You’re staring at your open suitcase and you feel like someone has fried your mind. You’re just blinking at it. It’s empty. There’s nothing inside, and you have no idea what to put in it. The very idea of putting something in it makes you scream internally.

After three minutes of standing and staring, you snap out of your daze and grab your phone to shoot Eun a text. She replies a few seconds later, and you sit down by your desk to stare at the suitcase from there.

It’s mocking you.

“I’m going to leave,” you say to yourself, to let the idea sink in. You wonder if it ever will. The past few months were so weird, so odd – the idea of leaving just…doesn’t seem real.

The suitcase is laughing at you. You can hear it snickering. You glare at it.

Eun shows up at your doorstep twenty minutes later, and she’s beaming. You look at her and grimace. The smile disappears from her face.

“This is not how you welcome your best friend,” she says.

“You look so happy, it’s annoying,” you reply, making a puppy face. “I want to feel happy too.”

Eun rolls her eyes, pushes you back and enters your house. She closes the door.

“Calm down,” she says. “We got this.”

“You don’t even know what I called you for,” you say. Eun takes off her baby blue coat (she looks like an angel in it) and hands it to you. “I just said I had a crisis.”

“Yes, and we got that crisis,” Eun says.

“Yes, yes, I do, I have it,” you nod.

“Oh my God,” she snorts, grabbing your shoulder and turning your whole body towards the hanger. “Come on, you emo. Hang my coat and let’s go upstairs. I made a list.”

You hang her coat, frowning. “A list?” you ask, looking at her over your shoulder. She takes your hand and you walk towards the stairs. “What list?”

“Of things you’re going to need,” Eun replies, like it’s obvious.

“How the hell did you know that was my crisis?” you ask, outwardly gasping as she leads you upstairs. She pats your hand.

“I know everything,” she says. “I already called Min, too. She’s on her way. Her packing skills are off the charts.”

You feel like crying. You cry an awful lot lately. Well, maybe not cry, but you definitely get teary-eyed and moved; what have you done to deserve such friends?

Later that day, you all go out for the last time. Everyone that’s in town, that is.

*

“God, this is really it,” you say as you take your suitcase out of your car and gaze at Kai’s car parked not so far away. Kai is already inside it, and your pack is gathered next to it. They look like a gang. Honestly, police should be alarmed – there’s just so many of them, they already look like they’re about to go overthrow the government.

Your mom, who’s driven you here, traps you in a hug. She doesn’t let go for a while, and she’s definitely crying. You pat her back, feeling tears gather in your eyes.

“Call me once you get there, and then every ten minutes,” your mom says, sniffling.

“Okay. And you text me every five minutes, every day,” you tell her. She pulls away, looks you in the eyes, your cheek, awws, and pulls you into another hug. This time you laugh at her. “I love you so much.”

She walks you to Kai’s car. You hug everyone; they circle you and trap you in a huge human-werewolf-psychic-trickster sandwich. Chanyeol cries. So do Eun and Xiumin, for that matter. Actually, you’re pretty sure everyone sheds a tear or two. You don’t feel like leaving. Fear already floods you.

“Remember,” you say once you pull away from them. “No trips to the magic basement. No weird . If there’s something new and dangerous in town, you call me, and I—“

“And you believe we can handle it,” Kris interrupts you, “because you’ve taught us well.”

“No,” you say, shaking your head and pointing a finger at him. “Yo—“

“Okay, miss, you’re gonna miss your semester if you keep on lecturing us like that,” Chen says, pushing you towards Kai’s car and stopping you from continuing. “We love you, and we’ll be safe. And we’ll make sure Tao doesn’t come anywhere near the basement.”

“And don’t be mean to Kai,” you remind them. They burst out laughing in unison, and you grimace. “You could at least pretend you wouldn’t.”

*

You place your suitcase on the floor and look around your new room. You realize that it must look super cliché; you almost feel like you’re in a movie.

It’s small, but there’s a big window on the opposite side of the door. The walls are dark grey. There’s a black desk on the right, and a mattress on the floor by the window. There’s also a white commode on the left, and a wardrobe behind the door. One standing lamp and one desk lamp.

“I just washed the pillowcases,” Sehun says, entering your room. You turn to look at him. He grins. “I can’t believe you’re going to be my roommate.”

You smile at him. Kai pops his head out from behind Sehun, and Sehun looks back at him. He glances at you and leaves the two of you alone, excusing himself to the bathroom.

Kai looks around the room, putting his hands inside his pockets. He looks uncomfortable. “It’s a nice room,” he says. “It could use a painting or two, though.”

“I’m gonna hang something on the walls for sure,” you say, nodding. You look at the wall in front of the bed. “Maybe there?”

“Yeah,” Kai mutters. You glance at him. He’s looking away.

You take a few steps towards him, making him snap his eyes down at you. You tiptoe, reaching out for his cheeks, and you gently take his face between your palms to pull him into a soft kiss. He inhales in surprise. It’s a quick peck, but as always, it leaves your heart fluttering. You let your heels touch the floor again. Kai looks down at you, his eyes big, trusting, and beautiful. You take every inch of his face in, trying to remember the crease of his brows, the small bump in his nose, the feel of his jaw under your fingers and the smoothness of his hair as it grazes your fingertips. You smooth out the wrinkle between his eyebrows with your left hand, your right palm still resting on his cheek. You let it slide lower and settle on his neck, and then you pull him in for another kiss. You open your mouth and tilt your head to the side, letting him in; Kai lets out a soft hum, his hands coming to your waist. He pulls you closer.

“I’m gonna miss you,” you whisper, pulling out. You keep your face close to his, but you look down, feeling sadness taking over your voice. “I’ll learn how to teleport. I’ll visit all the time. It’s not such a long time.”

“I can always go to the academy, too,” Kai says, putting his chin on the top of your head and pulling you close. His arms wrap around your back, and you wrap your own around his torso. You can hear his heartbeat this way; feel the warmth that’s seeping through him and the hardness of his muscles. He feels so thin right now, and he belongs to you alone. “Be a cop like you.”

You smile, closing your eyes. “I’d like that, you know,” you say. “Maeng would be so happy to have us both as his subordinates,” you add sarcastically. Kai lets out a chuckle; it sounds like a rumble when your ear is flush with his chest.

You suddenly feel like the weight of the world has settled on your shoulder. What if they get in trouble when you’re gone? What if the evil mage spirit comes back and kills them all? What if you aren’t there to help? What it Father turns out to be an enemy, and not an ally? What if—

“Dal,” Kai whispers, pulling you away and then forcing you to look at him by grabbing your chin. “We’re going to be okay. We’re werewolves; we’re a pack. We’ve got people to protect, people we care for and trust, and if something bad happen, we’re gonna deal. You can’t stay in one place forever. A few years and you’re going to be back for good, and I can promise you that everything will be alright.”

He raises his brows questioningly, reminding you of a puppy. You nod shakily at his words.

“Cuddle Choco a lot,” you say.

“I will.”

“Make sure my mom doesn’t work too much,” you add.

“Of course.”

“Don’t take the boys’ jokes seriously,” you remind him. “And Amber’s.”

Kai grins. “I’ll try.”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Do I ever?” Kai asks, kissing you on the nose. You send him a pointed look. He nods, sighing. “Yeah, okay. I won’t anymore.”

You look him in the eyes, squinting. “Liar,” you say, grinning. And then your smile falls. “I don’t want you to leave just yet.”

“I know,” Kai says. “I don’t want to leave yet, either.”

“Listen, guys,” Sehun says from somewhere in the apartment, “if you’re gonna have goodbye , at least give a heads-up so I don’t have to listen to it.”

You burst out laughing. Kai’s cheeks go red.

This feels like a personal life milestone XD
Thank you for reading cake pops! <3