Yixing was looking around certainly nervous, he must have guessed that this was a bad idea. It seemed that Queen Kim had heard them in the kitchen the last time, which is why she stopped him in the corridor the next day thanking him for his intentions with his son and incidentally "apologizing" for Junmyeon's behavior - although Yixing didn't have the slightest idea why she apologized. The Queen had suggested a list of places that according to her were the prince's favorites but he must have thought twice before taking the young man to one of those places. He had planned the perfect evening, or at least that's what he had thought… it seemed that every attempt was failing masterfully.

 

He had surprised Junmyeon in his office, it had not been very subtle of him to arrive in one of the cars that the Queen had left at his disposal since he ended up calling too much attention. He thought about buying flowers but for some reason he discarded that thought from his head, it just didn't seem like the right time and he also didn't know what the other's favorite flowers were. Details like those he considered were personal and not something that could be taken lightly, it might sound somewhat ridiculous but at least for Yixing the details were the ones that mattered, he felt a little bad for not having chosen the place of his appointment himself but he couldn't contain his enthusiasm to spend more time with the other prince. 

 

His surprise factor collapsed when all the staff kept watching each of his movements to the point that caught his attention in a not very pleasant way. The people around him, realizing who was walking through the halls, began to murmur and took out their phones to take pictures.

 

Junmyeon was in a very important meeting but was interrupted due to the scandal outside the room, the Chinese prince tried to apologize with a smile but he knew that the other was bothered. He didn't want to give more details and gossip to his viewers so he asked to be escorted to his office to avoid further interruptions. 

 

"Take him to my office, I'll be there in a few seconds."

 

Yixing tried to distract himself by glancing around the room. It was very spacious and had a bookcase, a desk and a couple of sofas, one of them seemed to be reclining so that it could become a kind of "bed" and wondered how many times the prince had ended up sleeping in his office without going home for the amount of work he did. The bookshelf shelves, like the study library inside the palace, had an immense amount of books, some of which were familiar to him. Junmyeon seemed to be a lover of literature with a varied taste because Yixing could distinguish from books of classical poetry to fantasy materials. 

 

He didn't want to be intrusive but even if the rest of the room was clean and tidy, Junmyeon's work table looked like a mess. A half-empty glass of coffee, documents of what appeared to be statistical analyzes and agreements, probably belonging to the projects under his responsibility. On one side he saw a board full of notes and post-its everywhere but there was something specific that caught his attention but before he could correct it he heard as the door of the office opened and Junmyeon entered with a frown on his face. Yixing probably shouldn't think about it but the other one looked adorable when he got upset, he could feel like his smile growing on his face when he saw the other's annoying expression because it was, to some extent adorable, like the one of a child about to do a tantrum but thinking about the attitude he had observed from his parents made him think that Junmyeon had never done such an action as a child.

 

"I don't want to sound rude but, what are you doing here?"

 

"I wanted to come to visit you."

 

"You chose a bad day."

 

"I'm sorry for causing such a stir but, I came with the intention of inviting you to a date." He tried his best smile by highlighting his dimples. He could tell how Junmyeon didn't expect those words to come out of his mouth when he saw the surprise on his face and how he tried to hide the blush on his cheeks. 

 

"Oh! ... Well, I ... I'm sorry. This is really a bad time." Junmyeon took hurried steps to his desk and continued to stir his own mess looking for a specific document. 

 

"I can wait."

 

"I don't really think you want to. I'm in a meeting with my main investors and I'm not sure if I will finish early."

 

Yixing watched as Junmyeon began to despair, so much that some of the documents fell to the ground only to annoy him more so he hastened to help him sort out a little. It was until they collected all the documents that Junmyeon sighed tiredly and the other noticed the obvious dark circles under his eyes.

 

"You should rest a little.Take a few minutes."

 

"How can you tell me that? We were in the middle of a very important meeting, I asked for a 15 minute break for you."

 

"I would like to feel flattered but I know it would bother you more."

 

"Don't think so highly of yourself. Maybe it was a good time for a recess, things are not working out as planned. I just don't understand what's wrong." he left some documents on the desk and approached the board removing some of the notes.

 

"Do you have problems with the budget?" Junmyeon turned quickly, watching the young Chinese examine some of the documents on his desk.

 

"I was observing some of your notes and I think the calculations are wrong, and seeing these forms I realize that there is indeed a mistake in them." 

 

"A mistake you say? I don't understand." Junmyeon snatched the documents from his hands and quickly scanned them. "The calculations are fine, each of the forms are in order with the corresponding acts."

 

"That's where the problem is. The acts must be exact, remember that every penny is important and with a project like this you should take many other things into consideration."

 

Junmyeon didn't want to admit it but maybe the young Chinese was right. He rushed to round some numbers and ran out of the office. Yixing internally regretted having helped so quickly, knowing that the korean would leave him alone he would have extended his explanation so that they could spend more time together, although if Junmyeon accepted his proposal things could change. 

 

The prince had not lied when he had mentioned his uncertainty about the duration of the meeting because when he least expected it the sun was setting and Yixing had appropriated the sofa in the office, he was a bit sleepy but returned in his senses when he heard the door close. He sat up just in time to see the astonishment on Junmyeon's face .

 

"I thought you were gone."

 

"And miss this sight again? No, thank you." That young Chinese smiled, even more when he watched as the other looked away to hide his slightly flushed cheeks. The young man did not lie, to be honest Junmyeon looked very attractive in his black suit and sapphire blue tie, colors that highlighted his clear skin tone. He had become accustomed to seeing him with a more casual outfit inside the palace but his work clothes were definitely made to measure and highlighted his best attributes such as the width of his shoulders, his thin waist and those pants made his - 

 

" Yixing !" Junmyeon felt nervous under the penetrating gaze of the other, cleared his throat to dissipate his discomfort a little.

 

"Of course, uhmm ... as I said before I wanted to invite you to a date but I think you had a very busy day."

 

If he had to be honest, he felt exhausted and all he wanted at the time was to take a shower and be able to lie on his bed, but he knew that Yixing had put part of his effort to plan something for the night, he was even dressed for the occasion with black dress pants and shoes of the same color, a button-down shirt with a black touch on the hem of the sleeves, a casual outfit and the young man did not want to disappoint him.

 

-"... Maybe a dinner doesn't sound like a bad idea."

 

"Are you sure?" Junmyeon could feel the enthusiasm in his voice which made him smile a little.

 

 

 

  ***

 

 

 

Despite the small inconvenience of the afternoon, Yixing had hoped that dinner would be a success, but a look at the prince's rigid and tense stance made him believe otherwise, although he should admit that he felt uncomfortable himself.

 

They were in one of Korea's most famous restaurants, not only for its elegance but also for the prestigious place. The Queen had told him it was her son's favorite restaurant but ... his instincts told him otherwise.

 

After what happened in the prince's office, the young Chinese believed that he had been forgiven, after all, he had been able to help him with the project budget to use in the meeting, the car trip had not turned out so badly. It had actually been pleasant to hear more about Junmyeon's  ideas, the projects he had in mind and how he wanted to show that despite being young, his ideas were what the Palace needed, not that he wanted to discredit traditions or culture itself , but he was aware that the world had changed and the Royal House could not be left behind, but it was once they arrived at the restaurant that silence again remained upon them. He did not doubt that the comments he heard about the establishment and the food were true, but the atmosphere that fell on them was ... deplorable.

 

Perhaps the tie he wore made him feel more suffocated and Junmyeon had a long day and knew that he worked from very early until late at night.

 

"Can I  ask you a question, just out of curiosity ... This is not your favorite restaurant, right?"  He could see how the prince looked away for a few seconds before taking a sip of wine from his glass.

 

"No, in fact it is my mother's favorite restaurant. "

 

Yixing sighed frustratedly, he should have known. His first instinct had been to ignore the queen's words. But ... She was the Queen after all, and he knew he couldn't afford to just ignore her.

 

He looked around, the rest of the diners with their elegant clothes, the dishes on his table that surely cost too much, the classical music of the guest Orchestra playing in the background was enough for the Chinese prince to make a decision. His gaze quickly turned to Junmyeon with a new glow.

 

" I have an idea. See you in the bathroom in 5 minutes." Without saying more, he got up from the table, Junmyeon observed that he had surely headed for the counter to pay for the food from which they did not taste a single bite. He felt very confused but was too tired to ask questions so after taking a look around, he also left the table.

 

He was trying to fix his hair and make sure he looked presentable when Yixing entered the bathroom.

 

"Damn it, this only complicates my plan."

 

"Plan?"

 

"I wanted to be dramatic and take your hand to escape through the window but ... these windows are smaller than I expected." The young man was right, the restaurant bathroom was elegant like the rest of the establishment and the windows were not strictly small but Junmyeon could assure that no person could go out there, since besides being small they were located on the upper side of the room. 

 

"Well, that only leaves us with another option." Without saying more he took Junmyeon's hand and guided him to the exit of the bathroom, the young man thought that such acclaimed "date" was about to end and that he would end up looking for some sandwich from the palace, he was sure the chefs had prepared enough food. However, instead of returning to the car Yixing took him from the back towards the kitchen, one of the waiters approached to tell them that the area was restricted but instead of obeying and turning around the young man ran away dragging Junmyeon with him. 

 

He did not know what was happening but  apologized to everyone who collided with them, they crossed the entire kitchen until they reached the back door, a pleasant breeze received them when they left the restaurant. He wanted to ask for an explanation about what had just happened but Yixing dragged him down out of the alley where they were in a hurry while a mischievous smile adorned his face. 

 

"Can you tell what you are doing?" Junmyeon refuted, stopping after running through the streets of Seoul dragged by the young Chinese.

 

"I'm taking you to our date."

 

"I thought that dinner was our date."

 

"No, that was the date your mother had planned for us and none was enjoying it. Listen, I wanted each one of our dates to be special were we would have a good time not being tense during the rest of the evening while you hate me internally for having obeyed your mother.

 

"... well I  ... I didn't expect that kind of answer. But why leave the restaurant that way? The bodyguards and the driver will not know where we are.-

 

"That's the point my dear Junmyeon . Please, do you really like to be followed all the time? Not having any privacy? .... Having every detail about our date report it to your parents?" That last certainly bothered him, after so many years he was tired of always being watched.  

 

"Let's say I understand that but, last time you said you didn't know anything about Korea and if your