As you joined the crowd of mumbling first year students outside the doors that led to the main hall, Kai seemed rather fidgety. 

'Kai...' said Kris worriedly, 'You need to stop that twitching you've got going on'

'Take a deep breath, yeah? It'll be fine' said D.O

You played a fool, pretending not to hear what they were talking about. Instead, you focused your attention on Sehun who was busy relaying the events of the morning to anyone who would listen. 

After 10 minutes or so of hearing Sehun ramble on about the new Japanese play he was taking part in and how he found all the girls really annoying because they kept arguing over the color of Sehun's samurai costume, the doors opened and Kai took his place with the rest of the commitee at the front row. The rest of you sat in the row just behind and you unluckily managed to find yourself at the end of it- the place you hated most. 

'Switch with me?' you asked Suho, who was sitting beside you.

He smiled but politely refused and you didn't want to pester him further. 

Suho's too much of an angel to ask again.

You moved onto your next victim. 'Tao, do you want to-'

'No way, Haneul. I had a class today so that puts me at a greater need to have a better seat'

You pouted. 'How does having a class change anything?'

Tao pretended to yawn and fall asleep. 'Seems like Tao's too tired to move, Haneul' said Suho

You groaned and made your way down the line, almost managing to guilt trip Kris into swapping seats. Your efforts were all in vain however as by the end of it, you were stilll stuck in the same damned spot. 

 

Mr Park came on stage and everyone clapped for him. You recognised his tie as being the one that you had all chipped in to buy him for his birthday. You smiled upon seeing that. 

'You're probably all aware that there have been lots of visitors and speakers coming in to talk to you in your individual lectures'

There was a murmur of agreement. 

'And you're also probably wondering why I've asked you all to attend this specific talk'

Another murmur. 

'The speaker today is really one of the best...'

You saw Kai clench his fists. Andwae... It can't be...

'He's in the top 10 list of names to look out for in business...'

You shook your head. Seriously... It can't be... You turned your head to look at the rest of the boys on your row. They too were all taking anxious glances between Mr Park and Kai. 

'And he's here to give you some advice and just generally answer any questions you have on how to really utilise your university experience'

The young man stepped out on stage, a vision in a pinstripe suit. You could almost hear the girls' heart melt from the sight of him- y tanned skin, smouldering chocolate eyes and gently styled hair. People began to clap and it drowned out your frantic breathing. God... It is him... You had never actually seen him before but the similarities made it hard not to know who it was. Th-That's... Kai's brother...

'Please welcome... Kim Jongjae!'

 

As he walked to the centre of the stage and stood behind the podium, the room was silent. He looked up and stared at everyone in the eye, catching sight of his younger brother in the front row. So this is where you've been hiding, Jongin. He smiled a dazzling smile that made Kai want to be sick. 

'Hey guys, do you mind if I make this slightly informal? See I don't want to sound like your mom or dad when they nag you to do well at school'

He laughed and so did everyone else. You frowned.

1 indirect sting towards Kai and counting. 

'So... When I was asked by good ol' Jimmy, I mean, Proffessor Lee, to come and give a talk to you guys, I really didn't know what to say. He told me that I should just share my experiences with growing up and how it turned me into what I am today. I'm also supposed to give you advice on how to be just as good as me, if not better? Sound good with you guys?'

You took in Jongjae's appearance. Classy, sophisticated, elegant... He's really done well for himself. You noticed his stance. Proud, overpowering, scary... You watched his gaze. At me, at Kai, at me, at Kai.... A wink... A wink?! 

You sat up straight. A wink?! What was that?! You sat seething, trying to puncture Jongjae's skin with your eyes. Kai quickly turned around to face you, as if looking for some sort of comfort. You smiled and gave a slight nod to show him that you were there for him. Jongjae frowed.

'Right then... I want to talk about 3 things that got me to where I am today. Number one- be grateful. Number two- be smart. Number three- be brave.'

 

A powerpoint presentation showed up on the screen. There was a photo of Kai's family but without him. He had been photoshopped out. 

2 indirect stings towards Kai and counting. 

'That's my mom. Pretty, isn't she? And that's my dad. See his skin tone? That's where I get mine from.'

A voice from the back of the hall yelled out. 'Who took the photo?!'

Jongjae laughed. 'Erm...My...' Jongjae thought about it. 'My younger brother, of course. My happy family. I'm so grateful to my family- they loved me and cared for me and gave me all the best opportunities. Really... I couldn't be here without them.'

Kai clenched his fists. He hadn't been in that photo because he wasn't allowed to come to the restaurant. His parents had made him to stay at home and finish working. 

'There was a day where I got into a lot of trouble with my parents.'

Kai scoffed. He never got into trouble. It was always me. 

'And although they yelled at me and told me off a lot, I still loved them. I realised that, as a good son should do, I am supposed to understand that my parents do these things to teach me and of course, I'm so utterly grateful that they did tell me off whenever I did something bad. I mean, you can't expect your parents not to tell you off if you've done something wrong.'

 

Good son. The words burned in Kai's brain. They sizzled inside his head, rolling and curling around. Everything Jongjae said, sliced Kai into two, again and again. It hurt, by God, it hurt. It had only been 10 minutes and Kai was already feeling the need to yell and cry and vent out his anguish. You couldn't bear to see him so upset.

The next photo on the slideshow was a photo of Jongjae's folder compared to Kai's. Both folders were blue and would have looked exactly the same if it weren't for the many gold stickers and crammed certificates inside the folder clearly labelled KIM JONGJAE and the measly few stars and awards in the folder named KIM JONGIN. 

'You gotta be smart, okay. And everyone here is pretty smart. Well... most of you anyway...' 

Everyone laughed. 

3 indirect stings towards Kai and counting.

Jongjae flashed a smile again. 'Seriously though guys, you need to really make the most out of this learning opportunity. Beat everyone if possible.' Jongjae pointed to his folder in the picture. 'That's how you become a winner...' He pointed to Kai's folder. 'Not a loser'

The hall nodded in agreement. Kai lowered his head in shame and embarassment. You leant forwards and lightly squeezed his arm. He took your hand and held it for a moment, before releasing it. You knew what this was doing to him and you knew that tonight, back at home, it was going to be bad.

 

'Finally, three, be brave'

There was one final photo of Jongjae and Kai's parents at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. The date was printed at the bottom corner of the photograph. 

26 Oct 2010

A month after Kai ran away.

More than anything, that final photo stung. Kai had run away and his family didn't even care. They had gone on a mountain climbing trip instead. His heart sank. Any hopes of ever being loved by his family again were tarnished and scattered across the floor. 

4 indirect stings towards Kai...

'I never backed down. I never ran away from problems. I faced them straight on which is what you guys should do too. If you have an issue or trouble, fight it. Running away is what wimps do. Wimps like my brother...'

Everyone chuckled with Jongjae. You had to give it to him. The guy sure knows how to talk to a crowd and keep them listening. Shame he's an absolute prat though. I'd much rather watch Kai up there on the podium. At least he's sincere.

Suddenly Kai stood up. The room went silent and everyone watched him.

Jongjae beamed with delight. This was exactly what he had wanted. Perfect, little brother. 'A question? What is it? Come up here'

The boys all sat in their seats paralysed. They didn't know whether to stop Kai or not. 

'Hyung...' said Baekhyun to Kris. Kris shook his head. 'Kai won't do anything stupid... I hope'

Xiumin watched Kai's movement. Fists clenched, indignant... His eyes widened and he gripped Luhan's arm hard. 

'Hey, Xiumin... What is it?'

'He's going to do something stupid! I can tell! Luhan, stop him!'

You quickly turned to face Kai who was already up on the stage with everyone staring at him.

'Hey! You're his brother! Ha! Kai is Jongjae-ssi's brother! The dumb one!' said someone in the hall

'Oh yeah! He's the Kim Jongin with the crappy folder!'

'The one who took the photo! No wonder they look similar! Ah, so handsome!'

'He's the failure!'

'He ran away from home!'

'Yah! Shut up!' Kris yelled.

The insults only got louder and multiplied. You sat in your chair unable to do anything. Jongjae hushed everyone. 

 

'Yes, Jongin? What is it? Long time no see by the way. You look good.'

'Hello hyung' said Kai, bowing to his brother. 'You seem well. Congratulations.'

'Thank you, Jongin. So was there something that you wanted to ask me?'

There was a moment of silence. Xiumin and Luhan were stretching so far forward that their bottoms weren't even on their chairs anymore. Your eyes narrowed as you noticed that Kai's hands were still balled up into a fist.

'Actually hyung... There wasn't-'

'Kai, don't do it!' you shrieked.

'Yah! Kai! Stop! Hajima!' Xiumin yelled

It was too late. Kai had punched his brother, straight in the jaw and Jongjae had been taken by surprise, landing on the floor from the impact. 

'Kai!' you screamed. He began to hit his brother, punching him again and again. You all rushed on stage, Lay and you pulling Kai off his brother and Kris and Tao keeping Jongjae away. 

The hall was an area of panic and despair. 

Jongjae stormed out and Kai screamed after him. 

'You're no hyung of mine! You're all dead to me! All of you!'

He sank to his knees on the stage with everyone in your year staring at him, wide eyed. You took his bruised and swollen hand and held it closely to your chest, gently kissing it and rubbing it. There were tears in your eyes that Suho brushed away, sighing. Kris had run after Jongjae.

'Kai...' you whispered.

He just sat there and cried.

 

 

---

Annyeong! ^^ Ah, you guys are getting good at predicting in the drama now :D That means you're all reading into the hints I give verrry well :) CONGRATULATIONS! How was this update? What are your feelings on this Kai business? Comment comment comment!