"Melanie, I really don't understand," Claire sniffled through the phone as she sat in front of the mausoleum, "did I do anything wrong? Why did he talk to me as if I annoy him?"

Melanie sighed in sympathy for her best friend. After all, she was dating a guy who normally would not talk much with other people, and only seemed to talk a lot to Claire. In Melanie's own experience, the guys she prefers are those who naturally engage in conversation and are more open than Jongin was. Despite these contrasting personalities, Melanie realized that most men tend to brood over issues that worry them. In doing so, they could push away those who are close to them. Therefore, she felt that Jongin was not annoyed at Claire at all.

"Claire, I don't think he's annoyed at you," Melanie answered.

"But then why does he sound like that?"

"Maybe there's something on his mind?"

"Like what though?"

Melanie paused for a moment before responding, "Well, something could have happened, and maybe he's brewing over it."

"Maybe that something is me annoying him, and I have no idea why..." Claire muttered through her stuffed nose.

"Don't say that, Claire... I really don't think it's because of you."

"Ugh, he's stupid. I don't know what's going on with the sudden attitude change," she sighed.

"Why don't you give him a little time and space? He'll probably tell you soon," Melanie suggested.

Claire wiped her eyes before saying, "Maybe I'll do that. Thanks for listening."

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure everything's okay. Let me know what happens."

"Will do."

~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later, Claire made her way back to her room. With her phone on silent, she plugged it into the charger and resumed to checking Facebook on her laptop. She scrolled through classmates' pictures showing beaches, amusement parks, and alcohol, and left comments of encouragement to freshmen struggling through exams of their own. Her mind then drifted to Buzzfeed, where she clicked on an article about long-distance relationships and began reading in earnest.

During this time, Kai had called her three times, but she never picked up. It was only when she was about to go to bed that she finally noticed his efforts to contact her. As Claire read the text he last sent, her eyes welled up in sadness.

"Claire, I'm so sorry for how I acted earlier today, but I just found that I failed my thesis defense. The department thought that my research wasn't thorough enough, and that I failed to answer basic questions in a succinct manner during the defense. I'm just not that happy right now, but I'm sorry for speaking like that to you earlier."

She read over the message a few more times as if she was embedding the message into her mind. It was 11 pm by then, but she decided to give him a call anyway. After the phone rang three times, Kai picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey..."

"Ah, Claire," he murmured, "hey."

"I saw your text," she mumbled, "I'm sorry..."

Kai sighed, "Eh, I can't do much at this point."

"Do you want me to come over?"

He fell into a short silence, "Maybe? I have to work though."

"That's okay, I'll work with you."

"Okay."

Claire hummed in response, "Want me to bring any food or fruits?"

"Anything's okay," Kai responded.

"I'll bring some clementines and matcha then. Sound good?"

"'Kay."

Soon enough, Claire found herself at the front of Kai's dormitory. A few seconds later, Kai opened the door, a blank expression gracing his tanned features. Once she entered, he pulled her into a tight embrace. Even though she was surprised, Claire hugged him back and buried her face into his shoulders. His grasp felt desperate, and she held him tenderly for as long as he wanted to.

Neither said a word for the next few minutes, for all Kai wanted to do was bask in her warmth and comfort. Her small hands rubbed gentle circles on his back, and he felt her breaths as she inhaled and exhaled. He took in the scent of her hair, and the soft waft of strawberry kiwi brought a small smile to his lips. Kai then pulled away and patted her head, "Thanks for coming."

Claire shook her head, "No worries, I wanted to."

He nodded, "Should we work then?"

"Sure."

As Kai returned to his laptop, Claire boiled a pot of water and made matcha tea for the both of them. With matcha and clementines at hand, both worked into the night. As the moon shone over the cloudless horizon, both turned off their electronics and fell into a comfortable slumber. They found solace in each other's embrace, for Kai's own worries were temporarily forgotten, as were Claire's concerns of his well-being. Before she fell asleep, she patted him on the back, and only hoped that she could support him through this stressful time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later, Claire was packing for her senior trip with Melanie and a few other friends. Kai stayed with her as she folded her clothes, collected her face-washing essentials, and chose a few books to read. He paid no attention, however, as he was engrossed in his own computer game. Now that school was officially over, he could play all the games he wanted. It was even better that Claire didn't seem to truly mind, as long as he finished more important things first.

Claire noticed his focused eyes on the screen and sighed, "Jongin-ah, are you not gonna help me choose a dress?"

His eyebrows perked up, even though his gaze never left his game, "Why do you need me to help choose?"

"Because I at choosing," she sheepishly replied as she stared at the two dresses she held.

"I at choosing things too you know," he stuck his tongue out at her for a split second before returning to the game.

"I know... but I really don't know which one I want to wear there. I haven't worn them in so long..." Claire pouted.

"Done! Okay, I'll help," Kai stated as he closed his laptop and faced her. "Why don't you wear them for me?"

"Wear them?"

"Aha! I'll choose the one I want you to wear."

Claire agreed and head to her closet. However, four dresses later, Kai still couldn't pick one. All four were simple maxi dresses suitable for a beach, but he thought she looked stunning in each one. He tapped his finger on his chin, and only when Claire changed back into her normal clothes did he say, "I can't choose."

"What?!" Claire exclaimed, "I went through all that just for you to not know?"

Kai laughed, "I told you already that I at choosing things!"

She sighed, "Fine, how about this, let's eliminate dresses one by one until you land on one you like."

Melanie smiled as she heard their boisterous conversation through the wall. As she snuggled into her comforter and Netflix, she thought of how Claire had come a long way. Through all of the academic and social troubles thrown her way, she managed to find herself a good guy who genuinely cared for her. Melanie could never understand why many of the dudes she knew didn't find Claire attractive. Nevertheless, she was happy for her best friend, and only wished that this relationship would last a long time.

Her thoughts were cut short when a loud crash echoed from Claire's room, and Melanie bolted out of her bed. She sped across the common room and looked into the room, only to find that Claire and Kai were on the floor in each other's arms, and dresses were sprawled all around them. Melanie almost wanted to squeal from the cuteness, but couldn't when Kai let out the girliest giggle she ever heard in her life.

At Kai's giggle, Claire squeezed his nose, to which he yelped, "Nooooooo."

"Nooooooooo," she copied back.

"Hmph," he scrunched his face up and grunted.

"Merong," she stuck her tongue out at him, to which he flicked her nose.

Melanie raised her eyebrows. "Y'all okay there?"

Claire looked up, "Oh, hey Mel! Didn't see you there."

"Too busy ogling over the cute giggle and.... everything else, yeah?"

"Wait, what cute giggle?" Kai asked, his eyes darting between the two girls.

The best friend facepalmed. It didn't matter anymore that Kai had the body and face of a god. His giggle and Claire's reactions will forever be plastered in her mind.

Hey all, sorry for the late update, things have been really hectic lately. Happy New Year, and hope this year will be even better than the last! I just decided to leave you all with a cute scene. Thank you all for reading and following!