Looking around the shop hastily, he ignored his friend bickering behind him as he searched the stalls, looking for anything that could be used. When he saw the latest iPhone, he shrugged and picked it up, quickly running over to the cashier to purchase the object. When he reached the outside of the shop, he opened the phone and began tinkering with it so that the sim card was in and he was able to do as he wished.

The first thing he did was punch in the number he had so expertly kept on a piece of paper in his pocket, and he held it up to his ear, waiting patiently for an answer.

It had been over two weeks, and Kris really had no idea how to contact his panda.

Tao was off on holiday, and when he used someone else’s phone to call the boy didn’t pick up.

And he had no idea where he lived.

Kris thought that if he even got a new phone, then MAYBE Tao would pick up. To be honest, his mind wasn’t working clearly at the moment, and all it really was, was hope. (And he desperately needed a new phone anyways.)

So he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But once again, there was no answer. Kris guessed that he was just ignoring calls from everyone. Yet he needed to get in touch with him soon.

Turning around to face his friend, he spoke.

“Do you have Kai’s number?” he asked. Baekhyun shrugged.

“…He’s your close friend, shouldn’t you have it?”

“…I’ve never trusted him with it.” Both of them laughed in unison, but Baekhyun finally took out his phone and handed him it.

“There you go.”

Kris thanked him and walked a few steps in front, putting the ringing phone up to his ear as he waited for an answer.

And goddamit, Kai better answer.

“Hello?”  This was actually the first time Kris had ever rejoiced in hearing the other’s annoying voice.

“Kai? It’s Kris.”

“Ah Yifan, how may I be of service?”

“Why isn’t Tao picking up his phone?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

Kris heard some giggling in the background.

“Who is with you?”

“My ing y boyfriend, that’s who.”

“Okay… that’s gross.”

“YOU CALLING MY BABY GROSS?”

“Can you put Kyungsoo on for me you useless human being.”

“Whatever. Kyungsoo! Kris wants to speak to you!”

“…”

“Hey Kris!”

“Hello Kyungsoo, how are you?”

“I’m great! I’ve missed you.”

“Me too. When are you in work next?”

“Um, next week I think!”

“Right, anyway, just wanted to say hi.”

“Okay.”

“So bye then.”

“Bye! …Wait!”

“What is it?”

“Come over!”

“Uh, why?”

“I’ll invite others! Come, have a drink and relax Yifan!”

“…”

“Come on! It’ll get your mind off things.”

“Sure. I’ll come.”

“Great! See you soon! We’re at Kais.”

Kris sighed and put the phone away, walking back over to his friend.

“So, what did he say?” Baekhyun asked, taking back his phone.

“Wanna go over to Kai’s?” he asked, and he need Baekhyun, because he had no idea where Kai stayed anyway.

“Sure!” he exclaimed, his lips turning into a big grin as he grabbed onto Kris’s arm, dragging him away.

…

When they reached Kai’s house, Kris sighed when the owner opened the door, his neck covered in hickeys from what Kris could see anyway.

“GUYS!” He shouted, flinging himself onto the two boys. “You came!”

Kris groaned and pushed him to the side, deciding to let Baekhyun deal with Jongin as he himself went in.

He saw Kyungsoo sitting on the couch with a glass full of alcohol in hand, talking to someone he vaguely remembered. When Soo noticed him, he stood up and engulfed the professional photographer in a hug.

“Kris! Glad you’re here!” he exclaimed; squeezing him tightly before stepping away.

Yifan grinned at him and slightly waved before choosing to sit on one of the single seats. Kai and Baekhyun entered, laughing at something that had been said, before Baekhyun noticed there was someone in the room he didn’t know.

There was someone hot in the room he didn’t know.

Baekhyun smirked and ran over to the unknown man, instantly sitting on his lap as he wrapped his arms around the blonde’s neck, pulling their faces pretty close. The other seemed very startled.

“Hey there.” Baekhyun whispered, gazing into the stranger’s eyes.

“Haha, hi.” He replied; quite surprised at the sudden change in the situation.

“My name is Baekhyun.” The boy said, curling the other’s hair between his fingers.

“Chanyeol.” He said, smiling at him.

Kris scoffed.

“My god, you are such a .” He stated, directing it at the model who was already trying to steal some kisses off the bartender. Kyungsoo and Kai laughed at this as they sat down beside each other, drinking and chatting away.

Kris had gotten a small drink and was currently drinking and trying to forget everything, even if it was just for a moment, but that was interrupted too as the door went, notifying someone was there.

Baekhyun froze and stared at Yeol.

“…That’s not your boyfriend right?” he asked, a little cautiously. Chanyeol laughed and placed his hands on the other’s thighs.

“No, I don’t have one.” He said, smirking when Baek’s face lit up instantly.

“Good, that’s really good.” Baekhyun whispered into the other’s ear.

Kris pretended to gag as he waited for Kyungsoo to attend the door.

They all heard Kyungsoo squeal in delight and begin to converse quickly with whoever had appeared at the door. Kris sighed, closing his eyes, trying once again to do what he came here to do – relax.

And again that was hard when Soo re-entered the room with a new being.

“Guys!” he shouted, perking Kris’s interested, so the blonde Chinese man looked around, and he was stunned with what he found.

“Tao!” he shouted as he immediately stood up, facing the boy he had been trying to contact for weeks. Walking up to him, he spoke again. “I’m glad you’re here!” he spoke, wrapping his arms around his panda’s waist, squeezing him tightly and melting into the feeling of Tao against him again. The other hadn’t said a thing, so he put him down and smiled. “Hey Zitao.”

Tao smiled a little.

“H-Hi Kris.” The other nervously said, and Kris couldn’t help but think he sounded so freaking adorable.

“Are you okay?” he asked, moving a strand of the other’s hair off his face.

“Um… can we talk?” the panda asked, slightly worrying Kris but at least they would get some time alone.

“Of course.” Yifan nodded, slightly holding Tao’s hand and dragging him into another room, shutting the door behind him. Tao stood awkwardly, and even Yifan now felt a little uncomfortable. “What is it?” he asked, trying to sound as soft as he could, trying to make the panda get a little more relaxed.

“…Um, we need to talk about what happened.” He explained, and Kris’s heart sped down.

“Oh I see. Then let’s talk.” He said, pointing over to the bed for them both to sit down beside each other.

“I’m really sorry I had to leave. I’m sorry I left the rose there. And I’m deadly sorry I ruined everything between us. I mean; its fine if you are mad at me for it, but please don’t ignore me anymore, because I don’t think I can handle it much longer.”

Tao finished explaining and his eyes were clamped shut as if he was praying.

“Why… Why do you think I’m going to ignore you?” Kris asked firstly.

“B-Because that’s what you’ve been doing…” Tao murmured, sounding like he was about to cry, and Kris would kill himself if he had already made him cry this early in the relationship.

“No I haven’t!” Kris shouted at the complete absurdity of the sentence. Tao looked up at him.

“You have, I haven’t spoken to you in two weeks Kris, even though I keep calling you.” The boy sounded genuinely hurt.

“Zitao… There is a very good explanation for that.” The Chinese man said, standing up and kneeling down in front of the boy he had grown such affection for in such a short time, the boy who he admired so much. Tao sat there, letting Yifan take his hands in his own. “That night, I wasn’t mad – of course I wasn’t. Even though we were only there for a short time it was great. Also, don’t worry about that rose. And thirdly, when I left the restaurant, I dropped my phone into the river, so I actually finally got a new phone today, but through these past two weeks I have tried to contact you and you never picked up!” Taking a deep breath after his slightly cheesy and very long explanation, he looked up into Tao’s gorgeous eyes, waiting for a reply.

“…Are you kidding me?” Tao asked, cheeks flushing deep read as he stared at the photographer.

“No…” Kris said. The panda sighed loudly and embraced Kris in a tight hug, squeezing his neck tightly, tackling Kris to the floor on the process, laughing loudly.

“God! I’m such an idiot…” Tao shouted out, rolling away from Kris and sitting alone on the floor. Kris sighed in relief and stood up.

“No you’re not, sorry for being clumsy though. But I have one question.” As he said this, he offered a hand to Tao to pick him up. Once they were both standing, Tao replied.

“About what?” he asked, and Kris chuckled as his own arms wrapped around Tao’s waist, pulling him a little closer than normal friends. But they never were.

“Why didn’t you pick up anyone else’s calls?” Tao’s eyes widened.

“Oh, that’s because I was really busy.” His explanation wasn’t really one to be taken for an answer, but Kris didn’t really care at that moment in time.

“Whatever you say Panda.”

Both of them smiled at each other, and Yifan dared to make the next move.

Moving his head down, his nose slightly grazed over Tao’s own, and he softly pushed his lips against the other’s, the pace was slow as he didn’t want to scare him. He felt Tao’s hands his biceps and hang onto his neck, and Kris gripped tighter onto the panda’s waist, not moving his lips at all, it was just sweet lip to lip contact.

When he let go, he let out a smile and spoke.

“Let’s go back, okay?” Kris said, the other’s cheek softly as they walked back into the party.

When Kyungsoo saw them, he ran over.

“How the hell do you guys know each other?!” he asked, clearly a little bit tipsy, but determined. Kris laughed.

“I should be asking you the same thing.” He smirked.

Tao looked nervous, but he was the one that explained it all.

“Kyungsoo’s actually one of my best friends, and Kris is someone really close to me.” He said, and Kris felt Tao’s hand clasp in his own, and he could help but smirk at the close contact.

Kyungsoo looked between them and nodded, slowly backing away.

“Whatever you say Tao…” Still backing away, his eyes were wide and Kris felt like he had just heard something crazy. When he went back to Kai, Kris brought Tao back over to the couch and sat down, deciding to talk.

“So, what were you doing for two weeks then?” he asked, leaning against the back of the couch, hand still in the pandas.

“My best friend and his fiancé came over to visit actually, so I’ve been spending time with them.” When he spoke about them, he seemed happy but quite sad at the same time, but Kris didn’t want to press on about it.

“Sounds great fun.” He replied, smiling. Tao’s face suddenly brightened up.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, making Kris chuckle at his sudden excitement.

“Yes Tao?” Kris asked.

“I want to formally invite you to their wedding!” Tao shouted in excitement, but then he blushed when the taller boy just stared at him with a grin on his face. “I-I mean, if you want to… that is.”

Kris couldn’t help but feel completely infatuated with the boy beside him.

“Of course I want to.” He answered, squeezing the other’s hand tighter.

Both of them stared at each other for a little longer, drowning in each other’s eyes.

…

The party ended, and now Kris and Tao were holding hands, walking down the deserted and dark streets alone; quietly talking to each other about themselves. Kris had loved the evening he was able to spend with the panda alone, this went much better than their first date, and this wasn’t even classified as one.

“I’ll walk you home, okay?” Kris offered, and the other slightly nodded, biting his lip cutely as he stared ahead.

Kris chuckled and pulled him along faster.

When they passed by a park, Yifan suddenly had a very good idea in mind.

“Tao, let’s go and play.” Kris sounded like a child, but as he dragged the other away, excitement filled him, leading him to two vacant swings.

“What are we even doing here?” Tao asked, unable to mask his grin as he sat on the seat beside the dragon. Yifan grinned.

“I want to have fun with you.” He explained, kicking his feet off the ground so that his seat was high in the air, and the panda was only watching him intently as he let his inner child loose into the outside. “Come on Tao!” he shouted, wanting his date to have as much fun as he was having at the moment and join in.

Tao giggled and decided to just swing like he used to, and soon enough he was as high as the other, both laughing and staring at each other as best he could.

They played on the swings for about an hour before Kris slowed down and stood in front of the boy.

“Zitao, how do you feel about me?” he asked suddenly, not really preparing himself for this, not knowing why it suddenly just came out of his mouth, but he was glad that his heart was finally making up his mind.

Tao seemed to freeze, and the smile was wiped out of his face.

“Tao?” Kris tried again, and he hated to see the other like this but he needed to know the answer.

“Kris…” And so it begins. “I feel so weird about you, and I don’t know what to say.”

Tao was suddenly very confident, but the words made Kris unconsciously smile.

“Okay… well, why don’t you ask me?” he tried.

The other was confused.

“Ask you what exactly?”

“Ask me, what I asked you.” Kris said, the other’s face slightly. Tao’s cheeks turned red before he did what he was told.

“How do you feel about me?”

There was a minute silence before Kris chuckled.

“It’s very complicated, but would you like me to sum it all up?” Kris was teasing him, but this was too enjoyable. Tao nodded cutely. “Well, I’ve never felt this way about anyone else, and to be honest I love this feeling.” After trying to explain it, the panda looked so adorably confused.

“…huh?” he asked, unconsciously playing with his small panda watch, making Yifan smile.

The taller one continued.

“Let me say this: Would you like to be my boyfriend?”

There was a thick veil of silence surrounding them, before Tao finally replied.

“…O-Of course.”

Kris’s grin couldn’t get any wider as he circled his arms around Tao’s waist and lifted him up from the swing, spinning him around happily.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” he shouted, and hearing Tao giggling right beside of his ear was making this moment so much better.

Settling him down, he quickly pushed his lips against Tao’s in a sweet kiss, that started to advance more; and quickly their tongues were hitting each other, and Kris began massaging the panda’s tongue, gripping his waist tighter to pull him closer, and love ran through their veins.

At least Kris had finally got him.

…

When Kris reached home, he sighed in relief as his back hit the soft bed, turning to face the large teddy bear that doesn’t move from its home spot, and laughing when he realised its legacy had finally come alive.

Smiling at the thought of Tao, his boyfriend, his thoughts were interrupted when his house phone went off.

“For god sake.” He moaned, standing up and stomping over to the black phone before picking it up annoyingly.

“Yes?!” he shouted, hoping to god it wasn’t Tao.

“Is that any way to speak to your father?” Kris froze. Okay, this was so much worse.

“Um, sorry.”

“Good.”

“So, why’d you call?”

“Your mother and I are coming over to visit.”

“Um… what?”

“So make sure your house is decent enough.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“Why are you coming here?”

“We need to talk about your future Yifan.”

“No we do not. I am a photographer, I have a good home and a good life.”

“That’s not a good life. You don’t belong there. You belong here.”

“No I don’t.”

“You come from the richest family in all of Korea.”

“Yes, as you keep reminding me.”

“You don’t take the money I offer, and you don’t want to run the family business.”

“And?”

“It’s immature.”

“Dad, leave me alone.”

“No, as I said, expect us soon.”

With that the line was dead, and Kris let out a furious growl.

His parents were the richest people in all of Korea. Everyone knew them, but no one knew there son. The son that had disappointed the family line because he wanted to live his own life. Not taking any money because he wanted to earn his own.

Now they were coming over, just when his life got perfect.

And he couldn’t imagine how angry they are going to be when they find out they won’t get grandchildren.

Kris couldn’t wait.