《Visiting You for 9 Years》

May 2017, a university spring festival in Daegu.

At twenty years old, you came to Daegu for the first time to see a performance by a celebrity you liked.

It took a full 6 to 7 hours from home. It was fine that you traveled such a long distance, but there was one problem.

The university was much larger than you expected, and it was overflowing with people because of the festival. You didn't know where the performance hall was or if you were even going the right way.

As you wandered for a long time, a man passing by caught your eye.

He was noticeably tall. Someone that big must be a student here.

Without thinking much, you grabbed the man's wrist.

"Excuse me."

The man stopped and turned around.

Twenty-five-year-old Ha Jaewon.

Standing 191cm tall with broad shoulders. Beneath his softly tousled dark brown hair, you saw a face dotted with a few small moles.

"...Yes?"

"Do you know where the performance hall is?"

That was the first meeting between Ha Jaewon and you.

At first, Jaewon naturally assumed you were a student at the school. But as he listened to you, he realized you weren't.

"You're not a student here?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then why are you here getting lost?"

"I came to see a show."

"To see who?"

When you mentioned the name of the celebrity you liked, Jaewon laughed as if it were a bit absurd.

To think you traveled 6 to 7 hours all the way to Daegu just to see that one person.

In the end, Jaewon gave you directions, and the two of you parted ways.

You thought that was the end of it.

However, after the performance ended and another singer's stage began, you quietly slipped out of the crowd. Since you had come all this way, you wanted to look around the festival.

As you walked while looking at the booths, you bumped your forehead against something without looking ahead.

Thump.

It was a person's back.

And that person turned around.

"...You again?"

It was the man from earlier.

This time, Jaewon's friend Park Seokgu was with him.

Seokgu, Jaewon's college classmate and long-time friend, looked back and forth between the two of you.

"What's this? Someone you know?"

"The kid who was lost earlier."

"Ah."

So the three of you ended up walking around the festival together.

Then, as the crowd surged, you were separated from Jaewon and Seokgu.

You just looked around the festival by yourself.

There's no way we'll meet again.

But you really did meet again.

While walking through the crowd, you collided hard with someone bulky. Your body tilted backward as you lost your balance.

Just as you thought you were going to fall, someone caught you.

It was a familiar embrace.

"Are you okay?"

It was the third time meeting Ha Jaewon.

The first time, you grabbed his wrist; the second time, you bumped your forehead against his back; and the third time, you fell right into his arms.

Jaewon, who usually didn't like other people touching his body, strangely didn't feel any particular unpleasantness with you.

Of course, he didn't think much of that fact at the time.

He just thought you were someone he was running into a lot today.

This time, Jaewon spoke first.

"Do you have a phone?"

"Yes?"

"Give it here."

He suggested exchanging numbers so you could contact each other if you got separated by the crowd again.

And so, your numbers were saved in each other's phones.

That day, the three of you walked around the festival together again.

And when it was time for you to go back, you said goodbye.

But strangely—

Neither of you contacted the other first.

The numbers remained saved, but not a single text was exchanged.

Three months passed like that.

---

August of the same year

You ended up coming to Daegu again for personal reasons completely unrelated to Jaewon.

But once you arrived in Daegu, you suddenly thought of one person.

Ha Jaewon

After staring at the name still saved in your phone for a long time, you sent a message first.

'Hello. Do you happen to remember me?'

The reply came faster than expected.

Jaewon remembered you.

That day, the two of you met by appointment for the first time, not by chance.

It was the fourth meeting, following the three accidental encounters at the festival.

This time, Seokgu wasn't there.

The two of you ate, went to a cafe, and walked.

It was only on that day that you properly learned each other's ages.

Twenty-five and twenty.

A five-year difference.

You asked cautiously.

"Can I call you Hyung?"

Jaewon gave his permission as if it were no big deal.

From that day on, he wasn't "Excuse me," but Jaewon-hyung.

And before parting, Jaewon said:

"Contact me when you arrive."

You really did contact him after arriving home.

'I've arrived.'

Perhaps the real beginning for the two of you was that short message.

After that, the contact continued.

At first, it was texts.

Texts became calls, and by the time calls felt familiar, you naturally turned on the video.

You also met in person.

You went to Daegu, and Jaewon traveled 6 to 7 hours to come to you.

It was a very long distance to some, but for the two of you, the meaning gradually changed.

A distance you could travel if you missed someone.

You ate together, walked, went to cafes, and spent time doing nothing.

That's how you got to know each other's days.

You weren't lovers yet.

But at some point, you started waiting for Jaewon's calls, and Jaewon's mood improved at the news that you were coming to Daegu.

Both were developing feelings for each other.

They just didn't know it was love yet.

The one who realized it first was Jaewon.

March 2018

At some point, he reached the answer so simply.

Ah.

I like this kid.

Once he realized his feelings, Jaewon didn't hesitate for long.

From that day, the pursuit began.

"Hyung, what are you doing?"

"Thinking of you."

"You're joking again."

"I'm serious."

When you said you didn't have time to go to Daegu,

"Then I'll just go."

"All the way here?"

"What does distance matter when I'm going to see you?"

At first, you also thought he was joking.

You thought he was just like that because he's a sly person.

Then eventually, you asked.

"Hyung."

"Yeah."

"Do you like me?"

There wasn't a moment of silence.

"Yeah."

"...Really?"

"I like you."

Jaewon confessed his feelings first.

But he didn't demand an answer from you.

He didn't tell you to like him back right away or ask to date.

"Take your time liking me."

"..."

"I'll try to woo you a bit more."

And he really waited.

For two months.

While not hiding the fact that he liked you, he left space for you to decide on your own feelings.

---

And May came again

An ordinary day in May 2018.

It wasn't that there was a special event.

You just suddenly thought back on the past year.

The person you think of first when you go to Daegu.

The person you're happy to hear from when the phone rings.

The person you feel a bit sad to leave after hanging up a video call.

The feeling of waiting days in advance when that person says he's coming to your area.

The reason you occasionally wondered if he was that kind to others too.

The reason you never once disliked the blatant pursuit that lasted for two months.

Everything connected in an instant.

'...Ah.'

You only realized it then.

I liked Hyung too.

As soon as you realized, you missed Jaewon.

You didn't even call.

You didn't send a message.

You just booked a ticket to Daegu first.

Another 6 to 7 hours.

A year ago, you had traveled the same distance in the same season to come to Daegu.

But back then, the person you wanted to see was a celebrity on stage.

This time, it wasn't.

You came to see Ha Jaewon.

You headed to the university where the two of you first met.

You didn't contact Jaewon at all.

You just looked for him yourself.

And from afar, you spotted a familiar back.

191cm.

He wasn't hard to see even among the people.

You ran.

"Hyung!"

You grabbed his wrist just before he turned around.

**It was exactly the same as a year ago.

Back then, it was a wrist grabbed to ask for directions.

This time—**

"Hyung."

"...What? Why are you here?"

You said without even a moment to catch your breath.

"I like you."

Jaewon froze.

"Me too."

"..."

"I like you too, Hyung."

In that moment, even the ever-sly Ha Jaewon couldn't say a word.

He had intended to wait.

Whether it was two months, half a year, or even longer.

But you had traveled 6 to 7 hours to stand before him just to give him your answer.

"...You."

Jaewon finally opened his mouth.

"Did you come all this way just to say that?"

You nodded.

"Yeah."

"Something you could have said over the phone."

"I wanted to see you and say it."

And after hesitating a bit, you said honestly:

"As soon as I realized, I missed you, Hyung."

Only then did Jaewon's gaze drop down.

You were still holding his wrist.

Jaewon lifted his wrist slightly.

"Do you remember?"

"What?"

"It was like this when we first met, too."

You realized it then, as well.

"...You're right."

"Back then, you grabbed me to ask for directions."

The corners of Jaewon's mouth slowly curled up.

"This time, you grabbed me to say you like me."

And he asked:

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like me?"

"Yeah."

"How much?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know that yet?"

"I just found out!"

Eventually, Jaewon laughed.

"Then I don't have to woo you anymore?"

"I'm already won over."

"Two months is fast."

"You told me to take my time liking you."

"So?"

"I did take my time."

"For two whole months?"

"Do you hate it?"

Jaewon stared at you for a long time.

And then he gave a very small laugh.

"Are you crazy?"

"..."

"I'm so happy I could die."

That day, Jaewon said:

"Then let's date."

You replied:

"Okay."

Only then did Jaewon slowly lower your hand that was holding his wrist.

And he pressed his palm against yours.

He slid his fingers between yours.

It was the first time the two of you held hands as lovers.

And then Jaewon pulled you into a hug.

A year ago, it was an embrace that reflexively caught you as you fell.

This time, he held you of his own will.

"Hyung."

"Yeah."

"You're hugging too tight."

"Just for a bit."

"I can't breathe."

"Just stay like this for a second."

"Why?"

After a moment of silence, Jaewon answered.

"...Because I like it."

From that day, your long-distance relationship began.

---

8 years have passed

Currently, Ha Jaewon is thirty-four.

You are twenty-nine.

Known each other for 9 years, been lovers for 8 years.

And you are still in a long-distance relationship spanning 6 to 7 hours.

On days you are apart, you video call almost every day.

Whoever has time first goes to the other.

Both are very busy, but on days you miss each other like crazy, you meet in the middle.

You don't count who traveled more.

You haven't grown bored just because you've been together a long time.

You're so familiar that you're more comfortable than anyone else, but the moment you see each other's faces in person is completely different from a video call.

Jaewon still takes your bag as soon as you arrive and sticks close to you.

It's even worse on the day you part.

Holding hands, hugging, holding hands again.

As the departure time approaches, he becomes exceptionally clingy.

Not that he actually makes you miss your bus or train.

Even if he's sad, he lets you go when it's time.

"Contact me when you arrive."

He still says the same thing he did 9 years ago.

And the man who originally hated skinship has now become a completely different person only for you.

In several past relationships, Jaewon had felt uncomfortable holding hands for long, linking arms, or having someone lean on him.

He thought he was just someone who naturally disliked skinship.

But you were different.

Even when you first grabbed his wrist.

When you bumped into his back.

When you fell into his arms.

He didn't dislike it.

After becoming lovers, there was no longer a need to think about the reason.

He just liked it because it was you.

He holds your hand, wraps his arm around your waist, touches your cheek as he passes by, and naturally presses his body against yours on the sofa.

He hugs you even when sleeping.

If you drift apart in your sleep, he finds you again.

Like a magnet.

On days you go back because of the distance, he sometimes sleeps while hugging the pillow you used instead.

When you smile, the corners of his mouth go up unconsciously.

When you're talking away on a video call, there are times he's just busy admiring your face rather than answering.

"Jaewon-ah."

"Yeah."

"Are you listening to me?"

"I'm listening."

"What did I say then?"

"...Say it one more time."

"You weren't listening!"

"It's because I was busy looking at your face."

He developed those kinds of habits.

One day early in the relationship, you were once surprised all over again seeing Jaewon's back while he was changing clothes.

You knew he had many small moles on his face, but small moles were scattered here and there on his back as well.

The words that came out of your mouth while joking around that night:

"You little spotty."

After that, Ha Jaewon became 'Spotty' only to you.

He hates it when others try to call him that, but he answers so naturally when you do.

Currently, you call him 'Jaewon-ah' or 'Spotty'.

But occasionally, in very special moments, the old title returns.

"Hyung."

Then Jaewon is weak.

Especially when you try to soothe him by calling,

"Jaewon-hyung."

Even his face, which had been stiff from feeling hurt just a moment ago, softens slightly.

It's because that title still holds the memory of when you, still twenty, looked at him and asked, "Can I call you Hyung?"

---

Since you've dated for 8 years, you've also fought

There were days you felt hurt.

But the two of you have had one rule for a long time.

If you're angry, say it.

If you're hurt, say it.

Resolve it that day if possible.

And never bring up finished business as a weapon again.

You get jealous, too.

Jaewon also feels bad if someone gets too close to his partner.

But he doesn't suspect cheating.

He's seen you for 9 years.

He knows what kind of person you are.

So there's no need to check phones or track locations.

And you still miss each other.

That's a bit funny.

Even though you see each other's faces on video calls every day, it's still great to meet in person.

If it was an exceptionally busy week, Jaewon doesn't want to take a single step out of the house on his day off.

But if you come to Daegu, the story changes.

You go out and play, or go to see architectural exhibitions together.

If you're really tired, the two of you just spend the day lying at home.

Because that's a date, too.

He also likes it when you show up at Sai Architects without notice.

When the door opens and a familiar face peeks in, Jaewon stops what he's doing.

"...What?"

His surprised face quickly softens.

"When did you get here?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

Jaewon reaches out his hand.

"Come here."

"Were you surprised?"

"Yeah."

And he laughs.

"You succeeded."

He just loves the fact that you came to see him.

---

Comfortable yet heart-fluttering.

Familiar yet missed.

You fight when you fight, resolve it, and hold hands again.

6 to 7 hours is still far.

Still, whoever gets time first books a ticket.

Because we miss each other.

9 years ago

You grabbed Ha Jaewon's wrist because you didn't know the way.

1 year later

You grabbed Ha Jaewon's wrist again because you knew your heart.

And now—

Even without asking for directions, you know how to get to each other.