Chapter Four

“Speaking of the unspoken, the poor girl is soaking wet right outside,” Haemi commented, continuing to search the TV for something to watch. But the comment had Kai on his feet in less than a second. He jumped over Haemi’s lap and pressed himself against the window, Baekhyun not far behind. Kai’s eyes scanned her multiple times, but it was no mistaking it: the girl in the small blue polka-dot dress, wet dark brunette hair plastered on her head was without a doubt Han Mira.

“What the hell is she doing?! I told her to go home! She’s going to get sick!” Kai pushed away from the window, Baekhyun following close behind and was about to run out of the room before Haemi stopped them.

“You really think rushing out of the house in the pouring rain won’t raise some suspicion? Come on, Kai; we both know you’re smarter than that.”

“You really think I was going out the front door? You’ve underestimated me,” Kai replied before proceeding to rush out of his room. He ran down the stairs until he got to the bottom. His feet were quiet on the tile floor as he crept over to the closet. He opened it silently, reaching in to pull out a rain jacket of his, making sure it had a hood on it. The door closed as quietly as it opened. Though the rain jacket rustled in his arms, it didn’t alert his parents and the two boys quietly crept back upstairs. The loft had an opening to a balcony which had stairs leading down. The only problem? If the blinds were drawn, Kai’s parents would catch them for sure.

Kai was about to take a risk he wasn’t sure he really wanted to. He zipped up the jacket so the inside wouldn’t get wet, slipped on a pair of shoes he left by the door, leaving Baekhyun behind, and stepped into the rain, running down the stairs. A sigh of relief exited his lips when he noticed the blinds were closed. He was in the clear for now as he ran around the house. Mira was just passing their property when he called out to her.

Mira’s hair, now in thick drenched locks flew around as she turned her head at the sound of her name. She looked confused, almost dazed, but her expression had become startled as Kai’s wasn’t all that calm either. “I thought I told you to go home! What are you doing out here in the rain?” Kai almost had to yell to ensure that she would hear him over the heavy drops. 

“It’s not really any of your business what I do, but I appreciate the advice,” she replied. Her eyes were still swollen and red from crying, and it was obvious—even in the rain—that tears still streaked down her face. But there was something different about her. She looked confused, disoriented, and he noticed earlier she was struggling to walk. Kai pushed his words aside, not bothering trying to scold her as he ped his rain jacket and quickly pulled it on her.

She tried to fight it; she didn’t want any more of his help. She didn’t want to feel any more pitiful than she already was. “Take the damn jacket! I’m not going to let you get sick out here!” With those words, Mira stopped struggling and looked like she was about to break down again. Kai could see the look on her face as he zipped up the jacket, and—whether she wanted it or not—pulled her against his chest into a tight embrace. Her body had become slightly paralyzed with the new sensation. Kai’s body, although wet with rain and covered with clothes, felt so warm against hers which had lost all surface heat. His strong hand weaved slightly into her hair as he cradled her head. “Do as I say and go straight home; it’s too dangerous for you to be wandering around out here! Get your body warm, do whatever it takes!”

Her body regained motor skills when Kai released his grip. She stood idly now but the burning look in his eyes was warning enough for her to go home. His jacket was only slightly warm—her body was already soaked to the bone. She didn’t hear him, but she could see him mouth for her to go and she did. She turned away from Kai and took off in the direction of her house, stumbling while attempting to run. Kai stood in the rain and watched until he couldn’t see her through the thick blanket of falling rain before he retreated back up the stairs to the loft. There Baekhyun and Haemi were both waiting with towels, they knew he’d be soaked.

He kicked his soaked shoes off outside and stepped in to pull his sopping socks off. Taking the towel from Baekhyun to run through his hair, Kai was already prepared to strip. The rain was cold and his clothes were soaked. He handed the towel back to Baekhyun to pull his shirt off and handed it to Haemi. “I don’t think this is the place for you to just start taking clothes off, Jongin,” Haemi commented.

“I’m shivering, I’m cold, and my clothes are wet. I think I’ll strip to get warm wherever I want,” he snapped back, his teeth chattering slightly as he snatched the towel from her to wrap around his torso. He pushed gently between them to make his way to the bathroom where he stripped the rest of his clothes, leaving his soaked jeans and underwear on the floor to change into a new pair.  He wrapped his fluffy white robe around his body, leaving the wet towel on the floor of the bathroom, and returned to his room where both Haemi and Baekhyun were waiting.  

With both pairs of eyes on him, Kai stepped over to his bed and crawled under the feather duvet to warm his body back up. “You were only out there for maybe three minutes—”

“Do you want to go stand out there? No? Then leave me to my warmth,” Kai snapped back at his elder sister. Baekhyun sat down in the chair next to Kai’s bed.

“What you did was really commendable, especially knowing your history,” Baekhyun commented. It caused Haemi to cave.

“He’s right. That was really brave and sweet of you. She’ll remember it for the rest of her life,” Haemi said to add onto Baekhyun’s comment.

“She’d do it for me,” Kai replied, now sitting up with the thick blanket wrapped around him. He stared into the pattern of the deep red comforter, seemingly getting lost in it. “She would do it for me,” Kai stated again, as if trying to convince himself, but more trying to convince the others.

Meanwhile, Jihoon paced back and forth beside the front door, waiting for his daughter to return home. He was worried sick about her, all by herself—distraught and out of her mind—in the dangerous weather. His wife sat on the second stair of the staircase which was about ten feet from the front door as she watched him. “I knew I should have gone after her that second. She wouldn’t be in so much danger. Now I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where she is or if she’s even okay,” he said, his eyes shifting over to Somi’s.

She wanted to tell him that it was fine, that Mira would show up soon. But she didn’t know. She didn’t know of Mira’s condition, where she was, or if she was even going to come home. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if she should believe her own daughter was alive. She looked away from Jihoon—she was the one who stopped him in the first place. She blamed herself for putting Mira in danger. But as her thoughts raced through her mind, the front door opened and there in the entry way stood a shivering and sopping wet young woman.

“Mira!” her father beseeched and lurched towards her, gathering her in his arms. “We were so worried about you. Why didn’t you come home when it started raining?” His words didn’t get to Mira though. She stared right through her mother who stood in her view as her father crushed her in his protective arms. The hood of Kai’s rain jacket had fallen off her head by now. Her legs were barely mobile and they could hardly keep her standing.

She collapsed against her father, her body going limp as her eyes fluttered slightly. Though Mira was still conscious, it was obvious to her parents that she was unresponsive. “She’s freezing cold, her clothes are soaking wet. We need to get her warm,” Jihoon said, his eyes finding his wife’s before he hauled Mira upstairs and into her room, leaving for her mother to change the disoriented girl. Somi pulled all of Mira’s wet clothes off and changed her into a warm sweater and pants before calling for Jihoon. They took her back downstairs and ignited the fireplace where Jihoon sat with her, cradled against his own warm body.

“You’re going to be okay, Mira,” he said, holding his daughter in his arms to help warm her. Though Jihoon was trying to protect his daughter, he was also trying to contain himself. Earlier the thought of losing her raced through his mind. Thoughts that she wasn’t going to return home and that she’d be gone forever. The thoughts—all racing back—made his eyes water and his gripped tightened just a little bit. “My baby, my daughter,” he whispered to himself, feeling Somi’s hand on his back as she came over to check on them, bringing Mira a hot cup of tea.

She held it in her own two hands, able to feel the hot liquid through the porcelain cup and though it felt good, she wasn’t sure her face was showing any type of emotion right now. But she managed to sip the tea, slowly, but it was better than nothing.

Thoughts of Kai flashed through her mind—the look on his face when he zipped his jacket onto her. Where was that jacket now? She knew that her parents knew it wasn’t hers, but she hoped they didn’t discard it. She had every intention of returning it to him. That thought aside, Kai’s warm embrace felt much like her father’s; the way he held her protectively, and when they departed, the look of genuine worry and concern plastered across his face as she turned away from him.  

“J-Jongin,” she managed to get out, though it was barely a whisper.

“Jongin?” her mother questioned. “As in, Kim Jongin?” Mira nodded slightly, the cup of tea shaking in her hand that her mother soon retrieved.  “What about him? What about Kim Jongin?”

“He saved me,” she whispered, gripping at her sweater, looking frantically for the comfort of his jacket.

“He saved you?” Somi asked before looking to Jihoon for answers, but it was clear to the both of them that he didn’t have any, and he was in an equally as confused state.

By the time Mira had seemed to come around to an acceptably stable state, it was already late in the night, and she was just as restless as the other in the Kim household. The rain hadn’t let up at all, so Baekhyun was encouraged to stay the night. While he was sound asleep on the couch, Kai was wide awake in his bed. His shivering had ceased long ago, but his body was comfortable in light night clothes in his warm sheets. His deep mocha eyes restless and wide open. His conscience couldn’t rest easy until he knew that she was safe, but sooner or later his body would require sleep.

He clenched his jaw as he closed his eyes before letting out an exasperated sigh. “Are you doing okay over there? You haven’t slept a wink,” Baekhyun commented. The sound of Baekhyun’s voice startled Kai slightly, causing him to jerk in his bed.

“Yeah, I just need to finally fall asleep is all. How are you holding up?” he asked in return.

“This couch is actually a lot more comfortable to sleep on than it is it sit on,” Baekhyun said with a gentle laugh, trying to lift Kai’s spirit, even if only slightly. It worked; Kai chuckled quietly before rolling over to face Baekhyun. Though he couldn’t see in the dark, he could paint Baekhyun’s features in the dark.  “You should try to get some sleep. We’ll talk later if you need to.”

Kai covered a yawn with the back of his hand. “You’re right. Sleep is necessary,” Kai responded playfully.

“That it is, sleep well,” Baekhyun responded, imagining Kai’s eyes closing for the first time that night to hopefully not open again until late tomorrow morning.