Chapter VII
Our StoryI wonder when Kai’s going to come back…
Miya had just finished preparing the night time meal as she shifted her gaze over to the ticking clock that sat on the island which read 18:34 – it wasn’t too late… but it was past the girl’s designated dinner time. She let out a brief sigh as she wondered if he had even read her note. Now sitting at the table while eyeing a new pair of keys she had gotten made for Kai, Miya puffed her cheeks and then let out a puff of air in an attempt to somehow entertain herself.
“Alright, talk to you later, bye,”
Upon hearing a familiar husky voice, Miya turned her head in the direction of the sound to see a tattle tale rectangular device placed against Kai’s right temple as he waltzed into the house and slammed the door behind him. She blinked as the pieces were quickly put together in her mind.
Talking, yet not aimed towards her, obviously.
Holding a device next to his ear, of course, to hear something.
Pressing, what seemed to be, buttons on the said device.
… Kai got a phone?
“Hello, Kai,” The friendly girl gave the brightest smile she could as she greeted her new housemate. In return, he gave a slight wave of his hand without so much as some eye contact and plopped down into the bean bag chair which he seemed to claim as his own in the short amount of time he resided in the house.
“So, you got a cell phone?”
“Yeah,”
“Oh… what kind?”
“Samsung Galaxy,”Despite the girl’s efforts to start a decent conversation, the uninterested boy didn’t seem to want to cooperate as he simply answered her questions and did not further continue by adding onto the topic. Miya sighed as she figured how all her attempts would be in vain. At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness – even jealousy perhaps? – as she, herself, was now considered the only person she knew who didn’t have a mobile phone.
… Guess I don’t have that luxury…
By watching his movements and Kais’ fiddling with his phone, Miya was then reminded of an affliction which had caused her to take in her new roommate. “Have you been taking care of your wound?”
He froze.
“… Um, yeah,”
“… That’s an obvious ‘no’, isn’t it?” Just with the slight hesitant pause and tugging of his jacket sleeve, the observant girl was easily able to catch the lie – then again, anyone would have been able to catch onto his movements and conjure the same conclusion. Kai didn’t bother to answer as he knew he was caught and attempted to isolate himself by continuing to play with his phone.
He’s just like a little kid…
With the thought in her mind, Miya made a mental note to take a look at the cut after dinner.
As a glittering sparkle caught her eye, Miya was reminded of the spare keys which she now had for Kai. Picking them up gingerly and swinging them in the air, she switched to a more care free topic and mentioned, “By the way, I had a pair of keys for you made, so you don’t have to worry about getting in when I’m not home,”
“Thanks,”
Brief.
Straight to the point.
Apparently Kai’s new phone and figuring out all the functions were much more important than now having access to his new home.
Letting out a sigh once more, Miya returned to plating the last of the leafy green vegetables she had stir-fried and put them on the table. She took off her clean white apron and paced her way to the rice cooker to start scooping the grains into the two bowls she had taken out from the cupboard. After placing all the dishes on the table and setting it up, Miya looked over to Kai who was still occupied with his brand new phone as she wondered if he would be willing to eat dinner with her, tonight.
“Um… dinner’s ready,”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Ding. Ding.
Ring. Ring.
… Would Miya be hearing that all night long?
Slightly displeased now, the chef wondered if Kai had even heard her call and announced, once again, “Dinner’s ready,”
“Okay,” It seemed as though Kai only knew one word responses. However, thankfully, he was, at least, in tune with the world and actually comprehended the host’s statements as he placed his new device in his pocket and walked over to the table to sit down in one of the two chairs placed around the table. This relieved Miya a bit as she, in turn, took her rightful seat and picked up her utensils.
The ever so aloof teenager silently started to eat as he grabbed a few pieces of the main dish in the center and placed it in his mouth along with a decent portion of rice. Miya averted her eyes as she began to eat, herself, and copied Kai’s actions – the difference being that she ate slower than the seemingly growing young man.
There was no talk between the two and the meal was eaten in silence.
It did not take too long for the pair to finish their dinner as it seemed the two had, at least, one trait in common – they were quick eaters.
As Miya finished putting away the remaining dirty dishes that were left on the table into the sink, Kai was about to enter his new room until the former had called out, “Wait a second!”
Almost reluctant in obeying her command, the latter ultimately listened to Miya and stopped in his tracks, retracing his steps to settle himself onto the cotton couch that was situated next to his beloved plushy chair, getting into a comfortable position with her arms laid out over the head of the couch.
It only took a few more seconds for the girl to finish her cleaning and, afterwards, she walked over to Kai to sit in the spot next to him, plopping onto the cushion.
There was the characteristic silence between the two and Kai caught Miya’s action of rubbing her arm in, from what the former was able to tell, a nervous manner. He raised an eyebrow, now a bit curious as to why she had asked him to stay in the living room while Miya, herself, seemed unsure of the reason why.
“Um… will you let me take a look at your wound?”
Previous to the dinner, Miya seemed pretty confident in approaching Kai and dealing with him.
She was able to talk to him and start a conversation – though he never really replied back … and their exchange couldn’t really be considered a conversation – and she had adapted to having him in her home by keeping, in mind, the things he would need.
… Where did that confidence go?
… Or was she being too overconfident?
As Miya had settled in the spot next to Kai, she felt herself tense up as she was suddenly reminded of how awkward it would be for her to just ask “So, let me see your wound” and tend to it – As if the first time she had done it with him unconscious wasn’t awkward.
Then again, perhaps having him unconscious would make it easier since he wouldn’t be staring her down.
However, if she left it unattended, – obviously he didn’t seem to be taking care of it, himself – it could get infected and that would bring bad news.
Just do it!
“Um… will you let me take a look at your wound?”
Oh.
So, that’s what she wanted him for.
Kai wasn’t sure of what to think of the situation and couldn’t understand why this girl was so concerned about him. He, himself, the one who had the wound, had practically forgotten about it. So, why would this stranger, who barely knew anything about him, care about him and remember it?
Also, judging by the tentative gestures she was displaying, she was obviously not comfortable with it.
He would save himself and Miya some trouble.
“It’s fine,”
It was just a cut and all that was needed was soap, hot water, a new bandage, and it would be all set, right?
“I’ll just do it myself,” Kai didn’t wait to hear any excuses from Miya and immediately stood up to return to his room, but was stopped in his tracks once again as a certain question caught his attention.
“Will you be alright wrapping the bandage?”
…
…
Kai’s impulsive nature once again came into play.
And Miya had caught him.
“…” The obvious silence from the former gave the latter the cue that she would be in charge of taking care of his wound. Kai embarrassingly retraced his tracks, once again, to sit down on the couch.
It seemed that Miya had caught Kai and smiled to herself. He had obediently sat back on the couch as Miya watched his languid movements. However, as Kai had taken his seat, he was giving her a nerve wracking stare as Miya found it difficult to keep eye contact.
She was getting more and more self-conscious by the second with his intense gaze.
In an attempt to defend herself and to give an explanation, Miya added on, “I just want to make sure it’s healing properly and that it’s not infected,”
A few more seconds had passed before Kai decided to end the contest and averted his gaze to another spot in the room, holding out his injured arm towards her and taking quick note of how Miya was conveniently seated on the side with the sloppily bandaged wound.
The caretaker was able to comprehend his voiceless message and nodded as she made her way to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. Miya came back with a rather large plastic box and undid the clips located in the front to lift the lid of the container. Rummaging through the piles of paper squares and circles, she grabbed what she needed: a sterile dressing, a bandage, medical tape, a bottle of alcohol, and some cotton pads.
Carefully, Miya began to unwrap the messy collapsing bandage around his upper arm and slightly cringed as she felt the previous dressing she had put on was slightly sticking to the wound. With a slight tug, mindful of the pain Kai may be feeling, Miya unveiled the abrasion to see that it was no longer an angry red, but rather a darkened brownish color. Shaking off the disgust in her mind, Miya proceeded to grab a cotton pad and wet it with some of the cleaning agent as she dabbed it onto the healing cut.
At this, a slither of air escaped through the small gap between Kai’s gritted teeth to produce a pained hissing sound which immediately concerned the temporary nurse as she habitually began to blow cool air on it in an attempt to alleviate the stinging he was feeling.
A relieved sigh escaped Kai’s lips as he felt the once stinging pain disappear and it was replaced with a cooling sensation. It took him a bit to realize just how his cut had suddenly ceased in throbbing and turned his attention to the source of his comfort.
Miya was gingerly blowing on the cut and her lips were pressed together to form a small circular shape as cold air was exhaled. Despite the chill of her breath, warmth still lingered on his skin due to the close proximity of her full lips. Seeing this had caused Kai’s gaze to soften at her gentleness and Miya seemed unaware of the former’s watch on her.
No longer hearing a snake-like noise, Miya smiled, knowing that the little trick had worked and the pain had faded. However, upon the realization of her actions, the caretaker jumped back slightly as she became aware of how she was so close to her patient and the embarrassing close stunt she had pulled.
Heat rushed to her cheeks as Miya began to rub the back of her head, nervously, stuttering, “S-Sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you like that,”
“Hurt?” Once the girl had heard the one word question, she nodded her head and found herself unable to look at her patient in the eyes anymore – he probably now thought that she was weird or some kind of skin ship freak. Miya didn’t wait for Kai to continue his sentence and, instead, worked quickly, but efficiently, to clean and bandage the wound, trying to forget about the awkward atmosphere she had probably just created.
At Miya’s obvious scurrying and flustering, Kai quirked an eyebrow, but shook his head as he decided to go along with her act.
Though the work was done in silence, Kai felt a warmth envelope the room.
He, himself, seemed to be unaware of the fact that his eyes had never strayed away from her figure for even one second.
But, most importantly…
His lips had curved upwards into a tender smile.
The housemates had gone back into their rooms, separately, once the cleaning and bandaging was done.
Kai took time to admire the handiwork of Miya and took note of how the wrapping was not too tight nor too loose. It really caused the old teenager to wonder if she had suddenly gotten better at treating wounds or if his unconscious position during their first meeting had caused her trouble.
Either reason sounded logical, in some way.
As he continued to stare at the cotton manila bandage, Kai thought back to the moment he had actually let his guard down and allowed Miya to treat him. The choice did not seem to be a bad one as his wound was properly healing – he was sure of that. However, a paranoid feeling was still nagging him in the back of his mind to keep alert and to forbid any act, like the previous one, from happening again.
At the moment, though, the voice seemed to be more placid than usual and his mind still wandered to how Miya was able to treat him.
He shook his head to rid himself of the thought.
Shifting his vision to his left, he was reminded of the phone he had just bought and came up with an idea.
Kai had decided to dial, arguably, his best friend out of his small selective group of friends. There would be no harm in informing a few of his close ones of his position, as long as they told no one of his whereabouts – And the runaway was confident that the people he had chosen wouldn’t say a word.
“Hello?”
“Se Hun-ah,”
“… Is that you, Jong In!?”
As expected, the same response.
“It’s been more than week! What happened!?”
“What else? Got sick of my prison and broke out,” With the ten second pause on the line, Kai could already imagine Se Hun furrowing his brows with an uncertain facial expression on his face. “Se Hun?”
“Oh, sorry, kinda had a moment there,” A nervous chuckle followed soon after the statement. “So… what’s happening with you now, then? You know, Soo Yun’s been worried sick about you and there’s a few rumors going in the university,”
“Figured as much and I already called Soo Yun,”
“What!? You called Soo Yun before me!?”
In that instance, Kai had pondered on whether or not he should bring up the fact that he had also called his older brother, but, ultimately, decided not to as he heard a faux sniffle coming from his dongsaeng of three months. “I can’t believe you would call your girlfriend before your right hand man,”
Aish… how do I associate myself with these people?
“Let’s not have this ‘girlfriend and friend’ talk,”
“It’s alright, hyung, I’ve already gotten used to it,” There was a roll of the eyes from Kai.
“Yah! I know you just rolled your eyes at me!”
“Ah, Se Hun, you know me too well,”
“Well… don’t leave me hanging. Tell me what’s been going on with you lately,”
Kai had saw this response, as well, coming from miles away, but had prepared himself for the task – though, he would keep it as concise as possible as to prevent any sleep loss for his friend and himself.
“Alright,”
The time had gone from “23:59” to “0:00” as a disgruntled friend was having an internal battle of her own – She scolded herself as she thought, “You’re becoming just like Miya, now…” – Her worry wart of a friend who she loved, but, couldn’t stand, sometimes.
It seemed that her habits and a bit of her personality had rubbed off onto Suzy and, of course, knowing Miya’s situation had gotten Suzy involved in it – in a way… even if she wasn’t the one living with this strange new guy… she was her friend, that was reason enough!
I already know how Miya is… and she could seriously get herself hurt from this… and she doesn’t seem to be listening to me…
The friend knew that this was not a small matter which would turn over in a few days and did endanger her best friend to a certain extent. She didn’t want to take advantage of Miya’s trust, but, when the situation was this dangerous, it could override the initial promise, right?
… I’ll just go with that…
By the time Suzy was adamant with her decision, she scrolled through her contacts to find “Baek Hyun” and tapped her screen on the designated name as she waited for said person to answer his cell phone.
Click.
“Hello?”
“Baek Hyun?”
“Hey, Suzy, what’s up? Something wrong?”
“Um, it’s about earlier today…”
Just get to the point, already!
“It’s… about Miya… something is up with Miya…”
There was a brief pause on the line before Suzy’s eardrums were put to use once she heard a loud groan on the phone.
“Aish, I knew it! It’s so obvious when that girl is trying to hide something,” Another brief pause. “… So, what is it?”
About to jump at answering the question, Suzy found herself simply opening and closing – her lips moving in shapes to sound out words which refused to be spoken. She blinked as she found herself rendered speechless and cursed herself for being swayed by Miya as she pictured her carefree yet worried face.
“Be sure not to tell Baek Hyun, okay?”
… Lee Miya… I hate you so much…
“Suzy? So what’s up with Miya?”
“Um…”
Ah, Suzy, just say it already!
“I… can’t tell you exactly,” The words seemed to have come out of their own whim and, judging by the silence that was on the other line, Suzy knew that Baek Hyun was probably flabbergasted at her response. “Huh!? Why not!?”
“I…”
A sigh.
Might as well be honest at the least...
“Miya told me not to tell you… so I won’t, but, I’ll tell you that something is up,” By doing the confession in this manner, Suzy wasn’t exactly betraying Miya by revealing her secret… right?
“Suzy, it’s no help if you don’t tell me exactly what that ‘something’ is!” Now becoming frustrated with herself and with how difficult the situation was getting, Suzy couldn’t help but let out another exasperated puff of air and a pout appeared. “I’m at least telling you something is up! Just… if you do one of your monthly ‘apartment inspections’,” As the witty girl stated the words “apartment inspections”, she created air quotes with both of her hands, “you’ll figure it out,”
“… Bae Soo Ji… you’re not helping at all!” A sigh was let out by the other part this time and the playful tone that was evident in his voice had now disappeared. “But, I am serious Soo Ji. I don’t want Miya in any situation where she might hurt herself,”
The predicted serious tone heard had now taken over the previous one and the stubborn best friend felt a bit more conflicted.
Even Suzy knew not to mess with a stern Baek Hyun.
“I-I know… but… just let me be able to keep my word as Miya’s best friend, please?” Despite Baek Hyun’s fierce determination in finding out what the trouble exactly was, there was still a tiny ripple of understanding amongst the wavering sea of ambition and curiosity – especially since Suzy was able to bring up a good point against which the brother figure could not fight.
“… Alright, but, you’re going to have to help me find out exactly when I’ll be able to do it,”
“It’s a deal. Just let me find out Miya’s schedule,” Suzy had to think for a few seconds of another point she wanted to address. “… and, Baek Hyun… make sure Miya’s safe,”
“… Of course,”
Phew! I think that was, by far, the longest chapter I've written so far! I apologize for the delay, but I hope the length (and development... moment.. *shot*) compensated for it! >.<
So, I decided that I'll have a little counter set, so, that I will be able to give myself a type of signal to start writing the next chapter. I have another story going on and I've been severely neglecting it even though this is my main one. Of course, there will still be new chapters within two weeks or so, but, I'm going to run a little test to see if this helps!
Once views hit 850, I'll begin writing the next chapter!
As always, I LOVE~ comments, so feel free to leave any with your thoughts on the story, development, criticism, etc. etc.
Thank you and remember that I love you all~! <3 ^o^
Comments