Tao ∞ Kris

 

Huang Zitao was an orphan. Had been since he was born, with only a name given to him by his birth parents. That was an undisputable fact. He had faced countless hopeful parents wanting to adopt a child but somehow at every moment a couple decided on adopting him, the world seemed to create a barrier, making him spend the first eighteen years of his life in an orphanage.

All was not lost though, for Huang Zitao had also managed to create a barrier within himself, shielding himself off from the hurt he felt the first time an adoption didn’t go through. From this barrier, he had been able to focus on himself without giving two damns about others.

Building relationships with people would only get him hurt and it was unnecessary. The world was a place where you survive on your own and people, despite what they appear, only have an interest in themselves and Tao knew that because he’d seen countless couples giving up on him just because something in the application was tough or the application got into a bit of a snag.

People were rough and Tao didn’t want to deal with that.

He had graduated valedictorian from his high school, had managed to get a scholarship to his first choice university with all his own effort and all in all, his life was finally looking up.

That is, until today.

Zitao, who preferred to be called Tao, took a few alternate glances at the piece of paper in his hand and at the number plate drilled onto a pillar attached to one of the gates in front of a large mansion. The numbers matched up.

Why am I even here?

The raven-haired boy rubbed his tired eyes trying to stop the pulsating in his head. He had woken up extra early that morning, travelling all the way from Jeju to Seoul to have a little view of what his future life was going to be like.

Seoul National University.

He had finally gotten into the one place that could change his future. He wouldn’t have to be called the poor little orphan boy anymore. He’d graduate, get a good job and live his life without many worries bugging him the way he had to face growing up.

But then the cashier lady had to say something that made his skin crawl.

You should go to Fate’s House! Are you listening to me! You’ll die before you turn twenty if you don’t!

Dying before he even had a chance to try and achieve the life he had planned since he was nine? No, that did not suit well with him but now, he was wondering what was this thing that was making him have a death sentence. He rushed out of the convenient store before he could listen to the cashier’s explanation about it. All he got was an address the girl slipped him as he was paying for a bottle of water and her yelling words of his imminent premature death.

Tao pushed the gate open with ease and slowly walked up the pebbled pathway to the front door. He took a deep breath, not expecting anything much, and knocked on the door three times.

Within a few seconds, a man with toffee-colored hair greeted him at the door.

“Hi. Um, is this Fate’s House?” Tao asked, feeling dumb for even being at the doorway of this place.

“The one and only. What brings—” the man said, stopping midway as he locked his gaze on Tao’s neck. “Ahh, come in.”

Tao scrunched his eyebrows, confused at the sudden change of the man but went inside as instructed.

“I’m Lay and you are here because of that, aren’t you?” Lay asked, pointing to Tao’s neck. Tao tried to think of what Lay was pointing to but he came up with a blank.

“I’m sorry. I don’t—”

“Sorry! I was on the phone with some… people,” a man, slightly shorter than Lay and with dark hair said, coming from what appeared to be the living room. Tao almost laughed at the man’s obvious attempt in holding back a word that was not on the compliment side, if his mind was not wandering around thinking of why Lay seemed to stare at his neck. “Oh, and you are?” the man asked, noticing that Lay had a guest.

Tao made eye contact with the man and was met with a kind smile. “Huang Zitao. Tao for short.”

Another smile. “It’s nice to meet you Huang Zitao. Are you a friend of Lay’s? Is there—”

Suho stopped talking as he turned to face Lay who was nudging him at his side, tapping at his neck with his other hand. Neck ?

“Ahh, I see. Let’s go to the office.”

 

∞

 

The Providence Condition.

What is this? A bad fantasy novel? Things like this aren’t supposed to exist outside the realm of the fiction but it does exist and Tao was now resting his forehead on a cool wooden table in a room Suho had prepared for him to stay in, probably worth more than everything he brought with him in his backpack and suitcase to Seoul, and that was everything he’s owned his whole life.

Tao tried to think rationally about this entire situation. There was no way this was real, right?

This had to be some cruel, awful dream he’d wake up from, although the slap he gave himself when he went to see the bathroom seemed to indicate otherwise.

He had a curse on him just because some of his ancestors messed up with Fate and now he had to find the love of his life before he turned twenty or else he’ll disappear like a puff of smoke? Tao banged his head softly several times on that expensive wooden table before finally accepting everything that was thrown at him a few hours ago.

Yes, hours. Tao is a deep thinker, you see.

He had two invisible red lines at the side of his neck that only Lay and (assumingly) the cashier lady could see. He had two years left to find whoever it is that could help get rid of this curse and he concluded that Fate was a goddamn .

 

∞

 

“Wait, so Fate will give me some kind of sign if the person is the one?” Tao asked for a hundredth time, which he was sure was agitating Lay, who was in charge of setting up his meetings with a bunch of people that day. People who Tao hoped would get rid of this condition.

“For the millionth time, yes. You’ll feel it. If you do, tell me. Now shut your trap and sit,” said a disgruntled Lay, shaking his head as he got out of the room.

It was a fairly large room with cream walls and tall windows. There was a door that led outside and a fireplace along the wall that door was on. In front of the fireplace was a chair, which Tao now knows is definitely worth more than his life and belongings combined. There were also three other chairs opposite of the chair Tao assumed was where Lay wanted him to sit.

Tao had contemplated for the past week whether this was some kind of scheme by Lay and Suho to get money from people but it seemed to not be the case. They didn’t ask for a penny from him and even provided him with a place to stay. The Providence condition couldn’t be true, it doesn’t even sound real but better safe than sorry. Tao didn’t want to not wake up on his twentieth birthday. Heck, he wanted a long life to live and Fate be damned if he didn’t get it. Tao took a deep breath and told himself that since Fate, stupid as it sounds, brought him here, so that means it wanted him to live… right?

A couple of minutes passed when Lay came back in with two girls and one boy trailing behind him. They took a seat in the three seats opposite of Tao’s and Tao eyed each of them carefully.

The girl on his left was quite pretty with dark hair and slightly tanned skin, the girl in the middle was a blonde with pale skin and was fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat, the boy on his right had a slim figure with styled blonde hair and a bored expression covering his face as he looked outside a nearby window.

Wait, a boy?

Why would a boy—

Oh.

Oh.

Tao got it. Besides from being an , Fate was also unbiased and a fan of love between two of the same gender. This was not what Tao had in mind.

 

∞

 

“Calm down, Tao,” Lay said as the two of them went inside Suho and Lay’s office after the unsuccessful meeting.

“Calm down? You told me I’d have to find my other half or whatever to survive. You didn’t mention that it could be with a man!” Tao yelled out as he paced back and forth in the little office.

Lay heaved out a sigh as he laid his back into his seat. I’d take Oh Sehun over this anyday, even though he was annoying when Luhan wasn’t around.

“Yes, it can be with a man or a woman. Fate’s just like that. Are you a homophobe or something?” Lay asked, hoping to get this over with. Huang Zitao was somewhat of a mystery to him. Appearing out of nowhere with simply an address and a scowl on his face, not really asking for help but he seemed like someone who needed the help, especially since he came not knowing what situation he was in. Fate must’ve done a lot of things to get him here.

“I’m not a homophobe. I’m just… surprised,” Tao said, a look of concern spreading on his face.

Tao had that look on his face a lot from what Lay had seen. Always looking concerned when actually he was deep in thought, probably overwhelming himself with nonsensical questions, not that Lay cared what was going on in that head of Tao’s.

Lay couldn’t put his finger on it. Tao was just… strange. Quiet but observant. Anti-social but inquisitive. He was the complete opposite of—

. I got it.

 

∞

 

It had been nearly a month since Tao had settled into Fate’s House. Okay, settling was too far of a stretch but he had somehow managed to feel slightly more comfortable than he originally thought he would. Suho was a nice person who always concerned himself with Tao’s eating habits and how he was doing. Lay was always vocal with his thoughts and didn’t fail to say something when some thing didn’t please him.

“Kai, you overcooked my eggs again. Can’t believe you’re still employed here.”

Case in point.

“Shut up. You think other chefs would stand for your crappy attitude? You’re lucky I’ve stuck around as long as I have,” Kai retorted, placing some freshly cooked bacon on the dining table before walking back towards the kitchen.

“How can he be a chef when he can’t even cook decent eggs?” Lay asked to no one in particular, but still bit into his scrambled eggs anyway.

Tao looked down to his plate of eggs and toast, trying to hide his amused smile. As much as he hated being cursed, he enjoyed Lay and Suho’s antics from time to time.

“Here, have some bacon. Eat a lot. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” Suho said, placing some bacon onto Tao’s plate from across the table.

Tao smiled at the older male. He would never admit it but Suho had somehow become the closest thing to a mother figure he’s had in his entire life. It was nice. Being doted on, being cared for, being told to eat more bacon.

“Oh, someone’s actually smiling for once,” Lay teased, pointing to Tao with his fork.

“Shut up,” Tao said, feeling embarrassed but his smile stayed on his face. Although Lay was sometimes annoying, he was also as kind as Suho and Tao couldn’t shake off the feeling that Lay could see through him even though they had only met a month ago, like he understood what Tao was like on the inside. It kind of creeped him out a little, but it was also very intriguing.

“Tch, you don’t have to be embarrassed,” Lay said, stuffing a strip of bacon into his mouth and chewing it loudly, much to Suho’s distaste.

“Yuck. Chew like you have a secret, Lay,” Suho said, sounding all prim and proper which was a direct contrast to the Lay who was chewing extra loud for Suho’s pleasure.

Tao had to stifle a laugh bubbling up his throat and he ate a mouthful of bacon, although he thought he chewed a little more gracefully than Lay.

“Hurry up, we have to meet Kris in a few minutes,” Suho said, after hitting Lay a bunch of times on his arm as a punishment for not “chewing like he has a secret”. Suho looked at his phone and smiled. “He’s here. I’ll go open the door. Eat up, Tao.”

Suho quickly got out of his seat and walked briskly to the entranceway, going out of sight from Lay and Tao.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask. Those people you set me up to meet with, are they ProCon people too?” Tao asked, the question having lingered in his mind for the past few days.

Lay swallowed his food and took a sip of tea before speaking. “Some are, some aren’t. Those who aren’t apply to come here since we give cash payments for participating.”

Tao faced Lay with a puzzled look. “Participating?”

Lay nodded. “Yeah. People think we’re a dating agency and that we ask people to participate in some tests to improve our services. Suho came up with the idea. Those who have ProCon know the real deal though, obviously.”

Tao nodded slowly at Lay’s explanation as he let the information seep into his brain. Despite the unkind affliction Fate had put him in, he couldn’t deny his interest in the history and story behind Fate’s House and how ProCon worked. It was just… interesting.

“Come. I’ll introduce you to Kris. He’s one of our investors. He’s one of the “dating agency” believers,” Lay said, standing up from his seat and waiting for Tao to do the same. “If you want more bacon, just ask for some later. Get your off that seat.”

Why would I have to meet with an investor? Tao thought, but still followed Lay to the entranceway.

As they made their way into the entranceway, Tao could see Suho talking with a tall blonde man in a fancy navy trench coat and a black and white striped scarf hanging around his neck. All Tao could think of was that this guy would suit the saying ‘Death of Modesty’ because his hair, his scarf all the way to his shoes screamed rich boy and he seemed like the type to show off just how rich he really was.

But then he saw his face.

And something happened.

Something weird.

Very weird.

And all Tao could think of was that he really needed to stop being a homophobe.

 

∞

 

Tao ran. As embarrassing as it was, he ran to the backyard. It was such an immature move but his feet reacted before he could think. Tao placed a hand over his heart, which was now beating at a slower pace than before, despite the running he did.

Questions like what was that? Did I have a heart attack? Is this what a Fate encounter is? It really had to be a guy? were buzzing around Tao’s head faster than bacon going into Lay’s mouth and all his composure and logic were reeling in confusion over what just overtook his body for a few seconds.

“I knew it!” Lay yelled out as he jumped down the small step of stairs leading to the backyard. “You got Fate’s indication when you saw Kris, didn’t you?”

Tao’s eyes widened in surprise, before turning away to face the stretch of grass of the overly large backyard. “N-No.”

Lay let out a laugh before smacking Tao’s back. “Don’t lie. I saw your face. You felt something. Tell me.”

Tao frowned to himself, thinking whether he should tell Lay of what he felt and looking at Lay’s excited expression was convincing him to do so. “I felt… free.”

 

∞

 

Lay wasn’t too happy with Tao’s explanation of what he felt but Tao wasn’t a poet and describing his feelings was just not something that he did.

Tao laid in his bed that night, unable to sleep and hugged a small pillow to his chest, closing his eyes to remember exactly what he felt when he saw Kris. It didn’t take much effort as the feeling was still dancing around in the pit of his stomach.

He felt good. His heart was pounding a mile a minute, probably faster when Kris’ face came into view and he felt like serving his soul on a platter after seeing Kris’ face, not that he would but if he had to put it in words, he felt like even if he were to give up his heart, his soul and everything he had in his life, Kris wouldn’t let him throw such things away and instead tell him to cherish it and give Tao’s heart, soul and everything back on a fancier platter.

Tao shook his head. How could he make such a bold conclusion over seeing someone’s face for the first time? All he knew about the guy was his name and that he invested in Suho and Lay’s fake dating agency. Furthermore, he was actually starting to think that maybe ProCon was the real deal. As mystical and weird as it was, it actually exists, his weird feeling towards Kris being proof.

Tao rested a hand over his stomach. There was also a feeling he’d never felt before. It was warm and light and it felt like his body was made of air instead of blood and muscle. Like what he said to Lay, he simply felt free. Nothing to worry, nothing to be angry at, just free.

Tao had never felt like that. He’d always felt… well, like what he felt everyday. He didn’t feel heavy but he’d never felt as relaxed as he did before the encounter happened.

He smiled to himself. He hadn’t even talked to the guy but Kris had managed to make him feel and smile more than he had for a long time. Tao let out a short content sigh but his smile wavered when he had to face the hard fact.

Tao found Kris stunning.

Unfairly stunning… for a guy.

 

∞

 

Suho was busy organizing some files on some of their new clients, when he noticed Lay smiling to his laptop screen.

“If you’re watching , you better stop right now,” Suho warned, shifting his attention back to his files.

Lay scoffed. “Who smiles when watching ? I’m just smiling cause our dear Tao finally had a Fate encounter.”

Suho froze in the middle of what he was doing and quickly dropped his neatly stacked pile of folders onto his desk before rushing over to Lay.

“Who is it? When did this happen? How did I not know this?” Suho asked, looking hysteric.

Lay laughed and settled his chin in the palm of his hand as he rested his elbow on his desk. “Kris Wu. Yesterday and you didn’t know because I just told you.”

Suho felt his blood run cold. “Kris?” Lay nodded enthusiastically. “Are you crazy!”

Suho yelled, repeatedly smacking and pinching Lay everywhere he could.

“Ow ow ow! Suho hyung, stop!” Lay pleaded as he got out of his chair and started running around the office. “It’s not my fault Tao felt it when he saw Kris! It’s Fate!”

Suho stopped his arm from coming in full contact with Lay’s shoulder, leaving it hanging midair before putting it back to his side slowly as his mind twisted and turned, trying to think of a way to fix this messy situation.

Suho was happy Tao had gotten his indication.

He really was.

The only problem was that Kris couldn’t be the one.

Because he was engaged.

 

∞

 

“Engaged?” Tao asked to the two older men in the living room, who was looking at him like they had come to tell him that his cat had died. Not that he’s ever had a cat but he imagined that this was how it usually went down.

Suho nodded with guilt written all over his face. “I’m sorry. This goes against everything our house sets to do but I just don’t know how to make it work with you and Kris.” Suho glared at Lay.

“What? I didn’t know Kris was engaged!” Lay defended himself. “Fine. I admit I had the intention of getting Kris and Tao together. I mean, Fate was basically pushing me to do so. They’re so different like yin and yang and I thought it was perfect.”

Suho sighed and turned back to Tao with an apologetic smile. “I want to help you but… I don’t know if I’m ready to ruin my friend’s engagement to do so.”

Tao frowned. “What?” Tao said in disbelief. “You said you’d help me. So what? Kris gets to live happily ever after and I have to die in two years?”

“That’s not—”

“That’s exactly what you’re saying,” Tao said bitterly, clenching his fists in his lap.

Lay placed a hand on Tao’s shoulder. “If Suho hyung won’t help, I’ll help. I’m the one who made this mess so I’ll do what I can.”

Tao relaxed his shoulders and nodded slightly to Lay, silently agreeing to his help. Lay smiled at Tao and tapped his shoulder lightly before letting go. Tao looked back at Suho who looked like a beaten up puppy with the way he was clutching on his right elbow with his left hand and a pout formed on his lips.

He couldn’t stay mad. “Sorry, Suho hyung.”

At the sound of the apology, Suho beamed and he reverted back to the smiling guy he was. Tao smiled softly at Suho before getting out of the plush sofa he was on. “So, are you going to tell me anything about Kris?”

Lay seemed taken aback by the question, which was strange since wasn’t it natural to be curious?

“Yah, Suho hyung. I think this is the first time he’s been interested in knowing someone,” Lay whispered, well, tried to whisper but Tao heard it anyway since Lay wasn’t quiet at all.

“I can hear you, Lay hyung,” Tao said, rolling his eyes before crossing his arms waiting for Lay to talk.

Suho laughed and took a seat, waiting for Lay to talk as well.

“Okay uh, Kris is… Kris. He’s… Suho hyung, please help me. This is your area of expertise, not mine,” Lay said, obviously unsure of how to tell Tao who Kris was.

Suho sighed before getting off the couch. “I guess introducing Kris isn’t a bad thing.” Suho nodded to himself. “Kris’ full name is Kris Wu. He’s twenty-one. He comes from a family of five with two older brothers. His father runs a trading business and Kris is currently managing one of their branches in Seoul. His—”

“Wu? As in Wu International Corporation? Korea’s leading import and export company? That Wu?” Tao asked, unsure of whether he was feeling excited or panicked. If it was that Wu, this would mean that he could have a connection to a leading business before he even graduated university. Tao’s head was connecting the dots. Maybe Fate wasn’t such an if it was giving him such a great business connection.

But then, everything came to a screeching halt because Kris was what Fate had decided on for him and if he didn’t get Kris to fall in love with him, he’ll go kapoosh before he even got a chance to touch the gold mine that was the Wu Corporation.

Business and pleasure were not to be mixed. Anyone with a good brain in their head knew that.

“Yeah, that Wu,” Lay chimed in.

Suho nodded. “As I was saying…”

Tao’s head seemed to block out everything else Suho had said about Kris Wu because all Tao heard in his head was the echoing sounds of ‘Wu International Corporation’.

“Let me work there,” Tao said, cutting off Suho in the middle of his summarized biography of Kris Wu’s life. He was met with puzzled stares. “Let me work in Wu Corp. Even if it’s just as an errand boy or something.”

Suho slightly frowned. “But why?”

Tao his lips before talking. “Fate’s decided that Kris is the one or whatever for me, right?” Suho and Lay nodded. “Well, what if the one doesn’t necessarily mean the love of my life? What if Kris Wu is just someone that I’m supposed to… admire for his work or something? Admiration is a form of love too, isn’t it?”

Yes! That’s what it was! There was no way he could have those kind of feelings for a man he just met. Fate was so sly. Here he was panicking over nothing!

Tao smiled to himself, glad he was able to decipher what Fate had intended for him when it led him to Kris. Fate was helping him get a job. Tao gladly subtracted one point from Fate.

“Well… that is possible,” Suho said slowly, looking like he was studying Tao’s words carefully. “I’ve never encountered a Fate encounter that’s purely of admiration before, but I guess Fate works in strange ways.”

Tao nodded quickly, glad Suho saw possibility in his reasoning and turned to Lay, who looked like he just ate a bad piece of cheese.

“Well, whatever you want, kid but I don’t think Fate would create all this commotion just so you can get into Wu Corp.” Lay said, surprising Tao with his ability to see through him.

“I-I wasn’t—”

“Don’t deny it. Your eyes were glittering when you found out he was an heir to a big business,” said Lay before sighing audibly. “I just hope you understand that admiration can only last for so long before it turns into something else.”

 

∞

 

I can do this. It’s just like every other job.

Tao gulped as the nervousness he’d successfully suppressed for the past few days came back with full force. The Wu’s business was no joke, as evident by the large building Tao was standing in front of.

Suho had managed to ask Kris to take in Tao as an attachment student for better knowledge of how companies worked since Tao was going to be an Economics major come January. Tao took in a breath of the slightly chilly October air before exhaling and made his way towards the entrance, seeing a woman at the information desk as he entered.

“I’m Huang Zitao. I’m supposed to—”

“Ah, the attachment student,” the pretty brunette said with a smile as she got out of her seat. “Come with me. I’ll show you to Mr. Wu’s office.”

Getting into an elevator, Tao tried to remember what he had planned to say as an introduction of himself to someone as important as Kris Wu. Despite the whole Providence situation, all Tao could think of was making a good impression.

“I’m quite surprised,” the brunette lady said, stopping Tao’s thoughts. “We usually don’t get students who get to work directly with Mr. Wu. You must be special.”

Tao smiled awkwardly at the lady. “I guess.”

The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor and the lady took Tao to a man who was sitting behind a desk that was near a room with large wooden doors.

“Is this the student?” the man asked, eyeing Tao up and down rudely, making Tao grimace a little. The lady nodded and the man sent her back down before getting out of his seat and standing in front of Tao. He was slightly shorter than Tao but his presence was quite intimidating.

“Sorry for being rude. You just look familiar,” the man said, smiling slightly. “I’m Junho. Mr. Wu’s secretary.” He extended his hand for a handshake and Tao took it.

“Huang Zitao. People usually just call me Tao.”

Junho gave Tao a small smile before turning around, asking Tao to follow him and knocking on what Tao assumed were the doors to Kris Wu’s office. They both went inside after a short sequence of knocks and Tao was glad he didn’t get that weird feeling he had when he saw Kris’ face back at Fate’s House the moment he stepped into the office.

 

∞

 

This deal was driving Kris crazy. He really prided himself in being able to deal with various aspects of his family’s business, but this was too much for him to think through on his own. His two older brothers were both dealing with their own crises in their own branches and his father was having his billionth honeymoon-anniversary-thing with his mother. He was glad they were still madly in love after years of marriage, but a whole three-month trip was not necessary, not now anyway.

He really didn’t understand what his father was doing, and he also didn’t understand what he was doing. He loved his job but he really loathed having to read through contracts to make sure it was legit and not a scam.

A few knocks on his door stopped him short of finishing a wordy sentence in the contract he was reading and he was really happy for a distraction at that point because damn, he was getting wrinkles on his forehead and he wasn’t even thirty yet.

The door opened revealing his secretary, Junho and a young man with dark hair and an even darker expression on his face.

“Mr. Wu, this is Huang Zitao. He’s the attachment student you asked for,” Junho explained.

“Ah! You’re Suho’s favour. It’s nice to meet you. Come and sit down,” Kris said, giving his most sincere smile to the guy. As the young boy took a seat, Kris used his business-trained eyes to study him.

He was tall and lean with his dark hair nicely done to match with the suit he was wearing and eyes that Kris could only describe as killer because they were scary but it suited the boy quite well. Kris could tell the kid was serious about being here from those eyes, which was surprising since most students who decide to take a few weeks in the company were usually there because their parents forced them to, but not his kid. He looked serious, like a man on a mission.

“So, Zitao…”

“You can just call me Tao, Mr. Wu,” the boy said with a straight face, surprising Kris with how formal and professional he sounded despite just graduating high school.

“Tao then. Usually students don’t get to see how I work, so you’re very lucky,” Kris explained, mostly joking.

“I understand that quite well. I’m really grateful for this opportunity and I appreciate you allowing me to work close by you,” Tao replied stiffly, as if he memorized what to say which made Kris’ attempt at a joke fall flat.

Oh, this is going to be a long three weeks.

Kris inwardly groaned to himself at Tao’s serious nature, but had a polite smile stuck to his face. “Right. Well, do you understand what you’ll be doing here?”

Tao nodded once. “I’m supposed to be like your shadow. Just observing what you do and helping you with little things, right?”

Kris flashed a small smile Tao’s way and he could’ve sworn he saw Tao’s face flinch in surprise for a second as he turned his gaze away, but Kris’ eyes must’ve been playing tricks on him, or maybe he was just tired from reading the small text of the contract with ETX Trading.

An awkward silence filled the air and Kris straightened his tie, trying to think of what else he could talk about with such a conversationalist of a kid.

“Oh,” Tao (somewhat) exclaimed, catching Kris’ attention, “Is this the contract with ETX Trading?”

Kris stared at the contract on the table and leaned over from the armchair he was on to pick it up. “Yes it is. Would you like to read the first few pages? I know it’s a little bor—”

“I can read it? You’re serious?” Tao asked, excitement obvious in his voice and from how his face lit up, making his eyes a little less killer.

Kris blinked for a little at the sudden change in demeanor of the dark-haired boy, but smiled at Tao before extending his hand to pass the contract off.

He’s just a kid. He probably won’t understand the contract anyway but he’s quite cute when he’s excited.

Kris subconsciously smiled to himself as he watched Tao’s eyes literally gleam with happiness as he scanned through the words of the contract. He stared at the boy for a few minutes before realizing that he was, indeed, staring and went to his desk to check his phone. There was a message from his “fiancée”.

 

Sojin:

I emailed you some

invitation designs 8:28AM ✓

Have a look if you have time! 8:28AM ✓

 

Kris bit his bottom lip, thinking of a reply. Should he simply reply with an ‘okay’? They were engaged, so wasn’t a simple okay sort of cold? Should he give a smiley at the end of his text? Would Sojin find it weird?

Kris was also going crazy because of this random engagement. He had known Sojin since his childhood and although she was a kind girl with a great family, she just wasn’t his type but his eldest brother was adamant in getting him and her together for the sake of expanding the company. Kris closed his eyes, gripping his phone between his hands as he rested his elbows on his desk, getting a new wave of a headache.

Was this really okay? He had dated in the past but most of them used him for his money and the fact that he was a member of the Wu family. Truth be told, he was a little skeptical about love. He had thought he experienced it with his first girlfriend, but then she cheated on him and now his whole outlook on love was a little bleak to say the least.

“Um, excuse me, Mr. Wu,” Kris heard Tao say, making him open his eyes to face the young kid. The ‘um’ was a little misplaced when matched with Tao’s seriousness a few minutes ago but it was… cute. “I read the first few pages of the contract and there are some discrepancies with some of the terms. Like here,” Tao flipped to a page in the contract and passed it to Kris, “If you compare the tenth term with the…” Tao walked around the desk and flipped to another page as the contract was still in Kris’ hands, “with this one right here, it seems they’re making Wu International Corporation handle most of the costs although it says otherwise in the previous term.”

As Kris read and flipped back and forth between what Tao pointed out, he really felt like a complete amateur of a manager because a high school graduate spotted something so significant in a few minutes of reading the contract compared to him who had read the thing a little more times that he bothered to remember.

“That’s… really amazing, Tao. I didn’t even notice this. You’re really amazing!” Kris said enthusiastically, incredibly impressed with Tao’s analytical skills. “You aren’t even in university yet. You must be a genius.”

“T-thanks. If you’ll allow it, I’d really like to help you with your business with ETX Trading. I don’t have any qualifications but I wo—”

“Hired!” Kris exclaimed, thanking the heavens for allowing such a smart kid to descend onto earth. “You’re going to help me review this contract and everything else afterwards with ETX Trading. I think you’ll be a great help.”

Without even noticing it, Kris didn’t feel so crazy anymore.

 

∞

 

The whole of October and November was spent in piles of paperwork and endless phone calls but Tao was loving every minute of it. This was what he had planned for his life since he learned of the word ‘economy’.

The thrill of being able to analyze various factors in contracts and speaking to professionals in both Wu International Corporation and ETX Trading was like a dream come true for Tao. If it could be compared to anything, it was like being able to talk with your favourite celebrity for a few hours.

Tao was in heaven. This was his dream job and he was loving everything about it, except for one thing.

Kris Wu.

Kris Wu definitely lived up to his family’s reputation. Brilliant, smart, charming, handsome, oh the list could go on. He was a great guy and that was dangerous.

The past two months, Tao had ignored that weird feeling he got in his chest when Kris flashed a smile his way, he ignored that little belly flip he felt when Kris patted his back as a sign of his appreciation for helping him with his work, he ignored the heat he felt on his cheeks when he found himself thinking how gorgeous Kris’ haircut looked paired with Kris’ face, and the hardest thing he had to ignore was the bite he felt in his heart when Kris’ phone rang because he knew that Kris was engaged and with an engagement came a fiancée.

He had managed to ignore all that and still manage to get his work perfect. He was definitely amazing.

“Ahh~ finally done!” Kris said, stretching his arms above his head. “And it’s only 9.30. New record.”

Tao smiled at Kris, finally understanding that when Kris was like this, he wanted people to smile at him. It was weird but Kris was funny like that. Tao looked at the wall clock in Kris’ office and started gathering some of the papers on the coffee table where they were working before.

“Going home?” Kris asked and Tao nodded, focusing on placing papers into a folder. “Aren’t you hungry? Let’s have dinner. My treat.”

Tao froze, papers still in one hand with a folder in the other. Dinner? Just him and Kris? Woah, woah, hold it there. This was okay, right? They were sort of co-workers so having dinner is normal. It’s not like a date. Definitely not a date.

“Tao?” Kris said, bringing Tao back from panicland.

“Uh, Mr. Wu—”

“I told you. Just call me Kris. I’m not an old man.”

“K-Kris then. Uh, shouldn’t you get back to…” Tao trailed off. He wasn’t sure what was going on. He told himself he wasn’t going to be in love with Kris Wu. He was a guy, for god’s sake, but then why, why oh why, was he getting so flustered and getting greedy because he just couldn’t finish his sentence. Shouldn’t you get back to your fiancée? was what he should’ve said but instead he agreed to the dinner with Kris.

 

∞

 

Kris didn’t know why he did it. He was sitting across the table from Tao, who seemed to look really cute right now. Was it the restaurant lighting? Was it just fatigue? Kris didn’t know.

But what he did know was that when Tao nodded to his question of going home, all Kris could think of was how to keep Tao around a little longer for the night. For the past two months, Kris had come to understand Tao a little bit at a time and it made him happy that he had Tao around in the company because Tao was smart, hardworking, cute and damn, the list could go on. He noticed how Tao pouted when he read something difficult in a document, he noticed how much Tao resembled a cat when he smiled at something, he noticed a lot of things that he shouldn’t have because he also noticed how much he sounded like a lovestruck teenager having his first crush and it was bugging him. A lot.

Kris felt like asking a truck driver to run him over because he really needed to get back to reality. He was an engaged man. He even chose goddamn invitation designs already! So why was this dark-haired, serious, currently-biting-his-lower-lip-as-he-read-the-menu boy constantly on his mind?

“What are you ordering?” Tao asked, snapping Kris back to the now.

“Uh…” Kris mumbled, quickly going through the list of food and drinks on the menu. It was a simple restaurant but it wasn’t a cheap little shack either, although the waitress was tapping her foot very unprofessionally at Kris.

After placing their orders with the very annoyed waitress, an awkward silence settled between Kris and Tao. Tao was usually silent but it was never as uncomfortable as the current situation.

“Thank you,” Tao murmured, ending the awkwardness. Kris cocked an eyebrow at him. “For the dinner.”

“Oh, no problem,” Kris said, smiling at Tao who was now just staring at the surface of the table. “So…”

Wow, Kris. Add fuel to the awkward fire, why don’t you?

“So…” Tao echoed.

“Um, how come you live with Suho and Lay?” Kris asked at a spur of the moment.

“Oh, I didn’t have a place to stay and I just sort of met them so they let me stay in one of the rooms at their house,” Tao explained.

“Where were you before you moved to their house?”

“I lived in Jeju before,”

“Oh, with your parents?”

“Well… not parents… I… I was in an orphanage,” Tao said.

Before Kris could say anything, their food came and the conversation went to a halt.

 

∞

 

“That was a good dinner,” Tao said as he and Kris walked out of the restaurant.

“Yeah. Not bad for a place with rude waitresses,” Kris joked, making Tao let out an amused sigh.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then. Thank you for dinner again. Goodn—”

“I’ll walk you back,” Kris interrupted, making Tao’s eyes widen before he composed himself.

“You don’t have to. It’s not that far from here,” Tao said, hoping Kris would just leave because he really didn’t want to walk in an awkward atmosphere. Plus, he also didn’t want to answer Kris if he asked about what he said about living in an orphanage.

Tao didn’t know why he told Kris. When people asked him about his family or past, he’d usually say something vague and move on to a new topic, not that he had such conversations many times but with Kris, he felt like he had to be honest. So, he came clean and he didn’t feel scared or worried about what Kris would think, which was surprising.

“I wanted to take a walk anyway. My legs are feeling stiff after sitting at a desk for so long,” Kris said. Tao couldn’t just say ‘I don’t want you to’, it was very rude especially when you want to make a good impression with someone so important but Tao really wished Kris was a stereotypical rich man who had his own chauffer following him everywhere at that point.

“Alright then,” Tao agreed and they began walking down the street towards the direction of Fate’s House.

There wasn’t much to see around them. Just pavement and trees with some burst of wind here and there, so there wasn’t anything really to talk about and that made Tao more nervous. What if Kris suddenly—

“So, you… lived in an orphanage?” Kris asked.

Right on cue.

“Yeah,” Tao said simply, hoping Kris got the clue that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“I see… How was it like?” Kris asked, furthering the conversation making Tao clench his jaw.

“Like an orphanage. Lots of kids and stuff,” Tao said dismissively.

“Sorry,” Kris said, making Tao take a sidelong glance at him. “You don’t want to talk about it?”

Tao slackened his jaw. “Not really. I don’t want you to pity the poor little orphan boy, you know.”

Tao meant it as a joke but it sounded more sour than he intended and he mentally grimaced at how angry he sounded. He had always resented people who pitied him, thinking that he needed to be given things for free without having to work hard. It was annoying and unfair.

“What’s there to pity? You’re smart, good-looking and hard working. I don’t really see anything to make me pity you…Tao?” Kris explained, drifting off his explanation when he noticed Tao stopped walking and was a few feet behind him.

Tao stared at his feet for a while, letting Kris’ words sink into him. No one had ever said something like that. Tao wasn’t getting all sentimental but it was nice to hear. It was really nice to hear something that wasn’t along the lines of ‘I’m sorry you don’t have parents’, ‘I’m sorry no one wanted you from the orphanage’, ‘It must’ve been hard on you growing up,’ because it didn’t bother him that he didn’t have parents, it didn’t bother him that no one wanted him from the orphanage and it sure as hell didn’t bother him that he had to work slightly harder than the rest to live his life but what did bother him was the fact that no one could see what he accomplished behind all that. He graduated high school at the top of his class, but all people said to him was ‘it must’ve been hard on you all this time.’ Not a word of congratulations, no compliments, just another pitiful remark.

“Tao? Are you okay?” Kris said, about a meter in front of Tao now, snapping him out of his trip down memory lane. “Are you okay? Feeling sick or something?” Kris took a few steps forward, leaving a slight gap between him and Tao before placing his palm on Tao’s forehead.

The slight contact made Tao remember that feeling he had the first time he saw Kris’ face. The lightness, the happy buzz, just everything and seeing Kris face at such a close proximity was making all his logic go out of the window and he did something that he would kill himself for the next morning, if his mind was going right.

But it wasn’t.

 

∞

 

Tao was hugging him. The serious and quiet Tao was hugging him like he was some cuddly teddy bear. Kris tried to ignore the little tickle he felt on his jaw from where Tao’s dark locks were softly grazing him, he tried to ignore the nice apple fresh scent of Tao’s shampoo because his head was that close to him and he also tried very hard to ignore the fact that his chest was pounding so hard that Tao must be hearing it and thinking that he was a complete ert.

“Uh… Ta—”

“Say ‘congratulations’,” Tao said.

“Sorry?” Kris asked, getting more confused by the minute.

“Please?” Tao said, in a tone of voice that was making Kris’ skin tingle because Tao’s pleading voice was so… soft and nice and stop, Kris.

“Congratulations?” Kris said, not really sure what he was congratulating Tao for but he really wasn’t sure of anything at that moment.

“Thank you… for saying nice things,” Tao said and Kris could feel him tighten his hold around him before finally releasing his use as a teddy bear. “Sorry… for hugging you like that. I’m okay now. Let’s go.”

Kris stayed rooted at the place he was standing, staring at where Tao was standing before he walked off. Kris was wondering what just happened. Was it some figment of his imagination? Because he was sure Tao smiled at him before walking off. He smiled. Not just his usual side smile, but an actual full smile that reached his eyes.

“Mr. Wu! If you’re not going to walk anymore, I’ll be leaving now,” Kris heard Tao yell out forcing him to stop replaying Tao’s smile before turning around just in time to see Tao bowing to him and walking away, leaving him unmoving, unblinking and... alone.

“It’s Kris,” he said to the essence Tao left in his trail. “Not Mr. Wu.”

 

∞

 

It had been two weeks since Tao lost his mind and hugged Kris Wu in the middle of the street on the way back to Fate’s House and since then, Tao had killed himself in his head a total of two hundred and nineteen times. He kept count.

He was tense if he had to describe how he was feeling because even though he decided to pretend that he didn’t hug a twenty-one year old man because he was happy that time, just one little moment of eye contact with Kris was enough to send his heart in overdrive.

Yes, he decided to act like nothing happened the next day he reported for work. As soon as he saw Kris literally jumping out of his chair when Tao went into his office, Tao knew he had to be the cool one in the situation. So he bowed and said good morning, pretending that his stomach wasn’t in nervous knots for the past two weeks.

“How’s your section going? Anything important?” Kris asked, eyeing the pieces of paper in Tao’s hands. They were sitting on the sofa near the coffee table in Kris’ office, analyzing the finalized contract between Wu Corp. and ETX Trading.

“No. Everything seems to be in order, but check it anyway. I might’ve missed something,” Tao responded.

“That’s okay. I’m sure you didn’t miss anything. Then… I guess that’s it! Wow, we actually finished faster than I had hoped,” Kris said, a content smile decorating his face. Tao pressed his lips into a thin line to suppress an oncoming smile. Ever since that hugging incident, Tao had been feeling a little more… smiley than he had wanted. Every time he saw Kris smile, every time he saw Kris’ blonde hair, every time he saw Kris twirling a pen in that blonde hair. Every single thing Kris did was making him smile like an idiot and it was really wearing him down to suppress it.

“Yeah, it’s great that we finished it quickly,” Tao said, hoping to stop thinking about how nice Kris looked when he was happy.

Kris smiled. “Sorry to keep you around longer than your attachment duration, Tao.”

Tao shook his head. “It’s fine. I really like working here.”

“That’s good,” Kris said, pausing for a second. “Do you want a job here after you graduate university?”

Tao turned to face Kris, straightening himself because he was surprised. “A job? Here?” Kris nodded. “T-that…”

Tao was happy. Really happy, but… something didn’t feel right. What was wrong? Wasn’t this his goal? To get a good connection into this industry? So why was he feeling strange? Why was he feeling like it wasn’t enough?

A knock on the door stopped the conversation and Tao’s contemplation. Junho walked in and a beautiful redhead was next to him.

“Sojin!” Kris exclaimed, springing out of his seat.

Tao looked back and forth between Kris and the redhead before making the connection. He stood up quickly and bowed politely to the lady.

“Uh, Sojin, this is Tao. Tao, this is Sojin, my… my…” Kris said, looking at Sojin.

“I’m his fiancée,” Sojin said, smiling a bright and friendly smile to Tao. “You must be that high school graduate that’s been helping him out.” Tao nodded once. “Oh! It’s so nice to meet you! You’ve been a great help to Kris and I’m really grateful to you.” Sojin made her way towards Tao and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Tao felt uncomfortable under her kind gaze. “I-It’s nothing. It’s been a real privilege for me to work in such a big company.”

“Nonsense. Kris is lucky to have such an amazing person to help him with that deal with ETX. I hope you’ll continue working for Wu Corp. in the future. I’m sure you’ll be a great asset,” Sojin said, smiling sincerely at Tao.

“Sojin, what are you doing here?” Kris asked, a little coldly.

Sojin pouted. “Can’t I visit my fiancée at work? I just came by to show you the wedding invitations! They turned out perfect.”

Tao felt a little flick of discomfort at the words ‘wedding invitation’ but why would he feel such a thing? Kris wasn’t his and he didn’t want Kris like that… did he?

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Tao said with a bow. “It was nice to meet you.”

Tao quickly walked out of the office, ignoring Kris’ words asking him to just stay. He didn’t want to stay. He didn’t want to hear more wedding talk because it was hard. It was annoying and unfair but he couldn’t complain.

Tao rested the back of his head on Kris’ office doors, shutting his eyes to think of other things besides the fact that his chest felt tight because he wasn’t in love with Kris. It wasn’t like that. Definitely not.

“If you want to sulk, you should do it far away from me, kid,” Tao heard Junho said, forcing him to pull away from the doors.

“I wasn’t sulking,” Tao said, walking towards the elevator near Junho’s desk.

“Mhmm, sure you weren’t. You should go home. I think Sojin will be here for a while so there won’t be much for you to do,” Junho explained, not looking up from his computer screen. “Bye, kid.”

“Oh, bye then,” Tao said, going back to Fate’s House with a strange prick in the middle of his chest.

 

∞

 

“Wah, your red lines are getting darker by the second. What have you been doing?” Lay scolded, and Tao flinched at the mention of the red marks.

“I know, I know but it’s not like I can do anything about it. There’s no manual on how to get rid of this thing,” Tao complained, slouching into the armchair in the main living room of the house. Tao could see Lay shaking his head at him while crossing his arms even from the corner of his eye.

“You do remember that you could die, right? Just a friendly reminder.”

Tao rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he forgot. Kris was a constant reminder. Kris was destined for him or whatever but he was marrying Sojin, so shouldn’t Fate cut him some slack? Can’t it just be admiration? Did it have to be more to save his life?

“It’s been nearly four months, Tao. Your attachment will end soon since you’re going to university soon and so will your connection to Kris. Not to mention that we have to attend his wedding in a week’s time. You have to do something,” Lay explained, taking a seat in the chair close to Tao’s.

“What if I don’t do anything? What if I don’t want to?” Tao asked, feeling a little defeated by the situation. Kris and Sojin’s wedding was a week away. He had pushed the thought out of his mind but it was getting close and Tao already felt dead. Tao was surprised by the wedding invitation, mostly because he had never been invited to anything in his life but it was ironic that the first invitation to a party he’d ever gotten was for a wedding of the guy he was supposedly fated with.

“You don’t sound like the Tao I’ve come to know. What’s going on?” Lay asked, concern streaking his words.

Tao sighed. “Nothing. I’m going to walk for a bit.” Tao got up and started making his way to the kitchen to go to the backyard, when Lay’s words stopped him for a second.

“You fell for him, didn’t you?”

Tao didn’t say a word. He simply quickened his pace towards the backyard because he didn’t want to fall for Kris. He didn’t want a relationship. He just wanted to be alive and live the way he wanted without worrying about dying. He just wanted to go to the backyard and not think.

Did it have to be Kris? Kris was engaged to someone nice and perfect for him, so why was Fate being cruel and making him feel stuff he didn’t want? Despite the constant internal denial, Tao knew he was in love with Kris. Completely and unfairly in love.

“You sure have a funny way of setting people up,” Tao said, having a one-sided conversation with Fate. “Is it amusing? Seeing me like this? First, I have no parents, and now I’m supposed to watch my so called ‘fated one’ be with someone else? Are you trying to rub it in that I have no one in the world besides myself?”

Tao knew how he sounded. He sounded like those people he resented. Those people who pitied him and felt bad for him, but he finally saw it now.

He was indeed very pitiful.

 

∞

 

Something’s wrong here.

Is it my tie?

Is it this tux? But it looked good a few weeks ago.

Is it my hair?

Kris carefully touched his styled hair, trying to figure out what was out of place. He thought that marrying Sojin was okay. Sojin was pretty, kind and came from a good family so why was he having doubts? Love wasn’t important. Over time, he could fall in love with Sojin… right?

Kris paced around the waiting room reserved for the groom before his wedding was supposed to take place. Was he anxious because he might’ve forgotten something important for the wedding? Kris furrowed his brows, deeply thinking of what he was missing.

“You’ll get wrinkles before getting up on the altar frowning like that.”

Kris turned to where the voice was coming from and was happy to see Suho, Lay and Tao by the archway that connected the waiting room and the hallway leading towards the hotel lobby. He smiled at Suho who he had known since his high school days and bowed politely to Lay, before landing his eyes on Tao, who looked as serious as usual, although there seemed to be something else clouding his eyes.

“I’m glad you guys made it, despite the mean comment about wrinkles,” Kris joked, earning him a little amused sigh from Suho.

“You look good. That’s a nice suit, by the way. Is it Armani?” Lay asked, unashamed, earning him an elbow nudge from Suho.

“Gucci, actually,” Kris responded, his focus drifting towards Tao who had been silent for a while.

Kris could see Lay slightly nudging Tao, making Tao look up from his shoe-staring. Tao was looking great in a fitted black suit with a white and grey tie, and Kris could feel a little heat going to his cheeks because he just thought a boy looked great. An eighteen-year-old boy, for that matter. God, he really was a ert.

“Congratulations…” Tao said, reminding Kris of the time Tao asked him to congratulate him on the street. “…on the wedding.”

That stopped Kris from thinking. Thinking about the congratulations, thinking about the hug, thinking about Tao’s apple fresh scent. Thinking about such things were dangerous, especially on a day like today, so Kris pushed such thoughts away, just like how Tao pretended like nothing happened, Kris could also push thoughts out of his mind like it was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

So Kris smiled. Smiled and thanked Tao for his blessing because he wasn’t going to admit that Tao was the reason for his marriage doubts. He wasn’t going to admit that what was missing was Tao, even though he was right in front of him. He wasn’t going to admit that Tao was the reason his heart was whining and wavering because there was no way Tao felt the same way.

I’m just getting cold feet, that’s all. It’ll pass.

“We have to get going. Come on, Suho hyung,” Lay said hastily, practically pushing Suho out to the lobby. Kris was about to tell them to hang out a while but Lay had already probably pushed Suho far down the hallway, leaving him and Tao alone.

“You look good, Tao. I’m glad you came,” Kris said, trying to keep the awkwardness to the minimal possible level.

“Thanks. You must be really happy right now. Being it your wedding day and everything,” Tao said with a smile, although it seemed a little sad and not quite reaching his eyes.

“To be honest, I’m kind of worried,” Kris said honestly.

“Worried? Why?” Tao asked, walking around the room.

“Pre-wedding jitters, I think. Is Sojin the right one? Am I really doing the right thing? Just normal thoughts before a wedding, I guess,” Kris said, surprised at how honest he was being.

“Don’t you love her?”

Kris looked over to Tao who was staring at a vase of white flowers near the window of the room. Kris thought of what to say, all honesty waning away. The sound of ‘No, I don’t love her’ didn’t suit well with the current situation but somehow, he couldn’t lie. Not to Tao, anyway.

“Well, she’s a nice person,” Kris said lamely, mentally hitting himself for sounding like a wimp of a man.

Tao turned to him with a confused look on his face. “That’s… nevermind.” Tao sighed and turned back to the flowers.

Kris walked over to where Tao was standing. “That’s what? Tell me.”

Tao turned his head and looked at Kris’ face, making Kris regret the decision of standing so close because he could see how brown Tao’s eyes were from the sunlight seeping through the window. “That’s a little cold.”

Kris let out a chuckle. “I guess it is, but… I can’t say that I’m in love with her. I’ve known her for so long so I do think she’s important in my life but love isn’t something I should take so lightly.” Kris took a peek at Tao, expecting to see his straight face at his explanation but was surprised to see him frowning at the flowers as if they did something horrible to him. “I-I mean, I could fall in love with her over time. Love takes time, doesn’t it?” Kris let out an awkward laugh but Tao was still frowning at the flowers, the crease in his forehead deepening.

“So you’re saying that you’ll wait to fall in love with Sojin? If it’s like that, why are you marrying her?” Tao asked and Kris could sense the hostility he was emanating.

“That’s not—”

“So, you could just marry someone without any love? What happens if you don’t fall in love, then?” Tao asked, turning to face Kris, who was starting to feel quite nervous.

“I—”

“Will you give it up? If you found love somewhere else, would you run towards it and leave Sojin?” Tao asked, a few inches away from Kris’ face, making him step back to allow some breathing space.

“Where would I find love if not with Sojin? She’ll be my wife in a few hours, so I—”

“Me.”

Kris blinked for a few seconds. “S-Sorry?”

“What about me?” Tao asked.

Kris felt his mouth drying up and his stomach doing strange flips. “I don’t—”

“I’m sorry.”

Those were the last words Kris heard before he felt Tao tugging on his perfectly done tie and pulling him down for a chaste kiss that felt like a complete lifetime for Kris. The kiss was short and long at the same time, it was firm and gentle at the same time, it made his heart beat faster and slower at the same time if it even managed to do such a thing but all Kris could think was he wanted to have such a kiss over and over, day after day, year after year with the one giving it to him.

It was over too soon and Kris was met with a wide-eyed Tao who seemed to have stopped breathing, looking content before it quickly changed to a face filled with complete horror.

“I… I’m sorry,” Tao said, quickly separating himself from Kris before running out of the room.

Kris didn’t want the wedding anymore. He never wanted it. He wanted Tao, and Tao was running away. He had to chase after him, so why was he rooted to the ground like a tree? By the time he finally felt his legs again and managed to run to the lobby, Tao was nowhere to be seen and he was now crowded with family members, friends and work colleagues saying ‘congratulations’ to him, but he didn’t want to be congratulated because he didn’t have anyone worth congratulating over yet.

 

∞

 

“I can’t say that I’m in love with her. I’ve known her for so long so I do think she’s important in my life but love isn’t something I should take so lightly.”

What?

“I-I mean, I could fall in love with her over time. Love takes time, doesn’t it?”

Love takes time?

Tao could feel his chest clenching painfully at Kris’ words. He wasn’t angry with the fact that Kris was marrying Sojin without love. He was angry because how could he say something like this when he had already made up his mind to let him go and let him live a happy life with Sojin? It was cruel and unfair to say something that got his heart hoping again even though Kris didn’t know how he felt, so Tao let him have it. All his pent up frustration.

“So, you could just marry someone without any love? What happens if you don’t fall in love, then?” Tao asked, turning to face Kris, who looked like a burglar seeing the owner of the house he was robbing.

“I—”

“Will you give it up? If you found love somewhere else, would you run towards it and leave Sojin?” Tao asked, trying to read Kris’ face but he took a step back.

“Where would I find love if not with Sojin?”

You could find it with me. Can’t it be me?

Tao had never wanted something so much before. He had always been calculative over things. Only taking things that he needed and ignoring any want he felt for anything else but with Kris, he felt greedy and he wanted him. He was tired of denying it. He was in love with Kris and Kris was someone valuable to him. Kris was his solace. Someone who saw him for what he was, instead of a pitiful being. So he gave in to his greed.

“She’ll be my wife in a few hours, so I—”

“Me.”

“S-Sorry?”

“What about me?” Tao asked, feeling his confidence wavering from how shocked Kris looked.

“I don’t—”

Tao couldn’t hear the rejection so he took one last thing. “I’m sorry.”

He closed the gap between him and Kris before pulling on his silky tie to meet his lips halfway for a kiss. Tao was content. He was in complete bliss. His heart felt free and light, without a drop of anger and sadness in the world. All he could feel was how much Kris was someone he treasured and would continue to treasure even after he died.

He reluctantly pulled away, letting reality fill his head once again with the memories of wedding invitations, fiancées and the Providence condition. His contentment was short-lived. Tao pulled away and apologized, taking in Kris’ face one last time before running away.

He could feel his throat clogging up as he went outside. Tao felt like his heart had stopped beating and was turning into a black hole because the one relationship he wanted, the one relationship he found valuable couldn’t be his reality and it hurt. It hurt so much that he wished he could die earlier than the age of twenty.

Tao had walked a few meters away from the hotel before he finally let everything settle into every inch of his being and he let himself crumble to the ground and cry. He cried and cried, ignoring passersby who looked at him like a crazy person because he did feel crazy. He felt crazy and sad and he wished his body would just hurry up and completely turn into a black hole so it wouldn’t hurt anymore.

 

∞

 

It was a few hours after the wedding when Lay walked into Tao’s room to see him looking like a complete heartbroken zombie on the bed. A heartbroken zombie who didn’t have the red marks on his neck anymore.

Lay widened his eyes. “Yah! Did you and Kris—”

“No. It’s over. I can’t see him anymore. I’ll just die,” Tao said, throwing his blanket over him.

“Hey! Get out of there! Your red marks are gone!” Lay said, shaking Tao’s figure under the blanket.

Tao instantly got out of the covers, but his face was embedded with a scowl. “If this is your attempt at cheering my up, don’t. I don’t want to get my hopes up and die on my twentieth birthday.”

Lay clicked his tongue. “I don’t joke when it comes to the red, okay? It really is gone! What did you do?”

Lay stared at Tao for a while who was blinking rapidly at him before placing a tentative hand over the side of his neck where the two red marks were before they disappeared.

“You… You aren’t lying, right?” Tao asked. Lay shook his head. “No way. It’s… gone? I’m not going to die? But… me and Kris aren’t…”

Tao’s previous excitement over the news of his red marks disappearing changed into a look that was laced with complete melancholy. Lay felt bad for the kid. His first love just had to be so painful, but things like this had to be ridden out, so he kept his mouth shut about a certain runaway groom.

 

∞

 

It had been a few months since Tao had started university and everything was going great. His grades were top notch, he made a few friends, which was surprising and he even got asked out a few times but usually declined them.

He thought about Kris a little less but his heart still hurt whenever something reminded him of the blonde manager which were a lot of things. No one could compare to Kris, which was annoying for Tao because the tall, blonde-haired man was probably having a great time with his new wife.

Can’t believe I ruined four whole months of building a business connection with that stupid kiss.

Tao shook his head at the memory of it, feeling embarrassed for initiating something so intimate before walking out of the courtyard towards the gates of his university.

Despite forcing himself to not think of Kris, his heart was still calling out to the guy, wishing that he’d realize that he was in love with Tao too and came running to him, but those were the stuff of novels and this was reality.

“Congratulations.”

Tao looked around to where the voice was coming from and nearly dropped all the books in his arms that he just borrowed from the library because it wasn’t possible that Kris Wu was there, leaning near the gate of his university, out of his suit but still looking as dashing as ever.

“Y-You—”

Before Tao could even say anything, Kris had enveloped him in a tight hug that left his defenses in shambles. “I love you.”

Tao felt his heart literally skipping over and over in his chest with his stomach doing the same. “Married. You—”

“I ran away from my wedding so I’m not cheating on Sojin if that’s what you’re worried about. I really like your shampoo by the way. I think apples are my new favourite fruit,” Kris said, drifting away from the topic at hand. Tao pushed Kris away.

“Wha… I…” Tao tried to think of what to say but came up with a blank. Probably cause the sound of his beating chest was making it hard for his brain to process any vocabulary.

Kris smiled that charming smile again, before lifting Tao’s chin and placing a soft kiss on him. “Are you happy that I ran towards my love?”

Tao could feel his cheeks getting redder, both because of the kiss and because Kris was being cheesy. “No… shut up.”

“Wah. You’ve turned mean over the past few months I haven’t seen you but I still love you though,” Kris said.

“Ugh, stop. Stop talking,” Tao said, covering his ears because he really couldn’t handle the sudden over usage of the word ‘love’ being thrown at him. Kris laughed before pulling Tao’s hands away from his ears and getting close.

“Sorry I took so long,” Kris said in a whisper, making the side of Tao’s neck tingle.

Tao could only nod because damn, he was feeling so warm and his head was overheating. That was it. No other reason was making him weird.

Kris squinted his eyes to Tao. “You don’t have anything you want to say to me?”

Tao looked to the ground. “No. Why would I?” Tao had a lot of things he wanted to say and ask like what happened to the wedding? Where were you if you weren’t on a honeymoon? How can you just waltz into my life again like you were apart of it this whole time and I’m not even finding it remotely agitating? but he settled with something else, seeing how disappointed Kris looked with his answer.

“Actually…” Tao began, and he noticed Kris perking up. “I am glad you ran towards… towards…”

God, why was this so hard?

“It’ll always be you. I’ll always run to you,” Kris said, smiling the sweetest smile Tao had ever seen and he had to admit, Fate was cruel and unfair for letting him go through so much for this man, but he’d go through it a million times just to hear Kris repeat that he’ll always be the one.

 

∞

 

“Ugh, what a disaster,” Suho complained, the side of his head resting on his desk.

“Not that much of a disaster, hyung,” Lay responded, reading a file on one of their cases.

“Are you kidding? Kris almost ruined his branch after calling off the wedding and Sojin left Korea soon after. I swear, sometimes Fate is…” Suho said, taking a deep breath at the end. “But, I’m glad Tao and Kris managed to work things through.”

Lay nodded. “See? I knew they’d be perfect for each other.”

“Fate… got them together. Not you,” Suho said, getting his head off his desk and switching on his laptop.

Lay tsked at Suho. “Whatever, hyung. Anyway, we should focus on Chanyeol now.”

Suho groaned. “Really? It’s been so long though. Do you really—”

“Such a pessimist! You’re the one who always says believe in Fate,” Lay commented, throwing his file onto his desk.

“Yeah, I know but after the whole Kris thing… it makes me question Fate’s timing,” Suho said, shaking his head. “Guess I’ll just have to have a little faith this time. Okay…” Suho let out a quick breath of air. “Park Chanyeol.”

 

 

A/N:

Let's start with a SORRY! I am a horrible updater but I hope you like this fluffy but slightly angsty (? maybe, Idk) TaoRis chapter :) 

And all I have to say about this is: THANK THE HEAVENS FOR GIVING ME STRENGTH IN COMPLETING THIS CHAPTER. 

If you haven't noticed, this chapter is so super long. It's over 12,500 words T_T I almost died rereading and editing it so please reward me with comments! (Comment beggar D:) 

I really love Tao's character in this. Usually he's depicted as someone playful and babyish so I made him serious, but I'm not sure if I did it justice but whatever. I'm just happy I managed to finish this chapter this week because my last year of university is really intimidating O_O I might have to actually triple my efforts this year TT_TT 

Hope you guys stay tuned for the next chapter :)