The lights were off, my room was set at the perfect temperature, my bed was as comfortable as it could be, but I couldn’t sleep.

Not with knowing that Kai was tossing and turning on the floor only a few feet away from me.

I sighed and opened my eyes, staring straight up into the pitch-blackness of the room. 

“Kai?” I whispered. “Are you awake?”

I heard the shifting stop. “Yeah,” he whispered back, and I felt my throat effectively close up. “I thought you were asleep.”

There was a prolonged moment of silence. Maybe the heaviness of today’s events were still weighing on our minds. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Chanyeol sooner. And my dad. I didn’t think I should... burden anyone with-”

Kai quickly cut me off. I heard him shift and his voice sounded a bit closer, so I could only assume he scooted into a sitting position. “It’s not a burden. I-we need to know information like that. It’s kind of crucial. But don’t worry about it. I’m sorry you didn’t feel comfortable telling me about Chanyeol because I was upset,” he said, and I bit my lip.

“But-”

“Besides, you never did tell us what’s going on with your dad in the meeting,” he said, and my eyes grew large.

. . I had been so pre-occupied with going over the plan and Chanyeol’s presence and Baekhyun admitting to being the shooter that I-

“Oh my God. You’re right. I have to tell Jongdae,” I said, quickly sitting up and grabbing for my phone. I crossed the short expanse of my room to where my phone was charging and I felt a hand grab my wrist.

“Wait,” Kai said, his voice a bit huskier than usual.

“W-what?” I questioned.

“Tell me first,” he said, and I could feel his sharp gaze on me in the dark. It’s impossible to describe, really. I could feel his whole presence without seeing it and I felt the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stand up.

“Why?” I asked breathlessly. He dropped his hand, pulling mine down with it. I didn’t try and get out of his grasp. 

“I just want to know, alright? I want to be the first to know,” he said mysteriously, and I furrowed my brows at him, even though I knew he wouldn’t necessarily see that.

“Okay... well... My dad is...” I trailed off, trying to figure out how to say it. “Kris found my dad and offered him a job at Galaxy’s. He’s working as a busboy.”

Kai stiffened next to me. “And you didn’t think that was important? Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. I could tell he was concerned over the matter, but he didn’t sound mad like I thought he would. 

Instead, his voice was... soft. Curious without any insinuation.

“I... I didn’t... want for it to be a big deal,” I huffed, finally pulling my hand out of his hold.

“Are you sure that’s why?” he asked, and I crinkled my face at his words. Why else wouldn’t I tell them? “It’s a pretty big deal. Do you think... do you think you didn’t tell us because you don’t want it to be real? Or maybe you don’t want to face the fact that he’s working for Kris?”

“What? That’s absurd! What are you saying, Kai?!” I demanded, inching away from him.

Kai, full of care and gentleness as always, set his hands on top of mine with a finesse I didn’t think even he had. “I’m just saying, you’re always so enthusiastic about putting together a plan and gathering all the information and keeping everyone’s together,” he tried to reason.

I recoiled, tugging against his grip.

“So? What does that have to do with telling you about my dad?” I asked incredulously.

He laughed sadly, almost like he thought the situation was ironic. “Eunji, you’re fantastic. You’re great at everything you set about doing and once your mind is made up, no one can stop you. You have full academic scholarships to multiple schools and you rank second in the whole school. But if you haven’t noticed, it’s very hard to get you to open up. Emotions are kind of a weakness for you,” he explained, and I froze in place.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He sighed. “You hate talking about your family, which is understandable, but you’re a little blind to the things that go on around you.”

I jerked my head back. “Kai, what the hell?”

“Don’t you know what’s going on at lunch? And what I was saying earlier today... I... you only see things at face value sometimes and it’s driving me nuts! I never know if you’re actually...”

“Kai, what are you trying to say? You’re talking in circles,” I said. He sighed so deeply that his entire body seemed to deflate next to me.

“In my personal investigative opinion, I think you didn’t tell us about your dad because you couldn’t face the reality that your dad is working in enemy territory. Whether that was something you kept from us consciously or unconsciously, I think your... inexperience with emotions is the cause.”

I slumped silently against the wall, letting him hold my wrists still. Inexperience with emotions? Excuse me, but I have plenty of emotions about you.

“What was that?” he spoke up, and I jumped a little. 

Had I said that aloud? Whoops. “Nothing,” I quickly barked. “Let’s just say that I do ha