Kai: Chapter 12

Bad Boy

 

"What?" You sputter. That's the least intelligent response you could have come up with.

"You. Me. Date. Now. Come on," he urges, suddenly taking your hand and pulling you to your feet. 

"Wait ... " This is way too unexpected. You don't know what to do with yourself. "I ... my bag ... "

"Right here," he says, turning around to show you that he's got your bag hanging from his shoulder. He moves his hand so that he's taken hold of your wrist, and he pulls you along. You try to keep up with his long gait, but it's difficult, especially since you haven't prepared yourself for this at all.

Does this mean Kai likes you? That has to be it. Nobody just randomly asks a girl to go on a date with him unless there were some personal feelings involved. But if Kai ... if Kai is just doing this because he's Kai, and that's what Kai does, then ...

"What?" Kai asks you, interrupting your thoughts. His fingers are so warm, his touch so assuring. "You don't want to go on a date with me?"

"It's not that ... " you mutter, embarrassed.

"So you do want to go?"

You give him a look. He isn't making this easy. He just smiles, that infuriatingly gorgeous, tight-lipped smile, and finally lets go of your wrist. The moment is instantaneous, and as soon as he lets go of his grip on you, your skin feels bare. You clench and unclench your hand before returning it to your side. 

"Where are we going?" You ask him cautiously. The orange sunset plays a spectrum of colors on the back of his head, casting his hair and clothes in a halo-like glow. Why does he always have to look so perfect - fluffy hair and all? "And don't tell me 'you'll see'," you add, making sure he understands what you're trying to imply. "I'm not that easy."

"I didn't think you were," he retorts. There aren't many students lounging around at this time. You assume that most of them are in their dorms, chatting to one another or doing homework, something you should have finished long ago. You doubt you can get any school work done tonight, not if Kai is planning to take you out on this surprise date. 

And what is he planning, exactly? You can't tell. You can't figure out what he wants to do, because he's heading for the class building, and you have no idea what's so romantic about that.

"So why'd you miss school?" You ask in an attempt to carry a conversation.

He pulls open the door to the class building and calmly walks down the pristine white tiles. "I didn't want to go," he says simply, although you can tell by the tone of his voice that something had popped up. His words don't sound like a complete lie. "I don't see why you care. I've skipped school tons of times."

"Actually, I’m surprised he’s been going to school straight for two weeks now. He usually misses a class once a week."

Hyunsoo's words ring in your ears as you trail behind Kai. The sound of your steps on the floor ring down both sides of the empty hallway, and Kai doesn't make an attempt to keep the conversation going. You quietly follow him, not paying attention to the turns he has taken until he stops abruptly, almost making you bump into him. You look up to see him standing in front of a closed door, and when you look left and right in order to identify where you are, you realize that you're in the unused wing of the school. This is Kai's private 'club' room, isn't it? What are you doing here? Is this where he plans to have his 'date'?

"Here," he says, throwing you your book bag. You barely manage to catch it as he takes out a key from his pocket and inserts it into the lock. With a flick of the wrist, he releases the lock and turns the knob slowly, pushing the door open in the process. He switches the lights on and walks forward, authoritatively entering the room. You look around you, realizing you've never really taken a good look at this room before. The only thing you remember are the glow-in-the-dark stars plastered on the ceiling, and you unconsciously look up to assure yourself of their presence. They're still there, although their glow is lost in the light that already floods the room. There's the radio Kai had used the first time you had met him, sitting near the mirror wall. There's a bench, too, and a few empty boxes lying around. Other than the commodious size of this rejected dance room, it looks just as it had always been. The only difference is that you're here on Kai's invitation, an invitation you don't even fully understand.

You see a letter on the bench. Curious, you walk forward to pick it up, but Kai grabs it and waves it in the air, saying, "You can't see this yet."

"What is that?"

"You can't see it," he repeats as he takes out his iPod and plugs it into the radio. He scrolls through his playlist, and you awkwardly stand there, watching him go about his business, entirely ignoring you.

You just don't get this guy. Not one bit. Not at all.

What did he mean by date? Did he mean an appointment? Did you just get excited for nothing? Exactly what did he mean by pulling you here? You start to get annoyed. You really do. You hate how fickle he's being, hate how unpredictable he is, hate how ... but, no, you don't really hate any of that. Because if you did, you wouldn't be here. 

"How long have these stars been here?" You ask him, wanting to fill the silence.

He barely looks up to see what you're talking about. "Oh, since I've started using this room. So a while." He keeps scrolling through his iPod, and you can't help but wonder: maybe Kai intended this to be a real date, but didn't actually have a plan. Maybe everything he's doing is spontaneous, and right now, maybe he doesn't know what to do with himself. If so, that makes two of you.

"Kai ... is this a date?" You have to ask it. You're so nervous, and insecure, and you just have to ask it. You need to hear some confirmation, somehow. Whatever it is.

Kai actually looks up from his iPod and holds your gaze. "That depends on what you think a date is."

"I - " you start, but then stop. He's testing you. He's testing you, and teasing you, and you don't know how to reply, because this is Kai, and you never know how to act around Kai. You can never tell what he means, and right now is no different. Right now, he's just as perplexing as before. 

He takes a step forward, and you freeze up. Why does he have to do this? Why does he have to act all uninterested one moment, and then suddenly so unbearably engrossed in you the next? It's frustrating. It's frustrating, because when he looks at you like that, with those dark, vivid eyes, you suddenly forget what you were going to say.

"You wanted to know where I was today, right?" He starts, shoving his hands into his pockets. He his lips, as if prepping for a big confession, and you can't help but stare at that mouth, because, for goodness sake, he just it. "I was ... preparing for some things. Applications."

"College applications?"

"Yeah. Sure," he answers vaguely, shrugging. "And then I got a call from my dad, asking me to come to his company. You know my dad, right? He ... " he shakes his head, and you can tell that by just thinking about his dad, he gets irritated. "Yesterday, he asked me to meet some people ... from a different company. They were looking to promote the business, and my dad wanted me to come so I can get a gist of what it's like to run the company."

"That's ... good?" You question. You can't tell whether that's the right thing to say or not. Kai doesn't seem to be particularly close to his father, but he admires him nevertheless. That information is evident. 

"It's not," he says, frowning. "It's not. Because he keeps pushing me to take over his company, and I don't want to."

Oh. Oh. So that's what this is all about. Kai's dad is forcing his son to pursue a career he doesn't even want to accomplish. And Kai ... Kai just wants to be able to think and act for himself. "So ... you had to meet them again, today?"

"I had meetings all day," Kai says bitterly. "With people I don't even care about. You know, my dad, he's crazy. He donates to this school, but only so that the teachers won't kick me out. He cares about my grades, but he doesn't mind pulling me out of class to attend one of his business seminars." He tsks at this disgustedly. 

"But you're here now."

"What?"

"You're here now, so ...  you're not there anymore," you finish lamely. What are you saying? You don't even know. "It's better to be here, right? Rather than there. Isn't that what you want?"

Kai smiles at this. It's a different smile from before. There's nothing playful or cheery about this smile. It looks sad, almost, but a kind of sad look that reveals agreement. It's as if, after a long, long time, he's finally found someone who understands. And it's all said - in that one moment, in that one smile - the unspoken words that travel the air. Thank you.


"I got this in the mail," Kai says, finally holding out the envelope to you. It looks like he's decided not to be a jerk anymore, at least for the time being. You tentatively take it from his hands and read the lettering on the back. It's addressed to Kai. "Open it."

"But it's yours," you point out, noticing that the envelope is still closed. You try to give it back to him, but he won't take it.

"No. Open it. I want to you to," he prods, and bending under his whim, you carefully tear the envelope open and pull out the typewritten letter that's inserted inside. You unfold it, the crisp, clean paper crackling with newness, and scan the paragraphs of words typed onto the white paper. You skim over most of it, but you get the scheme of things. It's an acceptance letter. And Kai had just gotten into the school he had applied to. "I got accepted?" He asks, looking shocked. He blinks at the paper, not believing it. "Wait. I got accepted?"

"That's what it says," you laugh, staring at the words that congratulate him on his new status as a potential undergraduate. "Congratulations," you say, grinning, and he just nods quietly, as if he can't quite take this in.

You can feel the blissful energy resonating from him, feel it wanting to burst, but that barely restrained pressure subsides when his face suddenly darkens, and he grabs the paper from your hands and curls it up into a ball. He grips it tightly in his fist, breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling. 

"Kai," you say, concerned and confused. "Are you ... are you okay?"

"He'll never let me go," Kai whispers. "Not this school. Not this one. Do you know what this is? It's a dance school," he tells you. "And my dad will never let me go."

You watch him looking so lost and lonely like that, and all you want to do is touch him, hold him, tell him that it doesn't matter, tell him empty lies that will make him feel better, but you can't do that, you just can't. You can't, because that wouldn't be fair to Kai. It wouldn't be fair for you to fool him. And saying I'm sorry isn't going to cut it, either. You never partook in this event; you aren't responsible for his sadness. And yet, strangely enough, you feel as if you are.

This hasn't turned out into much of a date, but you get the feeling that that was never Kai's intention. Maybe all he wanted was to share the monumental moment of opening an acceptance letter with you. Or maybe all these feelings were building up inside him, and he needed a way to get them out, somehow. You remember thinking that he should be pressured more often, if it means that he'll show you his vulnerabilities. You suppose this is one of those moments, however unforeseeable. 

"I want to look at the stars," he speaks up suddenly, breaking the tender ambience. It's so not Kai-like.

"What?"

"The stars," he says, and he walks across the room to switch off the lights, drowning the room in darkness. The stars on the ceiling begin to glow with a soft, lime-green color, and Kai, as if this is the most natural, normal thing to do, lies down and settles himself comfortably on the hardwood floor. He pats the empty space beside him, and you hesitate. He looks at you, his old smirk returning to his face. "What? Don't you like stars?"

Feeling a slow smile spread across your face, you move forward to lie down with him.

 

 

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!
kfanfiction
I GOT FEATURED. Thank you to all of you who read/viewed/subscribed. I am forever thankful to you all.

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
shonwanigop
#1
💙
the_exotic_angel #2
Read this story super long ago and i fell in love with it again!!! I just love how the female lead is realistic in her advances/reactions unlike most female fanfic leads that are always damsels in distress. Love this story and the writing!!
Claudia301a
#3
Chapter 9: I love this story so far!
JiLin1998 #4
Chapter 1: <span class='smalltext text--lighter'>Comment on <a href='/story/view/170594/1'>Kai: Chapter 1</a></span>
His reaction When she declined his signature
-2Mirae-
14 streak #5
Chapter 33: !!!! I loved it!! Gave me some kai feels hehe
If only kai listed some obvious things he did on purpose to the female oc at the end ..
KimHyeJoo #6
Chapter 30: Glad Kai can show his father what he really has about dancing
Thank you for the story!!
tonnettie
#7
Chapter 30: Kai’s personality has two faced, one is for his father and people around him, they expect him to be another person that he’s not. And one Jongin, a warm man, who wants to chase his dreams.
suchababy
#8
still remember reading this fanfics when i was in college under my old aff acc but now i'm still here reading this!
Kyoko99
#9
Chapter 31: Loved this story.. very reliable with myself at some points ...lol