I tried to sound convincing, I really did, but my voice seemed shaky and not as loud as I wanted it to be. It was hard for me to stay calm and hide my own emotions when Baekhyun, a guy I found incredibly self-confident and intimidating, was sobbing in my presence. His body racked with huge gasps of air as he held me like his life depended on it, crying on my shoulder. I had to bite my bottom lip with force to stop my own tears from falling. A slightly tangible metallic taste of blood in my mouth sobered me almost immediately. I moved my hands from his back to arms and softly caressed them, hoping it will somehow make him feel better. Listening intently to the fast beating of his heart, hammering against my own chest, I soon found myself breathing in the same rhythm as he.

“Baekhyun.” My voice sank to a murmur. He didn’t answer but I hadn’t even expect him to in the first place. I just wanted to remind him about my presence, not sure what to do more to help him calm down. I closed my eyes, hearing the sound of his breath in my ears. Labored, with the slightest touch of a whimper, that just squeezed my heart, making it hard for me to stay composed. At this moment he wasn’t a top student that every girl wanted to have for herself. He was just a child who loved his father so much that a simple thought of being left alone scared him to death. And right now, although we fought and argued with each other many times already, instead of feelings of aversion and hate to his person, the only thing I felt was sympathy. In fact, I stopped hating him a long time ago.

“It’s okay, Baekhyun.” I said, trying to swallow a big bulb in my throat. I wasn’t sure what seemed appropriate right now so I kept repeating the same words over and over again. “Everything will be all right.”

And when his grip on my sweatshirt lessened, I knew he probably started believing my words. With every second his breath was deeper, steadier and his body began to relax as well. Baekhyun was way calmer now but he still refused to let go of me. As much as I strangely didn’t mind spending the whole night in this position, I knew we had to split from each other, especially when Kai was standing few steps behind us, gazing at me with unreadable expression on his face. He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed and squinted eyes. There was something in his posture that alarmed me the second I laid my eyes on him. Something that raised the hair on the back of my neck almost immediately.

He didn’t look a bit happy about my presence. In fact, he seemed slightly frustrated.

I blinked rapidly, trying to ignore the sickening feeling in the back of my stomach. Wasn’t he the one who called and almost begged me to come here? He sounded desperate through the phone. But the way he looked at me now made me think how unwelcomed I was here. He didn’t seem like Kai I knew. He was scary.

When I gulped loudly, Kai finally decided to make a few steps closer, glancing at me for the last time before he switched his attention to his friend. “Baekhyun, I will take you home.”

He said it with dry voice, making it hard to believe that he sincerely cared about his friend and was just forced to make sure he’ll arrive home safely. Baekhyun flinched slightly, surprised to hear Kai’s voice echoing in the room. As soon as he acknowledged Kai’s presence, he pulled away from me, slowly but with determination, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, making sure not to look down at me. But I took the opportunity to gaze at him and my chest tightened when the remains of tears, that I spotted on his long eyelashes, glimmered in the club lights. His eyes were slightly puffed, brushed, along with the tip of his nose, with light shade of red. There still were tails of tears on his cheeks he didn’t manage to wipe dry.

And even though he was crying just a few minutes ago, Baekhyun still looked stunning.

“Don’t you have to work?” He said in a halting tone, letting out a weary and tired exhale. I managed to catch a quiet sniffle from him before I turned my attention to Kai.

“Mingyu will take my shift.” Kai looked in my direction causing me to avert my eyes immediately. “My car is in the parking lot, you can wait there for me.”

My body flinched after hearing his words because it seemed like hidden request to leave me alone with Kai. And despite all my sympathy towards him, that grew inside me through our little talks with each other, I was ready to leap into Baekhyun’s arms, begging him to not leave me alone with his friend. I would do anything to delay our conversation that surely was going to start – as soon as Baekhyun will step out of the room. But being the usual coward, I didn’t do anything when he started walking to the door in silence like nothing happened between us. Without single word or look, he left me alone with Kai. As much as I tried to convince myself that I was perfectly fine with it, my mind refused to agree.

Kai clicked his tongue, closing his eyes for mere second just to open them lazily to look back at me. He then decided to say the words I was scared to hear the most. “We need to talk, Eun Jin.”

At that moment, talking with Kai was the last thing I wanted to do. But I did what seemed right in this situation. I sat obediently on the sofa, ready to listen to his every word because strangely I felt like he wanted to say something really important. He looked down at me with the look that made me feel uncomfortable. A combination of pure concern, curiosity and the hint of desperation.

“I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.” Kai sighed heavily, “Eun Jin, I’m not going to be nice and considerate this time but I hope you will understand it.”

I looked at him with confusion written all over my face. I didn’t understand anything he said. “What do you mean?”

He blinked few times, as if still being hesitated to say what’s in his mind. Although the look on his face was softer compared to the one he gave me when Baekhyun was still in the room, his next words sent small tremors through my body.

“I want you to leave Baekhyun. Get out of his life as soon as possible.”

It took me more than just a few seconds to comprehend the meaning of his request. My throat became awfully dry and I felt the sudden urge to drink one of those beers lying on the table in front of me. I desperately waited for him to start laughing and assuring me that it was just a bad joke but he didn’t do any of it.

“I don’t understand you, Kai.” A wave of anger suddenly filled my body, replacing the fear and agitation I felt moment ago. I stood up from my place, not willing to hear more, “If it’s all you wanted to say, then it’s better if I leave.”

“Then make me help you understand, Eun Jin.” He grabbed my arm when I passed him and spun me to face him. “Answer my one question.”

I furrowed my eyebrows with irritation. “What question?”

“Do you have feelings for him?”

I was taken aback but I tried my best not to show it. Kai seemed determined to know the answer and he wasn’t willing to let me go so easily. I gazed at him, searching for the reason of his sudden change of attitude but couldn’t find anything at all. It was hard for me to read his mind because he had the ability to stay calm and hide his emotions – just like Baekhyun – when I, from the other hand, was like open book. Everytime I felt sad, frustrated or had doubts, Kai surely knew it. Although w