“I found you!”

Tao’s head snapped up as Jongdae, or Chen, yelled wildly and started running towards him. After the Weekly Idol incident and the discovery of Jongin’s true identity, Baekhyun had been helping educate Tao on the different idols the Korean music industry had to offer.

He knew Chen to be a ballad singer, and a huge troll among fellow celebrities and fans. One thing that made him easy to distinguish from others was his sharp facial features and cheek bones…

Which is how he knew he was the one running after him.

, Tao cursed as he dropped the Gucci wallet he really wanted to buy and ran out of the store. The last thing he needed was to gain more reputation as an ‘Idol Radar’ among the many fans of Kpop. He was becoming famous himself for running into them in the first place.

However, the ‘Find Tao’ game was widely  recognized among these fans, so the girls that knew who both of them were started screaming and cheering Chen on with words like, “He’s over there Oppa!” or “Hwaiting Chen!”

Why can’t I have a peaceful outing for once? Tao sighed mentally as he avoided a girl with a camera who was conveniently blocking his path. Unfortunately, that gave Chen an ample amount time to catch up and before he knew it, he was being yanked back by the collar of his shirt by a very winded singer.

“You… are a little… turd,” the male panted, thanking the girl for stopping him before he dragged Tao off.

“I don’t even know you, why are you chasing me?” Tao whined as they entered a small café.

“Because this is a game! So far Luhan, Sehun, Chanyeol, Kai, and now I have found you! I’m not the only one looking you know,” Chen chuckled as he pushed him to a chair and took the one opposite of him. The idol ordered two milk teas, making sure the waitress knew that Tao was the one paying, before letting her go.

“I don’t want to pay for your drink.”

“Idol privileges,” the boy shrugged, “If you don’t, my fans will be very upset.”

“I don’t care about your fans.”

“Don’t let them hear you say that. They’re always watching you know. How do you think I found you?”

“Um, good timing?”

Chen laughed and reached for his phone. He slid it across the table and showed Tao a tweet form a girl with the URL ‘LightningQueen’:

@ChenChen Look who’s shopping in Gangnam~ #CatchTao

Attached was a picture of Tao in the shoe store he was browsing earlier. Tao groaned and glared at Chen, who took his phone back and was preparing to take a selca with him in the background, “Smile Tao~”

The said boy merely held up a peace sign before turning to the waitress that brought them their drinks and taking them from her, “What if I didn’t like bubble tea?”

“Not my concern. I’m the one that wasn’t physically prepared to run after you. Why are you so damn fast?”

“I guess it’s just because of my wushu,” Tao shrugged, “So did you really come all the way to Gangnam to find me?”

“Psh, no. I was in the area filming for a CF when I recognized the store in the picture. I just finished filming and ditched my manager.”

“So no one knows where you are?”

“Well twitter knows now,” he held his phone up, smiling when several notifications popped up on his screen, “Ha! Sehun says nice job, Luhan wants to kick me, Joonmyun is jealous, and Kyungsoo is calling us idiots.”

“Kyungsoo?”

“Sorry, his stage name is D.O.”

“Oh, the other ballad singer,” Tao nodded thoughtfully. He also stuck out because of his large eyes. Baekhyun said one way to remember him was D.Owl.

“Hey, Kris replied too.”

The red-head nearly dropped his drink. His face flushed as he looked at Chen expectantly, “W-what did he say?”

A mischievous grin grew on the boys face, “You’re going to lose your . He said, ‘Don’t pick my peaches.’”

Tao hunched over the table and buried his face in his arms. He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on his face and knew that Chen, or Jongdae, or whatever the hell this kid’s name was would make fun of him.

“Your ears are so red man, I thought your hair dye had leaked down on them,” he chuckled and took a swig of his drink, “You’re such a cute fanboy. If only I had more like you.”

“I’m sure you have plenty,” Tao shrugged as he sat back up, his smile still present, “I thought today was gonna , but it doesn’t seem all that bad now.”

“Wow, you lovesick panda.”

“Shut up.”

He raised his arms in defeat and glanced at his watch, “Gotta go. If I’m gone any longer than my manager will have my head. It was fun chasing you Tao; maybe we’ll meet again… maybe not.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” he huffed, “After this I’m going to go back to being a hermit.”

Chen let out a boisterous laugh and thanked him for the tea before walking off. Tao rolled his eyes and threw a couple of won on the table as he left. The girls that were gathered outside before had dispersed, probably following after their idol, which gave Tao a perfect opportunity to escape.

He didn’t get very far before he ran into a cloaked person and nearly fell backwards. Tao was about to glare up and scold him, until he recognized the Ray Ban shades and knitted scarf.

“Jiaheng?” he frowned, “I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.”

“I came home early,” the said male shrugged, “What are you doing?”

“I was just shopping and I ran into a… friend. What about you?”

He shifted his weight from one leg to another, clearing his throat before he spoke, “I was… just… in the neighborhood. Are you busy right now?”

“Not anymore,” Tao smiled, “You want to head back together? I think your grandma would be happy to see you.”

“Well I came back early, so I don’t think she’d mind waiting a little longer. I was thinking we could hit up a couple of stores before we left.”

Tao’s eyes widened in shock. He didn’t expect to actually hang out with him; Jiaheng seemed rather distant and, although kind, a solitary person. He realized the proverb his grandma taught him, never judge a man by his looks, could never be been more accurate, “Yeah, sounds like a plan.”

“Great,” his smile made the red head’s grown a little wider, “How about some Ddeokbokki?”

“I’m up for that.”

 “I saw a stand around the corner that way, follow me,” he slung an arm around Tao’s shoulder and started guiding him away. Again, Tao felt his face heat up, but he had no idea why. It was just his neighbor; however he wasn’t use to the skinship, at least not with someone as unknown as him.

Jiaheng seemed to notice the discomfort and withdrew his arm, “Sorry.”

“No don’t apologize. It’s just… I’m not use to-”

“I get it. I’m still a stranger, aren’t I? This is, what, our third official meeting? You’ll have to excuse me, I don’t really hang out with people my age…”

“Well you look a little older than me. How old are you?” Tao frowned; he really didn’t know anything about this guy.

The male bit his lip as he thought about it, “Let’s see, my Korean age is…24? Yeah, 24.”

“Oh! I’m 20, so you’re my ge.”

“Don’t you mean hyung?”

Tao gave him a pointed look, “Don’t think I didn’t hear you speak like this to your grandma.”

Jiaheng smiled, “Touché. Where are you from?”

“Qingdao. You?”

“Guangzhou, but I’ve lived most my life in Canada.”

“Canada?”

“Yes,” easily slipping into Korean, Jiaheng continued to explain, “I moved back to China later for training, and then came here with my grandma.”

“What kind of training? Do you also do martial arts? I’m trained in wushu myself,” Tao smiled.

Jiaheng smiled back , but shook his head, “No I… in high school I played a lot of basketball.”

“Oh, so you’ve got a basketball scholarship?”

“Something like that.”

“Well I like playing too, not as much as most but it’s a good way to exercise when then gym’s full. I’ll play with you if you need a partner.”

“I’ve got one, but he’s pretty busy. I’ll be sure to take you up on that.”

Tao nodded, letting a mischievous smile spread across his lips, “So, I know you’re older than me, you lived in Canada, you were born in Guangzhou, and you play basketball.”

Jiaheng furrowed his brows, “So?”

“So…” Tao took his arm and put it over his shoulder, where it originally was before, “That means we’re not strangers. To be honest Ge I thought you didn’t like me when we first met. Now I can see you were just shy.”

“Shy?” he scoffed, unconsciously pulling Tao closer to him, “I am not shy! I’ll probably be the most social person you’ll ever meet.”

“Doesn’t look like that to me; you couldn’t wait to take your grandma back into her apartment the first time we met.”

“Hey. I’m just not quick to trust. Imagine your grandma chatting up some kid that recently moved in, how would you react?” Jiaheng had a look of mock offence on his face, but Tao rolled his eyes and shoved him lightly with his shoulder, “You’re not taking me seriously are you?”

“Nope, you’re funny. Do I really look like someone that could hurt her?“

Jiaheng stared for a while at his face, forcing Tao to look away in embarrassment. He couldn’t exactly see his eyes but he could feel his gaze, it was mildly unnerving, “You’re cute, kid.”

That, he wasn’t expecting, “Shut up. I’m not cute, I’m handsome.”

“Sure, that too,” He chuckled, “Oh god, look at that line.”

“What line?”

“Exactly. We’ve got good luck.”

--

5 hours later Tao and Jiaheng stumbled through Tao’s apartment door, giggling wildly. Baekhyun looked up from his perch on the couch and frowned at the loudness. Tao made eye contact, waving slightly in greeting.

“Hyung! You remember Jiaheng, don’t you?” he motioned to the still grinning male, who waved as well.

Baekhyun smiled slightly and waved back, “Did something happen? You guys are making a hell of a racket.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Tao laughed again, patting Jiaheng’s back, “This guy here, for some unknown reason, had a ton of Canadian money in his wallet, and when some homeless guy asked for some he gave him that. The dude had no idea what it was and started chasing us, but god the look on his face was priceless-”

“My face? Your face! You were screaming at me!” Jiaheng was quick to defend himself and began mimicking Tao’s high voice, “’Ge! What did you do!? Why is he chasing us! Oh god you’re making me run in my Gucci, if I get dirt on this I’ll kill you!’”

“Hey! These shoes are expensive!” Tao retorted lamely.

“Then why are you wearing them out?”

“’Cause they look good.”

“Then expect them to get dirty.”

Tao glared, but his grin was still there as he pointed at Kris’s own shoes, “What about your Jordan’s, huh?”

“I’m willing to take full responsibility for potential threats, such as rampaging hobos.”

They stared at each other for a bit, until they broke out into a new fit of laughter. Baekhyun rolled his eyes, but their mood was infectious and he found himself smiling with them. Eventually Tao had regained enough composure to push Jiaheng to the door.

“Okay seriously, you need to say hi to your grandma or something. She missed you.”

“I was only gone for a week!”

“That’s a week she didn’t see you!”

“Right,” Jiaheng stopped walking, making Tao run into his back. The younger male frowned and rubbed his reddening nose as he turned around, “Say Tao…”

“Yeah?”

“Today was fun. I haven’t had a lot of free time, but I’m glad I was able to spend it with you.”

He blinked, registering his words before his face flushed for the nth time that day and he looked away, “Well, you know where to find me if you want to hang out again.”

The man smiled and nodded, “Good night Tao.”

“G’night.”

Tao closed the door once Jiaheng had gone next door and leaned against it. His eyes fell on Baekhyun, who was sporting the smuggest smirk he had ever seen come from the male, “So…”

“We just ran into each other in Gangnam.”

“You know I was fully prepared to yell at you for getting chased by Jongdae, yes there’s a video, but now I’d much rather tease you about your obvious crush on the neighbor lady’s grandson.”

“Stop,” Tao groaned and kicked his shoes off. He collapsed next to the shorter male and propped his head on his lap, “Please don’t. I don’t think I can ever face him again.”

“Why? You guys look like you were having fun. Afraid you’ll embarrass yourself in front of him?”

Tao looked up, “Could you not tell? Really?”

Baekhyun frowned, “Okay, now I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Tao sighed and sat back up. Baekhyun had paused the TV so the two were sitting in silence. the martial artist was staring blankly ahead while Baekhyun waited for him to explain.

“Jiaheng… He’s… Never mind.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing,” Tao stood up while the brunette groaned loudly.

“Yah!” he yelled, halting his roommate’s steps as he was halfway into his room, “You can’t just say and then leave it like that! I’m curious as hell now.”

“I just,” Tao looked at the ceiling, as if hoping it could give him something to say. Instead, he turned his head to the side and looked at his older friend, “I guess I just like him a lot.”

“But lemme guess, he’s straight,” Baekhyun sighed, “That’s always the downside of things.”

“Yeah… Call me when dinner’s ready.”

“Hey, who said I was making dinner?”

“Thanks hyung,” Tao closed the door quickly; Baekhyun’s protest was muffled by the door and he couldn't care less. The boy dropped his backpack behind him and walked into the center of the room. The small space was illuminated by the Seoul night life, where noribangs nearby the apartment complex had their neon sign’s growing brightly 24/7. A line of red from one of them streaked across Tao’s cheeks, the other end landing on his shelves to his left.

He looked towards them, his gaze hovering over a collection of CD’s lined up neatly back to back. The newest edition was resting on the table, where a flash of yellow from outside glinted off the glossy cover.

Tao wasn’t stupid, he wasn’t an idiot and he wasn’t naïve. It just took him a while to realize things; sure he needed help sometimes, maybe a push or an observation from others to realize what some things were or weren’t… But today, he felt like an idiot.

Jiaheng was Kris.

Li Jiaheng was Wu Yifan, Kris, the rapper whom Tao had every CD ever produced. The man that made the Earth quake with just the vibrations in his voice, whose lyrics sounded like love songs and hate songs and happy and sad and anger all at war, that sent ones brain spinning with the complexity and cleverness behind each word.

The man he admired most… was just next door.

Tao had realized it was him when they were shopping for some new hats. Jiaheng had wandered off, his attention caught by something else, and when Tao turned to ask for his opinion he was slightly irritated to find him gone. Grabbing the hat he was looking at, the male took off in search for him. Tao came across him by the sunglasses section and before he called his name out, he saw him carefully remove his sunglasses to try another pair, his scarf slipping off in the process.

Tao knew that face anywhere. The hat fell from his hands as he looked at male he had listened to religiously since he was in high school. No way… it couldn’t be him. He was Jiaheng, the neighbor’s grandson, the boy who played basketball. No…

Kris shrugged and made a move to remove the glasses, but stopped when he noticed Tao. His now extremely familiar brow’s furrowed together in confusion.

“What?” he had asked, and now Tao could hear it in his voice, How could I have not noticed…

With a small smile, he pointed at his face and said, “You look like an FBI agent.”

“Oh well,” he pretended to look around suspiciously and then muttered something about alpha wolf being safe into the cuff of his sleeve, making Tao break out in a fit of laughter, both from humor and disbelief.

Since then he decided to play dumb with him. It wasn’t like he had to act completely different though, Kris and Jiaheng weren’t two different people, but now he was more hyper aware of their closeness when Kris would sling his arm around Tao’s shoulder, or tug him towards another store, or mess up his hair when the younger did something ‘Cute.’

Before he knew it, Tao was blushing and his heart beat rapidly in his chest. He closed his eyes and flopped down on his bed, curling into a ball and wishing that today would have never happened… but he was glad it did.

His phone vibrated with a text and he nearly dropped it when he saw who it was from.

From: Li Jiaheng

Grandma says Hi

Tao rolled his eyes and smiled.

To: Li Jiaheng

Dork. Tell her I said "Hi Noona (^0^)/~" and yes, you need to reenact this emoticon.

There was a suspiciously loud band on the wall that made Tao jump, and a reply came less than two minutes later. He laughed as he read, and got another text.

From: Li Jiaheng

I just hit my hand on the wall. That’s what you get for making me wave.

... And I can hear you.

“Stalker!” Tao decided to yell, and heard a muffled “Creep!” back.

He buried his head in his pillows in order to stop his laughter from getting so loud. This is too much…. This is seriously too much. I’m delusional, I know I am.

“Hope you like leftover kimchi stew,” a knock at his door came seconds later, and Tao smiled as he rolled back across the bed and on his feet. He stared blankly at the name on his phone for a couple of seconds and threw it behind him. He would deal with this problem tomorrow, right now he was hungry.

--

Tao thought he would get some privacy at the gym, especially on a Saturday night because all of the college students were busy partying or studying to come. Oh how wrong he was.

“Hey man,” Jongin greeted as he saw the martial artist trudge his way towards the treadmill, “How have you been?”

“Unlucky,” Tao grumbled back, “What are you doing here, you deceptive stalker?”

“Ouch, why so mean? I explained myself over lunch, didn’t I?”

“Whatever.”

“Umm, Jongin?” a surprisingly deep voice spoke up from the shorter male beside him and caught Tao off guard, “Isn’t he… the guy everyone’s after?”

“Yes hyung, and we’ve just won the bet the guys dragged us into,” Jongin grinned cheerfully and wrapped his arm around his neck.

The red head frowned, “What bet?”

“Oh, well, after Jongdae found you he started bragging about it to the guys back at work. We got sick of it and made a bet; Whoever found you next won ₩20,000. However, they forgot that you and I went to the same university. I didn’t expect to find you this soon though.”

“I was hoping no one would find me at all, I’ve been receiving nothing but unwanted attention. People think if they’re near me they’ll run into you or someone else ridiculously famous," Tao's eyes jumped back and forth between the two boys, "I’m sorry, who are you? You look familiar but...”

The wide eyed boy blinked, “Oh me? You can call my Kyungsoo.”

“He’s my hyung, and is a rather popular ballad artist next to Jongdae,” Jongin elaborated, “Can we take a picture now?”

Tao sighed and slid his jacket off, “Might as well before I get all sweaty.”

He cheered and dragged Kyungsoo next to him, causing the significantly shorter male to trip. Tao caught him before he could fall over and the latter thanked him. Jongin readied his phone and didn’t give Tao a warning when he was going to snap the picture. The martial artist still had his arm around Kyungsoo when he yelled ‘Cheese!’ and snapped one.

“Yah! I wasn’t ready,” he whined, releasing Kyungsoo.

“Well my phone is close to dying so I don't have time to wait for you. Are you gonna get some running in?”

“Not today, I’m here for the sandbag,” he motioned to the heavy equipment handing on a chain besides the other machines and pulled some handwrap from his bag.

Kyungsoo watched him curiously as he wound the white material around his palms and wrist, “What are those for?”

“Support, to make sure I don’t injure any joints,” when he was done, he stretched his arms and proceeded towards the bag, “Some people think they act as a cushion, those people are wrong.”

“Guess I’m one of them,” Jongin commented as he walked back on the treadmill, waiting for Kyungsoo to get on his before he started, “So how have finals been for you?”

“Rather annoying,” Tao spoke between breaks from his light punches, warming his body up for his real training, “Korean literature will be the death of me.”

“You poor soul.”

“How have you been running into people?” Kyungsoo interrupted, letting his curiosity get the better of him, “Sorry, but it seems highly unlikely that one person would meet so many idols. Even now seems kind of strange. Did Jongin text you?”

“Wow hyung, you don’t play around.”

“Well what if he’s a sae-”

A particularly loud punch silenced him. They looked over and saw the bag swinging from impact with Tao still frozen in his punching position, fists clenched tightly and turning whiter and whiter by the second. His face, however, remained impassive, contradictory towards what his body was showing them.

Tao's mind launched into a myriad of jumbled and panicked thoughts. He had been cornered by fans of the different idol's he's met, all of them accusing him of being a stalker and threatening to hurt him if he didn't leave them alone. No one seemed to believe that this was dumb luck, or that their precious idols were looking for him.

Then his thoughts trailed to Kris. What if the man thought he was a stalker, a saesang as they were called? What if Kris was hanging out with him to keep tabs on him? Or get enough evidence to have him put away? But that made no sense, who would willingly hang out with their potential stalker?

What did Kris want?

“Maybe I should come back another time.”

“No Tao, don’t. He didn’t mean it like that,” Jongin sighed, “Hyung’s just being cautious. It’s just natural to be wary of people who sort of appear in our lives that have no connection to the music industry.”

"Isn't me being Luhan's family member enough?"

Kyungsoo looked to Jongin confused, "He's related to Luhan?"

"Yeah, they're.... distant cousins."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Tao shrugged, the mental damage is already done, and went back to abusing the blue sandbag, "Don't worry about it. I was shocked myself to realize who he was after we met."

"Didn't you notice it before?"

Jongin laughed, "Nope, apparently the only people he listens to is Kris."

"Ah," the ballad singer's eyes widened with excitement, "We're doing a joint stage with him for MNet's holiday special! I could talk to my manager about hooking you up with some backstage passes as my-"

"Our guest. With the two of us involved it would be more likely to get him back there," Jongin winked, "And then you could meet Kris."

"And subject myself to more humiliation? No thank you."

"Aw, are you talking about what happened on Weekly Idol?" he chuckled mischievously, "I heard that that particular episode had them ranked at number one for the week."

Tao groaned, that meant more people were finding out about him and he would have a harder time hiding, "Kyungsoo Ge, I appreciate the offer, but if you're worried that I was offended then you don't have to be anymore. I'd rather not draw more attention to myself than what I have currently."

"But it's not like you'd be actually performing or anything; It would be backstage!"

"And I would still find a way to embarrass myself. Quite possibly by hitting my head on a chair when I bow, or gushing like some fifteen year old, or breaking his hand if I were to shake it..." or giving him away as my neighbors grandson, or worse, he finished mentally and went back to practicing. Kyungsoo huffed, earning a comforting pat from Jongin.

"Next time then, eh?"

Tao silently nodded, paying no mind to them for the rest of the time at the gym. He slipped his headphones on and lost himself to the rhythm of Wolf.

--

The knock on his apartment at 11 in the morning was far from pleasant and had Tao grumbling profanities under his breath as he dragged himself up to answer. When he opened the door, it took him a while to process who was on the other side.

"Hey," Kris greeted brightly, his eyes hidden by a new set of Ray Bans and a black beanie fit snugly on his head. Tao blinked and stared for a couple of seconds. He discretely pinched his thigh to make sure he wasn't dreaming

"Weren't you just here yesterday for dinner? And the day before to complain about your coach?" he teased lightly, knowing Kris always felt bad for 'bugging' him.

"Yeah, well, I really need your help. It involves music and rapping so I figured you'd be interested"

The martial artist frowned, "Wait... I'm still waking up."

Kris's smile didn't falter, "Maybe you should drink some coffee?"

"Maybe I should..." Tao trudged back into the apartment and held the door open for him to follow, the only thing on his mind at the moment was coffee, coffee, coffee.

Sleep was part of Tao's "Important things in life" list, right next to Kris's music. He wasn't really good at processing any information until he got his coffee; then again, that was mostly every college student in Seoul.

As the pot brewed a new batch of black water, Kris explained his purpose for coming so early, "Besides basketball, I have other responsibilities to take care of. For instance, assignments in my music theory class. I need to... write a song and present it, or get another singer to present it."

Bull, Tao thought, remembering how his music majored roommate ranted on about different scales and key signatures during their lunch breaks, "Oh really?"

"Yeah, I thought I could get your opinion on it."

"My opinion? Why? I don't know about music."

"Well, we have the same tastes, so you'll be able to tell me if something sounds weird or not."

Tao nodded thoughtfully, and the coffee maker beeped. He poured both himself and Kris a cup, taking his black while the idol put cream Baekhyun bought into his, "Alright, show me what you got."

Kris reached into his backpack and pulled a black, worn folder out of it. Baekhyun entered the kitchen just as the rapper slid it across the table and eyed the two suspiciously, "Jiaheng? When did you get here?"

"A couple of minutes ago. I hope you don't mind."

Tao and his roommate made eye contact, before a soft smirk played on the shorter male's lips and he shook his head, "Not at all."

"Jiaheng needs help working on his song for a class," Tao held the paper up.

"Oh? What class? I'm a music major myself, so maybe I can give a couple of pointers."

Kris looked hesitant, "J-just a class. It's a rap song-"

"Count me out," Just as he had come, he had left and Tao couldn't stifle the laugh that bubbled up in his throat.

"The only rapping Baekhyun hyung likes is Chanyeol's, other than that he loses interest completely," the younger explained, "So let's get started?"

"Sure, let me just play the beat," Kris scrolled through his phone and played an instrumental Tao had never heard before.

Something akin to excitement burned in his chest as he realized Kris was writing a new song and showing Tao before any of the other fans, probably even before his company. He then remembered Kris was waiting for his opinion and coughed hurriedly, "S-so how do the lyrics go?"

"I-I... can't exactly sing, but I'll hum it if that helps."

Tao nodded again, and bit the inside of his cheek to stop his laughter as Kris awkwardly hummed out what he assumed to be the first verse. Eventually he got the general gist of it and started rapping out the lyrics under his breath.

When he got to the chorus, he stopped and frowned, "Not all of this is rap, is it?" When he didn't get an immediate response to his question, Tao looked up and saw Kris staring at him, "What?"

"Nothing, I just didn't know you could rap..."

"I can't, not really," Tao shrugged, "So am I right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah you are. This is suppose to incorporate a lot of music styles."

"In that case," he turned in his chair and shouted down the hallway, "BAEKHYUN!"

"WHAT?"

"C'MERE!"

"UGH!" a few stomps later and Baekhyun was back, "What is it now?!"

"Singing part."

"What's the beat?" he pulled up a chair next to him and scanned the lyrics, "These are pretty good..."

"Yeah, very wolfish, but I guess that's the point huh?" Tao leaned across the table and played the instrumentals on Kris's phone, "Ge, sing that for me."

"What this part?"

"Yeah, I'll go first."

And just like that, the three spent the rest of the afternoon editing and singing Kris's new song. Baekhyun had to leave early though for work, which gave Tao more time to criticize and praise his lyrics without being made fun of. Still, Tao had no idea why he came to him of all people. Of course he was flattered, but he was also confused. Just...

"Why?"

Kris looked up after he finished rewriting one of the lines in the second verse, "What?"

"Why did you really ask for my help? I'm sure there are another people in your... class that have more experience than I do. So why?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was using this as an excuse to hang out?"

Tao stared at him blankly, "No. especially since I live next door to your grandma, so you can literally visit me any time you want."

"Well in a few weeks I'm going to be really busy and won't have time to... explain myself, in a manner of speaking."

That peaked Tao's interest, "What do you mean?"

The blond shrugged, drawing small circles on the paper in front of him, "You'll find out when you... well... find out. Let's just not worry too much about it now."

"Okay..." His ambiguous words only made Tao worry even more. Did he know Tao knew about him? Was he seeing how long they could drag this out for? No, because wouldn't he be scared of Tao? He was practically his biggest fan boy, anyone would be freaked out, right?

"So, I saw you ran into Kai and D.O." Kris's new topic brought the maroon haired boy out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"You know, on twitter."

Tao was still confused, but then he remembered his encounter with the two the week before and slowly nodded, "Right, I forgot about that."

"Are you close with D.O?"

"That's Kyungsoo right?" Kris nodded, eyes trained on his pencil as he spun it around his large fingers. Of course he was a bit clumsy and it ended up spinning off and landing next to Tao's mug. The boy laughed and held it out to him, but Kris didn't take it back. With a frown, he put it back on the table and stood to dump the cold coffee, "No. If you're wondering why we're hugging, it's because he fell and I caught him. Why, are fan girls angry with me?"

"He fell?"

"Yeah, Jongin pushed him too hard and he lost balance. I've been trained to have good reflexes," Tao leaned against the counter and smirked, "Jealous?"

Tao saw his eyebrows raise up, "What? Me? Jealous? No, what makes you say that?"

"You're gripping your paper there pretty tightly," he motioned to the now wrinkled corner of the lyric sheet, "It's okay, not everyone gets to hold an idol every day."

"I suppose you're right," Kris stood up, discarding the sheet on the table and approaching Tao with a half smile.

A grin broke out on the latter's face as he back away around the other side of the table, "Yah, what are you doing?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you're seeking revenge on me because you're jealous," They continued to walk in circles like wolves sizing each other up, only the seriousness, or lack thereof, was ruined with Tao's high pitched laughter as Kris lunged for him. In an effort to slow him down, Tao pulled out the chairs of the table and ran into the living room.

He heard the blond trip over one and laughed, until his foot got tangled with a blanket Baekhyun left out. Tao fell to the floor with a thud and was quickly covered with a shadow. Kris had awkwardly hurtled himself over the couch and landed next to the boy.

He pulled Tao up in a sitting position between his legs and wrapped them around his waist so he couldn't leave. He then pulled Tao into a gentle, but firm, headlock. Tao was still laughing as he tried to break free, but with his body weak with giggles it was futile.

"Yah, you cheat!" Kris grinned, "You thought a couple of chairs could stop me?"

"Well they did, didn't they?" Tao snickered, "You may have long arms and legs, but you have no idea what to do with them."

"Yeah? Well I know what to do with them now."

Before Tao could ask, Kris removed his arms around his neck and instead slid them snugly around Tao's body. He rested his chin on the boy's shoulder and sighed contently. Tao was still breathing heavy from their earlier run, and blamed his racing heartbeat on that.

"This is revenge to you?" he asked a few seconds later.

"Yup. I'm indirectly hugging D.O-oof!" Kris was cut off by a short elbow to the gut, "God you're bony."

"And you're weak. If I wasn't so tired I could break out of your hold in less than 10 seconds?"

The blond shifted his head so he was looking at Tao a little better, "So why don't you?"

"Tired.... and lazy.... mostly 'cause I'm lazy."

"Right..." the two fell into a comfortable silence, until Kris groaned and rested his forehead on Tao's shoulder, "I have to go away for a few weeks. Our team is promoting in different places."

"That bites. Can't you skip it?"

"Nah, there's some people who are eagerly awaiting my return."

Tao snorted and moved Kris's arms off of him, but didn't bother to get up, "Even basketball players need breaks too."

"You're telling me... Thanks for helping me out."

"You're welcome," Tao nodded  and slouched forward, stretching his arms before standing up. He rotated his shoulders and leaned down, offering to help Kris to his feet, "You know you don't need an excuse to visit me. I don't have training on Wednesdays or Fridays, and I'm out of class at 2 almost every week day."

"Yeah, but what would my grandma think?"

"That you're mooching off me probably?" Tao laughed and proceeded to clean up the kitchen. His eyes once again landed on the lyric sheet as Kris grabbed it to stick back in his folder, "So what are you going to call it?"

"I don't know, I was thinking 'Howl'?"

"What? 'Growl'?"

"No, 'Howl'."

Tao tsked, earning a frown from the elder, "Shame, I like 'Growl' better."

Kris nodded thoughtfully, "I'll consider it then."

"Good," he smiled, running a hand through his maroon colored locks, "Guess it's getting late. We've been at this for, what, 4 hours?"

Kris looked at his watch, "Seems so, I guess I should give you some space."

"Psh, friends don't give their friends space. They just give them enough time to breath before they come back with a new attack."

"The way you describe it, you make us sound like wolves."

Tao smirked as he opened the front door, "'Eureureong'."

"You can't quote my song!"

"Our song-"

"Tao?!" Tao jumped when he heard a voice like thunder roll down the outside hallway and was more than shocked to see Chanyeol standing outside the neighbor's door. The idol was poorly hiding himself with a beanie and an oversized jacket.

"Chanyeol?" Tao frowned as the Idol ran over. However, Kris quickly stepped between the two and grabbed Chanyeol's arm.

"What are you doing here Chanyeol?" Kris asked in a hushed tone, attempting to drag him away.

"Oh, hey man. Sorry I didn't get your text earlier. I was practicing, but no one is home, where did your grandma go? Wait, what is Tao doing here?"

"Chanyeol-"

"Does Tao live here? You live next to Tao? Oh my god what are the odds. I bet you're so freaking happy right now-"

"Chanyeol! Shut up!" Kris yelled, silencing the rapper. Tao just stood there wide eyed, watching the two interact. Chanyeol stared at Kris shocked while the later dragged him back to his grandmother's door and unlocked it. He shoved the boy inside and slammed the door shut, then turned towards Tao.

"Sorry. You're probably very confused-"

"Not really," Tao heard himself say, "Knowing you, I guess it makes sense."

Kris frowned and stepped closer, "'Knowing me'?"

He almost didn't want to continue, but this was just too much. If Tao didn't 'figure it out' by now then he was an idiot. The boy stepped closer, shaking because he really didn't want to do this, and reached for Kris's glasses. The idol was too surprised to do anything but let him remove them.

Their eyes connected for the first time without any sort of glass or plastic separating them, and Tao couldn't deny how good the rapper looked. He smiled as Kris just stared at him, and grabbed his hand to put his glasses in.

"I'm a big fan Kris," he smiled, "You can stop pretending now. I'd say I hope your next album is a hit, but I know it will be anyway."

"Tao-"

"Sorry for lying, but I didn't know what you'd do if you knew I found out. But... I think I know now. Oh, and I'm not going to tell anyone about the song-"

"Zitao," Kris's tone and language changed as he caught Tao's arm before the boy could back away anymore and gave him a hard look, "Stop. Whatever you're thinking right now, stop it."

"And what am I thinking?" Tao heard a door open and saw Chanyeol watching them.

"I don't know, but what your telling me makes me think..."

"I need to go. I have stuff to do," Tao pulled away an quickly turned back to his door.

"Tao!" Kris yelled, but the boy had already hidden himself inside. He made sure the door was locked and curtains drawn before walking into the living room. His eyes landed on the mess they made while they were chasing each other and he sighed.

So much for keeping a friendship with him.

--

"So... Jiaheng is Kris," Baekhyun repeated that night, eyes distant as he sat motionlessly on the couch.

"You didn't need me to tell you that though," Tao sat beside him. The TV was on, the sound was completely off, giving them time to think. Baekhyun had noticed Tao's mood the moment he got home, but knew better than to push for answers when he was like that.

Eventually he told Baekhyun what happened, who Jiaheng was, but the older boy didn't respond the way he thought he would.

"I guess I kind of knew..."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Baekhyun's head rolled to the side and he looked at Tao, a half smile gracing his lips, "You don't see eyebrows like his very often."

The two laughed until they were breathless. Tao blamed the humor on Baekhyun's stupidity, while the other male just thought whatever he said was funny. They sat in a comfortable silence, eyes watching the flashing colors on the TV.

"You know," Baekhyun began, shifting where he sat, "Idols are people too. Maybe he just wanted a friend?"

"Somehow I can't wrap my mind around it."

"Why not?"

"Because we were really... close when we hung out," Tao sighed, "Because Kris is Kris and I'm... well..."

"You're you. You're a bad martial artist, you're a boy with the face of an assassin and the mentality of a 16 year of girl, who cries during chick flicks-"

"Hey-!"

"You're probably the only person I know that has the best luck in the world," Baekhyun continued, "You're someone who doesn't let what other people say bother him too much, and you're an idiot that probably talked yourself out of being friends, or more, with your favorite-"

"See that's the thing," Tao interrupted once more, giving Baekhyun a glare that said 'shut-up', "I don't... think I want to be friends with him. This is what confuses me, Baek, and honestly it kind of scares me with the way things were going for us. But if we were to be something more... that's impossible."

Baekhyun's expression softened and he sighed, "And that's something I cannot help you with, believe it or not."

"I know, I'm sorry I'm so confusing hyung."

"Don't worry about it. Let's put those problems aside for tomorrow and spend the rest of the evening watching Running Man. I've been wanting to see the new episode with 2NE1 since the previews were released and nothing can stop me from watching it now."

"God you're such a fan boy," Tao snorted and stood up.

"I could say the same about you, now shut up and make yourself useful by getting me a bowl of chips. A big bowl, none of that kid-sized crap!"

--

"The world hates me," Tao concluded as he opened his door three days later and came face to face with 6 different people, all of which dressed suspicious as but sporting nearly identical grins. (Chanyeol still looked the creepiest with his.)

"Sooooo, are you gonna let us in? You know it's kind of risky for all of us to be seen out like this," Jongin asked, pushing Tao aside before running in and diving on the couch. Tao's eyes widened, he forgot that Baekhyun had been sleeping there for the past 3 nights, all of which thanks to the marathons different dramas and variety shows. He heard a thud, followed by a high pitched scream of 'Holy hell get the off me!' and confused gurgles.

"You got a girl over Tao?" Chen snickered as he walked in with Chanyeol and Kyungsoo trailing behind him.

"No... That's just my roommate."

"Oh the one you told me about at the reunion?" Luhan smiled, pulling Sehun, "I want to meet him."

"Tao!" Baekhyun screeched and the martial artist ran back into the living room. Jongin didn't seem to mind that he was laying on top of Baekhyun, but the other boy was mildly shocked and nearly speechless at the sight of the idols huddled around them.

"Hey Baek," Tao smiled, "So... these are the people I ran into..."

"'Baek'? Baekhyun?" Chanyeol smiled, "Hey, you like me, don't you?"

"Tao, you have 30 seconds to explain why there are idols in our room before I kidnap two of them and sell the others on Ebay," Baekhyun glared, face red as he glanced down at Jongin snuggled into his lap.

"Dude, this is one comfy couch," Jongin grinned, "But there is a reason we're here."

"Yeah don't sweat it Phoenix," Chanyeol patted the brunette's shoulder, making Baekhyun tense up.

"Phoenix?" Tao asked with a frown.

"My fan club name."

"Oh."

"No really, as much as I love having famous people in my room, I'd like to know why," Baekhyun glared at Tao for getting him off topic.

"Well to put it in simpler terms, we're kidnapping Zitao and taking him to MNet," Luhan smiled, "If you don't mind that is."

"Leave Chanyeol and Tao is all yours."

"Ge!"

"I'm down with that," Chanyeol shoved Jongin off the couch and plopped down beside Baekhyun, picking up a PS3 controller in front of him, "You play video games? What kind do you have?"

"Yah!" the dancer yelled, "Nice try Chandork but you have a stage to perform on."

The rapper frowned, "Right... next time... or I could just skip it."

"Shut up," Tao snapped, "No one is staying here and no one is kidnapping me. Why would you anyways?"

"That, my friend, is a surprise-"

"Because Kris is depressed and we know it has something to do with you, courtesy of Chanyeol's snooping, so we want to try and fix things before we go onstage and perform," Sehun replied dully, looking around the apartment for anything that could be related to Luhan or his childhood past.

"Sehun-ah, if you're looking for baby pictures then you're S.O.L because I don't even keep mine up," Tao glared, "And do you really expect me to believe Kris is depress- Wait, you all know what happened yesterday?"

"I did not spare any details," Chanyeol snickered as he and Baekhyun started playing a racing game.

"Then shouldn't you be happy?"

Jongin, who was still lying on the floor, opened his eyes and looked up at Tao; his expression void of any emotion, "Why would we be happy when our friend is sad?"

Tao was taken aback, "T-That's not my fault-"

"Oh but it is," Kyungsoo stepped forward, "I have a feeling your actions were somewhat influenced about what I said last time we met."

"What?" Tao furrowed his brows, "Of course no-"

"What did you tell him?" Baekhyun interrupted, pausing the game and ignoring the whine that came from Chanyeol.

"I-I may have accused him of being a saesan-"

"Then yes, you have messed up my friend's mind," he resumed the game before continuing to explain, "Three days ago he kept comparing himself and his 'status' as a fan against Kris's as an idol. It was not pretty and I have never seen him care this much about what other people think before."

Kyungsoo bowed his head, "I'm so sorry."

"But you're gonna fix it right? So there's nothing to be sorry for."

Tao huffed angrily and stomped his foot, "God damn it, there is nothing to fix! If anything Kris should be mad at me! I knew who he was the whole time and didn't say anything!"

"You did?" Luhan blinked, "Really?"

"Yes, I found out after Chen chased me down and Gangnam-"

"Really? Damn, then Kris is the stalker," Chen frowned, "Guys, we've been worried about the fans all along, we forgot that idols can be creepy too-"

"Yah! This is serious!" Sehun snapped, "Kris is acting so weird, we have to fix it before he performs."

"I don't think he'd let something like this interfere with his work," Tao commented quietly, taking seat on Baekhyun's side.

Sehun's expression darkened, "Then you clearly don't know Kris. Hyung, turn that damn game off, the noise is distracting."

Chanyeol pouted as Baekhyun shut the machine down and turned to Tao, "Look Taozi, how long have you known me for?"

"Since we were kids-"

"And do you trust me?"

"With my life," he answered without hesitance, "but hyung-"

"So trust me when I say you're an idiot and that you should go with these guys and sort things out. You're over thinking things way too much. It's not like you're selling your soul to Kris. No really this is the dumbest thing to have a disagreement over."

"What if I-"

"Tao." Luhan cut him off, "Let's just go."

Chanyeol stood up and stretched. While Tao was busy playing out possible, terrible scenarios in his head, the rapper grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off the couch. The other idol's proceeded to push him towards the door while Chen held it open, a bored expression on his face. By the time Tao realized what they were doing, he was already half way down the stairs, "Guys!"

"Have fun Tao!" Baekhyun called from the window, "And don't come back until you get things fixed!"

"You know, for a fan your roommate is pretty chill," Chanyeol smiled as he waved to Baekhyun.

Tao laughed and shook his head, "Trust me, now he's going to have a mental break down and spend the rest of the day staring at the controller you touched."

"Really?"

Tao's phone buzzed with a photo of the controller on the coffee table and a caption that read, "When the seriousness of this situation is over, tell me what i dO WITH THIS"

--

Alright, let me think this through. A group of people dragged me from my home to a music show just because their friend was depressed since I stopped any form of our relationship from progressing. However, I am justified when I say that if we continue to see each other then it could be both harmful to his career and my well being- wait why am I treating this like we even had something together? God that's just ridiculous, no wonder people don't want him being anywhere near me-

"What are you thinking about Tao?" Kyungsoo asked as he noticed the maroon haired boy fall suspiciously quiet.

Tao shrugged, "How to plead my case in court, just incase I get sued by Kris's fan base."

"Oh god," Luhan groaned, attempting to throw his head back but failing when his makeup artist yanked it down. Tao stuck his tongue out at him until he remembered where he was.

"Why are you all sharing a dressing room? Last time I checked you guys are a part of three different music companies."

"We're teaming up for MNet's holiday special," Sehun replied, scrutinizing the eye liner his makeup artist put on him, "Isn't this too thick?"

"It'll be hard to see it properly with the lights on, so I have to make it darker for it to stand out," she explained calmly, then turned to Tao, "Alright your turn."

"What? No I'm not performing," Tao shook his head quickly, "I'm just a bystander kidnapped from my house by these lunatics."

She frowned, "Have you ever considered auditioning? I'm sure you've got the right looks and physique to make it in as a model or something."

"No, I'm content with the life I have now."

"What a martyr," Chen rolled his eyes, earning a glare from the martial artist.

"Guys!" Jongin yelled, startling everyone as he burst through the door breathless, "I can't... find Kris."

"What?!" Kyungsoo's eyes widened to a frighteningly large size, "What do you mean? He's not in his dressing room?"

"I mean he's not in his room, backstage, in the rehearsal rooms, bathroom, nowhere."

", well we can't all look for him. We have to do mic checks!" Luhan sighed, "I guess it really is up to you Tao."

"What? Why me?"

"Because you're probably the reason why he's hiding," Jongin cursed under his breath as he threw his phone on the couch, "He's not picking up his cell. His manager is pissed that he's gone. If he doesn't make it to the stage, we're screwed."

"Please Tao," Chanyeol grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a pleading look, "Find him, make up with him, and bring him back to us."

"You guys seriously think he's going to listen to me? Don't you think he might be overreacting-"

"Enough with doubting him!" Sehun snapped, "Just find him! God Tao you seriously don't know the effect you have on people, on him. Quit stalling and bring his back here!"

The room fell silent; both the coordi-noonas and idols stared dumbly at the maknae. Tao didn't know how to respond, but his body did the work for him and soon he was walking out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sehun slouched back in his chair, rubbing his eyes until the woman beside him slapped his hand away and chastised him about ruining his makeup. The others just stared shocked, unsure what to say.

"Sehun-ah..." Luhan began, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"Neh hyung, just... how can those two be so ing dense?" he sighed.

"Well... remind me to recruit you when I'm talking to new trainees," Jongin laughed, "That got him out of here faster than a rabbit chasing food."

"Hyung. No."

"What? I'd say that was a pretty good analogy-"

"No."

While the artists continued to bicker, Tao realized he probably should have asked for a map or something of the studio because holy hell I'm lost.

He was lucky he remembered to wear the backstage pass Kyungsoo gave him because he was receiving a lot of strange looks from the MNet production crew and was even asked why he was back there at least 5 times.

Jongin said he wasn't answering his call, Tao thought, pulling his phone out, "Would he answer mine...?"

"Hey, aren't you Tao?" the boy looked up and made eye contact with another male, done up with stage make up, brown styled hair, and round cheeks, "Oh I know you!"

"Unfortunately I don't know you."

"That's alright, I don't even know myself sometimes," Tao expected a 'Just kidding' to follow his statement, but when none came he started to get concerned for the idol, "You can call me Xiumin. What are you doing back here?"

"I'm looking for Kris, have you seen him?"

"Umm, no? Well, last I time I saw him was outside. I don't know if he's still there though."

"That works, thank you."

Xiumin smiled and nodded happily as Tao took off down the hallway. His eyes scanned every door until he found one labeled 'Exit' and hurried outside. The door slammed against the wall and caused the occupant of the alleyway to jump. Tao smiled apologetically and scanned the area. Still no sign of Kris.

"Can I help you?"one of them asked, noticing Tao's flustered

"Have you seen Kris? You know, blond hair, eyebrows that look like they came from an angry teddy bear?"

"Angry teddy bear brows?" he laughed frowned, "That's new. Wait, you're the guy that he was talking about."

"'Talking about'? So he was here?"

"Yeah, you just missed him. I think he went back to his dressing room."

"Great, thank you," Tao bowed and hurried out of there, not before hearing a 'he really didn't know me' behind him. Tao didn't get very far until he realized he didn't know where Kris's dressing room was and called Jongin.

"Hello-"

"Where's Kris's dressing room?"

"I checked there already, he wasn't-"

"Where. Is. It?"

"Room 365, It has his name on it. Not hard to miss."

Tao groaned, "Like that's going to help me. I have no idea where I even am, what makes you think room numbers are going to be of any use to... oh..." He trailed off, looking at the door beside him. It read '365- Kris' on printed letters with a small dragon symbol under his name, "Convenient."

"Don't mess up Tao. Just... talk to him."

"I'll try my best," he hung up, not bothering to wait for a response, and grabbed the door knob. He stopped himself from throwing it open, storming inside and giving Kris a piece of his mind. He was still confused about the whole situation. Kris was an idol with millions of fans, obviously with a lot a friends, and living out his dream. Why would this one encounter with Tao affect him so much?

Tao swallowed thickly, he didn't know what he was doing, but that couldn't stop him from opening the door. When he did, his eyes landed on the rapper's back. His head was faced down, as if he was looking at something in his hand. He obviously didn't see or hear Tao come in, so the maroon haired boy closed the door quietly and approached him.

Tao got a better look at him through the mirror he was in front of and saw that Kris was looking at his phone. His hand was hovering over the screen and he was debating something in his head. Eventually, Kris sighed and clicked something on the screen.

Tao's text tone went off, startling the blond and making him spin around. Tao opened the message and read it silently, while Kris watched.

"What does this even mean?" Tao asked after a while, looking up at the male.

"What do you think it means?"

"'You may be scared, but you don't have to be. We can work this out'? What is there to work out?"

Kris scoffed, "I don't know, why don't you tell me? After all, you're the one who pushed me away."

"I didn't push you away!"

"Then what was that three days ago? You acted like that was going to be the last time we saw each other!"

"Well I assumed it was-"

"It wasn't!" Kris yelled, causing Tao to jump. He looked towards the door, hoping those outside wouldn't hear them.

"Kris, your voice-"

"I planned-no, plan on spending all of my free time with you, I plan on hanging out, relaxing, doing whatever, as long as it was with you. What gave you the right to decide we can't be together? Why would you assume...?"

They were silent, Tao avoided eye contact while Kris just looked hurt, "...Did you even consider why I did that? Why I would?"

"No, there's nothing to consider.  I'm pretty sure I'm not alone when I think this but..." Kris his lips, throat going dry.

Tao watched him intently, anticipating his next words, "Don't say something you'll-"

"I like you."

"-Regret..." Tao froze, his mind literally muddled with thoughts, what exactly was he supposed to feel? Happy? Scared? "You like me?"

Kris nodded and cautiously moved closer, "And I'm pretty sure you like me too."

"You can't Kris. Your company... your fans wouldn't-"

"What have my fans got to do with my private life? Can't I be happy too? What gives them the right to decide my happiness for me? Why should I even care?"

"Because I care! I'm not going to watch you throw everything away over something we never had!"

"You care?"

Tao's eyes began to water, "Of course I do! But it doesn't matter anymore, you're happy when you make music, don't jeopardize that."

"What if I said I'm happier with you?"

"Then I'd call you a liar and I'd leave," Tao reached for the handle, but Kris was there in an instant and slammed his hand against the door, eyes  never leaving Tao's, "Yifan-"

"This isn't fair. This isn't fair to me and it isn't fair to you," he spoke quietly, almost to himself, "I bet you never felt like this with Jiaheng."

"That was different. Jiaheng was possible. You're..."

"Impossible," he concluded, dropping his head against Tao's shoulder. The maroon haired boy put his hand on Kris's shoulder with every intention to push him away, but he ended up rubbing comforting circles to calm him down, "I'm the same person, you know. The only lie I ever told you was my name."

"Oh yeah, basketball star?"

"That isn't a complete lie. I was a good player in high school."

"I know, but I guess it doesn't matter. I don't like you any less," Tao spoke without realizing, and Kris's head shot up.

He gave him a hard look and grabbed his shoulders, "Then why can't we at least try? You don't know what will happen. No one does, but we can only find out if we try."

"And set ourselves up for heartbreak?"

"Who said it'll end like that?"

Tao shook his head, "Don't do this."

"I'm not doing anything because you won't let me. What was it you said earlier? throw everything away over something we never had? I don't know about you but I felt something happening here."

"Let me go," Tao spoke softly, his hands gripping Kris's wrist.

Kris didn't look like he wanted to, but in the end he released him and leaned against the door, "You're not leaving until I get a straight answer."

"You mean I'm not leaving until I say yes."

"If this is what it'll take."

"That's messed up. You have a show to perform on. You can't keep me in here."

" the show," Tao's eyes widened, "That's not important right now."

"Considering it's your comeback, that's pretty damn important," Tao grabbed his arm and gripped it tightly, "You know I could probably throw you over my shoulder and walk out, right?"

"Yeah, but you won't."

Tao was scared for his answer, but asked anyway, "And why not?"

"Because now I know you like me," there was no doubt, no hesitance in his answer. He stared with confidence at the boy and smirked a little, "Or maybe you would because you care so much about my career."

"I don't give a about your career," Tao sighed, "but unfortunately it's something that makes you happy. I'm really not going to win against you, am I?"

"Depends on what you see as winning."

Tao sighed and stared at the door. His grip loosened and he eventually looked back at Kris. His face expressed assurance, but his hand was shaking with nerves. Tao knew Kris was just as anxious as he was and hoped he wouldn't be regretting this decision.

He released the breath he was holding and pinched the ridge of his brow, "Fine."

"'Fine'?"

"Let's try this. Let's try-" Kris didn't let him finish. His lips were on Tao's in seconds and the boy would have fallen back in surprise if the rapper's hands weren't cupping his face and keeping him close.

They separated seconds later and a grin found its way back on the blond's face, "You have no idea how happy you've made me."

"I think it's safe to assume you're as happy as I am," Tao smiled and Kris kissed him again. Unfortunately, it was cut short when Tao remembered why he was there in the first place, "As much as I hate for you to leave, you've got a comeback to perform."

"I don't want to."

"Shouldn't have picked today then," Tao shrugged and tried to pull away, but Kris's hands moved to his waist and he tightened his grip until the boy looked at him, "What now?"

"Stay here until I come back. If I take you with me they'll make you leave and I don't want that."

"But how will I watch your stage?"

"T.V," he motioned to the flat screen on the wall, "Watch carefully, this is our song after all."

"Now you're being cheesy and making me nauseous," Tao pretended to gag and wiggled his way out of the rapper's grip, but the latter caught his arm, "What now?"

"Just wondering, since when did you realize it was me?"

He smiled, "Since our time in Gangnam."

Kris tsked, "I gotta work better on my disguises-"

"Kris! Go!"

"Alright, I'm leaving!" he whined, grabbing his jacket off the chair and heading to the door, "Watch me!"

"I will!"

The door closed and Tao was left alone. He fell back on the couch processing everything that had just happened. He came here with the intent to tell Kris to get it together, but ended up with a new... boyfriend.

Just thinking about it made him flush and he fell back on the soft material. Grinning like an idiot, he felt his pocket vibrate and pulled his phone out. There were texts from Jongin, Luhan, and Sehun, all thanking him and asking him what happened.

He didn't bother to reply though and waited for their stage to begin. Five minutes later, he saw Kris on screen with 8 other boys, starting their dance to the the tune of... Growl?

So Kris really changed the title, Tao laughed as he watched them. His eyes were immediately drawn to Kris's figure and he couldn't help but think the blonde was performing better than he had in his other debuts. Maybe because he knew a certain someone was watching...

Tao shook his head and watched as the camera zoomed up on Kris. It would take him a few days to actually accept that what had happened in the dressing room was for real, but the buzz he was feeling now would probably never go away.

Tao didn't know if it was bad luck or not, but maybe being  a 'Radar' wasn't so bad; after all, he did find Kris.

Soooo this monster is finally done. God you have no idea how long it is, k in total. i guess its not that long but for a one/two shot thats ridiculous! Alright, i just want to say sorry for the wait, but i really wanted to type something like this. i just got this idea and was like, "haha wouldnt it be funny if an idol unintentionally stalked other idols... omg oneshot yes"

another quick shout out! I notice that a lot of my readers here have been spreading my fic both on tumblr and other websites and i just want to say thank you! I'm always so surprised to find Night Time Jitters being recommended by other users. it makes me really happy that you like it enough to share it. So to my silent readers and commenters, thank you!

and now im going to catch up on supernatural ;3

p.s. i proofread this twice for spell checks and grammer mistakes. If there are any i missed... i apologize