“W-what?” Kai stuttered, standing up fast. “Why so suddenly?”

Kyungsoo didn’t answer, just pushed himself out of his seat, thanked the waitress, and hastily made his way to the exit.

Kai quickly pulled out his wallet and threw some bills down before walking after him.

Even though it hadn’t taken much energy to simply get outside, Kyungsoo was slightly out of breath as his feet met with ordinary ground and were no longer carried by the polished restaurant wooden floor.

He could hear Kai behind him, but didn’t dare turn. He’d only wanted to get away quietly. He hadn’t meant to cause a scene or any trouble.

“Kyungsoo, wait,” Kai jumped in front of him.

After all he’s done for me, this is how I repay him, Kyungsoo thought. But on the other hand, he didn’t really owe Kai anything. He hadn’t asked Kai to be so nice and it’s not like this could be more. It’s not like they were going to be friends or something. It’s not like they would see each other tomorrow.

“At least...” Kai tried thinking of a reason for them to not part. There was something about Kyungsoo he liked too much to lose so quickly. Maybe it was how he was so effortlessly honest. He wasn’t like the people Kai had worked with in America or Korea before. He hadn’t tried to impress Kai or maybe it was the fact that Kai was attempting to be impressive but Kyungsoo didn’t find him so. Kai had never had anyone walk out on him. He’d only known people that would gladly wait for him, even if he were hours late. People that would squeeze his arms and clap his back and laugh loudly at his bad jokes. He had few true friends and he barely even saw them. And here was Kyungsoo, thinking he’d never be seen. “At least, let me walk you... back.”

Kyungsoo scrutinized Kai for a moment. Why so ambitious? What am I compared to everything else?, he thought.

Maybe Kai didn’t have a right to know about Kyungsoo’s life but that wasn’t stopping him from wanting to, just like how the paparazzi didn’t have a right to know about his either but kept on. Except, he wasn’t like the paparazzi because he wasn’t trying to use Kyungsoo. He just wanted... friendship? Is that it? But out of all the people, why Kyungsoo?

Maybe he just wanted to know more about this boy out of simple curiosity because Kyungsoo didn’t seem like a drug addict or an alcoholic, didn’t seem like someone that paved their own way to homelessness. He seemed like a “wrong place, wrong time” type of guy and Kai could sympathize only because he’d never been there. He’d never had the opportunity to be in the wrong place or wrong time and feel that pain. Growing up, did he hurt? Yeah, sometimes he disliked his parents and thought they were spoiled and rotten to the core. But, other than that, life had been good to Kai. So ridiculously good that he felt guilty knowing he didn’t deserve it. He hadn’t done any dirty work to earn his fortune. He felt this way when he went to the market for a late snack and knew his watch cost more than the market units themselves and that the man or woman filling up a bowl of food for him would never see Spain in the summer or go scuba diving off the coast of Florida. Maybe they didn’t want to do those things anyway, but Kai wanted Kyungsoo to do those things. He looked at this boy, and thought of the life he had to live and what it would be like to be born and die in the same place? To never experience something out of the box, so frighteningly free?

Or at least that’s what he told himself. Maybe, in the end, he was just taking after his parents and going after something just because he couldn’t have it, making it all the more wanted.

“Even if I said no, I feel like you’d still follow me,” Kyungsoo tilted his head, already ahead of the game. “So, I guess.”

Kai tried biting back his smirk. Was he that easy to figure out?

They walked silently back, it only took a few minutes but just as they were turning the corner, a woman came running up to them.

“Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo,” she panted, bending over to breathe. “You can’t go back.”

“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo asked, alarmed.

“There’s police, I’m sorry. I don’t know who finally called them but they’ll arrest you, if they see you.”

“What’s going on?” Kai interrupted, slightly annoyed that yet another woman from out of nowhere was taking over his time with Kyungsoo. He’d never really learned how to share.

“This part of town has recently gotten strict about-” the woman looked at Kyungsoo with a pained expression. “It’s just we’ve been warned about the police before, taking Kyungsoo away. The building he stays at, my manager usually doesn’t have a problem with it. It just looks bad to some of the people that live around here. Anyway, someone must’ve saw him leave and took a chance to call the police. Kyungsoo, you can stay with me if you want. I’m sure Minho won’t mind.”

Kyungsoo looked upset. He wasn’t angry that the police were after him, but angry that this was happening. That he was wasting Kai’s time and had gotten Hani into business that wasn’t hers. That his selfishness was making people almost miss reservations and run to him in the cold.

“No,” he said, adjusting the strap for his sack. “I’ll just find a new place.”

“But it’s getting late and it’s too dangerous, you know those gangs still run around-” the woman pleaded.

Kai looked between them. Were they...? Who was Minho? What gangs?

Usually being given the scoop first, it was hard to stand there and listen to these two talk as if he wasn’t even there.

“It’s going to be fine, Hani. Just go back inside before you get sick. I’m going to be fine,” Kyungsoo squeezed her shoulder with a hand but Kai could see him gulp like maybe it wasn’t going to be fine. And Kai wondered how it could be fine tonight, when Kyungsoo’s situation hadn’t been “fine” to even begin with.

“You can stay with me,” he said, bluntly, once again talking before really thinking.

Kyungsoo and Hani turned to him, as if realizing he was still there.

“You can stay with me until you find another place,” Kai repeated. Hani looked at Kyungsoo as if asking “who’s this?” But she didn’t give it much thought because a moment later, she was nodding along.

“Yeah, stay with him, Kyungsoo. Please. I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt again.” Kai could see her eyes well up with tears and his stomach dropped at the word “again.”

Kyungsoo looked like he was struggling for an answer. Truthfully, he didn’t want to stay with Kai. The dinner had placed enough dependence. He didn’t want to be a charity case, he didn’t want someone to feel sorry for him because he’d been the one to get himself in this place. But he also didn’t want to see Hani cry or worry. She’d been too good to him over the last few months, sneaking him inside her work building when everyone else was gone and she was staying over time. She was his closest thing to a friend, the only person left that cared about him.

“You don’t have to stay long, just for tonight,” Kai offered and Kyungsoo was reminded of their talk earlier, how Kai said he didn’t have to eat but then he did end up eating. What if this deal went the same way? What if he did end up staying long?

Hani grabbed his hands, breaking his train of thought.

“Please, Do. Please, if you go to jail- they’ll take your stuff, you’ll be there for weeks. And you know, you’re so small-”

Kyungsoo looked down.

“I just- the only safe option is to stay with-” she looked at Kai, “him just for a night, at least.”

“Just one night?” Kyungsoo asked, the both of them.

“Just one night,” Kai answered and that was the end of discussion.

________

Wow, so I'm starting to realize just how big this story might get and I have to be honest, I'm a little scared.

I consider myself a more one-shot, drabble, person so this is a giant leap into the realm of "I tried, therefore, no one should criticize me."

I also do have school and work so I can't really say the updates will be consistent. Hopefully one or two chapters every week, though.

And as I read back on the previous chapters, I did cringe every now and then so I'm still not quite sure what I'm doing or where this is going but join me in this vague adventure into the unknown world of what Kaisoo makes me want to write.