A/N: Here it is people. I'm sorry for holding all of you back but I figured the plot needed to be developed neatly before I started writing. I won't say much here. Please enjoy.

 

Context:

 

Nabbeun: Bad

Namja: Man/Guy

Yeoja: Woman/Girl

 

PLEASE COMMENT! 

 

10 years later.

                           

                   A familiar figure stood by the empty bench overlooking the still-looking lake, resembling his current state of mind. Kim Jong In had both his hands in his pockets and his hazel eyes were glassy - exhausted and completely weary after all the years of committing himself to his work. His suit managed to make him look a few years older than he really was and the crimson button-down shirt he had underneath his blazer emphasised his ever handsome face. He took a deep breath and attempted once again to empty his mind, failing miserably yet again. He finally looked down at his feet and exhaled slowly, his dry lips which were bitten by the bitter coldness of the weather. Ten years had passed and he still felt as empty as he ever was. He need not guess the reason why but after everything that has happened, he was expecting for his feelings to at least appreciate him for being able to endure that much thus far. He lifted his head slowly, shutting his eyes so tight that he began to see stars before his eyes. 

 

             After that one amazing night he had with Yuri, he admitted to himself that it was something that needed to be treasured. Life went on normally following their parting but Kai realised a little too late that he was not ready to act like nothing had happened between them. It was definitely easier said than done. He felt lost in the beginning and he began to neglect his health. He suffered from a back injury the following week for having danced too much without sufficient rest - he hated the fact that everything reminded him of Yuri and even though his manager strictly asked him to rest, he ignored it and secretly had solo dance sessions under everybody's noses. He even tried to mingle with random girls  outside SM walls just to get his mind off of Yuri. What he hated the most though, was that he kept on having encounters with Yuri and she never looked happier. She was always laughing and having fun - as if nothing really did happen, it was like a dream that only Kai remembered. They would meet to rehearse big events like the Dream Concert but their eyes never did meet and it was bitter for Kai to swallow such treatment especially from Yuri herself. He was falling apart, breaking down every now and then but with his hyungs' help and constant support especially from Suho the leader, Kai was able to get back on his two feet. Reality flashed before his eyes like a lightning bolt. He promised himself that he would commit himself to his work and nothing else and that was exactly what he did to get himself through those years. But he cannot deny that he needed to able to just open himself up and feel again like that night. 

 

                   A gentle squeeze on his right shoulder brought him back to reality. The grip was firm and he knew whose hand it was. Slowly he opened his eyes and exhaled heavily. He clenched his fists inside his pockets and tightened his jaw, leaving his thoughts behind so as to not poison him further. He turned around slowly to face a concerned hyung. Kai looked down at his hyung and smiled half-heartedly. D.O had a stern look and Kai was silent for awhile until D.O spoke. 

 

"Kkamjong-ah. I told you not to do this to yourself. I know that look in your eyes." D.O said softly as if talking to a child. Immediately Kai knew that his hyung was able to read him like an opened book. D.O knew him best out of all the EXO members and he found comfort in that. Kai smirked knowingly and looked down for about two seconds before replying.

 

"How is it that you can read me like an opened book, hyung?" he asked, genuinely curious. It was D.O's turn to smirk and he raised his eyebrows.

 

"Have you forgotten who was by your side every time you break down?" D.O asked demandingly and it made Kai laughed. It was sincere and D.O found relief for having initiated the act. He took a step forward and squeezed Kai's shoulder once again, this time looking directly into Kai's cold eyes.

 

"It will all be over soon. You'll be free to start anew Jongin-ah and from then on, I want you to be happy again. You've been strong and I know one day things will go your way." D.O comforted softly, he flashed a cheesy smile towards Kai and Kai could not help but returned the gesture. Somehow he did believe that things will one day go his way. One day, he will be able to smile like the world was his and his alone, he will be able to just feel like any other young man his age, he will be able to reflect upon himself and feel content - that day will come. 

 

"Thank you, hyung. I hope so too." He wrapped one arm around his hyung's shoulders and slowly led the way into the big hall where everyone was gathered. 

 

                   It was one of those nights where all the twelve members of EXO were gathered to have an official dinner with their manager and their crew. Things were a lot different now. It used to feel like every meeting was related to some big event that they had to go over multiple times in order to avoid any mistakes over the program. Their manager would approach them by saying how important each event was, they would swallow everything he said and things would always turn out well. That night, however, everyone was there because of a bond that has been created and strengthened over the years. It felt like it was a family gathering and all the EXO members were just brothers who managed to go through a lot together despite their many obstacles. Kai and D.O walked over to their brothers and were greeted as usual.

 

"Kkamjong-ah where did you disappear to?" Lay approached him and gave him a light punch on his right arm. Kai smiled sincerely.

 

"Hyung, did you happen to see a hot girl who passed by not long ago? She's checking into this hotel apparently." Sehun asked Kai randomly making all his hyungs laughed including Kai himself.

 

"Ah look at the maknae. His hormones are way up there. Don't we all know how that feels like?" Xiumin stated while leaning against Chen who was also laughing.

 

"What did you say Sehun-ah?" Luhan joined the conversation, all worked up making everybody laughed even more and Kai who had been observing could not help but admired the familiar scene before him. He crossed his arms across his chest and continued to observe. 

 

"Ah Luhan, nothing nothing. It doesn't concern you, really." Sehun defended himself, scratching the back of his head. They all winced at his informality but over the years, the impact on them decreased in severity and they chose to just laugh at the maknae's ridiculousness. Kai smirked and finally joined the conversation. He approached Luhan and wrapped his arms around this slightly shorter hyung of his and Luhan responded by raising his eyebrows. 

 

Kai clicked his tongue. "Sehun-ah, if she did pass by me earlier, I'm afraid she won't be able to have her eyes for anybody else ... but me." Kai winked and everybody responded by laughing and congratulating Kai for that witty remark making Sehun silent for a couple of minutes but he followed suit afterwards.

 

"Hyung, I think you should keep an eye on Sehun tonight. He's had too much of that whiskey, I'm afraid." Kai pointed out to Luhan and quickly he approached Sehun to punch his stomach lightly but Sehun caught Kai's fist out of experience and Kai pursed his lips out of impression.

 

"I'd ruffle your hair, Sehun-ah, but seeing as how many hours you've spent to make it look perfect, I'm cutting you some slack tonight." Kai added, leaning his body against Sehun's. Sehun smirked and pushed Kai jokingly away for having embarrassed him in front of everybody. 

 

"Where's the duizhang?" Tao suddenly asked while sipping his champagne, wearing a content expression. Everybody stopped laughing and started to look around in response. For those who did not know their age differences would have thought that Tao was one of the oldest since his posture was so confident-looking. 

 

"Don't know." Chanyeol replied in English. "I thought I saw him with Suho hyung a moment ago." he added. With the mention of the EXO-K leader's name, they looked around once again to see whether or not he was around and they realised that he too, was missing.

 

"If I had to guess, I bet they're with the manager right now." D.O suddenly spoke, always the one to know the members' whereabouts. They have all thanked D.O for this ability of his at least once over the years since it has been proven to be very helpful.

 

                 Just as they were about to get worried about the two leaders, the two familiar figures emerged from around a corner - along with their manager - and they were laughing while approaching the lot. Everybody - including Sehun - bowed and they felt complete once again.

 

"Mianhae for suddenly disappearing." Suho spoke. "We were just arranging things. Right hyung?" Suho turned towards Kris. 

 

Kris smirked and replied simply in English, "Right," causing all the other members to raise their eyebrows. The two leaders were always the first ones to get all the details of upcoming events and even after getting used to it, they were still so eager to know. 

 

"Enough of that teasing, you two." the manager started causing the two leaders to smile. "let's move to the restaurant and have our dinner shall we? We won't be able to do this as often anymore officially, boys. I'm sure you know that." he smiled weakly, exhausted from all the work as well. 

 

            All of them nodded and some voiced out their agreement. Slowly they moved out of the hotel's bar together, each and everyone of them looking as dashing as ever - especially with all of them in suits. They had the hotel completely press-free for the night and they had never felt so secured. Kai, slightly discontent, slowly retreated to walk slightly behind the rest of them. Suho, who was initially leading the pack took a glance backwards to find a rather disturbed Kai. He approached the 28-year-old and smiled.

 

"Everything okay, Kkamjong-ah?" Suho asked while the other members continued to walk on. Kai smirked and smiled as well.

 

"Everything's fine, hyung. I just can't believe everything will be over soon." Kai confessed. "I've been devoting myself to my career so much that I've forgotten with it comes our aging as well." he added.

 

"Are you really worried about that?" Suho pressed, knowing there was something else behind those words.

 

"I'm just not sure I'll be able to be as occupied as I used to be back then, hyung. It was easy to forget her that way - by burying myself with work. Now that everything will be over soon, I don't know if I can go on normally." Kai finished his confession and Suho's eyes were understanding, so calm and so accepting. Kai admired that about this hyung of his. Suho gave Kai a light hug and patted Kai's shoulder gently.

 

"I know you feel like you don't have any other purpose after this is over but believe me, knowing you, something great will happen. I don't know yet Kkamjong-ah but anything can happen and when it does, you'll know. You will definitely know." Suho reassured him although his words were quite confusing but Kai knew better than to doubt his hyung. Once again, Kai emptied his mind. He nodded slowly in response and together they walked in the direction of the restaurant. 

 

Maybe something great really would happen, Kai thought to himself - someday, I'll find another purpose to life.

 

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              It was a cold night like any other that month, a feminine figure sat alone on a park bench overlooking the busy city. Amidst the city lights, the distant noise and the amount of people completely drowned in their own lives, Kwon Yuri felt loneliness at its best. She lifted her legs off the earth floor and hugged them to her chest, curling herself up into a ball on the bench. Girls' Generation was having a typical night out, escaping their hectic world to just rest for the weekend. Yuri excused herself earlier to take a walk alone and promised to return in about fifteen minutes. Yuri, despite her age, still looked as beautiful as she ever was. She still had her loose auburn locks cascading down her back, seemingly perfect and untempered with. Her smile was always one to bring happiness to people and her sweet face brings joy to anybody who had set their eyes upon it. Slowly she bent her head to meet her knees and drowned herself in her thoughts willingly. 

 

                  It has been ten years since that night. She replayed everything back in her head and the memory struck her heart hard with a familiar pain enveloping her whole body. She reassured herself ten years ago that things would return to normal after their parting but she was sadly mistaken. Following their parting, Yuri lost almost all control over herself: she messed up her Fashion King shoots causing the amount of viewers to decrease drastically alarming the producers and she kept a considerable distance from her Girls' Generation sisters not wanting reality to sting anymore than it already did. Her sisters were sincerely concerned seeing as Yuri was their biggest prankster and to have her staying quiet and not participating in anything most of the time was quite alarming. The only time they could lend a hand was during rehearsals for big events where they would mingle with their label mates - the only time Yuri could compose herself well to avoid controversies from overwhelming her sisters and herself. Although she would laugh and have fun like nothing had happened to her, she would always dread encounters with EXO-K because it would mean that Kai would always be around. She would always avoid any eye contact for fear that Kai would be able to see the pain in her eyes. She did not want to feel vulnerable and weak whilst he was doing well on the other side - both overestimating each others' capabilities at the end of the day. She managed to pick herself up after several breakdowns, promising herself that she needed to devote herself to her work more than anything. If she was to neglect it, parting with Kai would have been in vain. 

 

                  Resenting her weak audacity, Yuri sighed heavily and dropped the subject. Slowly she uncurled herself and stood up steadily. She began to walk towards the direction of a busy street, avoiding empty ones for fear of bumping into drunks or worse. She walked with her head down, carrying herself heavily towards the meeting point Sooyoung and herself had arranged earlier. Upon arrival, she caught sight of Sooyoung's pale yellow sweater and slowly she approached her, tapping Sooyoung on the back softly as a form of a greeting.

 

"Oh? Yul-unnie. Are you okay? Where did you go to?" Sooyoung asked suddenly, startled.

 

"I'm fine, Sooyoungie. I just needed some air." Yuri replied with a smile. "Where are the rest by the way?" she added while scanning the area.

 

"They went to get a few drinks from Kona Beans café just around the corner, unnie." the familiar name of the café struck Yuri hard - Yuri's face fell and she was silent for awhile. Sooyoung noticed her unnie's sudden change of expression and she was immediately alarmed.

 

"Mianhae unnie, did I say something I'm not supposed to?" Sooyoung asked, grabbing Yuri's slender arms gently. Yuri shook her head frantically in response.

 

"No no, it's not you. I just remembered something, Sooyoung-ah." she replied earnestly, meeting Sooyoung's eyes. "Plus I'm just sad that everything has passed now. We used to be much more hectic than this and now I'm afraid we have too much free time that it feels wrong somehow." Yuri diverted the topic quickly.

 

Sooyoung knew exactly how Yuri felt about that topic. "I know, unnie. We're so used to running here and there to get things done, flying off more than 4 times a week and performing for our SONEs - the very thing we loved doing. I do miss constantly being asked to perform here and there but I do admit that the exhaustion began to get to us as well, unnie. Somehow I'm not sad that our golden years had passed - I'm actually happy that it  did happen and that we've enjoyed every moment of it." Sooyoung finished and her eyes were glistening with tears. Yuri moved closer and gave Sooyoung a tight embrace.

 

"I will always treasure those golden years, Sooyoungie. All of you girls are my sisters and to be honest, this is just the beginning of more adventures to come. Although they won't be the same - not as stressful and not as crazy, but we'll have something to look forward to everyday." Yuri reassured her, smiling wide. 

 

"Yah what happened here?" Hyoyeon suddenly asked while approaching the two main dancers of the group. "You guys are not crying because you're lost are you?" Hyoyeon chuckled under her breath. The other six girls tagging along closely behind.

 

"Yul-ah there you are. Where were you?" Tiffany asked while sipping her caramel latte. She approached Yuri and gave her a tight hug before resting her head on Yuri's shoulder. "You sure you're okay Yul?" she urged. Yuri smiled and nodded slowly.

 

"Guess what? While we were at the café just now - the maknae met somebody interesting." Sunny changed the topic quickly for fear of getting too sentimental in public. Sooyoung was immediately curious and she grabbed Seohyun by her arms pulling her close.

 

"Who was it? Was it Yonghwa-ssi?" Sooyoung asked, being absolutely nosy making all the girls laughed including Yuri. Seohyun was already blushing hard turning her pale skin crimson red, not used to being teased by all of her unnies. 

 

"No no. Guess again." Jessica joined, speaking in fluent English. Taeyeon and Yoona were already laughing hard watching the maknae getting too uncomfortable.

 

"Just tell us!" Yuri replied in English as well - all those years venturing the international market finally paid off and language was no longer a form of barrier.

 

"Yah. It was Kyuhyun oppa." Taeyeon finally voiced out, ending Sooyoung and Yuri's misery. Sooyoung gasped and nudged the maknae beside her and Yuri, on the other hand gave her a wink and they all laughed together - not caring about the world even one bit.

 

"Kyuhyun oppa bought her that drink - ah how romantic!" YoonA said while pointing the drink in Seohyun's hands causing everybody to smile knowingly. 

 

              Yuri watched the scene closely, happy to see that finally the tension between Seohyun and their oppa evaporated following the end of both groups' careers. They all knew how serious their oppa was in pursuing the maknae - he only held back out of respect and because of the company's policy that needed to be kept. She winced at the thought of resolved love stories. She bit her tongue hard thinking about her own. Was hers going to be solved as well? The way things looked at that moment, it was so far from being solved and she resented the thought of being lonely - she wanted things to fell into their places and that she need not try so hard to chase after things constantly. While the others were laughing, Yuri kept a firm smile genuinely happy for everybody's sake although deep inside she was constantly fighting a battle with herself. 

 

Maybe something great really would happen, Yuri thought to herself - someday, I'll find that happiness no matter what.

 

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              Later on the very same night, sleep continued to elude Kai's frame. After the splendid dinner, Kai excused himself immediately from all his brothers to head back to his solo apartment whilst the others went to attend a late party as VVIPs held by none other than their SHINee hyungs. Kai would have loved to dance more than anything but that night, he felt sick in his stomach and all he wanted to do was be alone and just escape the world. Lying down, topless and spread eagle on his cold bed, Kai's head began to pound. Despite all the encouraging words his hyungs had given him, he found himself turning more and more of a pessimist. He hated everything then and all he wanted to do was find the answer - at least something to end his misery. He ran his fingers through his soft hair twice and shut his eyes tight - knowing all too well that he would not be able to fall asleep anytime soon. Frustrated, Kai cursed under his breath and rose from his bed almost abruptly causing him to daze for a few seconds. After rubbing his weary eyes, he scanned the room in the dark, squinting and searching for something simple to wear. He resorted with a simple white shirt and a black Armani hoodie - pairing them up with a pair of dark-blue jeans. Quickly he ruffled his hair and ran his fingers through them again a couple of times before grabbing his phone and his keys to head out of his room. I desperately need some air, he thought to himself.

 

                  Fifteen minutes later, Kai found himself sitting on a park bench all alone - only accompanied by his poisoning thoughts. He threw his head back and inhaled the cold air, completely feeling out of place and jaded. He brought his hands to his face, blowing warm air onto his palms before rubbing them together in an attempt to warm himself up. The cold was starting to get to him but he felt at ease being in the open. He felt suffocated being all alone in that new apartment in such a terrible mood. He was sure that he would rather freeze there at the park - alone and insignificant - rather than being dead at heart at a place he was supposed to call home. Although it was almost midnight, the park was somehow lively and it was almost accepting of those who roamed the streets at night with no significant purpose in life. His eyelids were getting to get heavy due to exhaustion but he ignored the sentiment and proceeded to scan the area for any sign of other people also suffering like him. That was when he caught sight of a familiar figure in the distance. 

 

                Kai sat up straight immediately and began squinting to try and get a better view of the woman from the distance. He cursed under his breath at his failing eyesight but still he tried as hard as he could to recognise the figure. Slowly - for what seemed like ages - the figure began to become more and more vivid as she walked with her head down approaching where Kai was sitting. His vision was clear and immediately he knew who it was - he need not take even a minute to know who that particular tiny frame belonged to. She was wearing a baby pink blouse - wrapping her body perfectly like a glove - with a scarlet blazer over it. Her pair of black denim jeans which hugged her waist and thighs neatly caught Kai's attention and her beige suede ankle-boots completed the look for her. She never looked more beautiful and Kai felt a familiar pain in his chest. Only then that he realised that somehow he did not want to be seen - for fear of her thinking that this was somehow arranged which was entirely not. He told himself sternly that he was supposed to get going before the woman saw who he was. Kai, however, could not help but fixate on the serenity of her face which often carried the most beautiful smile he had longed to see up close. Slowly he rose from he was sitting and stood there, frozen on the spot unable to move. A part of him wanted him to escape from the encounter but a part of him wanted some sort of a closure - something that he desperately needed to have. The figure drew near and slowly the woman lifted her head and their eyes met. 

 

               The connection, as always and as ever, was electric and Kai held her eyes with his for what seemed like hours - unmoved and unstirred. She held his with the same intensity and to his surprise, he was in tears. It was not because of the fact that he was hurting inside but because those eyes were soft and so accepting of him - he could see that there were no pretenses and there was not any form of hatred in it. After watching his reaction, the woman had tears in her eyes as well. She let them rolled down her cheeks and slowly, both of them curved a genuine smile in unison - the most sincere smile the two finally produced after ten years of being apart. Kai took a step closer while she was glued to her spot. He continued to smile and finally spoke after gaining much of his composure.

 

"Yuri..." he began before his lips. "What's a woman doing here all alone so late at night?" he asked while laughing gently, tears still filling up his eyes. Yuri, unable to answer continued to cry but she was smiling at the same time - happy, relieved and frustrated all at once. She never knew she had been bottling up so much for far too long.

 

               Suddenly courageous, Kai approached her until they were only inches apart and slowly he wrapped his arms around her. When she did not object, Kai tightened his embrace, lowering his head and placing his forehead on her shoulder - holding onto her as if he was holding for his dear life. Yuri, reluctant at first but after inhaling Kai's familiar scent that she had grown to love, wrapped her slender arms around Kai's lower back. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, not caring about the world or what they have to say about their reunion, they stayed connected like that fully in each others' favour. Kai loosened his embrace but he kept one arm around her still as tight. He used his free hand to wipe the tears from Yuri's cheeks and he smiled at her so sincerely that Yuri's heart was broken into a tiny million pieces to finally be able to see such a sweet smile up close after so long. 

 

"Uri yeojaya, you're still as bad aren't you?" he asked while laughing softly, letting go fully of his embrace but maintaining the close distance. "Roaming the streets at night alone like this when you're so beautiful like that.." he added while lifting her chin gently and smiling yet again. Yuri smiled in turn and it was Kai's turn to feel all shattered inside. He was finally able to see that beautiful smile up close and this time round, it did not feel wrong. 

 

"Nabbeun namja." was all she said before hitting Kai's chest making both of them laughed. 

 

"How are you?" Kai finally asked, starting a real conversation.

 

Yuri looked up at him and slowly shrugged, "I don't know. I think I'm alright," she muttered under her breath. "How about you?" she added.

 

"Well, for now, I'm alright." he replied with the same tone. He looked down at his feet not knowing how to keep the conversation going.

 

"Did you miss me?" Yuri asked boldly, even she was shocked by her sudden bravery to be so upfront with a guy. Somehow with Kai, she was so used to drop all the act and just be.. her.

 

Kai, trying to lift the tension in the air chuckled in his throat and smiled before answering, "what do you think?".

 

                Before Yuri could answer his question, once again Kai closed the gap between their bodies and fully embraced her. This time there was no hesitation and the action was purely meant for comfort and nothing else. Kai held the back of her head and slowly he her hair as if calming a child with a tantrum. His warm breath tickled Yuri's neck and she shivered involuntarily within his arms causing Kai to tighten his embrace. Slowly he whispered into her ears, reassuring her once and for all.

 

"Of course I missed you. More than you can ever imagined." Kai said firmly. "Remember what I said that night, Yul?" he added.

 

"Mm?" was all she replied.

 

"I told you that night that it was never the end of us. Do you want us to try one more time?" He proposed, not diverting his eyes from hers. 

 

                    Slowly Yuri let go of the embrace and she took a step back, alarming Kai. She hooked a stand of her loose locks behind her right ear before looking down at her feet, looking deep in her thoughts causing Kai to frown, disturbed by her sudden change of expression. Kai reached for her arms and hold her elbows gently, searching her face for any sign of comfort for himself.

 

"What's wrong?" he asked, fearing the worst.

 

"Kai-ssi. Before anything, I have to apologise for not being able to gather up the courage sooner to talk to you because I was in so much pain that it was so crazy - even by looking at you it was enough to kill my insides in a split second. I'm going to make this clear for you. I'd love for us to start over and this time round for it to actually work out till the end but could you wait a little longer? There is something that needed to be sorted out before we attempt this for the second time." Kai's face fell and immediately Yuri reached up to cup his face in her tiny hands, pulling his head down to plant a soft kiss on his forehead long enough that it was getting warmer due to the contact. 

 

"I promise you that I will be there for you and that we will not get separated again no matter what. I promise you that now. Give me one week to sort something out and then I'll come running back to you - I'll be yours Kai-ssi. Mind, body and soul." she continued to reassure him before hugging him yet again even tighter than before.

 

                 Kai, not knowing what to believe, drowned himself in her beautiful eyes - they were sincere and he knew that those were the same eyes that had made him fall in love in the first place. He was skeptical once again but being there, in her embrace with her face being so close to his, he left all his doubts behind. He chose to hold on to her words, knowing that if he was to believe in someone in exchange with his life, it was Kwon Yuri. Although something inside him was tugging his strings - telling him that something was quite unsettling about Yuri's words - he chose to ignore it and held her close to him enveloping her with his warmth. 

 

Nothing could ever go wrong anymore from here. Right?

 

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There it is the very first chapter. Please tell me what you think cause it nearly killed me to write this! I actually cried writing this. haha.

Thank you everybody and please stay tuned for more!