It was an overcast and drizzly day when Myra met Kai. The sound of droplets dripping onto the thick leaves of the plants around the college sent her into a state of somnolent relaxation.

“Nice weather,” a voice behind her had announced. Unlike the usual obtuse braying of the other students, this voice was warm and deep and seemed to melt into its surroundings so the atmosphere was left undisturbed.

Myra was sitting in a cosy and isolated section of the library at Trinity House, having moved into the dormitory only a few days ago. Most of the students were elsewhere participating in orientation activities, so the sudden voice caught her by surprise.

“Hi,” Myra greeted simply after she turned around and ogled the figure standing motionless with his arms by his sides. His skin was lightly tanned in the way that Myra had always been drawn to, and his soft lips almost seemed to pout. His eyes were soft, but looking into them was like looking into a bottomless pit and made her nervous.

“I’m Myra,” she continued, preparing for the inevitable freshman conversation of ‘what are you studying?’ and ‘where are you from?’

“That’s an exotic name,” the boy smiled.

“What’s yours?” Myra asked. The stranger’s eyes flicked back in a manner suggesting that he had to think to remember his own name.

“I have a lot of names,” he chuckled, “You can call me Kai.”

“And my name’s exotic,” Myra quipped.

“Well, Jongin officially. But I prefer Kai and I’m more used to it,” the boy explained and sat down beside her. Myra noticed that the heavy scent of his cologne had a sour undertone, but it still had her head spinning in a way that she had only ever associated with dangerous men. She wasn’t sure that she had met anyone before that was so enchanting just with their physical existence. 

“So Kai, what do you mean that you have a lot of names?” Myra asked, hoping to spark up a conversation with the man that was more interesting than the standard small-talk.

Kai cast his gaze down at the floor and bit his bottom lip, an action that had Myra infatuated instantly.

“I travel a lot, actually, and different people just decide to call me different things.”

“Travel? Overseas?” Myra pushed, intrigued.