“A guy?”

Miya meekly nodded as she felt an unnerving, rather cold stare coming from her best friend who was currently in her “serious” mode.

After hearing the one statement “There’s a guy living at my apartment, now,”, Suzy was taken back and demanded to know exactly how the situation came to be, when it happened, and, most importantly…

Who was the freaking guy!?

Knowing that the clarification was going to take a while, Miya decided to go on a little stroll with her friend towards the direction of her home – Suzy’s home was conveniently located on the same route, but was closer to the university than Miya’s. It was well into the afternoon and the day was quickly ending as the shorter one in the pair knew she had to work after her classes, tomorrow.

It took a good fifteen minutes or so to explain everything – and the story was told to the minutest detail due to Suzy’s request – and, once caught up to the present time, Suzy was in disbelief, furrowing her eyebrows. “… Your life sounds like a drama, now,”

“…” The stressed girl had no comment, but couldn’t help but nervously chuckle at the irony.

Didn’t she just think that a while ago?

“But… should you really let a guy like that stay at your place? The way you were talking about him and describing him… he seems really suspicious,” Just by observing Miya’s troubled expression, Suzy knew the reason behind her decisions. “… You’re too nice, Miya,”

“…”

A sigh.

“I know…”

“I’ll ask one more time – Are you really going to risk having this guy live at your apartment? I mean, come on, you just found this guy in an alley… hurt and bleeding… and he seems pretty aloof. Doesn’t sound like a nice roommate to me,”

“He seems really desperate, though. You tell me that, if you were in the same situation, you wouldn’t do the same thing?”

“I would call the police,” Hearing the suggestion, Miya stopped suddenly in her tracks as she wondered herself, “… Why didn’t I call the police to ask about him?”

It was a good question.

Perhaps she was just so caught up in everything that the rational part of her mind didn’t seem to work.

… Perhaps, she could do it, now.

Wait… but if I do… wouldn’t it kind of be like… betraying Kai?

He would get in trouble….

Again, he seemed pretty needy and, quite frankly, he had never done anything to hurt her.

Besides, wouldn’t he have gone to the police if he needed to, in the first place?

“Miya?” By waving her hands in front of her dazed friend’s face, Suzy was able to snap the latter out of her trance as she replied with a nervous chuckle, “Oh, I was having one of my space out moments again, wasn’t I?”

“Um… yeah…”

“Sorry…”

“That’s alright, but,” A long drawled out sigh was let out by Suzy. “I’m just concerned for you, Miya. Just make sure you take care of yourself,”

“Don’t worry, I’ve been taking care of myself for the past four years, already!” As Miya had said this, a grimace appeared on her lips and she felt a slight pang of pain in her chest, but had gotten used to it and shook it off. “Thanks for listening, though, Suzy. I really appreciate it! … Oh, and be sure not to tell Baek Hyun any of this!”

Sensing that Miya wanted the conversation’s topic to end, Suzy had to go along with it and nodded. “Got it,” However, the latter did not drop the subject until she added in at least one piece of advice. “But… you should get to know him more. Maybe sit down with him and actually have a talk?”

Once Miya had heard yet another clever proposal, she started to ponder herself, once again, on why she had never thought of the things which Suzy had suggested.

…

Oh… wait…

Kai was aloof and cold…

My poor jumbled mind… then again, at least I can think of reasons to defend myself…?

“Mmm hmm, thanks again, Suzy,” Just as Miya had turned her heel and was about to start off walking again, Suzy still stood stationary which caught the former’s attention. “Suzy?”

Miya’s being a bit too careless about this… and, knowing her, she probably can’t say “no” to whatever this guy asks…

“Suzy?”

… I know best friends are supposed to keep secrets… but… I don’t think she understands just how serious this is. Baek Hyun should know about this…

“Suzy!”

Snapping out of her own trance, Suzy’s vision focused on Miya who was giving her a questioning look with a quirked eyebrow. The latter pressed her lips off to the side in a teasing manner. “And you say I space out…”

“Oh, sorry… Well… come on, now, it’s getting kind of late and we got to get back home,”

The pair of best friends were just about a good few minutes away from the taller one’s house and, as the two conversed about some other matters while walking, Suzy couldn’t help but apologize to Miya, in the back of her mind.

… Sorry, Miya…

“Alright, your phone is now all activated. You’ll have to wait about three days or so in order for the 4G network service to work, but you’re able to make calls and texts, now!”

The whole cell phone ordeal was easily dealt with and the student plan that Kai had chosen wasn’t so bad either. He knew that, being away from his brother, Chan Yeol, his friends, and, most importantly, Soo Yun, he would want to talk to them as much as possible without the calls seeming too suspicious. As the excited teenager examined his cell phone even further, his thrill only increased knowing that he now had some sort of connection to his old life – or, at least, the things he wanted to keep from his previous life.

Kai started to ponder on exactly who he should call, first.

The last time he had called, he had talked to his hyung, first… however, it was because he knew he would be talking to his girlfriend for a good deal of time and just wanted to check in with his sibling.

This time, it would be better to probably give some attention to his older brother, despite his wanting to hear his other’s sweet voice again.

Soo Yun it is, then…

With a deep breath, Kai began to dial the button pattern he had memorized by heart and held it to his ear, listening to the droning tone of the waiting line.

Beep…

Beep…

“Hello?”

“Soo Yun?” There was a brief pause before the voice on the other line had questioned, “Jong In? Is that you?”

Feeling relieved that his girlfriend was able to recognize his voice once again, he nodded and replied, “Yeah, how’ve you been?”

“Oppa, I can’t believe it’s you! And… you’re not calling from a public phone line!” Kai couldn’t help but chuckle at his girlfriend’s adorableness – it seemed that she had completely ignored his question and talked about the first thing she had seen. “Yeah, I got a new cell phone,”
 

“Ah! That’s great! Now I can call you and talk to you!” There was another chuckle released from Kai’s throat as he continued talking while walking towards his new home. “Yeah,”

“I’m really glad that you’re doing alright, oppa… I know we just talked last night, but… I was getting worried already. You didn’t call me for a few weeks before last night…” Despite Soo Yun being on the other line, well away from Kai, he was still able to catch the worry in her voice. “I know, I’m sorry… I just had to get things settled,”

“I know… I just couldn’t help but be worried… but, since I’ll be able to talk to you, now, it’s fine!” The boyfriend smiled at how enthusiastic and caring his lover was, but, as soon as he began to digest her sentence a bit more, he realized the danger it may pose for him.

 “Yeah, but, Soo Yun, just be careful. I think you’ll have to wait for me to call you, since, I don’t know what’s happening with my parents and all,”

There was a slight pause.

“… Oh… okay,” A tone of disappointment was now evident in her voice and Kai couldn’t help but feel responsible for her sudden change in mood. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to call you every day and as much as possible, okay?”

“You better!” She had quickly brightened up, hearing his backup statement.

The caller truly felt that he could continue talking to her until the very next morning, but knew that he had to, at least, call his brother to make sure he had gotten his new number. In fact, Kai had also neglected to call his other friends to tell them how he was doing.

The love struck teenager had some sense in him.

Pained, Kai spoke up, “Soo Yun, I have to go now. I just wanted to make sure you got my number, but… I’ll call you as soon as I can, okay?”

“Wait! Why are you ending our conversation so early?” He pressed his lips, knowing that this was something he had to do. “I have to make some other calls,”

“Um… A-Alright… just… call me soon, okay?”

“Promise, love you, bye,” The new cell phone owner had pressed the bright red button which ended his call and he began to tap the numbers on his high definition touch screen which led to another important pattern. As expected, the same repetitive drawn out dialing tone was heard once again, but, was picked up almost as quickly as Soo Yun’s.

“Hello?”

“Hyung?”

 “Jong In!?”

“The one and only,”

“… Yah, you’re lucky I even picked up this unknown number,” There was a playful scoff made by Kai, which Chan Yeol had clearly heard. “So… you got a new phone?”

“Yeah, I told you I would,”

“One day? That’s real quick,”

“I could have not called you for another week, you know,”

“Okay, okay, don’t have to be so mean… so, you’re not going to make this another quick talk, are you?”

“No, I’ll answer any questions you have for me, hyung,” This time, a similar scoff was heard from the other line.

“You sound like I’m interrogating you or something,”

“Aren’t you?”

“… I guess,”

Kai took in a deep breath of air, preparing himself for the long questioning that was to come.

“Alright, shoot,”

The interview lasted for about half an hour or so, Chan Yeol continued to throw questions at his younger brother to which Kai was compelled to respond. Most of the questions were to be expected: “How are you doing?”, “Are you safe?”, etc. and there were even a few random ones thrown in – as to be expected by the latter’s… one of a kind sibling.

Kai was sure that Chan Yeol would run out of things to ask sooner or later, but he was always proven wrong when the pause ended and another question was asked.

He seriously thought he was going to be inquired to death.

There was, however, one question which the younger refused to answer:

“Where are you?”

“Come on, Jong In…”

“Hyung, ‘No’ means ‘No’!”

At times like these, Kai really questioned who was born first.

“You know I’m going to keep asking you that question,”

“And I’m going to keep saying ‘No’…”

“Jong In~”

Chan Yeol had been previously cooking a simple meal of fried eggs, steamed rice, and a salad until he saw an unfamiliar number on his cell phone. Despite the caller having no name, the cook decided to answer it, anyways, only to discover that it was his younger brother, Jong In.

He had quickly finished up preparing his dinner, but it was soon forgotten as Chan Yeol focused his attention on talking to his sibling to ensure that he was doing fine.

Thankfully, he seemed to be alright.

Of course, there were a plethora of questions Chan Yeol had in store for Kai and, while the latter was able to answer a chunk of them, there was still one which he refused to answer.

“I just need to see that you’re doing alright,”

 “We can meet up sometime,” At this, Chan Yeol frowned. “Why don’t you come to my place? I told you I already left mom’s and dad’s place,”

A scoff was heard from the other line.

“And get caught? No thanks,”

“Yah, don’t get all sassy with me,”

Kai was still being rather impulsive and immature about the matter. Quite frankly, the older one thought that Kai was lucky to even have him on his side. He had not spoken a word to his parents and did not help too much in aiding in their search for Kai, knowing that he did not want to be caught and end his extremely “important” relationship.

“Anyways, it’s getting kind of late, I’ll call you later and we’ll meet up like I said,”

“… You promise?”

A pause.

“Yeah, I promise,”

“Alright then, I’ll talk to you later, bye,”

With that, Chan Yeol had ended the call by tapping the end button located on his iPhone screen. He sat himself in one of his leather lounge chairs and placed his forearms on his knees, bending over from his previous slouching position. Turning his head, Chan Yeol took notice of the eggs and salad which still sat in their cooking areas, ready to be reheated and eaten with the white rice which was currently chilling in the rice cooker.

He crinkled his nose as he eyed the vegetables.

The tall giant continued staring at his cell phone until a thought had hit him. He began to search for various applications that were offered on his Apple phone and then moved onto dial a number which belonged to a trustful guardian.

“Hello?”

“Dae Ho? Can you do a favor for me and trace a number?”

“… Yes, sir, but may I ask why?”

“I’ll tell you later, but, be sure to keep this from mom and dad,”

“Yes, sir,”

“Hey, remember to drop the formalities!” He grinned as he continued conversing while scribbling down some notes as Dae Ho began to tell him the information he needed.

I’m coming, Jong In…

Chapter six... done!

Ah, I was pretty good with the updating, wasn't I? x3 Currently working on the next chapter and I hope to have it done by next week or so!

Before I forget... (Which I have in the past chapter or two xD) I also have two other stories going on! Well... one of them is a drabble series, but... continuing on! One is called Sinful Temptation and deals with a more mature theme, but it, also, has a hint of mystery to it since the main character is a detective, investigating a case and meeting all the members of EXO. The other work I have going on is just a drabble series called "Simple Words" and it's just a collection of short drabbles which have a member and theme to them. If you're interested and like my writing and ideas, be sure to check them out~! <3 (This story, however, is my main focus. These are just side projects~) I'll be posting the links below:

Sinful Temptation

Simple Words

As always, thank you so much to all my lovely readers and commentors! Thank you for subscribing and commenting and feel free to leave comments, constructive criticism, etc.