For the sake of authenticity

During his terrible cold, Junmyeon knew he had started seeing Yixing with other eyes. Their differences in status and character were still there, but they didn’t seem to matter anymore. Nobody had taken care of him like Yixing had done, besides his mother. Giving him warm meals, accompanying him, asking if he was feeling well, having somebody that genuinely cared about him, that felt… Heartwarming. Yixing had helped, not because he had to, but because he had wanted to. Honestly, if it had been the other way around, Junmyeon probably wouldn’t have cared about checking on him. Maybe he would have given him the number to a doctor, but that was it.

Junmyeon had felt grateful too. He just hadn’t said it out loud because… That was not him. Either way, he knew that he needed to repay Yixing. He didn’t like being in debt to anyone, even if they had done it out of generosity. And the best way to compensate Yixing’s thoughtfulness had been to gift him the Alstroemerias, flowers that Yixing’s workers had said he had always wanted to have. Not that Junmyeon cared, he just remembered it from when he had tried to persuade Yixing at first.

Also, even if he had been reluctant, after tasting the chicken noodle soup, Junmyeon had reconsidered it. He ate the dish that Yixing had left for him that same day he had the flowers with him. Yixing’s cooking couldn’t be compared to the five-star chefs that used to prepare his meals, they had a fairly better taste. Was it the taste of a home-made dish? Junmyeon was unsure of it, but the food was great, only a little too salty.

The next day, Junmyeon had been surprised to find Yixing smiling, waiting for him with food at the table. Again, it felt… Comforting. For the past couple of days, they had eaten breakfast and dinner together. Oddly, hearing Yixing laugh and talking to him during the meals, made Junmyeon yet again aware of his previous loneliness. Back in those days, he had always eaten in quietness in this same dining room, or in his office. Junmyeon always suspected that was why Tao and Yifan frequently invited him over to their house, to make sure he wasn’t alone. Not that Junmyeon cared about being alone.

Right now, he and Yixing were eating dinner together. Tomorrow was Junmyeon’s birthday party. It wasn’t going to be a big celebration, only a brunch with his friends and family. They talked about that for a while, until the conversation shifted to a particular topic.

In the morning, Minseok had swung by Junmyeon’s office. They had discussed Junmyeon’s campaign. In the month that had passed since the engagement announcement, everything seemed to be progressing in a favorable direction. For the most part, the general public had been thrilled with Yixing and Junmyeon. They had found their match unusual yet endearing and exciting at the same time. People talked fascinatedly about the golden boy and the commoner. How did such an unlikely match work? Minseok had said some TV-networks had sent requests to make a reality show featuring them. It would have been a fantastic opportunity to gain even more exposure. After all, the campaign before the election was basically a popularity contest. All the chosen ones by the System had the intelligence and abilities to lead the country, there was no doubt about that. But before giving away their votes, the people thoroughly wanted to get to know who would lead them for the upcoming ten years. Too bad Minseok had to reject that idea (Junmyeon didn’t want to do it). Still, their June schedule was going to be packed with activities.

On the other hand, there were those who publicly or on the internet raised their doubts about the whole thing, not the System’s choice, but Junmyeon’s and Yixing’s true feelings. Being so different and mismatched, were they truly as happy and in love as they claimed? Most of the perfect matches were that, perfect, and complementary. Junmyeon and Yixing couldn’t possibly be that. And those disbelievers argued that in the few occasions Junmyeon and Yixing had been seen in public this past month (which strangely wasn’t a lot), they were never as affectionate as the other candidates with their partners. Their main proof being that Yixing and Junmyeon had never once kissed in public. Sure, they held hands, and they could be reserved, there was nothing wrong with that. Even so, gossip magazines should have found a way to one day get at least one picture. If celebrities went through that, so could they. That hadn’t happened, of course. Junmyeon had said they should just ignore it, they were entitled to have privacy. Minseok had thought so too at first.

Yet Minseok’s team had recently found out the new questions the skeptics were going to use in their argument. Why hadn’t Yixing and Junmyeon gone to the Marriage Bureau after turning eighteen or graduating college like most couples did? Why did they wait until becoming twenty-six, when most couples were already planning to start a family? And why had they gotten engaged after one-month of knowing each other? Was it a marriage of convenience? Were they trying to take the voters for fools?

Therefore the best way to diminish the initial doubts, and keep their mouths shut about the veracity of Yixing’s and Junmyeon’s relationship was just to give them that, a show of them kissing, them being more affectionate, declaring their love for one another and all that jazz. It was beneficial to make their relationship as real as possible now. So later, if it was needed, they could hopefully come up with an ingenious explanation why they had met this year and not before, and that excuse would be more convincing.

After hearing all that, Yixing dropped his chopsticks, frowning and opening his mouth while staring at Junmyeon. As expected, Yixing was just as unenthusiastic about the idea as Junmyeon had thought.

“What? No. We’re not doing that,” Yixing said.

For some reason, Junmyeon didn’t feel insulted by hearing Yixing’s defensive tone. He didn’t want to either. Honestly. No matter that Junmyeon had dreamed about kissing Yixing before… He just had to do it because it was required, for the sake of their ‘relationship,’ not because he secretly wished for it. Who would want to kiss Yixing? Certainly, not Junmyeon. Those dreams had meant nothing. Kissing Yixing would mean nothing. “Yixing, I just explained to you why it’s important. And it’s just kissing. It doesn’t mean anything,” he argued.

Yixing’s frown didn’t disappear. He crossed his arms and stared annoyedly in Junmyeon’s direction. “I don’t care about the reasons. A kiss means a lot.”

Junmyeon sighed, rolling his eyes. “Like what?”

“Well, for starters a kiss should be between true lovers. It should hold feeling and passion. And a first kiss, that-that should be memorable.” Suddenly, Yixing’s eyes lit up, and he stopped frowning. Instead, he dreamily said, “After a romantic date, we stand by the door. Our heartbeats are in sync, beating frantically. Our stomachs are full of butterflies. Our eyes meet in the quiet night. Hypnotized, we begin to lean in closer. So close that we breathe each other’s air. Slowly our eyes close…And then… Our lips touch. We kiss. And it’s magical.” Yixing closed his eyes and let out a sigh, smiling.

Did he just fantasied about kissing me? Junmyeon asked himself, raising an eyebrow while he stared at Yixing. He shook his head, deciding to ignore that threatening feeling of elation and smile that wanted to appear. Instead, he thought about how strange Yixing was. Everything he had just described sounded like something from the movies. Did people really feel that about kissing? It seemed silly. A kiss was just a kiss. In the past, Junmyeon had never kissed someone like that, he had only leaned in, and that was it. He had never felt any emotional connection to it, other than it was to a basic need. Then again, this was Yixing, Junmyeon had learned he was a ridiculous romantic. “It’s just lips touching, Yixing. I’m not asking you to sleep with me.” Now that last part was too much.

Yixing opened his eyes and scowled again. “You don’t get it, Junmyeon.”

He really didn’t. Yixing’s hesitation felt like matters from middle-school. “No. But you do know that when we get married, we’ll have to kiss in front of the guests.”

Yixing blinked in amazement as if he hadn’t realized that would happen. He averted his gaze from Junmyeon. “I guess that’s true.” Then he realized something else and added, “But that will only happen if Qian comes back!”

Junmyeon smirked. “Exactly.” He nodded. “And I am doing my best to find her. It just takes time. But Yixing, remember, you did accept to forge our ‘perfect, loving relationship.’ This is part of it, I’m afraid.”

Yixing gulped, his eyes widened. He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but no words were articulated. He had to know Junmyeon was right. And it was true, this was part of their deal, and Yixing had said he’ll follow it. In the end, Yixing subtly nodded, and quietly muttered in defeat, “Fine. But only when we have to.”

Junmyeon couldn’t have it any other way, it wasn’t as if he was eager to do it either. Really, he wasn’t! “Of course, like tomorrow during my birthday brunch.”

Yixing nodded. And now that the conversation was settled, they grabbed their eating utensil and retook their meal in silence. Each of them was trapped in their thoughts. After they finished eating, Yixing took care of putting away the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Junmyeon would have said goodbye there and gone to his room, but he had realized something else. Tomorrow, they couldn’t kiss for the first time. Most likely it was going to be awkward, and people would wonder why they looked so uncomfortable with each other. If they were a couple, shouldn’t they have kissed countless times before? They should at least get familiarized. Junmyeon sighed and facepalmed himself. “Yixing.”

“Yeah?” Yixing said. He turned around while he dried off his hands with a cloth.

“We have to do it now.”

“What?!” Yixing dropped the cloth. “You said tomorrow.”

“Yes. But think about it. How awkward wouldn’t that be? Don’t you think people are gonna realize that’s the first time we kiss? We should… Practice.”

Yixing stared at Junmyeon with perplexity, not uttering a word. Until his expression gradually changed, probably realizing the truth in Junmyeon’s word. Quietly, Yixing mumbled, ‘You can do this, Yixing,’ for himself. Obviously, he failed because Junmyeon could hear it. And Junmyeon fought to not let a laugh leave his lips. Why did Yixing look ado-, wait, what was he thinking?

“Okay. Just give me time to prepare myself,” Yixing nervously said, closing his eyes while blushing?

So, kisses were Yixing’s weak point? Junmyeon chuckled to himself, enjoying seeing Yixing wavering for the first time. At last, something Junmyeon could about. He had wanted to give Yixing time, but wasn’t it better to just get it over with? The sooner, the better for them. Carefully, he strode to stand in front of Yixing. Before Yixing realized his proximity, Junmyeon quickly leaned in.

Oh, my god, Junmyeon thought. Kissing Yixing was nothing like in his dreams. That was the most… Awkward kiss ever. It tasted like the black bean noodles they had just eaten. Junmyeon tried to put more emotion into it, but Yixing kept his lips sealed, unresponsive and not moving them one bit. It was creepy. And if someone had seen them like that tomorrow, then they would definitely suspect something was wrong with them. He withdrew from Yixing, who stared at him in shock, wide-eyed and with even redder cheeks.

When Yixing could talk again, he frowned and said, “What the hell was that?”

Junmyeon chortled. “My thoughts exactly. Have you ever kissed someone?”

“What? I told you to wait, you caught me off guard! How was I going to react?”

“Aren’t you a fan of unexpected things?”

“Not like this!”

Junmyeon held in his laugh. “Look, I apologize if I took away your first kiss or something, but we need to make it seem more real. Right now, I was basically kissing a statue.”

Yixing huffed, “You did not take my first kiss.”

“Really? Because that seemed-”

Damn, Junmyeon cursed inwards. Yixing had jumped forward, grabbed his cheeks and locked their lips. Instead of repeating the previous disaster, Junmyeon closed his eyes and began kissing him back. He raised his arms to hold Yixing’s waist, bringing him closer. Did he just feel a thud in his chest? It was intense, the way Yixing was kissing him, ravishing his mouth, pushing him against an unknown edge. And, unexpectedly, he liked having Yixing in control. Before Junmyeon knew it, though, it ended. They let go of each other. They panted against one another. Their eyes didn’t look away from each other. The thud in Junmyeon’s chest got louder and louder. Junmyeon’s cheeks felt slightly warm. For some reason, he wanted to lean in again, to bite Yixing’s plump lower lip, to show him he could kiss him just as well, maybe even better.

“I-I do know how to kiss,” Yixing said, breaking the silence.

Junmyeon nodded. Well, it seemed no one would question their relationship if they saw that. Junmyeon didn’t move, he only stared as Yixing wished him goodnight, and walked away. The unfamiliar thump in his heart was still there.