6

I trudge the gravel pathway to my house after a tiring school day. Carrying the heavy backpack filled with books, I walk in to the house and immediately call out for Aunt. However, there is no response besides the echo of my voice. Maybe Aunt is not back yet. I climb the stairs to my room and enter.

Why is my room so dusty? All the things are neatly placed and arranged however, the amount of dust is as though the room has been abandoned for a long time.

It can’t be. I was here last night.

 I was, right?

I sit on the edge of my comfortable bed. It creaks as soon as I sit on it. Am I that heavy or has the bed frame turned rusty?

I am about to take off my backpack when loud screaming blasts the quiet atmosphere. It sounds like it is from the outside. Still with my backpack, I run downstairs towards the front door and open to view the outside and see where the noise is from.

People are running everywhere. They are shouting and screaming frantically, with panic stricken faces.

What is happening?

Bravely, I walk outside and watch with clueless eyes.

“RUN! RUN!” A man shouts. I look at him with a puzzled expression and he seems to have understood my worry.

“Miss, you have to run now! A group of guys is killing anyone and everyone that is in their way. RUN!” He screams and then scrambles away.

What?! I have to run, now. I need to save myself!

Suddenly, in a distance I catch glimpses of familiar faces.

EXO!

My heart instantly cries in relief. They are here! They are going to save everyone, I scream in my head delightfully.

They notice my presence. I flash a smile but instead, they greet me with grim expressions.

I see Suho tackling a guy, and then Tao punching someone right at his face and the adorable Sehun, who is not that adorable anymore, is kicking a guy who is lying on the ground. 

Then, Kai approaches me with bloodshot eyes. His aura is dark and tense. Honestly, I am scared of him.

But hey, he is not the bad guy. He isn’t, right?

“Pass me the knife!” He yells as me.

Knife? What knife is he referring to?

I have no idea what this guy has just said. Impatiently, he grabs my backpack violently that I almost stumble and fall. He s it and takes out an object.

WHAT IS A KNIFE DOING IN MY BAG?!

No, wait.

He takes out the rest of the items in my backpack. That same backpack I initially thought is filled with books.

Swords, guns, daggers and more knives.

Kai makes his way towards a man who is on the ground. He reaches for his neck and yanks him up on his feet.

“Save me! Please save me. They will kill me.” The unknown guy begs me.

Confused, I look at him and then scan the entire scene.

That is when I realised; I have been mistaken all this while. Shouts and cries could be heard. “Save me!” “They’re going to kill me!” “I’m innocent, please let me go!”

They are pleading for mercy. These people under the mercy of EXO cannot be the bad guys. The tears in their eyes speak the fear that they have.

If there are not the bad guys, then who is?

I turn my attention on Kai as he stabs the guy ruthlessly with the knife in his hand.

“KAI NO!” I scream but it is all too late.

Subsequently, I witness the rest of EXO attacking and hurting these guys mercilessly. Blood is everywhere.

Kai walks up to me after releasing the dead guy. With a smirk that looks evil and haunting, he reaches out his hands that are fully covered with blood.

The bad guys; it cannot be them. It cannot be them.

“D-don’t…d-d-don’t k-k-kill. S-st-stay away f-from me.”

I shiver, fearing for my life.

~*~

“Lyorin, wake up. Wake up! It’s only a dream.” Kai called out.

Lyorin jolted up from her unconscious state and faced with a pair of worried eyes. Kai reached up his hand to her cheeks but she backed away, pushing herself backwards. She kicked and pushed until she was at the other end of the bed. When she realised she was already at the edge, she slid down and sat on the cold floor, folding and hugging her knees tightly. Kai was startled by her behaviour. He went over to where she was at. He looked at her tenderly but she hissed at him instead with terrifying eyes.

“Lyorin, I’m not going to hurt you.” Kai persuaded, stretching his arms for her. “See, you’re in your room. It was all just a dream. Nothing is going to happen. You’re safe now.” He cooed. 

However, she remained afraid and agitated. She eyed him frighteningly and kept shaking her head, delusional as if he really was going to harm her in any way.

“Y-you ki-killed them.” She mumbled hysterically. “There was bl-blood everywhere –“

Kai could no longer stand watching her by the side. He stretched out his arms and wrapped around her closely. She was hitting and pushing him away, but despite the struggles, he held on to her firmly. “Shh shh.. Lyorin, listen to me. Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to harm you in any way. I’m here and I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise to protect you. Everything is over. You’re fine and safe now. Please don’t be scared.” He whispered in her ears and her hair gently. When she started sniffing, Kai pulled her even closer in his arms and hushed for her to stop crying. He even tried to hug her closely so that she won’t be cold.

After a couple of minutes, Lyorin finally calmed down. She stopped sobbing and snuggled in his warm arms. Kai never let go and kept his arms around, soothing her with his whispers. He was trying his best to calm her down. However, for himself; his heart was racing so fast that he was having a hard time controlling even his breathings. This was the closest she was with him. Even though it was just normal hug, he could not help but feel very nervous about it. When he realised he had been dreaming away far too long, quickly he brushed the feelings and thoughts away and focussed back on her.

Kai felt that she had gotten quiet and was no longer shivering. Slowly, he bent his neck to check on her and find that she was already sleeping. She was still as pale as before. He wasn’t going to risk and let her catch a cold for sitting on the cold floor, so he carried her to bed. She was light, which was all he could think of. He placed her carefully, pulled up the covers and made sure she was warm and comfortable.

Kai took a step backwards, however he felt something pulling his hand and saw it was her hand. “Please don’t leave. Please stay.” Lyorin muttered faintly, with her eyes half-opened.

Immediately, Kai sat beside her and hushed, “I’m not going anywhere. I will always be here for you. I promise.” He softened once he saw her peaceful sleeping face.

That moment, he realised that no matter how hard he tried to erase his feelings for her, she was and would forever be his weakness.

~*~

The bright sunlight seeped in, acting as the alarm clock for Kai. He opened his eyes only to be blinded by the sun rays. He adjusted his eyes to the surrounding and turned his head and saw that he was on the bed beside Lyorin. He had fallen asleep unknowingly. He got a little panicked because that was the first time he had wakened up in bed with a girl beside, literally. However, his eyes landed on her beautiful face and once again, he melted.

Suddenly, he heard a knock which popped his little bubble. His panic returned.

“!” He cursed under his breath.

But he was too late. Sehun came in straight after a knock and witness the rare sight. “Hyun –“

Before he could end his word, Kai teleported right behind him and covered his mouth. “Sehun, shut up!”

“What did you do?” Sehun questioned.

“Nothing, I was just taking care of her.”

“What? And you happened to take care of her while lying beside her, on the bed?” Sehun interrogated him rather sarcastically.

Kai smacked the back of the maknae’s head. “Don’t think it wrongly. She was scared and I happened to be comforting her. I guess I got too tired and sleepy. I swear whatever that you are thinking in that head of yours, didn’t happen okay?” Kai clarified, jabbing a finger on Sehun’s temple. He could not believe he just explained that to Sehun. Why did he even bother? But the thought of Sehun mistaking him for someone he wasn’t, he just had to sink that in his brain.

“Yea yea, whatever you say hyung.” Sehun snickered. “Anyway, let’s go have breakfast.” Sehun tugged Kai’s arm and dragged him out of the room.

“B-but Lyorin –“ Kai hesitated.

“I will take care of her.” Another voice interrupted and it was Lay’s.

Kai was still hesitant to leave her side. Sehun didn’t care and continued dragging him to the dining table. “Jeez hyung, you’ve spent the entire night with her. Was that not enough? You got to see her, look after her and even sleep – “

A hard smack landed on the back of his head. “You breathe another word of it; I swear I will teleport you to the outer space.”

Sehun could only laugh.

The sound of plates and utensils clattered the dining hall. After the last night’s event, everyone was famished. All were present except for Lyorin and Lay. It was his turn to look after her. Everyone was eating as per normal including Kai who kept his head down and chewed on the food.

Suddenly, Chen posed a question to him. “Kai, what actually happened between you and Lyorin?”

Kai remained quiet. He recalled the scene when he turned his back and left her.

“Yes Kai, what happened? How did Lyorin end up being taken away?” Suho asked.

He could not remain silent forever, especially when the leader had asked him.

“She found me on the street and pleaded for me to come back home. But –“ He stopped. “But I refused. I told her to go home on her own and then –“

“Then?” Baekhyun was interested to know. Actually, all of them stopped eating and concentrated on him.

“I left her. I turned my back and walked away.” Kai confessed. His hands started to shake as pictures the scene in his head. He was stupid. He was absolutely stupid for leaving her. “But I sense something was wrong and immediately I searched for her only to find the watch lying on the ground.”

Luhan patted Kai’s back and tried to calm him down. “It’s okay Kai.”

“No, it’s not okay! It was my fault entirely! If I didn’t leave her, then all these would never happen. She won’t be hurt or taken away, we won’t need to fight and save her and most imp0rtantly, she won’t need to suffer by watching us killing and acting like monsters!” He got all agitated and tensed.

Kris sighed. He didn’t want to put all the blame on Kai. He knew Kai was remorseful. Yes, it was a mistake that could have been avoided, but he wasn’t going to torment him further. He believed Kai had been punished enough. “Kai, stop blaming yourself. If it wasn't for you, Lyorin could have been taken away without anyone knowing. You were there, you saw her and found out about her fast enough." Kris comforted.

Kai shook his head, disagreeing. "I left her."

"But you came back for her." Luhan corrected.

~*~

Lyorin opened her eyes slowly and cautiously. She moved her arms and was about to sit up when someone prevented her. "Don't get up. You're not well." Kai said. She was having a slight fever. She felt weak and her body temperature was hot. However, she needed to get up because it felt like she had been sleeping for far too long. Her back, neck and leg ached. She still pulled herself despite his advice.

"What time is it?" She asked with a croaking voice.

"3PM." Kai replied. Within seconds, the rest of the guys barged in to the room. Lyorin watched them with wary eyes. She might have gotten better but she could still vividly remember what happened. She recoiled instantly as she replayed the nightmarish scene in her head. Kai noticed her expression changed. "Are you alright?"

She wished everything that happened was just a scary dream. As much as she wanted to move on, she found it difficult to register the fact that these guys in the same room, could kill and murder.

Lay moved closer to her and was about to hold her wrist and check her health when she suddenly backed her hand. "I-I'm fine." She lied.

She needed time to get use. She needed time to accept. She needed time to trust.

felt parched and she noticed a glass of water on the table by the side. She reached for it but Kai helped her instead. His skin touched hers and it suddenly sent shivers down her spine. That hand was the exact same hand that was once covered in blood. Immediately, she brushed him away and muttered, "I can manage."

The rest of EXO, including Kai saw her repulsive attitude towards them. One by one slowly exited the room because they felt that their presence would only cause her to be more nervous and scared. Their hearts were hurt a little knowing that Lyorin seemed to have lost her trust in them. However, Kai stayed. He was not going to leave her alone. She could push him away all she wanted but he would remain by her side.

After drinking and returning the glass to the table, Lyorin looked like she was going to stand. Kai tried to support her.

"Where are you going? If you want anything, just tell me. I will get it for you." Kai spoke.

Lyorin shook her head. "Kai, I'm fine. I need the bathroom. You can't possibly follow me all the way to the bathroom, right?" Lyorin replied as a matter of fact. However, Kai took her reply as a sign that she was not going to accept any help from him. He felt she was trying to avoid all possible physical contact with him.

While Lyorin was using the bathroom, Kai was preparing food for her. He appeared in the kitchen and saw D.O already cooked the porridge.

"Hyung, is it ready?" He asked.

D.O sprinkled the garnish and then handed the tray of food to him. "Here. Make sure she finishes it up. It's not that much anyway."

Lay then came in to the kitchen with a bottle in his hand. "Kai, this is the medicine for her fever. Give it to her after the meal okay?" Kai understood and nodded. Lay added, "And Kai, try not to push her too hard. If she's not ready to accept us, it's alright. We just want her to get better."

Lyorin came out of the bathroom after several minutes and spotted a tray of food beside her table. She ws hungry but she had no appetite to eat. She walked slowly and sat on her bed. Kai was still in her room, sitting on a chair just beside her bed. They didn't talk and kept quiet. He was watching her every move silently. She stared at the food and looked like she was not going to even touch it. So, he decided to take control. Without breathing any word, he scooped the porridge using the spoon, blew it lightly and then stretched his hand towards .

However, she turned her head away and refused to eat the food from him. She then took the spoon but he pulled it back and said, "Let me feed you."

"It's okay. I can eat by myself." She answered and instantly grabbed the spoon and placed it in and ate.

Kai was slightly hurt by her gesture. He wanted to feed her but it seemed like she rejected it because it was from him. It was from his hand. Once again, she showed signs on repulse towards him. Her indifferent attitude could only mean that she was having a hard time trusting EXO.

Honestly, Lyorin didn't have such thoughts. She rejected him because she disliked being pampered to the extent of feeding her. She didn't want to be treated like a princess or a damsel in distress. She felt that she didn't deserve to be treated as such. Thus, unless her hands could no longer functioned, she would not allow herself to be fed.

It seemed like a misunderstanding, right?

(To be continued)

Aww Kai sweetie, don't take it too hard.. Give her more time

Some of you may have read this chapter already but I edited and added a paragraph. LOL! I cant even copy and paste properly.... Anyway, happy reading! ^_^