Evanescent – short-lived

Ah Ri shed bitter tears as she poured out all her emotions to the song she was playing, letting herself drown on the saturnine yet symphonic rhythm that she badly craved to hear after her brother disappeared without a warning.

Her long and slender fingers worked their way in a competent and well-polished fashion on the ebony and ivory keys that sat in front of her. Each and every musical note had its own repercussion towards her.

She felt like she was floating, engulfed too much with the song that messed with her heart, mind and soul. Ah Ri took a deep breath after tapping the last key. And now that she heard it, she found herself at peace. After the protracted time that she was alone, she never felt so dynamic and joyous. Well yes, her clothes let her taste a lively excitement, but it was evanescent.

A rather sudden and unexpected knock startled Ah Ri and made her stand erect. Swiftly, she dried her eyes with her hands and collected herself as she approached the door. She s a hand on the cold metal knob and gently swiveled it.

Ah Ri looked amused when she saw the boy named ‘Kai’, if she was correct, standing outside her room. The boy was carefully studying the oceanic details that were visible before his eyes. It made him occupied and malfunctioning. Ah Ri took the liberty to have a look at him.

Hair was tousled in perfection. This should be illegal, she thought, how could tousled hair be perfect? It’s supposed to be unkempt, right? Then why do I find it enthralling?  Thinking that it was probably optical illusion, she proceeded to scan his face. Same as before, his sharp features made him noticeable. A white t-shirt clung unto him beneath a jet black leather jacket, paired with dark colored jeans and topped off with a white Converse.

“Baekhyun told me to get you, we’re going to our current place,” Kai spoke, making Ah Ri blink twice to get out of her reverie.

“Why didn’t he come here instead? And what am I supposed to do there anyways?” she questioned, forcing the words to come out. Secretly, she prayed that Kai didn’t notice her checking him out. Little did she know that she can’t have everything that she wants.

Kai shrugged casually, “He had some business to attend to with Suho. Baek wants a word with you when he comes back,” he answered, leaning on the light green door frame.

Ah Ri sighed in exasperation, “Then why didn’t you tell me? I could have walked myself there. I’m not a child.”

The boy chuckled as he ran a hand on his hair, “It’s not that easy, Ah Ri. I just can’t disobey Baekhyun since he’s my hyung. And he’s pretty scary when he’s mad.”

The size of her eyes doubled and she looked at him in disbelief, “You’re afraid of that guy? Are you gay?” Ah Ri asked without hesitance and a devious smirk was playing on her lips. Although in the inside she was hoping that he wasn’t.

Kai groaned in frustration. Was Ah Ri not listening to him when he said Baekhyun was his hyung? Haven’t she heard of the word respect? He alleviated himself before speaking, not wanting to be mad at this girl whom he and EXO owes a great deal, “No, I am not,” he cut his sentence short to hint Ah Ri that he was serious.

When he heard no response from her but a giggle, he swore that that was the last straw or else he’ll blow up like a volcano wanting to erupt turbulently. “Have you even heard of the word respect?” Kai hissed, “If so, Kim Ah Ri, you should go look up in the dictionary.”

Ah Ri gasped as soon as the words she dreaded to hear again broke out of the new acquaintance. It was not long until Kai discerned the tears that were begging to escape its owner’s exquisite yet glassy eyes. It made him feel guilty. He didn’t mean it to be in a rude way. He hated guys that made girls cry. He wanted to beat them up to teach them a lesson somehow, and now he wanted to teach himself a long lasting lesson.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” he apologized sincerely, being able to see pain in the girl’s orbs.

 Instead of shouting foul profanities at Kai, Ah Ri smiled like it was nothing and excused herself, “I’ll have to wash and get ready first. You can wait for me at the living room downstairs, make yourself at home.”

The room was silent when she closed the door daintily, you could catch the faint cry of the door shutting. She let her tired body depend on the strength of her door as she lolled back her head until it touched the familiar wood.

Ah Ri sighed at her utterly unlucky day - days even – all of this started yesterday, the day she met Baekhyun. She made her way towards the bathroom and let herself to be pampered by her spa facilities which were patiently waiting for their owner.

Their walk was reserved and the complete silence was deafening the two of them. But no one dared to break the ice. Kai thought it wasn’t the right moment to apologize because he knew that the girl wanted space, so he zipped his lips.

They occupied themselves with the tweeting of birds and the chattering of some people nearby. Fortunately for both of them, their little trip ended for mere fifteen minutes. It should have been lesser than that but they were thankful that they got out of that awkward state.

Right away, Kai went to his room while Ah Ri sat comfortably alone in the kitchen, devouring a chocolate donut adorned with different bright colors of sprinkles, cocooned in a table napkin.

Barely inaudible were his steps, but Ah Ri had a sensitive hearing.  She angled her head 90 degrees to find a handsome guy wearing a black apron over his clothes. Unlike Kai, his hair was kempt neatly. Compared to the other boys she had remembered, he was short. His eyes were sort of popping but he still looked good and pulled it off.

“Hello,” Ah Ri greeted softly and flashed him a shy smile. She wasn’t confident for the first time. She was afraid that like the others, he didn’t like her too. And her aim was to change, so that was the last thing she needed right now.

“Hi Ah Ri, my name’s Kyungsoo, but you can call me D.O.,” D.O. neared her and stretched his right hand with a smile plastered on his face.

Ah Ri was jumping and down mentally, she couldn’t believe that he was actually acknowledging her despite her bratty and spoilt behavior she had showcased yesterday. Could this finally be the start? She thought.

She took his hand and shook it gently. After letting go of Ah Ri’s hand, Kyungsoo grasped an empty chair’s head and pulled it back before he finally seated himself.

“Are you the chef here?” Ah Ri asked, thirsting for someone to talk to, the walk with Kai was a nightmare, more like a death sentence, she couldn’t bring herself to open that time.

Kyungsoo nodded merrily, “I act as the mom in EXO, I cook, I clean and do most of the household chores.” Ah Ri gulped nervously, she can’t even wash a single saucer to save her precious life.

She wondered how it felt to do those things every day, “Isn’t it hard, boring and tiring?”

He smiled, knowing the girl didn’t experience anything about the hardships of keeping a house clean and cooking for everyone. It was a great responsibility and he didn’t have time for complaining, he’d do anything for EXO because they’re his family.

In the end, he replied, “No, not at all.”

The two of them ended up laughing about lame jokes and sharing things the other one hasn’t experienced, how D.O. could sing without any effort yet never tried to play the piano and how Ah Ri could play beautifully yet always to stick with humming and never gave singing a chance.

“Let’s make a deal. Let’s give ourselves two weeks to prepare, after that, we need to perform in front of the whole EXO with our new skills and whoever they think did better, wins,” D.O. proposed.

Ah Ri shifted on her seat, propping her elbows against the table and resting her chin on the palm of her hands, “What’s in it for the winner?”

Kyungsoo thought for a fraction of second before catching an idea which was swimming on his head a while ago, “The loser has to do something for the winner,” he paused to think again, “If you win, I’ll cook baked spaghetti for you.”

She giggled at the thought of Kyungsoo being so good and offering her delicious food, “And if you win, I’ll buy you a set of kitchen appliances and anything you need.”

A bombshell. Yes, it was a bombshell for D.O., “But that’s too much, Ah Ri! You don’t have to do that,” he argued.

Ah Ri playfully rolled her eyes at him, “I don’t have anything that I can give you except for that. So if you win, you’ll have to accept it.”

Before Kyungsoo could even answer, Baekhyun entered the kitchen with a crease sculpted on his forehead.

“What did you do to Soojung, Ah Ri?” Baekhyun demanded angrily, but grabbing one of her wrists gently, afraid of hurting the girl. He dragged her towards his room with just enough force, not too harsh but not too light.

How did he know? Did Soojung tell him? Ah Ri’s heart was thumping uncontrollably and her mind was frantic. She didn’t want Baekhyun to think she was some kind of evil villain. She wished so hard that she’d change.

“Answer me, Ah Ri! You hurt her! She didn’t even do anything to you, damn it! What is wrong with you, woman?!”

 The second she heard it, her already broken heart was crushed again, the third time this day. She thought she was lifeless, she could feel the pain hammering loudly in her chest.

 So this is how death feels like. Your heart no longer beats. You can feel every muscle, every bone, everything that was once alive in your body, ache and crumble until you turn into nothing but dust.

Ah Ri didn’t like that feeling and she was determined to push it away from her once and for all.

She opened . Tiny molecules of air filled down to her esophagus and to her lungs. This. This was what she wanted.

“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry, okay? I won’t do it again,” she started to scry, “I don’t want to do it again, Baekhyun. Please believe me,” Kim Ah Ri begged. For the first time in history, Ah Ri begged.

Baekhyun’s heart and face softened when he saw and heard Ah Ri. He pulled her into a hug and instantly, Ah Ri’s arms circled his torso and her face was buried on his chest. Byun Baekhyun didn’t care if his shirt got wet from Ah Ri’s tears. And at that moment, he cared about no one but Ah Ri.

Hiii! <3 This is Chelsey :)

Arrrgh, omg my back hurts from typing this. Wooh, this was a hard chapter to make guys, it’s my first time making such a sad chapter. This makes me all teary-eyed :’)

Unnie aNONAmous! I hope I don't disappoint you with this chapter, I'm sorry if it's not so good :(

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