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While Geonwoo adjusted the camera on the tripod, Xinlong waited for him, seated on the sofa in their small living room. As young adults joining the workforce, they can’t afford more than a little apartment in the getting-more-expensive-by-the-day city of Seoul. Still, they don’t really care—right now, they don’t need much space. A single bedroom apartment is enough. As long as they have each other and a place to call home, they can manage, even if money gets tight.
Xinlong conceived the idea of creating the YouTube channel. Initially, the short videos they posted occasionally failed to gain significant traction. Then, everything shifted months ago when a video about the homophobia they’d faced from parents and friends went viral. Their followers and earnings grew quickly after that. This marked their decision to pursue the YouTuber path more seriously. Now that they had recently passed 100k subscribers, it was finally time to celebrate. Having promised their followers a Q&A video, they looked forward to sharing their story as a gay, international couple living in Korea.
When the camera was set up, Geonwoo sat on the sofa right next to Xinlong. “Can we start the Live now?” he asked. Geonwoo nodded while pressing the camera remote.
“Hello, everyone!” said Geonwoo in Korean, followed by Xinlong, who also greeted their fans in Mandarin.
“First of all, we would like to thank you for your support all this time. We are thrilled to have reached over 100,000 subscribers in recent months. We never expected so many people to be interested in knowing about us, our story, and our everyday lives. We owe you all this achievement. As soon as our silver plaque arrives, we will do an unboxing video, but today we wanted to do the Q&A we had promised you.” Geonwoo used to be the one who spoke the most in their videos. Xinlong was already fluent in Korean, yet he preferred Geonwoo to take the lead in speaking it, especially when they streamed live.
“That's right! As promised, today we will answer some of your questions about us. We hope you can enjoy this video!” Said Xinlong as he grabbed the tablet they were going to read the questions from. “Ok, so first question: ¿Could you please tell us about your first meeting?” Xinlong red.
They first met during their second year of university, while studying at Seoul’s National University. At that time, Xinlong was in Korea for only one semester as an international student, eager to experience life beyond his hometown of Taiyuan. Initially, he had not intended to find love in Korea or to settle there. The odds of them meeting seemed slim: Geonwoo majored in political science while Xinlong studied education. Their paths might never have crossed if not for a twist of fate.
They met at a party that Geonwoo’s faculty had thrown. Xinlong wasn’t the type to go to university parties—he preferred to stay in his dorm and study. His friends begged him to go, and reluctantly, he agreed. They bumped into each other at the food table while refilling their cups. The rest was history. They locked eyes instantly. Noticing Xinlong was shy, Geonwoo decided to take the lead. They found a sofa to sit on and talked all night, learning about each other—what they liked, what they wished for in life, their hobbies, even their fears. By the time the sun started to rise, there was nothing they didn’t know about the other. They were practically strangers, yet the connection they felt was unique. It was like destiny. They saved each other's numbers, kept talking, and made time to see each other every day. Maybe a week was too soon to officially become boyfriends, but it felt right to them.
Eventually, Xinlong had to realize he couldn’t stay in Korea indefinitely. Geonwoo helped him transfer to his university, officially enrolling at SNU and staying by Geonwoo’s side. The decision seemed rushed to outsiders, but both trusted the long-term strength of their relationship.
Geonwoo graduated first, as Xinlong had to take intensive Korean language lessons that didn’t leave him time to complete all the classes in his new curriculum at the expected pace. After being in a solid relationship for years, Geonwoo thought it was a good time to introduce Xinlong to his parents. He had already met Xinlong’s baba and mama through video calls, and they were already planning a trip to China once Xinlong graduated. He didn’t expect his parents to take the news too well at first, but it ultimately turned out to be a complete disaster. Geonwoo’s parents didn’t approve of his relationship with Xinlong, and Geonwoo wouldn’t tolerate that. One day, he couldn’t take it anymore, so he texted Xinlong, “I’m moving out of my parents' house. Want to live together from now on?” and both started planning everything. Soon after Xinlong graduated and got a job, they started saving up for a better place to live. The little apartment they were living in right now was definitely better than the one where they first moved in together. Now that they had a successful YouTube channel, they were already planning to move to a better location.
“Second question. ¿First Impressions of each other?” red Geonwoo. “Didn’t we already answer this one? When we talked about how we met”
“Yeah, we kinda did, but it doesn't hurt to say it twice,” said Xinlong as he looked at Geonwoo.
“Ok, ok. I’ll say it again. My first impression of Xinlong was that he seemed shy and serious because he was alone, grabbing a drink, but when I got to know him, I learned he was such a cute baby,” Geonwoo said while grabbing Xinlong’s ear between his fingers. Xinlong laughed. He loved Geonwoo's little touches and cute words.
“When I first saw him at that party, he seemed really social, like someone who gets along with everyone and also grabs everyone’s attention. I actually saw him first, but didn’t dare to talk to him. I’m grateful we ended up bumping into each other and started talking that night. I later learned that others see him as serious, or even intimidating. I didn't get those vibes from him, then or now,” responded Xinlong
“Next question. Do you guys get jealous?” said Geonwoo.
“Geonwoo is a really jealous man,” said Xinlong as soon as Geonwoo finished reading the question. When he glanced at him, Xinlong started laughing. “What? It's the truth! You get jealous easily and don’t even try to hide it. But you know I like it. I like you being possessive, Ge” he said and kissed Geonwoo on his cheek immediately. “And please don’t take this the wrong way, guys. He’s not toxic or anything like that,” Xinlong added. He didn’t want people to think badly of Geonwoo.
“Ok, you win. I admit I’m the jealous type,” said Geonwoo. “But you are also like that. So really, we both tend to get jealous. Obviously, since we have been together for a long time, we trust each other, and there’s nothing really to be jealous about. However, sometimes we can still feel that way, and we simply discuss it. It’s not a big deal”. Both chuckled.
Xinlong grabbed the tablet once again to continue. “How did your parents take the news of you dating?” he read.
“As you know, my parents didn’t take well to the idea of me being gay and loving another man. They met Xinlong a couple of years ago, but we are not that close anymore, so we don’t really see each other.” He felt Xinlong’s hand grab his own—a silent show of support. Telling the story of the falling out with his parents still hurts, even years later. They stopped talking when he had just graduated from university and started to take his relationship with Xinlong (more) seriously. He had wanted to introduce Xinlong to his family, but it didn’t go as he’d hoped. They told him they just wanted him to find a nice Korean girl to settle down with, ignoring his feelings and his relationship—ignoring who he truly was. He couldn’t tolerate them disrespecting his partner, the love of his life. So he left their house, and over time, they stopped talking.
“My parents… they didn’t really care about me being gay. As long as I had someone who would love me and take care of me, they were fine with it,” said Xinlong in an attempt to change the subject. “But they really wanted to meet Geonwoo to make sure he was good for me. Since they live back in China, they wanted to make sure I was taken care of here in Korea, especially after I told them I would be staying here for him.”
Geonwoo smiled at the mention of his in-laws. Cultural differences and language barriers aside, they got along pretty well. He knew Xinlong’s parents loved him as their own son (and Geonwoo loved them as if they were his own mother and father). If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have given him their blessing for him and Xinlong to get married the last time they saw each other. Not like they could actually get married (at least not in the near future, since neither of their countries allowed for same-sex marriage yet), but it was nice to know they approved of him to be his only son’s husband.
“The first time I met them, we couldn’t really talk as I knew only a few words of Chinese back then, but we still got along fine. They saw how much I love their son and accepted us without hesitation,” Genwoo said. That was his first time in China, and while things didn’t go as planned (he thought he could handle a really spicy snack they had offered him after learning he likes spicy food, but then he couldn't leave the bathroom that whole night—not a story he would like the whole internet to know, though), he enjoyed his time there. More than anything, he enjoyed seeing his baobei happy with his family. That’s why he insisted they visit Xinlong’s hometown as much as they can. “Nowadays, we visit Xinlong’s parents at least once a year. It’s not always easy, but it makes us both happy, so we try our best to go when we can. Of course, we still call them almost every day,” he added.
“Should we read the next question?” Xinlong asked.
“Sure. I think this is the last one,” said Geonwoo.
“How do you see your relationship in 10 years?” both read at the same time.
“Wow, we’ll be almost 40 by then”. Geonwoo pointed out, laughing. “I would like to be married by then. Or to at least have a small ceremony with our friends and family. As you know, our options are limited, but that doesn't mean we don't want to get married. Still, even if we can't ever get legally married, that doesn't mean we won’t be by each other's sides until we get old,” he added.
“It’s the same for me," said Xinlong. “In ten years, I would like for us to have already had even a small symbolic wedding. That would be nice. And I would also like to adopt a couple more dogs, or even cats. Right now, you all know we have our Chuyi, our adorable canine daughter who’s sleeping right now, but I would also like to have a couple more pets and expand our family when we get a bigger home eventually,” he finished.
After finishing the prepared questions, they decided to review a few of the comments they were receiving. Some people offered words of sympathy, and others asked more questions about them. Eventually, they decided to stop the streaming.
“So this is it, guys. We answered all the questions you had for us. Thank you so much for watching our Live. Tomorrow, we will upload the edited version to the channel so you can rewatch it. Stay tuned for more videos in the coming days. See you soon! We love you!" said Geonwoo, ending the stream while Xinlong added another “Bye, guys,” and started waving his hand to the camera.
“I’m exhausted. Should we order something to eat?” said Xinlong. Being on camera for so long was draining, even if he liked doing it.
“I love you, LongLong,” answered Geonwoo in Chinese.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Xinlong responded with a smile on his face and his phone already in his hands. “I love you too, Hyung”.