30 Days of Us

"Cho, the only thing I want to ask of you, besides love, is to be together forever."

A tall, tanned man knelt by the Naka River in the heart of Hakata, Japan, during a spring evening at six o'clock as the sky began to darken. The nineteen-degree weather instantly felt warmer upon seeing a ring box in his large hand.

"P'Bear..." Cho reached down to touch his lover's shoulder, wanting him to stand up because people were looking their way.

This was the couple's first overseas trip together. Bear had intentionally saved up money to bring his younger boyfriend here to propose. Even though Thai law in 2019 didn't yet oficially recognize their marriage, both of their families acknowledged it, and they had been dating for many years.

They had been dating since Cho was a university freshman and Bear was a senior. The older guy was quite famous for his model-like looks and physique. Bear had a quiet and stern personality, making people hesitant to approach him, but at that time, he had been secretly looking at the small, bespectacled freshman with a beautiful smile all along.

Because Bear wasn't much of a talker, he started wooing him through attentiveness. He approached him through the younger boy's friends, shamelessly offering to pick him up and drop him of, treating him to meals, and taking care of everything until they finally started dating.

Once Cho graduated, Bear gave him a grand gift by bringing him on a trip and proposing to him amidst foreigners who were watching and cheering them on.

Bear thought he loved this person... and wanted to be with him forever.

"Marry me," the large man smiled sweetly.

"Yes," the younger man nodded enthusiastically, tears of joy streaming down his face.

The surrounding atmosphere was joyful. The older man gently slipped the ring onto his finger, looking down at his clear, flushed cheeks before pulling the younger man into a hug amid the applause of the elderly couples strolling along the riverbank.

It was simple... yet permanently etched into every particle of their memories.

Afterward, the couple walked hand in hand to get dinner. Even though they couldn't communicate with the Japanese staff and ordered randomly, every dish felt incredibly delicious.

"P'Bear, stop staring." Cho avoided the narrow eyes that kept fixating on him. Doing this made it impossible to eat properly.

"Why?" The tease tilted his head to look at the younger man, scooping some fried chicken onto his plate for him to try. Watching the small man chew until his cheeks puffed out... the more he looked, the more the younger man blushed.

In the restaurant with a good atmosphere, they sat on the same side of the table, sipping a glass of beer each. The older man's hand caressed his younger boyfriend's fingertips back and forth. Besides proposing... there was something else he wanted to ask.

"Tonight, can you sleep with me?"

The person who had booked separate hotel rooms lowered his eyes. Even though they had been dating for a long time, they had never slept together. It was both embarrassing and exciting. They had been dating in a way where both parties always spent their free time together.

"I won't be able to sleep," the younger man replied softly, looking down. Just thinking about being held by P'Bear made him...

Bear smiled before raising his hand to stroke the younger man's hair, leaning in close and whispering softly,

"And who said I would let you sleep?"

"P'Bear..."

"Please. Nong Cho, sleep with me," the deep voice whispered in his ear.

A clumsy kiss began late at night in a hotel in the heart of Hakata. The cool, comfortable air didn't help lower the temperature of their burning bodies in the slightest.

Cho tightly grabbed his older boyfriend's shirt. Because he was shorter, he had to stand on his tiptoes when being kissed. His adorable posture made the older man lean down to kiss his cheek multiple times.

"So cute," Bear raised a hand to stroke his short hair. Seeing the younger man looking down with his eyes squeezed shut, Bear pulled him into a hug. The faint scent of soap after his shower made him feel relaxed.

Cho was incredibly nervous, burying his face in the warm chest. He was overjoyed to be Bear's boyfriend because so many people liked Bear, but in the end, he was the one who got to date and marry him.

"Why are you hiding?"

"P'Bear..." The younger man gathered his courage and raised his arms to wrap around the thick neck.

"Are you shy?" The older man swayed side to side, touching his cheek to make the person with his head buried look up at him.

"It's always me wanting to hug you. Do you ever want to hug me?"

"I do..." Cho answered softly.

Their second kiss was deeper than before. The hot tongue slipped into the younger man's mouth. What used to be soft, floating sweetness suddenly changed into something urgent, driven by desire.

"Cho, I can't hold back anymore." The large body pressed and pushed the other down onto the bed. His hands trailed over the chest down to the slender legs, feeling emboldened as he stripped off the clothes to reveal the naked body.

"Are you cold?" Bear took off his shirt and leaned down to press against him, skin rubbing against skin.

The slender legs were parted as the older man wedged himself in the middle, embracing each other tightly on the narrow bed.

Cho raised his arms to hug around the thick neck, locking eyes with his lover. His pleading gaze was sweet and full of desire.

"Let me hold you."

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, being asked so bluntly still made him blush.

"Yes."

Just over a year after that... he didn't know why that kid who used to be shy when kissed became so demanding when they were in bed.

"P'Bear, harder, ahh," Cho bit his lip tightly, burying his face into the mattress. He closed his eyes, soaking in the sensation of the forceful thrusts into his body. It was hard and long, yet filled him with pleasure.

"More? You want more?" The older man squeezed his buttocks tightly with his hands, breathing heavily while his hips still moved rapidly.

"Yes, damn it, harder."

"Damn, feels so fucking good!"

And as they entered their tenth year, somehow, their love ended up like this.

"Zzz... snore... wheeze."

Cho tossed and turned because there was a sound like a train whistle going off right next to his ear, and he couldn't sleep!

"Wheeze~ snore."

"Why are you snoring so much?!"

The younger man sat up and turned on the bedside lamp, then rolled the snoring man onto his side. In the past, the person beside him was the muscular, fit P'Bear. Now, all that was left was a bearded wild bear sleeping with his mouth open, snoring, and worst of all, drooling!

"Ew, seriously man."

"Zzz... snore."

"Were you born as a train whistle in your past life?" Cho felt defeated. Even though he worked from home and could wake up at any time, he didn't want to get such poor-quality sleep like this.

"Snore... wheeze."

"Still going?!"

For the first three years after marriage, their love was exciting and new, just like newlyweds. But entering the seventh year or the tenth year if counting from when they first started dating, everything began to change.

"Hey, I don't think we're going to make it living together like this," Cho turned to the thick-set man who was sitting and playing a mobile game in the living room.

Today was a day of. Bear was wearing a stretched-out tank top and torn boxer shorts. He hadn't even showered despite it already being 1 PM, way past a normal wake-up time.

Bear raised an eyebrow, looking at the person doing something at the computer nearby.

"What do you mean we won't make it? It's going to be ten years soon," the older man referred to the time since their university days up to their marriage living together.

Whether they would make it or not... they really had been together for a long time.

"I think we've lost our passion. It's like you don't pay attention to me anymore, and my heart doesn't flutter anymore either." Cho brought up the situation over the past few years.

The longer they stayed together, the more stagnant things became. If they could adjust and fix it, he wanted to try, but if they couldn't, he wanted to break up without hating each other.

"So what do we do? We co-signed the house and the car, not to mention the cat," Bear frowned, but his eyes remained glued to his mobile phone screen.

The older man complained because throughout their lives together, they had built so much and had so many responsibilities. He couldn't understand someone suddenly bringing up a breakup just because they "lost passion."

"Meow~" The cat in question circled and rubbed its head against its dad's legs, acting cute because it wanted to eat a cat treat.

"See? If we break up, it'll be a complete mess." Bear, who was approaching thirty-two, turned to the twenty-nine-year-old. Breaking up at this age meant it would be hard to find someone else.

"But think about it, we haven't slept together in half a year. Let alone doing anything, even hugging is too much," Cho brought up the recent past. That sweet, thrilling excitement had been gone for a long time.

Just sleeping without kicking each other off the bed was considered lucky.

"You're the one who doesn't hug me," the older man shook his head.

"You stink, and you snore. Who would want to hug you?!" This time Cho was annoyed. What kind of crazy person snores like a tractor? Some nights he jolted awake thinking there was an earthquake.

"You're no different. Always complaining and cursing. Who would want to hug you?" Bear shot back.

Comparing the cute Nong Cho of the past to the complaint-king Cho of today, the difference was like heaven and earth, like an angel and a devil.

"That's exactly why I'm saying we probably won't make it," the younger man sighed.

Cho noticed that they had changed little by little, but altogether it was overwhelming. From simple things like being called "Nong Cho" to now using "Mung" and "Gu" (impolite/informal pronouns), it was something he never dreamed would happen.

"So what do you want to do?" Bear put down the mobile phone in his hand.

In the past, they had argued like any couple, but it was always about minor things. They had never talked about breaking up like this before, so Bear started to get angry.

"I'm thinking of going on a trip. We can talk when I get back," Cho said, secretly muttering softly,

"Assuming I don't get a new boyfriend from Japan, that is."

"Where are you going?"

"Japan."

"How many days?"

"Thirty."

"People who work from home can just go anywhere, huh," Bear let out a long sigh.

"You can go, but how am I supposed to go? I'm out of leave days. The only thing I have left is maternity leave right now."

"Who said I was going with you?" The younger man turned to ask, blinking his eyes innocently.

"What do you mean? You're going to travel alone, take pictures alone, acting like you live your life completely alone?" Bear wasn't being sarcastic; he was genuinely asking.

"Yeah, exactly. It's a break for my heart. Maybe I'll even bring back a new boyfriend."

"Listen to what you're saying."

Bear looked at the provocative man. In the past, Nong Cho was so sweet and adorable. But nowadays, he just picked fights, loved being sarcastic, and was infuriating like this.

"Go wherever you want," the older man sighed, turning his attention back to his game.

To be honest, between work, games, and his wife, Bear would rank Nong Cho at the very bottom of the food chain today.

"If I get a new husband, you'd better prepare to move out," the one casually asking for a breakup pointed his finger, making the other furious.

"Fine! If you come back and find me with a new wife, you better prepare to move out too!"

"Meow~" The white cat rubbed its head against its dad's leg again to say, give me a cat treat already!

Late at night on the day Cho was set to fly solo, he dragged his suitcase out of the house and hailed a taxi without any sign of the workaholic, game-addicted man.

Cho hadn't expected anything anyway because lately, he was practically alone on every occasion. Thus, he didn't turn back to see that a certain someone had slipped their passport into their work bag.

It wasn't until midnight, after finishing his work at the office, that Bear who had hesitated until the very last second rushed to the airport carrying a stupid backpack.

Inside the bag were only two sets of clothes and two pairs of underwear; the heaviest things were his laptop and work documents. His hair and beard were messy and unkempt like a wild bandit because he had no time to shave.

If he didn't have a flight ticket and an employment certificate proving he worked at a large company, the immigration officers probably wouldn't have let him through the gate.

Bear rushed to take a shower in the lounge, walking out just as they called for boarding. He secretly watched the small, bespectacled man waiting to board before walking over to stand squarely in front of him.

"Did you really think you'd get to go alone?"

"Heyyy... bearded guy, how did you get here?!" Nong Cho raised his hand to hit the shoulder of the person who startled him.

"Beard my foot..."

"Man, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"Don't call me 'man' (P') if you're going to curse at me," Bear sighed at his younger partner.

"Let's make a deal. If we don't survive these thirty days, when we get back, we divide our assets and go our separate ways." Bear, feeling annoyed with the fussy person, raised his middle finger, waiting to lock it.

The younger man blinked innocently. He felt that making a promise required linking pinky fingers, but since his older partner held up his middle finger, he raised his own middle finger right back at his face before hooking them together.

"Fine, let's do it."

"Yeah!" They locked eyes. Since it had come to this... if they didn't survive, they would just split the cat in half!

Whether they would continue holding hands or part ways forever, they would find out in the thirty days to come!