Yixing looks at his phone for a good few seconds before he finally pushes the green button. After all, he did allow Yifan to call him, “Hello?”

“Hey, Yixing,” Yifan’s voice from the other end of the line sounds too soothing and too gentle despite the depth it has to it that the author gulps and proceeds to hum, “Morning.” He can hear the shyness in Yifan’s voice, something he never expected for the actor to have. Or maybe he’s just acting, it is what he does for a living and he’s really good at it but something tells Yixing that Yifan is far from pretending.

“Morning,” the author replies. He reckons there’s no need to beat around the bush and as much as he enjoys hearing this side of Yifan, it is a bit disconcerting to hear him talk so subdued and meek, nervous to the bones, “So why did you call?”

Yixing hears Yifan sigh and in the quiet of his room he can even hear the smacking of the actor’s lips when he closes them, still unable to articulate his thoughts. But the author patiently waits for him to put his words together, hand following the lines on the window pane, humming quietly to avoid dead air. Then the actor clears his throat and finally says, “About what I said last night.”

The author weighs whether he should say something or wait for Yifan to finish. Instead of completely interrupting him, Yixing just hums to encourage the elder to continue. He wants to hear what the actor has to say about it, wants to hear an explanation but not there to force it out of him because Yixing thinks the actor doesn’t owe him anything. 

After some thinking the night before he decides that Lu Han is correct and that he shouldn’t bother himself with such trivial matters. Yifan’s preference is his own and Yixing should respect that and he is probably just taken aback by the author’s suggestion so he understands. Plus, alcohol is evil and they were unfortunately possessed by it when that conversation happened.

“I didn’t mean to offend you in any way,” Yifan picks up where he left off, gulping as he forms more sentences in his mind before saying them because he doesn’t want to make a fool of himself anymore and make it more awkward between him and Yixing. He is thankful that the author is understanding of him and not demanding anything from him, just quietly waiting for him to formulate his sentences so things will get clarified and not to complicate the situation even further.

“I just,” Yifan pauses and Yixing just evens out his breathing, taking a seat on his bed as he looks out to the city, “I was just surprised, I guess.” The author expected that, at least. Of course he was, Yixing should have known. “I’m not an ignorant, I know such things are possible,” the actor, to Yixing, sounds like he is chastising himself, scolding himself for a mishap that shouldn’t have been and he almost interrupts if not for Yifan cutting through and continuing. “No one’s asked me that kind of question before,” he finally confesses, a heavy sigh leaving his lips and travelling to Yixing’s receiver, “Also, the alcohol didn’t help.” The snort Yifan lets out has Yixing smiling and he supposes it’s his turn to talk.

“You know, you don’t have to explain yourself to me, Yifan.” By the way the actor inhaled sharply, Yixing can already pick up a complaint coming up so he intercepts it, “But I’m glad you did.” Yifan seems to deflate on the other end as he heaves another sigh.

“It just bothers me that I said that to you and I didn’t want you to think that I’m rude,” he sounds so small again and Yixing is sure if he is anywhere near Yifan at that moment he would have already placed his arms around the actor and comforted him.

“I don’t expect you to be open to that kind of ideology. It’s okay, really,” the author tries to appease Yifan, hoping the actor will stop being so hard on himself.

“But you were mad last night, weren’t you?” Yifan’s question has Yixing swallowing his saliva, hoping his nerves will go along with it. He bites his bottom lip and decides to be honest with the actor as the elder had been with Yixing.

“I was but that’s behind us now,” he can hear Yifan wince at his answer and he regrets it for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Yifan blurts out, “I’m really sorry.”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize.” Yixing is starting to panic because he doesn’t think he can handle an apologetic Yifan as he is already used to the cocky and above himself actor.

“Can you tell me then?” The actor’s inquiring tone falters a bit at the end as if he isn’t sure if he really wants to ask it. Yixing furrows his eyebrows at Yifan’s question and voices out his confusion to the elder, to which the actor replies: “Tell me why you got mad if it’s alright and that you don’t mind me having such opinions?” The younger starts sweating as he never thought that Yifan would be bothered by it. But he has been honest so far and saying the truth now wouldn’t hurt either.

“It’s silly, I know, but I thought you’d be more accepting of the idea of gay relationships since,” Yixing balks for a moment, voice trembling as he tries to explain his sudden little outburst the night before, “you know, you took up the role knowing the concept behind it.” The author stops and tries to listen for any hint of resentment from the other line but Yifan keeps mum. “If anything I should be the one apologizing to you because it felt like I was forcing my own beliefs down your throat by reacting that way.” He hears Yifan gulp but he still didn’t say anything, “So I’m sorry.” 

Then Yifan chuckles as if some form of tension was lifted from his shoulders, the sound is more carefree than before, light and without that nervous quiver, “I guess we’re both at fault then.”

Yixing joins in his laughter, slowly forgetting what happened the night before in favor of maintaining a good relationship with the actor, “Yeah.” After their laughter died down, the line goes quiet again as they both don’t know whether it is proper to put the phone down after clearing the air between them or if they should continue talking about other matters. As they listen to each other’s breathing, sighs and hums, the sun starts showing itself, the clouds parting for it to shed a little light on the city. “Seems like it will be a beautiful day,” Yixing mutters as he looks out the window, the skyline becoming more visible as the sunlight lands on their reflective windows.

It was as if the heavens were reflecting his relationship with Yifan; like the dark clouds above the city just a while ago signified the heavy veil shrouding their misunderstanding and once it was all ironed out and they were on good terms again, everything became clear and the sun showed up, bright and sunny, like the smile on Yixing’s face.

The actor hums in agreement, unconsciously smiling because of the author’s calming voice, relaxing him and mollifying whatever residue worries he has as he looks out the window himself, “Beautiful day.”

***

Yixing comes out of his room minutes later to find Lu Han still slouched on his couch, furiously typing on his cellphone. It is already close to noon and most of the time, the elder would be up and ready to grab lunch with his best friend, and sometimes Shixun, by that hour. But at the moment, he’s still in Yixing’s old sweatpants and loose shirt, eyes pointed at his mobile device.

The author bypasses his best friend’s location and goes straight for the kitchen. He hears the elder grunt as he’s opening the refrigerator door to get himself a drink and look for something to snack on. The director mutters something under his breath before throwing his smart phone deep into the recesses of the author’s couch. When Yixing returns to see what Lu Han is up to, he finds his best friend with an angry expression on his face, arms crossed over his chest and if Yixing is willing to examine closer he probably would be able to see smoke coming out of the elder’s nose and ears.

“This is all your fault.” Lu Han spits at Yixing as the younger stands a few feet away from his best friend. The author creases his forehead and tilts his head to the side, clearly confused as to what the elder is blaming him for. As if reading the younger’s mind, the director says, “Yifan told Minseok about what you said to him last night.” Lu Han’s phone then starts vibrating uncontrollably on his side, the whirring sound loud even as it is buried beneath pillows and blankets. The director ignores it, his eye twitching just a little bit when the device stops vibrating only to do so again after a few seconds.

“I don’t see why you’re putting the blame on me when I was just telling the truth.” Yixing answers matter-of-factly, shrugging as he takes a gulp of his drink, the elder’s eyes still looking at him with rage.

“What does he want?” Yixing questions the elder, finally, but still carefully, taking a seat on the chair adjacent to the couch. Lu Han whips his head down to where his smart phone is still noisily vibrating before turning his gaze to his best friend who is eyeing him warily.

“He wants to talk.” Yixing purses his lips and nods, thinking how it must have been Minseok’s idea for Yifan to call him; the actor wouldn’t have had the guts to do it himself without someone encouraging him. Internally, the author thanks the manager. 

Lu Han grits his teeth and continues, ignoring the fact that his best friend doesn’t seem to be paying attention to him, “But I don’t want to talk. There’s nothing to talk about,” he fumes. The director clicks his tongue then adds, “He won’t stop sending me messages either.”

“Just listen to what he has to say,” Yixing’s tone is encouraging as he gestures for Lu Han to get his phone. The elder doesn’t seem to appreciate this, sneering at his best friend before taking the device once it stops vibrating.

“You’re not helping.” Lu Han rolls his eyes and opens his phone as he says this. He sees that in the last five to ten minutes the manager gave him a ring twenty times. He curses rather loudly when he notices that he also missed two calls from Kyungsoo. Unsurprisingly, awaiting in his inbox are fifteen messages from Minseok.

“I didn’t say I was going to help.” The author stands up, chuckling a little when Lu Han whips his head to his direction, muttering something about having useless best friends under his breath before turning his attention back to his device to write something quick to Kyungsoo.

Because of you I’m missing important calls. Lu Han thinks as he scrolls through his messages with Minseok. Half of the texts the manager sent in the last few minutes were just crying emojis and Lu Han thinks it is half cute so he lets himself smile. That is quickly erased though when he receives another message from the person he’s trying to avoid.

From: Minseok
I just want to talk Lu Han.

The message takes him aback. It doesn’t have an emoji. It’s plain. For a second he refuses to believe that it is Minseok who is texting him. He thinks of what to reply but clams up at the last second, deciding that ignoring it would be the best option, even if it is just for the time being. Instead of dwelling on it and letting it ruin his day off, he opts to reply to Kyungsoo’s latest message before turning off the vibrate mode of his phone.

Lu Han hopes that Minseok will stop soon. It’s not that he hates the guy. Minseok is nice, he’s noticed that the mood suddenly gets lifted whenever the manager enters the room or walks around praising everyone for their hard work. The director even thought that he was just kissing up to other people but then Lu Han realized that the guy is working for Wu Yifan, there’s no reason for him to do that. He was just sincerely cheering on for the staff and crew, something that Lu Han is not doing as frequently as he should. The director just feels that the manager is coming off a bit too strong ever since he learned of Yixing’s opinions of him and Lu Han. He must have taken it as some sort of approval from the director’s best friend. And once again, Lu Han wishes that Yixing wasn’t so open about such things. 

If he entertains Minseok, even if it is just as a friend, he’s afraid that the other will take it as something else and misunderstand. He doesn’t want to mislead the poor thing. He doesn’t want any kind of mess, not anymore. Being in whatever kind of relationship with the manager aside from business and work relations will take too much of his time and will prove to be more troublesome than it is helpful.

And a distraction, Lu Han reasons, is not what he needs right now.

***

“Yifan,” Minseok tries to get his talent’s attention who seems to be engrossed with whatever he was doing on his phone, a creepy smile ghosting on his lips. When the actor finally looks up from his device, the manager continues, “Do you think I don’t,” he stammers, trying for a nervous smile as he thinks it silly for asking such a question but this is Yifan. No matter how absurd it is if it bothers him, his friend will not laugh at him. So he bites back any regret and repeats himself, this time with a complete question, “Do you think I don’t look good enough?” He can see Yifan’s eyes pop out of their sockets, no words coming out of his mouth, “Should I lose more weight?”

“Ge,” Yifan puts up a dismissive hand to make him stop, shaking his head in disbelief at what his manager and friend is asking him, “why the hell are you thinking that way?”

Minseok looks down, tongue-tied as he scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Is there someone?” The actor asks, leaning forward as he eyes his suddenly beet red manager. It is uncharacteristic for Minseok to suddenly turn quiet and shy, even more unusual that he is asking about his weight. It has been a long time since he was this conscious about his looks, most importantly, his weight.

Minseok was still on the chubby side when he met Yifan and offered to be his manager. The actor thought that the stress, lack of sleep and abundant food would make him gain more weight. However, it seemed that the pressure of being in the business and looking presentable for the people he deals with every single day only made Minseok more disciplined, going to the gym more often than Yifan does and having a diet stricter than his actor has.

When the manager first started incorporating an exercise routine to his diet, Yifan had been skeptical and that’s how he found out that Minseok had his eyes for a certain makeup artist. He was shy to confess about it to Yifan but the beans were spilled after he went up to the girl and told her his feelings which were sadly turned down. Minseok was more devastated by the girl’s reason as to why he was rejected.

“You’re just not my type, sorry.” She said and when he recounted the story to Yifan, the actor was afraid he would have to take him to the hospital because of the amount of alcohol he was drinking.

Now that Yifan realizes it, Minseok has been going to the gym more frequently lately and he has once again changed his diet. There must be someone he is trying to impress as well this time.

“There’s...there’s no one.” Minseok fumbles for his words, obviously lying as he turns away from Yifan and deciding to busy himself inside the kitchen by placing the actor’s sponsored drinks into the refrigerator. He doesn’t need to turn around to know that Yifan is coming, the actor’s heavy footsteps are enough warning for him.

“You know, ge, lying doesn’t suit you.” Yifan leans against the cupboard, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches his manager frantically place the bottles into the fridge, turning them every which way and even color coordinating them. “You turn all red and you start stuttering.” Yifan shakes his head in disapproval for his manager’s actions, “Of all people, it’s me you shouldn’t be lying to, so spill.” Minseok still keeps mum, still shy and wary because by the way Yifan reacted to what Yixing said about him and Lu Han, he isn’t completely sure how the actor will receive it.

“So?” Yifan eggs him on, eyes heavy on his figure. He heaves a sigh as he closes the door of the refrigerator, having already placed all of the drinks inside.

“Yes, there is someone.” He answers a bit sullenly, not the kind of expression one would expect from someone talking about their crush or someone they have their eyes on.

“Nice,” Yifan still cheers him on, pushing himself off the cupboard to pat Minseok on the shoulder, “but you don’t seem happy.”

“Well,” Minseok’s mind flies to Lu Han, the cold replies and the unanswered calls, “the person’s avoiding me.”

“Huh, this person must be stupid then.” Yifan’s reaction has Minseok’s head turning to him, almost causing a whiplash.

With the scariest expression he can muster, he looks up to his talent and says, “Hey now, I still like that person.”

“I’m just stating facts, ge.” Yifan opens the fridge and takes one of the bottles Minseok placed there even before their conversation, already cold and great for his parched throat. “Who is this person anyway?” He asks after uncapping the bottle.

Minseok hesitates, gripping the edge of the island’s countertop as he shakes his head, “I can’t tell you.” Yifan swallows his drink before turning to Minseok, eyes wide in disbelief.

“Are you kidding me?” His tone and affect are both flat, placing his bottle behind him to stare down at his manager in hopes of making him say who it is. He reasons, it’s so that he can put in a good word for Minseok, not that he needs it badly as he’s always around smiling bright and always nice to the people around him. But if his words can help his friend even just a bit he would do it. His manager shies away from him, picking up the boxes where the bottles came from to stack them for recycling later on. “Come on, you’re serious?” Yifan can’t believe that his manager is hiding such things from him, he would even go beyond and say that it is childish but with the way Minseok’s shoulders are hunched and his mood isn’t anywhere near the usual him, he bites back the words.

“Sorry, Yifan but I can’t tell you.” Minseok doesn’t meet Yifan’s eyes, “At least not yet.” 

The actor’s lips move from left to right, a bit comical and if Minseok isn’t in a sour mood he would smile at it but he doesn’t even seem to have the energy to quirk his lips up. After a sigh, Yifan gives up, “Fine, I won’t force you.”

Minseok watches as Yifan retreats to his spot on the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table before retrieving his phone and picking up where he left off on whatever he was doing a while ago before he became invested in his manager’s new-found love life. He feels bad for not telling Yifan. The actor is the closest thing he has to a family in the foreign land and hiding such secrets from him makes him feel a bit guilty as Yifan never hides anything from him, no matter how embarrassing it gets. But he supposes, if there is anyone who will understand why he did it, it would also be Yifan.

“Don’t beat yourself up for it, ge.” He hears the younger call from the receiving area and he shouts back, “I got it.”

After a beat or two, the actor adds, “You have the cutest hamster smile.”

This has Minseok straightening up and walking to where his talent is, “What did you say?”

Yifan looks like he is about to burst, lips glued together to form a straight line as he shakes his head, “Nothing.”

“It better be nothing.” Minseok points his pointer and middle fingers to his eyes before pointing the same fingers to Yifan. He hears a chuckle as he stomps his way out of the luxurious unit.

***

The two day break ended just as Lu Han was starting to enjoy it, binge watching the latest series that he’s had his eyes set on ever since the channel it has it’s regular weekend slots announced that it will be producing the drama. The director was someone he admired as well so it was out of the question whether he was going to watch it or not. Fortunately, Minseok seemed to have received his signals and stopped texting him and calling him after his I just want to talk message. But he is dreading going to work just because of that, he doesn’t know how he will face Minseok. He’s a hundred percent sure that the manager will want to talk about it and Lu Han doesn’t really trust himself not to shout at Minseok in a face to face conversation. He’s not really good at handling his temper well.

Lu Han arrives at the set with Yixing, an hour earlier than the actors so he can do his rounds and check the set if everything is prepared for the day’s scenes. His best friend excuses himself when he sees Minseok and Yifan arrive, telling him that he will be back with him for the first scene of the day. He watches his best friend walk away with a skip in his steps, Yifan was surprisingly waiting for him by the entrance of the dressing room with a coffee in hand.

He never got to ask Yixing about what happened with Yifan after he opened up about the little situation after their dinner. But his best friend and the actor seem to have cleared out whatever misunderstandings they had, as he sees them both enter the dressing room with smiles on their faces. The director was so focused on watching Yixing’s interaction with Yifan that he failed to notice Minseok walking up to him.

“For you,” Minseok’s voice startles him, a hand of his flying up to clutch at his chest. When the manager notices his surprise, he apologizes and lowers his hand that’s holding out the coffee he brought for the director. “Yixing told me to bring you coffee, so,” he lifts up his hand again and Lu Han hesitates for a moment before placing his palm out, knowing that there is a huge chance that his fingers will brush against Minseok’s if he grabs the cup himself. The manager only places the cup on his hand and bows before turning to leave. He’s taken aback by Minseok’s actions because he had predicted that the manager would follow him around the whole day and try his very best to catch Lu Han’s attention but no such thing happened. He doesn’t know why but he feels a little downhearted that what he was expecting did not happen.

I should be relieved,he reasons as he takes a sip of the coffee Minseok brought for him, the same Iced Americano the manager usually makes for him. But why am I bothered by it?

The director lifts his eyes up just in time to see Minseok disappear into the dressing room, the image of his tensed shoulders and his emotionless expression engraved to the back of his eyelids even as he calls cut for Yibo’s first scene.

When he meets eyes with the manager, Minseok is the first to look away and Lu Han curses under his breath because again, he repeats to himself, I don’t need a distraction.