Jongin calls Lu Han out on a particularly sunny day and they arrange to meet at the park near Jongin’s office, because Lu Han insisted that it was too nice a day to stay inside. They bump into each other right outside Jongin’s office and walk to the park together, stopping by an ice cream stall because Lu Han is distracted by the sweets and Jongin can’t say no.

Texts with Lu Han have quickly evolved from simple, clipped updates to replies littered with emoticons (Lu Han seems to have a preference for smiley faces), but he’s still surprised to find that Lu Han in a good mood is completely different from the subdued man he saw sitting in his office during their first meeting.

"Your man's a bit dodgy," Jongin begins once they’ve settled down on a bench, Lu Han’s surprisingly childish needs satisfied.

Lu Han is focusing on the drop of ice-cream currently escaping from his cone and he darts out his tongue to catch it, eyes crossing in the effort. It’s a rainbow flavoured cone, which Jongin relentlessly about, even if Jongin likes it every once in a while. “You found him?”

“We’re working on it.” Jongin stares down at his own boring chocolate cone. This all feels a bit familiar, like he’s hanging out with a friend, and not being paid a hundred bucks per “consultation”. When he’s having fun like this, swinging his feet and laughing at the rainbow mess splattered across Lu Han’s jeans to Lu Han’s pouts, he’s not even sure where to draw the line between casual hang outs and business meetings.

“Oh. Then why call me out?”

For once, Jongin is at a loss of words. He chooses to brush it aside, ignoring the smirk Lu Han is hiding in his cone. “I’ll get in touch with you later.”

“Hey,” Lu Han his head. “Wanna watch a movie?”

Jongin has a client pencilled in at 4pm but that’s hours away. They end up watching a B-grade horror flick that has Jongin jumping at every creak and shout.

“I bet she’s going to have slit here,” Lu Han whispers gleefully, prodding Jongin to remove the fingers covering his eyes. When Jongin buries his face in Lu Han’s shoulder, Jongin can feel them shaking in silent laughter.

remains intact throughout the movie. Her friend is not as lucky. When the decapitated head drops to the ground, Jongin shrieks loud enough for the high school girls next to them to titter. Jongin grabs a bunch of popcorn and discreetly throws it at Lu Han to get him to stop laughing. 

“You look so old right now,” he says spitefully, pointing out the laugh lines that etch across Lu Han’s face.

“Yeah well,” Lu Han shrugs with this -eating grin that Jongin just wants to kis- wipe off.

“I can’t believe I thought you were quiet,” Jongin grumbles. 

Someone behind them shushes them and Jongin winces under the shower of popcorn thrown their way. He gladly hunches down his seat, pressing his lips firmly together.

Lu Han’s fingers close around his elbow as an apology and remain there until the credits roll, rubbing lightly during the scarier parts. When they walk out of the theatre, Jongin can’t even remember how the rest of the movie went.

Later comes in barely a week.

It's 2am but the phone goes through after only two rings. The voice that comes through the phone is clear, not muffled with sleep like Jongin expects it to be.

"Hello?" 

"Lu Han?"

"Yes?"

"You're coming with me to japan."

"Okay."

It's colder in Nagoya than Seoul, spring a little late for this part of the country. Jongin has been to Nagoya only once before but even he knows that the weather now is abnormally cold, even for winter. 

"You understand that this trip could turn up fruitless? And you've just wasted a whole lot of money on finding a John Doe?" Jongin asks around a mouthful of ramen. 

He's been in this business for a while, and he still doesn't understand why people fork out obscene amounts of money to chase after a ghost figure. Half the time, clients find out that the person they're finding has changed, and that they themselves have changed.

"It's just..." Lu Han struggles for the word. "Closure?"

That is a word Jongin hears his clients use a lot. He figures it's why some people try to recreate a distant memory- we could have been happy then, maybe we can be happy still?

"So you're willing to run around the world chasing him, without knowing his ual preference?"

Lu Han hesitates, his chopsticks high in the air. "I just need to know."

Jongin understands, but he says, only half-jokingly, "In some cultures, that would be considered stalking."

It's an awfully serious conversation to be had in a neighbourhood ramen place. Lu Han places a gyoza on Jongin's ramen and Jongin snatches it up immediately, not wanting the fried ends to soften from the soup. "I'm putting my trust in you, Kim Jongin."

Trust. Jongin watches Lu Han tackle a gyoza of his own and swallows down the guilt.

"His name isn't Kris Wu." he breaks the news only now, having held this crucial information in for a week. He planned to tell him before they flew here but somehow he couldn't. Jongin tries to tell himself that it's purely because Lu Han might decline an overseas trip to find a man that faked his name, lost revenue and what not, but Jongin has been around enough lovesick people to have a hint of what he's really feeling. It's not something he wants to dwell on. 

He could have told Lu Han on the plane, when it was too late to back out, but Lu Han's face had flushed with delight at the clouds and Jongin lost the heart to tell him, settling on trying to make Lu Han laugh as many times as possible on the hour-long journey instead.

Lu Han's face is impassive now, but Jongin has learned to read his eyes. The thought comes to him so quickly that it surprises him. He doesn't know Lu Han. They are investigator and client, only acquainted barely a month ago, and yet Jongin knows when Lu Han is wearing his mask.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you earlier,” Jongin says. “Do you still want to find him?"

"Yeah."

Jongin can't explain the little curl of dissatisfaction in his throat. "I'm just ironing out the details with my informant. He'll have the details over by tomorrow."

"Okay."

The walk back to the hotel is quiet.

Jongin is not used to conversations. He deals with people, yes, but he’s a puffed up version of himself in front of his clients. He just needs to put on a magical front, promise them all their dreams like he's a genie in a high school play.

He doesn't do social interaction. But with Lu Han it's easy. Lu Han is the kind of person who blooms the more he knows him, letting him in with each smile that they share. Lu Han has become comfortable enough to poke Jongin in the cheek when Jongin swings around to check for luggage.

Lu Han, Jongin acknowledges with a lump in his throat as he watches Lu Han toss and turn in the bed adjacent to his, is not just another client.