"How on earth did you get my number?" I exclaim after a hold of my breath.

"Do not come tomorrow," Baekhyun's cold voice sears through the line. 

I stop short. "What?" 

"I said, do not come tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow as in tutoring tomorrow?"

"I mean it, don't come. Stay home."

"Why?"

But he's already gone. My phone locks and I am left staring at my tiger-print wallpaper. What was that about?

"So he doesn't want me to come tomorrow..." I say out loud, just to be sure. "He probably got himself a date..." I inhale quickly. "But what about Ji, and Mum, they would want me to go... What do I say? Wait, why am I even listening to this guy?"

I shake my head. Who is Baekhyun to call this off, Ji is expecting me to lift his grades up. When I turn up tomorrow and am let in the house, I will find out why Baekhyun wanted to pull out and if I am to confront a girl... I'll just kindly let her know that Baekhyun is failing his studies and needs me to kick him back into shape. Yes, being the temporary teacher of Baekhyun gives me enough authority to throw a girl out of his house - well, not exactly throw her out, but definitely a ticket to win an argument between us if one ever happens - plus, this will serve as an enormous embarassment to Baekhyun. Ha, take that for trying to dismiss me. 

A smirk had found its way on my lips, and I slide off my bed to grab some fresh clothes. Time to have a shower and start getting ready for bed. It'll be an interesting day tomorrow.

Just as I open my drawer, the realisation of Baekhyun knowing my number hits me. How did he get my number? Ji definitely doesn't...

Tapping into my search history, I prepare to dial him back before my eyes land on 'Caller ID'. Of course he would hide his number, that rascal. Sighing, I rack my brain for answers, and the most likeliest one would be Sehun being the person to hand over my contact details. He is, of course, the only person Baekhyun talks frequently to, and the former highly respects Baekhyun for whatever reason I am not aware of. Probably popularity reasons.

I growl the sly friend's name in my mind, and consider calling him to demand why he had given my number to Baekhyun but decide against it, knowing that he has his soccer training on at this time. 

Giving one last annoyed look at 'Caller ID', I drop my phone on my bed and head to the bathroom. 

-

I awake not by my alarm, but by the blinding sunrise. Rubbing my eyes, I squint at my wide window unashamedly exposing what had torn my eyelids open. The blinds are still scrunched up at the top; I must have forgotten to let them down last night. 

Woken up three hours earlier than I need to: what a lovely start to the weekend. 

A hooded jumper thrown on and my hair scooped up into a messy ponytail, I descend the stairs and reach for cereal and milk. I was craving French crepes in the middle of the week, but even with a lot of extra time to spare, I didn't trust myself to cook with my steamy mood. Eyeing the clock, I make a mental note to whisk into Xiumin's cafe the second he opens the doors. 

Plonking down the stairs and rubbing at my sleepy eyes, I enter the kitchen, wondering what I would do two hours prior to visiting Xiumin. Just as I pour a few grains of rice pops in a bowl, I stop and spontaneously decide to treat myself to breakfast outside. Still, shops open a lot later than 5:30 in the morning, and so I eat half a bowl of cereal and settle down in the living room reviewing my Science notes, with a blanket wrapped around my legs. 

Eighteen post-it notes and forty-two highlighted pages later, my mother awakes and descends down the stairs, asking why I'm studying early in the morning and not having breakfast. 

"It's already quarter past 7," she adds, and I blink out of my focused state. 

"It is?"

The sound of a cupboard opening and a ceramic bowl being placed on the kitchen counter. "Are you planning to skip coffee today?"

"Nope," I answer and pile my notebook, post-it notes and pencil case in one heap. "I'll go now." 

I head to my room to get changed into a somewhat nicer outfit, my stomach already feeling the first stage of hunger from the diminutive helping of cereal. I pull out my hairband to let my hair fall into a wavy appearance, and slip on a denim jacket over a white singlet with simple black tights. 

"I'm going out to eat breakfast," I tell Mum as I pass her by the kitchen.

"Oh?" she replies, glancing up from the newspaper. "Unusual. Well... see you in a bit?" She bites into her raisin toast. 

I smile and grab my purse, throwing a bye to my mother and locking the front door behind me. Breathing in deeply of the slight chill of the morning, I decide on a nearby restaurant near Xiumin's. He only loves coffee, and works by himself, so producing meals isn't an option for him. Today I plan to sit in and have a cup of coffee along with my meal, and I can't exactly have a meal at one cafe with coffee from another. Though I'm sure some cafes don't state they prohibit outside food and beverages, it's plain manners. 

"Hi Xiumin!" I greet in a cheery voice as the little bell sounds at my presence. 

The said man gently smiles but doesn't look up from the midst of pouring milk into a takeaway cup. "Taeyeon," he replies, capping the lid on the cup and smiling at the customer standing to the side. "Here is your skim latte sir, enjoy." Xiumin then switches his attention to me and makes an exaggeration of glancing at his wrist - to which he doesn't ever wear watches - and remarking "My, aren't you a bit early today. 7:30; did you sleep in?" 

I smile as I walk up to the counter. "No, I woke up early in fact. I decided to study to pass the time, and got too into it. Uh, actually," Xiumin had started preparing another coffee, a regular skim cappucino that I always order from him, but I put my hand out, "I won't be having coffee here. I'm going to get breakfast at a nearby cafe."

Xiumin looks surprised. "Breakfast out? Have you ever done that?" he jokes.

I shrug. "I don't know, I suddenly wanted to eat out, and seeing that I still have that craving two hours later, I guess that's what I'm going to do today." I offer an apologetic smile and Xiumin returns it. 

"Then I better see you here next morning," he winks and I laugh just as the bell tinkles and the door sweeps open behind me. 

"Definitely," I grin and wave Xiumin a goodbye, who flashes me another smile and greets the new customer. 

Ten minutes later, I'm sitting close by Xiumin's having ordered poached eggs and bacon with avocado, mushrooms and turkish bread. 

"Thank you," I nod my head at the waitress who places a steaming cup of coffee in front of me. After taking my first sip and sighing deeply, I return scrolling through media on my phone. 

My craving to eat a meal outside was definitely satisfied. The breakfast was a relief from the successive cafeteria lunches and homemade meals. Not to say that my mum doesn't cook well, but an outing once in a while is a worthy change. I enjoyed my breakfast in a quiet cafe, one where tables weren't always full, pots of plants hanging from the ceiling and fairy lights donning the walls. Maybe I'll start eating out more. 

Just as I push the empty plate away, my phone rings and I glance at the screen to see Mum calling. 

"Mum?"

"Taeyeon, hi, how's breakfast?"

"It was good, really good," I answer, smiling even though she isn't here to see.

"That's nice to hear. About tutoring today, Baekhyun's mother says you don't have to come today."

At once, my smile drops and I am immediately catapulted back to last night's happening when Baekhyun gave me a surprise call informing me about the exact same thing.

"Why?" I ask hesitantly. 

I don't miss the pause. "She says she'd prefer a break for Baekhyun, and that you really don't have to come in today."

"It's only been four weeks Mum. Three lessons at that. I was unable to teach him anything last Saturday." Because of a certain assignment. The whole memory of it is a bit hard to forget. 

"Well, we don't want to impose ourselves on her family. Why don't you go out and enjoy your Saturday with your friends? And if not, we can go out for lunch later."

Having just eaten out, I'm not sure if I wanted to do it again, though I wouldn't turn a day out with my mother down. "Sure," I say, curiousity of cancelling the tutoring session still gnawing at me. 

We end the call and I pay the bill, asking the waitress to give my thanks to the chef for a nice breakfast. 

I ended up spending the day with Kai, Tiffany being busy with Sehun, and Hyoyeon on her family weekend trips. We caught the subway around suburbs, deciding on no destination in particular, but still finding plenty of things to pick on each other.

"You're a stunner," Kai bites into his burger as we weave ourselves around passersby, "Who in the world blesses someone after they cough?"

"I wasn't looking," I whine in return. "From all the noise back there it perfectly sounded like a sneeze."

He snorts. "Well, I suppose you'd better clear the filthy amount of wax in your ear."

"As should you clean up the dirt around your mouth."

Kai touches his face, staring dumbfound at his sticky fingers. "What? How long has this been on here." I reply with a wink and dart away with a scream as he moves his fingers towards me. "Hey! Kim Taeyeon! How could you tell me this now? Do you know how many good looking chicks we've passed in the last hour? My reputation is on the line here!"

"Stop being such a baby about it and get those girls out of your head! There should only be one on your mind right now! Don't make me threaten you."

"Hey, just because I'm in a relationship doesn't mean I need to deny the aesthetics of the opposite gender."

"Um, I think it does."

"No, I don't think so."

"I'm telling her if you don't agree with me."

"That's unfair!" Kai stamps his feet in annoyance and if he didn't have such a tall frame, he would have looked like a very cute but pitiful child. "I'm allowed to have my own opinion!"

I stick my tongue out, trying my best to keep a mean face on. "Maybe that's something you should have thought about beforehand, buddy."

He sniffs in irritation and walks into a public restroom to cleanse his hands and his face. The night chill seeps in through my thin jacket as I wait for Kai. I my lips, shivering. I should have brought out a warmer jacket. 

"Let's go," a voice pops up behind me and I jump in surprise, despite me already recognising it to be Kai's. 

I growl at him as he throws his head back with an obnoxiously loud laugh and we continue walking. We fall out of our usual banter and slip into a relaxed conversation. Despite me freezing, I relish the icy air on my face as we pass looming trunks of trees. Bunches of brown leaves remain on the branches, most fallen on the sidewalk and the road. My feet slide along the bitumen as Kai narrates his anecdotes of anything that comes up in his mind: future holiday plans, what he wants to do between July and October, when to get his next haircut and whether he should change his style.

I glance up at his brown fringe, neatly swept across his forehead. I couldn't see from my low angle, but I knew that his black roots were started to come back out. 

"Change your style," I say and his eyebrows raise for a reason. "This brown fringe thing you have going on is too innocent of a look for you. Do you really think you suit that?" 

His jaw drops in an exaggerated act as he hoists his fists onto his hips. "Are you telling me that this hairstyle I have adorned for the past six - well okay - three years doesn't actually suit me?! My god, are all the secrets finally coming out tonight? What else? Does my complexion not suit the shape of my eyes? What about my shoes, are they not black enough for this week's trend? Is my jacket too high class for a boy raised up in poverty such as myself?"

He stops short and I glance at him in confusion, before the realisation hit me. Kai is a chatter, but the one thing he's never touched on, is his family and history. 

Kai stares openly into space and people push past us, perhaps trying to escape the icy air and seek the warmth in their homes. Kai seems to be experiencing the frozen flashbacks like they present in the movies, and I am unsure what to do. 

A boy raised up in poverty... Kai is financially average, just like I am, right? I've always put off the fact that he's never invited the group to his place as we rotate our hangout spots, and he isn't a big spender on things. Could Kai and his family be struggling on finance?

Without me having to speak up, Kai snaps back into reality, and continues his walk, not saying a word nor looking back to see if I have followed him. And just like that, we round up back at the subway, and then at my stop without exchanging another word or a glance. Well, I did glance at him a couple of times, but he never met my gaze or offered a gesture to let me know he was feeling fine. Kai only seemed to stare at one spot, as if he was still caught inside his memories. 

As the doors open at my station, I meekly attempt to wish him a goodnight and goodbye, but he takes my wrist - more gently than his usual rough grips - and leads me off the train before I can open my mouth. 

He lets go as the train doors close and finally looks at me with his large expressionless orbs. 

"You're an idiot," Kai's voice is deep and serious, "you could have missed your stop and I would have had to take you on another train."

There are so many faults in that sentence.

"Excuse me?" I retort, all symapthy and concern vanishing instantly. "How am I an idiot here? You're the one at the wrong station. The doors close after the station masters make sure everyone has alighted from the train so I think I had plenty of time to get off - hey, don't you turn your back on me mister!" I hurriedly follow after Kai as he spins away from me. To hide his smirk, I am sure. "And what do you mean take me on another train? Do you think I'm too stupid to take public transport on my own? Oh you are so wrong, Kim Jongin, so wrong! Where do you think you're going?"

Kai finally turns around, sighing as he stares down at me. I don't miss his notorious mischevious glint in his eyes. "Since you insisted on me having to save you time as you narrowly got off your stop, why not waste more of my time and see you home safely?" He places a hand on my chin and I jolt in surprise as he presses his thumb on my lip. "Can you feel my finger? I bet you can't. Your whole body is an icicle." 

He takes off his coat and drapes over my small figure. The hem of his coat reaches my knees. "You should have told me your jumper is full of crap."

Still taken by surprise at this gentlemen side of Kai, I decide to let this insult slide. "Won't you be cold?" I eye his black sweater, imagining all the envious warmth from his body dissipating in the atmosphere.

He pulls the zipper up to my chin. "It's only a five minute walk to your place." He sniffs. "Or maybe fifteen, with those short legs of yours." 

They just keep coming, don't they?

"Hey! How can you have the nerve to look at my legs? I told you to keep your eyes off girls!" 

Kai groans, unable to hide the smile tugging at his lips. "Not this again."

"I think I can dominate the world with this."

"Yeah sure." He grows quiet again and I look up at him in panic, afraid that he's gone too serious on me again. But his eyes are glued to a lady with raven black hair and tight jeans. I thump his upper arm as hard as I can.

"Ouch!!"

"Eyes off!"

"I'm allowed to have my own opinion!"