Kai: Chapter 11

Bad Boy

 

 

Kai doesn’t come to school the next day. You miss his presence in the classroom, and you miss wasting your time staring at the impossible fluffiness of his hair rather than focusing on the class assignment at hand. Time just goes by so much faster when you distract yourself by staring at the polished slope of his jaw.

You wonder where he could be, and it makes you disappointed that he hasn’t bothered to tell you. Yesterday … well, you had a connection with him, didn’t you? At least, that’s what it had seemed like. But maybe you’re wrong, like you’ve been wrong so many times before. Maybe Kai was just upset about whatever meeting he had attended and let down his guard in front of you.

Is it too much to ask that he let down his guard more often?

And the fact that he doesn’t tell you why he isn’t at school … well, it’s frustrating. Because you want to be somebody he can contact without feeling conscious about it. You want to be somebody who could do that for him, somebody who could simply be there when he needs you to be. The thing is, you can never be that kind of person for Kai if he isn’t willing to acknowledge you in that way himself.

And you don’t know how to change his mind. Because Kai is so unpredictable, you can never tell whether his feelings are genuine. You can never tell if he actually means what he says, or if he’s just saying it for his own amusement.

“You looking for Kai?” Hyunsoo asks as she chews the tip of her straw, looking thoughtfully at you. You’re at the cafeteria, apparently not-so-subtly scanning the floor for Kai’s face.

“Of course not,” you scoff, meeting her gaze. “I was just looking around. You know? People watching?”

“Mhm,” she shrugs, refusing to accept your excuse. “Well, for your information, he’s not at home, either, so I don’t know where he is.”

That’s right. You had almost forgotten that Hyunsoo and Kai are neighbors. “Where … exactly do you live? You know, when you’re not here at the dorms.”

“It’s at the Hill? You know, with the fenced off houses. Got our own little community over there. You need a card to get into the area, or the gate won’t open,” she explains, glaring at her ruined straw. “Sorry you can’t visit Kai.”

“I wasn’t planning to,” you protest, blushing. “It’s just … he’s not at school, that’s all.”

“He skips school tons of times. Actually, I’m surprised he’s been going to school straight for two weeks now. He usually misses a class once a week. Leaves the dorms, stays in his house.” She gives you a considering look. “Maybe he likes you.”

“Don’t say that,” you say, shaking your head. You don’t want to assume something like that. You don’t want to raise your expectations. You don’t want to get hurt.

“I didn’t mean it that way, geez,” she says, shaking her head, but a teasing smile tugs on her lips. She’s mocking you. “Although I’m surprised. He usually answers my calls, but … he hasn’t been doing that. Oh, you want his number?”

“What?” You sputter. “I didn’t even say that.”

“I know you do. Here, give me your phone,” she asks, and with little reluctance, you allow her to take your phone and save Kai’s number onto your SIM card. She gives your cellphone back to you, a triumphant grin on her face. “If he asks why you have his number, just say it was a marketing tactic.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“It doesn’t, but it’ll work,” she says, flipping her straw over and sticking the untouched side into the cup. “You wanted his number, didn’t you? Just text him, or something. I’m sure he’ll reply.”

“I’m not doing that,” you say, shoving your phone into the bag and refusing to look at Kai’s number. You’re not calling him. You’re not texting him. Nope. Definitely not.

“Fine,” she drawls just as the bell rings. She gets up, grabs her tray, and gives a little wave to the other girls sitting at your table. You had almost forgotten they were there, and you worry whether they heard your conversation, but you realize they didn't when you see that they all have head phones in their ears. “See you after school, alright?” Hyunsoo calls, and you loudly reply “Yep”, your voice getting lost in the busy din of the cafeteria. You clean up your own mess, throw the contents of the tray into the trashcan, and head for your next class.

The whole time, you keep remembering your phone and how effortless it had been to gain Kai’s number. You’re constantly aware of it all day, and when you walk across the halls with your book bag thumping against your thigh, you can practically feel the pressure of the cellphone through all those layers of fabric and leather. It’s burning, it’s tempting, it’s luring you to take out your phone and just call Kai, just do it, just say something, but … but, you can’t.

The bell for the last class rings, and you rush out of the room and exit the school building. Maybe you should leave your phone in the dorms, then take all your things and head over to the lily pond. Kai had told you that it’s okay for you to be there, and yet you still hesitate. It feels wrong, somehow. You’d feel more comfortable if he was there – not just comfortable, but happier, too – but he won’t be there, not when he’s skipped out on class. And if he’s not going to be there, and if he’s allowed you to go, then why then are you still hesitating?

You can’t bring yourself to drop your phone off at the dorms, so you head over to the lily pond (making sure nobody notices your entering a regulated area). It’s just as breath-taking as before, but your mind is too distracted to completely take in its beauty. You set your bag on the ground and lie down on the bench, attempting to get into a comfortable position. You squint up at the sun, its rays abnormally bright, and shade your eyes with your right hand while you look at your phone with the left. You stare at Kai’s number, whispering it in your mind over and over again until you’ve memorized it. Your finger hovers over the call button … but then you pull back, sigh, and stare up at that blinding sky again.

This is stupid. What are you doing? You should do homework. Something, anything, as long as it’s not allowing time to blithely pass you by. You close your eyes, feeling the heat warm your lids and cheeks, and you wonder where on earth could Kai be, but more than that, you wonder whether he’s okay. Whether he’s happy.

From what you could tell, Kai’s meeting yesterday hadn’t gone to his liking. He had been so … quiet, and yet you could feel the tension, the simmering anger hiding just beneath the surface. And he had blown up, somewhat, by losing his cool and becoming flustered in front of you.  Maybe he had been overly pressured. If that’s the only way for Kai to show his feelings, then maybe he should be pressured more often.

You stare at your phone again. What if you sent him a text? Just something simple. You want to, you really, really want to, and finally, after taking a deep breath, you hurriedly send him a text message asking him where he is. You make sure to add that you hope he’s okay, and tell him that you’re at the lily pond. You don’t bother putting in your name – he’ll know just by your mentioning the place that it’s you.

With that said and done, you toss your phone on the grass and attempt to abate your anxiety. It’s not going to do you any good to just lie there waiting for a text or call, so you pull your school bag toward you and pull out a book you need to write a report on. Opening it to the first page, you lift it up, blocking the sun, and start to read. It’s hard to immerse yourself into the story, but you try, you really do, and it only wears you out. It’s tiring lying down here in such a lethargic pose, and it doesn’t help that the heat is making you drowsy. Your eyes flutter closed. Why are you so sleepy? You feel so …

You wake up with a start, blinking up at a sky that has turned into a deep, gray blue with streaks of fiery orange drifting from the horizon. Sunset? Already? How long have you been asleep? You make a move to sit up, only to realize that something is draped across you. It’s … a blazer from your school. A blazer? What on earth is this doing here –

“You know, if you’re going to sleep, don’t do it on a bench,” a voice says.

Startled, you sit up to find Kai sitting cross-legged on the ground a few feet away, breaking strands of grass and absent-mindedly throwing it into the pond. He turns to look at you and smirks.

“You were here?” You squeak and hurriedly make sure you don’t look indecent or less than presentable. You clear your throat and slowly take the blazer off of you. You see a name emblazoned in gold letters across the pocket: Kai. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Why should I? You were asleep,” he answers, as if that’s the most logical reason.

“And you were just … here?”

“I was just making sure you didn’t fall off the bench and hit your head and get a concussion,” he huffs, standing up and keeping his back to you. The sunset glimmers across the surface of the pond,  presenting Kai in a dull, orange hue that outlines his slim, attractive figure. “If you’re going to sleep, don’t do it on a bench. You probably have a crick in your neck now, don’t you?”

“I – “

“Give me back my blazer,” he orders, turning around to forcefully take his blazer from your hands. He refuses to meet your eyes and pulls his arms through the sleeves, fixing the collar and brushing off invisible dirt from the lapel. “Get up. You have somewhere to go.”

You blink. “I do?”

“Yeah,” he answers, finally meeting your eyes with a rebellious smile, a slight blush grazing his cheeks. “You’re going on a date with me.”

 

 

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Comments

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shonwanigop
#1
💙
the_exotic_angel #2
Read this story super long ago and i fell in love with it again!!! I just love how the female lead is realistic in her advances/reactions unlike most female fanfic leads that are always damsels in distress. Love this story and the writing!!
Claudia301a
#3
Chapter 9: I love this story so far!
JiLin1998 #4
Chapter 1: <span class='smalltext text--lighter'>Comment on <a href='/story/view/170594/1'>Kai: Chapter 1</a></span>
His reaction When she declined his signature
-2Mirae-
14 streak #5
Chapter 33: !!!! I loved it!! Gave me some kai feels hehe
If only kai listed some obvious things he did on purpose to the female oc at the end ..
KimHyeJoo #6
Chapter 30: Glad Kai can show his father what he really has about dancing
Thank you for the story!!
tonnettie
#7
Chapter 30: Kai’s personality has two faced, one is for his father and people around him, they expect him to be another person that he’s not. And one Jongin, a warm man, who wants to chase his dreams.
suchababy
#8
still remember reading this fanfics when i was in college under my old aff acc but now i'm still here reading this!
Kyoko99
#9
Chapter 31: Loved this story.. very reliable with myself at some points ...lol