Just inside the door, it was pitch black. You gripped on to Kai’s hand, fearful of what might jump out at you, or grab for you.

“K-Kai, I don’t like this,” You stuttered. “I can’t see anything.”

“That’s the point,” Kai answered, chuckling. “Just hold tightly to my hand.” He moved slowly forward and you stuck right by his side. With every step you took forward, it seemed to get brighter, which came as a relief.

“See? It’s not so bad,” Kai said. You both paused, as you had ended up in a room with two doors. The left one had a sign that read “story time” and the right one had one reading “nap time.” Despite that, they both looked the same. “Pick one, Doll face.”

“The one that says nap time,” you said after a moment’s hesitation. You knew that either way, you would probably be scared out of your mind, but for some reason, nap time sounded a lot more bearable than story time. Why a haunted house had doors that said such weird things was beside the point.

“Let’s go then,” he said, and with as much calm as you could, you followed him into the door.

I t was cold on the other side of the door. Cold and damp, and the only thing you could think about was how this was the least perfect spot for so called “nap time”. And as if the people running the haunted house had read your thoughts, the sound of a chainsaw revving up filled your ears. You gripped Kai’s hands.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” you whispered, earning a chuckle. “Don’t laugh! Chainsaws are serious pieces of equipment.”

“…Perfect for hacking off the limbs of young girls…”

You froze. The voice had come from behind you, where as the sound of the chain saw was coming from behind. Kai started to turn, and you had no choice but to turn with him. You snapped your eyes shut though, as soon as you caught a glimpse of the terrifying man standing behind you with a chainsaw.

“Hello,” Kai said pleasantly, though you couldn’t figure out how he could be so calm in such a situation.

“I think I’d quite like to keep my limbs, thank you,” You squeaked out, edging forward and pulling Kai with you.

“Later,” he said to Mr. Chainsaw, who stood there, chainsaw a-buzzing, amused at both of your reactions.

“Now that wasn’t so bad was it?” Kai asked with a teasing tone. “He seemed pretty docile.”

“Oh, I didn’t notice he was so kind,” you hissed. “I was distracted by the giant chainsaw he had buzzing in his hands.” Kai chuckled.

“Let’s just keep moving forward,” he said, and gently led you forward. You walked forward and a creepy, slow version of “go to sleep little baby” started playing. You gripped Kai’s hand even tighter.

“Kai…” you whispered. “It’s so creepy in here.” You moved a little closer to him.

“Relax. Just relax.” And of course as soon as he said that a little girl with stiches going through her face made a grab for your face. You screamed and jumped back, dragging Kai with you. The girl continued to come your way.

“Pretty faaaaaceeeeeee! I waaaaant your preeeeettttty faaaaccceeeeee!” She screeched, and you hid behind Kai, burying your face in his back.

“Alright now ladies,” Kai said, and moved around the screeching girl. “Calm down, Miss Stiches. Your face looks fine, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t startle my girlfriend so much.” Caught off guard by his unafraid approach, the girl stayed silent and allowed you to pass. You kept your eyes closed and let Kai guide you out of her range, only opening your eyes when he assured you that she was gone.

“That’s the second time you’ve said we’re in a relationship,” you said as casually as you could. Kai shrugged.

“It worked to get her to leave us alone, didn’t it?” He said, and for some reason, you felt a tightening in your chest.

“Oh, okay,” you said, shaking off the feeling. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have any weird ideas in your head.” Though in reality it was you that had the weird ideas in your head. But you wouldn’t tell him that.

You walked for a while, and occasionally things would jump out at you, scaring you half to death, and eliciting a light peal of laughter from Kai.

“When is this going to be over?” You asked. At this point, you had changed from holding Kai’s hand, to having your arm looped through his, and were pressed closely to his side.

“We’re almost to the end,” Kai said, enjoying your close proximity. “And just because I’m feeling nice, I’ll still buy you ice cream.”

“Really?” you said, excited. This side of Kai you liked: the nice Kai who wasn’t annoying and all arrogant and stuff, and who offered to buy you ice cream. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.” You flinched slightly as a fake ghost dropped down in front of your face. You pushed it aside and continued to walk with Kai.

“No problem,” Kai replied casually, grateful that you couldn’t see the slight color his cheeks had taken on. “It’s hot out and I don’t want you swooning and stuff.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever swooned before, Kai,” you said with a slight giggle. “That’s usually reserved for damsels in distress, and fangirls.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me that you’re not one of my fangirls?”

“Sorry to break it to you.”

“Well that just about breaks my heart, Kaemi.” You gave him a look. “What?”

“You never call me Kaemi,” you said. “Not that I’m objecting. I was just surprised is all.”

“I’m full of surprises,” Kai said, winking at you. You rolled your eyes, but smiled.

“That is a statement I can agree with,” you said. And the next thing you knew, you were back in the light.

“See? All done,” Kai said with a smile. “That wasn’t so bad was it?”

“Except for the girl that wanted to rip my face off,” you said with a shudder. “No, it wasn’t that bad. So how about that ice cream?”

“We have to get Min from the guy at the front,” he said, guiding back towards that direction. “And then ice cream.” You noticed that you were still hanging on to Kai so you made to let go, but he only slid his hand down to intertwine with yours. He didn’t say anything, nor did he look at you. But you liked the feeling, and obviously he did too, so you walked like this with him to pick of Min the fish.

“Hello little fishy,” you cooed, holding the bag of water with Min up to your face with your free hand. “Having fun in there?” The fish just stared at you for a moment before continuing to swim around. You and Kai both laugh at the absurdity of what just happened and headed towards the nearest ice cream stall.

While waiting in line, you heard your phone ringing in your bag. Handing Min to Kai, and reluctantly detaching your hand from his, you pulled it out and answered.

“Yobeoseyo? Mhm. Yep, ice cream. Food? We had a snack before. Okay. No, really, it’s okay; we’ll see you soon.” You ended the call and turned to Kai. “That was Eun Chae. She said that she wants us to meet up over by the entrance because we’re going to go get an early dinner.”

“Okay, let’s go then,” Kai said, and slipped his hand back into yours. You both began the walk back to the park entrance. You walked in silence, but it was comfortable.

“You know, Kai,” you started to say. “I had a great time today.”

“I did, too,” he said, keeping his eyes trained straight ahead. You wanted him to look at you so that you could gauge what he was really thinking.

“Good,” you said after a moment, disappointed that he didn’t even give you a surreptitious glance.

“We should come here again,” he said. “As a real couple.”

Well that was unexpected.

“Excuse me?” You said, unsure if you had heard correctly. “What was it you just said?”

“I said we should come here again,” he said, a little smirk forming at the corners of his mouth at your reaction.

“But you said something else,” you mumbled, shaking your head.

“Who said something else?” You looked up to see Jonghyun and Eun Chae standing there, holding hands.

“Oh, nothing,” Kai said, giving Jonghyun a look to not press the issue. He wanted you to be left to think about his words.

“It looks like someone had a good time,” Eun Chae commented, her eyes travelling down to you and Kai’s hands, which had become once again clasped together. You made a move to let go, but once again, Kai prevented you from doing so.

“We had a really good time,” he said, grinning at your best friend. “We even won a fish.” He held up Min, successfully distracting Eun Chae and Jonghyun.

“Such a pretty fish,” Taemin said, walking up to the small group and also admiring Min. Dayoung was not too far behind, and was carrying a huge stuffed elephant, grinning from ear to ear.

“Look what Taemin won for me!” She squealed in English, her happiness making her forget to speak in a language everyone could understand.

“I don’t know what she said but it sounds like something good,” Jonghyun chuckled. “So are we doing food or what? I’m starving.”

“You’re always “starving” Hyung,” Taemin said. “Let’s go to that BBQ place we passed on the way here; it looked good.” With everyone agreeing that it seemed like a good idea, that’s where you headed. The whole time, Kai wouldn’t let go of your hand, even when you had to get back on the bus.

Arriving at the restaurant, you all got a big table and sat down. You had ordered a large spread of food (thank God Jonghyun offered to pay for everything) when Eun Chae stood suddenly.

“Excuse us guys,” she said. “But we’re going to head to the bathroom to wash up a bit, okay?” She pulled Dayoung up, and made a move to pull you too, but noticed you were still attached to Kai via hand. She cleared and shot the boy in question a look.

It was only then that Kai let go of your hand. He gave you a cheeky grin and turned to join the conversation that the other two guys were having about sports or something. When you made it to the bathroom, Eun Chae immediately pounced.

“Explain, girlfriend,” she said, her eyes shining with excitement. “You and him. What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on,” you said, shrugging, though you weren’t entirely sure that it was the truth. “We were just holding hands.”

“But I thought you hated each other,” Dayoung said, though she had an excited look in her eyes as well.

“We don’t hate each other,” you corrected. “Dislike, yeah. Hate? That’s a bit strong.” Kai did apologize, after all.

“People who dislike each other do not hold hands,” Eun Chae said, shaking her head. “Especially not for that long.”

“It’s nothing, though,” you said. “Seriously, nothing is going on.”

“But that tone your using makes me think that you want something to go on,” Dayoung said, giving you a sly grin. “You like him don’t you?”

“What in the world are you talking about?” You asked, exasperated. “Why would I like him? It’s not like I’ve-”

“Kissed him or anything?” Eun Chae interrupted, giving you a knowing look. Dayoung gasped.

“You kissed him?” She said, shocked. “Well if I had known that earlier…”

“That doesn’t even count for anything, you guys,” you said, trying to bring them away from their wild imaginations. “It was just an act.”

“But you said that he kissed you because he said that he wanted to,” Eun Chae said. “I don't get how that’s acting.”

“Well he apologized for it, so it doesn’t even matter,” you said, your face now burning from the memory of the kiss.

“Oh, it matters,” Dayoung said, nodding her head fervently. “It matters because it’s obvious you like him and he likes you and you guys should just stop beating around the bush already and get together and be cute and stuff.” You and Eun Chae both turned to her, surprised at her little outburst.

“I think we’re going to be good friends, Unnie,” Eun Chae said, giving Dayoung a big grin.

“But you’re the one who said you were going to rip his whatever off,” you said, now desperate to get rid of the notion that you and Kai could ever be more than just bickering not-quite-friends.

“But I changed my mind once I saw how he was acting today,” Eun Chae said matter-of-factly.

“I give up,” you said, shaking you head and throwing your hands up in the air. “I’m not going to change your minds about this, so I might as well let you fantasize. Because that’s all this is – a fantasy that’s never going to come true.”

“Remember those words, Shin Kaemi,” Eun Chae said with a grin. You just shook your head and left the restroom, headed back to the table.

“I give it two weeks,” Eun Chae said. “Two weeks, and those two will be cuddlier than a teddy bear shop in the middle of a cotton field.”

“I say a month,” Dayoung said. “But that’s only because Kaemi seems like a stubborn kind of girl.”

“Wanna bet on it?” Eun Chae said, holding out her hand. “Winner gets matchmaker bragging rights.” Dayoung, loving a challenge, took the hand offered to her.

“Looks like you got yourself a deal,” She said. “And we can help their progress in any way we feel is right.” Eun Chae nodded.

“Alright, then,” she said. “Let Operation KaiMin begin!”

A/N: Ahhhhhh this chapter is finally done! Sorry I've been away so long. I've been busy with school work and junk, but I am back! How did everyone like this chapter? What do you think Eun Chae and Dayoung are going to do? And just to make things easier, Dayoung is fresh from the States. She will be transferring to their school, but will be in Taemin's grade, making her a year older than Kaemi, Eun Chae and Kai. Anyway, I will explain her backstory more in the next chapter, so that it makes more sense.

Don't forget to comment and subscribe!

Also, if you haven't already, check out my graphics shop, Aethon Designs. I am currently taking requests for posters, banner, character profiles/charts, and desktop backgrounds. I also have a writing contest going on, so if you are in the writing mood, do check it out. Thanks :3