∞Ω∞

"So where exactly are we going?" You and Kai walked side by side on the street. He just gave you a mysterious smile and said nothing. You rolled your eyes. "C'mon Kai, please tell me where we're going?"

"I told you before that I'm going to take you to the place where I practice dance," he said, though you had a feeling that it wasn't the entire truth. "Want some ice cream?" He suddenly grabbed your hand and pulled you to a nearby ice cream shop, one you wouldn't even had known was there if he hadn't taken you there so abruptly. It was small, with only two tables and a tiny service counter, but the list of flavors they had made up for the lack of seating space.

"I'll have a rainbow sherbet, and my friend will have chocolate brownie swirl," Kai said. At the sound of the word friend, the Ahjussi gave you both a surprised look, and you turned away embarrassed, though for no reason. You and Kai both knew you weren't a couple, so what did it matter what everyone else thought... right? Somehow, that thought unsettled you and you pushed it to the back of you mind.

"How'd you know chocolate with brownie chunks was my favorite?" you asked. And once again, he just gave you that mysterious smile. Figuring that maybe one of your other friends had told him, you just let it go for the time being. The kind Ahjussi who made your ice cream handed it to you in a cone, a napkin wrapped around the base so that it wouldn't get on your hand, should it start to drip. Kai paid for the both of you and you left the shop happily enjoying your cones.

"Thanks," you murmured through a mouthful of chocolate ice cream.

"No problem," he replied, his tongue bright green from the lime part of his sherbet. "I told you I would get you ice cream if you did aegyo. You kept your end, so I kept mine." You frowned at the memory of doing aegyo, but at least you got something out of it.

You lapsed into a comfortable silence while you ate, allowing yourself some time to reflect on what you were feeling at the moment. You were happy that you and Kai weren't getting on each other’s last nerve. You were pretty happy with the fact that you had some amazing ice cream courtesy of him. You were both curious and excited about where he was taking you, but you trusted that he wouldn't try anything weird. You were happy that you got time to spend with him to work all of these thoughts out. And you felt guilty that you hadn't yet told him about Baekhyun kissing you.

You didn't need to feel guilty, it wasn't like the two of you were dating or anything. But you felt the guilt all the same. You weren't sure how he would react to something like that. He had kissed you too, after all, and no matter how much he claimed that it was an accident, the feelings you had started to develop for him were no accident. You knew that you felt something for Kai, it was useless trying to deny that, but you were in the baby stages of this newfound feeling. You definitely wouldn't call what you had for him love, but you wouldn't protest too much to the describing it as a crush.

And then there was the matter of how this fit in with how you felt about Baekhyun. Up until a few days ago, you had only seen him as a friend, as someone you had only originally known through Kai, but over the years gotten close to. He was greasy, but never overly so with you, and he seemed to be able to detect and easily lift your foul moods. The night when he found you in the park was the first time you had gotten flustered from his sweet words and gentle touch. It didn't help when he then kissed you yesterday. You had a similar feeling for him, which you held for Kai, but it was somehow different. You wouldn't dare compare the kisses to each other, for in your mind, they were fundamentally different, but you recognized that the feelings that they brought up in you would at some point have to be figured out completely before you tore a friendship apart.

"Hey, Kaemi, are you alright?" You blinked and stopped walking suddenly, snapping out of your thoughts. Had you really been so inside of your head that you hadn't even realized he might have been talking to you this whole time? You blushed and gave him a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," you mumbled, also noting that while you thought, you had managed to work your way through more than 3/4 of your ice cream and were only holding a tiny part of the base of the cone. You popped the last bit in your mouth and finished it quickly. "Were you saying something?"

"I wasn't, but when I looked over to see if you had finished your ice cream you looked like you were in some sort of trance," he said, the worried expression being replaced by the smirk you knew all too well. "You were thinking about me, weren't you?"

"I was actually," you said, surprising him. Using that as a momentary distraction, you began to walk forward again, even though you still had no idea where you were supposed to be going.

"Wait, really?" he asked, clearly pleased. "What were you thinking about me? How especially hot I am today, or how much you like the way my hair looks, or was it something else?"

"Your hair isn't that great looking today, and you seem to be a normal temperature for a human being," you said, placing your hand on his arm for effect. "I was just thinking mostly about other stuff, I guess. You happened to be one of those things, but don't get a big head because of it. We're friends now so you're bound to come up in my thoughts every so often." Though it was only a half-truth, you figured telling him this was better than saying that you still hadn't gotten over the kiss you'd shared, and were wondering if he really regretted it.

"Uh-huh." he didn't sound too convinced, but didn't pry anymore. Again, you lapsed into silence, but this time, he slipped his hand in yours, giving it a light squeeze.

"Are we really going to go through this again?" you asked, though you didn't mind it at all. You liked the warm feeling.

"Yep," he said with a playful grin. And then he began to run, pulling you along with him. At first you protested, but then you grumbles turned to laughter and before you knew it he had stopped. The suddenness with which he did so caught you off guard, and you went flying into him. He looked down at you with eyebrows, raised.

"It's all right if you want to hug me, Kaemi," he said, wrapping his arms around your waist. "All you need to do is ask." You scoffed and pushed him away, your cheeks burning.

"You stopped too fast, and I couldn't stop in time to avoid you," you mumbled. "Don't get any weird ideas. Is this where you were taking me?" You looked up at the medium-sized brick building you had stopped in front of, and he nodded.

"Welcome to my safe haven," he said, leading you inside. You had no idea what to expect from a dance studio, so everything you saw was new and wonderful. "Cool right?"

"Yeah, it's pretty great," you said, admiring the pictures of different styles of dancers on the walls. "I've only ever seen you dance that one time for the school showcase back in first year. Do you do all of these styles of dance?"

"I'm trained in ballet and jazz, but I love hip hop," he said. He was leading you down a narrow hallway that had several doors on each side. "I usually just do a mix of everything." Finally he stopped and opened the door to a room on your left. It was bigger that what you had expected, and the wall you faced was made completely of mirrors. The wall to your right had a huge window looking out over a small grassy yard, where you could imagine people went to relax after a long day of dancing.

"This is where you dance?" you asked, impressed. "I really like it." You followed him to the middle of the room, where he stood next to you.

"I'm going to teach you how to dance," he said, and you looked up at him, curious. "I'll do a move first, and then you copy me. Don't worry I won't do anything crazy." You nodded, and watched as, like he said, he did a simple movement with his legs. You copied him as best as you could, and he nodded his approval.

"Alright, next." This time he did a little spin, stopping when he faced your right side, his arms in circle in front of him. You copied him again, and ended with your back towards him. He took a step forward and you could feel his breath on the back of your neck as made to correct the way your arms were held. You willed yourself not to turn into a pile of Kaemi colored goo, and allowed him to fix your mistake. He lingered a bit more than necessary, which only added to your internally frenzied state, but took a step back after a moment.

"Now let's start again and put the two movements together," he said. You moved slowly, but surely, and smiled at your accomplishment. "Moving on."

And so this was how the next hour went. He would move, you would copy. He would correct you if you made a mistake. It was nice, and you barely talked, but he complimented you on your ability to pick up the movements and memorize their sequence easily.

"Okay, you do it on your own now," he said, taking a step back. You gave him an unsure look, but he returned it with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry if you mess up." With that, you took a deep breath, counting in your head as you moved through the movements. When you were finished, he clapped and walked over.

"See you did okay, and you didn't mess up," he said with a smile. At that moment, you felt on top of the world. You didn't know why you felt so happy, because the compliment was quite simple, and for something simple, but you felt happy nonetheless, and allowed it to show on your face.

"Let's do it one more time, and then I'll show you some freestyle dancing," he said. Together, you danced, and it was nice, and you felt as if you really were friends with him in those moments. This you could get used to.

When it was time for him to dance on his own, you started to make you way to sit against the wall and watch, when he pulled you back.

"Just stand right here," he said, making sure you were right where he needed you. "It'll be better this way."

"Won't I just get in the way?"

"Not at all," he said. "Like I said, it's better this way." He walked over to a stereo system that had been set up in the corner and turned it on. When the song he had picked started, his head snapped in your direction, and he began making his way over to you, his movements smooth and seductive.

"W-what are you d-doing? K-Kai," you stuttered, avoiding his eyes, lest you get caught up in whatever he was trying to pull. He didn't answer, but simply danced around you. A minute into the song, he grabbed you around the waist and dipped you backwards. You let out a small scream, to which he smirked, and lifted you back up effortlessly, twirling you a little. From that moment on, he danced with you in his arms, twirling you, dipping you, lifting you from the floor. At first you protested, embarrassed and unsure of yourself. But soon you gave into the movements, letting Kai lead you.

The song was drawing to a close, and Kai spun you away from him and then back towards him, ending so that your faces were merely centimeters apart. The room was silent save for the sound of you both catching your breath. Your eyes were drawn upward to his and your breath mingled with his and you noticed that he smelled nice despite having done so much dancing in the past hour and you suddenly realized that everything that you felt for him was real and powerful and strong.

“Kaemi…” Kai said, leaning forward so that his forehead touched your own.

“Yeah?” Your voice came out in a breathy whisper, and you were quite sure that he could hear the sound of your heart trying to beat it’s way out of your chest.

“I think you’re pretty awesome,” he said, giving you a shy smile. “And I am glad that I’m your friend, but I think I’m fall-”

He was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing. You both sprang apart as if burned by fire, he scrambling for his phone, you turning and fanning yourself to keep a fire truck red blush at bay.

“Yeah, I’m at the dance studio,” Kai was saying to whomever had called him. “I’m with Kaemi. No. Sure, I’ll bring it tomorrow. Okay, bye.” He ended the call with a frustrated sigh.

“Who was that?” You asked, at the same time grateful and frustrated that they had interrupted. What was Kai about to say? It felt as if he was about to kiss you again, or had you been reading too much into things?

“It’s was Baekhyun,” he said, though it sounded more like a growl. “I’m hanging with him and Chanyeol tomorrow and he wanted to remind me to bring a video game over. He couldn’t have just texted me?” He mumbled the last part, and you didn’t quite hear, but you felt that same sense of guilt wash over you at the mention of Baekhyun.

“Oh,” you said, and the heated atmosphere from before turned awkward. It was silent for a moment, and you half expected Kai to just pick up what he was saying, but you had no such luck.

“Well, you did really well dancing for the first time,” Kai said, heading towards the door. “Come on, let’s go walk around for a bit. We can cool off.” The double meaning of his words was not lost on you and you hastily followed after him.

You kept stealing glances at him as you walked through the halls of the studio and out to the street. At one point, he caught you, and gave you one of his crooked grins.

“Like what you see?” He asked, and you scoffed, feigning annoyance. “Aww, look at you getting all flustered. It’s okay, babe; I like what I see, too.” That certainly caught you guard, as many of his actions today had, and you smacked his arm lightly.

“Don’t joke around,” you said, rolling your eyes. He stopped short, startling you, and pulled you into a hug.

“I wasn’t joking Kaemi,” he said seriously, his face buried in you hair. “I know that I might joke a lot, and I know that you sometimes find me annoying and arrogant. I know I sometimes say things that are hurtful and stupid, but… There are a lot of things that I like about you and sometimes I don’t think you realize it’s why I want to be around you all the time. Just… I won’t ever joke about that okay?” His words silenced you, and as people walked around you, you realized that maybe Saerin was right; maybe you just had to let things go and stop thinking so much.

“Okay,” you finally said. He sighed, and pulled away, sliding his hand down and intertwining his fingers with yours.

“Look there’s a pet store! Let’s go,” he pulled you along, his playful demeanor returning in an instant. You went along with him, lost in his words and wondering if this "friendship" had just gone beyond that.

A/N: Okay. It’s done. IT’S DONE.

SO MANY KAIMI FEELS.

I actually fangirled over my own writing tbh. Like I’m sitting here and my roommate goes, “Oh you must be reading something good.” And I’m just like, “NOPE IT’S MY OWN WRITING THAT’S GIVIGN ME THESE FEEEELS.” To which she just proceeds to turn away, weirded out.

Also, this story got on the trending list a few days ago! Thank you all so much for making that happen.

I was legit crying because I was so happy. I love you all <3

Anyway, what did you guys think? I know Kai’s precious confession moment got ruined, Baekhyun didn’t do it on purpose. He actually didn’t know that KaiMi were out together until Kai told him. But now that he knows, what is he gonna do about it? AND WILL KAI EVER CONFESS PROPERLY? WILL KAEMI CONFESS TO HIM FIRST? WILL THEY KISS?

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER OF

ARROGANCE AND IGNORANCE