“You should receive them in a few days, they were sent this morning.”
 

“I think they will sell well, don't worry. I'm gonna change the placing so they can get the best exposure anyways.”
 

“Thanks Yen-Wen, you're the best.”
 

“I am, right!” The designer said in a laugh. “Did I tell you about Rising Sun by the way?”
 

“Stephen Chow's movie?”
 

“I've been invited to the premiere! The main costume designer is a friend of mine, her boyfriend won't be in China next month and she knows I'm a fan, so yeah!”
 

“Are you trying to stab me there? You know I love his movies...”
 

“I know, I wouldn't tell you otherwise!” Yifan could imagine the other's teasing smirk from the other side of the pacific ocean. “But do you know Tao's playing in this movie? I'll probably see him there.”

Yifan's smile froze, and slowly faded. The last encounter he had with Tao had signed their goodbye and he still felt guilty about the younger one. Tao had been a real brother and he missed his cuteness. Acting cute was silly here in Canada, and as much as he hated himself for being so weak against it, he missed the aegyo that he used to see in Korea.

“Yeah, I've heard about it.” Yifan answered, half-distracting himself by searching for a nice pair of cufflinks. Tan-Mi's father had been on a business trip in Seattle and had decided to pay a visit to his daughter and her boyfriend. It felt weird for Yifan to meet him on a formal dinner after so many years, but he needed to dress and impress, so suit and cufflinks it was. His eyes landed on a specific box in the drawer. He pulled it out, first playing with the lid, then opening it with his thumb. The crown ring he had kept for Tan-Mi stood proudly in between the white material. He was not hurt by the fact she did not like it but he was not sure what he would do with it, his mother did not like it much either, saying she was too old to wear such concept, so the delicate jewel had been left alone in his drawer.

“I can't wait to be there!” The designer replied, excited, and Yifan suddenly remembered Tao's look of wonder when he had seen the crown ring design so many months before. Maybe here was a chance to make some sort of amends.

“Hey Yen-Wen, can you do me a favor?”

*.*.*

It was the end of May and Tan-Mi was finished with her academic year. Yifan had tried his best to settle things in Canada so he could leave with her to China, but he had not been able to do it on time, and he was stuck behind for several long weeks before he could fly to her. Her belongings were tightly packed and waiting for the plane that would take off the following morning. Yifan sighed, depressed, and walked closer to his girlfriend who was looking out of the glass window in his room. He encircled her in his arms and nuzzled her nape in a familiar gesture.

“I miss you already...” He said, and she squeezed his arms around her waist in answer.
 

“Come back to me quickly.” She said, leaning against his frame. “And don't look at other girls while I'm not here!” She added and pinched the skin of his forearm.

Yifan chuckled, tightening his embrace and tried to memorize her scent and the feeling of her small body against his own. He let one hand skim across her arm and he outstretched her fingers, his other hand quickly sliding a ring around her left ring finger. She lifted her hand and Yifan watched her admire the delicate details of the white gold wing. “I know it's a bit late, but I hope you like it.” He whispered then kissed her cheek. She thanked him, saying it was beautiful. Yifan's heart shattered in several pieces when he saw the tears glistening in her eyes once she turned around, but he said nothing and kissed her soothingly as he carried her to the bed. That night he would memorize her every planes and curves, every way her muscles worked and the way the sweat made her tan skin gleam. He would revel in her gasps and every flutter, hoping the two months they would spend apart would go by quickly.

*.*.*

“Have a good day, love.” Yifan ended the call, but not without promising that he would finally watch the latest movie Tao starred in, because apparently it was too awesome to be missed. It was funny that his girlfriend was such a big fan of EXO, but he could not say he did not understand the appeal, he had been part of the mechanism behind it after all. He took a shower then settled in sweatpants and a shirt on his bed. He looked up the internet and eventually found a pretty good quality video of the movie. He linked his computer to the flat screen across the room and laid back on his bed, intending to fall asleep before the end, still feeling content and relaxed from seeing his girlfriend some days before. He had gone to China for a few meetings and then spent a week in Beijing with her to celebrate their first year anniversary. He knew that Tan-Mi was upset over the fact that he had to extend his stay in Canada by another month, but the week with her had been peaceful and loving. Though the time they had to bask in each others presence made him miss her even more now that he was back to Canada and he could not wait to join her for good.

The plot of the movie was a sort of Chinese remake of Ocean's Eleven, except it was not about robbing casinos, but about opening the safe of a bank. Yifan was already half-asleep when Tao finally appeared on the screen during the second half of the movie. His character had been introduced earlier as some gifted kid who opened locks as a side job for a branch of the Chinese triad in Taiwan. What Yifan was not expecting though, was that his character also took part in their ion business, and that he played a stripper in his first scene. His eyes followed the close-up of the camera over Tao's body, from the first snap of his fingers to the veins on his hand which quickly moved away to let a chest appear, then the movement went up to his collarbones and his neck and to the shadow of his Adam's apple before eventually settling on his mouth. His lips parted and his tongue slowly at their plushness, inviting and tantalizing, and the ghost of their warmth brushed against Yifan's mouth. Tao's lips exhaled a breath that was caught in Yifan's throat, and the camera angle broadened to let Tao's whole body appear. He was seated on a chair, legs parted and hands on the wooden back. He stood up, hips undulating and suggesting, the little clothing he had tight on his skin, letting next to nothing to the imagination. His fingers crooked in a teasing gesture and Yifan swallowed the lump in his throat, the smirk on the other's face sending sparks to his pants. The scene ended soon after, and then, the main character was meeting a thankfully dressed Tao backstage. Yifan turned around on his bed, groaning as the unexpected fullness of his hard-on pressed against the mattress. He muted the sound of the movie and threw the remote on the ground, annoyed at the situation. He focused on his breathing, inhaling deeply before blowing the air out off his lungs. He let his mind briefly wander to his girlfriend and to her skin sliding against his own, and he cooled down by thinking about their bodies intertwined with each other in a calming embrace. Soon he fell asleep, but the next morning he woke up troubled and in a sweat, with the uncomfortable feeling that the flashes of tan skin and smoldering eyes in his dreams were not Tan-Mi's.

_______________________________

Gosssh! I hope the rumours about Kris upcoming movies are true!!!