11.

Kai finally had a day off for himself, and only himself. He sighed, smiling to himself then grinned, shaking his leg while he placed his head over his arm, lying on his bed while he waited for the alarm clock to ring.

No matter how much the EXO members pleaded, he decided not to give in. He needs to work out and also to have some time for himself, right?

When the alarm clock rang, he immediately shot up and shut it, then ran into the washroom before anyone could use it.

Then, he wore his leather shoes and his sunglasses, then looking at his reflection in the mirror, he smiled. He walked out of the dormitory as he slung a bag over his shoulder and whistled.

Hyesu went to school restlessly, her face was expressionless. She had another dream. A dream of Hani, and a dream of him, again. Every time, the scene would change. The dreams of her would somehow be pleasant, but also depressing, because Hyesu would remember it was actually in the past, not the future.

She would wake up with tears staining the pillow, then going back to sleep again, frowning. But then, her dream of him would always come after the dream of her. Only flashbacks, no future with him, because she knew that there will definitely be no future for him, not to mention the future WITH him.

Kai again, hid behind the pillar and watched her closer. “She seems, sad. Restless. Did she have enough sleep?” he murmured, fixing his gaze on the floor while he thought, then quickly look up again.

She looked at her phone, standing outside of the gates and she scrolled down her contacts. She heaved a sigh of relief. *At least the hospital didn’t call. Unnie’s condition should be fine.*

Kai tilted his head and pushed his sunglasses up, the bridge of his nose as it slid down. *What’s she doing?*

Just when she placed her phone into her pocket, it vibrated. 4.30pm. At my office. Be punctual.

Hyesu frowned and immediately texted back. Are you crazy? My school ends at six.

She rolled her eyes and groaned, then placed her phone into the pocket without waiting for his reply.

“Excuse me! Please make way because I need to clean the pillar!” the cleaner hollered and pushed him away, while Kai blinked in surprise, then scoffed. “I’ve been here for a while..”

“Well I have been here for twenty minutes waiting for you to make way!” the cleaner snapped back at him and continued cleaning the pillar.

Kai grumbled and walked away.

He went to the nearby cafe, the cafe he went a few days ago waiting for Hyesu too while sipping on his coffee.

Thinking he would be bored to wait for the next ten hours, he came prepared.

He grinned in triumph and took out his iPad, wiggling his eyebrows and unlocked it.

He thought time would pass faster and at least six hours would have been gone, but when he looked up from his iPad only two hours had passed. He gawked at the clock and rubbed his eyes, massaging it and locked his iPad. He groaned and moaned, grumbling while he searched through his bag.

How is he going to pass the next eight hours?

While he placed his hand inside his bag and rummaged through it blindly, his fingers traced the outline of an object, he grew interested and took it out.  Then, his eyes rounded in surprise. He softened at the look of it, and his hand unknowingly flip through the pages of the book.

It was the first book he bought. He laughed at the thought of it. In the past, he hated reading books. But Eunhye forced him. To make him read, she read the same book over and over again everyday until he couldn’t help it but to uncover his ears.

The book he bought, was also the book Eunhye first read to him. A Better Day. A Better Night.

Kang Soyeon jumped onto the horse, riding as the wind blew against her face. Her hair was flying towards her right side and she smiled widely. “Soyeon!” a boy shouted, waving his hands frantically to get her attention.

“You can get me, if you ride a horse! But run should be fine too!” she shouted back and laughed, smiling as she continued riding.

“Great, the day can just get any better,” he muttered under his breath and went into the stable. It smells, he thought as he pinched his nose and coughed. He looked around the stable and found that horse.”I choose you, you better be good to me,” he said and dragged it out.

He hopped on and gulped. “Never once had I ride on one..” he said even though he actually rode on it, but he fell, which was then why he was traumatized.

“I don’t understand why Soyeon even wanted me to face my fear,” he muttered, patting the horse. “I’m only twelve. Doesn’t she think she’s too brave for a eleven year old girl?” he said.

He swallowed and took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes. “Well, here goes nothing,” he said, easing himself. “You can do it Ju, you can do it,” he said to himself, encouraging and comforting, which made him feel slightly better.

Then, he hit the horse and it galloped. He held onto the strings tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. “Damn. The wind’s getting into my eye.”

He screamed and bent down, lying on the saddle and he hugged the horst tightly which just continued galloping, whinnying.

Well, he can say the wind is cooling, but it’s affecting his eyes and the horse is going too fast, definitely it’s too scary for him to enjoy.

The horse was going too fast and he really had to control it before it fell off the cliff or something. He opened one eye and pulled the strings closer to him to stop, but it didn’t. He frowned and pulled it once more, still hugging the horse tightly. Then, the horse’s speed slowed down and Ju heaved a sigh of relief.

As he sat up, he saw Soyeon and her horse, while she fed her horse with water and the hair of the horse, while it ate the grass on the ground. They were sheltered from the sun with the help of a big old tree that branched out in the middle of the green field.

He got off the horse when it came to a stop, and was welcomed by long grass, and some reached till his knee. He pulled it closer to him, and walked with it, leading as he approached Soyeon, who then smiled to welcome him.

She ran towards him and smiled, nodding her head. “Not bad Ju. I know you could do it,” she said and before Ju could retort, she gave a small peck on his cheek. Ju’s eyes widened in surprise at the contact, how close her face was, how her lips pressed against his cheek, he could still feel it lingered on. His cheeks immediately pinked and he had to cool himself down before replying or else he would make a fool out of himself. “Now that’s your reward. If you can just overcome your fear and not close your eyes or hug the horse, you’ll get more tham this reward in the future,” she said and ran towards her horse.

 “W-who said I closed my eyes and hugged the horse?” he lied.

Soyeon scoffed and laughed. “You did, Ju. I have eyes everywhere, remember?”

Kai closed the book and smiled.  “Still the best book ever. I guess by the time I finish this book, it’ll be dusk,” he said and flipped to page one, reading it. That warmth feeling he got when his fingers touched the page was breathtaking. His childhood, and his memories all came back to him, how he loved those days, he must say.

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