Okay, so this is the last repost for the summer. I'm not sure how much I'll be updating during the school year... But hey, please don't give up on me yet until I say so. To new subbies: I'm happy you've join the family and please comment whatever you're thinking!

Disclaimer: I do not own pics.

Repost: 8/19/13

Will Love And Tell

The teleporting prince was all too restless for his outing. He nagged at everyone to hustle their butts, even threatening them by claiming he would kidnap you and simply teleport to his islands. After being chided by Suho and Yifan, Kai begrudgingly zipped his lips and stopped hastening the packing process. Eventually everyone piled onto the bullet train and was whisked away.

There were only two sets of train tracks that led to and from the coastline to the largest island like a bridge way—the only thing that connected the isolated islands to the mainland. You, Kai, Sehun, Tao, and Kyungsoo peered out the windows inquisitively, staring down at the lapping blue waves some several kilometers underneath the bridge’s support ridges. Boats bobbed in the distance, and sea birds roamed overhead.

Taking Kai aside, the older princes lectured the younger one (again) not to do anything stupid just because he was going to be alone with you. There was a high probability (it was a no-brainer) that Kai would be teleporting with you majority of the time, hence the guards would have a difficult job of monitoring you two. In a reluctant conclusion, the guards opted not to go. The older princes flared with envy; they wanted to be completely alone with you, too!

Jutting out his thick lips, Kai huffed. “I KNOW,” he groaned grouchily, crossing his arms. “But Aris likez it when I teleport!”

“But you have to be conscious of her wellbeing,” Suho asserted.

“Don’t endanger her,” Yifan clipped in.

“Nothing stupid,” Xiumin bluntly said. At the use of unnecessary language, Luhan whacked the back of the frost prince’s head. Luhan was just taking advantage of the situation—he had to vent out his frustration somehow, considering he had one more day (and three more stops) before it was his time with you. He envied his younger brothers who already had their outings with you, knowing that when you came back, you were content. From what he gathered, he reckoned Suho and Baekhyun were the biggest rivals for your heart (mainly because Kyungsoo, Tao, and Chen weren’t knowledgeable enough on how to ‘steal’ your love). He wondered what would be the outcome of Kai’s little outing.

“We’re going now!” Kai gleefully announced, taking your hand and tauntingly waving farewell at his glaring brothers down the hall of his home.

“JONGIN!”

“DON’T YOU DARE—!”

Too late. Smoky black wisps surrounded you and him. The last thing the princes saw was your sheepish smile and Kai’s impish grin.

You and Kai were laughing when your feet touched solid ground. You shoved at the tan-skinned boy lightly.

“Prince Kai, that wasn’t very thoughtful of you,” you said, stifling your giggles. “You should listen to your brothers.”

The teleporting prince shrugged unrepentantly. “I don’t care. I only listen to Mother...sometimez.”

You rolled your eyes at his I’m-so-cool-I-have-no-care-in-the-world attitude. Sometimes you wondered if he learned it from his father or from Yifan, but, then again, Yifan was naturally cool and indifferent. Kai was the epitome of arrogance and tenaciousness.

Pushing those thoughts aside, you surveyed your surroundings and found yourself smiling in delight. Kai’s islands contained a mixture of landforms—to the bordering beaches, the sea cliffs, the slope of hills, the rise of a small mountain, and the cluster of forests here and there. If you had a clearer view, you could see the mainland of EXO, and in the other direction, Chanyeol’s volcano.

Kai’s warm hand was interlocked with yours, his equally warm breath close to your ear, disturbing your hair as he spoke, sending tingling sensations down your neck. “Like what you see?”

You shivered at his low coo and instinctively whirled at him, snapping, “Kai! Don’t be so touchy!”

He blinked ‘innocently.’ “What do you mean?” He grinned, straying off subject. “I like it when you don’t refer to me as ‘prince.’”

You grouched at him disdainfully. “You’re such a tease! Now I regret leaving with you!”

That made him shift gears, your words stabbing him in the chest. His tone was softer. “You don’t mean that.” His grip on your hand tightened (possessively?). “Becauze I love being wit you.”

You softened upon seeing his wounded expression and hearing his sincere words. You made a cute, disgruntled face at him. “Alright!” you relented and sighed. “Just don’t...act so haughty.”

Kai’s smile was less arrogant and more fond. “Anything for you, Aris.” He tugged on your hand. “Let’s go explore!”

The two of you were hyperactive and overjoyed to be free of rule in Kai’s domain. No over paranoid guards. No nosy siblings. Just the two of you with the land underneath your feet and the sky overhead. Freedom! Ah, it tasted great!

Kai and you crossed through a local town. The Exotics there were delighted to see their prince and his fiancée drop by for a friendly visit. Talking to you was a rare opportunity, so the Exotics took advantage of it and crowded around you, eliciting small-talk—some locals even offering fruit and water. You responded with appropriate enthusiasm—mannered and polite—smiling sweetly and making eye-contact. Watching the scene close by, Kai was a trifle jealous—lies!—that people who weren’t him hogged your attention. Boys were commenting how cute and pretty you were. Kai wanted to scoff. Cute and pretty? That was an insult. You were heartbreakingly adorable and beyond beautiful. While he was fuming, he hardly noticed the hoard of girls—of all ages—vying for his attention. They squealed and waved at him giddily. Not enduring this torment any longer, Kai rudely imposed into your conversation, insisting that you and he should get a move on with your outing (exclusive to only you and him).

“What was that about?” you questioned the moody boy while the two of you traveled down path from the town to the woods in the upper altitudes.

“Nothun’,” he replied curtly, not meeting your probing gaze. Clasped hands swung back and forth in the bit of space between you two.

“You sure were insistent we leave the town early,” you pointed out, voice softer than soft; it melted his insides. “Were you...jealous? I was only answering some questions.”

Kai stopped in his tracks, thus making you halt. He narrowed his eyes at you incredulously. “So, ‘Princess Aris, you’re so pretty!’ is a queshun?!”

Your eyes widened at his resentful outburst. For once you struggled for a decent reassuring response. “I only accept such compliments from you and your brothers,” you firmly stated. “If my family said something like that to me, I would brush it off. It’s more meaningful to receive words you want to hear from people who...”

You didn’t have to finish that sentence. Even Kai knew what you were about to say.

From people who love me as a women. From people who I love so much that my heart just flutters stupidly.

A gorgeous smile graced those plump lips, smiling as if he was the luckiest man (he’s still a boy though) alive. He hummed blissfully, and you looked away in acute embarrassment. “I’m not mad anymore!”

“Oh...don’t make me take back my words.”

Problem solved, you and your fiancé continued your walk, trudging through a set of woods. That jerk of a teleporting prince made you worry a lot by abruptly teleporting whenever and wherever he wanted. One minute you saw him distantly in a clearing, then the next he was hovering right behind you. He would snicker, and you would whine, but you couldn’t stay made at him for long, both of you hugging and moving on.

Now the scenery converted to the beach, you strolling hand-in-hand with your fiancé. Your face was flushed a delicate pink, flustered from when Kai had suddenly given you a fright by teleporting out of sight. You had complained to him non-stop for at least ten minutes when he'd reappeared.

“Aris?”

“Hm?”

“I have a question...”

“Then say it, silly.”

The teleporting prince cleared his throat and tried to figure out how to be subtle and not-so-obvious with his words. “Um...my brothers and I tawked about who you would...I was hopin’ to know that if...out of all of us...who’d you prefer?”

The dragged out question made you halt, and so did Kai who was slightly blushing. You eyed him speculatively.

“What do you mean?” you prodded, tone cautious.

Kai ruffled his hair agitatedly and pursed his lips. He stumbled over his explanation, “Uh, I was wondering that becauze...since I’m closer to your age like Sehunnie and Tao, that you might think I’m not fit to be your huzband. Do you consider Joonmyunnie or Baekhyunnie as better choicez becauze they’re...your type?”

That was the first time Kai had ever attempted to be smart and fluctuant with his speech. It caught you off guard momentarily, but when the initial shock wore off, you softened. He had tried his best to articulate his jumbled up thoughts while expressing his insecurity without looking too desperate.

You touched his arm tenderly. “Jongin, you don’t have to worry about that. Right now, all of you are evenly tied for...my heart. It’s only the beginning of our engagement, and I don’t want to be so biased, especially when...” Memory of your conversation with Prophet Yesung clouded your thoughts, but you it out of you mind. “We have lots of time to get to know each other, and really, I have no specific preferences for a partner because I believe love is unpredictable. You may love someone the total opposite of you”—that was directed to him and he smiled faintly—“or love someone you think who suits you. You just don’t know.”

“Promise to tell me if you love me?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“I promise,” you swore from the bottommost part of your heart.

That gorgeous smile appeared again, his dark eyes bright. “Well, I know I love you. Waaaaay before I met you, too.”

Butterflies tickled your tummy, but you restrained such fleeting emotions. You nudged the boy with a playful elbow. “Don’t act cheesy.”

“We were probably soulmates in the past life,” he sang.

“You might not know that,” you said and laughed.

“Exactly.” He grinned crookedly.

You , “Then you probably weren’t my only soulmate. Maybe I had three, and you and the other two kept fighting for my attention.”

Kai pouted, then scoffed. “Sure that happened, Aris. Sure.”

The playful bantering and lighthearted laughs eased the tension. Kai could always impact your mood somehow, someway, inside or out. That’s what made him distinctive to you. He had this type of aura that stirred up your emotions, even digging up buried ones.

An example of his special trait was when he offered an outstretched hand and smiled breathtakingly. Warmth bubbled up from the pit of your stomach, telling you that he was definitely someone you couldn’t ignore no matter how hard you tried.

“Dance with me?”

You softly smiled back, mesmerized. “Sure, Jongin.”

On the beach that day, you and Kai danced, too absorbed in your own little world to notice the reality around you.

Love is unpredictable. I loved you long before I met you, and yet I never knew it.

...