WHILE THE WORLD ISN’T WATCHING

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CHAPTER 7 — TWO DAYS

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They both kept staring at their phones.
Boom was the first to open his manager's message.
—I get why he was texting me so much now.
Smart looked up.
—What do you have?
Boom swiped his finger across the screen.
—The schedule review for the next fifteen days.
Smart opened the message he had received as well.
—I have the same thing.
For a few minutes, the two of them went over their respective schedules.
Boom had the ninth marked as a review meeting with his manager.
The tenth was reserved for organizing everything related to the trip: wardrobe, paperwork, flights, schedules, and planning the activities he would have in China.
The eleventh was the flight.
After that came video calls with fans, the first fan meeting, traveling to another city, the second fan meeting, and subsequent activities with fans.
Smart glanced sideways at Boom's screen.
—You've got quite a lot of stuff.
—Yeah.
Boom kept scrolling.
—I'm free on the seventeenth.
Smart smiled slightly.
—In China?
—Yeah.
—Then it doesn't count.
Boom let out a small laugh.
—Exactly.
Smart went back to his own schedule.
He also had several busy days and a couple of free days scattered among his commitments.
Boom looked at Smart's screen.
—And you?
—I have two free days.
—Which ones?
Smart showed them to him.
Boom looked at them and then went back to his agenda.
He didn't need to say anything.
Both of them knew those days weren't going to be useful for seeing each other.
During those ten days, one would be in Thailand and the other would be traveling through China.
It didn't matter who had a free afternoon.
It didn't matter who finished earlier.
It didn't matter if one of them managed to get a few hours free of commitments.
They would be in different places.
Smart let out a heavy sigh, and at the same time as Boom, let his phone drop onto the table. The sound echoed in the silence of the apartment.
—It's going to suck —Smart blurted out unfiltered, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration—. Going from eight whole days seeing you to this.
Boom looked at him, feeling his chest tighten the exact same way.
—Yeah. It is.
There were a few seconds of thick silence, the kind where reality weighs too heavily. Smart leaned forward, his gaze lost.
Without thinking, Boom moved toward him, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight embrace. Smart sighed against his shoulder, responding instantly by burying his face in his neck and kissing his skin with a mix of need and refuge, followed by a slow, deep kiss that swept away the cold tension of the schedules.
Smart's breathing grew a little heavier, and with his hands firm on Boom's waist, he began to lean him back against the sofa, with a mischievous smile and the clear intention of getting lost in each other to erase with skin everything the schedules had just ruined.
—I want to make the most of our time —Smart murmured very close to his lips, his gaze blazing.
Boom blinked, holding back a laugh as he stopped Smart's hands on his chest.
—I'm hungry.
—Because of that —Smart murmured without pulling away, playing along with a bright look in his eyes.
—No, but actually hungry —he pushed him back just a little bit, letting out a chuckle—. You're not looking sad about that, are you?
Smart sat back up halfway on the sofa, blinking in disbelief at the audacity, before letting out a resigned laugh.
—We were about to do something else!
—And dinner is important too —Boom replied with a triumphant smile, jumping to his feet and walking toward the kitchen—. Besides, tragedy makes you really hungry.
Smart let out a resigned sigh, shaking his head, and followed him immediately. He leaned comfortably against the kitchen doorway, crossing his arms as he watched Boom start moving with total ease among the pans.
—Need any help? —Smart asked with a slow smile.
—No.
—Sure?
—Smart.
—I was just asking.
—Then keep asking from right there —Boom replied without missing a beat, slicing the ingredients with skill.
Smart let out a soft laugh, pulling away from the doorframe. Instead of staying still, he took a couple of steps toward him and, with a mischievous smile and a roll of his shoulders, began to follow the imaginary rhythm of a song only he could hear, dancing playfully right next to the kitchen island.
Boom tried to keep his concentration on the knife and the bell pepper, but ended up laughing out loud, shaking his head as he glanced sideways at him with a radiant smile that gave away his absolute happiness.
—Hey, focus, you're distracting me —Boom protested between laughs, though he made no effort to push him away.
—That's the point —Smart replied without stopping his movement, carrying that natural grace he had for dancing, before stopping beside him and looking at him playfully—. By the way... you still owe me something.
Boom arched an eyebrow, feigning innocence while dodging a light attempt at a hug with a bell pepper in one hand and the knife in the other.
—What?
—My compensation for cheating in today's game.
—Oh. That. And who said I forgot? —Boom answered with elegance, getting back to what he was doing—. This time I am going to follow through.
—I hope so —Smart murmured, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before letting him finish.
A while later, with the kitchen pace settled down, dinner was ready. Before taking the main dishes to the table, Boom used his chopsticks to pick up a small, perfect piece of what he had just cooked, and extended it straight to Smart's mouth.
Smart tasted it with a smile, closing his eyes for a second as he realized how good it was. When he opened his eyes, he looked at the small gesture and then at Boom with a raised eyebrow and suspicion.
—And this? Is this my compensation?
Boom let out a playful laugh, pulling back the chopsticks and serving the large plates.
—No.
—Then what is it?
—The appetizer —he replied with a wink before carrying the plates over to the table.
Smart shook his head, chuckling quietly with an amused smile painted on his lips as he followed him.
The dinner went by amidst banter, enjoying the food and managing to momentarily wash away the echo of the schedules resting face down on the far end of the living room.
Later in the night, while they were finishing tidying up the kitchen a bit, Boom suddenly stopped with a dish towel in his hand and looked at Smart with a feigned devastated expression.
—Hey... we're taking way too few photos for how tragic this separation moment is. Imagine: separated by the sea, doomed to video calls. We need evidence of our suffering.
Smart let out a soft laugh, catching onto the game instantly, and went straight to grab the instant camera with a complicit smile.
—Come here.
He raised the camera, stood behind Boom, and pulled him against his chest, positioning him for the photo while both of them put on an exaggerated expression of grief.
Click.
When the photo began to develop, the two of them stared at it with a smile. Smart looked at him sideways with an intensely tender expression, shaking his head softly before saying:
—There's no helping you, no matter how hard you try. The idea was to look miserable, but you always look gorgeous in every single photo.
Boom blushed slightly, trying to hide a smile before gently hitting Smart's shoulder.
—Shut up and keep it safe. Don't go saying later that we didn't leave proof of these last two days.
Later on, already tucked into bed and with a soft, warm amber light filtering from the bedside lamp, Smart pulled him against his chest, holding him tight.
—Don't forget what you owe me for tonight —Smart whispered against his hair, with a mischievous smile as the dim light caressed their faces—. And I warn you, I plan on collecting with interest.
Boom let out a soft laugh, turning around to close the distance between their lips under that intimate glow.
—I haven't forgotten. Come here and collect whatever you want.
Smart smiled before leaning down toward him, letting the warmth of the room and each other's heat completely erase the heavy weight of what tomorrow would bring.