Chapter 16 - When Minzy Made The First Move

Confused. That’s what Minzy’s feeling at the moment.

She kept on tossing and turning in her bed as the scene from last Sunday replayed in her mind over and over again like a broken tape. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get the image out of her head. There’s just something about the way Kai looked after he found out about her little scheme with Sehun that she couldn’t quite comprehend.

The look on his face told her that he was annoyed, angered and even ashamed. But it was the tiny hint of disappointment and hurt that flashed through his eyes momentarily when he looked at her that had kept her awake every night for the past few days. Somehow, Minzy couldn’t help but feel guilty inside. For an unknown reason, seeing the guy like that made her feel rather upset too.

She felt like she was responsible for everything even though it was clearly not her who started all the pranks in the first place. But the real question was, why? Pulling pranks on one another had been their hobbies for a while now, so she really couldn't fathom why everything suddenly changed. If it were a year ago, or even a month ago, she would’ve felt overjoyed to see the guy suffer but now, it just didn’t feel the same anymore. It didn’t feel right.

Her right thumb lingered on a certain name on the screen of her phone. A bitter chuckle escaped her lips as she stared at it longer. Conceited Pooh, that’s what she saved his number as. She couldn’t help but wonder what name Kai used for her, if he even saved her number to begin with.

Shorty? Stinky? Wannabe dancing machine? Ugly pig? Those were some of the nicknames he had called her before, so which one could he have chosen? Unknowingly, her mind drifted away to the guy she supposedly hated with all her guts yet again. This had been happening more than she’s comfortable with. But there wasn’t exactly anything she could do, at least not until she apologised.

Heaving a sigh, Minzy finally decided to click on the name she’d been staring at for the past hour and typed a quick message. She then jumped out of bed and grabbed the nearest jacket she could reach and wore it over her favourite Minnie Mouse hoodie, and slipped on her Timbs by the entrance before dashing out of the dorm.

It was way past midnight when she left. The roads were almost empty, with one or two cars passing by every fifteen minutes. Nobody was around too, and Minzy let out a relieved sigh. At least, she didn’t have to worry about fans or reporters lurking in some corners, stalking her. Besides, this place was quite secluded and away from anyone’s celebrity radar. A perfect spot for a secret date, actually.

She was walking her toy poodle, Dougie, one afternoon when she discovered the place. It was just a small neighbourhood playground – a heaven especially to all the jungle gym loving kids. However, it was the lone cherry blossom tree standing gloriously in the middle that caught her attention. It was quite odd to see it in the middle of a playground like that but somehow, there’s just something beautiful about it. Something mysterious yet very intriguing.

Ever since that day, the girl often visited the place whenever she got the chance to. It had become a special place for her to unwind. Dougie loved it here, too. She especially enjoyed chasing the butterflies during spring. Every time when Minzy’s here, she would always go straight to the wooden bench underneath the tree and tonight was not an exception.

She was humming a random tune as she skipped eagerly. It had been quite a while since she’s been here so she’s quite excited. Before she could reach her favourite spot, however, a familiar figure caught her attention. There he was, sitting rather comfortably as he stared at the dark blue sky above. The girl immediately stopped in her track and admired the view before her eyes.

The guy was clad in black from head to toe – thick bomber jacket, dark ripped jeans and a baseball cap, with a plain mask covering the lower part of his face. Despite that, there’s something glowing about him. It’s probably due to the light from the lone vintage lamp post beside him, or probably the light from the moon that made his already gorgeous bronze skin sparkle somehow. Whatever it was, Kai was damn beautiful at this moment, and Minzy couldn’t take her eyes away from him.

“You’re late,” the guy suddenly said, snapping her out of her daze.

A blush immediately made its way to her cheeks at the realisation that she was caught staring red-handed. She was even probably drooling over him for all she knew. And as if it couldn’t be more embarrassing, she just had to stutter, “N- N0, I’m not! Y- You’re early!”

Kai fought back a smile at the flustered looking Minzy. Now that was something he hadn’t seen before. Was this really his number one enemy standing before him? He had pulled many pranks on her, he even threw spiteful remarks at her whenever they met, but the girl never showed such a response. She’s usually fierce and feisty, even. This would be the first time he ever witnessed this and he had to admit that he kind of liked it. no, he loved it. She looked so cute all shy and blushing.

“I beg your pardon?” this time, it was Kai who was interrupted from his thoughts.

“What?” he asked back, genuinely confused.

Minzy just stared at him in response, as if scrutinising him. She couldn’t really understand what he just said. Oh she heard him loud and clear, alright. But hearing such compliments from his mouth was just so unexpected, yet it managed to send a little spark all over her body. As if on cue, the girl scolded herself mentally for even thinking of the unthinkable and cleared rather awkwardly.

Before she could react any further, however, she suddenly found herself being dragged away. She looked down at their intertwined hands and the spark immediately crawled back up her body, as her face flushed different shades of red. She hadn’t expected her body to react this way. Heck, she hadn’t even expected her to enjoy the feeling of being dragged away rather harshly by her worst enemy. This wasn't right. She’s supposed to be annoyed and angry, not happy!

They stopped in front of a black sedan. It was a local brand but it looked very well maintained. “Get in,” Minzy heard the guy say, opening the door for her; and like an obedient puppy, she obeyed.

This time, Kai couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. This was probably the most submissive the girl had ever been around him and he’s totally enjoying this moment. Oh, he’s going to savour this memory for a long time. He made sure that she was safely buckled up before hopping in the driver’s side, and fastened his own seatbelt.

“Where are you taking me?” Minzy asked cautiously, her hands grabbing on her seatbelt rather tightly.

“Relax, I’m not kidnapping you. You can loosen up a bit,” he replied, a smirk evident on his face.

Silence then enveloped the two idols. Only the sound of the car engine’s hum and a quiet, light breathing accompanying them. After a while, the atmosphere grew more awkward so Kai decided to turn some music on, hoping that it would help ease the mood. It did help a bit, but it wasn’t very long until it became very awkward again.

Minzy kept on fidgeting in her seat, unsure of what to do or say. She didn’t think it through when she decided to text him. She had initially wanted to apologise via message, but she didn’t believe in such notion. To her, a sincere apology should be done face to face. But now that she’s beside him, her tongue seemed to be tied.

To be honest, she didn’t expect him to agree and accept her request to meet. In fact, she wasn’t even confident if he would read her message. So when she saw him at the park just now, she was shocked. All the lines that she had rehearsed while on her way suddenly flew out of the window. And Kai’s strange behaviour didn’t help her confused mind one bit.

Minutes passed and the silence only became more painful and unbearable, so Minzy finally decided to break it. “I didn’t know you had a driver’s license,” she stated absentmindedly.

“And I didn’t know you had a lot of interest in me,” Kai quipped; he was focused on the road but he could see her glaring at him from the corner of his eye.

He hadn’t meant to sound like a jerk, but he did. And he regretted it as soon as those words came out of his mouth. In all honesty, ever since that day Taemin had set them up, Kai had wanted to try and be civil with her. But for some reason, he just couldn’t seem to control that stupid mouth of his. It would always pour stupid remarks without his consent. Not to mention that evil mind of his that seemed to always want to see her suffer. He really couldn’t understand himself sometimes.

At first, he had started torturing the girl because he despised her. He viewed her as a threat, a really strong one. But over time, he began to enjoy it and what should have been a one-time thing became a habit. He somehow felt accomplished and there’s just this giddiness inside his heart every time he received a response from her, any response at all. And now, he would really feel empty if a day went by without teasing her.

“I’m sorry,” Minzy said after a while, taking Kai aback.

He really didn’t see that coming at all. Confused wouldn’t even begin to describe how he felt at the time. Questions ran through his mind – millions of them – but he was just so dumbstruck. He didn’t trust his mouth to speak, anyway. Only god knew what nonsense it would’ve spouted. So he just kept quiet, waiting anxiously for her to continue.

And what she said next generated an indescribable feeling within him, “I’m sorry for what happened last Sunday. I’m sorry for humiliating you in front of everybody, in front of your friends. I just… I’m sorry.”

He wasn’t aware of what happened next but the car suddenly came to a halt, and Kai found himself grasping on the steering wheel tightly that his knuckles turned white. His heart racing as his breathing became fast and uneven. Minzy, who was still in a state of shock after the abrupt stop, was still oblivious to the guy;s behavious. She could only breathe in and out as an attempt to calm her racing heart. That was a very dangerous move. They could’ve got into an accident.

Without her knowledge, she had been driving Kai over the edge for a long time now, be it in a good or a bad way. Mostly, it was quite unclear. His feelings had never been clear from the very beginning when it came to the girl, anyway. And that’s what his main problem was. Just a couple hours ago, he was cursing her and Sehun for stabbing him behind his back. Then came the unexpected text message and he suddenly felt like a happy kid being rewarded with candies.

It was all very confusing and it was slowly tearing him apart, bit by bit. “Say that again,” the guy breathed, still gripping on the steering wheel while his eyes stared right into her soul.

Minzy couldn’t help but squirm slightly in her seat. The way Kai was looking at her was giving her goose bumps that she swore she had never felt before. “Say that again,” he repeated.

His tone was softer then, and she could almost hear the slight hope in his voice. For some reason, that helped her to relax a bit, and when he uttered a soft ‘please’ at the end, the girl finally snapped out of her confusion. It was as if she were awakened from a deep slumber. There it was again, that glint of disappointment and hurt in his eyes, mixing together with something that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. One thing for sure, it ignited something within her.

The girl then straightened up her back and stared right back into his eyes, his soul. She finally got a grip of herself and reminded of why she initially wanted to meet him in the first place. So with a small smile on her face, Minzy surprised the guy for the third time that night, “I said I’m sorry, Kim Jongin, from the very bottom of my heart.”

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Story by: afagyel | Poster & Background by: adowhorebles @ The Evanescent Affection Poster Shop

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Phewh~ I didn't expect it to be this long to update. I'm sure you've all been waiting for this, right? Really sorry for the delay, yet again. Sigh. Will try to update more often in the future. No promises, though. Huhu.

Anyways, the feelings are slowly coming out. Eep! How much longer do you think these two would acknowledge their feelings for each other? :D A slight preview to the next chapter, there's gonna be a bit of drama! So stay tuned! ;P

Feel free to leave your comments below. I welcome constructive criticisms but please, no bashing. Hee. To those who haven't, well... *coughs* do subscribe and *coughs* upvote. XD

See you in the next chapter!

Love, A