{ 27 }

Kai was in shambles, and that’s putting it charitably. Admittedly, he was miserable. He wasn’t even aware that his feet already brought him to the condominium unit that his parents gave him for his eighteenth birthday. This was the only place he could think of where he can have the silence and solitude he was longing for at the moment. A place without his mother, EXO, Baekhyun, and… he sighed as he thought of her name. Sulli, he remembered.

He trudged towards the elevator and went up to his floor. His mind was all over the place and he was even surprised to see that he was already inside his unit; his fluid body sprawled all over the bed. His left cheek was buried on the soft mattress while staring at nothing in particular, his mind still filled with thoughts of Baekhyun and Sulli.

I was deluding myself, he thought. He knew from the first day that he met Sulli that the girl likes his hyung. Huh, he scoffed to himself as a bitter smile made its way on his face, we even got together because of Baekhyun hyung. If he didn’t find that stupid love letter for Byun Baekhyun, he wouldn’t have to ask Sulli to be his girlfriend and they won’t be together right now. However, whenever Kai thinks about it, he was a hundred percent sure that he’d still pick up that letter if he was given a chance, even though things are starting to turn out this way. He’ll always choose to be with Sulli, even though he knew that he doesn’t have a chance with her. I cannot even hold a candle to the amazing Byun Baekhyun, he shook his head.

The rules seemed like a faraway memory now. He smiled bitterly as he remembered the eleventh rule on their list: If Choi Jinri breaks the rules, Kim Jongin breaks his word. Not that he’d do it, anyway. If he reveals that love letter, it would only mean that he was letting Baekhyun win. Kai isn’t blind. He could clearly see that his hyung was beginning to harbor romantic feelings towards his girlfriend, and Baekhyun clearly has the upper hand since Sulli likes him already, but Kai won’t go down without a fight. I don’t care, he told himself. I don’t care if I have to break all the ing rules for her.

I’ll break them all for her.

--

On the other hand, Sulli and the EXO boys sans Baekhyun and Kai were in distress. After Sulli tried to follow him out, Kyungsoo came to her tail but they weren’t able to catch up with Kai anymore. Baekhyun accompanied Mihyun home, and they all wished for an even better recovery for the younger girl. However, before going home, Mihyun kept on teasing Baekhyun and Sulli together, which totally didn’t go well with Sulli’s case.

The eleven of them decided to head towards Sehun’s condo unit, which was incidentally a floor away from Kai’s. Still, the boys were oblivious about that information. Since Kai was not really allowed to live on his unit alone, they didn’t even bother asking him where it was. The unit was only collecting dust since no one was around to live in it.

Heavy silence hung in the air as no one dared to speak. In actuality, they are all clueless what to ask. The boys were itching to know why Sulli was always seen around the Byun siblings, but they don’t want her to be put in a tight spot.

“Ugh!” Chen reacted, his face contorted in annoyance. “Fine, I’ll do the asking. I’m always the bad guy around here, anyway,” he nonchalantly said before looking at Sulli. “Sulli-yah, why… why are you with Baekhyun?”

Sulli squirmed at her seat at Chen’s direct question, while the latter received smacks from his friends because of making Sulli feel uncomfortable. “What did I do now?! I was just helping you guys!” Chen whined as he bolted away from his seat. “You guys , tss,” he commented before walking near Suho’s side, sitting on the floor.

“Mianhaeyo,” Sulli said in a small voice. “I was there because Baekhyun told me that Mihyun will be released today and she wanted me to be around. I… didn’t think that it would cause quite a ruckus.”

A collective sigh was heard from the boys. “Sulli-yah…” Kris gently called out. “I hope you won’t think that we’re terrorizing you or anything. You three are our friends, but hopefully you understand.”

Sulli smiled a bit and nodded. “Of course I do, Kris,” she solemnly answered. “I didn’t think he’d react like that.”

“You can’t blame him that much,” Luhan butted in. “Well…” He rubbed his nape to ease the awkwardness. “You’re his girlfriend, after all, and seeing you like that when he knew you’d be at your friend’s…” His voice faded. “Sorry, I overheard you two talking earlier.”

Sulli could only bow her head in embarrassment and discomfort. She should have expected for this to happen, anyway. She didn’t even learn a lesson since the last time that Kai saw her with Baekhyun. He became mad then, why didn’t it occur to her that he would be even madder that she lied to him?

“Don’t worry too much, Sulli,” Suho, being the gentlest one out of the bunch, patted her back and smiled kindly at her. “I’m sure Kai would understand if you’d explain it to him clearly.”

She nodded silently, not knowing how to respond. She’s clueless as to what she’d do to make Kai forgive her this time. “C’mon!” Lay called out and stood up. “Let’s take Sulli to Kai’s house. Maybe he’s cooling off there.”

The other boys followed suit and they exited the unit. They all cramped themselves inside the elevator, Sulli being in the front so she won’t get squeezed with the childish boys behind her. The elevator stopped on the eleventh floor, the one below Sehun’s, and they were all surprised to see Kai standing there, seemingly waiting for the lift.

His eyes widened when he saw Sulli. It may seem cowardly, but he ran back to his unit just as the elevator doors were starting to close. However, Sulli quickly blocked the doors and ran after Kai, not wanting to let him slip away again.

Fortunately, she was able to catch up before he was able to close and lock his door. Sadly, he ran again to his room and locked it up so that Sulli won’t be able to enter. She sighed as she slid down to the floor, panting.

She calmed herself for a while before speaking up. “Kai-yah…” She started, an imaginary lump blocking . “I’m sorry. For lying, for going there without telling you… I’m sorry. I’m sorry to disappoint you again.” There was a heavy burden on her chest as she allowed the words to pour out. “I… didn’t want you to be upset with me because I’m going there, so I lied… I know that that was wrong, and that didn’t justify what I did but… I just want you to know.”

Kai was still not answering her. She heaved a deep sigh because she knows that what she did was wrong and that she cannot really blame him for acting like this.

The long silence stretched between them. Sulli cannot help but feel that Kai was slipping away from her fingers, and she cannot do anything to stop it. She doesn’t know why knowing that fact was weighing her down a ton.

“Why do you care, anyway?” were Kai’s first words that he spoke after the silence. “You like Baekhyun hyung, right? You should be happy, Sulli. You should be happy.”

Sulli feels as if there was a bitter acid on . Kai was right, after all. She should be happy now that Baekhyun was showering her with attention. She should be happy that she fulfilled her mission which was the reason why she accepted Kai’s proposal in the first place.

But why am I not happy? She asked herself. Why am I here, begging for Kai’s forgiveness and feeling like the worst in town when I should be celebrating?

She doesn’t know what to answer Kai, so she opted to stay silent. She cannot answer his queries, but his question was beginning to cloud her mind… and heart.

Sulli stood up and decided to roam her way on the kitchen. She’s sure that Kai wasn’t able to eat yet, so she’ll have to make him something or else he’d starve. Since there were limited ingredients on his fridge, she only managed to cook soup.

She eyed the door of his bedroom. She was sure that he wouldn’t come out unless she leaves. That thought was putting a heavy weight on her chest, as if she couldn’t breathe. She shook her head before softly knocking on his door. “Kai-yah, I… I’ll leave. Please eat. I prepared something for you. Don’t starve yourself, okay? I–” She sighed.

However, she just couldn’t find the will to leave like this, not when Kai was still mad at her and she didn’t even make a progress between them. She panicked when she heard shuffling sounds from behind the bedroom door, and the only place she could see near where she could hide is the cabinet where blankets and pillows were kept. She ran towards it and cramped herself inside the limited space.

Not long after, she heard the door open. Kai’s footsteps were evident in the silence. Sulli wasn’t even aware on how long she was there because she was busy thinking. She was… craving for his presence, and she doesn’t know why she’s feeling this way when she shouldn’t be. She likes Baekhyun, right? She got pushed into this relationship because of Baekhyun, but…

…but why do I long for this certain tanned boy who gets happy by making fun of me but scared to see me mad?

Her heart thumped wildly at the possible reason why she was acting the way she does. She was even surprised to see the cabinet’s door open and there, Kim Jongin stood staring at her.

Her eyes glistened with tears as she stared at him back, taking him in. This boy… she thought. She didn’t even think twice when she flung her arms to his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, burying her face on his neck. She was too afraid to let go and see his face because she doesn’t know if he’s still mad at her.

“What are you doing, Jinnie?” Kai asked, his voice hoarse.

“I like you, Kim Jongin.”

Kai stiffened at the sudden revelation. If only he wasn’t concerned with Sulli who was still clinging tightly to him, he may have just dropped dead on the floor because of the surprise and happiness he was feeling at the moment.

“I’ve broken the rules, and I know I shouldn’t, but–”

“Who cares about the rules?” Kai whispered as he hugged her back. “We’ll break them. I’ll break them all so I could be with you.”

“Kai…”

“I like you too, Choi Jinri.”

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A/N: This fic is ending soon! OTL TT.TT I hope you'd stay with me 'till the last one...

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