"Hey, Zhou Mi!" Kyuhyun waved at him from where he was standing in the corner. The lobby of the restaurant was packed with people and Zhou Mi had to squeeze his way in between them to get over to him.

He was greeted with a warm smile and a friendly hand on his shoulder from Kyuhyun. Zhou Mi felt his face heat up. Was he actually blushing from the simple action? How long had it been since he'd had a man he actually found attractive touch him, even in the most friendly of manners? Too long, he decided. Next night he had off he needed to get out.

"Hey," Zhou Mi mumbled back, though it was more to the floor than to Kyuhyun.

"They said that our table was almost ready. And they gave me one of these things," Kyuhyun said and held up the buzzer that the hostess had given him, puzzling over it.

"You don't get out much, do you? It goes off when..."

Before Zhou Mi could finish, though, the buzzer had gone off, lighting up in Kyuhyun's hands and making him jump. It was all Zhou Mi could do to contain his laughter to nothing more than a few chuckles.

"Our table is ready," Zhou Mi finished his thought.

Kyuhyun just grumbled, towing a giggling Zhou Mi behind him, as he pushed his way through the crowd to reach the hostess.

"It's not my fault, okay?" Kyuhyun whispered in Zhou Mi's ear as they were led to their table.

"I don't go out to eat unless it's for work and then the company always has a room reserved. I've just never seen one before!"

Zhou Mi was still laughing as they took their seat but he made note of Kyuhyun's words. So he worked at a company? That would explain why he had showed up for their first 'date' dressed in a business suit. Though, as he looked Kyuhyun over, he noticed that his dress was much more casual today: plain khaki's with a nice polo and sweater vest. He felt much more comfortable next to him in his own simple dress slacks and button down than he had the last time.

"So where do you work that you couldn't talk to me the other day?" Zhou Mi asked, the question rolling off his tongue with relative ease. He was surprised he wasn't more nervous talking to Kyuhyun. Though it was hard to be nervous when the man across from him had just been startled by a buzzer. It was as though the Kyuhyun that had answered the phone a few days ago was nothing like the Kyuhyun that sat across from him now.

"I work for a bank. I'm actually the vice president of the marketing department. It's nothing against you that I didn't take your call, it was just a particularly busy day and we are kind of dissuaded from taking personal calls while at the office," Kyuhyun explained and Zhou Mi thought it was almost an apology for why he hadn't been able to talk to him.

"Well, technically it had been a business call," Zhou Mi tried to joke with Kyuhyun, more to remind himself that this was not a date and that he was working. It didn't seem to work though as Kyuhyun simply took a sip of his water, masking a fake chuckle behind it.

An awkward silence fell around them after Zhou Mi's failed joke and he felt the need to fill it. Unlike last time, Kyuhyun didn't seem to feel the need to chatter away, which Zhou Mi thought he might actually prefer at that moment.

"So, um, how did somebody so young get the VP job anyway? You're like, what, twenty-two?" Zhou Mi asked, hoping to restart the conversation.

"Twenty-six, actually. My father is the CEO of the company. I basically got the job right out of school," Kyuhyun explained.

That had to be a lot of pressure, Zhou Mi thought. Kyuhyun had probably known since before high school exactly what he was going to do with his life whether he liked it or not. Zhou Mi couldn't even imagine dealing with something like that. His parents had always been supportive of whatever he wanted to do with his life. Though admittedly, they still thought he was pursuing a career as a singer in Korea. Telling them that he pretended to date men to get rid of their girlfriends wasn't exactly something he was planning on doing.

"It's all really boring, actually. What about you? How in the world did you end up doing...this?" Kyuhyun asked, albeit a bit cautiously.

Talking about his work wasn't exactly something Zhou Mi was overly comfortable with. His friends knew, sure, but he had been close to them for years. He didn't tell people what he did until he absolutely trusted them and even then they usually just laughed in his face. But Kyuhyun was different. He met him because of what he did, so he couldn't possibly find it that weird or else he wouldn't be sitting across from him for a second time.

"Well, I met Heechul when I first got to Korea and when he found out how pressed for cash I was he brought me into the business. My friends like to tease me that I am some sort of e," Zhou Mi explained while trying to make a joke out of the awkward topic.

Kyuhyun paused for bit before replying.

"I wouldn't say you're a e because you don't...you know. I'd say you're more of, more of an–an ."

Zhou Mi nodded in response. He liked that explanation. An . It fit what he did, for the most part. Except he served more than just to keep somebody company for the night.

"Heechul's a good guy, albeit a bit obnoxious at times. Don't you think?" Kyuhyun continued on and Zhou Mi couldn't help but snort at Kyuhyun's accurate description of him.

"I met him in college. I was a freshman, lost and just starting out, and he was a senior. A business major, of all things! Imagine that! I guess it worked out for him after all, though he obviously took a less traditional path of entrepreneurship. He helped me through a lot, kind of took me under his wing, you know?" Kyuhyun rambled on.

Zhou Mi had honestly never taken much time to get to know Heechul. Sure, he knew his mannerisms, but his past? He had just never bothered but the way Kyuhyun spoke of him made him think that, behind all the jokes and insults, was a man who actually cared.

They ate their food in silence for a little before Kyuhyun broke it again.

"Hey, Zhou Mi, can I ask you something?"

Zhou Mi simply nodded his head, letting him know that was fine as he finished chewing.

"Do you normally date guys?"

Zhou Mi sat for a moment as he thought best how to answer that. It wasn't that he usually minded telling people his preference, it was just that he hadn't known Kyuhyun for very long. Yet, his question seemed genuine. It sounded more curious than judgmental. He figured the best answer was the honest one.

"Yes, I do." he left his answer short, leaving it up to Kyuhyun whether he wanted to continue on the topic.

"It makes sense, I guess. I mean, most straight guys wouldn't be comfortable pretending to go on dates with other men. I was just wondering, really," Kyuhyun explained, confirming Zhou Mi's hunch that it had just been curiosity that had caused him to ask.

Zhou Mi didn't have a response, and for the first time ever he was happy to see the reason why they were there walk in the door.

They stood at the same time as she approached them, calling out Kyuhyun's name. Zhou Mi felt Kyuhyun's hand slide easily into his own as Kyuhyun laced their fingers together. Zhou Mi moved closer, bumping their hips together.

"What is this?" the girl asked, her face showing more surprise than anger.

"This is my boyfriend, Zhou Mi," Kyuhyun said, nodding his head in Zhou Mi's direction and pulling Zhou Mi closer to him.

It was the first time he had been introduced. Most of the time, the girl said it first after reaching her own conclusion. The sentence sounded weird to Zhou Mi. What was weirder was that he found he actually liked it. Perhaps that was what was making him feel slightly uneasy.

"Are you really..." the girl trailed off again, but what she wanted to say hung obviously in the air.

"Yes, I'm gay," Kyuhyun confirmed and if Zhou Mi wasn't already thrown off his game he was now.

The words had come out so easily, so unhindered. Kyuhyun hadn't stuttered or stumbled like the few guys who actually had the audacity to say it had. It sounded almost natural, like it didn't bother Kyuhyun at all what he was admitting. Zhou Mi had never seen that.

The rest of the conversation was lost on him, but he could tell it was quiet. There was no screaming or crying, just like last time. It confused Zhou Mi just as much as it had before.

When it was over they sat back down, continuing to eat in silence.

Zhou Mi could ask, couldn't he? It didn't seem like it was anything overly personal and Kyuhyun had asked him a rather personal question earlier. Certainly he could ask.

"Kyuhyun, um, who are these girls? I mean, what are they to you? I mean...this isn't sounding right! It's just you don't act like any of the other people I've, erm, worked with?" Zhou Mi blabbered, his words not forming a coherent thought but Kyuhyun seemed to understand what he was trying to say anyway.

"It's my mom. She really wants me to get married and give her grandkids. I've never been one much for dating and I really don't have time with my job, so she likes to set me up on dates that I'm really not all that interested in," Kyuhyun explained.

It did make much more sense to Zhou Mi now. It explained why neither Kyuhyun or  the girls who met up with them seemed to be overly emotional about it. It also explained why Kyuhyun came back to him for help. It was an easy way out for him. No girl would question why he didn't want to date them if he was with another man.

They made idle chatter for the rest of their meal and Kyuhyun paid their bill again. As they walked out of the restaurant together Kyuhyun popped a question that Zhou Mi really wasn't expecting.

"Do you want a ride home?"

Zhou Mi thought about it a moment. It would be nice not to have to take the crowded subway back to his apartment.

"Um, sure, thanks!" Zhou Mi said and followed Kyuhyun to where he had parked his car.

He guided Kyuhyun to his apartment building that wasn't too terribly far away. Before he could get out of the car Kyuhyun's hand was on his shoulder and he was smiling at him again.

"Thanks, Zhou Mi, for doing this again. And it's good to know that you actually can talk!" Kyuhyun joked with him, though he was clearly sincere in his thanks.

Zhou Mi looked at the hand on his shoulder and then up at the smiling man. Something so simple shouldn't be making him feel like this. Hadn't he just been pressed up against Kyuhyun earlier that night? But that was different, he told himself. That was for work. This gesture was simply because Kyuhyun wanted to.

"Um, it's not a problem. Thanks for dinner and the ride!" Zhou Mi mumbled as he opened the door and hurried out. Anything to get out from under that touch.

He waved at Kyuhyun one last time before hurrying inside out of the chill of the night. He rushed up the stairs to his apartment and locked himself inside before collapsing on the small couch.

What the hell was wrong with him?