Jongin was sure he hadn’t heard Kyungsoo right. He’d been distracted, both by his hangover (an apologetic smile and a little of the charm he’d carefully cultivated over the years as a performer and the very sweet flight attendant was putty in his hands trying to find him a new seat so he didn’t have to listen to the shrieks of the bratty baby mama drama llama) and trying to keep his hands to himself ever since he sat down next to the cutest guy he’d ever seen, with his boot camp haircut and hipster glasses, dressed in obviously new jeans and a thick, soft-looking sweater.

                “I’m sorry, what did you say? My headache must be worse than I thought.” Jongin wanted to know what Kyungsoo actually said so he’d know how to respond without making a fool of himself.

                “Oh, I think you heard me right even if it was out of the blue. I asked you if you’d come stay with me in my hotel suite. It’s already paid for with the cheating ’s money so it wouldn’t cost you anything, and it’s going to go to waste on just me. You said you didn’t have a hotel room, and this way I’ll have a guide to the city if you don’t mind spending time with me. So, what do you say?”

                Jongin wasn’t sure he remembered how words worked. Here he was thinking he’d crash at the fleabag he usually stayed at when he went to Vegas, and instead he was offered the chance to spend all his time with the man of his dreams, when he never realized he even had one.

                Kyungsoo grinned at what must have been one conflicted expression on Jongin’s face. “We’re adults Jongin, not teenagers. I think we can handle sharing a room without clothes flying off. And in the event we can’t control ourselves, again adults and I brought condoms and lube in case I did have a “Vegas experience.”

                Finally, Jongin’s brain started working again and he managed to ask, “why would you do that? One-night stand I get, but why offer to share a hotel room with someone you just met?”

                “Do I really need a reason to offer a cute guy a place to stay? It’s not like I’m forcing you to at gunpoint, I’m just trying to be nice.” Kyungsoo turned away from Jongin then and stared out the window, and the dancer turned cowboy felt like a world-class . He hadn’t meant to upset him, he just wasn’t used to proposals from strangers that didn’t have ulterior motives, and despite Kyungsoo’s earlier comments about “Vegas experiences,” he seriously doubted the short man would ever have actually gone through with it. He didn’t seem the type. He was guessing Do Kyungsoo was more the “fiercely loyal, stab his own eyes out before cheating, cut a who touches his man” type and wondered how his ex or the intern managed to survive.

                “Hey Soo, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just surprised is all. Thank you for the kind offer, and if it’s still available I’d like to take you up on it. Seems like the perfect opportunity to get to know you better, if that’s okay?”

                “You want to get to know me?” Kyungsoo turned back around, disbelief written all over his face.

                “Why wouldn’t I? You seem like a sweet person, and that ex of yours was an idiot if he didn’t see that.”

                Kyungsoo snorted. “Suho only saw dollar signs. He wanted an in to my family and I was it.”

                “Why would you go for someone like that? That doesn’t seem to be your style at all.”

                Kyungsoo shrugged. “I hadn’t had a boyfriend since I was a full-time college student, and Suho was rather persistent. I’m not exactly the type of guy most guys go for, or maybe they just grew up and found wives and started families. I didn’t love him, but I didn’t want to be completely alone either.”

                “Or maybe you were looking in the wrong places. New York is supposed to have a sizable gay population.”

                “I wouldn’t know. My best friend drags me out from time to time, but he’s straight, and Suho only took me to business functions and upper-class soirees. Not too many gays in my living room or where I used to work.”

                “Used to work?”

                “I was a part-time translator where Baekhyun, that’s my best friend and roommate, and the work. It’s funny you mentioned you translate Japanese for your boss. That’s what I did, Japanese translation. It was mostly for something to do so I wouldn’t sit home or get dragged to straight bars and watch Baek try and usually fail to pick someone up. My main job was at a restaurant as sous chef. I quit to concentrate on finishing some extra college classes. My parents send money to keep me in the U.S. so I don’t embarrass them, and Suho gave me a generous allowance “to keep up appearances,” and he’d get a small estate outside the city after we married, probably to keep me from running into his sidepiece. I don’t even want to stay in New York. I’ve always hated it.”

                Jongin wondered what the hell kind of life Kyungsoo had, and if there was anything he could do to help. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way. Sure, the guy was cute, but there was something about him he couldn’t help but be drawn to. Maybe it was the vulnerability he sensed below the words, or the hesitation that told him Kyungsoo didn’t usually talk about himself, and felt honored to have that privilege to listen to him.

                “So where would you go and what would you do?”

                “Somewhere out West. I wanted to have a little farm, and design my own kinds of meals for people to make at home. Suho thought it was stupid, that we belonged in New York, and even Baekhyun doesn’t understand why I’d rather have dirt on my hands than mingle with the upper crust. I don’t like most people, and dealing with the rich and powerful is complicated and exhausting. I don’t think it was too much to ask, my own land with a huge garden and a few animals, maybe a good man to curl up with at night, dealing with a few people but mostly just being outside. You can’t do that in the city, but it’s what I’ve wanted since even before I was shipped off.”

                Jongin smiled, headache forgotten. “That sounds beautiful, and very peaceful. That’s the best part of Holland Ranch, being outside all day with just the brats. That’s the current bunch of two-year-olds I’m breaking, and they are the stubbornest group I’ve ever dealt with. Dance moms aren’t this bad. Then of course there are my own horses, Peaches, my mare who has a nearly suicidal love for trying to take on barbed wire fences and is always in the barn with the sick and injured with her chest sewn up from her latest escapade, and Cream, who is the sweetest, most patient gelding on earth and such a good boy.” He hesitated before going on. “There are a lot of empty buildings and parcels of land for sale around where I live. If you ever decide to resurrect your dream and want to come check them out… You said you weren’t a big fan of most people, and like I told you earlier there just aren’t that many. Most folks are older and mind their own business. Chanyeol can be pushy but he means well, and you only have to pinch the tops of his elf ears and tell him to knock it off and he’ll go away. Well, and there’s Tansy, the Hollands’ granddaughter, but she’s four and is usually at the ranch so isn’t much of a problem if you don’t like children.”

                Jongin’s heart skipped a beat when Kyungsoo merely answered, “maybe I will.”