Kai

The manager looked through the rearview mirror, watching as Kai stared out the window, all in his own world. He sighed, turning his attention back to the road. It’s always the hardest part of the job—breaking these young men, robbing them of the normal adolescence. No amount of experience made it any easier.

The rest of the members more than made up for Kai’s silence. They laughed and joked, ironically seeming like normal boys hanging out. The noise comforted Kai somehow. At least one thing hasn’t changed.

What was he supposed to do? Break a two-week relationship just like that? Kai felt his frustration boil over, quantifying their relationship that way. Their relationship means a lot more than mere fourteen days—it’s something they’ve built together, layer after layer, even before things became official.

Was he supposed to go against his manager, then? He can’t ignore the warning—his manager wasn’t making empty threats. Kai sighed, wondering if there was a clean solution. The van came to a stop and quickly, all the members filed out, chattering up a storm. All he could see were the steps leading up to their dorms, those steps where every important occasion happened between him and her.

He felt his heart clench. What now?

“Okay, guys, you know what day it is,” Suho clapped his hands together. On cue, the members all gathered around in a circle, plopping themselves on the floor. Kai decided to put away his worries for later.

Suho continued once they were all settled down. “It’s a new cycle of promotions; no break this time. How are you guys feeling so far?” Once every week, all twelve boys sat down for a heartfelt conversation to check up on each other. It was about the only time their managers let them alone to talk things over by themselves.

“It’s honestly tiring,” Xiumin spoke first. “But I think we’re doing really well. I do feel a bit more pressured this time around. What are you guys worried most about?” He looked around the circle. Usually, the older members proctored the conversations, getting the ball rolling before stepping back to listen.

“I feel pretty confident this time, actually…” Chen picked up the conversation as the rest of the members nodded, listening.

Kai felt himself drift away, his manager’s words cutting through him over and over again.

“She’ll receive more hate than you can even fathom.”

“Jongin, you still haven’t contributed anything to the conversation,” Kris suddenly nudged him on the side.

“Hm,” Kai forced himself back to the present. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” He ran a hand through his hair, feeling apologetic for yet another thing he’s done. Can’t I do anything right?

“Hey, what’s up?” D.O was immediately onto him, sensing trouble.

“I don’t know.” Kai took a few deep breaths to collect his thoughts.

“Trouble in paradise?” Chanyeol joked. Everyone already knew about Clarissa. Sehun snickered, only to be immediately shot down by Luhan’s glare.

“Manager-hyung found out.”

At that, the rest of the members immediately rose to attention. It couldn’t be good.

“Now what?” Tao asked the obvious question.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“What’s your gut telling you to do?” Lay asked.

“I want to stick with her. I know I’m being selfish for wanting that, but that’s what I feel.”

“Then do that,” Baekhyun put in, as if the answer was that obvious.

“Easy for you to say,” Luhan quietly said. He was always the first to tease Kai, but when things got rough, he was the first to come in to Kai’s defense.

“Clarissa will get hurt if I stay with her,” Kai felt like throwing up at the thought.

“What’s more important to you?” Lay always asked the focal questions. “Her safety, or both your happiness?”

“Before anything, though, you have to understand,” Kris put in, “regardless of your decision, we got your back.” The rest of the members voiced out their assent.

“Thanks.” Kai nodded, feeling himself relax just a bit at the reassurance. “My mind tells me to stop being selfish—let her go, you know? But I want to keep her by my side. Of course I do.”

“Well,” Xiumin suddenly spoke up, “it’s not just your decision to make. It’s a relationship between two people, isn’t it?”

“I agree with Minseok-hyung.” Suho nodded contemplatively. “We can give you advice, but in the end, you should talk this over with Clarissa. Don’t leave her in the dark.”

“But she’ll just get hurt,” Kai reasoned.

“Do you think you’ll be hurting her any less if you kept secrets from her?” Chen raised his brow.

“Yeah. Go talk to her, man,” Luhan clasped Kai’s shoulder. “Don’t be like one of those all-suffering martyrs in the dramas. I hate those characters the most.” He made a face, trying to lighten the atmosphere. It worked. Kai felt himself chuckle as he nodded.

“We’ll talk it over.”

______________________________________________________________________________________

[11:01pm]: Hey, Clumsy. Are you awake?

[11:05pm]: Yeah. ^^ I thought you’d already be sleeping, though. You must be tired…

[11:06pm]: Nah, don’t worry. I’m not. : )

[11:07pm]: You’re supposed to say “Why?” on that part, though. :P

[11:08pm]: Hm? Okay. Why?

[11:08pm]: Because you’ve been running around in my mind all day.

Kai wanted to laugh at the cheesiness, but his face only contorted in pain.

[11:10pm]: Hey. Still there? You didn’t faint from my sweetness, did you?

[11:11pm]: Oh. Haha Sorry about that. Actually, I wanted to ask if you can see me tomorrow. I wanted to talk about something.

[11:12pm]: Um, sure. Is something the matter?

On the other end of the line, Clarissa suddenly felt uneasy. What’s going on?

--

I know we still haven't resolved anything, so I'm sorry for keeping you guys in suspense. We're moving the story slowly again... it's my special brand of fanfic that you guys have to put up with. >_< But if it makes you guys feel any better, at least they're not suddenly being irrational. Kai has a very good support system in Exo, so no worries! You guys'll just have to see what direction the talk goes.

Of course, don't forget to comment. :) Oh! And I made a new story! Hahaha It's tentatively called 'Office Romance (?)'. Give it a shot, and as always, tell me what you think. :D