9. D.O.
Four Seasons
"Where there is great love, there are always miracles."
Kyungsoo decides that summer break arrived much faster than it had the previous years. With awesome roommates and new friends, school life as a University student has become more than just a chore to him now; he’s actually happy. Now that he’s found this happiness Kyungsoo doesn’t know if he’s ready to head on over to Canada for the next two semesters. As he packs up his bags, Kyungsoo is mentally cursing himself for making this decision so hastily; he really shouldn’t have planned this exchange so far ahead of time. Kyungsoo had always wanted to leave the country, to experiment and to see where his passions can lead him, but now that he’s made so many great friends who hold the same dreams, he doesn’t know if he’s ready to go off on his own. He’ll have to make new friends and make new memories all over again. Kyungsoo sighed as he closed his suitcase, shuttering at the thoughts of having to go through the phase of meeting new people, Kyungsoo is absolutely awkward to say the least. Not once has he denied that he really did just get lucky that his roommates are all such outgoing people. Even Tao, who barely speaks Korean, managed to fit in.
“Hey, Soo, your dads here!” Chanyeol’s deep voice rang through the halls as he called for Kyungsoo.
“Already?” Kyungsoo muttered to himself as hoisted up his bags with a grunt. With his backpack dangling over his right arm, a bag clinging to his left, and a camera around his neck, Kyungsoo struggled as he dragged his suitcase out of the dorms.
“Woah, here let me help you with that!” Baekhyun sprinted towards the tired Kyungsoo and lent him a hand with carrying his backpack while Chanyeol grabbed the massive suitcase. Tao had already gone home for the summer last night while the rest of the gang took that as their chance to bid Kyungsoo farewell, saving themselves from having to wake up at seven in the morning to say goodbye.
“Thanks.” Kyungsoo sighed a breath of relief when they finally reached his father’s car. They set his luggage inside the trunk and exchanged two odd fist pumps and high-fives before Baekhyun decided that, Kyungsoo is, in fact, too much of an awkward turtle for even the most basic forms of affection.
Being the campus Happy Virus though, Chanyeol didn’t give up and pulled Kyungsoo into a tight hug and lifting him up in the process. This abrupt movement shocked the smaller, causing him to cough and ultimately choke on his own spit.
“H-hyu-”
“Yeol! Put him down, he’s going to choke to death!” Chanyeol placed Kyungsoo back onto his own feet and scratched the back of his head sheepishly while Baekhyun checked Kyungsoo all over for any damages.
“You okay?” Baekhyun may not seem like it, but he’s the one that makes sure things run smoothly in their dorm room.This includes keeping Chanyeol in check and ensuring that Kyungsoo doesn’t get caught between Tao and Chanyeol’s crossfires.
“Yep, A-okay.”
“Good, we wouldn’t want you choking to death before you even get a chance to step foot in Canada!” Baekhyun gave Kyungsoo a small pat on the back as he spoke, excited for his friend.
“Right.” Kyungsoo replied with absolutely no enthusiasm, worrying his two roommates.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You don’t sound excited.” Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows and looked over at Chanyeol.
“Yeah Soo! What’s up?”
“It’s nothing, probably just nerves since I’ve never left Seoul before.”
“Oh, well don’t worry about a thing! You’re probably going to love it there, plus your English is awesome, you’ll adapt!” Baekhyun gave Kyungsoo more encouragement before patting his shoulders and giving it a light squeeze. “We’ll miss ya bud, don’t forget to Skype us when you get there.”
“Yeah, have fun Soo!”
“Thanks guys, I’ll miss everybody.”
Two weeks have gone by and Kyungsoo really doesn’t know what he thinks about this place. School doesn’t start for another two months so the dorms here are extremely empty. Turns out Kyungsoo had read his application wrong and signed up for a single bedroom, leaving Kyungsoo alone and without a need to interact with all the other exchange students. Although Kyungsoo hasn’t made any friends yet he doesn’t mind, he actually likes the solitude of having a room to himself.
School starts in a week and Kyungsoo has befriended a couple international students from Korea and China, Kyungsoo finds that it’s actually pretty easy to make friends here despite his shy nature; they’re all just as confused as he is.
Kyungsoo, sees her for the first time while he’s out “exploring” the city. Kyungsoo decides that Vancouver is an alright city with food that he can get used to. With his camera in hand, Kyungsoo was taking some pictures when she came crashing into him.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Kyungsoo gets up and freezes momentarily when he becomes face to face with the most beautiful girl he has ever laid eyes on. Her chocolate brown hair is tied up into a high ponytail with two loose curls framing her heart shaped face, her light brown eyes taking Kyungsoo’s wide ones a run for their money.
“Kasey! Be careful!” Kyungsoo is rendered speechless when a six foot tall male comes rushing towards the girl, who Kyungsoo now knows as Kasey, and helps her up quickly.
“It’s okay, Kris, I’m fine!”
“Gosh, you have to watch out and take care of your body; it’s not just you in here anymore you know?”
“Yeah, yeah I know!” Kasey rubs her tummy lightly before turning around and apologizing to Kyungsoo one last time. “I’m really sorry about that! I hope your camera is okay.”
“Um…” Kyungsoo grows frustrated as all the English vocabulary he knows suddenly vanishes into thin air. “I-it’s okay…”
“Come on sis, let’s go. I’m going to be late for orientation.”
“Jeeze Kris, for a giant you sure to worry a lot.”
“Hey, it’s my first year as a University student I want it to be perfect.”
“Whatever.”
Kyungsoo stands in the middle of the sidewalk while the two siblings walk off, bickering in the process. Kyungsoo doesn’t know what’s more surprising, the fact that the giant brother is younger than he is or the fact that this angel who appeared out of nowhere is taken and expecting a child already. Kyungsoo sighs and turns his camera off. I’ll just go grab some boba and call it day.
The next time Kyungsoo sees her, she’s sitting on a bench at the park with tears streaming down her face. Kyungsoo doesn’t know where all this courage suddenly came from, but he ran to the Seven Eleven down the street right away to buy some Kleenex and took a seat next to the crying girl the moment he got back. Taking out a tissue, Kyungsoo cleared his throat lightly and held it in front of her.
“Here.” Kyungsoo watches as her trembling hands take the Kleenex from his larger ones.
“Thanks.” She dabs her cheeks lightly then crumbles the Kleenex in her hands, staring at them with broken eyes. Kyungsoo doesn’t know what to do at this point, should he stay? A few more seconds of silence goes by before Kasey speaks up, catching Kyungsoo by surprise. “Do you believe in miracles?”
Kyungsoo looks at her curiously and nods his head.
“Yeah.”
Kasey chuckles and exhales a giant breath of air, suddenly feeling much better.
“Me too.” She rests her hands on her stomach and speaks to herself in what Kyungsoo assumes is Mandarin. “Don’t worry baby, mommy is going to take great care of you with or without your father. Your grandparents love you to pieces and Uncle Kris will be the greatest role model out there for you.” Kasey gets up onto her feet afterwards and faces Kyungsoo. “Thanks um…”
“Kyungsoo, but you can call me D.O.”
“Thanks D.O., I really… I really needed that.”
“You’re welcome.” Kyungsoo doesn’t know how a mere Kleenex was able to help her but he’s glad he did what he did.
Clutching the packet of Kleenex in his hands, Kyungsoo smiles to himself as Kasey walks away with light steps and tears no longer falling from her eyes.
Kyungsoo doesn’t know if this is fate, but he sees her again, sitting on the bleachers across from him with people he assumes are her parents and holding up a giant sign that says “Kris 加油!”. Kyungsoo may have limited knowledge in Chinese, but he believes that it’s most likely something on the lines of “Kris Hwaiting!”. Kyungsoo finds it cute that the whole family is here supporting him, even if their mother looks extremely lost as to what’s going on while their father is paying more attention to his blackberry.
Subconsciously, Kyungsoo begins to sneak glances at her throughout the basketball game; he was never a fan of the sport anyway, he had only come here with his friends to support their team at a home game. Kyungsoo doesn’t know if he should be embarrassed or celebrate because he catches her taking a peek at him as well, her cheeks reddening when their eyes meet. Kyungsoo takes that as his sign to go say hi and introduce himself officially. The moment the game ended Kyungsoo rushed across the gym and made his way towards where Kasey was seated. Kyungsoo is panting by the time he gets there and fist pumps internally when he notices that her parents and brother seem to be nowhere in sight.
“Hey, um... I was wondering if you’re busy right now…?” Kyungsoo was beyond nervous but felt much better when a shy smile graced her features.
“I’m actually supposed to go celebrate my brother’s win today, but I’ll be free this Saturday.”
“Saturday? Um yeah, okay! I… um… we could uh…” Kyungsoo wanted to crawl into a hole and die, all of his efforts in studying English seemed to have gone in vain.
Kasey giggled and pulled out her phone, reaching her hands out and asking Kyungsoo for his.
“Here, you can give me your number and I’ll give you mine. Text me when you think of something, I can always meet up with you here at the University.”
“Right! Yeah, okay that sounds good to me.” Kyungsoo takes the IPhone from her hands and punches in his number a tad bit too eagerly, causing the girl to laugh again.
“Okay then, I’ll see you this Saturday D.O., bye!” Kasey gives Kyungsoo his phone back and walks towards her brother, who had just finished changing.
“Who’s that?”
“D.O.”
“Oooh! He’s D.O., you mean the one wh-” Kyungsoo knows he shouldn’t be eavesdropping but he couldn’t help but wonder what Kris was going to say, if only Kasey didn’t interrupt him with rapid Mandarin.
“Shut up! I’m pretty sure he can hear you! I just want to be friends with him; it’s not what you think. What kind of a guy would want a girl like me anyway?” Kyungsoo hears Kris sighing and frowns when Kris replies with more Mandarin.
“Don’t be like that sis, you’re an awesome girl okay? You’ll find someone meant for you one day. In the meantime, let’s hurry cause I’m starving.”
“Haha okay, okay let's go.”
Kyungsoo decides that Saturday arrived much faster in comparison to all of the previous weekends he has spent here in Canada, his awkward self a complete mess as he trashes his suitcase for an appropriate outfit. After another agonizing ten minutes pass by, Kyungsoo settles on a grey hoodie and black skinny jeans. He then gels his hair up and blow dries it slightly for a messy look. With a quick glance at the clock, Kyungsoo calms his breathing down before heading out to a café next to their dorms. He had texted Kasey the location and time two days ago, ecstatic when she texted him back right away saying she loves it there.
Arriving fifteen minutes early, Kyungsoo grabs a seat in the back next to the windows and goes through the menu, not sure if he should order for her or not. After five minutes of contemplating over this decision, Kyungsoo opts for going through the menu to look for things she might like and ask if she wants him ordering for her once she arrives instead. Kasey steps into the café right on time, wearing her long hair down and straight. Kyungsoo was glad he had worn something more casual when he caught sight of her light blue jeans, black converse shoes and white hoodie. Kasey sees where Kyungsoo is sitting and makes her way over to him, a shy smile situated on her face.
“Hey D.O., have you been here long?”
“Nope, I just got here. You want a menu or should I order something for you?” Kyungsoo pulls out the chair for Kasey as she gets closer and makes his way back to his seat, praying that he won’t trip and fall.
“Mmm, surprise me?”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Kyungsoo heads to the front counter and orders a Hazelnut Mocha for himself and a Strawberry White Chocolate, for Kasey. He’s pretty sure Caffeine isn’t a good idea for the baby.
Kyungsoo brought the drinks back, and sets them down onto the table carefully.
“I got you the Strawberry White Chocolate, I hope that’s alright.”
“Thank you! It’s perfect, I’m a big fan of strawberry and my brother has me on a Caffeine ban haha, I probably should have told you that snippet earlier though.”
“Haha that’s fine, I’m glad this one works.”
Kyungsoo and Kasey spend the next two hours talking nonstop at the café. They end up learning quite a bit about each other and having a blast in the process. The only reason their conversation ended was because of Kasey’s ringing cellphone. Kasey takes a look at the screen, the smile on her face disappearing immediately when she realizes who’s calling her.
“Oh, sorry I’m just going to take this outside, it shouldn’t take too long.”
“Okay…”
Kyungsoo watches as Kasey steps outside with uneasiness etched into her features, his eyebrows also beginning to furrow in worry.
“What do you want?” Kasey’s words are laced with venom the moment she picks up the phone.
“Babe, please don’t act like this. Did you think about what I said? Don’t you still want us to be together?” Kasey scoffed as Jason spoke as if everything he had suggested was alright.
“I am not getting an abortion. I don’t care if your parents are worried about their reputation, my baby is worth more than that and if you aren’t on the same page as me then I’ll be raising the baby myself. I don’t need you in my life if you don’t want ou- my child. Goodbye Jason.”
Kasey ended the call and stuffed her phone back into her pant pocket. It would be a lie to say that it doesn’t hurt but she’s going to be a mother soon, she needs to be strong. Jason was her world, her everything, and the love of her life, but not anymore, not ever again.
“Is everything alright?” Kyungsoo couldn’t help but worry when Kasey came back inside with a smile on her face, she didn’t look that way when she stepped outside at all.
“Yep, perfectly fine.”
“O-okay then…” Kyungsoo was skeptical of Kasey’s answer but left it at that, he’s in no position to push her any further.
“Yep, how about we split dessert before we leave? I’ve always wanted to try the chocolate cheesecake here.”
“Yeah, sure! I’ll go order that now.”
Two weeks went by since Kyungsoo’s first “date” with Kasey and the two of them have grown to become really great friends. Kasey still doesn’t know that Kyungsoo is aware of her “condition” and has been worried about how she’d tell her new friend this news.
“Just tell him, I don’t think he’d mind. I actually like the guy, he’s pretty cool and I’d add some brownie points for his cooking skills too.”
“Ughhh, Kris you don’t get it! I really like him… I just…”
“I thought you said it wasn’t like that? Ooh I just want to be friends with him” Kris mimicked his sister’s voice as he spoke, earning himself a smack across his shoulders.
“I’m serious! What am I going to do?”
“Just tell him the truth and see how he reacts then move on from there. If he’s cool about it then that’s awesome but if he judges you for it, tell him he has an appointment with my right fist tomorrow at six.”
“Kris! Stop kidding around!”
“I’m not! You’re my baby sister, I’m not going to let you get hurt again. Tell him now before it’s too late okay? I mean, he’s bound to notice the fact that you only wear hoodies despite the warm weather, you’re four months in and your stomach is showing now… Just, trust me when I say that he likes you too, you don’t have to worry about that part at least.”
“How are you so sure?”
“I just know, guys can read other guys like an open book.”
“Fine…”
Kyungsoo receives a text message from Kasey the next day, asking him to meet up with her at the café where they first started to hang out. And so, Kyungsoo has once again, spent two hours trying to pick an outfit before arriving at the café fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, going through the menu to search for another drink that Kasey might like. The bell on the front door rings just as Kyungsoo looks up; he spots Kasey walking in and is pleasantly surprise to see her in an outfit that no longer hides her baby bump. Kyungsoo would be lying if he says that he didn’t notice her odd choice of clothing while the weather was still so nice out. Kyungsoo simply assumed that she didn’t want other people seeing her stomach and judging her for it. On the contrary though, Kasey doesn’t mind what other people think of her at all, she’s worried about what Kyungsoo himself would think.
“Hey Kasey.”
“Hi D.O., did you wait long?” Kasey asked Kyungsoo as she sat down nervously, catching Kyungsoo by surprise.
“Nope, I just got here actually.”
“Okay, that’s good.”
“You want me to go grab our drinks now? I spotted something on the menu that I think you’ll like.”
“Yeah sure!” Kasey spoke with fake enthusiasm, worrying Kyungsoo yet again. Kyungsoo couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but something about Kasey seemed a little off today. Is she nervous because people can see her baby bump?
Kyungsoo walked away while stealing a few glances back at Kasey, catching the small frown that appeared the moment she thought he wasn’t looking. After ordering their drinks, a Frozen Mocha Latte for himself and a Triple Chocolate Smoothie for Kasey, Kyungsoo returned to the table, hoping Kasey would be herself again.
“A Frozen Mocha Latte for myself and a Triple Chocolate Smoothie for you.” Kyungsoo set the drinks down and sighed in relief when Kasey picked up her drink with a smile on her face.
“Thanks D.O., this looks delicious.”
“You’re very welcome; I just hope it tastes as good as it looks haha.”
“Don’t worry, you can’t go wrong with chocolate. It’s like you knew I was craving this or something haha.” Kyungsoo blushed at her comment; he wouldn’t mind going out to buy all the foods she craves for at all.
“Lucky guess?”
Kyungsoo and Kasey then proceeded to trying out their drinks, happy with the sugary sweetness that danced on their taste buds.
“D.O.?”
“Hmm?”
“I have something really important that I want to tell you, um… actually make that two really important things.” Kasey stared at the contents of her drink, not looking at Kyungsoo as she spoke.
“Oh, okay, I’m listening.” Kyungsoo watched as she played with the straw in her cup before taking a deep breath and looking up at him.
“I… like you; I really really like you D.O.” Kyungsoo felt his breath hitch in his throat, he wasn’t expecting that.
“I-I li-”
“Wait, before you say anything just let me tell you the second thing first. You… You might not be able to finish what you wanted to say once you hear this.” Kyungsoo cocked his head to the side and wondered why Kasey’s eyebrows furrowed. Why would he change what he wanted to say?
“I’m four months pregnant.” Kasey looked down and closed her eyes, waiting for Kyungsoo to freak out, or walk away or get angry, but none of that came. Kyungsoo’s response shocked Kasey completely.
“I know, and I still really like you regardless of that fact.”
“W-wait, you knew?!” Kasey must have looked ridiculous right now because Kyungsoo simply chuckled while nodding his head.
“Yeah, I knew the first day I met you when you crashed into me.” Kasey cocked her head to the side, completely at a loss for words.
“Crashed into you? OH! Oh my gosh, that was you?!”
“Yep, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop that day but Kris wasn’t exactly being discrete either.”
“Okay, wait… so I freaked out and wore massive hoodies in this weather for absolutely no reason?”
“Um… Yeah… I guess so…”
The two of them sat in silence as realization finally hit the pair.
“So…” Kasey spoke first as she looked at Kyungsoo hopefully, praying that he’d say something about their confessions. “Um… does thi-”
“Do you want to be my girlfriend Kasey?” Kasey couldn’t contain the happiness that filled her heart and nodded her head.
“Of course I do! But D.O., are you really sure about this? I mean, I’m not exactly the best girl out there for you; I want you to think this through first…How about I give you a few days to really think about it before we do anything too hasty? I don’t think I could handle us being together then regretting it…” Kasey got up from her seat, about to leave the café when Kyungsoo grabs onto her wrists and stops her from doing so.
“Wait.”
Kyungsoo is aware of the fact that their life together will be filled with many obstacles but he really doesn't give a damn. He's never felt so alive before, the way his heart races whenever he locks eyes with her, the way a smile magically makes its way to his face when she smiles, and the overwhelming want to protect her provides Kyungsoo with the only answer he needs. He loves her.
"Kasey, I couldn’t care less about the mistakes you've made in the past. I’ll take care of you, cherish you, and love you the way you deserve to be loved.”
Kasey was rendered speechless at the words that left Kyungsoo’s lips. The way he held onto her hands and the look in his eyes told Kasey that he meant every word he said. Kasey felt tears welling up in her eyes as Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
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