Chapter 1

It was eight in the morning and Kris was feeling absolutely pissed. He had called Chanyeol about the photoshoot he was supposed to do today and that bastard had the guts to tell him that he had just woke up. If only his phone wasn’t a brand new one, it would’ve already made acquaintances with the wall. Trying to keep the scowl off his face, Kris drove out with the intent to kill a certain model.

The bastard’s apartment was in a high-rise apartment complex which Kris sometimes thinks looks like a matchstick from the outside. The building was ugly and grey, but the same really couldn’t be said about Chanyeol’s apartment. After a few impatient, harsh knocks on his door, Kris was met with the sight of a wet Chanyeol, freshly out of the shower and in only a leopard-print towel.

“Hi,” A mischievous but apologetic grin appeared on the model’s perfectly structured face.

And Kris’s palm met with the front of it, making Chanyeol stagger a few steps back and look at him disbelievingly. How could he attack a model’s main asset?

“If you’re not down in three minutes, I’ll tell Baekhyun you cheated on him!” Kris said in warning while whipping out his phone threateningly, making Chanyeol’s eyes widen.

“B-but that’s lying!” Chanyeol’s mouth opened and closed rapidly, making him look like a fish in space. Kris sometimes wondered how he could look so charismatic in photoshoots.

“I don’t care,” With that, Kris promptly left the dumbstruck model there and made his way down the stairs in haste, barely hearing the door slamming shut and Chanyeol’s loud yelp.

By nine, they arrived at an indoor garden near the square of the metropolis, where the photoshoot was supposed to take place. It was like looking at a garden inside a glass case, green leaves and colourful lives preserved under a layer of thick tempered glass; so beautiful Kris would’ve stopped to appreciate it if only he wasn’t already late.

There were guards when they arrived, separating their fans from them just as they stepped off the car. Sometimes they were suffocating enough for Kris to start weaving through the crowd himself.

“That’s the models!”

The yell came from somewhere to his right, and it was quickly followed by deafening waves of high-pitched squeals and screams which threatened to bust his eardrums. At this part of the day, Kris found himself mentally flinging the fans off or hurtling them against each other, but he would halt his train of thoughts, just because he’s a nice person.

As soon as he stepped into the glass doors, a female voice was heard, high and fused with anger.

“Where the hell have you been?! You were supposed to be here by 8.15 at the latest!”

Victoria, which Kris assumed was her name by the nametag on her suit, the manager of another model came strutting to him with her hands on her hips, hair fabulously flowing and heels clicking dangerously on the tiled pathway. It was then that Kris noticed that the rest of the ground was covered in green.

“Sorry. Someone woke up late,” He replied coolly, sending a stabbing glare at Chanyeol, who flinched back while covering his nose. Just as soon as the model took his hand down and smiled at Victoria, the other’s face twisted in disgust.

“Why is your nose red?”

This time, Chanyeol was the one who glared at Kris, who glared back unaffectedly and it was all Victoria could do to shake her head, unimpressed.

“Come on, you better get dressed.”

Kris followed her as soon as she turned, leading them to the back of the garden, passing by brilliantly coloured flowers and enchanting fountains and landscapes to where the crew sat. The black colour of the tripod, reflector stand and the wires contrasted starkly against the ground, giving a sense of urbanisation against the otherwise eco-friendly background.

The stylists flocked Chanyeol as soon as they saw him, pushing him into one of the dressing rooms set up at the back of the door, hands all over his hair and clothes to try and repair them all at once. The model was apparently already too used to the attention to try and do anything about it, as he accepted the pile of clothes the stylists pushed into his arms. As he watched Chanyeol go, Kris could feel a stare boring into the side of his head before he even turned it, and when he did, he found that Victoria was looking at him in shock.

“Aren’t you the model?”

“No,” Kris said with a laughter. Victoria must be new, then. Leaving Victoria to absorb the new information, he walked around the garden leisurely, taking in the beautiful sights that he can rarely enjoy between with his hectic schedule and Chanyeol’s managing. He found himself missing this dearly.

“Kris!”

The cheerful voice was one Kris could identify in a mere second. Turning around, he was met with the smiling face of Byun Baekhyun, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. The brunette was a head shorter than him, and he was the perfect embodiment of his ideal man; cute and cheerful and looked like he needed taking care of.

“Where’s Chanyeol?” The shorter asked, albeit breathlessly from his excitement and Kris just had to fight the urge to make way to his scowl again. A year ago, Chanyeol started dating Baekhyun and to say Kris was disappointed was an understatement. Good thing for him, time could heal a heart, though his hadn’t fully recovered yet. He still remembered when his father had said that to him, hands in his hair and eyes gentle; it was the best memory of him before he was killed in a traffic accident.

“He’s changing. Don’t tell me you want to go in there.” His tone was mocking, though his heart mocked him.

Baekhyun’s pretty cheeks turned red. “No, no- I just- Fine, but that sounded like a good idea, though,”

He feigned disgust at the brunette’s words before moving on to greet the rest of the crew. The rest of them already knew who he was, though he hadn’t recognized all of them. He suspected it was because of his reputation, a reputation of having the looks that could rob a model off his job eventhough he was just a manager. Then Chanyeol came out, dressed and made pretty to start with the photoshoot.

The photoshoot turned out good. With the concept being Renaissance, the stylists dressed both Chanyeol and the female model in long flowing robes in white, red, silver and gold, making them look like Grecian figures. Pristine and perfect, Chanyeol in Kris’s view managed to outshine the girl.

“Isn’t he just perfect?” Baekhyun cooed from beside him, making Kris roll his eyes. How adorable can these two be? Just as he was about to answer, his phone vibrated inside his pocket, and he quickly excused himself to the front part of the garden as he glanced at the ID.

Mom.

“Hello?”

“Wufan~” Kris mentally facepalmed. No, it’s not that he hated his mother. It’s just that the voice at the other end was so sickeningly sweet, he had to fight himself from wincing. “When are you coming back?”

“I don’t know when this shoot will end, so I can’t make any promises. But I’ll head back home as soon as it does, okay?”

“Be sure you do!” His mother chirped happily before ending the call.

The call was brief, but it managed to plaster a silly, affectionate smile onto his face. Maybe it’s because it had been a long time since he last saw her.

Finally, at two, Chanyeol had already changed back into his own shirt and jeans, bag slung carelessly as he went to meet Kris with his hands deep in his jeans’ front pockets. Baekhyun followed close behind him, matching the silly grin on Chanyeol’s face.

“Kris, can I follow him back?” Chanyeol bit his lower lip, a bit uncertain of the answer he might get from his intimidating, handsome manager. The expression on Baekhyun’s face told of nothing but hopefulness, and Kris found himself quickly turning his attention back to Chanyeol, ignoring the slight twinge in his heart.

“Yeah, I have something to do anyway,”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Baekhyun’s face lighting up with happiness and it was right then that Kris reminded himself that it was better for him to be with Chanyeol, and that he better leave the two for their own sweet time.

“Adios,” With a final wave, he headed towards his car in haste, chancing a glance towards his watch. It’s not that late already and the traffic won’t kill him, so it made his mood considerably brighter.

The way to his mother’s house was surrounded by trees, tall, green and intimidating in all its glory. Kris never liked to drive back when night comes; it always managed to raise his caution level by a few degrees, what with the shadows that seemed to jump out of every corner and the streetlights that were dimly lit. It wasn’t a surprise though, considering his mother lived on the outskirts of town.

By the time he reached his mother’s house, the sun had already given up on charring peoples’ skin off and the clouds were on his side. Maybe they were naturally kinder here, he didn’t know.

A knock on his car window got his attention, and a smile bloomed on his face as soon as he saw his mother outside. Wrapped snugly in a beige coat, she impatiently opened his car door and pulled him out.

“Come on, it’s cold outside!” She said as a warm blue scarf was quickly wrapped around his neck by small fragile hands, which Kris quickly took hold of in a gesture of love and affection.

The warm interior of his mother’s house greeted him like an old friend, throwing a handful of vivid memories of his childhood to his face. The enticing smell of his mother’s cooking wafted lightly in the air, making his stomach growl and yearn for a taste of his mother’s heavenly delicious food.

“I’ve made food for you, so go put your things away now and join us at the kitchen,”

That made Kris halt in his steps. “Us?”

A twinkle in her eyes and a cryptic smile appeared on her face, accompanied with a painful jab to his ribs to push him into the other room. “I have someone for you to meet,”

Kris rolled his eyes.

“Mom if this is another attempt at pushing me into marriage again, I-“ A finger to his lips silenced him abruptly.

“Hush, hush. Now go and come back later,” She said before disappearing, that annoyingly cryptic smile still on her face.

Kris trudged up the stairs grudgingly, throwing his things on his bed as soon as he reached his room. His mother had obviously cleaned it for him recently, judging from the fresh smell of laundry and the newly changed curtains. His bedroom was the one place he loved the most here; it had the biggest window. Once he got himself cleaned and changed out of his suit, he headed down to the kitchen, reciting a silent prayer to his father’s portrait at the far end wall.

The kitchen table could only seat four, and when he came in, three of the seats were occupied. The only vacant seat was next to his mother, so he nodded to all of them as kindly as he can despite his hunger and sat down eagerly.

“This is Wufan,” His mother apparently spared not even a second before introducing him to the elderly couple sitting across from him.

“This is Mr and Mrs Zhang.” They smiled at him and Kris shook hands with the husband. As soon as greetings were exchanged, they started on the food. Oh, how he had missed the taste of his mother’s kimchi stew.

“So, I’ve been told that you’re not- attached?” Mrs Zhang started.

Kris mentally groaned. There it goes. It was easy to guess at what she was getting at, from the way she kept glancing between Kris’s mother and her own husband. Giving a kind nod and a saccharine smile to her, he continued eating.

“So when are you planning to? You’re a fine man, Kris. Don’t let yourself wither away unattached.”

Kris shook his head uninterestedly. “I don’t know. I think I’ll pass for a while. You know, job and all.”

His mother shot him a glare. “You aren’t taking care of yourself really well, aren’t you?” Kris opened his mouth to protest, but his mother beat him to it. Why did this have to come up so suddenly?

“Have you had a meal today?”

That shut him up.

“See?” His mother turned back to the Zhangs. “He really needs someone to take care of him. Someone who gives him meals at the proper time, someone who can give him the love.”

His face turned a million shades of red. “Mom, I’m not a kid.”

“Yes you are.”

“Is that what this is about?” Kris turned towards his mother, voice slightly spilling his anger.

“No.” His mother’s eyes widened, before it turned a little thoughtful. “On second thought, yes. I mean, not as you being a kid, but in getting you to get married and to have someone take-“

Kris slammed his chopsticks onto the table.

“I am not getting married.” He announced decisively to the whole table, fixing all of them with a glare, daring them to object. Obviously, none of them dared say anything.

With that, he promptly left the table with a huff, stomping up the stairs albeit childishly. He didn’t care that he was being disrespectful; he was tired enough of all this matchmaking. Upstairs, he lay in bed absent-mindedly while looking outside through the open curtains. If only he was not human, he would not have to marry anyone. From under his blanket, he could hear the faint voices of the Zhangs and his mother coming from downstairs, exchanging goodbyes and such and he knew it was only a matter of time before his mother goes upstairs.

True enough, there was a knock on his door just five minutes later.

“Fan?”

He’d like to just ignore it and feign sleep, but thinking of his father, he responded to her like a good son would.

“Come in.”

The creak of his door was the only thing that made any sound as his mother made her way into the room. Even her footsteps were silent and calculated. He could feel the bed dip under her weight as she sat next to him, her hand starting to card through his blond hair.

“I’m sorry,”

Kris shook his head fervently, telling her that he didn’t mind it much despite what he had done earlier. “Naw, I’m the one who’s supposed to apologise. Sorry I was rude earlier.”

She continued his hair softly, letting her only son bask in the warmth and love she seemed to pour out from the tips of her fingers before her voice took on a more serious albeit soft tone. This clearly meant serious talk, and Kris had to prepare himself for it.

“You know, I only lived this long to see you bind yourself to another person.”

Kris stayed quiet, unsure of how he was supposed to respond to that. The blanket he was holding onto was clutched tighter to his chest to provide comfort.

“And I’m growing older by day, Fan. Who knows if I’m not here anymore by the time you decide to get married?” Kris fixed sad eyes onto his mother, opening his mouth to retort when his mother silenced him. “And I don’t want that to happen. I want to see you safe and married before I can go, so that someone will be there to take care of you when I’ll finally leave,”

“Mom, please stop.” His voice was muffled against his pillow when he buried his face against it, but he knew his mother caught every syllable of it. “You’re too young to die,”

His mother gave a soft laugh. “But your father wasn’t. He told me that he wanted to be at your wedding just the day before he died.” Kris was sure his ears weren’t playing tricks when he heard his mother’s voice breaking, and to him, it wasn’t such a pretty sound. If anything, it’s saddening with a hint of depressing.

“Mom.” He didn’t like it when his mother started to cry. It always made him feel unsure and useless, not knowing what to do to comfort the person that had successfully comforted him for years without fail.

“Can you please do it? For him at least, if not for me?” Hope wound itself into her voice, clinging to it like it was the last possible way of life.

“But he’s dead!” Kris regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, making his mother’s jaw drop open and her eyes widen at him. Disappointment started to fill her eyes and it managed to heave a load of guilt onto him. The fingers left his hair as soon as she understood what he said, and her eyes narrowed.

“When have you become so disrespectful?” It was clear from her tone that she was just millimetres away from breaking through her dam of tears as she stood up and headed towards the door. Shame flooded him as she watched her retreating back, he himself having a hard time believing what just happened.

As soon as she closed the door, Kris shot out of bed to run after her. He found her still walking at a snail’s pace in the hallway.

“Mom, I’m sorry,” She nodded and sniffled softly against her sleeve, trying to wipe the tears off her face so that the strong image that se had tried so hard to engrave into Kris’s mind wouldn’t crumble.

She started walking again, leaving Kris doubting that she had forgiven him, so at last he did the only thing that he should.

“Fine I’ll do it,” Kris said exasperatedly.

His mother halted for a full quarter of a minute before she turned around, hope shining so brightly in her eyes Kris thought he might get blind.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” And then his mother hugged him so tight he forgot how to breathe and he found himself not minding it much, because his mother was no longer crying and that sweet smile was back on her face. Then he remembered something. “Wait, mom. Mom.”

Upon hearing the urgency in his voice, she loosened her hug, pulling herself back the slightest bit to allow herself to look him in the eyes.

“I want to pick who I am going to marry,”

“Sure,” His mother nodded enthusiastically, her smile threatening to split her face in half. “Three weeks,” With that, she frolicked away, humming to herself and popping wedding images in her head. Kris was left dumbstruck, standing there gaping like an idiot in the middle of the hallway.

Three weeks?

“Yes, honey,” His mother called from her bedroom, probably writing diary entries of how she had succeeded in making Kris say the magic word or starting the countdown to her son’s wedding. “Three weeks, or I’m giving you to the Zhangs.”

Is she crazy? How the hell was he supposed to find a future spouse in three weeks?

His stomach chose that exact moment to let out a loud growl, making him regret leaving the table without finishing his food earlier.

Great, aside from having to find a life partner in just three weeks, I’m also hungry.

Oh well, my life.

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A/N: This was supposed to be posted two weeks from now, but I’m giving it to you early just because I’m that nice XD. This is ridiculously long for an introductory chapter, but I couldn’t find any parts that I could alter because well, I got carried away while writing, as usual. Anyway I wrote this in the middle of a very important exam (SPM here in Malaysia, to conclude high school) so I hope this is to your liking? Enjoy :D

Aaaaand comment :3

A/N 2: Next chapter is two/three weeks away lol.