KAI;

Holding the ramen cup in my left hand as I walked down the street of Hyeon-dae, aiming for house number 17. I was smiling all the way like a sickly madman. I was walking with a happy soundtrack in my head, with the wind blowing and leaves dropping onto the streets like a happy movie, I concluded I was lovesick. No, I was deprived of love. Deprived that I was going to seek for it. And only Kira had the answer.

I knocked on the door when I heard screaming and shouting from inside of the house. I was puzzled. Was there a fight? I could hear Kira’s voice and another male’s voice shouting. But I couldn’t figure out what was happening. The door opened and I saw Kira looking at me with a startled face and she was panting. She was in her pyjamas and wearing a large navy blue t-shirt with her hair tied up into a very loose messy bun. And she was wearing her glasses – which she only chooses to wear in classes only.

“Kai?!” She shrieked.

I gave her an awkward smile. She closed the door behind her, pushed her bangs away and took a breather before she asked what I was doing there.

“I figured I’d stop by,” I said simply with a chuckle.

“How’d you know where my house was?”

“I used to stalk you.”

She raised an eyebrow then laughed. “Used to, huh?”

I shrugged. “Here.”

I handed her the ramen cup. She looked at it with a frown. “A ramen cup?”

“It’s customized. They have it in Japan where you can customize your own ramen according to your taste and you can write the brand as your name. I put yours. I’m sorry if the flavour isn’t tasty.”

She examined the ramen with a smile on her face. I could see her teeth showing. Her smile suited the meaning of her name which is ‘glitter.’ Somehow, when she smiles, she instantly brightens her face. It is as if she was shining. Just like glitter. And she suits her name well. Her smile is my Kira. I bit my lip, wondering if it was okay for a gift. She looked at me with her smile that could always make my heart beat so fast without fail. And I knew at that moment, she loved it.

I exhaled in relief. “Thank God.”

She hit me lightly. “You thought I wasn’t going to like it?”

“Well, it is ramen and you don’t really eat it so I thought – “

“I think it’s cute and rare.”

“Yeah, I know you like rare things.”

“Hence, this.”

“Exactly.”

She laughed. “You’re good at reading me, Kim Jongin. Even though I don’t really like ramen.”

I shrugged. “You like it, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

Suddenly, the front door burst open and Kira’s mother came to view. After that, a screaming boy was heard from the back. But when I saw him, I was mistaken. He was a grown man, probably older than Kira and I, but he seemed… sick.

“Oh, is this Jongin?” Mrs San asked as she was holding on to the man.

I chuckled nervously and shook her hand. “Yes, I am, ma’am.”

“Ah! Why don’t you come on in?”

“Imouto-san got boyfriend,” the sickly man said in a manner that I didn’t think a grown man would speak with a grin on his face.

“Ma, I’m taking Jongin for a walk first then we’ll come back, okay?”

Mrs San nodded. “Not too long, now, okay?”

Kira gave her a smile and nodded. And we walked.

We were silent for quite some time. I knew she needed time. There was something she wasn’t telling me and it’s pretty obvious that she didn’t want me to push it. We reached a playground and she sat on the swing and I sat on the one next to her.

“How are you feeling about debate?” I finally asked, suddenly remembering her text. She sounded so excited in the beginning of the text until I read the end of it. It was unexpected, indeed, and she still hadn’t told me why.

She chuckled. “That’s nothing. That’s not what’s bothering me but since you touched on that, I don’t regret anything.”

“Why so?”

She shrugged. “They didn’t feel like family anyway. It’s all about competition. Competition between each other, competition against others – I didn’t like that. But since he kicked me out, I feel like I didn’t lose anything.”

“That’s a good thing.”

She nodded. “What about your football?”

“We won if that’s what you want to know,” I said cockily.

“Ugh, cocky,” she muttered.

I laughed.

“I’m proud of you. I wish I could’ve seen you on the field.”

“I really wished you were there too.”

She gave me a smile then stayed silent, clearly portraying that there was something else in her mind.

After a while, I asked, “Then what’s bothering you?”

She was silent. Her vision was focused on the sand beneath her feet as she was kicking it softly but I knew her gaze was piercing the ground, deep in the dark corners of her thoughts. I waited. I wished so much to hold her hand, at least, but her respect was more