“And welcome to my life, Kim Jongin.”

Kai couldn’t stop grinning to himself as that phrase came to his mind once again. He has been in a good mood since then. He was not sure if Jangmi meant that she’s already opening up for him or not but he felt so good after hearing that. Jangmi’s not that grumpy whenever he’s around anymore. Walking home together has been a habit. He always waits for her after SC meetings and now that Jangmi’s always spending her time in the library, studying for the coming finals, he also found himself staying at the library with her.

“I bet something really good happened,” Taemin mused when he saw Kai grinning like a fool. Kai looked at him and passed the ball that he was holding. “Hey, what does it mean if a girl welcomes you to her life?” Kai asked and Taemin narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know…umm, when she said ‘welcome to my life’?”

Taemin nodded thoughtfully. “So Ryu Jangmi said that, huh? Well, if she said that then it must be something good. Maybe she’s opening up. Your persistence is working. Congratulations,” Taemin replied and Kai pumped his fists in celebration.

“I’m not surprised. With the kind of persistence that you’re showing, even the hardest rock would break. It’s really a good decision that you told her about your past,” his friend commented and Kai couldn’t agree more. It’s really a good decision.

Kai learned something. Jangmi’s not the typical sweet and showy girl. She shows her concerns and feelings differently. Sometimes he wondered if hitting him is an act of endearment. If that’s the case, he would get hit a million times.

“Oh hey, did you see Shin hyung? Sehun said he came to see your game,” Taemin suddenly asked and Kai turned serious. He nodded. “I saw him but we didn’t talk that much,” he replied. There’s a matter that he needed to take care of. It’s not the time to walk away again.

Taemin’s phone rang and he quickly answered it. He nodded several times before hanging up. He stood and Kai looked at him. “I need to go. We have something to do for our class presentation,” Taemin said while patting Kai on the shoulder. Kai nodded and waved at his friend as he made his exit. Kai sighed and looked at his phone. He should not drag the matter too long. He had enough time to think about what to say anyway.

He grabbed his phone and typed a name – Shin hyung.

He put his phone near his ear and waited for the other line to answer.

“Hey Jongin, long time no call from you,” Shin answered with a bright voice. He’s the happy virus in the team when he was still in school and he looked like he did not change that much.

“Hyung, I need to talk to you,” Kai said before biting his chapped lip.

He needed to get his acts straight. And he should face whatever should be fixed.

An hour later, Kai found himself sitting beside Shin.

The latter stared at Kai with his bright eyes. Even after those months that he did not see him, he’s still the same. A smile was plastered on the older guy’s face.

“I heard you quit in the middle of practices for the coming dance meet. Why did you do that?” Shin asked straight to the point. Kai slightly flinched as he looked down at his hand. He couldn’t find the courage of answering that question. He’s just feeling apologetic for everything. Shin’s like a brother to him and Taemin. And when he heard that Shin stopped dancing because of his leg, Kai felt his shoulders being held by anchors, drowning in the sea with guilt.

“Don’t tell me you did it because of me,” Shin muttered and Kai looked at him. The older one had a worried yet calm expression on his face. They always called him the angel of the team because of his looks. Kai never doubted why they gave that name to Shin. He suits the nickname. Kai couldn’t find the appropriate words to say.

“Sorry for everything, hyung,” Kai whispered. Shin took in a lungful of air before smiling at him. He patted Kai’s back. “I told you before and I will tell you again this time; it’s not your fault. It was an accident. And whatever that accident brought to my life, that would be a better path for me,” Shin stated and Kai’s brows bristled.

“What are you talking about?”

“Not being able to dance gave me a different look on my life. There are many things that I could do except for dancing. I was able to go to experience things that I never imagined doing when I was still stuck with it. That accident gave me a chance in life. I consider it a good thing so don’t put the burden on yourself,” Shin replied.

In Kai’s eyes, Shin’s really an angel. How could a person not hold grudges?

“And if you quit the dance practices and dancing as a whole because you feel guilty about what happened to me, you’re putting burden on my shoulders as well. I don’t want you to stop doing what you want to do because of me,” Shin continued when Kai kept quiet. At that instant, the younger one felt his heart being freed from all the heavy feelings.

Jangmi was right; talking will clear up everything. He was thankful that he found the courage to face Shin and get his acts straight. “When I heard that you couldn’t dance anymore, I felt so down and I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened to you. You were the one who taught us almost everything,” Kai stated with a small smile.

Shin leaned back with his arms supporting him from behind. He chuckled. “Don’t cry on me now, Jongin,” he started playfully. Kai chuckled as well. “Seeing you guys doing what you want doing is enough for me. When I see you guys dancing, I see myself in you and that’s enough for me,” he continued.

“Don’t you miss dancing?”

Shin looked at Kai and he hummed a tune while thinking. He nodded slowly. “I miss it. Of course I miss it but those years that I spent dancing were enough for me to last for a lifetime,” he replied and Kai stared at him in awe. Shin has the ability to struck people with his words.

“So you should continue joining the practices and the dance meet because I’ll be watching,” Shin said while pushing Kai’s arm lightly and playfully. Kai remained silent for a while before nodding.

“I’ll try.”

Shin hit Kai’s arm lightly. “Don’t try; do it,” he said.

The smile on Kai’s face widened as he nodded.

“Okay.”

The sound of the ticking clock was the only thing that Jangmi could here at the moment. She has been sitting there at the library, studying. The finals are coming and she needed to stay on top once again. When she thinks about it, she never really had the time to spend for herself. Her time’s consumed with studying. More than half of her years were spent on it.

In order to enter the top university or any Ivy League universities, she needs to ace her tests and the coming college qualifying examinations. Companies and schools look at grades and specs and as her mother says again and again, it’s either you step on others or you get stepped on. That’s the world. But Jangmi’s tired of living in that world. She just wanted to take a breather before she suffocates to death.

She rubbed her eyes and sighed as she felt her head feeling light. She couldn’t eat well these past days because of the stress. And if Jaehyun’s still home, he would’ve scolded her for not touching her food. He already left 2 days ago for Japan. She didn’t know when he’ll come home again. He’s a free soul after all.

She looked back at her notes as she grabbed her pen. She continued solving a math problem but halted quickly when her eyes started hurting once again. She shook her head but her vision was not getting any better. She felt light headed and everything was blurry. She shut her eyes and started counting.

After some minutes she opened them. She felt something coming out from her nose and when she touched it, she sighed. She looked at the blood on her hand and she quickly took out the handkerchief from her pocket. She placed it on her nose and stayed still for some more minutes.

When she was able to come to her senses, she stood and walked towards the restroom.

She looked at her reflection on the mirror. She looked so pale and her lips were almost white. She let the cold water wet her hands before she completely washed the blood. The water felt so refreshing. And when she looked back at the mirror, her face was already wet and the water was dripping from her hair.

The ringing of her phone made her snap back to reality. She quickly dried her hand before fishing her phone from her back pocket. The caller id read Jack. She thought she should really change Kai’s name in her phone. She said that to herself but she forgets it right away.

“Why?” she answered. She started walking towards the door to take her exit. “Where are you?” Kai asked. She could hear the sound of cars passing by from the other line. “Library,” she replied when she got out of the restroom.

Kai sighed from the other line. “Again? Don’t you know how to rest? It’s Saturday today,” Kai asked in a worried tone.

“Maybe. Why are you calling?”

“I want to tell you in person. Wait for me,” Kai replied. “Tell me next time. I’m not feeling that good today,” Jangmi stated in a soft voice. She leaned on the wall as she shook her head. Her vision just gave up on her for a second there.

“Are you okay?”

She felt her knees wobble as she dropped her phone on the floor. She couldn’t even hear the voices around her. She’s light headed and then everything went black.

The last thing that she remembered was a voice asking her if she’s okay.

Her body felt so heavy as she struggled to move. The white ceiling welcomed her when she opened her eyes. She blinked several times to remember why she’s there. She sighed when she came to the realization that she fainted once again. She looked to her right and saw dextrose connected to her arm.

And basing from the surrounding, she’s in the emergency room. Their clinic in the school does not open during Saturdays and she thought maybe the librarian called for an ambulance to bring her to the hospital.

She struggled to sit up. She searched for her phone and she saw it lying on the side table. She reached for it and she saw miscalls from Kai. She sighed before wincing when she moved her arm. She hated syringes and medicines and now she’s getting all of it.

Jangmi removed the blanket which was covering her and was about to get off from the bed when a voice stopped her.

“Rose.”

She looked up and saw Kai looking back at her. His face screamed worry. He walked towards her and crouched to match her height.

“Are you okay?” he asked. The look on his eyes was unnerving. He looked genuinely worried. “You’re not injured or something, right? Are you still light headed? Is your vision okay? How many fingers am I holding up?” he asked like a machine gun as he held 2 fingers right in front of her.

She did not know why but her tears felt like they’re going to flow. She bit her lip and gave him a small smile instead. “I’m okay,” she replied. Kai stared at her for some time before sighing. He sat right next to her and he ran his hands over his face.

“You almost gave me a heart attack,” he stated.

“How did you know that I’m here?” she asked. Kai looked back at her. “The librarian told me when I called your phone,” he replied. Jangmi looked down at her hands.

“What am I going to do with you?” Kai asked himself and Jangmi lifted her head to look at him. Her brows were bristled. Kai stared at her before he reached for her face and he brushed the hair sticking out. Jangmi would usually slap his hand away but she just sat still to her surprise. Why does it feel so normal now?

“You’re stubborn,” he continued as he pulled his hand.

“Ms. Ryu Jangmi,” the voice of the lib