He walks out of the house in the middle of the night as flashes of memories of the same day five years ago start to flood his thoughts. They’d been left by his father for another woman, he has nobody else to call his family now other than his mother. He looks down as he clenches his fists in despise for someone he has to call his father. He continues to walk as the reel keeps playing in his mind, kicking a few stones nearby away from his path. No more obstacles this time. Two years later, his mother passed away as her illness has slowly consumed her. Yifan closes the book and puts it on his lap as he rubs circles on his temples.

“This is too sad. Why do you want me to do this?” He directs his question to his manager before sipping his morning tea.

“The book sold a million copies and it’s currently being translated into every language there is on Earth as we speak. It’s heart-wrenching and it’s a perfect deviation from your usual romance-laden films. Something new, Yifan. Something to challenge yourself.” Minseok answered him brightly, with his eyes twinkling and his hands clasped together, too brightly for Yifan’s liking.

“Do I have to read the book? I mean,” he picks up the book and inspects it again; it was only few centimeters shorter than his hand and only about an inch thick, “can’t you just let me read the script and see what happens from there?”

“You have to read the book for you to get in character. Come on Fan, it’s not that long.” Minseok urges him again and Yifan hates that he can’t say no to him.

How can you so no to a baozi? Like, how? He thought as he groaned and opened the book from where he left off. Minseok looked pleased that his talent listened to him so he left Yifan after a while to let the book consume him.

Hours passed by without Yifan noticing as he continued reading the book Minseok gave him in the morning. He finished a chapter and closed it, then closed his eyes afterwards to let it rest for a while.

How can one write such a sad sad story? He thought again as he let his head rest on the couch. He let his fingers run through the cover of the book. He opened his eyes again while his fingers ran over the title of the book.

A Diamond with a Flaw by Zhang Jia Shuai

*****

“Minseok, you lied to me.” Yifan’s manager just got into his apartment and instead of a morning greeting, those were the words he said first. He was almost done with the book and upon checking he only had five chapters left.

“It’s still romantic! And I’m being paired with a guy!” He continues, following Minseok to the dining area where the manager opens the paper bags that contain Yifan’s daily diet.

“I know that.” Minseok grumbles as he tries to open the Tupperware.

“Don’t you think it’ll be a good challenge?” His eyebrows are scrunched as he struggles in opening the bottle containing Yifan’s health drink. “Besides, there’s no extreme physical contact that will be shown in the movie and if you read the whole book there was no mention of such acts as well.”

“But…” Yifan falters because what his manager said were true and in the three years that he’s worked with Minseok, he knows that every project that Minseok himself offers to Yifan always comes out as a big hit. He has the last say, of course, but Minseok’s opinion is always 50% of his decisions.

“Just consider it.” Minseok huffs out, already getting tired of Yifan’s constant whining about the recent offer.

“We’ll meet with the director and the author this Saturday. You don’t have to say yes right away just think about it first. Hear what they have to say before you completely reject it.” He leaves Yifan for a while to answer a phone call; probably another product endorsement or a guesting for Yifan.

*****

The smell of coffee welcomes Yifan and Minseok right when they enter the café of the lavish hotel. Minseok chose the place so that they wouldn’t have problems with fans trying to come in uninvited to their little meeting.

He knows Yifan will kill him if the actor found out that the meeting was organized by him and not by the other party. He really wanted Yifan to work in this project because for one the story is really good, it will be the start of Yifan as a diverse actor, also he’s secretly a big fan of the director. He can’t let this chance pass but he also knows that there’s just so much that he can do to convince his talent hence the meeting. The manager is hoping the author and the director duo can somehow change the actor’s perspective and see the benefits of the project.

He immediately spots Lu Han sitting beside another male in a corner; away from everyone’s prying eyes. He deduced that the other man was the author Zhang Jia Shuai so he quickly changed his path to arrive as soon as possible to their table with his talent following closely behind. Everyone in the café is looking at Yifan, one for his height and two because he’s the Wu Yifan.

They were so close to their destination when they heard cameras click and Minseok being the dutiful manager walked over to the pair of girls asking them as nice as he could to delete the photos since Yifan is there on a private meeting. The girls were reluctant at first but when the manager of the café came out with security guards in tow, they immediately delete the photos they’ve taken. He thought he wouldn’t have to deal with that, seems he was wrong. When that was over, he went his merry way to the table where the director and the author are waiting for them.

Minseok has only seen Lu Han in pictures and short videos of the director at work. He has never given any interviews even when his film bagged awards at the recent Beijing Film Festival under the Independent Film category; one of them being Best Director. He’s had his eyes on Lu Han since the director won Best New Director for Independent Film two years ago. The Korean watched every film he directed and produced; even going as far as searching for Lu Han’s college films which were really hard to get a copy of.

He always knew the director had a cute baby face but seeing it up close was something else. He thought Lu Han was angelic especially when he smiled. And he was glad that Lu Han stood up with a smile when he saw them approaching their table.

He was shocked when he heard the man talk; he can’t help but wonder if he was already in heaven when he heard him say: “Good morning. I’m the director, Lu Han.”

***

“Hi, I’m Minseok although I go by Xiumin here. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Minseok shakes the director’s hand like the huge fan boy that he is before turning to the author and doing the same.

“Great to meet you Xiumin.” The author says in reply while Lu Han tries not to roll his eyes at the overly enthusiastic manager. Lu Han is still supposed to be in bed sleeping, not up and trying to be friendly with strangers. If not for his best friend giving him this opportunity to work on a high-budget film (for a change), he wouldn’t be fake-smiling just to get this big douche of an actor Wu Yifan.

Lu Han can’t really deny the fact that Wu Yifan is famous and a good actor and to have him in the project means raking in big bucks. But that’s also the reason why the director’s never worked with famous actors and why low-budget films make him happy because the actors are eager and do what he needs them to do without throwing a fit every few seconds; telling him they can’t do it and he can’t boss them around to do it.

Funny, he thinks, because I’m the director here. I can obviously make you do what I want you to do.

So when his best friend told him that he wanted Wu Yifan to play one of the major characters, he obviously threw a fit. But not like that one actress who said she’s not getting in the mud because then her beauty will not be seen if she does so.

“I already have actors in mind and I already told you about them.” He gave the author a list of the actors he has in mind with their profile. He even sent him videos of the actors’ best performances.

“I understand that Han and I think they will be great but I want Wu Yifan to play the nobleman’s role. No, I need him to do it. I’ve already given you free reign to decide on the cast, give me this, please?” That is true and he has no retort prepared for that. Everything was decided by Lu Han with the author’s final approval of course because this is his book being made into a movie not Lu Han’s.

“Why him?”

“I just think he fits the bill. The way I imagine it, he would be perfect for the role.” And Lu Han can’t counter that too since he wants the movie to be as close to how the author had it in mind. But he won’t back down since he found a loophole in the author’s answer.

“And my actor doesn’t? Or is it because he’s a nobody?”

“You know that’s not true. I support you for bringing in rising actors because I know you believe in their talent so let me just have this, okay?” There’s really no way he can reject it anymore when his best friend is pouting at him like his life depended on it. Ever since college he’s been weak to that pout, what would make now any different? So he just nods his head in defeat before gasping for air because his best friend instantly has him in a deadly bear hug. He wonders where such a tiny body gets all that strength.

***

“It’s nice to meet you Wu Yifan.” The actor takes the proffered hand of the guy who stood up first when he caught sight of the tall male. He knows this guy, the director Lu Han. He’s not as famous as the previous directors he’s worked with but he’s been gaining attention recently for directing movies and independent films that have thought-provoking themes.

“This is the author of the book you’re holding, Zhang Jia Shuai.” Another man, standing beside Lu Han reaches out a hand to him. This man has what Yifan would call a pure image. His clothes were pristine and the smile that stretches across his lips is very welcoming that the actor forgets that their hands have been shaking each other’s for quite some time now. They only let go when Lu Han coughs in his hands.

“Just call me Yixing. Jia Shuai is just my pen name.” Yifan swears he probably has the sweetest voice he’s ever heard from a man. He nods at the given information and blinks when Yixing does. He tries to compose himself again when Minseok pushes him to take his seat.

“Have you finished it?” Yixing asks once they’re all seated. He peeks and finds the bookmark almost at the end of the book.

“What can you say about it?” He realizes that Yixing, opposed to his features that say he is a quiet person, likes talking, a lot.

“It’s a good story.” He eventually found his voice and belatedly realized that he hasn’t said a single word ever since he laid eyes on Yixing. “How can you write something so sad?”

“Thank you, I guess. For that, I don’t really have an answer.” Yixing timidly looks down and stops himself from scratching the back of his head; a habit he does whenever he’s embarrassed.

“Did you know that that is Yixing’s first book?” Lu Han chimes in and joins their conversation when he sees that the two don’t have anything more to say.

“I heard that everyone from the director down to the cast were suggested by you.” Yixing nods at Minseok’s words. He looked like he wanted to say more but the waiter suddenly came to take their orders.

Yifan speaks up once he sees the waiter march back to the counter.

“Why me, then?” He eyes Yixing who can’t seem to look straight at him. He knows that there are a lot of producers and directors who want to have him in their movies because Yifan sells. He struggled to get to the top and now that he’s there he knows they all want a piece of him. However, he wants to know why the author wants him to play the role. It’s usually a casting director who does these things so he’s surprised that the producer gave the reins to Yixing.

“You just give the vibe of a nobleman.” The author answers and before he can add more to what he just said, Yifan cuts him off.

“Who will fall in love with another guy?” Yixing’s taken aback because he didn’t really think about that rather it was the opposite. Minseok chants a litany of apologies towards Yixing in Yifan’s behalf while Lu Han looks at the actor with wide eyes.

“Forgive him, he doesn’t have a brain to mouth filter sometimes.” The manager adds and Yifan was sure to give him a death glare for what he said but he’s used to it.

“It’s quite alright.” Yixing realizes that Yifan must not have completely read the book or if he did some parts became blurry to him and he completely lost the words. He understands and he doesn’t blame Yifan for it but he hopes to correct the actor’s understanding.

“I chose you Mr. Wu because you are the very essence of a man. You are what everybody wants in a man: tall, dark and handsome. Although I don’t think you are that dark.” Yixing pauses for a smile and Yifan notices he has a dimple that makes him look more like a child than he already does.

“One look at you and people will think you get girls easier than one would inhale. The nobleman in the story is like so. He is strong, scholarly and easily the dream of every woman. It’s not solely because you are famous and possibly the greatest actor of your time but because of the image that you have and the character that you’ve built for yourself. That, that is why I chose you Mr. Wu.” Yifan looks at Yixing blankly after his explanation because no one’s ever described him as such and he realized that his image of the nobleman is twisted because of the mixture of the dominant concept of the book. He generalized and that’s where he got it wrong. He can see Minseok hide a smile at the corner of his eye because it’s always Yifan who makes people shut their mouths not the other way around. Lu Han looks like he’s trying not to smile as well, averting his gaze from Yifan when the actor looks his way.

Thankfully, the waiter chooses that time to come back with their order.

Yifan clears his throat after a while because he wants to make sure his voice won’t fail him and to get the other’s attention as well. Yixing looks up from his waffles and tilts his head to the side. Yifan would think he’s adorable if he didn’t render him speechless just a few minutes ago.

“Have you looked into other actors who will take my place if ever I say no?” He asks before fiddling with the mug sitting in front of him.

“No.” Was Yixing’s quick response and Yifan wonders how many times will the author surprise him with his unabashed honesty.

“Why not?”

“Because I know you will say yes.” There was a smile at the end before Yixing focused his attention back to his food.

Yifan didn’t know that this meeting was actually planned by Minseok because he really wanted his talent to take the role. So all through-out the little meeting where Minseok is usually the one asking questions that he knows Yifan wouldn’t want to ask anymore because he doesn’t want what happened a few minutes before to occur again, the actor was cursing at Lu Han and Yixing for arranging the meeting just so they can convince him to take the offer.

“I do hope you’ll consider saying yes Mr. Wu or at least finish the book.” Yifan gives Yixing a slight nod whilst having a flat affect. “I hope to see you at the first reading then.”

He doesn’t bother watching Lu Han and Yixing round a corner to their car. He immediately goes to his car and drives away. On his way home, he tries not to think of how innocent Yixing looked and how he saw a hint of sadness in his eyes when he was talking about his book.

He denies the fact that all that is Zhang Jia Shuai, or Zhang Yixing or whatever he wants to be called, bothers him.

***

Yixing felt like a heavy weight was lifted off his chest when he met actor Wu Yifan that day. He doesn’t know why he feels lighter than he’s felt in years. He’s so absorbed in his thoughts that he doesn’t hear Lu Han’s question as they walk to the director’s car after their meeting with the actor and his manager. He’s trying his best not to look back to see the actor’s face again. Yixing has to admit that he looks better in person than in the silver screen and he felt so small in front of his six foot two stature.

“Yixing?” Lu Han calls him and he turns around not noticing that he walked two cars past his best friend’s. He gave him a sheepish grin on his way to the sedan, overlooking the confused expression his best friend had on his face.

“Were you even listening to what I was saying?” Lu Han asked once they’re inside the vehicle. Yixing quickly buckled his seat belt before turning to his best friend with a dimpled smile on his face because he can’t admit with words that he spaced out again. The director shakes his head before repeating himself.

“I asked if you think he will really say yes? I mean, now that you said that to him, he will probably say no just to prove you wrong.” They’re exiting the underground parking lot already and Yixing knows he just said that to sort of challenge the actor.

“I don’t know Lu Han,” he answers his best friend honestly, “but something’s telling me he will say yes.”

“You and your gut instinct again.” Lu Han forces himself not to roll his eyes for the nth time that day and only half of the day has passed. “I swear, one day, we will die because of that.”

Yixing lightly punches his arm before ignoring his poor acting; whimpering like a little puppy than a human. He turns his head instead to the window to watch the buildings as they pass by. He looks up when he sees a billboard with Yifan’s face on it, endorsing a drink with another actor named Chen Weiting. Yixing smiles when he sees the actor’s smiling face again; very different from his aloof behavior.

He himself doesn’t know why but when the CEO of KJI Productions personally approached him to turn his novel into a movie, the first thought he had was to have Wu Yifan play the young nobleman. The actor has garnered a huge following ever since his breakout romantic movie with Wang Likun and one of those many fans is the author himself. He couldn’t deny that the tall actor had captivated him when he first appeared on the screen. Ever since then, he looked into old movies that Yifan was in and he was glad to know that the actor was not solely relying on his looks because he’s very talented in his chosen field. Although most of the roles he had took advantage of his sharp facial features causing fans to stick the bad boy tag on his name as well.

Because of that, the author thought he would cower behind his best friend once he sees the actor who’s known for his icy exterior but there’s something about Wu Yifan, despite his arctic character and clipped words that makes Yixing comfortable around the actor.

He can’t point his finger on it just yet but he hopes the actor will accept their offer; then Yixing will have enough time to crack the tough shell that he’s built around himself so he can understand him and these weird feelings better.

*****

It’s been three days since their meeting with Lu Han and Zhang Yixing so Minseok decided to ask Yifan about his thoughts on the project seeing that the talent only has that day to decide whether he will grab it or not. He sees how Yifan has been trying to avoid the topic by switching to something entirely different like when is the next game of Manchester United when he knows for a fact that the only sport Yifan ever really cares about is basketball. So he walks to the living room where Yifan is and asks him straightaway.

“So, have you thought about it? Tomorrow’s the last day. The first reading will be the week after.” Minseok sees that he hasn’t finished the book yet and realizes that he hasn’t touched it since they met the author. Yifan doesn’t give him an answer; focusing on the game he’s playing on his phone.

With a roll of his eyes, Minseok leaves with a grumbled: “At least finish the book.”

Once Minseok leaves, he closes his phone because he got sick of the device already; playing the same game over and over again. At the corner of his eye he sees the book that’s sitting on the coffee table. With a deep breath he reaches for it. He holds it in his hands; inspecting the book again.

“I do hope you’ll consider saying yes Mr. Wu or at least finish the book.” Yifan remembers Yixing saying with his dimpled smile and innocent face and with that he opens the book again where he left off. He stayed stuck to the sofa for God knows how long just to finish the book.

Once he’s done, he finds himself unable to move with tears streaming down his cheeks. He immediately reaches up to wipe them with the back of his hands.

*****

The KJI Production Company Beijing branch has hints of Korean architecture mixed with Chinese architecture with it or maybe it’s just the fact that both came from the same ancestry but either way Kyungsoo likes it. It feels like home with the hangul letters he sees on the walls to the Korean newspapers on the tables laid out on the lobby.

“Mr. Do, good morning. The reading will be this way.” A woman in a black pencil skirt and white blouse greets him in Chinese which he returns almost as quickly as it was given before he was ushered to a room where he finds Lu Han and Yixing having tea. The room is larger than the ones they’ve met up in before. There’s a long conference table with swivel chairs on the sides that Kyungsoo deduces as the chairs meant for the actors; water bottle and snacks laid out for them to munch on in the middle of the reading and in between breaks.

“Kyungsoo, hello.” Lu Han waves at him as he enters and Yixing greets him a good morning before offering him coffee which he declines politely.

“Here.” He hands them each a copy of the final script. Yixing’s book rarely contained dialogue so he had to write half of the script himself with the guidance of the author. Considering the fact that dialogues can make or break a scene, it was hard for Kyungsoo to choose the right words to match each.

He watches as Yixing and Lu Han flip through the script with smiles on their faces and that was enough for him to forget his struggles as young Kyungsoo.

The scriptwriter moved to China at the age of fourteen when his Chinese mother divorced his father. He had a hard time adjusting because he was never taught proper Chinese by his mother while he was growing up. He knew his classmates were saying nasty stuff about him so he pushed himself harder every day to learn the language and in a matter of months he was able to master it.

But he did not stop learning. In his spare time through middle school and college, he studied English and Japanese as well. His love for words landed him jobs to write scripts for school plays since middle school and the hobby continued through college.

Now, he’s a full-time scriptwriter for dramas and movies produced by KJI Productions. Ever since he started, Kyungsoo has been the company’s go-to scriptwriter since it expanded its wings in China. His command of Korean, Mandarin Chinese, English and Japanese easily made him a valuable member of the company.

He’s only been working in the company for roughly eight months and this new project is considered one of KJI’s biggest and riskiest; he feels both blessed and pressured.

***

It’s reading day and KJI’s CEO flew all the way from Seoul just to be there.

“Why did you let the author decide on everything?” Junmyeon, the CEO’s cousin and the only person he can trust to be the COO for the Beijing branch, asks him as he goes through the profile of the important characters in the new project. He just arrived from the airport and the tone his cousin is using on him is making his head ache.

“Because that’s the only condition he gave us so I can turn his book into a movie.” This is the first time that he allowed somebody else decide on everything; even with the previous dramas and movies that they produced, everything undergoes through his scrutinizing eyes even if it has passed the standards of Junmyeon and the others.

“It’s a huge gamble.” Junmyeon flips through the profiles of the C and D-list actors that the director and author have casted for this big budget project. “I hope it’s worth it.”

“I can only trust him.” The CEO answers as he walks to the direction of the assigned conference room.

Trust. He’s putting a lot of that in this project and he knows he’s risking a lot but he believes in the message of the book. He thought about the consequences but with the good reception the book is currently receiving he knows it won’t fail.

“M-mister Kim.” Huang Zitao, the person in charge to oversee the needs of the cast and crew stands up in his seat situated at the opening of the conference room.

“Please,” he strides in and looks around to address everyone, “just call me Jongin.”

A/N: Hello! :) Can't really promise to update this fic regularly but I hope you guys will stick through, like always. :) Just introducing everyone here and I know, a huge chunk is of it is Yifan and then so little of Jongin >.< I'm still slowly piecing things together too while writing and a lot of ideas pop up while doing so >,< Anyhow. hopefully I can update asap! Subscribe and upvote?^_^ Don't forget to comment!!! ;) 

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS NOTE:

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY Y BEAST OF AN ANGEL HUSBAND, ZHANG YIXING!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU BABY!!! I WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST....BUT WAIT A SEC, YOU ARE THE BEST!!! <33333

PS Anybody want to make a poster? Don't really have time to make a request and stuff >,<