Saturday Afternoon

Minseok bounced around in the driver's seat of the van as he drove Mr. Kim and Kai to the press conference. The father would not speak to his son throughout the entire ride so Kai sat looking out the window, fumbling with the buttons of his button down shirt. Minseok turned around to flash them a smile, his cheeks puffing out like they always did. Baozi was excited. He'd get to talk with Kyungsoo after the ride while sipping tea and munching on steamed buns.

Kai smiled as the young driver swayed side to side to a song on the radio. For someone with such a terrible job working for such a terrible man, Minseok was an overly happy boy. He looked at everything as if it were a blessing, something that even Chanyeol, who everyone called the Happy Virus, did not. He was good to everyone and everyone was good to him.

Minseok pulled up to the tall building where the press conference was to be held. Kai got out first, not waiting for the chaffeur to open the door for him, and started for the door. Mr. Kim walked behind him, watching his son in front. His strut had changed. Instead of Kai's head being held high like it used to be, indicating that he was of high stature, it was lowered a little, like a normal person's walk. His straight back was now a bit arched. His hair, usually swept up in a wave, was now simply straight. It seemed as though Kai didn't seem like he cared how he looked anymore.

Mr. Kim huffed as they both entered the elevator, taking it to the eleventh floor. He looked at his son, watching his every move. Kai was moving to the elevator music as if it was the best melody in the world. Mr. Kim shook his head at the absurd behavior of his son. What had gotten into him? It was as if his mind was on something else. Was it?

The elevator door opened and the Kims were greeted by a suited man, bowing at the both of them gracefully. Mr. Kim waved him off and the two of them walked behind the man. They were led down a hallway to a large banquent room on the roof. Kai passed by everyone just to get a look at the view. He smiled looking down at the buildings of Shanghai, knowing that in one particular a few miles away from here, Kyungsoo was waiting for him. And Kai would be back soon.

"And this is my son," he heard behind him. Kai turned around to see his father with Mr. Wu, the man in charge of Mr. Kim's Chinese portion of the industry. Behind them was a young girl, maybe a year or two younger than Kai, looking at him with twinkling eyes. Her long, raven hair flowed down to her waist, tied together in the back to form a French braid. Kai stared at her, not impressed. Even before Kyungsoo, this girl wouldn't have the qualities he was looking for.

"Ah, Jongin," Mr. Wu began with a heavy accent, bowing at the boy as he bowed back, "what a pleasure to finally meet you! Working oversees with your father has given me the advantage to learn about you. How is life back in Korea?"

Kai shrugged, smiling charmingly. "Very nice. I must say China is very wonderful as well."

The girl behind Mr. Kim and Mr. Wu giggled at the sound of Kai's voice. The boss' son cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at her. This girl was annoying.

"By the way, Jongin," Mr. Kim in, "this is Hui-fang, Mr. Wu's daughter." He jabbed his elbow into Kai's ribs. "Say hello."

Kai rubbed the place where Mr. Kim had hurt him. Walking around Mr. Wu, he took Hui-fang's hand and kissed the back of it like a knight. She giggled, her face reddening. Kai sighed, wishing that he had kissed Kyungsoo's hand and not this crazy girl's. Hui-fang bit her lip cutely and looked at Kai with wide, adorable eyes. He blew his bangs out of his face and walked back to look at the view of Shanghai.

Mr. Wu furrowed his eyebrows and pulled Mr. Kim aside. "He does not seem to like my daughter."

"Oh, he likes her alright! Don't worry, Mr. Wu!" Mr. Kim turned to look at Kai, gritting his teeth. "I'm sure he's just not feeling well."

"Did you tell him about the marriage yet? You said it would be best to bring the Chinese and Korean portions of your company together and I agreed. But your son is ruining it!"

Mr. Kim huffed. "Remember that I can fire you, Wu. Just remember that. By marrying your daughter to Kai, I'm doing you a favor. If she can't impress him, that's your own fault."

Kai didn't hear the conversation. His ears were filled with the sounds of the city below. It was still fairly early in the day but already the city was alive with activity, people bustling about far down beneath him. Kai felt like waving but decided against it. From this height, they wouldn't see him anyways.

It seemed as though no matter how much Kai didn't want to, his thoughts akways reversed back to Kyungsoo. The lights coming from some of the buildings in this daylight reminded him of his doll's radiant smile, the sun overhead the shape of his eyes. Kai's world revovled around him, and tomorrow would mark the first week since that started. Kai suddenly smiled gleefully. Tomorrow was their one week anniversary of having met eachother.

Pulling up the sleeve of his shirt, Kai looked down at the red wrist watch. He prayed it would flash. If he could get out of here even before the press arrived, he'd be eternally grateful to Kyungsoo. Covering it up again, the young man turned back to wandering through the crowd of people Mr. Wu hired, trying to find someone decent to talk to. It wasn't long before he saw his father's second best employee (Joonmyun being the first.)

Tall and looking like more of a prince than Kai, Wu Yi Fan, son of Mr. Wu and Hui-fang's brother, stood in the corner of the roof top banquet room. He was even more bored than Kai. Forced to leave Korea and his Tao just to attend his father's press conference, he was pissed too. His temper was something not to be trifled with.

Kai came up beside him. Both boys leaned with their backs against the wall, staring into space. Kai coughed, and Yi Fan glanced at him without turning his head. Unbeknownst to Kai, he was angry at him. Angry that Mr. Kim's son was apparently marrying his little sister.

"So," Kai started, "how's it going?"

"Shut up," Yi Fan snapped. 

Kai turned to face the other. "What's wrong? What did I do?"

"You know exactly what you did."

"If I did know, I wouldn't be asking you, now would I?"

"You could be rubbing it in."

"Yi Fan," Kai breathed, running a hand through his hair, "I'm asking you, like a civilized person, to tell you what's bothering you about me. You want a raise or something? I'll give it to you."

Yi Fan finally turned completely around to face Kai. "You're telling me that you don't know about the marriage?"

Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "What marriage? Are you getting married? To Tao?! Oh my goodness Yi--"

Yi Fan clamped a hand over Kai's mouth. Mr. Kim's son looked back at Mr. Wu's with large, innocent eyes. Yi Fan was good at telling if someone was lying, and by the looks of it, Kai was not. He genuinly did not know who was marrying who and why. Uncovering Kai's mouth, Yi Fan stuffed his hand in his pocket and sighed.

"Your father has arranged a marriage between you and my sister."

Kai's entire world caved in on itself. He was getting married? To a girl he just met?! No, he couldn't be. There was no way he'd do that. He'd rather die. And he wasn't just saying that. That girl would have to travel to the ends of the world if she wanted him to stop loving Kyungsoo and marry her. Otherwise, nothing could make him. He didn't care what his father threatened him with.

Kai's skin turned pale and Yi Fan thought he was about to suffer a heart attack. He grasped the boy gently by the arm and led him to a chair, helping him sit down. Kai breathed heavily, trying to figure out what he was going to do. He covered his face with his hands, groaning into them. Mr. Kim saw his son's condition and, finding it quite distasteful, came over to tell him to behave properly. Kai uncovered his face to look at his father, gritting his teeth. He stood up slowly gripping the arms of the chair. Yi Fan bit his lip.

"If you think that I am going to marry someone I don't even know," Kai sneered, "then you're out of your mind! Arranged marriage is something you agreed to, father, but I never will!"

Kai stormed out, Yi Fan behind him. Hui-fang watched her brother and future husband go, bottom lip quivering. She understood Korean well enough to know what that meant. Mr. Kim excused himself from the crowd and ran after his son. Kai and Yi Fan rushed into the elevator, its door closing just as Mr. Kim rounded the corner of the hallway to get to it. His son leaned against its wall, eyes closed. Yi Fan said not one word.

As soon as the elevator stopped at the first floor, the two ran out of the building. The press was just arriving and saw the two boys, their cameras immediately flashing. Yi Fan, with his intimidating glare, stared them down as he and Kai fought to make their way through the sea of reporters to a cab standing on the curb. 

Finally, the two managed to get out of the herd, both scrambling inside the cab. Yi Fan spoke to the driver in Chinese, asking Kai the name of the hotel then telling him. They were off as soon as the driver plugged in the name of the hotel into his GPS. Kai pressed his forehead to the open window, listening as the voices of the reporters drifted farther and farther away. When he'd get to the hotel, the first thing he'd do is leave again. With Kyungsoo. And when he said leave, he meant the country to go back to Korea. He didn't want to be next to his father on the plane again, or near that man at all.

Words could not describe how angry he was. His father was someone emotionless. Arranged marriage would always be alright with him. But for Kai, with someone like Kyungsoo in his life, it was like a flash flood. A tsunami. A hurricane. An act of devastation measured in epic proportions. He wasn't going to go through it. Kyungsoo would not be his best man. He'd be his man. That was all Kai needed.

~*~*~

Kyungsoo was stomach down on the bed in the hotel watching television when the door bell rang. He went to open it, peeping through the small hole in the door to see who it was. Seeing Minseok and his puffy cheeks, Kyungsoo gladly opened it for him, letting the young man in. He wasn't dressed in his chaffeur's uniform anymore, and had a fresh basket of steamed buns. Kyungsoo inhaled their scent.

"Baozi brought more baozis~"

"I can see that," Kyungsoo laughed, gesturing towards the basket while shutting the door.

Minseok skipped over to the little kitchen area of the hotel room, filling up a pot with water and putting it on the stove to boil. Then, he swiftly uncovered his basket of steamed buns. Minseok placed two plates onto the counter and two steamed buns on each plate, smothering them in butter. Minseok seemed to have much pride in what he was doing and it made Kyungsoo laugh a little as he watched him, chin on the counter looking up at the Chinese boy.

The pot boiled, spitting out