“Hello?” Kai answered his phone, yawning. He was watching some boring movie with one eye. He had actually almost fallen asleep when the phone woke him up. He was exhausted after this strangest of all days. Turning back into his male self took more time than he had expected, and he had already been tired after giving a 200% into the performance. Taemin had already posted it online. He was afraid to check how it was doing. A part of him hoped that no one would watch it, and another part of him, perhaps the bigger part, hoped it would go viral.

“Oh, hello, is Kaya there?” the voice on the phone asked.

. It was that guy from today. Suho. Man, what a dork. Did he not know he was supposed to wait at least two days before calling so he wouldn't come across so desperate? That dude was hopeless.

“Hang on.” he said with the deepest voice he could muster. Then he took the phone from his ear, cleared his throat and greeted him again in an almost squeaky high voice.

“Hi, it's Suho. Remember me? I met you after your dance performance today. You gave me your number. I hope I'm not calling too late. I just couldn't wait to hear your voice again.” Suho's soft, polite voice was strangely comforting.

Kai attempted a fake giggle, but it came out all high pitched and weird, like someone was torturing a chicken.

“Ah, even your laughter is beautiful.” Suho said, it sounded like he was smiling. Was this guy for real? He had been planning on putting the poor guy out of his misery, but this was way too fun. He was so asking for it.

“Maybe I'm being too forward, but... would you go out with me?” Suho added a bit hesitantly.

“No way! Is it him???” Taemin barged in, jumping onto the sofa, practically sitting on his lap to try and hear what was going on in the phone call. Kai shook his legs a bit to signal to Taemin to get off him, but he clung to him like an octopus, bent on being the first one to get the scoop.

“Put it on speakerphone!” he grinned, poking him in the side ribs.

Against his better judgment, he did as he asked.

“Eheh... too soon? I promise it will be really good, I'm good at dates, I'm a complete gentleman, you will be treated like a princess. Just give me one date to show you what a catch I am.” Suho chuckled awkwardly, clearly unnerved by the fact that he still hadn't answered.

“Say yes! Say yes!!” Taemin whispered, not very successfully holding back a fit of laughter.

“Okay.” Kai sighed. Something deep down inside told him this wasn't such a good idea. Still, the whole situation was kind of funny, and strangely flattering.

“Wonderful!! Are you free tomorrow for dinner??”. He could feel Suho beaming at him through the phone. This guy was just way too eager. What a silly idiot. He had no idea that he had fallen flat on his face for a guy. This date was going to be a rude awakening. He was kind of curious to see his reaction.

“Okay.” he reluctantly agreed.

“Ah, you won't regret it! I look forward to seeing you tomorrow! Text me your address and I'll pick you up at 7.” Suho said excitedly. “Good night, my princess.” he added in a super cheesy tone and hung up. Ugh.

Who was that guy? He didn't know there still existed guys like that. The guys he usually dated were nothing like that. Nothing at all. Nobody did the chivalrous gentlemen act anymore. The gay scene in this city was all about fast hookups with hot boys, the hotter the better, sometimes not even exchanging names, and never staying for breakfast the next day. It wasn't really what he wanted, he kind of wanted a steady boyfriend that would be there to kiss him in the morning even though his breath stunk, pretending it was fresh as mint, but he had tried that once and his heart was still in pieces. It turned out he had not been the only one his boyfriend had been kissing in the morning. Or in the afternoon, or the evening. He sighed as a familiar spot in his heart seared as if a glowing hot arrow had been shot right through it.

“Oh my, what are you going to wear?!” Taemin burst into laughter, wiping the corners of his eyes on Kai's shoulder.

“What did I just agree to? This is all your fault!” Kai scrunched his nose, his insides squirming.

“Can I come along? I so wanna see his face when he realizes you're actually a guy!” Taemin cried with laughter.

Kai punched him in the upper arm, but he didn't use much strength. This was the most action his love life had gotten in way too long. A while back, sick of the string of hello and goodbyes, he had decided to focus solely on his studies, striving to be the best dancer he could possibly be. It wasn't easy to find love in a world that just wanted instant gratification. He had kept really busy so he wouldn't realize how lonely he was. But every so often, when he lay awake in his bed, the loneliness crashed over him like a big , cold wave.

“You have to help me get ready!” he told Taemin. A single butterfly fluttered around in his gut, clearly lost and having no idea what it was doing, just going around in circles. He ignored it.