It kept Yifan up at night, thinking about how vulnerable Shixun was to Mijoo’s duplicity and rapacity. Granted, he knew Shixun was gay and taken, but he was still haunted by her, by memories of their relationship. To be honest, no, it was hardly a relationship. It was an affair, and a hell lot of . And while the was great, the emotional turmoil and burden that came with being Mijoo’s side piece was not at all great. For so long he had held on to the false hope that she would leave her wife for him, because that was the hope that she was feeding him. In the end, she made her choice and it was not him. It was never going to be him. He felt cheated, but what right did he have to feel that way? He was the side piece after all. Why would she choose him over her lawfully wedded wife anyway? Why would anyone choose him? He dreamed of being in a loving, healthy, committed relationship with someone who truly loved him and whom he truly loved, but after what happened with Mijoo he was convinced that this ideal relationship really only existed in his dreams. At least, he was not worthy of it.

This was one of the rare nights that he got to spend in the comfort of his own bed, rather than at the studio with Chanyeol’s light snores in the background when neither of them could actually afford the time to sleep much. And yet, Yifan found that he could not sleep. He just could not. Too much was on his mind. He was exhausted, but restless and wakeful and anxious.

Sighing, he grabbed his phone off the nightstand and checked his notifications. There were still some clients he had to get back to. Baekhyun had sent some memes to the group chat. Yixing had not replied yet. Well, obviously, he would be sleeping soundly. Or at least Yifan hoped that he would be sleeping soundly and resting well. It would be nice if he had someone — cough, Yixing, cough — to cuddle with him right now and perhaps that would allow him to sleep better. But contrary to his words earlier that day, Yixing was not his to have, nor his to hold. And he probably was not the one on Yixing’s mind either. It was probably that friend of his, or somebody else. Not Yifan. And it felt wrong.

Sighing again, Yifan was prepared to put his phone down and try to get some shut-eye. The sun would be up soon and he figured it would not be a good idea to show up to a meeting with a client looking like a zombie. But he was lured further away from a peaceful slumber when new notifications popped up.

2 unread texts from: Mistress

Yifan felt chills run down his spine and clutched his blanket, pulling it closer to himself as he shivered in discomfort. He still had not changed her name in his contacts and he hated how that word just instantly brought back so many memories and he could not even stop his mind from replaying all of it, so vividly too.

He blinked at the ceiling in despair as he hesitated and wondered if he should even read her texts. His heart was pounding in his chest but it was filled with a poignant sense of dread. Should he do it? Should he not? His head was beginning to hurt and he was also starting to accept that tonight he was just not going to get any sleep. He was sickened by the thought of having to interact with her, and yet if he needed to protect Shixun from her, from someone who always seemed to be ten steps ahead of him…

He ended up opening the messages.

Mistress: Fanfan, it was nice seeing you the other day.
Mistress: By the way, how come I don’t recall you ever mentioning that good-looking cousin of yours while we were together?

. , , . He gulped and as expected, the nausea came back. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself, but could hardly feel its effects. He surprised himself when a rational thought came into his mind amidst all the mess: if Shixun had really become her target, why would she give him a hint about it? Why wouldn't she keep her motives concealed?

Yifan buried his face into a pillow. This must mean that she was up to something possibly worse than luring Shixun into her harem, but he had no idea what she was after, and no one could help him figure it out or resist her advances, for they usually took place before he even knew it. Oh goodness, what in the world was he going to do?

Eventually Yifan had to get out of bed and go to work. It was agony not just because he did not get much sleep but also because he wanted to keep texting Yixing yet at the same time he also dreaded opening the messenger apps as that meant he might have to deal with Mijoo’s messages, and he just was not ready. Luckily, he was able to survive the meetings and other work errands in the morning, thanks to Baekhyun showing up at the studio today and keeping spirits high. While Yifan was mixing some tracks in one room and Chanyeol was on the drum set in the next room, Baekhyun stayed stationed at the reception. They were not expecting any clients at the moment, at least not until the afternoon, so for now Baekhyun tidied the stationery and documents on the desk and fished out a delivery menu. “Fellas,” he said aloud delightfully. “We eating good today.”

Unexpectedly the doorbell rang and innocently, Baekhyun let in the lady at the door. She was dressed more like a businesswoman than a musician but hey, business was business.

Baekhyun exchanged a few words with her, and somehow she talked her way into a quick meeting with Yifan even though she did not have an appointment. Her luck, and Yifan’s misfortune.

Yifan stared blankly at her, then at the ever joyful Baekhyun, and then back at her again. The nauseous fee