I couldn't keep my composure after walking to the office the next morning. Things from last night kept reoccurring and replaying in my mind in an endless loop, the emotions it had caused intensifying after my eyes had laid on the person being involved in the cunning mind game.

Yixing was leaned against his desk with a cup of coffee in his hands, like every morning, faint eye bags were worn underneath his dark orbs. In his other hand he held the folder that I had placed on his desk the night before, containing the article that I was supposed to write until today. He had eyed the outside of the folder before his eyes flickered up as he perceived my shadow at the glass door of his office. My trembling hand extended to grasp the handle of the door, yet a small gesture of Yixing's hand made me halt
my every movement while my fingers wrapped tighter around the metal.

With the hand that held the folder carefully, he pointed to something behind me as a faint smile adorned his pursed lips. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and my lips fell agape as I attempted to comprehend his gesture, however my irritation was yet to vanish when a hand wrapped around my shoulder like mine around the metal handle.

Almost instantly I turned my entire body around in a blink of an eye, facing a well-tempered Lisa who wore a tired yet joyful expression on her beautiful face.
"Morning Jiye!", she beamed while raising her cup of coffee at me, "Junmyeon told you about our plans for later? You didn't forget, right?"

I returned her lovely smile and replied with a short shake of my head. "Of course not, I'll be there. The usual place? 8pm?"

"Yes! Some of the other workers will be there too, so it should be fun." She glanced at the desks in Yixing's office behind me, and I wondered if his gaze was still focused on the two of us. "Today's your due date, I see. Good luck." She pat my shoulder, studying my face attentively. "You look nervous."

I sighed slightly and leaned against the glass door of the office, rolling my eyes before closing them for a short moment of comfort. "Because I am, I don't know if he has already read it or if he wants to read it while I'm there to directly tell me all the mistakes I made."

"Don't worry. Remember that I read it and was positively surprised? You evolved a lot since I last read your works. Moreover Yixing seems to be fond of you, and hence I believe he won't be scolding you like his previous assistants."

I let out a small chuckle. "Sounds very optimistic."

"The only way you can find out if he has already read it, is to go inside and ask." She flicked my forehead and distanced her body from mine with a step backwards. "See you at lunchtime, scaredy cat."

I watched her stride towards her own desk while still leaned against the glass and my hands firmly gripping the jet black bag that was hung on my shoulder. Now that she had left, pictures of Yixing's face up close crossed my mind over and over again, and I gradually dwelled in the feeling of his soft and slender hands digging into my waist.
Somehow I fell out of my own set trap when my eyes aimlessly trailed along the office and fell on Junmyeon, who waved at me from over his office.

With a slight tremble on my lips I pushed my body off the door to turn on my heels swiftly with my eyes focused on my feet. When my body had completely came to face the door with my front, I eventually lifted my head to wrap my hand around the handle again. Nevertheless someone had already planned something in between my own ideas— Yixing himself stood right in front of the glass door, his body so close to the glass and only separated from my own with it. My eyes were instantly drawn to his dark ones, a slight glint of curiosity sparked in his as we kept them glued to each other.

He beckoned me inside the office with his index finger slowly and leaned back to open the door that pushed inside the office room. There he stood in all his beauty and grace, dark suit pants hugging the manly curves of his body that distracted my every thought. "Morning Jiye." He left my mind hazed with his signature, charming smirk. "Come inside, I've been waiting."

I cleared my throat as I once again tightened my grip around my bag, walking inside the office to stride towards my desk hastily. When my body brushed past his, an electric spark shot a shiver down my spine. "Good morning.", I whispered.

"I've read your article." He chirped, following me behind slowly with his hands crossed behind his lower back.

My eyes widened as they were focused on the surface of my desk where my hands were placed. I turned my head automatically, facing the male whose body was distanced from mine only a foot or two. "You did?" My eyes softened as I detected his reassuring nod, my palpitations decreased a beat or two yet no more. His body was still too close and radiated unexplainable vibes off to my own that seemed to eat me from the outside.

"I did." He seemed to lean his torso closer as he towered over me, his eyes narrowed to study every single feature on my face before they landed back on my squinted eyes that were previously nervously following the movement of his.
"It was beyond all my expectations, Jiye. Your choice of words was perfect, your metaphors and stylistic devices were chosen cunningly." He coaxed my words while he leaned against the edge of the desk with his hip, trapping me between himself and it.

I shook my head to clear my head from the inappropriate thoughts that raced through my mind considering our position and the events of last night. Despite trying my best to keep a calm and steady voice, I felt it break underneath my words as I spoke. "What?"

"I learned a lot by the way you used your words to describe and portray their attitude." He brought his fingers to his chin and rubbed it in deep thought, his eyes trailing to the window behind my head for a second before they darted back to me. "Superficial charm, shallow and empty emotions, lack of remorse, constant outbursts to satisfy themselves, poor control over themselves, delinquency. I only read your article once and I do remember all those characteristics thanks to the way you presented them to the reader." I watched his Adam's apple bop up and down as he spoke and emphasized every single word in the most intense and flirtatious way.
"Their incapacity to love, your capacity to capture one with words."

I almost felt like fainting when I seized the content of his words while looking into his sparkling eyes. They seemed even darker, now that his voice adopted such a rich and golden tone, while mine was a mere and barely audible whisper between our faces.
"You're satisfied with it? Are you serious?"

He was dead serious, at least that's what he kept on repeating tens of times that day. He had distanced his body from mine soon, enabling me to finally breathe and intake oxygen again to not submit to the death his handsomeness was creating above me like a dark cloud.

While I was browsing the inter webs and helping him with his newest piece in the following hours, I kept reminding myself of one thing countless of times; Yixing was still my superior and I had to somehow cease all the weird excited tingles my body produced upon his sight or the perceivable warmth of his body.

When I left my desk to join Lisa for lunch, Yixing's eyes trailed up my body as if they did a sweep over them tantalizingly slow. "Lunchtime?" He questioned with a raised brow.

"Yes." I gave him a nod and a smile that uncontrollably found its way to my thin lips. "When are you going to have lunch?"

"Soon I guess." He did a few clicks on his computer mouse while I gathered my things into my bag, before he averted his gaze to my body again. "Are you going to the bar later as well?"

My head snapped up upon hearing his last two words, my fingernails sharply grazing over the table as I dragged a notebook along it slowly. "Yes, Jumyeon and Lisa invited me yesterday. Why are you asking?"

If he was going to tell me I need to work overtime, I'd surely want to strangle his godly shaped throat.

"I should buy you a drink later then, for you great work." He plopped his elbow on the desk and placed his head on the back of his hand, alluringly batting his lashes as he eyed me. "I have some business to do outside of here, so we'll see each other later?"

I stood silently at my desk, grasping the lissom yet slight movements of his body and attempting to form a proper and logical sentence inside my head where word were scattered all over the place.

"Uhm, sure." I rose the corners of my mouth into an unsure smile and let a tinkling laugh escape through it. "I'll see you later then, good luck."

He only chuckled inwardly when I wore my jacket and quietly marched my way out of his office with the only sound audible being the clinking of the keys in my hands. My eyes had already focused on Lisa walking around the tables outside before I left the room, but it only urged me to rush towards her with accelerating speed. I felt Yixing's stare on my back throughout the entire momentum of leaving the office, and I wanted to hit myself upon the ever returning tingling inside of me.

Luckily Lisa's presence right beside me made a cooling rush wash through my body, as if to cleanse me from the impure thoughts that arose in my mind due to Yixing's seemingly innocent and normal gestures. I shook my head, making her eyebrows furrow.

"Is everything okay?" She glued her eyes to my face as we exited the office hastily. "I didn't want to disturb you during work and burst inside while Yixing was there, so what did he say?" She hesitated for a moment as she noticed my silence. "About your article, I mean."

I couldn't believe my own words as I replied to her, thus my facial expression was empty and anything but defined. "He loved it."

And I loved that he loved it, I grew fond of the idea of doing this countless of times until I would grow tired of it one day. His words were my greatest motivation and biggest source of optimism for my future, whoever I was going to write an article for.
Moreover I grew fond of the idea of him joining our meet up later, for reasons that I pretended to be unknown even though they were obvious like the growing grin on my face.

"That's a success." She clapped her hands together and laughed sweetly as she noticed my happiness. "You're finally back to normal, I guess we can celebrate that later hm? I'm glad it's Friday."

"Me too, me too Lisa."

God, I couldn't anticipate to meet Yixing outside of work.

__________________

I was late, of course I was— it was already past eight when I stumbled into the bar that Lisa, Junmyeon, me and out other friends usually met in when I was still studying in university. It was our weekly Friday here, which I've missed due to the stack of work that waited for me these last weeks of preparing for my job and actually working as an assistant. I heaved a relief sigh as my eyes focused on the small sitting space with couches in the far right corner of the building, where only some of my friends and co workers were sitting and patiently awaiting the arrival of others.

Knowing I was not the last to arrive made me walk over towards the round table with more thrill and excitement for the night, Junmyeon taking a glimpse at me when I was still striding down the bar.

"Jiye!" He called my name from the back, making the other's heads turn simultaneously while some of them were already sipping on some drinks.

"I know, I know." Arriving at the small space, I sunk down in the couch on which people were yet to sit. My eyes focused on everyone who was already there, including Lisa, Junmyeon, Yura, Chanyeol and Jongin who gave me their signature, gleeful grins when our eyes found their way to each other.
"I know I'm late." I sighed, shoving my black leather jacket down my narrow shoulders. "I still cleaned the office before I left earlier."

"The perks of having your desk in the open office." Jongin chuckled and raised his glass, containing a golden liquid with strong smell, looking into my eyes as he took a sip of it.

Yura giggled loudly as she leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her exposed chest. "Come on, she gets to work with one of the best writers. Speaking of which, where is he? Wasn't he supposed to come as well?" She squinted her eyes at Junmyeon who shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess he will arrive soon. Did he speak to you, Jiye?"

"He sounded like the intended to come as well." I let my eyes trail along the people and groups that amassed in the spacey bar, before darting them back to Junmyeon and Lisa. "I'll go to the toilet and then get a new drink, I'll be right black. Save my seat incase one of the others arrives!"

I put my bag down onto the surface that I previously sat on after arising to stand. Lisa gave me a nod of her head as a reply while the other indulged into their own conversations again, Yura whole heartedly complaining about the huge pile of folders on her desk she was supposed to input, analyze and evaluate, Jongin shoving his glass of beer towards her to kindly shut her up. I frankly could agree with his gesture and mentally thanked him for his deed for mankind.

At least some of us had some common sense, I thought, while tangling myself through the table and chairs to walk towards the restrooms that were located near the entry. The entire bar smelled of cooled down cigarette smoke and the faint scents of girls and manly fragrances on the people's bodies. Especially in the bathroom, passing the sinks, one could be engrossed in a fog of freshly sprayed deodorant that smelled like middle school teen girls.

Thus, I finished my business in the bathroom rather quickly and washed my hands in speed of light to escape the suffocating walls where mixed smells etched in the pit of my stomach. I exited the restrooms and the room filled with girlish, tinkling laughter and rushed towards the bar with heavy breaths.

I placed my arms flat against the surface of the bar and leaned forward to catch the attention of the worker behind the counter. I scanned a few bottles and the card with the available liquids and mixtures, tapping the tips of my fingers on the cold plastic as he slowly neared to me.

"What can I get for you?" He raised his eyebrow while wiping dry a long drink glass with a white cloth. My eyes trailed to his face and I immediately recognized him, while his were yet to trail up from the bottles and glasses in front of him.

"Hey Xiumin." I let out a small chuckle and eyed the man, who-upon the mentioning of his name- lifted his head swiftly to have our eyes lock.

"Jiye." He emphasized my name with a small laugh, amused about his slight stupidity. "Nice to see you again, you haven't been around in some weeks."

"I'm working in Junmyeon's company's now, I was preparing for everything kind of. But we're all here tonight." I placed my hand against my cheeks and sighed through my faint smile. "Can you get me a Mojito?"

As he was about to prepare my order while putting the now clean and dry glass in front of him, an arm extended past my body and its hand wrapped around the edge of the bar counter. I felt the heat of another body behind me, a lingering, scented cloud of cologne mixed with the smell of cigarettes and alcohol and finally penetrated my nose. I shivered as I recognized the familiarity of the smell, registering the husk sound of the voice that was dangerously close to my ear.

"Make that two."

My eyes widened for only a short moment, maybe even a mere blink of an eye, as Xiumin raised his eyebrows. I gave him an reassuring nod, heaving a loud sigh as I tilted my head to the right where the body was positioned suggestively close to my own.

"Aren't cocktails something for girls and women, Mr. Zhang?" I chuckled slightly as I leaned my cheek against my palm anew, eyeing the side profile of the person that was now smirking towards the bottles of liquor at the wall behind the counters. The dim lights that reflected in the glass of the bottles hit the surface of his eyes perfectly and resulted in a sheer glaze of mixed colors in his orbs, that soon observed me.

"I guess so." As our eyes finally met, I felt like being punched into a state of total haze wherein I could only focus on the richness of his voice and the golden molten hues of his perfect skin.
"But I need to try out things in order to get to know what my assistant likes, am I right Jiye?"

I giggled as a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, completely drowning out the presence of Xiumin behind the bar counters. I even slightly blushed at the ambiguity that laced through his every word, making him lean closer which simultaneously triggered me to push my butt against the seat behind me.

"Maybe?" My voice had a questioning tone as I replied, my eyes never leaving his. "Is that drink on you?"

It was weird to notice— outside of the office Yixing's ambiguity and the hidden seductiveness in his movements didn't cause tingles that I wanted to disappear into nothing. It was quite the contrary, despite them tickling me only faintly in the pit of my stomach, I wanted them to last and intensify until I'd dare to play along.

I think, he knew as well. "This and many more."

______

Oh boi Yixing makes me flip. Wait for the second part of the night in the next chapter~
Oh by the way, the reason the chapter might seem like they "fly by" has reason, since these are all kind of flashbacks or like the background story!