Kai struggled to keep his eyes open.

He flinched when Suho leaned back and pinched his thigh. They were shooting the M! Countdown behind the scenes takes and he really was about to fall asleep. 

The staff even had to switch Suho with Kai just so he could stay awake and not drift off while sitting  down. He felt guilty, but his tiredness overcame that guilt, and then, along with the guilt came a fresh serve of anger.

“Stop being so grumpy will you?” Chanyeol muttered under his breath. Kai looked over to his hyung and rolled his eyes when he saw that Chanyeol’s grin hadn’t even wavered for a moment.

One week had passed since the awful meeting between Krystal, Kai and Ji Min in the foyer of the SM Building, and Ji Min had been so busy with designing F(X)’s costumes that she hadn’t spoken to Kai since even though they were now working in the same building.

But it’s not like she wanted to either. 

That day when Ji Min sneaked into their dorm to see Kai, both her frustration and his temper escalated, the latter being angry and the other being just downright exhausted.

Kai closed his eyes for just a moment, though he wished he hadn’t done so when all he could see in his head was Ji Min’s angry, pale face.

[flashback]

“Jong In...” she had slipped into his room, completely unaware of the fact that he was shirtless and was laying on the covers.

He closed his eyes as tightly as he could; for some reason, he was too ashamed to see her face. The fact that she had called him by his real name meant he was in big trouble. Ji Min sat there for five minutes, calling his name until she finally snapped.

“So I guess if I got Krystal here now you’d get up wouldn’t you?” Kai flinched and sat up, ruffling his hair. He still avoided her gaze.

The silence between them was so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

Ji Min bent her head down and picked at the fabric of her shirt. With each passing moment her heart broke more and more. 

She wished Kai could give her an explanation or something or just hold her to make her feel better but he wasn’t doing anything.

Tears filled her eyes but she willed them away once more before turning to look at Kai. As soon as her eyes met his, he looked away and gulped. At this, Ji Min’s tears finally dropped. She grabbed a tissue and wiped them away before throwing the wet cloth into the bin.

She stood up to go and walked to the door with as much will as she could muster. Just before she could close the door, Kai spoke up, “Where are you going?”

Ji Min closed her eyes and pinched her nose. How could he ask her now? Was he an idiot? Could he not see that she was upset?

A thick wash of anger overwhelmed her and she voiced all her frustrations out on him, “Are you blind? Kim Jong In,” her tears came back again, “Are you going to offer to consolation to me whatsoever? I just saw you and Krystal,” at the girl’s name her voice dripped with malice, “being all lovey dovey in the foyer!”

“I work for that girl now! I work for her! You know that! Is there really nothing you can say to me?”

He was such a coward, and he hated it. Every tear that she shed was a prick to his heart, but honestly, he really could not find anything to say.

“I’m sorry.”

Those words, although weak and empty, were supposed to console her.

Ji Min’s eyes grew wide, “I’m sorry? That’s it?” 

For the first time ever, she really felt like a child next to her teen boyfriend. She felt like she was some sixth grader looking up at some twenty year old know-it-all.

In the silence, you could almost hear her heart shatter.

However, Ji Min was a strong girl. With a new sense of forcefulness he had never seen before, she  sternly told him, “Kim Jong In, get your priorities straight.”

She walked right up to him and made him look at her. “Am I talking to a child or what?” she snapped.

He stood up and towered over her and locked her legs between his. Ji Min tried not to blush, and was successful. “What?” he growled.

She swallowed but ploughed on, “Are you an idol that is organised enough to have a girlfriend or are you one who just plays with a girl or are you one that can’t even manage to hold onto a girl?”

Ji Min shook her head, a sudden head-ache coming on, “You know, I’d rather you let me go than play with me like this Jong In.” At those words, his grip on her loosened and she took it as a chance to escape, slamming the door after her.

Barely a minute had passed before D.O walked in, “Jong In, you ed up.”

Kai gave his hyung the rude finger, a rare display of disrespect before collapsing back onto his bed and yelling into the pillow.

[end]

“Kai!” a coordi noona tried to get the young boy’s attention by patting his nose with a make up brush. 

He snapped out of his reverie and briefly bowed before lamely saying,  “Toilet break please.” he walked off without another word.

His hyung’s and Sehun looked after him and shook their heads, knowing exactly what was wrong.

Inside the cubicle, Kai took out his mobile and sent a message to his girlfriend, the first one in a week.

[Where are you?]

[SM Building.]

Her short reply made him wince.

[When do you finish?]

[In an hour]

He checked the time. Damn, he wouldn’t be able to make it. M! Countdown still went for a good two hours.

[Can you stay there till 4?]

[Why?]

[Cause I need to talk to you]

[Sure.]

[See you in the dorm cafe on the third floor]

[Yup.]

He exited the message icon and leaned onto the cubicle wall. A big gust of air left his lungs and he left the toilet with a small seed of hope in him.

On the other side of town, in the SM Building, Ji Min smiled to herself. She hadn’t gotten proper sleep in the past four days because of her work and because of Kai. “Stupid Kai.” she kicked the desk and drank some water.

But as she worked, she smiled, content to know that he finally wanted to speak to her.