I had watched his car pull out of the driveway, leaving me for his career. Again. I was selfish and stupid to think that maybe just maybe he would stay. But watching the black van turn around the corner and disappear was just another reminder of the different lives he and I led now. I had known that when I had walked onto that plane six years ago and he had probably known that when he walked onto the stage. Back then, I waited, holding my breath, hoping he would burst through the small airplane doors and ask me to stay with him. But he hadn't. And I cried as the plane lifted from the ground. They were childish fantasies. And yet, just like then, I let silent tears fall down the side of my face and onto the pillow. Forget. I have to forget. 

----

The weekend had gone by slowly. Each night, I miserably failed at pushing Yunho from my thoughts, scolding myself for going to the concert in the first place. I had somehow managed to get through school and drive myself to the airport, though. I had to live my life. I was young and foolish. I knew that. It would get easier. I jumped at the sudden pressure on my shoulers, snapping me from my own thoughts. I flipped around and the sight of blonde hair sticking out of a dark hood shocked me. A pair of sunglasses covered his usually intense eyes. 

"Kay!" I said and stood up.

"Hey, Tori," he replied with a smile. We hugged and I took a bag from his hand, which he flung around my shoulders.

"You didn't answer my texts, I thought you were dead," Kay whined. 

I forced a smile, "Sorry, it was a busy weekend."

"Liar, how was the concert? Did you... meet him?" Kay looked hesitantly curious. I nodded. "HOLY , seriously? Wasn't there like thousands of people?" Kay yelled. "No wonder you didn't text me back... I'm assuming things didn't go over well." Had they? Yunho was leaving me alone. Wasn't that what I wanted? Being near him would just remind me of what I had given up. And yet, my heart clenched and my lungs collapsed in on itself every time I pictured his car rounding that corner.

"Things went exactly as they should have," I finally answered.

Kay snorted but didn't say anything. 

"How was your trip?" I asked, smiling at him.

"Tiring as hell. But fun," he said, "I have to go back in a few days though."

"But you just got here!" I exclaimed. 

"I'm a busy dude, Tori," he said witha smile. This time, I snorted. "Hey," he said and stopped our walking with a hand on my side. "You sure you're okay?" he asked.

I didn't look at him but nodded. "Come on... There's a cafe that just opened and their coffee beans must have been imported from heaven," I said and led him out.

---

At the coffee shop, Kay threw his arms up in surrender, "THAT'S IT. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE." I just stared at him. "You clearly are NOT getting over this dude anytime soon. You've barely said anything! I was going to tell you this morning but I wasn't sure if I should after what you told me and stuff but WHATEVER. Look. I'm moving to Korea." I stared at him some more. "WELL~," he said expectantly.

"W-Why?" I asked.

"I...um... well," he stuttered, looking everywhere but at me. "I'm... I kind of got a job there?" 

I stared at him. "Wait, what?"

"I'm a singer... at... SM Entertainment... in EXO-M? We debuted only a few months ago so I don't blame you for not knowing."

I looked down at my hands, clenched together on my lap. "That's not funny," I whispered. He should have known not to pull a stunt like this. He knew everything I had given up because I couldn't do the very thing he was talking about.

"No. Seriously," he said, "Look." He slid his phone over to me, a Youtube video playing. I recognized the song. It definitely was by EXO... but in Chinese. And there he was. 

"What the hell!" I yelled.

He reached over and tried to cover my mouth, shushing me. "People still recognize me... once in a while," he said, "Actually, not that often... but better safe than sorry."

"HOW COULD YOU-"

"SHHHHH!"

"How could you not tell me this?!" I whisper-yelled at him. 

"I THOUGHT YOU WOULD FIND OUT EVENTUALLY! And how could I? I.. I couldn't flaunt this kind of thing in your face," he replied. Of course he couldn't. He knew all about my efforts in Korea and what had eventually driven me out of there.

"Kay-"

"Kris... My stage name is Kris..."

"Oh God, why," I giggled.

"They said Kay was too uncommon! They forced me to go under Kris!" Kay had never liked being called Kris since Koreans (like me) usually pronounced it in a way that sounded like 'crease'. I had always wondered how many Koreans could he have possibly met to ask people to call him by a different name and this answered my question. He had probably gone under years of training in Korea or had at least had Korean instructors who messed up his name all the time.

"So you've met-"

"Yunho hyung, yes... Not many times. Only a couple times and only for a short while, but yes."

"Oh God. DOES HE KNOW?"

"NO, OF COURSE NOT."

"Why?"

"Because you said you never wanted to meet him again! Even though I knew  you were lying, I knew it wasn't my place to meddle..."

"Oh my God, I can't... I can't even... what?" I said.

He laughed. "I was seriously disappointed when you didn't jump me as soon as my teaser came out. But it's understandable. We had like a billion. Lots of people got tired of seeing-"

"Kai? I stopped watching after his and I heard that like fifty others came out. And...," I glanced at him guiltily, "I wasn't exactly interested in the never-ending rookies... or Chinese dudes..."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Typical Tori," he said.

"But how could you keep this from me?! I mean, how did you hide it?! We've known each other for years!" 

"Well, since mom and dad travel all the time for their jobs, people didn't find it weird that I was heading off to Korea and China once in a while. I got a lot of my training done in Canada and in the US. Actually, when we first met, I was here to visit the Los Angeles branch to get some lessons."

I remembered our first meeting like it was yesterday. Our family and I had flown down to LA for vacation a few weeks after we moved. At the hotel, I had wandered down the hall for some Sprite from the soda machine and ended up talking to the guy who had managed to get his drink stuck in the machine. After I had managed to pull it out with my considerably skinnier arms, we started talking and ended up hanging out for most of the trip. My parents were thrilled that I had made a friend after being in America for such a short amount of time and had invited Kay out with us to Disneyland and to meals after finding out that he was here alone for classes (which were probably lessons now that I thought about it). We managed to keep in touch when we both went home, I to the Bay Area and he to Canada. We met up every time he came to the States.

I stared at him. 

"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT," he said with a smile.

"How... what... I... what?" I stammered to put together a comprehendible sentence. 

He laughed again. "Look," he said, suddenly very seriously. "I know that Korea doesn't have many good memories for you. But... I don't really like being there without anyone and you're not in school right now so I thought it'd be a good idea - I mean, if you want to, maybe you-"

"Kay, just spit it out," I prompted. He stuffed his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope.

He took a breath and looked at me. "Will you come with me?"

I stared at him. "You're not serious."

"I'm just as serious as before. That's a plane ticket for the flight I'm leaving on. I'm not coming back for a while... If ever."

"Kay, you know I left all that behind me," I said and stared down at my hands.

"Not as a singer. You don't have to see Yunho hyung. Really. I won't tell him you're coming. A friend of my dad's runs an after-school English program and he asked me to find a teacher for him," he explained.

"I'm not even a native speaker," I replied.

"But you're fluent and have been learning for your whole life!" 

"Being taught by my cousin doesn't count."

"Then what does?"

"Kay, I can't just drop everything and leave."

"Tori, don't you see? You're not dropping anything! You're living this life as if you hate every second of it!" he yelled. I burned holes into my hands. "I'm sorry... I'm just.." He scooted his chair around the table and took my hands. "I just don't want to leave you here. No. I just don't want to go somewhere you're not."

I rolled my eyes. "You live in a different country and you've unexpectedly had this epiphany that you want me around all the time?" I asked.

He smiled. "Hey, nothing was permanent. I was moving around so often that you're basically the only person I consider a friend. Come on... At least just think about it. It's a good job opportunity anyways. And if nothing else, it pays well."

"Kay, you know my dad won't let me."

He finally released my hands and used them to rest his head in as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "I'll convince him. He loves me."

I rolled my eyes again at him.

"Oh shoot, my ride's here," he said and looked out the window. He got up from his chair and collected his things. "I don't have time to meet again while I'm here but I'll call you tonight to talk to your dad so butter him up for me. I'll wait for you at the gate, beautiful," he said and leaned down to kiss my cheek. "Really. Think about it." He downed the rest of his coffee and said, "that IS good," and waved before leaving the cafe.

I sighed and stared out the window. What was I even thinking about? Of course I couldn't go. I couldn't take another risk like that. I couldn't just leave everything... But what would I be leaving behind? All my friends had left for college. I wasn't doing anything with my life here. At least there, I'd be doing something. But what if I see Yunho again? What are the odds of that happening, right? But I had seen him at the concert. But Korea was definitely a lot larger than an amphitheater. I sighed and got up too, slinging my purse over my shoulder.

----------------

I listened to my dad talking on the phone with Kris from downstairs. "Kay.... Yes.... Of course I know.... I guess it would be.... Will you?.... How... No, that's... Yes... I don't know, Kay... hahahaha yes, I guess so... We'll see.... When?.... Saturday?! I don't know, Kay... Alright, alright we'll talk about it but that doesn't mean a yes!.... hahahahaha alright, you too, Kay." I heard him start coming up the stairs and ran back to my room, flinging myself on the bed and tried to make it seem like I wasn't eavesdropping. 

"So I talked with Kay," my dad said from the doorway. He came in and sat on the edge of my bed. "I don't think it's a bad idea... IF you keep in mind why you're there."

"Really?"

"Really... It'll be good for you to have to some experience and do something until college starts. This doesn't mean it's a yes. There are many things that could go wrong and I don't like the idea of you being there without your mom and me but Kay says that he'll make sure you're doing okay on a regular basis. I trust you not to do anything stupid while your there."

"I won't."

He looked at me. "Do you want to go?"

".... I guess."

"Will you stay away from the music?... and Yunho."

I nodded, deciding that I wouldn't tell him what Kay's been up to. 

"Then I'll tell your mother. We better get to packing your stuff. Kay already got you the job for sure. You have to be ready by Saturday."

I smiled at him and hugged him. "Thanks, Dad."

"Trust me when I say I'm doing it more for me than you." I pulled away to look at him and he encircled my cheeks with his hands. "You've been so... obedient... too obedient to make us worry. Maybe this will help you get back your spark." He said goodnight and walked out. I lay down and stared up at the ceiling. Korea.

-----------

"Tori!" someone called. I turned to see Kay running over in similar attire as the last time I met him. A tan hoody this time and the same sunglasses. He bowed to my parents and shook my dad's hand after removing his disguise out of respect. 

"Kay, my, you've grown," he said and pat his shoulder. 

"I would hope so, sir," Kay replied with a smile. 

My mother smothered me in her arms, crying about her baby growing up. "Mom, it's only for a few months," I said, flustered.

"You'll take care of my girl, Kay? I'm entrusting her to you," my dad said. 

"Of course! My apartment is in the same complex as she'll be staying at," Kay replied.

"You guys aren't... I can trust... You won't do anything stupid, right?" he said and leered at me and Kay.

We looked at each other and spout nonsense and denial in unison.

"Alright, alright. You guys'll be late for your flight. Buy Tori. Call us if you need something," my dad said. 

"I will dad. Bye mom," I said and followed Kay to security, waving at my parents until they were out of sight. 

"Oh God. Did your dad just imply if we had a thing?" Kay asked. I burst into giggles. "Well there goes the trust he has in me," Kay said, "But what was with that quick denial?! You think I can't sweep you off your feet if I wanted to?" he demanded. I continued to laugh all the way to the gate.

*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Hello Lovelies~ So. How do you feel about EXO's Kris being in the story?? I actually am not a huge fan of his or EXO (at least right now) but he seemed to fit the character well so I decided to put him in :) Oh and FYI, I will be changing the format of my writing from first-person to third-person omnipresent. For those of you who aren't familiar with those terms, from now on, I won't be writing in the personal "I" for the characters but rather in "he and she". I've decided to give this a try because I've noticed that the first-person doesn't let me express little details I really want to include. So I will be going back and rewriting previous chapters and continuing the series this way. Anyways, thank you so much for reading and for your support :) Please help spread the word!