you're gonna drive me crazy
you're gonna drive me mad
you got an angel on your shoulder
makin hairpins outta glass

Kris has traveled to every major city in the world; he’s walked the streets of Paris, smelled the roses in Milan, looked up at the skyscrapers in New York and didn’t forget to stop by at a tea shop in London. He’s met and worked with countless fashion labels, Versace, Givenchy, Comme des Garçons, Vogue, and Chanel being only a few of them. He’s even risen so high up in the industry to start his own fashion label XOXO.

So when he stops by at three in the morning at the nearest supermarket to replace a toothbrush he forgot in his previous hotel and spots someone wearing the most raggedy most old most ripped up sweats Kris has ever seen, you can’t blame a man for exploding.

The boy in front of him is reading what looks to be the back label of a milk bottle, his stance is relaxed and his back is facing Kris. So he has no idea when the said man is approaching like a tiger ready to strike from across the store when he first laid eyes on the horrendous sweats. Kris is wearing his latest faux-leather line that includes ridiculously tight skinnies and heavily studded biker jacket. He’s also got on his favorite pair of harry potter lookalike black framed glasses that he swears are coming back in style, and gold jewelry that probably weighs more than the boy in front of him.

He glides smoothly across the mart with his long legs and taps the boys shoulder twice with his bony finger making sure he jabs swiftly straight into the others flesh. He wants the shorter male to feel the same pain he felt when he was forced to look at the horrendous fashion.

The shorter boy turns his head towards Kris, eyes big and curious and little peeved. Probably wondering why someone as gorgeous and tall as Kris would bother talking to someone so obviously immersed in milk nutrition facts.

In that moment Kris realizes he’s made a crucial mistake.

In all the scenarios that played through his head on how this would go down none of them involved a cute boy, Kris feels a tickle of sweat building in the back of his neck but he’s already gone too far to stop now. Even though the mart is abandoned at this hour Kris knows the cashier saw him saunter from half across the store. He has a reputation to keep, no matter whom it is that is putting it at stake.

So Kris, in the best Korean he can muster up mutters a quick “Excuse me.” Trying to sound cool but still intimidating as possible.

He didn’t count, however, on the spit that goes flying from his mouth and lands directly on the other boys cheek.

All of the years Kris has spent running a company and dealing with only the top in the fashion industry couldn’t have prepared him for this moment or the feeling of pure mortification that’s hit him like a shotgun through the chest. He feels it from the tip of his head to his toes. He thinks this is what Alexander Wang must have felt when he rejected his offer to collab, publicly, through twitter.

The boy takes a startled step back, eyes completely shocked as he raises a hand to wipe at his cheek but Kris is one step faster and plants his palm on the others face in an awkward caress. His hand is that of a giant and covers practically half of the boys head.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry-” Kris is sputtering rubbing the others cheek with so much force that the boy drops his milk, bottle cap busting open and the contents inside spilling all over the floor and all over Kris’ Christian Louboutin sneakers. Kris screams.

____

Kris should have felt the first signs of danger when he knew he would be stopping in Seoul.

“Kris?” A voice sounded from outside his hotel door. The man in question was finishing up packing his things to leave Paris. His runway show went perfectly and he already had multiple articles online relaying his various designs to the world.

“Come in.” Kris mumbled half distracted trying to find a missing pair to one of his vicuna socks. Normally Kris wouldn’t of cared so much for a missing sock but this one in particular cost him a thousand dollars and there were only 10 that where produced. A pretty damn special sock if you asked him.

Lay his best friend/advisor/lifecoach/shareholder sauntered into his hotel room looking only a bit amused at Kris sticking out from under the hotel bed but he knew the other long enough to not even bother asking him about his weird antics. Kris was simply….Kris.

“The date of the press conference for our new store opening in Hong Kong has been officially released to the public. It’s gaining a lot of media attention so far, there’s going to be quite a crowd.”

Kris only responds with an affirmative, but pleased, grunt before letting out a whoop of joy and banging his head on the bed frame. A few seconds later he comes out one hand rubbing the injured area on his cranium and the other holding a thousand dollar vicuna fabric sock.

Lay rolls his eyes and settles on helping Kris pack. “We’re leaving to Hong Kong in an hour, due to some weather conditions though I’ve been informed we’re going to have to have a layover in South Korea rather than Japan.”

As Lay expected Kris’ face lights up at the mention of Korea. He knew his friend had fallen in love with the country long ago and even learned the language in hopes of one day permanently living there. Kris looks pensive for a moment before seeming to make his mind about something. “Actually, the press conference isn’t until another two weeks right? Let’s switch our flight to South Korea and stay there a couple of days. It will give me time to talk to some labels I’ve been eyeing to collab with.”

And shop around in Hongdae Lay mentally thought to himself, if there’s one thing he knew about Kris it was that the other loved Korean fashion and always got inspiration just from wandering the streets of the more fashionable districts.

“Alright I’ll call to change our flight plans.”

Kris nodded and bit back an open smile; his gums had no business showing in a time like this. So he settled on a small curve at the corner of his lips.

____

The plane ride is First Class, of course, and Kris still argues that if he had not invested so much of his money on his label he would’ve of bought a private Jet by now. Lay just snores the whole way there on the seat next to him and even makes a show on drooling on Kris’ expensive wool coat.

Once they land and Kris has changed his coat (there’s no way he can be seen wearing a coat with drool stains no matter how much Lay apologizes) they book a hotel room and comfortably begin to settle in.

It’s around three in the morning when Kris is in the midst of settling for bed that he realizes he can’t find his tooth brush. This is a huge no no for the fashionista because as much as he hates to admit it his teeth are a key point of his face and they will gather attention no matter what. He needs good dental hygiene more than anything.

So he quickly puts on an outfit that suits a 3 in the morning rendezvous and saunters out the hotel room hailing a cab with only a flick of his wrist. He directs it to the nearest supermarket and even offers to pay double if the cab driver makes it quick. The cab driver is an old ahjussi that only gives him a pointed look before driving a block down the street before stopping in front of a small mart. Kris shoves the money in the ahjussi’s hand and leaves the cab feeling dirty, he hopes he didn’t get any lint on his pants.

And of course stepping into that mart is what led to his current predicament.

There’s apologies coming from both ends and the stranger offers to pay for the damaged sneakers even though Kris was the one who was really at fault.

He watches the boy’s face pale when he tells him how much the sneakers cost him. In a small voice the other asks if he would accept a payment plan.

Kris lets out a sigh and looks at the boy from head to toe, shuddering slightly at the ugly grey sweats but then an idea starts to form in his head. The other is still looking a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation.

“What’s your name?” Kris chimed, sidestepping when the cashier came over with a mop and glared at both of them.

The boy looked a bit startled but answered any way. “I’m Kyungsoo, Do Kyungsoo.”

Kris nodded and proceeded to strike a deal. “Well listen Do Kyungsoo, I’m willing to forgive you for my shoes and even pay for the milk on one condition.”

Kyungsoo looked a bit pensive at making a deal with a stranger but the price of those shoes is way out of his budget at the moment so he just sighs and nods. “Alright, let’s hear it what are your terms?”

Kris smirks.

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