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Tokyo, Japan -  9:26 PM

It’s cold.

Freezing, actually.

You grit your teeth as a brisk wind scrapes against your uncovered skin. You bring a hand up and slide it against the skin on your arm, goosebumps appearing within seconds. Tiny snowflakes cover the concrete in a thin sheet of white; the salt sprinkled on the ground visible from where you lay. The ground beneath you stabs at your sides uncomfortably and you push up from the floor. Tiny rocks are embedded into your hands as you sit up, and you take a good look around the area where you’ve landed.

An empty highway stares back at you, the white lines in the middle of the street glowing under the street lights. The streetlight above you gleams with a vibrant green and you stare, mesmerized at how the snowflakes settle softly on top of the pole.

You don’t hear it coming.

An engine suddenly revs in front of you and you look down just for a second, and that second is all it takes for the front of the car to meet where you are in the street.

For a few moments, time slows and you can only feel your pulse in your chest as the car creeps closer and closer to you, your untimely end lethargically approaching. The headlights eventually get too bright for you to look at anymore and you close your eyes as you continue to sit in the middle of the road.

This is it…

You steady yourself for the impact, and you imagine yourself being thrown into the air, the sound of bones cracking and darkness surrounding you…

But instead of that, you feel arms; strong, warm, grasping tightly around you.

You feel yourself being picked up and then suddenly dropped onto something cold and wet. You yelp as the cold snow begins to soak through your pants, the ice melting from your body heat. Remembering the car, you jerk your head up to watch as it passes by, the driver obviously not concerned with the fact that they almost killed you. The car’s muffler roars loudly as it continues to move down the road, not slowing down at all.

Blinking a few times, you stare as the car drives away and suddenly, someone’s hands are on your cheeks. A scared and shaking Kai appears in front of you, yelling, “Seriously?" He cups your face and moves it side to side a bit, returning a bit of consciousness to your brain. “Are you crazy? Why didn’t you run?!” He’s frantically looking down at your arms and legs, making sure you don’t have any injuries. His eyes return back to yours and he looks like he’s about to cry. You suddenly feel guilty for not being more proactive. But it’s not like you could move; it was coming right at you.

You scrunch your face in between Kai’s hands, your mouth moving to the side in a remorseful frown. Your hands move up to his and you cover the tops of his hands with your palms. “I’m sorry,” you almost choke out as you watch him grit his teeth and hold back tears.

He breathes in deeply, shoulders raising and jaw relaxing, and it’s quickly followed by a warm exhale that creates a small cloud of vapor in front of him. As he bends down in front of you, you both remain that way, looking each other in the eyes as your hands remain comfortably on his, your body heat promptly mixing with his and making the snow beneath you melt quickly.

The ice seems to melt too quickly, as you can feel it now completely soaking through your pants all the way down to the back of your shins, causing you inhale quickly and throw your hands down so you can launch yourself up off the ground. Kai jumps back slightly as you stand up and pat the back of your jeans, feeling the cold, wet spot where you were sitting. “Man,” you say as you strain your neck to look down. “My pants are soaked.” You click your teeth at nothing in particular, Kai watching as you throw your arms around yourself, attempting to block some of the cold wind from reaching your unprotected body.

Kai laughs to himself at the sight of you and your shaking frame, and he stands up and walks towards you. Before you can object, Kai stands behind you and leans forward into you, his hands sliding down yours to meet in the middle to intertwine his fingers.

Your entire body is frozen; not from the cold anymore, but because of the boy who is now back hugging you. You can feel his chest rising and falling as his rhythmic breathing continues at a constant pace, the sounds of his inhales and exhales resounding at the side of your face. You silently hope that he can’t feel how fast your heart is beating, and you do everything you can to not turn your head to look at him. Eventually, you feel him lean his chin on your shoulder, and now, there’s no way you can ignore him.

You’re trying to think of every way possible for you to get out of this. It’s not because you don’t enjoy it; to be honest, you find yourself wishing that this would happen more often. But you also feel conflicted. More than anything, you want to make sure that whatever might be going through his head and his heart is more than just fantasy; that these moments you sometimes have with him are genuine.

You let out a satisfied hum and you can feel his body shift, his face turning to look at your cheek. “What?” he asks curiously, eyes running down the side of your face. You keep your eyes forward, but allow a small smile to appear on your face as you say, “Thank you. I’m warmer now.”

He catches the hint and releases his arms from you, leaving only a feeling of regret that you give yourself for letting that moment end. You turn around to face him and he gives a soft smile, still shivering a bit himself. “So,” you start. “Where do you think we are?

Kai points to a road sign next to you - its written in a language you can't understand, and Kai says "It's japanese. We've gotta be somewhere in Japan." A small wind whips at Kai’s bangs and he lifts a hand to wipe them away from his eyes. “Let’s go in the direction of the car. Maybe there’s a place close to here where we can buy a couple jackets.” You laugh and nod your head quickly. “Definitely.” You both begin walking at the same time, maintaining a close proximity to each other, sharing body heat and glances with each stride.

After spending more than half an hour walking down the abandoned street, you and Kai are just about at the end of your hope.

Kai’s beginning to get frustrated and he’s having a hard time hiding it; honestly, both of you are. It’s freezing cold outside and you’re regretting not wearing at least an undershirt today. You’re shamelessly huddling close to Kai now, and he has his arms around you while walking in time with your steps in order to keep holding you properly. Your bodies are getting to the point where the shivers are overbearing, and you try to grit your teeth together to keep them from chattering. “Come on,” Kai suddenly growls. “There has to be something close by, it’s too cold for this.”

He stops walking, adjusts his grip on you, and you blink. Ahead in the distance, peeking over the snowy treetops, you spot a tall lamp. As your eyes scan down the line, you see another, and another. Kai drags you forward, and you know he sees them too. He picks up the pace, feeling excited at the idea of rest.

At the end of the street, you see another connecting road leading straight toward a large building, and you can barely see the entrance through the snowy atmosphere. You squint your eyes to try and distinguish any details - you blink once, and in an instant, your environment changes. 

That quick, and you’re in a mall.

You look around in surprise for a few seconds - Kai is beaming next to you as you both stand at the entrance, a few people gawking in your direction. 

You give a polite smile to them and they begin to rush away from you, the mother grasping for her child's hand. "Aren't you worried about people seeing?" you ask, softly. Kai looks down at you, confused. 

For the first time, he looks around him, catching a glimpse of the family running away in the distance. He turns his head toward the entrance, and nonchalantly shrugs. "Sure, but the walk here would have been really tough, considering we've been walking for a while now. I would rather get you here as fast as possible." 

You press your lips together, and look up at him. "I could've made it, I'm not a child. I just don't want you to be jumping everywhere in case someone sees us. It's okay to just walk sometimes, you know." 

He looks down at you, his face just barely revealing his hurt, and crosses his arms in front of him. “Did you ever think that maybe I actually do like walking?” He lets his arms fall to his sides and adds, “That it maybe makes me feel at least a little closer to being human?"

At his response, guilt spreads over you. This would be the second time today that you didn’t think before reacting, or not reacting, as you think back to the car coming at you in the street. Unfortunately, Kai's been at the receiving end. You’re not used to how responsive Kai is to you - how much he pays attention to you and your feelings. There hasn't been anyone in your life that has stayed long enough to care that much, aside from Sungji, so you don’t really expect much from other people sometimes. You relax your expression, glancing quickly at your feet, and returning them to Kai who is trying his best to avoid eye contact.

Sometimes you forget that he hasn't been given the chance to be normal, in the sense of him having a life that doesn't require him figuring out how to save the world every day. You're not sure how many years of his life have been spent waiting, training, studying - preparing for this very moment, with you.

Your eyes drift over his face and your heart softens.

Kai: Likes food more than anything. And the swings at the park. Takes care of the people around him, whether or not he just met them. Knows everyone’s ticklish spots. Kai, someone who will worry about you when you get lost in school hallways. Kai, someone who brought you back together with your brother. Kai, aomeone who refuses to cry in front of you because he wants to remain strong in your eyes. Kai, someone who will jump in front of a car to save you.

Dang it, you think to yourself. I seriously owe him.

You shift awkwardly in front of the mall, trying not to call any more attention to you as a few people exit the building.

Alright… okay… why is this so difficult?

You start to talk to yourself as you stride back and forth within a small area. Kai still doesn’t look up at you but notices your feet moving, and eventually raises an eyebrow at you.

Don’t be a pansy, Haeyeon, just do it. You nod your head a couple times and say a little louder, “Okay, just do it.” Kai’s eyes are fully on you now, contemplating whether or not he should be worried. 

You finally gather enough courage in your small spot and turn quickly in Kai’s direction, taking full strides toward him. When he sees you coming, he instantly holds his breath, refusing to release it.

That is, until he feels your lips on his cheek.

He remains in his spot, stunned, as you continue to softly press your lips to his now blushing, warm cheek. Unconsciously, he releases the breath he was holding but soon takes in another as he tries his best to stay still, convinced that if he moves the moment will be ruined. 

Not sure if you’ve satisfied the both of you, you nervously release the kiss and move to stand in front of Kai. You bite your lower lip and study the boy in front of you; so unable to read the expression on his face, but you’re confident that he’s not upset or disgusted. With a small sigh of relief, you and Kai exchange only silence between you.

Kai’s hands slide into his pockets and he rocks back and forth on his heels. “So—“ His voice catches you off guard and your eyes shoot up to his face. He gives a small laugh while looking at the floor. “That’s what you were talking to yourself about, huh.” You watch as the wrinkles next to his eyes squeeze together and you automatically smile in return for his. “It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, to be honest...” You take a small step forward and Kai looks up at you, his soft eyes meeting yours. “But that was my way of saying I’m sorry. You have done so much; for the twelve, for Exo, and for me, and I regret any small moment that I may have taken you for granted.”

At this, Kai longingly stares at you, the curves of his lips softly rising in the corners of his mouth. He reaches forward and takes your left hand into his right, maintaining eye contact as he inhales softly. “Thank you,” he breathes out, running his thumb over the soft skin on the top of your hand. He soon moves quickly to cover your entire hand with his left hand, both of his palms covering your fingers.

He looks up at you, slightly worried. “Your hands are still cold.” You nod your head at his statement, curling your fingers in between his hands so you can warm them properly. “We should probably get to finding those jackets before we go out again.” He glances behind you and nudges his head at the closest store. “Let’s check in there.” Before he starts to walk, he removes the hand on top of yours but keeps his other hand with yours. He promptly turns his hand to comfortably fit with yours and interlocks your fingers together. You blush at the realization that you’re now holding hands with him and you press your lips together to force yourself from smiling too largely. He pretends not to notice as you both walk into the store, hand in hand.

Immediately as you take the first step into the store, the warm air that is circulating in the store hits you and you shiver from the change in temperature. “Ahh, it’s so nice and warm in here,” you comment as you circle around the racks, still holding Kai’s hand. Kai smiles softly at you, content in knowing that you’re not as cold as you previously had been. You’ve only just began looking through the jacket racks when one of the store consultants comes rushing up to the both of you.

“Well, hello to the lovely couple!” You jump at the sudden yell and turn around quickly, Kai following next to you. The man stares for a few seconds with a way-too-happy smile on his face, his suit comfortably sitting on his short body. You can tell he just recently had it dry cleaned and ironed from the way the ridges on his suit are perfectly creased. He looks you up and down, and then turns to Kai and does the same. “My, my, what a good looking couple. Are you married?”

Right away, you feel rivers of blood rushing to your cheeks and you turn slightly so that Kai can’t see your face. You’re inwardly trying to swear away your red cheeks and Kai answers the man, “Ah… no, we’re not married.” He rubs the nape of his neck awkwardly, thankful that you’re looking the other way and not at him to see that his cheeks are as red as yours. “Maybe one day, yes?” the man jokes, giving a soft punch on Kai’s arm and shaking his head while he laughs. You watch the man as he suddenly stops laughing and his eyes go wide. He’s looking at something behind you, and you turn to see what it is. “Ah! Sir! I didn’t know you were coming today!”

Or who it is, apparently.

Standing in the front door is a stoic, young man. He stands with one hand in his pocket and tightly gripping a designer man clutch in his other as he leans his weight on one leg, tapping his foot in impatience. He’s not a business man, judging from his clothes: ripped jeans, leather jacket, sneakers… No, definitely not a business man. His brown hair is slicked back neatly, stray hairs tucked behind his ears. “P—Please, come in, don’t stand there in the cold!” The short consultant runs over to the young man and escorts him to a comfy lounge chair near the front of the store, offering him coffee and food while he dusts off the chair.

The young man makes his way to the seat, not saying a word to the consultant but communicating with his looks, squinting at the consultant if he says something he doesn’t like and nodding if he approves. For someone with such a rugged look, he walks as if he’s swimming or skating across the floor; as if he himself is the wind.

As he sits, he finally looks around the store, and you watch as his eyes come closer to where you stand with Kai.

And just like that, he stops right on you. You want to look away, but something about his eyes holds you and keeps you on him. His glare is cold; so cold that you swear you feel a sudden chill in the heated store. You forget that there are other people in the store for a few moments as you and the young man continue to lock eyes.

This is when you know.

Abruptly, he lifts his eyes a little higher and sees Kai, their eyes locking as well. But this time, he doesn’t remain still; he calmly raises his eyebrows as if discovering something, and decides to get up from his seat. You can see the consultant begin to shake, as he thinks the man is leaving because of something he did wrong. “Sir! But you have just arrived!” The consultant waddles behind the man, begging for him to stay. But the young man continues walking, until he pauses at the front door. You watch as he leans close to the consultant and whispers something to him, the consultant nodding his head rigorously in response. When he finishes talking to him, he turns to walk out the door, only pausing once more to find you and linger in your eyes.

He gives a smirk before closing the door behind him, allowing the employees in the store to take a deep breath of relief. Kai blinks a few times turning to look at you, asking, “Did you—“ He is quickly cut off by the consultant, who has rushed back to your side with a loud “My goodness!” He takes your free hand in his, shaking it weakly and nodding at the same time. “You must be very good friends with the young sir!” You give him a confused look and are about to ask him what he’s talking about, but he stops shaking your hand and holds out a plastic card that he pulls out of his pocket. “Please, take this! This is the young sir’s tab. He said you may have whatever you like.” You and Kai share a shocked look at each other, wondering why the young man would do this. You bow politely, saying, “I’m not sure we should, we can pay for our own things…”

The consultant shoves the card in your hand, not hearing a word you just said. “Please, tell me what you need! I will assist you!” You look to Kai for guidance, and he just shrugs. "That doesn't help," you whisper to him and he laughs to himself. You turn back to the consultant and he's standing there, waiting patiently for your request and needs. "Um, jackets?" you ask, and he jumps up in his place. "This way!" He rushes off to the other side of the store, and you and Kai do your best to follow him as he flies through the inventory.