§

“You did what!?”

A tiny figure stands from her seat in the cafeteria, almost knocking her chair to the ground. Her high-pitched exclamation has earned your table some odd stares and you grab her sleeve and force her back down into her seat.

“I met up with him, okay?” You pick up your fork and move your mashed potatoes around your plate. “Well, honestly it was more like a forced meeting that I was literally dragged into, but the point is that we talked a little.” You scoot your peas next to the potatoes and unceremoniously start mixing them together.

“And he says he needs to talk to me about something after my classes are done today. I’m not sure what, though, and his name is Kim Jongin - or Kai. I guess he likes either.”  

Sungji can only stare at you with her eyes wide open, until she suddenly grabs the fork from your hand, making you turn your head to look at her. She moves her jaw forward with a crass “Um,” and shoves the fork into your food. “That’s not all, is it? I can see it on your face.”

Your medallion’s presence burns through your jeans’ pocket, not being able to be kept a secret from the persistent mouse. You place your hands over your pocket, and lean forward toward her curious face.

“He gave me something, but I don’t think I’m allowed to just pull it out anywhere. He seemed like it was important that I got it. He even did that disappearing thing and then came back, saying that he had to double-check that it was me, whatever that means," you say as you recall the scene on the roof.

“You know I’m going with you after class, right?” she says in a demanding voice. You nod, shrugging your shoulders at her. “I figured. You never listen to me anyway.” You take the chance to playfully shove her in the arm.

She smiles wide and shoves you back, saying “Nope. But that’s why we’re friends.” 

You lean your chair back and glare at her. “Sure. That’s why we’re friends.”

She quickly moves her hand forward at you, threatening to push you and your chair backwards . You quickly grasp the edge of your lunch table before she manages to do it, and you grit your teeth at her.

You growl as she giggles and continues to eat her food.

The rest of the day disappears, mainly because you struggle with concentrating on your work. Your mind is so busy thinking about what's going to happen, that you don't notice that you're already out of the building and walking towards your car.

Just as you get to your door, a black car pulls up behind you, and the driver rolls their window down.

“You’re out early.” He slides his hand out to fix his side mirror. 

He looks at you and gives his signature smirk, leaning forward through the window and crossing both of his arms, resting his head on top of them.

You turn your body to face him and promptly place your hands on your hips. A part of you wishes you could wipe that smirk off of his face.

You grab your keys from your pocket and accidently touch the medallion that you conveniently placed next to them. You had forgotten all about it, but with this subtle touch, the medallion reminded you that it was there, waiting patiently. With a nervous cough, you insert your car key into the door, open it and put a foot inside, but not before looking back at him once more. “Move, so I can leave.”

You hear him laugh softly, and his engine roars as he backs up to make room for you to exit the parking lot.

You don’t live too far from campus, and on the way home you call Sungji. You tell her to meet you at your place, but as it turns out, she is already there. Looks like she’s more curious than you are.

Pulling into the driveway, you take in the wholeness of your house.

Before your parents moved back to their home country, it was theirs, and they decided to give it to you. After your brother left, they felt like they needed to be back in a familiar atmosphere, so they took a trip to visit family. A week later, they called and said they were staying for good. Life at home was never the same. You always felt something was off about the way they left you to fend for yourself, but you never really minded either. Even as a young kid, you weren't dependant on other people. 

But all this house is to you now is a reminder to you that you are alone. 

Turning the engine off, you look back through the rearview mirror and see Kai pulling in behind you. You climb out, and gesture for him to come inside the house. Sungji’s car is parked next to yours, and you assume she has already let herself in (she has a spare key in case of emergencies, and apparently this is an emergency).

With both of you walking towards the door, suddenly Sungji flings it open and she stands in the doorway with a determined look on her face.

“You.” She points a sharp finger at Kai, and then rushes forward and puts one hand on each of his arms.

“You’re not allowed to do that…that thing you do, okay? You can’t run away from this.” She is so tiny compared to him, and you admire the capacity of her courage. You breathe out a laugh, hoping she doesn't hear it.

With a soft smile, he bends his upper half down enough to look her in the eyes and slyly says “So, you think I can’t do it when you’re holding me?” He gives her his smirk. “Do you want to find out?”

As if hit with a surprise attack, she unfurrows her brows and stares at him in confusion. She quickly lets her arms return to her sides and stands up straight. “Whatever,” she pouts. “But you’re still not allowed to.” She gives him a threatening head nod and swiftly walks inside, glancing behind and giving you a snarky look.

You can’t help but smile and stifle a laugh into your shirt sleeve. You look at Kai, and he’s just standing there with a grin, looking back at you.

Your smile fades quickly and you nervously look around, trying to find anything else to look at other than his charming smile. Unable to find an