Areum’s POV

“You skipped class.” Chanyeol puts his hand on my shoulder and stops me from entering the diner.

I look over at him and shake him off with a twitch of my shoulder. “Yeah, so what.”

He frowns and walks in beside me. “You never skip class, you’re a model student.”

I scoff. “There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?”

He furrows his brows at me and gave me a confused expression. “I-I mean… I guess.”

Before I can say anymore, Chanyeol rushes ahead to get changed. Was I too out of character?

Slowly, I drag my feet behind me and follow after him. I get changed quickly and return to my position as a waitress. Not once do I see Kai.

“Hey,” I tap Xiumin on the shoulder as he’s about to bring in some dishes. “Where’s Kai?”

He tilts his head at me and looks around curiously. “Not here? He’s on duty though.”

“What’s wrong?” Luhan stops beside us and dries his hands on his apron. “Who’s skipping?”

“Kai.” Xiumin and I say at the same time.

Luhan gives a low chuckle and waves for Baekhyun to come over.

“Yeah, Kai’s not coming today. He told me already.” Baekhyun explains. He tells the others to get back to work then pulls me aside with him. “Did something happen between you two?”

I pause, remembering our exchange on the roof, then shake my head. Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at me, but says nothing. He assigns me to work with him behind the front counter where he can keep an eye on me. We work in silence, greeting the customers and cashing their receipts in. When the day is over, Baekhyun holds me back by my wrist while the others leave the diner one by one.

“Aish, what is it?” I say finally as the last of the workers leave. I yank my hand out of his grip and walk a few steps back. “Are you keeping me captive here?”

He bites his lip then looks me in the eye with a smirk. “Well no, but if you want to stay, I don’t mind.”

I flush and tear my eyes from his. This guy is getting bolder with his comments.

“Anyways, I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

He pauses for what seems like forever. I look at him again, waiting for his question.

“Where did you go for the last two periods of class?” He asks, finally.

I sigh. “Nowhere, I didn’t feel like going to class that’s all.”

He narrows his eyes. “Really?”

I feel the colour rise in my cheeks again and I turn away. I’m a bad liar, I know that’s a fact.

“You met up with Kai didn’t you,” He says. “That’s why he’s not coming to work today. Something happened between the two of you.”

I keep quiet, mentally holding a white flag to him. He’s right of course, but I don’t want to have to explain myself.

He waits for me to say something. I hear his slow breathing behind me, edging me on to say something, but I’m determined to keep my mouth shut. What happened between Kai and I, stays between Kai and I.

“You’re not going to tell me what happened?” He asks, leaning his head to the side, trying to see my face.

“Why do you care?” I say spinning around to face him. “Why do you care about my every move, my every detail?”

His eyes widen slightly. “What, are you only noticing it now?”

I bit down on my teeth. No of course not, I’ve just been ignoring it.

“Ari,” His voice is suddenly softer. “Kai might not seem like it, but he really is a dangerous person.”

I look away. There he goes again with that ‘he’s dangerous’ warning.

“Just because he hurt somebody in the past doesn’t mean-“

In a flash, Baekhyun’s hands are on my shoulders. “You don’t know him like I do, it wasn’t just-“

He pauses and widens his eyes. “What did he tell you?”

“What do you mean?”

“He told you about Ally, didn’t he?” Baekhyun lets go of me and slams his hand down on the counter in frustration. “Damn him, DAMN HIM!”

What’s going on?

“Ari, Kai is lying to you.” He says flatly, not meeting my eyes. “I’m telling you now, get away from him while you still can.”

There’s a long pause where I just stare at him. This boy, who has the biggest of smiles at school, is now standing with his shoulders raised and his brows furrowed. There is no signs of his cheerful self, only deep hatred that resides in his every move. I reach out my hand for him, but pull back as soon as I realise what I was about to do.

“It’s late... I’m going home.” I mutter, holding my arms close to my chest. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sure there are questions in my head, but I still can’t decide whether or not I want to know the answer. I bow my head slightly and head to get changed. When I come out again with my belongings, Baekhyun’s still in the same position I left him in. Without a word, I leave the dinner and head home. Parts of me waits for him to call me back, to tell me to stay, but he doesn’t.

Where’s the Baekhyun that I’ve known. Who is this stranger that claims to be Baekhyun?

-----

Kai comes to school the next day. He’s already in the classroom when I enter but doesn’t glance at me as I pass him. With a frown I head to my desk where-

Another white rose.

Baekhyun has really outdone himself.

I hold it to my nose and give it a sniff. Somehow, it smells different than usual.

I don’t know why, but my eyes move towards Kai. His hair’s a mess today, like he doesn’t care anymore.

How is he eating at home? Is he still eating those noodles?

I sit down and lean on my arms, thinking back on the day I was over at his place. I’m supposed to go and make him dinner again today, does he remember?

Almost as if it was on cue, Kai turns his head slightly in my direction. I straighten up in surprise, preparing myself to meet his eye.

“Ari!” The classroom door slams open and Baekhyun walks in. He bounces towards me after tossing a glance at Kai. The two of them exchange a brief and subtle glare.

If I use Baekhyun as bait, will he bite?

If I act friendly with him, will Kai finally talk to me?

“About last night.” Baekhyun blocks my view of Kai. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

My... feelings?

“I have no excuse for why I was so rude, and I feel really bad.” He continues.

“No, there’s no need to apologize.” I mutter and pull him into his seat.

He looks at me in surprise then moves his eyes to my hand, which rests on his. I pull away, just before a smile creeps on his lips. He leans in excitedly.

“Ari, is it possible that you like me now?”

I almost kick him under the desk. I glance nervously over at Kai’s direction to see that his ears are glowing red. Did he see us holding hands?

I push Baekhyun back almost immediately and rest my head on my arms. Beside me, I feel Baekhyun do the same. After he settles down next to me, I return my stare with Kai. What is he thinking about right now?

What am I thinking right now? When did I find myself to be so obsessed with Kai?

I remember how lonely he was back in his apartment and the pained eyes he looked at me with on the roof. Since then I guess, ever since you made me feel empathy for you, Kai.

I brush through the day watching Kai’s every move. I can feel the burn of Baekhyun’s stare on me, but I ignore it. I haven’t noticed before, but he doesn’t have many friends. Around lunch, I see him strolling around on campus without a single friend. When the professor assigns tasks, he avoids everyone’s eyes and stares blankly at his desk.

“Kai, could you and Ari bring these stacks of papers to the main office?” The sudden mention of my name, makes me jump.

“Ne.” Kai answers neatly. I watch him get up from his seat and I follow. The two of us grab the papers and file out of the classroom. I walk behind him, searching for words to say, but none come.

Come on Areum, you’ve been wanting to talk to him since this morning, now you have nothing to say?

“Give me your box.” His voice is quiet, but audible.

“I can carry it.” I frowns. Does he think I’m incapable?

He pauses, but doesn’t try to persuade me any further.

The office is empty when we get there. We put down the boxes on a nearby table and head out the door again. Before he leaves, I grab the tail of his shirt, stopping him from walking away from me, yet again.

“Can we at least talk?”

He turns his head but doesn’t face me. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You don’t really believe that.” I counter, trying to move into his line of sight.

He avoids me. I can see his ears growing red from embarrassment, yet, and yet, he’s determined to stay away from me.

“I have nothing to sa-”

“Why are you like this?” I ask desperately, cutting him off. “Do you think that I’ll let your past affect the way I think of you?”

His sudden movement scares me. Next thing I know, I’m flat on my back against the wall with his arms pinned on either side of me. For the first time since yesterday, Kai looks at me in the eye. The bags under his eyes are bigger than I last saw them. He hasn’t been sleeping well.

“Why is it that even when I push you away, you have to keep coming back?” He whispers. “Why can’t I get you out of my head?”

He inches closer to me and I feel the warmth of his body. There’s no time for me to let the colour rise to my cheeks, all there is, is the beating of my heart as I stare into his eyes. The light coming from the windows shine on his face, making his eyes a light brown. A clear, beautiful, light brown. Our noses touch, slightly, not once, does he break his stare.

“Areum, how are you going to take responsibility for all the pain you’ve caused me?” I can hear the rumble in his voice.

Take responsibility?

If it’s even possible, he leans even closer to me. I feel his hand on my waist as he glues my body onto his.

“Do you know how much I want-“ His voice fades out and he breaks his stare. I watch his eyes move slowly to my lips then make its way up to my eyes again.

Without hesitation, his lips melt into mine. My eyes widen as he pulls me forward and he leans back. His hands outline my body, sliding it’s way up to my hair and tugging on it slightly. Our bare skin sting each other and I find myself kissing him back. I close my eyes and taste his hunger as his kiss accelerates. I let out a slight moan, causing me to pull back a little out of embarrassment. He laughs a little in between his gasps of air, sending me short kisses multiple times. My heart beats so fast, I can’t even feel it anymore. He releases all of his anger, his hate, his impatience onto me. And I just let him. I never pictured myself to be with Kai like this… what does this make us?

I unlock our lips sooner than I know he wants and wrap my arms around his neck, on the ball of my feet. His hot breath tingles my neck. His arms wrap tightly around my waist. He kisses my shoulder, covering the bottom half of his face. I attempt to pull back, but he doesn’t let me.

We stay like this for what feels like one minute, but really is five. He heaves a long sigh and leaves the office without looking back. Leaving me standing in the middle of the room. Alone. Once he’s out of sight, I relax and loosen up, regaining my normal breathing pace. His body warmth rubs off of my skin almost immediately. I lean back and sit on a desk stacked with papers. My eyes scatter everywhere, unsure of how to react to everything.

What just happened?

Notes

Happy Monday, readers!

This chapter is UGAH, unexplainable, right? Kai's really... really.. my style. LOL. Just playing, but he is very aggressive in this chapter. And BAEKHYUN, ah, who knew he had a version of himself contradicting his personality. MEH.

There hasn't been comments in a few weeks LOL, I'm taking that dead air between us as positive feedback lmao. Letting us know how our writing is doesn't hurt that much, does it?

VOTE///COMMENT///SUBSCRIBE~

Promising that Nancy will update on Thursday~~~ See you next Monday!
-Alexis Lethao

P.S. I just updated my bio, so check it out when you got the time... it's pretty snazy. I fancy it. WOW, just went all British on you. LOL