❝Chapter Twenty-Six

Kai watched and followed as Jae Hee carried her suitcases down the stairs.

Was she really about to leave him? Was this really about to happen? Was he really about to let it happen?

"Please don't go," Kai blurted.

Jae Hee stopped but didn't turn to look at him. "……Sorry…" She set her suitcases at the foot of the stairs and turned to him, guiltily biting her lip.

"Come on," he chuckled lightly as he grabbed her hand, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you know? Not every girl gets to date such a hot guy like me," he joked as he lightly swung their arms back and forth.

"Kai," she faked a nervous laugh and awkwardly pulled her hand back.

"What?" he pouted, his shoulders down, "I'm being serious. Not in a million years will you EVER find someone as-"

"-conceited as you?" she finished, innocently batting her lashes.

"-HANDSOME as me," he corrected, "But that works, too," he chuckled and ruffled his hair.

She laughed but eventually stopped, and a long silence ensued.

"Um," she cleared after a few minutes of silence, "Next month is Jiyoung's birthday. You can come, if you want…" she mumbled shyly as she stared at the ground.

"Really?" he half-heartedly smiled, still upset that she was leaving him. She wasn't disappearing from the face of the earth or anything but it sure felt like it. He didn't care if he was being a girly drama queen. He didn't want her to leave, even if she lived just a few minutes away from him.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "Why not? We're friends, anyways," she laughed as she punched his arm playfully.

"Friends," he repeated, an obvious bitterness in his tone, as another frown slapped itself onto his face.

"Sorry…" she immediately frowned at her own insensitiveness.

"Don't apologize," he mumbled grumpily, glaring at his feet.

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "You don't have to come, if you don't want to. I'll text you the details." She picked up her luggage. "Oh, and invite SHINee and EXO-K, if you want." She gave him a soft smile.

He only nodded, not looking at her.

"Bye, Jongin," she mumbled, unsure of whether she should've called him by his name or not.

"Oppa," he added, "Jongin Oppa."

"No." She made a face. "I'll call you whatever I want to call you." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"B-but why?" he whined childishly. "Why won't you call me 'Oppa'?!"

"Because!" she laughed. "You're… you." She really didn't have reason why. She just felt awkward addressing him as an oppa.

"I'm me?" He made a face at her lame excuse but suddenly smirked a bit. "So I'm different from other guys? Ooooh, is it because you like me?" he teased as he wiggled his brows.

"Okay." She rolled her eyes. "I'm leaving now." She made a face at him before she opened the door.

"Are you sure?" he pouted, his gloomy mood coming back. "Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" he reminded.

"I'll pass!" she yelled, laughing, as she walked outside.

He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He never thought he'd feel this way, but he really wished Min Hee was still clinging to him.

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Kai and Taemin both sat quietly, staring at their hands in their laps.

After Kai had told his parents Jae Hee had left him, Mrs. Kim almost died from happiness and Mr. Kim was a bit upset but didn't really mind.

Taemin, on the other hand, was completely shocked. He knew it was wrong, but he was happy. He was happy they had broken up. He felt like such a crappy brother, and he knew he was, but he couldn't help how he felt.

"I still can't believe she's gone…" Kai mumbled.

Taemin only nodded. He also felt sad, sad that she was no longer in the room across from him, sad that she was no longer here to cook with him, sad that she was no longer here to talk with him, sad that she wasn't here to laugh with him.

"I let her go…" Kai rested his head between his arms and whispered, "……again."

At those words, Taemin frowned, "Jongin." He knew where the conversation was going and didn't like it one bit.

"Why did she leave?" Kai mumbled bitterly. Taemin frowned even deeper, "Now, I really don't know which girl you're talking about."

"………Both," Kai mumbled, "I let them both walk out on me. God, I'm so stupid, aren't I?" he chuckled harshly as he rested the back of his head on the wall again.

"You're not." Taemin shook his head. "She was the stupid one." At this point, they weren't talking about Jae Hee anymore.

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"JAYYYYY!" Baekhyun immediately tackled Jae Hee into a hug when she opened the door. She laughed and hugged him back, "Hi, Oppa!"

It had been a whole month since she had 'broken up' with Kai.

For her, it was just a normal month. Work. Eat. Sleep. Relax. Have fun with friends. For Kai and Taemin? Well, it was the worst month of their lives. They could barely eat or sleep, too busy wondering about Jae Hee, what she was doing, if she was okay, if they should call her, and so on.

But they weren't the only ones who missed her.

"JAE HEEEEEEE-YYYAAAHHHHHH!" Sehun shoved Baekhyun aside and hugged her tightly, causing her to squeak into his chest as she hugged him back.

After all of EXO-K and SHINee had given her hugs (except for Taemin and Kai), they all headed into the living room, where they were literally attacked by the hyper little kids.

Baekhyun scanned the room for the birthday girl but didn't know what she looked like. "Where's your sister?" he asked Jae Hee.

"Oh, she's right there." Jae Hee pointed to a girl with a cute tiara on, who looked at them and smiled before she went back to playing with her friends.

Baekhyun gawked at her, "This is your sister?!" He pointed to her now-eight-year-old sister.

"Yeah." Jae Hee blinked innnocently.

He stared at her in disbelief. "B-But you said your sister was c-cute and t-tall and y!" he stuttered.

"She is cute, isn't she?" Jae Hee giggled. "And she's actually quite tall for her age!" She looked at Baekhyun weirdly. "And I never said 'y.' You just added that on your own, you ert."

"Oh." Baekhyun turned red as EXO-K all started to make fun of him.

Surprised by the loud laughter, Daehyun came out of the kitchen, only to be even more surprised. "Who are these guys?" He blinked, wondering how on earth an eight-year-old girl became friends with such hot guys.

"Oh, Oppa, this is-" Jae Hee introduced all the members of EXO-K and SHINee, except for Kai and Taemin who Daehyun was already familiar with.

"Ohhhh." Daehyun nodded and looked at Kai before he leaned down to Jae Hee. "Didn't you two break up?" he whispered, his brows raised in confusion.

"Um, yeah," she whispered back and bit her lip. She still hadn't told him it was all fake.

Ding Dong!

The doorbell went off again, and all heads turned to the door.

"OH, YAY!" Daehyun squealed and jumped excitedly, "EUN'S HERE!" he giggled happily as he eagerly ran to the door to greet the girlfriend he loved so much.

"Who's Eun?" Kai blinked.

"Oh." She shrugged at him. "She's just Daehyun's girlfriend," she explained.

Kai nodded back and turned back to his friends. EXO-K and SHINee all resumed playing with toys with the kids while Jae Hee greeted Daehyun's girlfriend.

"OMGEEE! JAE HEE-YAH, I MISSED YOU SO MUCHHHHH!"

Kai crinkled his nose at the familiar voice but shrugged it off and continued his conversation with Jiyoung, trying to get her to pronounce "Kai Oppa is the hottest guy in the world" correctly.

"K-Kai…" Taemin stuttered as he stared at the figure behind Kai, his eyes wide and mouth opened.

"What?" Kai blinked at his hyung. He turned around and instantly froze.

"Eun Young."

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Did you guys see Taemin (or should I say... TaeMAN? Lol, no, just... no) in BoA's Disturbance MV? He looked so goddamn ing amazing!!!! /dies

/comes back to life Oh my gosh, did you guys see Taemin's teaser for SHINee's comeback? Holy. ing. Crap. My poor fan-girl heart cannot handle his hotness! /dies again

But he's really growing up, isn't he? Well, can't expect him to stay a kid forever, I guess. Still...... my babyyy!!! /ugly crying Lol. I don't know why I call him my baby when he's older than me... O_o Whatever, I don't care. He's still my baby XDD

Okayy, this author's note is wayyy too long so I'll end it here. Love you guys, and thanks for the support!♥