Zhou Mi stood in front of the mirror as he dressed. He buttoned up his shirt, a baby blue dress shirt, and then messed his hair up a little. It wasn't like he was going to the office. It was just another night on the job and it wasn't like he needed to look good, really. He just needed to look the part. Dressing up was more for himself than for anyone else.

With one last glance in the mirror he grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out the door. The restaurant he was supposed to meet his client at was only a short subway ride away and he was already ahead of time. That was fine though. He liked to arrive first.

Nobody on the subway gave him any questioning looks. Sometimes he felt as though people knew what he did just by looking at him, but he knew he was being paranoid. A few girls may have looked him over but he paid no attention to them. Without sounding cocky, he knew he looked good. It was a part of what made him good at what he did.

He wasn't a e. Despite what his friends liked to try to tell him. No, that wasn't his job and he made a specific policy of not dating or sleeping with his clients. He didn't sell his body. He didn't even sell himself. He simply offered his presence to strangers who needed somebody to get rid of an unwanted boyfriend or girlfriend.

Most of his clients were men trying to get rid of troublesome girlfriends. Hardly any of them were actually gay, but pretending they were was a sure fire way to end the relationship without too many questions. He got a few female clients, but they were a rarity.

Should he feel bad? Maybe. His job was to make it look like somebody's lover was dating somebody else and he knew that cheating hurt more than just breaking up. Mostly, he just tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about the fact that he may be ruining somebody's life by just doing his job. If he thought about it, he might regret it.

So instead he shut down his emotions and went through the needed acts. He met his client at a restaurant he was familiar with, waited for their lover to show up, and then watched them fight it out. He didn't have to do anything more than hold their hand and make goo-goo eyes. Occasionally the girl wouldn't believe that her boyfriend was gay, and a quick peck on the lips was needed to convince them, but he didn't mind. A kiss was a kiss. He kissed his friends, it wasn't a big deal. Though some of the guys that hired him hated it.

He approached the hostess after searching for the client he was supposed to meet, Sungmin. Heechul had faxed him a picture earlier so that he knew who he was looking for. Heechul was Zhou Mi's boss, handler, whatever you wanted to call it. Simply put, Heechul called Zhou Mi with potential clients and Zhou Mi always accepted. It was an odd little business he ran, but Heechul enjoyed it. There was something about knowing he was destroying people's relationships that brought the man some twisted pleasure. Zhou Mi figured it had something to do with his own dysfunctional relationship with his boyfriend.

After checking that their table was ready Zhou Mi waited by the door for Sungmin to arrive. When he saw the man walk in and look around searching for him he approached him.

"Sungmin?" Zhou Mi asked.

The man turned to him and gave him a half nod.

"You must be Zhou Mi."

Zhou Mi simply nodded.

"I just checked and our table is ready," Zhou Mi said and headed towards the hostess again with Sungmin awkwardly shuffling behind him.

Zhou Mi pulled out Sungmin's chair for him which only made him more awkward.

"You don't have to act like that when she's not here, you know," Sungmin said, hiding his eyes in his menu.

"I want to. Besides, you are paying me to act like your boyfriend," Zhou Mi explained, casually crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair.

He was good at this. It wasn't something he would easily admit to, but he was. He was at ease going on dates with strangers while they usually squirmed in their seats. It paid being good at it too. Heechul knew that there was hardly ever any issues with him and so he referred most of the calls he got to him.

Neither of them said anything as they looked over the menus. Zhou Mi knew better than to try and start small talk. If Sungmin wanted to talk, he would. Some of his clients preferred not to say a word. To pretend as though they weren't pretending to date another man. It often seemed too overwhelming for them to grasp and silence was their coping mechanism. Others didn't shut up and carried a one sided conversation, often ing about whomever it was that was supposed to show up within the next half hour. Zhou Mi usually just sat and listened then, not needing to say anything. It really was an easy job.

They were halfway through chewing on their appetizer when his girlfriend walked in. Zhou Mi could tell because he immediately saw Sungmin tense.

Zhou Mi watched as the girl approached them, words coming from that he didn't hear. When Sungmin stood, he did as well, moving closer. He stood with their shoulders brushing. Close, but not too close. When Sungmin let his hand fall to his side Zhou Mi picked it up, intertwining their fingers. Had Sungmin not been distracted by arguing with her he probably would have flipped on him.

Sungmin wasn't looking at him, but his girlfriend was. Her eyes kept glancing between their faces and then fell to their intertwined hands. There were words being exchanged, but Zhou Mi didn't bother to listen. If he did, he would be thinking about what he had done later that night. Thinking about what he had destroyed. Besides, he had learned long ago that all of these arguments were exactly the same.

When it was over she turned to leave, not bothering to look back. Zhou Mi let Sungmin's hand go and stepped away from him. As Sungmin came back to the present and turned to him Zhou Mi had already sat back down.

"Um, thank you, I guess," Sungmin said, scratching the back of his head as he stood beside the table.

"No problem. You can send the money to Heechul. Don't worry about the bill, I'll get it," Zhou Mi answered, taking another bite of his food as though nothing had just happened.

It was his standard procedure. None of them ever wanted to stay to finish dinner. As soon as the business was over, the night was over. Him paying for what they had ordered was his consolation for what had happened. It helped to ease his conscience.

Sungmin muttered another set of thanks before he grabbed his jacket and left, leaving Zhou Mi behind. Zhou Mi called their waiter over and asked for the bill. After he paid he headed back down to the subway.

On the way back he watched the people around him. It was getting late on a Friday night and he was surrounded by young couples going out together. It made him sad as he made his way home to an empty apartment after a fake date.

Zhou Mi didn't even remember the last time he went on a real date. It wasn't that he wasn't interested, just more like nobody wanted to date the guy that dated people for a living. Zhou Mi knew that it was unfair to ask someone to deal with something like that. He had long ago accepted that he was going to be alone.

That didn't mean he didn't get lonely at times and seeing happy couples around him didn't help.

He thought of the cup of tea and book that awaited him at home and sighed. It wasn't much, but he did enjoy it. His job was just a means of existence. He needed the money to survive and he didn't know if there was anything else he could do. He enjoyed the time he spent with his friends but right now he was waiting for something more exciting to happen in his life.