1.2 Pilot (also known as The Director's Fail!Love Life)

For someone as good-looking as Wu Yifan, you’d think he has it easy when it comes to love. Unfortunately, even if he is the hotshot director of Exo Studios and has 5 drama awards under his belt, none of his relationships has gone past the span of one year. The last relationship he had was when he was a senior in university four years ago, with a junior 3 years younger than him and that had been a complete disaster.

Since then, he has thrown himself into work, and from a MBC production assistant whose name was permanently “YAH!”, he has worked himself up to becoming a respected independent director in Exo Studios within four short years. Hence, while his career had catapulted, his love life has been pretty much in the dumps.

Which is why Yifan finds himself agreeing to go drinking with his university friends at a club.

Which is also why he finds himself on his very first one-night-stand.

Yifan remembers how he was – still is – attracted to Yixing in the first place. Yixing is about a head shorter than him (perfect for cuddling), he has those sleek dance moves (proved to be quite handy in bed) and that cute poke-able dimple that flashes at Yifan so many times it should be illegal.

He is so taken with Yixing that after the other had fallen asleep in his bed, Yifan decides that he will properly ask him out on a date.

(He forgets the fact that he usually sleeps past noon.)

So when he wakes up in his thousand-thread count bed sheets to find the other side of his bed empty, Yifan is insulted. Nobody – I repeat, nobody – treats him as a one-night-stand. It isn’t often Wu Yifan feels taken advantage of.

Hence Yifan freefalls into a darker mood when it turns out his new Assistant Director is the who dumped him in his own bed.

So he might have been a little brutal. And deep, deep, deeeep down, he may be a little disappointed there isn’t anyone to flash his dimple at him at work anymore.

-

“What the hell is this, Baek Hyun?” Kris snaps, throwing the fourth actress profile onto the table where the casting director sits opposite him. “Did someone not pass you a script to read? I need a young, drop dead gorgeous woman to act as Luhan’s ex, not all these – ahjummas!”

Baek Hyun merely lifts his hand up to inspect his nails. Hmm, time to cut them. “Well, for the budget you and Junmyeon set, they are the best I can find,” he says, unfazed by Kris’s yelling. He calmly reorganises the files of the actress profiles and raises an eyebrow. “Since we are doing without an AD now, maybe we can use his pay and find a better actress for, what, two scenes?”

The director’s face flushes at the reminder of how Yixing quit after one week in Exo Studios. Whatever. He doesn’t need quitters, much less those who use his precious body and disappear without a word. Is it really his fault the fresh grad can’t take a few swear words?

“No,” Kris says through gritted teeth. “We need the money to hire another AD. Do your ing job and get me a proper actress or I’ll fire you.”  He stands up from his chair angrily and storms out of the office, bumping into another shortie who he privately calls the Bug-eyed Owl.

Kyung Soo glares at him so hard Kris wonders why he isn’t burnt alive yet.

“Watch where you are going,” he spits, much to Kris’s surprise. “Do you grow your eyes on your ? Also, look at the time now! We were supposed to meet to discuss next episode’s script. Do I look like someone who waits around in the office for you?”

The sight of a tiny Kyung Soo bundled up in thick layers of scarves shouting at a formidable giant will have been funny if, well, Kris isn’t that giant. He stares at him in bafflement, mouth slightly agape at his writer. They have always been cordial towards one another. It is well-known that the only people Kyung Soo cannot get along with is the producer Junmyeon and his fellow writer Jongdae. Kris is entirely new to this side of him. 

“I was talking to Baek Hyun about casting,” he replies slowly, too bewildered to take offense at the tone Kyung Soo is using on him. “We can discuss now?”

“NO.” The writer narrows his eyes at him. “Now I’m busy. You’re lucky you’re the famous Kris Wu and Junmyeon would die before he fires you.” Then, out of the blue, Kyung Soo kicks Kris and stomps away noisily.  

The pain hits him all at once. Kris doubles over, hopping around while he clutches his ankle. “Yah!!!”

-

It has come to Kris’s attention that the Exo employees are acting strangely around him. For someone who is as respected and as feared as him, today has to be the first time he has been “accidentally” kicked/stepped/smacked. He hasn’t even begun to calculate the number of subtle insults people of all ranks are throwing at him.

“Sorry, I can’t move around too much today,” the insolent PA tells him expressionlessly. “I think I have my period. Are you going to fire me for having cramps?”

“Wha—?” Kris splutters as Sehun slips out of the studio set before he can gather his thoughts. “What the , Oh Sehun!?”

Is this all part of some stupid plan to make Wu Yifan’s life miserable today?

“Junmyeon, I swear, if you say something nasty, I will punch you in the face,” Kris says tightly when the producer approaches him.

Junmyeon blinks at him before he shrugs and categorises this under One of the Strange Things He Will Never Understand About Kris Wu. He nods at the man over his shoulder, who is, for some reason, staring intently at the ground.

“I found you a temporary AD,” the producer tells him. “He’s willing to work for three months so please try to get along with your AD this time.”

Kris immediately shoots him a defensive stare. “It’s not my fault,” he scoffs, “They are the ones who... who...” He forgets the rest of his sentence when the temporary AD looks up. Yep. That is him alright. The man who dumped him because he was too “cold-hearted”.

“Hi, Yifan ge,” the other man says brightly, the forced smile on his face so painful to look at that Kris grimaces.  “What a surprise, eh?”

“Taozi, you... wha...?”

“Zitao,” he corrects. “Only my boyfriend gets to call me Taozi.” He arches an eyebrow at Kris. “You’re not it.”

Ouch. It’s him against the world today, isn’t it?

-

 The long day finally ends at 10pm after a horrendous shoot where Luhan threatens to leave four times because he doesn’t get his hourly dose of milk tea thanks to a disappearing “cramping” Sehun. The only people who behave normally around him are Chanyeol and Zitao, not that Kris can ever call his relationship with Zitao normal, considering how he is like the rest of them usually – always going against his every word.

He groans aloud as he stuffs the script for next week’s episode into his backpack and clears his table. “Horrendous day,” he mutters under his breath. “I need to make them fear m—”

“Hyung!”

The sudden voice causes Kris to pause and look up at a cheerful Chanyeol heading his way. Chanyeol rests his arms over Kris’s cubicle, his long arms falling over the partition.

“Hyung, I’m hungry. Want to go for supper?” he asks eagerly. “I saw you didn’t eat much during dinner.”

As if on cue, Kris’s stomach let out a loud growl. The director chuckles sheepishly. He had been so bothered the entire day with how everyone’s behaviour that he didn’t even notice he ate way less than he normally did.

“Sure.”

They find themselves at the usual hangout of most Exo staff, a restaurant and pub across the street that serves delicious buffalo wings. The restaurant is devoid of Exo employees for once. Kris gestures for Chanyeol to sit before he takes the seat across him. The atmosphere seems a little... strange.

The normally chatty Chanyeol cannot hold a conversation today. Unable to stand it anymore, Kris gulps down the rest of his beer and leans towards him with a frown.

“Do I have something on my face? Why is everyone acting like I’m the enemy?” he retorts.

Chanyeol jerks backwards so hard the entire chair nearly topples backwards. He coughs in embarrassment and ducks his head behind a buffalo wing. “It’s nothing really,” he mumbles. “They are just pissed at how you treated that AD.”

What?

Some loyal colleagues they are.

“Are you pissed too?” Kris demands to know.

The cinematographer snorts and waves his buffalo wing. “Of course not,” he answers automatically. “Why would I be pissed when I like you? I just want him to geeeeeet the hell away.”

Kris’s eyes widen.

So does his.

“I mean, I mean,” he sputters. “Don’t you like me too? Why else would we be on a date now?”

Kris is rescued from having to reply when the commotion at the front door gets louder.

“What do you mean the restaurant is closed for the night? I just want to get some takeaway,” a voice begs loudly, his whiny tone incredibly familiar.

Closed for the night? Kris furrows his thick eyebrows and shoots Chanyeol a questioning look over his buffalo wing.

“Yeah, I booked the restaurant for the evening. Listen, Kris, I...”

He drowns out the rest of Chanyeol’s words and stands up to look at the person at the door. Immediately, his stomach flips. Zhang Yixing!

As if the other man can hear Kris’s inner thoughts, Yixing takes a break from arguing with the manager and looks up to meet Kris’s eyes. Then he has the frigging nerve to scowl at the taller man.

“You know what, I’m not hungry anymore,” Yixing announces loudly. “I didn’t realise you serve jerks here.” He spins on his heel and stomps off into the streets of Myeongdong.

He doesn’t know what possesses him to stand up from the table. Ignoring Chanyeol’s yells behind him, Yifan rushes out of the restaurant with his buffalo wing. “Yah, Yixing,” he shouts, his annoyance growing when the other does not even spare him a glance. “Zhang Yixing! Lay!”

At that, the other man freezes and stops so abruptly Yifan nearly slams into him. Yixing balls his fists and whips around, eyes shooting daggers at the taller man. He flinches a little and takes a tiny step back, not at all expecting to see the venom in his eyes. Yifan might be harsh on his staff but no one has ever showed hatred outright to him.

“What do you want?” the former AD retorts bitterly. “Chasing me for payment? Rubbing it in my face that I make a lousy AD?” He in a sharp breath. “Don’t worry, I’ve worked out a monthly payment plan for the television. I’ll look for Junmyeon tomorrow with what I have first.”

What he has? “You… don’t have enough savings?” Yifan asks slowly. Guilt starts crawling up his spine. Uh-oh. This is not good.

Something in Yixing snaps. He tilts his head up and glowers defiantly at Yifan. “I’ll pay for the TV by hook or by crook and you just sit there in front of your monitor and continue screaming your head off at people and wait for the money to come to you!” rants Yixing, face red from his outburst. “Don’t call me Lay. Lay’s dead to you, you stupshidbash—”

The feel of Yixing’s lips against his sends a wave of euphoria coursing through Yifan’s veins. This feels nice – no this is beyond nice. He suddenly remembers of his plan to ask Yixing out on and thinks that maybe this is his second chance. Yifan’s heart skips a beat as he slips his arm around the latter’s waist and deepens the kiss when he realises Yixing isn’t responding to him. .

“Sorry, I thought—” he stutters clumsily, immediately releasing Yixing. The shorter of the pair has such a dazed look on his face Yifan panics that he has somehow broken a Yixing.

“,” a voice behind growls. Yifan turns around right away, only to receive a bone crushing punch to his face. He collapses to the ground, his face twitching in pain as he tries to make out who hit him.

“… Chanyeol? What the hell?” he hollers, clutching his rapidly swelling eye. The other man doesn’t reply him and instead stalks off without another word.

Yifan composes a pitiful expression on his face in the hopes that Yixing will comfort him but when he looks back, Yixing is no longer there.

Fantastic. Can the day get any worse.

-

Kris appears at Exo Studios the next day sporting a black eye the size of his fist (and that’s saying something, because his hands are huuuge). Every corner he turns, he swears there is someone whispering or tittering about him.

Chanyeol, as expected, is avoiding him. When he paused to think about it with a large bag of ice on his eye last night, Kris came to the conclusion that the cinematographer punched him because he ran out of their ‘date’. Please. How the heck is he supposed to know it was a date??

With the cinematographer intentionally not moving the camera the way Kris wants him to, it is near impossible for him to film anything at all, much less complete shooting 7 scenes today. He scowls at the call sheets before directing that scowl to Zitao.

“Can you be a little more realistic? Why the hell did you plan for 7 scenes today?” he says grouchily. “Who’s going to pay for the extras if we end up not using them today? Are you going to pay them with your salary?”

Zitao glowers, his dark circles appearing even blacker when he is mad. “No, I was thinking we can use your salary,” he shoots back in a sickeningly sweet voice before slamming down his own script and standing up. “How the hell am I supposed to know you’d do things so slowly?”

Kris stares down at him, incredulity etched on his face. “Do you know who you are talking—” he begins, to which Zitao snorts and walks off, waving a hand as he marches out the studio set.

“I ing quit!” he yells just as the door shuts.

The rest of the team stare at a dumbfounded Kris.

“Well, great job,” Luhan says finally, pulling the eye mask on his head over his eyes. “Now we’ve lost 2 ADs and we haven’t even finished shooting the second episode.”

What the !? Not everything is his fault! He lets out a long breath, preparing a massive argument against the drama’s star when someone interrupts him.

“…. Hi?” A head poked into the studio set. “Am I intruding?”

Kris has never been so happy to see that face. And judging from the looks around the studio set, he isn’t the only one.

“I’m looking for Junmyeon… I’m here to pass him the money for the, um, TV,” Yixing murmurs and looks up then. A gasp dies in his throat at the sight of Kris’s huge bruise but he quickly pulls his gaze away.

“Junmyeon’s out location scouting,” he replies slowly.

“Okay, I’ll come again tomorrow then,” Yixing says quickly and disappears out of the studio set.

There is silence for a split second in the studio before everyone starts hurtling curses at him.

“What the hell are you waiting for?” Luhan bellows. “Go and get him back! I’m not working without an AD!”

Minseok all but shoves Kris out of the studio and has the audacity to lock the director out of the studio. Kris pounds on the door irritably with his fist but ow, the door is metal and not meant for him to exert his strength on.

He then realises Yixing has not left and is, at the moment, watching him with amusement.

“I need you to come back to Exo I need an AD,” he says in a rush. “I really like you but I also really hate you for walking out of me after that night because I think I really want to date you.”

Yixing’s eyes flutter open and close for several moments while Yifan watches in fascination.

“I-I guess that explains the kiss.” He pauses, before pointing out in confusion, “But you yelled at me. A lot.”

“I yell at everyone. It’s how I am.” Yifan blushes a little. “Probably more to you because… I really like you.”

“You have a really y way of showing your affections,” Junmyeon comments out of nowhere, startling Yixing so much he nearly falls over. Yifan automatically reaches out to steady him and takes the opportunity to leave his hand on his shoulder. “I heard you are here to pay for the TV? Don’t bother, Luhan has offered to fork out the money. Not like he can’t afford it.” He raises an eyebrow at the two of them. “So… are we good then?”

“Come back, please?” Yifan asks, his lower lip jutted out in a pout.

The glazed over expression on Yixing’s face looks like he is having a mental battle with himself. Yifan prepares to go into an aegyofest and opens his eyes as wide as he can. (“Oh no,” Junmyeon mutters and slowly backs away.) He in a deep breath and puffs out his cheeks, resembling very much like a baozi. “Pwease come back?” he simpers.

Yixing takes one look at him and bursts into such loud laughter he has to hold onto the wall to keep his balance. He scrunches up his face, huffing to catch his breath. “That... looks weird on your face,” he tells him, nonetheless grinning. His smile dims for a moment as uncertainty flashes across his face. “Are you sure the others are okay with it?”

A resounding “YES!” comes from inside the studio.

The director looks at him hopefully.

“... Okay,” Yixing says finally. Yifan starts to brighten but freezes when Yixing continues. “On one condition.”

Ugh great, it’s going to turn out to be something impossible and Yifan’s going to have to say he can’t do it and then he doesn’t get an AD and the rest of the studio is going to continue on Operation Kill Kris and he’s never going to see Yixing’s face again.

“What condition?” he asks warily.

Yixing’s eyes twinkle and the smile on his face grows wider. Yifan feels a haze settle on his brain at the sight of the deepening dimple on his cheek and by the time he snaps out of it, he realises Yixing has pulled down the collar of his shirt to get him to his height.

“You’ll have to date me,” he tells him, and proceeds to give him the most toe-curling, stomach-lurching and fireworks-inducing kiss he has ever had. 

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