Chapter 22 Officially Taken
An Apparitional Experience
Kai finally loosens his grip around me and gives me a warm smile. Oh my, he is so handsome. Am I turning pink? I'm blushing uncontrollably. How am I going to handle myself with him? I start fanning myself for it suddenly becomes too warm despite being outside in a cool night in Jeju Island. Kai, quit staring at me. His eyes look hungry and I have no way to react to that. He starts to laugh at me, because of my nervousness no doubt. He leans in to hug me and then kisses my lips again, this time with less passion and tongue, just a gentle kiss on the lips. When we part I stare at his full lips and I want to attack them with my mouth. I guess my facial expression speak volumes because Kai points his finger on my forehead and taps it so I can refocus and collect my sanity.
"So, what now?" I ask impatiently and disappointed that he didn't kiss me and I did not have the nerve to attack his mouth.
"Really Ev?" Yuri asks.
"Killing the moment as usual." Baekhyun adds.
"Buzz killer." Luhan teases.
"It's alright, we have to go to the bonfire and check in with the rest of the class or we'll get in trouble." Kai says laughing again. He looks at all of our friends who are eagerly staring at us and the formation of the new couple. I hide behind Kai because I am embarrassed for kissing him in front of everyone. "Thanks for not letting us end up like Tristan and Isolde."
"You're welcome!" Yuri runs to us and pulls me closer to Kai's back. "Your boyfriend is so hot!" She teases me.
"Tell me about it," I arrogantly say. We laugh and Kai looks down at us.
"There's more to me than just my looks." He reminds me with a serious face.
"Yes, you are smart too. President of the math club right? Mu Alpha Theta and Class President. But come on, do you really think I won't be flaunting you around campus, or here at Jeju Island?" Kai tries to grab me but I run into the hotel hallway towards the elevator. Every body else is heading to the elevator as well saying how cute we are and what a nice side of Kai that they are witnessing. I stop once I see Jaekyung approaching me.
"Gotcha!" Kai wraps his arms around my shoulders and leans in to kiss me on my cheek. The others pass us and tell us to hurry up and get into the elevator. I stare at Jaekyung and give her an awkward smile. Kai simply says, "Hey."
"That's all you are going to say to her?"
"Kai, Ev, let's go." Tiffany yells for us.
"You really do know this girl?" Jaekyung asks with a shocked and disappointed expression.
"This girl happens to be my girlfriend." I look at Kai and he winks at me.
"Girlfriend! Kai, you have never had a girlfriend before!"
"I was waiting for her all this time. Jaekyung you'd better get down to the bonfire for first day role call." Kai grabs my hand and I bow at Jaekyung and the sad look on her face.
"She looks like she is going to cry."
"She will be fine."
"We're going to be late!" Baekhyun whines.
Kai drapes his arms over Baekhyun as he squishes himself to the back of the elevator. Baekhyun tries to shove him off to no avail. "Looks like you and I WILL be best friends, Byun." Standing close to the door, Luhan laughs at the sight. Sehun drapes his arms over Luhan.
"It's just not enough to be teammates and roommates, please be my friend too, Luhan."
"Of course, Sehunnie!" The boys start laughing at their state of affairs now that Kai and I are officially together.
"Great. Bromance times two." Tiffany snickers.
"F4, the flower boys of the Academy." Taeyeonnie adds.
"We should make a school calendar of them and earn some spring break money!" Yuri suggests.
"Great idea, Yuri!" Tiffany says and the two exchange smiles and then get over it quickly after realizing they are arch enemies.
"Spring break?" I ask Yuri.
"Yup, in 3 weeks we can plan a trip."
The elevator door opens back up to the 12th floor. "What happened?" Baekhyun tries to get on his tippy-toes to peer at the elevator buttons.
"You idiots forgot to press the button for the main lobby. We are back up here." Tiffany laughs at the boys mistake. She moves to reach for the correct button this time, and we side shuffle to adjust to her new location. As soon as the elevator is about to close, a hand stops the elevator.
"Ya! What is this? I've been looking all over for you guys. You all had a party and didn't invite me?"
"There's no room Chanyeol." Yuri tries to push him out of the elevator.
"Yeah there is, scoot over. Lay hurry up!" We all whine as another body enters the elevator. "Calm down we are all friends here. Right Yuri?" Chanyeol tries to wrap his arms around Yuri, Luhan pushes past Sehun who's arms are still around him and yanks Yuri towards them. Chanyeol's arm ends up around Tiffany by accident who elbows him on his waist, Chanyeol towers over her and supports himself against the wall with his tall body slightly contorted. Taeyeon shifts over to Baekhyun which Kai finally let go. I end up on the opposite side of Kai by the door. We stare at each other and look around seeing our friends playfully arguing with each other. Our eyes meet again and Kai winks at me and I wink back. Our lunch gathering has evolved to this.
"Just, nobody fart, and we will be fine."
"Eww, Chanyeol." Tiffany slaps him on the back of the neck because she can't reach his head.
"You are so gross." Yuri scoffs.
"Nice, Hyung!" Sehun high-fives him.
"Ha ha!" Baekhyun and Luhan laugh because I am sure they were thinking that too, except they didn't say it out loud.
When the door opens, I practically fall out of the elevator as I get pushed by everyone trying to adjust themselves and make way for exiting. I get caught by a set of strong sturdy arms and looking around it can't be Chanyeol who was next to me at the elevator, or Lay who was standing on the other side of me. Plus I see Chanyeol staring at me with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open, Yuri has her hand over , and Luhan is pointing at my direction with Baekhyun's hand covering his mouth. What the heck? I look at Kai and his eyes become dark. He begins pushing his way towards me and I finally look up and I see an all to familiar face.
"Nichkhun!" Baek, Yuri, Luhan and I say together. Luhan's voice was muffled but I knew he said his name too.
"Hello Baekhyun. Yuri, Luhan. Hi Ev." Khun smiles at me as I continue to be cradled in his arms.
Kai pulls me out of Nichkhun's arms and brings me close to his chest but my arm is bent awkwardly as Nichkhun continues to hold onto it, he and Kai have a staring contest soon after.
"Okay, boys. Let's just back away from one another." I push Kai to quit glaring at Khun and I try to slip my hand out of Nichkhun's. "Oppa, let go please?" I ask him nicely. He finally does but then he grabs my shoulders and pulls my back towards him.
"I will take Ev now. Thank you for watching out for her." He bows slightly to Kai and Kai grabs his hands and peels them off my shoulders. I am standing between them and I am so close to Kai's chest. His v-neck shirt exposes his soft golden skin and I bite my bottom lip as the desire to kiss him right there at that very spot fills me up. Baekhyun takes my hand and pulls me from between the two and my fantasy. As if he knew what I was thinking, he looks at me shaking his head in disappointment.
"Your man and future husband are going to have a brawl and you're over there fantasizing about Kai's chest." He teases me.
Yuri to the rescue with her part-time ally, Tiffany. "You boys need to stop this. We need to go to the mandatory bonfire so the school can take first night's role call. Khun, you need to step aside."
"Seriously, I don't know who you are but you are not messing this up for my little brother. Now please leave."
"I can't let Ev walk away from me knowing this guy is with her." He also towers over Tiffany and she doesn't look pleased by his harsh attitude.
"Deal with it, dude. Ev and I are together now. You are too late." Kai speaks out.
"Kai, don't." Nichkhun stares at me with sadness, I let him down. "You all go ahead and go-"
"We all have to be there by 9, Ev." Yuri reminds me.
"I'll be there, let me talk with oppa for a bit."
"Baby," Kai approaches me and pulls me to the side. "I am staying with you."
"Kai, you need to trust me. Go with the others." The next sentence I whisper, "Don't call me baby, it's embarrassing." He snickers at me.
"I am giving you ten minutes maximum." He looks at Nichkhun and then back to me. "Five minutes." They all leave us at the hotel lobby and I let out a deep sigh.
"Oppa." I call out for Nichkhun who is looking out the window and into the night sky. "I am so sorry."
"Five days. You didn't even last for five days. Well, even I couldn't wait for you for five days. In one day, you two have become a couple, you two are together? He sure moves fast."
"Don't make Kai out to be the villain." He finally turns around.
"You really like him? And he likes you back?"
"He confessed today. Ani, we confessed to each other today."
"And your first kiss?"
"He, umm, gave me my first kiss."
Nichkhun scoffs. "He certainly moves fast."
"Ya! Stop it. You know, he can have any girl. But he chose me. And he chose me because he truly likes me."
"And you don't think I do?" He cries out with that touch of disappointment in his eyes. "I've liked you since we were children."
"Aneyo! You liked the idea of us being together. It was a promise made by our grandfathers. There was never romance between us, oppa. Your heart and my heart never beat quickly at the mere sight of one another. Did it? Did your heart beat fast when you saw me at the the Academy, before I left for Jeju? Do you always feel the need to be around me?" I try to make a point, my heart doesn't beat fast for Nichkhun but always too fast for Kai.
"We can grow to love each other, to have those feelings, I know it."
"My heart beats so fast for Kai. He makes me nervous, happy, anxious, awkward…he makes me feel all sorts of emotions and I can't get enough of his smile, his voice, his dark eyes and the way he dances, and the way he talks about his friends and family and his love for dance. I want to get to know more about him, his annoyances, his strengths and weaknesses, I want to be a part of his life and be his best friend more than just his girlfriend. And I know when he looks at me, when he gives me that signature smirk of his, he's thinking of me, he's thinking of clever things to say to me so we can have moments of our back and forth banter, he's not afraid to show me his vulnerable side and goofy side and…" I see Kai standing behind the pillar by the revolving doors of the hotel. I smile at him and try not to make eye contact so Nichkhun doesn't notice him. I am a little embarrassed about my sudden confession because I know he heard it all.
"So you are confessing your undying love for him?"
"Proclaiming it, wholeheartedly." I stand firm to it. I look past Nichkhun and right at Kai who can't contain his smile. That adorable side of him makes him even more gorgeous than ever.
"I came to tell you that our marriage is still going to happen. To remind you. I had a feeling that you would fall head over heels for that boy. He's very good looking, I saw the way the girls in your school, even the female teachers, were staring at him while he waited for the bus with your other classmates. I am still going to wait for you after graduation. We are still promised to be together. I cannot disobey my grandfather, and I know that you won't either."
"How can you say that? Do you really want to marry me especially after I confessed to you about my love for another?"
"Is it like or love?" Nichkhun challenges me. "Because I think what this is is just like, a high school romance that will fizzle upon graduation. It's all based on physical attraction, and we all know those kinds of relationships don't last."
"No way. Our relationship is beyond a physical attraction. Sure, I find him very attractive. But look at me, do you honestly think that it started with physical attraction." I put my hands on my hips. I am not like those girls Kai usually dates so oppa saying that Kai is with me for my looks is just laughable.
"I heard that he was already signed to a large music company. He will debut as soon as he graduates if not sooner, and then what? Where will you two be in the big scheme of things? Do you think he'd stick around to romance you?"
"Stop. Don't say anymore, please." I feel tightness on my chest. What he is saying is true.
"Truth hurts. Love hurts too, especially one this risky, especially one with a man with Kai's looks. Let's live in the current reality, before graduation, with all the other girls pining for him, what are you going to do then when another girl tries to take him away from you? Ev, you are no match for those girls. You are no match for Kai. Right now it's a honeymoon faze. You two are in an exotic island, all your friends are cheering you two on, romance is in the air, a friendship became something more, and you even had your first kiss. What happens when the five days are up? What happens when you are back in Seoul, back in the daily grind, and Kai continues to be Kai, Dance Prince of Seoul Arts? What are you? His girlfriend… It's short-lived, Ev. You know it too. I thought you were stronger than this."
Tears start forming in my eyes as reality sinks in but it doesn't last. I've become stronger now. Nichkhun is bringing up all these scenarios to get me to overthink my new relationship with Kai. Of course I thought of these things many times, but the moment Kai confessed to me, the moment before he kissed me and simply looked at me with sincerity, I wanted to be lost in his arms forever. I wanted to live and love with Kai next to me. I remember the night I saw him laying next to me on the circle stage, albeit a form of a ghost or a figment of my imagination, but he was always there, in my mind, in my dreams, in my heart, and even on my canvas and sketch pad.
"He doesn't deserve you. Guys like him need a play thing, and you aren't that."
"You act like you know him and you don't!" I am angry now, no longer feeling sorry for myself. "I want Kai, I want him and I don't want you, so you need to accept that and stop spewing out these words to make me feel that we are at different levels and can never be happy together. He chose me for me. And who knows what will happen after Jeju or in four weeks or in three months when we graduate, but that's the best part of our relationship. Anticipation. Everything with Kai is a surprise. He's spontaneous and he's-"
Nichkhun grabs my face and forces his lips on me. I try to push him away and he insists on finishing his kiss. I place my hands on his chest to push him off but he grabs my wrists and forces my arms on my side. I turn my face and wipe his kiss as much as I can with my sleeve. Kai comes out of nowhere and punches Nichkhun in the jaw, he stumbles a bit and looks at Kai with a shocked expression, he moves towards Kai and Kai punches him again, this time Nichkhun is sitting on the floor. Laughing.
"Kenchana?" Kai asks me as he takes his sleeve and wipes my lips with it. "I should have pulled you away from him sooner, mianhae." I wrap my arms around him to hold him close. I am shaken by what Nichkhun did to me. "Are you crazy?" Kai asks Nichkhun.
He gets up from the floor and wipes his busted lip. "Not a bad punch for a dancer." Kai moves towards him again and luckily Baekhyun and Luhan are there to help me stop him. Once Luhan has a good hold of Kai, Baekhyun pushes Nichkhun.
"What the hell, Khun!? What's gotten into you?!" Baekhyun turns to him. "You've gone mad!"
"You guys are all delusional. You do realize that she's promised to me. Until our grandfathers say otherwise, I will see you after graduation, Ev." Nichkhun winks at me and Kai lets out a frustrated sigh. I hug him tighter to ensure that I am not going anywhere and he presses his lips on my forehead.
"How did he get to Jeju Island?" Kai asks us.
"He's filthy rich." Baekhyun responds honestly. "He's got his own private jet."
"Shoot. Really?" Kai scratches his head. "How do I compete with that?" He says almost at a whisper.
"Easy, you don't. Besides, you are practically in the lead." Baekhyun points to me and my arms which are still wrapped around his waist tightly. This time, I am the one who doesn't want to let go.
"Oi. I am not a ghost, I won't disappear." Kai assures me reminding me of when I always thought of him as an apparition. "Let's go wash your lips off with soap."
"Kai!"
"I'm joking, a little bit. Let's get some orange juice then, the citric acid will burn any remnants of that guys-" I pinch him on his side, but can't grab hold of any skin because he's got like zero percent body fat on him so it ends up becoming a couple pokes. "Quit poking me, that tickles."
"So what do we do now?" Luhan asks completely concerned and serious about the situation that just unfolded. "I am definitely telling Yuri. Oh and, what does Taemin think of you two being a couple now?"
"Oh my gosh, Taemin-oppa! I forgot to call him." I take out my phone and begin dialing his number. Kai grabs my phone and cancels the call. He redials this time calling him via FaceTime.
"He'll love this." He winks at me. "Hyung! I did what you suggested." Kai won't let me see Taemin-oppa but I can hear him.
'What are you talking about? And why are you calling from Ev's phone?"
"Remember your wise words of wisdom that oddly resembled something from Alladdin?"
"Ya! I am not like a Disney cartoon!"
"I followed my heart, Hyung." Kai points the phone at me and I wave.
"YA!! What's the heck is going on???!!!" Okay, I didn't think he'd have that reaction.
"Hyung! I thought you'd be happy for me?"
"I thought you gave up on her!"
"Ani, you took her away from me!"
"Aneyo! You bowed out, I couldn't sit still."
"Ey, Hyung, you told me to to follow my heart. You exchanged phone numbers with me too. You planned this entire thing for me, didn't you?"
"Aish! Fine, I did try to step aside for you, but you were too slow. And so now, you two are together? What happened to that guy she's promised to?"
"Obstacles, Hyung. We'll get through it."
"Can I please talk to him now!?" I scream in his ear like a child throwing a fit.
"Why are you yelling at me?"
"Because you are hogging Taemin-oppa!" I snatch my phone out of his hands.
"You need to share." He shoves me softly.
"Araso." I look at Taemin-oppa through the phone. "Anyeong!"
"You are much happier now. I like that."
"Thank you."
"For?"
"Jonginnie." I smile shyly and say cutely.
"Ooohhh, you really like him, huh?"
"She sure does like me, I win, Hyung!" I shove Kai out of the view.
"Ya, you shouldn't say that out loud. He already has a large ego." I whisper to Taemin-oppa.
"He and Tiffany both do." Kai lays his chin on my shoulder and cuddles with me as we both stare at Taemin-oppa. HIs chest is warm and I seem to fit snuggly in his arms. Minho from SHINee comes into view and I immediately freeze.
"Oh. Oh. Oh. Minho-oppa!! You are so, um, you are my biggest fan!!!" I see Kai look at me on my phone while I still stare sheepishly at Minho.
"Don't you mean, 'I am YOUR biggest fan?'" Kai corrects me.
"I always do that, I get so nervous when I am around him."
"How many times have you been AROUND HIM?" Kai asks accusingly.
"Once, and it was memorable." I smile at Minho-oppa again and wave, he his head and waves back. He leans on to Taemin's shoulder the same way Kai leans on mine. What's going on there? I feel jealous all of a sudden. "Oppa?"
"Yes?" 2Min says in unison.
"Don't lean on Taemin-oppa like that. I am feeling-" I touch my heart and I feel sad about their skinship. Kai shakes me out of my trance.
"Hyungs, we'll call you back. Well, not you Minho-hyung because, well, you see what you do to my girlfriend. Annyeong." Kai waves at 2Min who wave back to us. "Say goodbye, Ev, the next time you'll see Minho-hyung will be at a SHINee concert or on TV at a music show." Kai says keeping his smile as we both say goodbye. I manage to blow him a kiss. And I see and hear Minho-oppa's dreamy laugh. I run off, leaving my phone with Kai. "Where are you going?!"
"I have to tell Yuri about my connection with Minho-oppa!"
Hello all! I have another trailer made for a story called An Apparitional Experience. Find it on its foreword and click on the youtube link. Thanks!
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