The first time Jongdae met Tao the other male was breaking into his house.

                Considering the fact that Jongdae had been reading an interesting book that he had borrowed from the local library, of course he hadn’t expected to see a blond haired man wearing black leather clothes and black skinny jeans and black knee high boots entering his room through his window. He even had a cup of coffee on the table next to him, eyes scanning the black and white words on the page as he slowly became deeply engrossed in the book. To his surprise and amusement, the man fell to the floor with a loud thump, his back moving up and down indicating his heavy breathing. The man kept his eyes on Jongdae as though he hadn’t just tried to commit a despicable act.

                It was weird, really. Jongdae had no idea why there was thief trying to break into a rich family’s house in broad daylight, when any sensible burglar would do it at night because then it would be quiet and nobody would suspect a thing as they were too deep in slumber to pick up any random suspicious activities that were currently playing in their house. What’s stranger was that nobody saw the thief climbing up the side of his house and hanging over a ledge before hoisting himself up and into Jongdae’s room. Jongdae’s house was literally out there in the open, anyone watching would definitely enjoy the view of Jongdae changing his clothes if he wasn’t taught to draw the curtains every time he had nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

                Naturally, at a situation like this, Jongdae would stop reading and yell for help—if he was anywhere close to his phone then he would threaten the thief by dialing 911, but instead Jongdae just gave the man a deadpanned look and asked, “Can I help you with something?” before he could stop himself.

                Right at that instance the door opened to reveal Jongdae’s concerned mother. “Jongdae, I heard a bump, is there something…” she trailed off at the sight of the man on the floor who was panting heavily like he’d just ran a marathon. “Who’s this?”

                “My friend,” Jongdae replied almost too quickly in a failed attempt to feign nonchalance, the word ‘friend’ slipping past his lips too easily. The man slowly started to lift himself off the floor and stand up. “He just arrived here.” Jongdae added.

                Jongdae’s mother looked fairly unconvinced (and Jongdae honestly didn’t blame her for being so smart), but Jongdae was more than relieved upon finding out that Tao could read the atmosphere just as quickly as he could. The thief immediately reconciled and smiled warmly at the woman who stood impatiently at the door. “Huang Zitao, ma’am. You can call me Tao.”

                Jongdae refrained from sighing in relief at the sight of his mother’s face slightly changing in belief and understanding. “Well you can call me Mrs Kim. Nice to meet you.” She smiled back. “Anyway Jongdae, your father and I have some important guests over so please tone it down and behave yourself, alright?” As Jongdae nodded his head in agreement she flashed another welcoming smile at Tao’s direction before finally leaving the room, softly closing the door shut behind her.

                The moment he heard a silent click of the doorknob Jongdae instantly snapped his gaze at Tao and glared.

                “You are an idiot,” he sneered. “What kind of thief breaks in through the window of an occupied room? In broad daylight?”

                The thief in question—Jongdae remembered his name being Tao—rolled his eyes indignantly. “Shut up,” he huffed. “I’m your friend, right? Treat me a little bit nicely, please.” He looked away and put a hand on his back, muttering something about how much it hurt and that he was going to have to find a bed to sleep in that night.

                Jongdae thought for a moment. This was the first time anyone ever tried to break into his house, which was odd enough since they’re rich as hell, and it was definitely his first time conversing with—well, someone who wasn’t the son of a rich couple. In addition, this guy was a burglar. A peculiar one at that, who actually conversed with the owner of the house, broke in during the day, and didn’t bother to be quiet about it. He didn’t even deny the fact that he did come in here to steal something, and that, in Jongdae’s mind, definitely said something. The corners of his lips slowly tugged up in fascination. There was no doubt that this was going to be fun.

                He put his book down and stood up, realising now that he had to crane his neck up to look Tao in the eyes. Shrugging it off, Jongdae cleared his throat and gestured to the door. “Shall I show you the way out then, Zitao?” He grinned. He knew that this wasn't the kind of relationship he was supposed to be having with a man who had just effortlessly broke and entered his room, but he wasn't going to stop himself. It was better this way.

                Tao smirked back knowingly. “Yes, Jongdae.”

                By the time he finally led Tao out of the house he made sure the coast was clear before lowering his voice to ask the other male, “What were you even trying to steal?”

                “Are you going to give it to me willingly?” Tao responded, perplexed. His smoky eyes were narrowed at Jongdae.

                Jongdae shrugged. There was something in him that wanted nothing more than to just rebel against his parents' obnoxiousness and impossibly high expectations. “I don’t see why not. I mean, nothing ever happens here.” He said.

                Tao chuckled and shook his head. “I already have what I came for,” he said. Before Jongdae could ask what it was the guy was already walking away. Jongdae wouldn’t risk calling out to him to ask the question as his parents and their guest could most likely hear him, so all he could do was watch as Tao walked further and further away from his mansion before heaving a sigh and closing the door.