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The first time it happened, nobody thought much of it.
“Thomas got another solo presenter gig!”
The fandom celebrated. The management celebrated. Even Kong did.
He was sitting cross-legged on Thomas’s condo couch, laptop open with half-finished thesis slides, while Thomas paced around the living room memorizing cue cards for a luxury watch brand event.
Kong looked up with a grin. “You’re rich-rich now, huh?”.Thomas laughed, throwing a cushion at him. “Shut up.”
“You’re replacing me already.”
“Impossible.”
Thomas said it so casually. So quickly. Like breathing. Back then, Kong believed him completely because at that time, they were still a couple.
Everyone knew.
Not officially announced in a press conference way, but known in the way that mattered, in the way Thomas held Kong’s hand too long under tables, in the way Kong always sat waiting backstage like he belonged there, in the way Thomas never went home alone if Kong was in the same city.
They were a BL couple in the industry, but behind cameras, they were just… each other.
At first, nothing really changed.
They still attended couple events together. Still did interviews where hosts teased them for sitting too close. Still posted blurry midnight food pics with matching captions that sent fans spiraling. Thomas still came home to Kong, still wrapped himself around Kong after exhausting schedules and buried his face into Kong’s neck like that was the only place he could rest. Still whispered, “Missed you.” Still kissed him sleepily before dawn call times.
So Kong ignored the tiny things.
The way managers started saying:
“This event only requested Thomas.”
“The campaign fits Thomas more.”
“We’ll pair Kong with another artist for now.”
“You’re still busy with school anyway.”
That last one always came with a smile. Like it was a comfort. Like it was supposed to make Kong feel better. And maybe it should have bcause it was true. Kong was busy.
Final year environmental engineering wasn’t kind to anyone. He spent nights analyzing river contamination data, running simulations for wastewater treatment systems, submitting reports he barely had time to read himself and his remedial exams.Thomas would scold him every time. “Sleep properly.”
“You too,” Kong always shot back.
But Thomas’s exhaustion looked different now...designer suits, airport photos, magazine covers, international interviews, his face on giant LED screens outside malls.
Thomas was becoming something bigger than both of them.
And Kong—
Kong was still stuck in university labs and muddy field sites collecting polluted water samples from dying rivers.
One night, Kong visited Thomas on set. It was supposed to be a surprise. He arrived carrying iced coffee and sandwiches, baseball cap low over his face to avoid attention. Staff greeted him warmly, used to seeing him around. But when he entered the dressing room, he paused. Thomas was sitting in front of the mirror while stylists adjusted his hair. Someone from management was talking nearby.
“…the producers are interested in pushing him internationally next year.”
Another voice replied, “Honestly, he has the strongest solo market right now.”
Solo.
Market.
Kong stood there quietly. Nobody noticed him at first. Not until Thomas looked into the mirror and immediately smiled.
“Kong?”
That smile still made Kong’s chest ache. Always would.
Thomas stood up instantly. “You came?”
“Brought food,” Kong said lightly.
Thomas walked over without hesitation, taking the drinks from his hands. “You should’ve told me first.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did.”
Thomas leaned down automatically, forehead brushing Kong’s temple for half a second, intimate enough to make nearby staff smile knowingly. Because they were a couple.
Still. Right?
But then the stylist called him back.
“N'Thomas, we need you.”
And just like that, he was pulled away again.
Kong sat in the corner quietly while people crowded around Thomas.
Touching him.
Fixing him.
Discussing schedules.
Brand deals.
Flights.
Future projects.
Nobody asked Kong about school. Nobody asked what he was working on lately. At some point, someone handed him a guest chair.
Guest.
Not partner. Not co-star.
Guest.
The word sat heavily in his chest.
That night, Thomas came home exhausted. Kong was already pretending to sleep. He felt Thomas slide into bed beside him carefully, trying not to wake him.
Then arms wrapped around his waist.Warm. Familiar. Safe.
“Sorry,” Thomas whispered into the darkness.
Kong kept his eyes closed.
“For what?”. A long silence.
“…everything’s been busy lately.”
Kong finally turned around to face him. Thomas looked genuinely tired. Dark circles hidden poorly beneath leftover makeup. His expression softer than the person everyone else got. Kong touched his cheek gently.
“I know.”
And he did know, that was the problem.
Some of the fans noticed eventually.Of course they did.
"Thomas attends events alone more lately :(”
“Missing TMK schedules.”
“Kong busy with school?”
“Hope they still get paired together after graduation…”
The last comment stayed in Kong’s mind longer than it should have, because that was still what they were. A couple. Just… one that the world was slowly learning how to separate.
After that, he started noticing things he used to ignore.
At couple events, interviewers directed most questions toward Thomas. At fan meetings, screams grew louder when Thomas appeared solo on screen. Brands gifted Thomas luxury items while Kong received matching courtesy packages. Even their social media engagement was changing. Thomas’s solo posts blew up instantly. Kong’s posts got comments asking where Thomas was, like he couldn’t exist alone anymore.
One particularly bad night, Kong sat alone in the university lab at 2 a.m., surrounded by lab tools and papers full of formulas to memorize.
His phone buzzed.
Thomas: Still awake?
Kong stared at the message, then at the empty lab around him. Then at a billboard visible through the window outside. Thomas’s face smiled down at the city in perfect high-definition. Kong suddenly wondered what it felt like to become too big for the person you still called your boyfriend.
He typed:
Yeah. Working.
Three dots appeared immediately.
Want me to call?
Kong almost said yes, instead:
It’s okay. You must be tired.
Another pause.
Then:
I miss you.
Kong’s chest tightened painfully bcause he missed Thomas too. Even when Thomas was right there beside him sometimes, somehow he still missed him.
The breaking point wasn’t dramatic.
No screaming fight.
No cheating scandal.
No cruel words.
Just timing.
Always timing.
Thomas had been invited to a huge international fashion week event overseas, the kind of opportunity idols dreamed about. The company celebrated for days. Fans were ecstatic. Thomas looked happiest when telling Kong about it.
“You should go,” Kong said immediately.
Thomas blinked. “You haven’t even heard the schedule yet.”
“I’m saying yes already.”
Thomas smiled softly. “You’re really okay with it?”
Of course Kong was okay with it. How could he not be?
This was Thomas. His boyfriend, the person who worked harder than anyone, the person who deserved every opportunity.
So Kong smiled.
“Go become even cooler.”
Thomas laughed and kissed his forehead but then his smile faded slightly.
“…your thesis defense is the same week.”
Silence.
Because they both understood immediately. He would miss it. Again. Like so many things lately.
“It’s fine,” Kong said first. Too fast. Too easy. Too practiced.
Thomas stared at him carefully.
“Kong—”
“It’s just a defense.”
But it wasn’t.
It was one year of love being carried quietly between deadlines and cameras and flight schedules...and Thomas knew that too.
The night before Thomas’s flight, they lay in bed facing each other in silence.
No phones.
No TV.
Just darkness.
Thomas brushed his thumb under Kong’s eye softly.
“You’ve been sad lately.”
Kong smiled faintly. “You noticed?”
“Of course I noticed.”
That almost made it worse.
Kong looked away first.
“I think…” he started quietly, “I’m scared people will stop seeing me as your partner one day.”
Thomas’s expression changed immediately.
“Kong.”
“No, listen first.”
Kong laughed weakly, though his eyes were already wet.
“I know you love me. I know that. But everyone keeps moving you forward so fast and I’m still here trying to graduate.”
Thomas opened his mouth but Kong kept going.
“And sometimes I don’t know if I’m still your boyfriend or just…” He swallowed hard. “…someone you’re trying not to lose.”
Thomas looked genuinely hurt, like that thought physically hurt him.
“You are my boyfriend,” Thomas said immediately. “You always are.”
Kong almost broke at how fast he said it...because Thomas meant it. But meaning it wasn’t enough anymore.
The next morning, Thomas left before sunrise and Kong walked him to the door in silence. They hugged longer than usual.
“I’ll call you,” Thomas said.
“Okay.”
“And after your defense.”
Kong nodded.
Thomas hesitated.
Then kissed him softly. Once. Twice.
“I love you,” he said.
Kong smiled gently.
“I know.”
And Thomas left.
The door clicked shut. And suddenly, Kong wasn’t sure if “boyfriend” still meant anything in a world that kept pulling Thomas away.
Three days later, Kong passed his thesis defense. His classmates cheered, his professors congratulated him, flowers were handed out. Everyone celebrated. He smiled for all of it. But when he checked his phone, Thomas had already sent a message hours ago.
Boarded another flight. Proud of you. Call tonight?
Attached was a blurry airport selfie. Thomas looked exhausted. Successful. Far away.
Still his boyfriend.
Technically.
That night, Kong sat alone on the balcony in oversized pajamas. Graduation flowers wilted beside him. His thesis medal rested on the table.
His phone rang. Thomas calling. Kong stared at it for a long time before answering.
“Hey.”
“Hi, graduate,” Thomas said softly.
Kong smiled despite everything.
And while Thomas talked about overseas schedules, interviews, and how much he wished Kong was there, Kong looked down at the city below and realized something quietly, painfully clear:
They were still together.
They just weren’t living in the same version of it anymore.
And neither of them had said the words that would finally make it real.