At nine in the morning, the offices of SM LLP were just beginning to wake up. Lawyers were hard workers but not early risers. Kyungsoo had wanted to get a head start though, so he was at the reception desk at nine promptly. A sleepy middle-aged receptionist greeted him, slightly puzzled by his presence.

“I just transferred from the Seoul office,” he explained in stuttered Mandarin.

“Ah, yes, Do Kyungsoo,” she responded in Korean, “you’re earlier than expected. Well, follow me.” She led the way, winding through the maze of corridors before arriving to an office along a narrow corridor. Two placards hung on the wall just beside the door, one read his own name, the other read Meng Jia.

“You know Jia?” asked the woman. “Very nice girl, a second year associate, so only a bit senior to you. You’re a first year, right?”

“It’s been nine months.”

“Yes, right. That’ll be perfect then. I’m sure she can help you out. People usually get in around nine thirty in the morning. We’re very informal here though—it’s a smaller office and all that—your secretary will be across the hall. His name’s Zitao. He’s a bit...well, a lively young man. But very efficient. Feel free to ask him anything.”

“Thanks so much.”

The view from the office wasn’t so great. The smog from yesterday had persisted to such an extent that Kyungsoo could barely make out the buildings across the street. The Beijing boulevards were also wider than those in Seoul, and here at the heart of the city, there were fewer pedestrians than he had expected. Perhaps it was just too early.

After taking it all in, Kyungsoo began organizing his desk: setting up his computer, filing away his papers, then methodically going through his inbox. It wasn’t as cumbersome as he thought it would be—he had finished the last of his case in Seoul and almost no one had emailed him over the weekend. He almost wondered if people knew he was gone. Well, it wouldn’t be so surprising if they didn’t, he rationalized. The office in Seoul was much larger, and people came and went all the time. Still...

Meanwhile, he could hear footsteps and chatter fill the space outside his office. People had begun to arrive, were greeting each other, starting their day’s work. He wondered if he should go out to say hi. He supposed he should, it was only polite, but a reticence glued him to his chair. He hated greeting people. He felt that he always missed the right timing, and the interactions were permeated by a layer of awkwardness that never dispelled.

A decisive knock on the door. Kyungsoo swung his head away from the monitor and peered up into the eyes of ... of whom? A ninja warrior?

“I’m Zitao,” said the man, who was almost as tall as Kris, dressed from head to toe in black, with hair spiked by gel. Kyungsoo almost did a double take, but reigned himself in from an innate sense of politeness.

“Uh-ah...yes. Hello.” He stood up slowly from his seat and wondered what to do next.

“You’re Do. Kyung. Soo. Yes?”

The man spoke Korean hesitantly, as if each word were a test word. Kyungsoo nodded in reply. “Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m your secretary. I sit outside.”

“Ah, yes! Nice to meet you.” Kyungsoo thus recalled the receptionist’s short introduction just awhile earlier. He quickly contorted his body into a ninety degree bow, all the while wondering whether it was he himself who had dressed incorrectly, in his suit and tie.

“哎哟， 韩国人怎么就这么爱鞠躬啊!” Gosh, why do Koreans bow so much!

“S-sorry? Come again?”

“No, nothing. No bow, no bow! I just secretary. This China. You calm down.” said Zitao, waving his arms impatiently at Kyungsoo to straighten up.

That’s right. It was another country. They didn’t bow here—his mistake. He quickly straightened and looked uncertainly at Zitao. A lull of silence filled the room, contrasting uncomfortably with the pitter patter of heels clicking against tile and running of the copy machine and the carefree chatter just outside. Kyungsoo rummaged his brain for more words, but came up short.

Fortunately, Zitao seemed fine with doing the talking. The man stared at Kyungsoo intently for a moment before asking, completely out of the blue, “You watch Korean drama? You watch It’s Okay, It’s Love?”

“Er—I—”

“You look like the actor. D.O. You know him?”

“I—yes, but I—”

“I love Korean drama much, we have to talk. Tell me your favorites—”

“Taozi, knock it off,” interrupted a female voice.

Kyungsoo watched with bewildered eyes as a young woman strolled into the office. He heaved an inward sigh of relief, in part because he no longer had to continue the nonsensical conversation with Zitao, and in part because the woman was decked out in standard business casual, which confirmed that the Beijing office wasn’t quite as strange as he was beginning to suspect.

“Don’t mind him,” the young woman said in near perfect Korean with a friendly smile. She stopped by his desk and extended a hand. “Meng Jia. You can call me Jia. Welcome to Beijing! I’ll be your new office mate.”

“Ah, nice to meet you!”

Nice to meet you. I’m Kyungsoo. Just transferred from Seoul. First time in Beijing, not much Mandarin, hoping to learn. Nine months at the firm. Straight out of law school. The words came easily now. He was on familiar terrain, and Jia said all the right things with an easy, genuine kindness that he could feel himself calming.  

“Tao here’s a bit...what’s the word...crazy? Anyway, nice kid though. Don’t mind him,” she repeated. “He got the job because he loved Korean dramas so much that he majored in Korean in college. I mean, he’s not super at it, but for a secretary, not bad at all. Everyone here’s pretty much bilingual, just with differing levels of proficiency. You shouldn’t feel too out of place. I’ll take you around to meet everyone in a bit? It’s a small office so I’m sure you’ll get to know everyone soon.”

“Ah, yes, thanks, that would be nice.” Kyungsoo said politely. He didn’t tell her that he already felt less out of place, thanks to her. He found that he liked her a lot.

“What’s going on here?”

Kyungsoo knew he shouldn’t have been surprised at the deep voice that rang out so suddenly, that his eyes shouldn’t have widened upon sight of the blonde man casually popping in to his office, but he was shocked nonetheless. He stared at him, breathless as ever.

“Meet our new associate! Name’s Kyungsoo.” Jia said with an easy going smile. “Cute, eh? Kyungsoo, this is Kris, our youngest partner.”

“Ah-uh, yes I-we-” Kyungsoo stuttered incoherently. Did he catch a flicker of displeasure in Kris’s brown eyes just now? But why—

“We’ve met,” Kris finished smoothly.

“Oh?” Jia looked slightly puzzled, to which Kris responded, “I was in Korea couple months back, remember? For that big cross-border deal. Kyungsoo had just joined the firm.”

Kris threw Kyungsoo a meaningful look, as if to say, that’s your cue.

“Yes! I mean, yes...I had the pleasure of meeting sunbaenim when I first joined the firm.” Kyungsoo explained quietly. Looks of understanding finally dawned on both Jia and Zitao’s faces, but Kyungsoo felt compelled to add something more. He knew Kris wouldn’t want him to, but he felt the need to say it. “I-um-I really enjoyed working with sunbaenim. Actually, he was the reason—”

“Ah, I forgot. Conference call at 10,” Kris interrupted with an apologetic smile, though his view had already strayed to his blackberry. “I’ll catch you guys later. Good to see you again, Kyungsoo. Welcome to Beijing.”

Kyungsoo’s lips remained parted, but his voice caught in his throat. Kris was already walking away. Before he could say another word, Jia beat him to the punch and had followed Kris out the door.

“Wait, Yifan, need to ask you something about the Malaysia deal, got a minute?”

“Yeah, but make it quick.”

It was only after their voices had faded that Kyungsoo’s vision focused once more.

“They’d make a cute couple, huh?”

Zitao’s voice caught Kyungsoo by surprise. He had forgotten the man was still standing there. “What did you say?”

“Jia and Kris. It’s cute that he lets her call him Yifan. Well, a man like that doesn’t stay single forever. They’d make a good match.”

Kyungsoo found it odd that Zitao’s Korean was so articulate now, as he stared after the two with an out-of-character gooey smile.

“...Single?”

“Yeah, I was surprised too, but apparently, he’s been single ever since he started working here. Crazy, huh? Anyway, let me know if you need me. Jia’ll probably show you around when she gets back, but if not, I’m here for ya.”

Then he too was gone.

“Yeah, crazy...”

***

“You’re going so early?”

Kyungsoo blushed at Kris’s languid gaze. He tried to button quicker, but his clumsy fingers somehow took twice as long. Kris chuckled and tugged at him until he fell back into bed with the older man. Now eye-level with Kris’s broad chest, Kyungsoo let out a squeak and turned redder than ever.

“Soo,” Kris said with an indulgent smile, “how are you still shy around me?”

“I-I-I don’t know,” Kyungsoo stammered. “It’s just you!”

Kris chuckled again, but he stopped teasing Kyungsoo long enough to button his shirt up for him. “There you go, all set. Should I tie your tie too, babe?”

“No, it’s alright!” Kyungsoo all but squawked, leaping up from the bed and finishing the tie himself. “Alright, I think I’m ready. I’m going to head out.”

“Awn, look at you in your brand new suit. You know the office isn’t as strict on dress code as Seoul, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s my first day and I just—”

“You look adorable,” Kris interrupted. With an unexpected grace from a giant of a man, he rose from bed and leaned up to Kyungsoo to press a soft kiss on the smaller man’s plush lips. “You’ll do great. Everyone will love you.”

Kyungsoo smiled hesitantly. “If you say so. You’re sure you don’t want to head out with me?” He didn’t tell him about how his visions of the two of them going to work together, side by side, had factored into the calculus of moving to Beijing.

“Oh, I thought I’d lay low, you know? It might be suspicious. People might catch on.”

“...Catch on?”

“To our relationship. Better to go separately, so that people don’t suspect we’re too close.”

“...Oh...”

“I’ll see you in a bit though.”

And that was that. Kyungsoo’s smile faltered for a brief moment, but there seemed nothing left to say. So he picked up his briefcase and walked out the door.

After all, Kris was probably right. Their relationship wasn’t something that could thrive in the light of day. Better to hide it.

“Kyungsoo? You okay there?”

“What?” Kyungsoo blinked. A wet droplet slid down his cheeks. He promptly wiped it away and smiled at Jia, who looked at him with an expression of concern. “Yes, just having a bit of trouble with my contacts.”

“Gotcha. Was worried it might’ve been first day nerves or something. Well, everyone’s about here now. I can take you around the office? And I think you might be working with Yixing, so we can start with him. What do you say?”

“Sounds great.”