"This is the kitchen's maknae, Park Chanyeol. He's been with us while he learns, we're expecting good things," Jung Ji-Hoon introduced the Korean boy in front of them.

Xifeng had made a fuss over going to the restaurant, and meeting the owner. Their father had eaten more than once at the place, and had avidly spoken about how he planned to help Jung Ji-Hoon expand. But Yifan had found that both through dinner and Jung Ji-Hoon's personal tour around the city had done nothing but made him hate his half-sister that bit more. She complained about almost anything she could. The only reason Jung Ji-Hoon still stood next to them, happily explaining about his restaurant was that Yifan had translated almost everything Xifeng said into compliments.

"Tell them that the food took to long to arrive and I found it to be too messy to eat. There was too much sauce," Xifeng's hushed whispers hit Yifan's ears and he nodded his head.

The food had been some of the best he'd eaten, he didn't know why Xifeng chose to pick on details that almost had no change on the result. But she would probably insist all he'd eaten in his life was cheap food and he had no real taste. Still.

"Miss. Li would like to pass on the message that the food here was beyond compare," Yifan lied without hesitation.

"It's because we encourage teamwork and natural talent, don't we, head chef?"

"Yes, Ji-Hoon even works behind the bar some nights, and even eats meals with us. We are all very close here."

There was a second before Xifeng turned her head a little, a sign she wanted to know what they were talking about. Yifan leaned a little closer, he had taken a place over her left shoulder during the tour Ji-Hoon had given and he'd remained there. 

"They said they'd improve the cooking speeds and make it with less sauce," Yifan continued with the lie, he didn't falter or show any sign that he was making it up. "They're try hard to keep you happy because of your father's investments."

"Your ability to lie has improved," Xifeng's comment came and Yifan nodded.

"He wants us to go into the back office, we should follow," Yifan translated only the necessary words that came from the discussion between the head chef and Ji-Hoon. "They want to show us where your father's money went."

- - -

The meeting was short, Jung Ji-Hoon had showed his future plans as the head chef added his comments on the foods they planned. It was interesting to Yifan who knew nothing much about that sort of thing, but when they reached the kitchen, the use of French was a relief for Yifan who liked that he could impress the Ji-Hoon and the head chef with his understanding and use of the terms. Ji-Hoon gave a tour of the kitchen, a couple of the workers remained to clean but the others had seemed to have left. Yifan had gotten fond of watching the other male explain things, he had a voice that Yifan liked. But when the car arrived to take them back to hotel, Yifan realized he was late to meet Joonmyeon.

"The driver will drop you at the hotel, I have to go meet someone," Yifan explained as he held the door open for Xifeng.

She paused, a look on her face that Yifan had realized she was going to attack him with a low hit.

"Are you going to go see if you can sleep with him?" Xifeng's eyes flickered to the restaurant; she meant Ji-Hoon.

Yifan hadn't expected her to notice that he'd been focused on the older male. They were not usually his style. Yifan had mostly dated younger males. He knew he had a weakness for boys who were inexperienced and craved some form of direction. But in the end, an attractive male was an attractive one and Yifan had noticed Ji-Hoon was attractive.

"Please do, maybe father will forgive me for breaking that vase my mother bought him," Xifeng voice as she leaned into the door.

"I'm going to meet Joonmyeon, your fiance," Yifan returned, but he could feel that her words had found a weak spot that he hadn't expected them too. "I can try to sleep with him if you want."

The words came as a defensive maneuver.

- - -

Buttons were a key part of Joonmyeon's clothing and he loathed them. He didn't know how he managed to put them one wrong almost fifty percent of the time, especially when he had to wear a suit daily. A shallow exhale came from his lips as he started to the misaligned front of his button-up shirt. The shower had been relaxing for the first few minutes, but the longer he stood in there, the more he thought about Jongdae and Kyungsoo. He acted too emotionally when it came to them. Even when he told himself he wouldn't a thousand times. 

As he stepped into his adjoined room, a figure caught the corner of his eye and he paused. There was a man standing in his room. He wore a white button-up shirt, dark dress pants and a skinny black tie. The man was leaned over, slowly folding up his sleeves to his elbows and studying the collection of photographs that Joonmyeon had tacked to his wall. 

"Wu Yifan?" Joonmyeon said the others name.

Yifan's head turned and he gave a smile, straightening to his full height. "Joonmyeon-ssi. The maids let me in."

The difference in personality struck Joonmyeon. This man had sat across from him straight faced for nearly a whole dinner, and now he greeted him with a smile. It was disarming. Joonmyeon faltered before he realized he was still buttoning his shirt, he turned sharply away to face the wall and his fingers urgently began to slip his buttons into place. He felt nervous again. The urge to talk bit at his cheeks and his brow creased as he tried to get his fingers to function normally.

"I didn't expect you. The maids usually tell me when-- I'm not dressed," Joonmyeon spoke hastily, cutting himself off at an attempt to gain control of his own tongue.

"I told them I was late and not to bother you," Yifan spoke in a casual tone, and Joonmyeon glanced at the other; he was still focused on the photographs on the wall.

Joonmyeon adjusted his collar as the last button was done up, his shoulders were tense. "I don't like surprises."

"I'll remember that," Yifan stated as he finally turned to face Joonmyeon.

Yifan dug his hands into his pockets, he was trying not to look over at the Korean male. The other's hair was still wet from the shower, and he seemed to be struggling with the buttons. It was hard to forget his own words. 'I can try to sleep with him if you want'. They had an affect over his thoughts more than he expected, and Yifan tried to remain focused. 

"I brought you your card back."

Joonmyeon watched as Yifan produced the sleek black company card from his pocket. There was an ease in the back of Joonmyeon's mind. He had one less thing to worry about for the night. He stepped closer to Yifan, taking the card from the taller male whose eyes were firmly planted in his. The direct eye contact with Yifan made Joonmyeon nervously his lips and break it; turning his body and stepping around towards his bed. His suit jacket from the day was laid on the end of it and his wallet was in its pocket.

"Thank you for bringing it back yourself. I don't doubt in the wrong hands, I would be in a lot of trouble," Joonmyeon spoke with the tone of arrogance again, swiftly hoping to gain control over the situation.

The Chinese male's eyes followed Joonmyeon. He recognized the use of tone from the phone. It was a tone that Yifan had become accustom to when meeting other businessmen with his father and half-sister. A false confidence. Men used it in business deals when they wanted to bluff, and it was the same when it came to the basketball game. Yifan, himself, had used it more than once. It was psychololgical warfare. But Yifan was at a loss as to why Joonmyeon felt the need to in front of him. Yifan could admit in the eyes of everyone, he was a nobody. He had no sway over anything, and yet Joonmyeon was arching his back like a kitten trying to make itself seem bigger.

"Joon-ah, I heard you had--" A woman's voice swept through the room, pausing when she same to the doorway of Joonmyeon's bedroom. "Guests."

Yifan dug his hand back into his pocket as he recognized the woman. "Mrs. Kim. Nice to see you again."

English. Joonmyeon understood what the translator had said. The black card was pressed between Joonmyeon's lips as he held the jacket up with one hand and dug in his pockets with the other. But he faltered in his search. Why was Yifan greeting his mother as if he knew her? And knew her well? Joonmyeon's eyes moved from his mother in the doorway to Yifan who stood behind him. His bedroom suddenly felt smaller. 

"Ah, Yifan. I didn't expect to see you," Joonmyeon's mother returned Yifan's casual greeting with her own delighted and slightly fluent English. "Is Mr. Li in Korea? He didn't tell us."

"No, I'm here with Xifeng. Mr. Li is back in China," Yifan returned the conversation with a nod of his head and a smile.

Joonmyeon couldn't help but notice his mothers reaction was something he recognized. She was an avid fan of young male idols, and Joonmyeon had sat beside her for many hours as she wore that same expression. But it was Yifan who surprised Joon most. The male had slipped into this casual masculine charm. His hands in his pockets, his sleeves tucked up and his tone was ever lowered a little. 

"Oh, of course, Mr. Li did say he trusted you a lot. He would want his daughter with someone he trusts," Joonmyeon's mother's voice slowly drifted and Joon felt her eyes on him as if she'd forgotten he was there. "Yifan and I have met often when your father and Xifeng's father have met on business. He kept me company, he's very close with Xifeng's family."

The explanation from his mother, even in Korean, left Joonmyeon uneasy. He didn't like finding out information after everyone else. That was almost as bad as surprises. Joonmyeon removed the card from between his lips, he'd forgotten it was there and lowered his arm holding the jacket. Why did the conversation get out of hand again?

"Your English has improved a lot," Yifan gave a compliment to Joon's mother. 

"He was dropping off something I gave to Xifeng," Joonmyeon stated abruptly, he wanted to get back in control of what was going on. "I had to leave the date early and gave them my company card." 

But his nerves caused him to say more than he had planned to. He'd never told his mother he left the date early. It would require him to explain and he didn't want her to know about his panic attack. Or, what he thought was one. He still didn't want to commit to the diagnosis.

"Joonmyeon-ssi ate something that didn't agree with him, I think, Xifeng was worried but he made sure that we were looked after," Yifan spoke smoothly, covering for Joonmyeon without hesitation.

Why?

Joon's eyes landed on Yifan who remained unaffected by his lie. 

"He was unwell today too," Joonmyeon's mother focused on Joon as she spoke.

"It was something else today, I think I might be coming down with something. I got medicine to help, I should be fine," Joonmyeon soon lied himself, his head lowered as he tried to hide his face. His mother could easily tell when he was lying.

"I don't want to offend anyone, but it's late and I didn't come here for a social visit. Xifeng has a busy schedule tomorrow and that means I do too," Yifan spoke with a sudden professionalism, a strict and direct tone of voice; respectable and neat. "I have a couple spaces in Xifeng's schedule in the future that she hopes to use to get to know Joonmyeon."

"Oh, I understand. Please tell Mr. Li that we hope to see him soon and for Xifeng to come treat our family like her own," Joonmyeon's mother returned in a polite manner before she slowly turned and left.

There was a few silent moments, Joonmyeon waiting for his mother to get far enough away before he spoke.

"Why'd you lie? I didn't ask you too," Joon felt the urgency in his voice. "Do you lie all the time?"

Yifan faltered a little. He hadn't expect Joonmyeon's reaction to be accusatory. "I assumed from your reaction on the night, that it wasn't something you wanted people to know."

Joon bit his lip. The other was right. He didn't want other people to know, and he had been planning to lie to his parents. But watching Yifan do it with ease bothered Joonmyeon. The tall male showed almost no signs, no markers of guilt or regret for lying to someone he seemed to be close to. Another thing that bothered Joonmyeon. His mother and Yifan were close, and neither had said a word to him about it. His mother had never mentioned once that she knew Yifan.

There was a few seconds as Joonmyeon tried to process.

"Lying is sometimes a survival tactic," Yifan stated in a manner of personal knowledge. 

The words felt true to Joonmyeon. But it still didn't feel right. 

"Don't lie for me anymore," Joonmyeon said as he turned his back to Yifan, putting his suit jacket on the end of his bed and tossing the card onto in a careless manner. "I don't need someone else's lies to keep track of."

Yifan let out a deep breath, he had only been trying to help Joonmyeon. He'd only lied to protect him. A response that came from a history of lying to protect those who were weaker than he was. But Joonmyeon had rejected his offer and become defensive. It made Yifan wish he hadn't lied so successfully to the woman. Once people knew he was lying, they were less likely to trust him. That made his job more difficult.

"I'm sorry for lying," Yifan apologized as he studied the other males back.

The woolen jumper was picked up from the bed, Joonmyeon had placed it there before his shower and he tugged the fabric over his head. He didn't know how to respond to the apology, much less make a firm decision on whether he was in the right. His fingers moved to straighten on his collar, tilting his head and folding down the cotton neatly. 

"I lied about Xifeng wanting to make plans," Yifan confessed, hoping to win the other male back over with honesty. "Five minutes should be enough to make it seem like we compared schedules."

Joonmyeon paused for a brief moment at Yifan's plan, but then he nodded his head. "Five minutes."

- - -

There were no photographs of other people. Yifan had noticed that about Joonmyeon's room. From the bedside, to the photographs tacked on the wall, across the shelves into the office space. Not even on the males desk or with the collection of books. There were no photographs of people. Yifan had wandered the length of Joonmyeon's room while the other sat at his desk, his eyes focused on the computer screen in front of him and often switching the the tablet device on his left. No friends, no girlfriends, not even family or himself. The only photographs were of various array of sceneries, ones that looked like they'd been taken with the older cameras and slowly improved in the degree of quality over time. Not professionally shot either.

- - -

"--that's no good for Xifeng," Yifan abruptly started speaking, and Joon only raised his head in time to see Yifan cross the distance between them.

Yifan's hand rested on the back of Joonmyeon's desk chair, his weight being leaned into it as he rested his other hand on the desk next to Joonmyeon's and his eyes focused on the screen that Joon had up on his computer. It was only moments later that Joonmyeon realized what Yifan was doing, as one of the maids stepped into the room. She held a tray in her hands, and Joon remembered that he'd asked for food since he'd been working late.

"I'll discuss it with Xifeng tomorrow and see if we can free up some time," Yifan continued with the ruse, and Joon nodded his head uneasily. 

"Where did you want the food?" The maid seemed to gather her senses enough to speak.

"Place it down anywhere, I'm nearly finished," Joonmyeon responded as he offer a small smile, then tried to pretend he was studying his schedule on the computer screen. 

"Is there any day that is best for you?" Yifan asked, and Joon felt the weight placed on his chair become less.

"Let me have a look."

The maid meekly left, and Yifan straightened out his back, his hands going to his watch to check the time. Five minutes were up. He sighed deeply as his eyes fell down to Joonmyeon. Yifan studied the way Joonmyeon's shoulders slowly become less tense as he realized that he didn't have to lie anymore. The other was a terrible liar. How he managed to hide anything amazed Yifan. But it was admittedly cute that he still tried to lie in a frivolous manner. 

"Five minutes is up," Joonmyeon noted, he hadn't moved much since Yifan had started the act.

"I'll be going then," Yifan returned, his eyes ran over the bedroom once more before he started to move.

- - -

The hotel room was dark as Yifan leaned against the kitchen counter, he had a drink of water in his hands as he studied the city scene that lit up the open lounge room. It wasn't often, but he missed his mother and step-father. He dug his hand into his pocket, searching for his phone. But as he flicked through the screens to find the world clock, his phone started ringing and he recognized the name. Zitao. Yifan answered the call without hesitation and put the glass aside.

"Tao, are you showering late again?" Yifan laughed a little at the younger males habit.

"I had to wait for Sehun to fall asleep. He's hurt and he won't stay still," Zitao's voice was in a low whisper and Yifan could hear him close the door; the sound changing with a slight echo.

"Just put me on loudspeaker. I'll make sure no ghosts attack you," Yifan couldn't help but tease the younger boy for his fear.

"Gege, I'm not scared of ghosts," Zitao's stubborn protest came through the phone.

"Alright, I understand. Just shower, it's late," Yifan gave in.