When Yejin's tears slowed she got up from the couch and made her way down the hall and stepped inside the first bedroom she found. Shutting the door behind her she spent most of the day curled up in the large queen fourposter bed staring at the ceiling. Sleep never came despite how tired she was and when tossing and turning was failing at making her comfortable she crawled out of the bed. She found a pad of paper on the desk across the room and began writing sizes and brands on it like Xiumin had said to do when they arrived.

Yejin didn't emerge from the bedroom until half past six because her stomach was demanding to be fed. Xiumin was nowhere to be seen in the living room or kitchen, so she just shoved the paper into her back pocket as she began searching the kitchen for something to eat. Half an hour later Yejin was setting the table with the delicious scent of food filling the condo, to which lead to Xiumin sniffing the air as he left his room.

Halting in the archway of the kitchen he watched Yejin fill up two bowls with rice before turning for the dining room.

“Food's done,” she told him.

“You can cook?” he questioned as he followed her into the dining room.

“I minored in culinary for a semester and kept going with it even when I dropped out,” she said.

Putting the bowls of rice at each place-setting, Yejin took the farther seat while Xiumin sat in the one across from her. She glanced up to see him eyeing the spread of food with a look of impression, which irked her slightly.

“Is it that surprising that I can cook?” she inquired. Picking up her chopsticks she grabbed some of the japchae and munched on it as she stared across at Xiumin.

“Knowing where you're from: yes it is. You cook, wanted to be a teacher, speak Mandarin, you are a very confusing person,” Xiumin replied.

He started eating the kimchi soup while Yejin ate more of the japchae. She chewed carefully as she stared at him. He thought she was strange, but she thought he was far too understanding for a man that literally trained others to kill people and dealt illegal firearms.

“What's your secret skill then?” she challenged.

Lowering his spoon Xiumin raised a brow at her. “My what?”

“Secret skill. Something you are good at that no one would have guessed you could do. Like Jongdae, Chen I mean, can score a hundred on most karaoke songs. Tao has a treasure trove of pointless TV trivia. Poseidon had a thing for musical theater,” she explained.

Xiumin chuckled. “Did he really?”

“He took me to see The Phantom Of The Opera three times,” she nodded.

Smirking down at his food he chortled, “Never would have guessed that.”

Yejin placed her left elbow on the table and dropped her chin into her palm as she sat her chopsticks on her plate. “So what's yours?” she asked.

Xiumin met her curious gaze as he leaned back in his chair. His smile shrinking a little as he crossed his arms. Was he trying to be intimidating all of a sudden? Or was he trying to come up with a lie to get Yejin to stop asking? She watched him closely looking for the signs of a lie as he opened his mouth to speak.

“I like to make drinks,” he admitted. “Cocktails, teas, coffees. It's a more delicious form of chemistry.”

Yejin met his gaze before removing her head from her hand so she could grab her glass of water. After a small sip she sat the cup back down as she said, “Explains the cupboard full of different coffee beans and tea leaves. And why that is so over stocked even for a club.” She jabbed her thumb in the direction of the liquor cabinet by the China hutch – that, too, was full of bottles of alcohol.

“I don't mix as much as I use to. Don't have the time these days,” he said.

Picking her chopsticks back up Yejin pointed them at Xiumin with a half smile that caught his attention. “Then how about a cocktail after dinner as a Welcome home celebration,” she suggested.

He stuck his tongue in his cheek as he considered it, Yejin waiting eagerly for his reply.

“I guess so,” he muttered.

“It better be good. I'm a strict critic,” she said half joking.

“We'll see about that,” Xiumin remarked.

After a smug grin from both of them they returned to eating with little conversation except for a comment here and there about the food or mundane topics like the weather and celebrity gossip. By the time they were finished and Yejin was cleaning up from the meal – note already passed to Xiumin – said man was at the liquor cabinet contemplating what to make. Yejin had asked for something sweet, which she knew wasn't hard to deliver on but every time she poked her head into the dining room to see his progress he would be holding a different bottle looking it over with a critical eye. The dishes were packed into the dishwasher and the leftovers were placed into the fridge before Xiumin had the drinks done.

Mildly disappointed Yejin walked up behind him to see what he had decided to work with, but he just stepped in her way shooting her a reproachful look. It was like he was an artist that didn't want his work to be spoiled right before the great reveal, so with a pout and an audible humph Yejin left the dining room for the lounge. She plopped into a cushioned cream colored armchair that was facing the large bay windows and stared out across the city that was glowing with artificial light while the sun was just a sliver on the horizon painting the sky pink and orange that faded into violet and navy. It was beautiful.

She had gotten lost in the sight, so much so, that she didn't hear Xiumin mix their drinks, or come up behind her with the glasses in hand. She jumped slightly when something suddenly obstructed her view of the night city, but her pulse calmed when she recognized the familiar form of a hi-ball glass. Taking the glass Yejin inspected the liquid inside as Xiumin joined her in the other armchair to her right. It started out pink on the bottom of the glass, slowly became purple in the middle then a rich blue on the top. It was stunning to look at, but looks were only twenty percent of the appeal of a drink, the other eighty rested firmly in how good it tasted. Using the straw Xiumin had stuck in it she took a tentative sip and immediately frowned.

“What? You're the one who said to make it sweet,” Xiumin spoke up.

Turning to him Yejin noticed he had a simple Jack-and-Coke in hand, while she jutted her bottom lip out in a furious pout. “I know what I ordered. I was just hoping for it to be terrible so I could complain,” she whined.

A smug smile split Xiumin's face as he took a victorious sip of his drink.

“For a man with rusty skills you make a pretty good whatever-the-hell-this-is,” she said holding her glass between them.

“I call it Spring Sunset,” he stated.

“Appropriate.” She cheersed toward the sunset before them. After a long sip this time Yejin's face scrunched up in confusion as she inquired, “Did you invent this?”

Xiumin looked unaffected by her surprise as he nodded. “About three, four years ago when I got bored at one of Luhan's parties.”

“Well d–,” she began.

Snapping closed around her straw Yejin bitterly drank at the Spring Sunset as she turned her gaze out the window again.

“Was that a compliment about to leave your mouth?” he teased.

“Maybe,” she grumbled.

“Let's hear it,” he prompted amused.

“Nope,” she shook her head.

“Why not?”

“I heard nothing about dinner,” she retorted.

“Hm,” Xiumin made a face. It wasn't annoyed or disgusted, instead it was like he was deliberating something as he glanced down at his drink.

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