An unknown loose floated through our office when I neatly stacked the papers I had read, sitting back comfortably in the chair behind the desk and whistling a random melody. Even though something utterly important standing before me, I seemed to be uplifted that day, perhaps due to the second cup of coffee Yixing had voluntarily and without question brought to my table with a smile.

Something in my light heart told me Kyungsoo would negate my worst beliefs and reassure me off the insignificance of files like the ones I had seen, the other part should remain unspoken of. Nervousness visible in forming sweat that I masked with vigorous body movements to distract the man at the desk behind my own. The odd alternations, faster than in a song, didn't pass by him unnoticed; he had glanced at me several times which allegedly working on something of utmost importance, while I counted down the minutes to my lunch break.

For the last five minutes I submerged in merely staring at the small announcement of time at the bottom right corner of the display, acting as if I read through something. My fingers nervously tapped against the edge of the keyboard beneath my face, almost in rhythm with the passing time.

Click, click, click— clicks over clicks had gained me irritated stares from the male who furrowed his eyebrows at me. I shrugged off his intense observation on me, in full belief of his lack of knowledge. When the 59 behind turned into two zeros, I shoot up from my chair and already held my small bag in my hand.

"Lunch break." I announced as I stood with a crooked smile, leaning over my desk to turn the screen off, "I'll see you later."

It would have been a lie to say he didn't detect and register my different behavior today, but it would have been the truth to admit that he could not find the reason behind it— not even with the longest and most thorough quest. It was a hidden connective he was lacking and that I possessed, and suddenly the rules of our naughty little secrecy game had changed to my advantage. Finding the connective he was camouflaging with sweet words appealed to me, not only due to wit. Curiosity written in bold letters across my mind flashed before my eyes as I shuffled out of the office, not minding anyone in particular. Some were already gone, some in a heated conversation, some spending their lunch here. Yixing was the only one whose reaction diverged so strikingly as he watched me with full concentration as I walked out. Unless he had stopped me in the next few seconds, all of that would have remained uncommented by him.

I slipped out of the office and into the outside world more rapid than I had expected in the morning, when I laid out the plan in my head and noted down possible hindrances. In my case these only involved a noisy girl that seemed to have disappeared, and a mischievous man who wasn't familiar with such confidence of mine. Nevertheless, he didn't seem to mind, no attempt to prevent me from leaving so abruptly, no new work piled on my desk.

Allowed to freely march down the street of our building, my eyes found the cafe behind the small grocery store nearby. I put my hand around the strap of my bag that hung loosely from my shoulder and took a deep breath, another when I arrived right in front of the glass door. From outside I could already spot the joker I used in our game, his back was facing me as I pushed the heavy door open and stumbled inside.

The table he sat at was not located too for from the entrance, and so he turned around as the small bell above the door signaled someone's arrival. I returned the smile he shot towards my direction in the far distance as I let the door fall back into its lock. By the time the male at the round table had enthusiastically called out my name, the barista behind the counter had registered my entry as well.

"Jiye!" Even though his voice wasn't loud and penetrative, the entire body of the café must have heard him, judging by the size of the clearance.

"Kyungsoo!" I repeated his name with the same enthusiasm that rushed through my veins, and approached the table he sat at. He was standing by the time I arrived, extending his arms widely for a warm embrace. Due to work, we hadn't seen each other since the first time we went out with Yixing. That one, odd night.

I practically flew into his arms and connected mine around his back, heaving a content sigh as we remained dwelling in our hug for a few seconds, "Thank you for taking your time for me during work, especially because I haven't called much these last few weeks." I detached myself from him and looked at him, which wasn't as difficult as it was with Yixing in such close distance; Yixing was about two heads taller, while Kyungsoo and me almost shared the same height.

"Don't worry Jiye," He pulled the chair back and offered me to sit, "I know work has been stressing you out and so has mine. By the way, I already ordered to coffee, like you want it." Smiling, he peeked over to the counters.

I gave him a smile of gratitude and eagerly watched the waiter bring our drinks soon after he had mentioned it to me, while he repositioned himself in his chair. Bringing the coffee cup to his lips as he leaned forward, he rose his eyebrow at me, "So," He took a sip and gulped down, "What's the matter that you need an IT-expert?"

"One's and Zero's" I said, before mimicking his actions and placing the rim of the cup to my lips, "Printed over fifteen pages, " I emphasized, "Top secret."

"Binary codes.." Almost reminiscently, Kyungsoo leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Crash course?" He nodded at me, even before he got an obvious response.
"A binary code represents text, computer processor instructions, or other data using any two-symbol system, like 0 and 1. The binary code assigns a pattern of binary digits to each character. For example, a binary string of eight bits can represent any of 256 possible values and can therefore represent a variety of different items."

He looked my bafflement for a moment and fished out a small notebook from his bag, followed by a pen whose cap he removed with his teeth. "Look here," He placed the paper onto the table where I could see, and scribbled down of differently arranged 0's and 1's with a concentrated frown beneath his brows. He turned it to me fully when finished, "This here, for example, is the word number using binary codes."

I eyed the few numbers for a few seconds, that for me was just a randomly chosen arrangement of the two digits, before blinking at him in confusion. "And why do people use this complicated code-language instead of just using the actuals letters and words?"

"Depends on what kind of source you're trying to encode." He proceeded to lean back in his chair again, now holding the cup of coffee in his hands. "In what folder were the binary codes used?"

Trying to find a rapid and additionally plausible reply for something you could not properly understand yourself was difficult, therefore I simpered the excuse that Yixing and Jongin had served to me on a plate numerous times, "Finances." I muttered, hiding my face behind the big cup of warm liquid.

"Hm, that's usually not the ordinary thing people use this system for," He tilted his head and eyed his notebook on the table between us, "However it still works, in computing and telecommunications they are basically used for various methods of encoding data, such as characters strings into bit strings, and even numbers." Before he continued his explanations, his gaze traveled up to my nervous eyes with a frown. "Why are you asking anyways? You're not their accountant, right?"

Once again I was caught in the inevitable zone of finding a reply to something I had not contemplated upon earlier. Of course he would ask why I had such strange questions, working as a journalist, of course! "Uhm," I cleared my throat and placed the cup on my thighs," Just in case Yixing might ever ask me about it, I don't want to appear completely stupid." Of course, he'd never do such a thing, but what was kept unknown wouldn't hurt Kyungsoo.

"Yixing huh." He smiled from behind his cup, "You've dropped formalities, I see."

Oh Kyungsoo, I'd drop a lot of other things for this man, believe me. "We're friendly with each other," I stated sternly, "Just work."

"Just work.." The male on my opposite side chuckled, while his eyes drifted to something that was located behind me, near the entrance of the cafe. "Is that why he followed you here?"

My eyes widened and I almost lost grip around the glass between my hands, my lips shaking, "Excuse me?" I turned my head in a swift motions on a quest to find what his eyes had spied just previously very correctly, much to my displeasure. I gulped at the sight of the elegant entry of the man I had expected and wished to be here for the least, softening my sharp eyes as his found their way to them.

"Great." I muttered under my breath, as the male approached our table with a wide grin, loosening the collar of his perfectly ironed dress shirt. He was holding his phone to his ear, putting it down once he took in the sight of Kyungsoo and me.

I heard a quiet snicker from my friend behind me, earning him a clear point on my black list shortly before Yixing arrived right beside us in clear hurry.
"I did not expect to find you here, Jiye." He spoke, completely out of breath, "I was just about to call you—", he wiggled his phone, "—and get coffee, there's an emergency interview for which I need your assistance. Krystal is sick."
He looked at me for a few seconds, who was struggling to even breathe steadily, before his eyes made their way to Kyungsoo.

"Oh, I apologize." Plastering a timid smile on his face, he bowed to Kyungsoo, "You're Kyungsoo, right? We met in the bar before! I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch break right now."

Kyungsoo did a signature and wild gesticulation with his hands, in order to reassure Yixing. "No worries, no worries, distress calls for different measures." When our eyes met, he started to grin strangely, "What a coincidence though! Jiye and me were just talking about you and—"

"Which is why—" I almost chugged the cup with little coffee left onto the table and sprung out of my seat in order to prevent Kyungsoo from exposing even more embarrassing things, "This is a good time to leave. You need assistance? I'm done here." My claim was welcomed by chuckles of both men, making a red blush appear on my cheeks.

"Thank you." Yixing whispered while putting his palm against my lower back, before looking at Kyungsoo. "It was nice to see you again, Kyungsoo."

***

A walk out of a cafe had never been so awkward, and a palm placed against my back was never this frustrating— solutions to both usual events lied closely to the fact that both were in one or the other way connected to Yixing, who had made the most surprising attendance just a few minutes ago.

Just now, dragging me out of the place after I bid my farewell to Kyungsoo with an angered glare, he remained silent and simply watched me from the corner of his sharp eyes. We were approaching a car, which I recognized as his, making me look up to him in confusion.

"You were being serious about the interview?" Surprise was hinted in my voice.

He looked down at me for a blink of an eye before finding his car keys in the pocket of his dress pants, opening it from afar. "I would certainly not disturb your lunch break for other purposes than work, right?" His words carried a smirk, startling me deeply into my core.

"Are you going to this coffee shop often?" I asked, more out of need to interrogate him and find the real meaning behind this coincidence, than curiosity. "I've never seen you there."

Opening the door to the passenger's seat, he eyed the side of me curiosity. "Are you a frequenter?"

"No, but I visit quite—"

"But I am a frequenter." He stated his fact as I climbed into the passenger's seat, shutting the door right after his words had ceased their echo in the inside of the car. I kept silent afterwards as he got into the driver's seat and shut his door just as noisily, before gripping the steering wheel somewhat aggressively. I tilted my head to look into my lap where my bag was placed, still registering his sublet gaze from my peripheral vision.

He didn't say anything, when starting the engine of the car, not when he drove down the road past the building our redaction was located in, not when we reached the highway after a few minutes of only the faint radio humming in the background. His left elbow was stemmed against the rim of the opened window, his head leaned against it as he steered the automobile with his right. His gaze was strictly focused on the traffic, and only I dared to disturb the strong tension lingering between the two of us with only one question; oblivious enough.

"Are you mad?"

Indeed, there lied a mixture of anger and something inexplainable in his features, like a fracture of fury and a bit of question mark. Nontheless, he steered the car into one of those big parking lots underground in continuing silence, keeping his cool and leisure composure, entirely disregarding my question.

I internally sighed as I was gifted with naught once again, sinking further into the car seat as he parked the car in a dark corner of the underground parking space, above which the alleged building we needed to enter was. The car came to an ultimate halt as he positioned it with precision and skill, before removing the keys quickly. The only sound, that has previously carried in some normality, was drained out in a matter of a second once the car completely shut down.

"I'm not mad." His statement was not very credible due to the growl hidden in his accentuation.

I turned my face to look into his properly, "What is it then?" I rose my eyebrows, tilting my head to the side, "It can't be the interview frightening the expert, the professional Zhang Yixi—"

Other than a clear response, I got something of different weight today; the continuous gifts and the honey-smooth excuses he used to wrap me around his finger were only one of a kind. But this was something new, something I had longed at many times before in which we were closer than we should have been, but still to far from pleasing my lunatic mind.

I had not imagined it to be in an automobile, but his kiss was blissfully pleasing and sweet and his lips, that moved with tormenting slowness against mine, were like molten gold. Even though it was rather soft in intensity, his hand placed on my thigh easily increased the width of the spark in my stomach. I was nauseous and disbelieved of what was going in, but managed to move my mouth's flesh against his with similar firmness soon. It was short, but king enough to make my head spin, shy, but passionate enough to tie a knot right in my core. I wanted more, but it ended so soon, with his eyes locking with my own as our faces detached.

"I don't like seeing you with other men, Jiye." The warm breaths that fell from his mouth danced against my goosebump-covered skin, and the dark brown of his orbs absorbed the entirety of my existence in this moment. It was just a clear statement, but the person behind it was the deal— jealousy from Zhang Yixing, who had continuously ran a game with me, had now tripped over his methods and traps.

Maybe the trap had not been set by him, but I clearly learnt from the master of all, even if I did not intend such result.

~
:) so romantic my ass is crying over here lmao it wasn't supposed to be anyways I MEAN ROMANTIC AMD YIXING DONT COME IN ONE SENTENCE OR DO THEY