“You said you like me. Now why are you acting like this?”

Kai’s been staring at the wall since he got back to his apartment. Kira’s words lingered in his mind as he just blankly sat on his couch. It took her longer to notice that he’s just actually meters away. It took her one whole semester. He couldn’t blame her though. He’s the one who tried his best to hide himself from her sight.

Four years – four long years passed and he realized how much change happened around him. He also changed a lot.

Sighing, he stood and went straight to his room. He quickly ed his shirt but as he was about to remove it completely, his phone started ringing. He eyed at the screen, reading the caller ID. Another sigh left his lips before he answered the call.

“KAI!!! DUDE!!! WHERE ARE YOU??!!!”

Kai almost threw his phone on the wall when Seungwoo started shouting on the other line. He’s still not sure why he hasn’t killed Seungwoo yet despite being irritated by his loud voice whenever he talks.

“I’m at home,” he replied as he dropped his shirt on the floor.

“Again? You ditched us all of a sudden just to go home? We’re on our way to Spade. Come with us,” Seungwoo remarked and Kai could hear the voice of Daniel from his side. Going to a club after the first day of the semester is not really the way that he would like it to be.

“I’m tired. I’m resting,” Kai deadpanned, grabbing a clean white shirt from his closet.

“Then we’ll just drink at your place.”

Kai paused. Seungwoo’s really testing his patience.

“Come if you want to be thrown out from the 39th floor,” he warned before ending the call. Ruffling his hair, he got out of his room and dragged his feet to the kitchen. He reached for the home phone, checking if someone left a message for him.

Beep.

“Hi Kai! It’s me Jane! I just want to ask if you have time this Saturday. I’m coming to Korea and I want to see you. I miss you.”

Beep.

“Hello again Kai! You’re not calling me back. I just really want to see you. Let’s talk once I get there.”

Beep.

“Kai, please call me back. I just really miss you. Babe, please.”

He was just listening, trying to not smash the phone into pieces, as he continued drinking some cold water. Just how many messages did she leave? He asked himself, internally sighing. He barely even knew the girl.

Beep.

“Young Master, you have a meeting tomorrow with the investors from Hong Kong. I already sent the files to your e-mail.”

Beep.

“Young Master, please don’t forget that you have a family dinner this evening. The driver will be there by 7:30 to pick you up.”

Kai looked at his phone, checking what time it is. 7:20.

“Family dinner my ,” he muttered before calling Seungwoo’s number.

“Hey! Are you-”

“I’m coming but it’s going to be your treat.”

Kai could imagine giving him a wide grin.

“Deal!!” Seungwoo exclaimed.

A drink’s what he needed at the moment to forget everything – to forget her.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 “What’s with the long face? You look like you just got dumped,” Daniel commented, staring at Kai who was blankly staring at the table while holding a glass of beer. Kai did not give him any answer and he just chugged his drink before placing the glass on the table.

Seungwoo nudged Daniel’s arm lightly. “He’s just having his regular period,” the former joked, chuckling. Kai did not spare him any second. He’s already done with Seungwoo’s remarks.

 Daniel pushed Seungwoo and the latter stood. “I’m going to talk to some ladies. You two stay here and have a heart to heart talk,” he stated before turning to Daniel. “Stay with him. Don’t let him drink too much or we’ll get killed by his father,” he continued before waving his hand.

Kai and Daniel just stared at Seungwoo as he smoothly joined some girls on the dance floor. With such looks, it’s not hard for Seungwoo to get a girl he likes. He’s the typical player. Daniel shook his head as he drank the rest of his beer. “He’s going to be in trouble in the future if he keeps acting like that.”

Kai could not agree more.

Turning to Kai, Daniel’s expression changed. Out of the two, Daniel’s the kind of guy who Kai could talk to about some things that he would rather keep to himself. He’s the more sensitive guy but because he tends to know more than what he’s supposed to know, he shows too much interest on Kai’s personal matters. And it annoys the latter.

“I heard that you met her.”

Kai remained silent. He just poured himself another glass.

“Is that why you’re acting like that? What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Kai replied before drinking his beer in one shot. He poured another and quickly downed it.

Daniel sighed before leaning back on the couch, playing with his glass.

“If you’re going to treat her like that because of what they’re planning to do, you will just-”

“You’re making me regret that I came here,” Kai butted in, cutting his words off. Daniel just pursed his lips. He continued drinking after some seconds.

“You’re just going to hurt her,” Daniel mumbled, looking at the dance floor where Seungwoo was already chatting with a lady in red dress.

“I don’t care,” Kai replied before standing.

“Where are you going?”

Kai looked down, meeting Daniel’s eyes. “Where else? To get myself a girl and get laid.”

Daniel scoffed, not believing what he just heard. Kai’s short-tempered and snarky but he never saw him or heard him use the terms that Seungwoo uses. He’s sure that the alcohol’s already starting to get in Kai’s head because his actions were becoming more and more disorganized.

“You’re just going to hurt yourself in the end,” Daniel whispered, sighing.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

“I just got carried away and I sent you a reply that I never meant.”

“Stop looking for Jongin because he’s long gone. I hope you’ll move on, Jung Kira.”

Kira had a hard time sleeping last night because Kai’s words kept on popping inside her mind like it was in replay. Her long years of wait just got dumped by Kai in the trashcan. She’s been asking herself of any rational reasons why he would act like that. What happened to him in those four years that made him so different?

Even after convincing herself that she should just forget everything, a part of her wanted to get to the bottom of what’s happening. She couldn’t just let everything disappear like that and keep her heart hanging on a cliff.

And as weird at it may sound, Kira actually believes that she saw a hint of sadness in Kai’s eyes when he told her that Jongin’s already long gone and that she should move on. Maybe she’s just trying to find a reason to hold on and maybe she’s too desperate to prove that Kai is the Jongin that she used to know – that Kai’s just acting like that for a reason that she couldn’t think of as of the moment.

“We’re going to be late if you keep walking like a turtle,” Minhyun remarked as he turned to see Kira who was meters away from him. That did the trick to bring her back from her thoughts. She started walking faster, coping with him after taking 5 giant steps.

“We better hurry up or we’ll not get good seats. Professor Lim’s classes are always jammed pack and I bet this semester’s not an exception,” he commented before they started running.

Minhyun was right, it is jammed pack. They looked around, trying to find vacant seats for them. The students were talking animatedly and loudly that Kira found it hard to hear her own voice when she was talking to Minhyun.

“Excuse me. Excuse me,” she stated, walking to the seat that Minhyun pointed at for her. He was already seated at the back while she’s on the middle row. She sighed in relief when she took her seat.

This subject’s really popular. Well, she couldn’t blame the students on getting that subject though. Professor Lim’s well-known and she has been recognized by the institution for her works.

She opened her bag and started pulling her notebook. And because her notebook got stuck, she pulled it harder, elbowing the person who was sitting right next to her. She gasped and turned to her right, getting ready to apologize.

“I’m sorr-”

Jong-

Kai.

His jaws were clenched as if he was trying not to say anything at the moment. Kira’s eyes went to the cup of coffee that he’s holding then she realized that his drink was spilled all over his white shirt.

Kira immediately pulled a pack of tissue from her bag and offered it to him but he pushed her hand away without even looking back at her. He put the cup on the arm of the chair almost slamming it before he roughly shook his hand to get the liquid off from his hand. He looked so pissed off.

He stood, brushing his wet shirt with his other hand.

“Where are you going?” Daniel, who happened to be sitting just beside Jongin, asked when he became aware of what was happening. He was playing a game with his earphones on prior to that so he did not witness what just happened.

Kai did not give him any answer and he just walked away, taking his leave through the back door.

Daniel and Kira’s eyes met when the former turned to her direction. She quickly looked away, trying to explain to herself the reason why Kai’s so grumpy.

He r