A/N: Wait a second, was that an almost quick update? Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah ~~!  *happy dance*

I really tried to work faster this time. And I'll try to keep on updating once per week, or at least twice per month from now on. 

Thank you for all the love you've shown to this story so far. 

You guys are precious!!!! *blows kisses*

It was not okay. Kyungsoo could write a book about how not okay all of this was. From the flower arrangements, to the loaded buffets and the colorful lighting, everything looked foreign and scary. Almost like Kyungsoo really was living at the depths of the sea, until today, and now he visited the real world.

Only this world did not seem all that real. The chandeliers were crystal, bright like stars on the ceiling. There was a calming sound of water running from a fountain (yes, there was a fountain) and soft jazz was playing in the background. The people stood, in impressive gowns, like models from one of Tao’s favorite magazines. Everything was glowing and sparkling, but at the same time, the setting was unrealistic. It was as if he was watching a very good show on the theatre. Kyungsoo half-expected, if he touched the smallest detail, everything would crumble down like badly-made props.

The singer had dreamt about that world- Kim Junmyun’s world- and he had wanted to be part of it, more than anything else. He had wanted to be a siren and live in luxury together with Kim Junmyun. Now, seeing it in person, he couldn’t help but feel like this world was just as fake as his siren-like appearance.

No. More than that, he wanted them to be fake. He was scared of all this being real and attainable. He hated the idea of being an ethereal creature, or a cold star, or a siren. He wished that everything was just a very good dream and that he would wake up in his dirty apartment, because the woman upstairs was shouting at her husband. He wanted to wake up and go to work and sing whatever he liked and then go wash the dishes.

Kyungsoo suddenly wanted to go back to normal.

“Relax. You look amazing. Like… more than amazing. I’m pretty sure everyone in the room will be ogling you the moment you step in.” Baekhyun patted his back and he was trying to help, Kyungsoo knew that, but he really wasn’t. “Oh my, I feel like I’m throwing a little lamb to the wolves. Only, you’re not a little lamb, are you D.O. sshi? You’re the one hunting today, right?”

Kyungsoo was already feeling cold sweat running down his super expensive shirt. But then Baekhyun’s words sank in and he stopped freaking out for a second, in favor of giving the guy a confused stare.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Baekhyun smiled and his eyes smiled with him. “I thought Do Kyungsoo was a little boring, so I took the liberty…”

The singer nodded. D.O. was a good name. Almost like a stage name, it had that air of mystery in it, which Kai seemed to be so fond of pushing on him.

“I’ll go spread the word about your arrival.” The eyeliner guy winked. “You just sit there and keep looking hot and feisty.”

Hot and feisty, Kyungsoo thought, were as far from his real character as it was humanly possible. Maybe Kai could pull off this image, what with the whole handsome swindler thing he had going on for him. Kyungsoo was a simple guy, though. When he was angry it showed on his face and when he was uncomfortable, like now, he sweated. And when he saw the person he had a crush on, he blushed up to his ears...

Kyungsoo blushed up to his ears.

At the opposite side of the room, there was Kim Junmyun, in a white suit, looking angelic and simultaneously very much real. And then, he was looking straight at Kyungsoo, wearing a curious expression. And because Kyungsoo was a simple guy and not a siren, he gasped and looked away startled, heart beating frantically in his chest.

What had Kai said during ‘Simulation’?

Kyungsoo had to be confident about his appearance. He should sit straight up and, on no occasion duck down to tie his shoelaces. And he should act siren-like; distant and mysterious and very, very attractive.

If I say you look good, Kai used to say, it means you look good.

Well, the swindler hadn’t exactly said Kyungsoo looked good. But he had said ‘special’.

You’re special, Kai had gripped his shoulders and he had spoken in a serious voice, so Kyungsoo thought he could believe him. His true self wasn’t beautiful, or enigmatic, or even remotely seductive, but if Kai could call him special, then there should be something good about him.

Kyungsoo put one hand in his pocket and reached for a glass of champagne with the other. He tried to look nonchalant, as he raised the glass to his mouth and let the sparkling drink run down his throat, like it was liquid courage. It wasn’t, but it was alcohol, and that was the next best thing, the singer supposed.

Suddenly, he could sense dozens of eyes on him, intrusive and indiscreet, as if they had every right in the world to stare at him in that greedy way. A way that made Kyungsoo feel and guilty of some great crime, he didn’t even remember committing. The model-like figures were prying him open, their gazes so intense that he felt like coiling around himself and hiding under the buffet.

Instead he looked away, pretending to not notice them, feeling unexpectedly sorry for all the good-looking people that he used to be jealous of.

“Excuse me,” An almost-familiar voice said, causing Kyungsoo to hold his breath, “I don’t believe we have met before. Have we?” Kim Junmyun was saying, looking spectacular and spectacularly close to him, than he had been five minutes ago.

Kyungsoo counted to three before turning to face him, praying that he would come out indifferent, instead of panic-stricken, which was exactly how he felt.

He took another moment to admire Kim Junmyun’s handsome features, before shaking his head in a ‘no’ fashion.

“So this is our first meeting.” The man let the permanent smile widen on his face. “My name is Kim Junmyun, from Kim Global Group. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Kyungsoo nodded, taking another sip from his glass and trying not to gawk at the gorgeous man in front of him.

Apparently, the not-gawking worked. Worked so well, actually, that it had the opposite effect, because moments later, Kim Junmyun took a step back looking almost guilty.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt-” But Kyungsoo was all alone and the guy must have noticed it as well, so he amended, “I’m always so talkative, I must have startled you. I’m sure you prefer to enjoy the night alone.”

If only stupid Kai hadn’t taken his voice, Kyungsoo would be perfectly capable of explaining that, the only reason I was startled is because you’re so, incredibly beautiful and I’d love to spend all my night together with you, or something in those lines.

Okay, so perhaps being mute was a good thing...

After the singer got over the initial excitement and the internal screaming that followed, because Kai’s plan was clearly working, he took another glass of champagne and handed it to Kim Junmyun, as coolly as he could.

“Oh! Thank you.” The man took the champagne and as he did, Kyungsoo actually saw his shoulders unclenching somewhat, almost like he had been nervous and now he could finally relax. “Is it okay if I take this glass as a token of friendship?”

To be honest, Kyungsoo didn’t mean to appear so surprised. In a sense, his eyebrow shot up all on its own.  However, a raised eyebrow and a disbelieving expression were enough to bring the tension back on the guy’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Kim Junmyun raised both hands up in surrender. “I suppose ‘friendship’ is a little too much. I just wanted… I mean would you mind if I kept you company for tonight? That’s all I’m asking.”

For some reason, the Raised Eyebrow of Indignation (as Kyungsoo was begrudgingly calling it) hadn’t ruined his chances altogether. Instead, the handsome man seemed to have taken a liking to Kyungsoo, not despite the sassy eyebrow, but because of it.

“You still haven’t told me your name, though.” Kim Junmyun said with a pout, of all things. “I thought we were partying together...” He joked, yet there was an uneasy edge to it.

“This is not a club, so you’re hardly ‘partying’, Junmyun hyung. And the reason he hasn’t introduced himself is because, D.O. sshi, over here, cannot exactly talk at the moment.” Like a good bodyguard, Byun Baekhyun chose that very moment to barge in, with his own glass from which he drank slowly, lazily, as he explained Kyungsoo’s situation.

“By the way, D.O. sshi, this is Kim Global’s Vice President and Executive Director, Kim Junmyun. Junmyun hyung, this is my newest discovery, D.O. sshi. I’d tell you more about him, but he’s a mystery.” It all sounded so simple when Baekhyun spoke. He had an extremely effortless tone, which, Kyungsoo suspected, was the main reason he could handle Kai so well. The singer swallowed back a sigh, as Kim Junmyun’s face relaxed in a brand new smile; the widest yet.

“Nice to meet you, D.O. sshi. Formally this time.” Kim Junmyun said and Kyungsoo gave a small, curt bow in reply.

“What do you mean ‘formally’, hyung? Are you trying to recruit D.O. sshi for your company?” Byun Baekhyun laughed playfully. “Cause if you are, you better give up now. This one is not businessman material. He’s an artist. And very successful too. So you won’t be able to lure him in with your money.”

“I wasn’t trying to-” Kim Junmyun opened his mouth in protest, but didn’t get to finish.

“Well, since I did my part as the host and introduced you two, I’ll be off. I think President Jung is drunk again and trying to one of the ice statues.” And just like that, Kyungsoo’s bodyguard had left, as abruptly as he had arrived.

Byun Baekhyun was like a hurricane, wrecking havoc with his speaking skills alone. After he left, it was like everything went very silent, all of a sudden, and things fell into place again, around them. Kim Junmyun stood there, a contemplating look on his face that was washed off, when he noticed the singer watching him.

“I-I wasn’t recruiting you. Just- just wanted to talk.” He finally said.

 Kyungsoo nodded, hiding a small smile, which the other man spotted and then began laughing as well.

“I’m sorry, I don’t usually stutter so much. It’s just that you look, um, you seem like a very special person.” Kim Junmyun eyed him hopefully and the singer felt a lump in his throat.

This was the second time someone was calling him special that night. And this time, it was the person Kyungsoo had really wanted to hear that from. But for some reason, it didn’t feel as great as he had expected. This was all because Kai had said it first. He had taken the excitement out of Kim Junmyun’s compliment, because that jerk had said it first.

It was the same as having the best ice-cream of your life in a street vendor and then having the same ice-cream again in a classy café. You want to like the second time best, you know, deep down, that and the experience is much better the second time around, yet nothing can replace the excitement and joy you felt the first time.

The bottom line was that Kai had ruined Kim Junmyun’s compliment by saying the same thing first; which would explain why Kyungsoo could feel his heart sinking a little bit, at these words.

The singer smiled again and this time he didn’t even have to try to make it look forced.

“So you’re an artist? What kind of artist? A painter, maybe?” It was a good guess, seeing as Kyungsoo had that sort of quiet and serious air about him (mostly because he had given his voice to Kai and he had decided to stay very still for the night, in order to  avoid any accidents, like, say, crashing head first to the floor).

The singer shook his head. Even though he didn’t absolutely at drawing, there was no way he could be a painter.

“A sculptor?” The handsome man risked another guess, which Kyungsoo denied with a second shake of his head.

A minute went by and suddenly something brightened in Kim Junmyun’s face. “Oh, I get it now!” He exclaimed, the metaphorical light bulb switching on, inside his head. “You’re a singer, aren’t you, D.O. sshi? You’re on vocal rest, that’s why you can’t talk, right?”

The guy looked so happy to finally figure it out and Kyungsoo wanted to grin back at him and maybe even give him a good hug for being so kind and understanding. Of course, before he could do any of those things, Kai’s face flashed in front of his eyes, warning him, in that snarky tone, to not embarrass himself and keep his hands to his sides. If anything, having a grumpy swindler shout at you for two weeks non-stop, can really make a guy control his feelings, Kyungsoo thought.

In the end, he decided to just shrug at the question, instead of nodding again, or, heaven forbid, hug the guy.

“You don’t have to be so reserved, I’m sure I got it right.” Kim Junmyun gave his a sneaky, lopsided smile. “Being a singer is really great. I bet you’re very talented!”

Kyungsoo hurried to hide his blush behind the glass of champagne and when he finally managed to look back at Kim Junmyun, he found the man spacing out.

“Oh, no. Not again…” He said with a sigh and motioned at a group of men heading their way. Kyungsoo stared at the older people with apprehension, sensing that the nice atmosphere they had created was about to be disrupted by a herd of wild animals.

The men and women didn’t seem so stiff and model-like up close. Rather, they appeared meddlesome and intrusive and just… plain annoying. The way the spoke about almost everything, from Kyungsoo’s bowtie (which apparently looked ‘endearing’) to the perks of having bank accounts in Switzerland (the returns were apparently ‘mouthwatering’), Kyungsoo could tell that these people were very opinionated and, if that alone was not a bad thing, they also felt the need to impose their opinion to everyone.

He felt, once again completely mismatched in that place, like a fish out of water. And he was the lucky one, since he didn’t have to take part in that conversation.  Poor Junmyun had to reply politely to them too, while being subjected to a grade-A interrogation. ‘Where is your father? How are you siblings doing? Are you buying stocks from the new mall center?’ The questions went on forever...

The singer wanted to help, he really did, but it was practically impossible, what with him being mute and all.  After ten minutes, during which all the contact Kyungsoo had with Kim Junmyun were fleeting and apologetic glances, it became obvious that the unfortunate guy had no choice but to entertain these people, so Kyungsoo decided to call it a night and go back home.

Kyungsoo pulled out his cellphone and messages Kai that, he was already over his head with these rich idiots and was leaving.

‘Come to the office.’ Kai replied almost instantly, almost like he had been waiting over the phone for Kyungsoo’s message. It was possible that he had, because he was also a rich meddlesome jerk and he must have wanted to hear everything about Kyungsoo’s night, just to criticize him.

So fine, Kyungsoo decided, he would go meet Kai. Even the shady office in Hongdae was better than this place. And he was already used to his nagging.