{ 25 }

“Sulli– Oh!” Madame Kim exclaimed as she saw Kai and Sulli snuggling to each other on the latter’s bed. She went there because she was worried why neither of the two were down for breakfast yet. She cannot help the big smile which painted her face as she continued to stare at them. “Well,” she whispered to herself, “Maybe they could use some more sleep.” She casted the couple one last look before quietly slipping out of the room.

It’s been fifteen minutes since Kai’s mother left the room and that was the only time when Kai woke up. He was disoriented at first to see the unfamiliar princess-style curtain covering the bed, but he immediately remembered that he fell asleep at Sulli’s room. He turned to look at his side and he couldn’t stop the smile forming on his face as she saw his Sulli sleeping peacefully next to him.

He was aware that they’ll be late soon, but he didn’t have the heart to wake her up from her deep slumber. Instead, he hugged her to his chest. Sulli, still unconscious, purred and caressed her cheek on his chest before gingerly opening her eyes.

This is so comfortable, she thought as she opened her eyes. She was even surprised when her kind eyes met Kai’s mischievous ones. “Good morning, Jinnie.” He greeted before planting a chaste kiss on her forehead.

KAI?!?! Her mind screamed before she bolted out of the bed. She almost tripped over their bags which were placed on the floor next to the bed. “Yah, you’re still here?!” She asked, still disoriented at seeing him first thing in the morning. Ugh, this is the second time already. Why am I getting used to waking up and seeing him first thing in the morning?! She scolded herself.

Kai was still smiling as he sat up on the bed. “C’mon Jinnie, it’s not like this is the first time we’ve done this–”

“GET OUT, PABO!” She shouted at him. Her eyes widened even more when she saw that it was already 7:30 in the morning and they’re still at home. “Ppal li, we’re going to be late!” She said before dashing to the bathroom.

He only laughed as he saw her cute, flustered self before standing up to go to his own room. Aigoo, Jinnie-yah, what am I going to do with you?

--

It was already 8:02 when the two of them slid to their seats. Good thing that their teacher was also running late today so they didn’t get into any trouble. She was still panting as she took out her notebook and books from her backpack.

“O, what happened to you guys?” Gongchan asked. “You’re both late.” He remarked before looking at Kai who seemed nonchalant.

She shook her head. “Nothing, Chan Chan.” She answered.

“By the way, where have you been yesterday?” He whispered to her. “Kim Jongin was at his wits end looking for you!” He scolded. “And it didn’t help that both you and Byun Baekhyun weren’t around.”

There was no accusation in Gongchan’s voice; he was merely stating a fact. Still, Sulli can’t help but feel guilty again as she remembered Kai’s behavior the night before.

“Kajima, Jinnie-yah…”

Those words kept on repeating inside her head as if on a replay. She heaved a deep sigh. She cannot even concentrate on her studying because of this. This wouldn’t have been complicated if only she didn’t lose her love letter for Baekhyun. Maybe she won’t be having doubts right now.

“Okay, class!” Their homeroom adviser clapped her hands merrily, getting Sulli’s attention. “As you all know, our foundation week will start soon!” Hoots and cheers were heard from everyone, not exactly for the foundation week per se, but because classes are usually cancelled during that period. “The administration, together with the Student Council and the other clubs and organizations in our school, prepared enjoyable booths and programs for everyone!” She smiled at us before gesturing to someone at the door. “Now, here’s Lee Taemin haksaeng, the president of our talented Dance Club, to advertise one of the contests.”

Lee Taemin is a senior like Jinyoung and CNU. Girls cannot stop themselves from clapping hard for him. Taemin may look like a cute guy who cannot even hurt a fly, but when he dances, there will always be explosion of ovaries. “Annyeonghasaeyo yeorobun,” he greeted before bowing a little. “My name is Lee Taemin. For our foundation week, the Dance Club decided to hold a contest to find a new member.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “As you all know, one of our members got injured during the last contest we entered. Because of this, we’re lacking one new member to enter the Finals in the Growl Dance Contest. We might be disqualified if we don’t find a replacement fast, so we agreed to this. The contestants will perform a solo dance, the routine being not less than three minutes and not exceeding four. We will give out flyers, and you can always approach us if you have any questions.” Sulli noticed that his eyes flitted to Kai briefly while the latter averted his eyes. Taemin smiled again before speaking. “We hope to see you there!” He bowed before leaving the room together with s.

Sulli was mindlessly staring at Kai, observing his behavior. Kris was holding one of the flyers, but Kai only placed his head on his desk, looking disinterested.

Her heart was aching for him. She remembered the last time when they were in the abandoned dance room and he was talking about his real passion: dancing.

-Flashback-

She reached for his hand and rubbed circles on it. “Then dance.” She said. The way he talked about dancing was different, as if it was his life’s passion. His eyes got dreamy when he talked about it, and then it hardened when he started talking about business. It seemed like he had long accepted his fate, but that doesn’t mean he was happy with it.

He let out a bitter laugh. “It’s not that easy, Jinnie.”

“What’s not easy, Kai?” She asked. “I can be your audience, your fan, your manager.” She giggled, wanting to lighten the atmosphere. “I’m a multitasker, you see.”

“Pabo,” he responded with an easy smile. “Are you sure? There’s quite a lot which entails all those.”

“Of course!” She answered with intense determination. “Choi Sulli backs down on nothing!”

He laughed loudly, feeling better. “Arasso. Then you’ll be my manager, my number one fan, my audience, and my coordinator. You’ll have to be around me all the time, and after I’m done practicing you have to wipe my sweat and toss me a drink.”

“Yah yah yah, who said anything about wiping your sweat?!” She whined.

His brow rose. “I thought Choi Sulli backs down on nothing?”

She flicked his forehead before nodding. “Arasso. That’s a promise.” She said, holding out her pinky finger.

Kai locked his pinky finger with hers, and both of them smiled.

-End of Flashback-

Sulli grabbed one of the flyers from Gongchan’s hand. His eyebrows furrowed at her actions. “Yah, are you interested? It’s specified here that they’re looking for a male dancer, Ssul.” He told her.

She didn’t bother answering as she quickly scanned the flyer. The deadline of submission of the application form is three days from now. She stared at Kai again but his head was still slumped on his desk. Kai-yah, I’ll make you join this contest, she vowed to herself. I’ll help you, Kai.

--

It was time to go home but Sulli was still clueless on how she can convince Kai to join the dance contest. His mood had been sour since lunchtime, and it didn’t really help that Lee Taemin approached him and talked to him privately.

-Flashback-

Sulli was sitting on the EXO’s table. As usual, the boys were as rowdy as ever, but Kai was silent. She doesn’t know what to do to make him feel better. And well, she wasn’t even aware why he’s in such a foul mood, anyway.

“Kai?” An unfamiliar voice said. They all looked up and saw that it was none other than Lee Taemin. “Can we talk for a sec?”

“No, hyung, I’m busy.” He snapped without even looking at him. She was surprised to hear him calling Lee Taemin ‘hyung’. She didn’t think that the two of them were close.

Taemin shook his head before sighing. “Don’t be ridiculous and just come out, Jongin.” He last said before walking out of the cafeteria.

Sulli heard him sigh before dragging himself out to talk to Taemin. When she noticed that he’s finally out of earshot, she raised a question. “Are they friends?”

Sehun shrugged his shoulders before answering. “From what we know, yes, they were.”

“Were?” She repeated, her curiosity piqued.

“Well,” Suho started. “All we know is that Kai and Taemin went to dance camps together when they were younger. However, Kai suddenly stopped and he never approached Taemin again like before. They still talk, but it’s not like before.” He explained.

She slowly nodded her head as she digested the information. Maybe Lee Taemin wanted Kai to join the contest, she assumed. She stared at the EXO boys before asking them another question. “Uhm, would you guys know what kind of dance did Kai specialize in before?”

Kyungsoo tilted his head to the side, as if trying to remember. “That boy knows everything.” He answered after a minute. “He can do anything from hip-hop to ballet.”

Her eyes widened. She didn’t expect that one!

Luhan nodded his head to support Kyungsoo. “Yeah, and he’s great at it all, too. We were all amazed when we saw him dance before.”

-End of Flashback-

When Kai went back from his conversation with Taemin, he looked pissed. They were guessing that his talk with Taemin didn’t go quite well. Since then, his mood had been sour and she couldn’t figure out how to make him join the contest.

They were in front of the Kim’s mansion and the two of them were quiet as they climb up the stairs towards the front door. “Kai-yah,” she started while fidgeting with her backpack strap. “Aren’t you… interested in the dance con–”

“No.” He cut her off before she was able to finish her sentence. Sulli blinked a few times before deciding to shut , not wanting to put him in a worse mood than he already is.

Kai noticed that Sulli didn’t talk anymore and he sighed. Taemin was urging him to join the contest, but he doesn’t want to. He knows that he’s not supposed to dance anymore, and him telling Sulli about dancing was a grand miscalculation on his part. He shouldn’t have burdened her with that.

He stopped walking and faced her. He placed his hand on her shoulder before tilting her head to face him. She looked sad and stressed. “Jinnie, you don’t have to worry about me, okay?” He said, his voice soft. “I’m okay, really. And it’s just a dance.”

“But you promised me.” She answered in a small voice, averting his gaze away from him. “You told me last time that you’d dance again. I’d be your manager, number one fan, audience, and coordinator, right?”

Before he knew it, a smile was already making its way on his face. “Jinnie–”

“Know what, don’t mind me.” She forced herself to smile. “Goodnight, Kai.” She said before hurrying inside the house.

Kai sighed. He doesn’t want to disappoint Jinnie, but… UGH! He internally screamed. What should I do now?! She’s mad at me!

--

It’s been three days since they last talked properly. Sulli was still giving him the cold shoulder. They eat breakfast together and go to school together, but whenever they’re at school she would always shrug him off as if he’s invisible.

It was the last day of the submission but it seemed like Kai has no plans of joining. Sulli sighed to herself. She thought that giving him the cold shoulder would wake him up, but she was wrong. As a result, she doesn’t really feel like talking to him, too.

“Sulli-yah, are you still not talking with Kim Jongin?” Soojung asked as the three of them proceeded to the cafeteria to meet their other friends. “He looks so stressed, you know.”

Sulli frowned. “Don’t mind him, he’ll get over it.” She shrugged.

Gongchan lightly hit her head. “Yah, you’re being unreasonable and you know it.” He scolded. “It’s his decision if he doesn’t want to join the contest, Ssul. He’ll join if he wants to. Don’t push him so hard, hmm? Cut the guy some slack, you wench.”

She sighed as they sat on their usual table, far from EXO’s. “I’m just really, really sad. Aish, I don’t know. Don’t mind me anymore.” She responded before paying attention to the food in front of her, wanting to forget about the situation even for just a short while.

On the other hand, Kai was intently watching her. He didn’t even notice that all of the boys were watching him too. “Aigoo, you guys are still on it?” Suho asked.

“I don’t know, hyung!” Kai answered, frustrated. “She’s being difficult!”

Kris swallowed his food before answering him. “You can’t really blame him, man, she’s just concerned for you.”

“She doesn’t have to give me a hard time if she’s concerned,” he responded.

The other boys only looked at each other, not knowing how to answer. They don’t really know what to do to make the couple’s quarrel end. They could understand Sulli’s point, but they can’t deny that Kai was being reasonable, too. Hopefully, the two will fix it soon.

--

The bell rang for their final class and Sulli quickly stood up, dashing to the door. Kai was even surprised to see that his girlfriend was nowhere in sight when he looked up.

Sulli found herself wandering around, circling around the village of her house. She turned off her phone because she knows that he will just bombard her with calls and messages. She stopped for a while in the nearby park, buying herself an ice cream. She’s hoping that the ice cream will cheer her up while she’s thinking.

It was already nighttime when she decided to go back to the Kim’s house. She was even surprised to see Lee Taemin walking out of the mansion with a huge grin on his face. Sulli cannot help her curiosity. “Lee Taemin-ssi?” She called out.

Taemin turned. “Oh, you’re Choi Jinri-ssi, right? The junior who’s Kai’s girlfriend?”

She nodded. Her eyes darted to the brown envelope on Taemin’s hand. “Did you meet Kai?”

He nodded with a smile. “That boy, tss. So arrogant! He even made me go here when he’s supposed to submit his application on the Dance Club’s office. Oh!” He exclaimed as if he suddenly remembered something. “I heard you’re the one who changed his mind? Thank you so much, Jinri-ssi.” He sincerely said.

Her eyes widened but she couldn’t help but to smile. “Oh, it’s nothing Taemin-ssi. Just call me Sulli.”

“Arasso, Sulli. Just call me Taemin sunbae!” He waved at her. “Bye, Sulli! See you at school!” He said before walking away.

There was a smile playing on her lips as she entered the mansion. She instantly saw a worried Kim Jongin, walking back and forth in front of the door. She quietly climbed up the steps and Kai was even surprised to see her.

“JINNIE!” He walked towards her, nervousness and worry etched on his face. “Where have you been?! I’ve been calling you for a while now! God, I was dying already and your phone’s turned off–”

He was baffled when Sulli suddenly engulfed him in a tight hug. “Yah,” he weakly said, his anger dissolving. “Don’t think I’ll forgive you because you suddenly hugged me.”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she hugged him tighter and buried her face on his chest, cherishing the moment.

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I hope you'll like this one <3 Don't foget to comment and upvote yeorobun!~~ ^^

P.S. I was really overwhelmed by the warm welcome from the last chapter <3 I wasn't aware that a lot of readers were waiting for this story to be updated... Mianhae for being missing in action! I hope you will still bear with me. :)) JEONGMAL KAMSAHAMNIDA!!! *bows*