting up in bed, ruffling his hair and vigorously shaking his head from side to side. 

“I’m not taking off anything,” Aera smirks when Taehyung tries to undo the towel around his waist, and he pauses his movements upon hearing her words, his eyes lifting to look at her in surprise. 

“Oh,” Taehyung remarks, cocking his head to one side. “Someone’s playing hard to get today, I see?” He secures the towel tight in its place and positions the laptop on his thighs. Taehyung stretches out his legs in front of him and leans his back against a few pillows propped up between his back and the headboard. 

“What’s the fun without a challenge?” Aera winks and naughtily wiggles her eyebrows, teasing him by flipping her hair over from one shoulder to the other using her hand, knowing fully well that Taehyung had a major weakness, a kind of fetish, in fact, for her lustrous silky hair. 

“I’m going to make you take off everything. You’re sure to lose this one, jagiya,” Taehyung already smirks in victory. 

“You can’t say that, sir. What’s the challenge?” Aera gears up to take his challenge head on. 

“French quiz,” Taehyung declares with a proud smirk, causing his girlfriend’s eyes to pop out, and her jaw to drop open. 

“No way on earth! I know nothing,” she protests, pouting cutely and trying to convince him against it, but Taehyung isn’t buying her cute antics, and he has absolutely no plans of changing his mind. 

“I’ve taught you well, Aera. Just think and answer. But I know I’m winning this one,” he laughs wickedly, his confidence through the roof already, and Aera throws her head forward in defeat, burying her face in her palms, and then she sits back up again. 

“Alright,” she straightens up. “I’m not giving up without a fight,” she pretends to roll up her sleeves as if getting ready for a mortal combat, and Taehyung does a virtual fist bump with her signalling the commencement of the challenge. 

“The rules are simple. I’ll keep telling you the words in rapid fire succession, and you have to give me the correct French word for it within two seconds. Every time you give a wrong answer, or you don’t answer within two seconds, you should take off one piece of clothing. Earrings, hair clips, and socks don’t count. I mean, real, proper clothing only, okay?” He clarifies the rules of the striptease game, orchestrating a little, and Aera agrees, nodding.