March 2016

Hands trembling, cold sweats and numbness throughout the body even with an injury on his left leg, “Yes, hyung. Kamsahamnida.” Kai put down his phone abruptly as he had difficulty comprehending the words, “SM confirmed it.” He was sitting in the kitchen and he gulped the bottled water in one go while the rest of EXO members rushed to him.

“Why did they confirm it?” Sehun asked as he was clearly annoyed. “Have you seen the pictures? It was clear that it was Jongin and Soojung.” Chanyeol explained while pointing at his smartphone. D.O. patted Kai’s back, “Are you okay?”

“Dispatch has always been like that. They follow you everywhere.” Baekhyun explained further. “SM should’ve denied it since it’s like April Fool’s. What will happen to my ship?” Chen announced in a loud voice.

“My aesthetic ship is revealed. Aish.” Xiumin said while messing Chen’s hair in annoyance. “Is Krystal okay? Have you called her?” Suho asked in a concerned tone. “No, not yet hyung. She’s in Huading Awards.” Kai replied.

“Calm down guys. Actually, the manager gave us a heads up about it. Dispatch was supposed to announce it on New Year’s Eve but SM paid not to do it but I don’t know what happened now.” Suho clarified the details with a reassured look towards the members.

“This is crazy. The fans will be hurt. We even have shippers who ship us within EXO. They would think this as betrayal.” D.O. expressed his side on a serious tone. “They will surely attack Soojung for sure. She will be hurt with all the comments.” Kai expounded while the other members nodded along.

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A week later…

 “Soojung-ah, you should eat more.” Jessica said as she got the food tray barely eaten outside Krystal’s room. “I’m okay unnie. I just need to rest more.” Krystal said faintly and this made Jessica sad even more. Being an artist is not all about the glamorous lifestyle; it’s accompanied with dreadful gossips that destroy an individual’s life. Ever since the news came up, it was initially accepted warmly by the fans but some netizens spread faux photos of Kai and Krystal in a hotel pool, groundless rumors that they lived in the same apartment, etc. Fans were even criticizing Kai faking up his injury. It has been crazy and K-netizens put up discussion boards on how the two artists were ungrateful and that they betrayed their fans. Some even posted conspiracy theories about the dating issue.

 “It’s okay, everything will be fine. Kai’s mom and noonas dropped by last night. Rahee sent this.” Jessica slipped a paper through the door and Krystal looked at the drawing which has Kai, Krystal and Rahee on it in a park. She was sobbing silently and it was unusual for her with a strong personality to be this devastated for a long time. She’s hurt not because of the so-called fans calling her names and telling them to break-up but she’s hurt because Kai had a greater share of hate. She didn’t get that Kai’s own fans have turned their back against him contrary to the amount of hate she’s getting from her own fandom. It was not as much as Kai’s. She was thinking about their future. Will they be able to survive this? Will the fans leave them leading to the end of their career?

“Soojung, Jongin is here.” Krystal’s mom knocked as she said to Kai, “Please cheer up you both. We love you and you don’t deserve this.” “Thank you Eommonie.” Kai replied and hugged Kai’s mom. Jessica patted him, “Be careful okay? You’re still not well.”

Kai entered Krystal’s room and found her sitting on the floor beside the bed. She looked devastated and Kai placed down his crutches and immediately hugged Krystal. Both were crying in each other’s arms. None said a word for a long time but the silence was reassuring. Kai and Krystal thought of all the loving moments they spent with each other and the hardships they’ve been through.

If you go, I think I'd understand

It's not that easy holding my hand

But you should know, that I miss you all the time

And I wish that I could tell you that we'll be alright

“I never thought this would happen. Everything is out of control. I’m hurt seeing you like this. Soojung, I’m sorry.” Kai still held her in his arms as he kissed her forehead. “Ever since this issue came up, baseless rumors are now arising. What I’m hurt most is you’re getting more hate from your own fans and I’m not even able to protect you.” Krystal replied as she tightened the embrace and felt Kai’s tears flowing. It made her sad even more.

“It’s okay. We’re protecting each other like this. Being with you makes me feel safe. If we were in the fans’ place, they would felt betrayed. I just hope that they would understand that we are also individuals that deserve to love and be loved. I love you and don’t think that this is a grave sin. It is not our fault that we fell in love.” He caressed Krystal’s hair and intertwined his hands to hers.

“In time, people will understand but as of the moment let us not mind the hate. We have each other.” Krystal expressed as she leaned on his chest. He missed him and even a week of not seeing him was suffocating especially in times like this but it was necessary to lessen the hype of the people.

Kai pulled her again into a tight embrace and they shared a kiss which was a pure and genuine one. “We’ll get through this. My princess, our journey to becoming artists has been tough but our love throughout these years has been inspiring. It’s beautiful and I can’t imagine a life without loving you. Loving...

It's never easy.”

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Last Update~ [Song: Beautiful Things – Tori Kelly]

This may seem to be rushed but I am grateful for all the reads and the comments :D I’ll be ending this story since I’m busy with work and other stuff (and since stories are more difficult to update compared to blogs..Haha). I hope you liked it, post down your comments or you can check my blog in tumblr still http://otp-side-ships.tumblr.com/  for updates on your fave ships! Kamsahamnida <3

Keep giving your love and support to Kai and Krystal~ They’ll get through this! Fighting!!!