'Haneul... Are you there?' You heard a faint knock against your door followed by a hurt whisper. 'Haneul, I know you're awake. Talk to me please. Are you okay?'

'Can you leave me alone for just a bit?'

'Open the door. Seriously, I want to see you. Please?'

'No.'

'But princess-'

'I said no.'

'Lay's not here anymore. And neither is D.O. Everyone's asleep. Please. It's only me.'

Your heart sank a little, feeling guilty. Despite leaving the pool with D.O, as soon as you were feeling ready and up for it, you ran, deserting him. He had called after you and even attempted to chase you down too but after Kris shouted at him to leave you, you noticed him stopping, realizing his chasing would be of no use. You felt bad, especially as he had been so kind and helpful in those minutes where, as dramatic as it sounds, you had almost died. And now with Chanyeol at your door and not wanting the world to hate you, you decided you'd open it. You knew Chanyeol was probably worried about you and it would be heartless to keep him worrying when you yourself felt pretty much like you were in tip-top condition.

'Okay.'

You heard him breathe a sigh of relief. 'Thank you.'

'But it's just you, right?'

'Everyone else is sleeping.' Chanyeol said, 'I just want to make sure you're alright.'

You gripped the door handle and unlocked it, gently prying the door open trying not to make too much noise. From the other side, someone pushed it and Kris quickly but quietly barged straight in, throwing you into a state of shock.

'Thank you,' he said, smiling at both you and Chanyeol who looked a little more than sorry which both irritated you and made you want to smile.

'Yeollie!'

'I'm sorry, princess... But hyung made me do it. He said you'd open it for me and he wanted to-'

'I hate you, Yeollie.'

Kris laughed, smirking, 'no you don't.'

You turned to Kris, folding your arms across your chest. 'What are you doing here? What do you want?'

'Can I not check up on my little baby sister after she gave me a heart attack and almost died?'

'Cardiac infarction, actually' you corrected.

'Alright, Miss Smarty-Pants.'

You looked at both him and Chanyeol expectantly, waiting to find out why they were there. Slowly, after receiving Kris' cue, Chanyeol slunk out of the door but not before giving you a hug and poking your cheeks, checking your eye pupil size.

'Chanyeol, you don't need to check the eyes after drowning.'

'I know.'

'It's only for drugs.'

'Pupils also dilate when you look at someone you find attractive though,' Kris added, 'are her pupils dilating?' 

Chanyeol peered into your eyes before nodding, feeling a little accomplished.

'Yup.' 

'It's because it's dark in here!' 

Chanyeol shrugged, taking his fingers away from your face.

'I know.'

'Then?'

'I just wanted a reason to touch your face.'

'Yeollie, that's über creepy.'

'I know.'

You giggled and he smiled, ruffling your hair.

'But at least I made you happier.'

 

Chanyeol left your room and it was your turn to glare at Kris, bearing holes through his clothes and piercing his skin.

'A photo would last longer, Haneul.'

'I'm not-! I'm not staring at you because I find you attractive!'

'Then why are you staring at me?'

'Because you made Chanyeol trick me.'

'Not because you find me oh so hot?'

'Kris, I think your fanclub is starting to get to your head.'

'Yeah, I think so too.' Kris sighed, plonking himself on your bed heavily. 'It was nice at the beginning, you know? Getting fruit and drinks left at my desk in the library- all that cute stuff that you'd think would only happen in dramas. But now it's a bit weird. I genuinely fear for my future girlfriend. I mean, what if they send her death threats?'

'You're not a k-pop idol,' you said, rolling your eyes, 'your 'fanclub' wouldn't do that.'

'But still-'

'Kris, why are you here?'

'To check that you're okay. Suho wanted to check but I hurried him off to bed. He was long gone anyway. Probably wouldn't have known the difference between an arse and an elbow if both were presented in front of him.'

'Damn.'

'Can't wait for him to become a fully fledged doctor.'

'Tell me about it.'

'Well you seem to be okay...' Kris pryed, 'right? I don't need to do a full on temperature test and nurse you and make you congee or whatever?'

'Please don't. Even if I really was ill, I wouldn't want you looking after me.'

'Why ever not?' Kris asked, feigning shock. 'I joke, of course you wouldn't want me looking after you. I'm a liability when it comes to cooking.'

'At least you know it.'

'But you however, missy, are a liability when it comes to recognising feelings.'

You stopped laughing and stared at Kris whose expression had suddenly hardened a little. He looked like an older brother who was waiting to tell his younger sibling off but was unsure of how to go about it. 

'You handled tonight rather well,' he started.

'Oh ha ha. Which part? The alcohol hitting me like a truck part? Or the falling in the pool and drowing part? Or the slapping Lay bit? Or wait... do you mean all of it?' 

'All of it.'

You hung your head in your hands in a mixture of shame, regret and embarassment.

'You were really angry, weren't you?'

'More than you can imagine.'

Kris shook his head. 'No, I can imagine. I mean, the first thing you did when you were brought back from the dead was have a go at Lay. Must have been pretty angry before you out.'

'What happened when we left the roof?'

'It was chaos, to be honest,' Kris said, 'everyone was just shocked. Chen went a-wol. I think he was just really surprised because he calmed down when Seohee managed to get to him. Only Luhan went completely ballistic but it's understandable. Luhan and Lay are really close friends when they're not busy punching each other to death.'

'Did Luhan not know?'

Kris shook his head. 'Lay surprised everyone.'

'Did you know?'

Kris exhaled and looked down at his hands. 'Yeah,' he said, 'I knew about it.'

'And you didn't want to change his mind?'

'Of course I did. But it's Lay. Stupid bloody Lay. He's like this complex piece of mush- a complete softy but so stubborn and adamant when he wants to be.'

'Is it selfish of me to want him to stay?'

'If he stayed, what would he gain? Would you... accept him?'

'I...' 

You were lost for words.

'I can't... I can't promise anything.'

'Did his confession throw you off?'

'It's a lot to think about.'

'You'll let three of them down anyway.'

'But- Wait. You knew?'

Kris chuckled, 'Xiumin-hyung wasn't lying when he said you were probably the cleverest slow person in the world.'

'I'm not that slow, am I?'

'Oh you are.'

'Then tell me. Are there any more confessions to come? Can I focus entirely on making my mind up now?'

'Why? Are you waiting for a confession from me, by any chance?' Kris teased, pretending to slick his hair back and strike a pose.

Your hands naturally found their way to Kris' jumper collar and you yanked on it hard. 'Yah! I'm being serious!'

'And so am I.' 

Kris reached into his back pocket and pulled out a key, danging it in front of you and dropping it into your hand.

'Jaemin-hyung came round about an hour ago to see if you were okay but he left when we told him you weren't leaving your room. I think he knew it'd be a wasted effort to try and coax you out himself.'

'Oppa's clever, what can I say?'

'Isn't this oppa cleverer?' Kris said, pointing to himself, 'I used Chanyeol to get you to open the door.'

'You're sneaky.'

'Isn't it the same thing?'

'No.'

'Well that's the key for the pool. Jinri wasn't impressed when he gave it to me but he said you might want it for tomorrow- to clear your mind and think about things.'

'He's trusting me to get back in the water?'

'To get back in the water sober.'

'Ah.'

Kris stood up and nodded his head towards your clock as it flashed the time. It was starting to become light outside and he stretched his arms, yawning before pulling his shirt down that had slightly ridden up, revealing his abs that he constantly jeered at Chanyeol with and was so proud of.

'He said to leave the key on his desk when you're done. Oh, and to text him when you finish so he can pick it up and lock up after you.'

'I can't believe he's letting me go near the pool again.'

'You know what they say. Sports coaches know you better than you know yourself.'

 

 

---

Feeling like we need a bit of Kris lovin' (e.g some calm after the storm) in this teeny tiny chapter.

I love me some sass and I tried to be funny in this chapter. Did I succeed? I hope I did.  Expect the next chapter to be very thought provoking (at least that's what I'm aiming for). Hopefully you won't all get über confused.

p.s HOW GREAT IS THE WORD 'ÜBER'?!