“That went well,” Kai grimaces, sighing.  He looked at the door, a whim away from chasing after his best friend’s ex.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Kyungsoo says into his hands.  “I didn’t mean to hurt her.  I didn’t know what I was doing.  She was just there and I was- dammit,” He kicks the table in frustration.

Kai looks at him and shakes his head.  “I may not be her boyfriend or something, but one look is enough to tell that she’s not that type of person to fight for what she already knows she’s going to lose, hyung, she just isn’t,” He sighs.  “Don’t you get it? If it was her in your position, you’re the one who’s going to blindly fight for love.  But you really went too far and wow, this is getting unbearable, even for me,” Kai runs his hand through his dark hair in frustration and tugs his sleeves up to his elbow, standing up as he starts to get anxious about Haerin’s condition.  “But she’s her, and she doesn’t do that.  Her understanding is a way to tell you that she believes in you.  She tries so hard for you, in so many ways.  But I guess you can’t see that,” He turns to leave.  “I’m not on anybody’s side, hyung.  Oh, but even if I am, I’d be an idiot to pick yours,”

Leaving the older male alone in his house, Kai runs out and turns to scan the crowded streets.  Where had she gone? He uses his height to his advantage and looks for a familiar back.  He’s starting to regret helping Kyungsoo break up with her.  Now she’s going to think that he considers Nara more of a significance than her, when actually, he really doesn’t.  “Where are you?” He wonders out loud, craning his neck.  He tries texting Yunjae, but the little brother’s reply told him that home was the last place Haerin would go to when she’s like this.  Kyungsoo had hurt her, lots of times, and she had coped up with everything, only to find herself dumped.  Even Kai was hurting, for her.  Kyungsoo turned out to be more of a jerk than Kai had thought he was.  He knew that Kyungsoo didn’t mean to play with Haerin’s feelings, because he himself was confused.  But he should have at least had the guts to admit to himself that he still had feelings for Nara, because that way, he wouldn’t have to hurt Haerin.

“Pick up your phone!” Kai yells, frustrated, as he is thrown into the voice mail for the millionth time.  

As if Haerin could hear him, she finally decides to pick up the phone and Kai pulls away from the loud music blaring through the line.  

‘Leave me alone, Jongin,’ She says, her voice dragged and echoing.

Karaoke.  She was at a karaoke place.  If he weren’t in such a situation, Kai would be laughing at her weird way of looking for comfort.  “No, if you really wanted me to leave you alone, you wouldn’t have picked up the phone,” He answers, frowning at the way she was mumbling into the phone.  The echoes weren’t helping him hear her out.  “Where are you? Are you drinking?”

‘Like you’d care,’ She swallows at the end of her sentence.  ‘I made you fried rice and you thank me by helping Kyungsoo break up with me? So much for friends,’

Kai sputtered all of a sudden at how Haerin could relate making him fried rice with all that had happened.  “Sorry! Sorry! I shouldn’t have laughed at you.  I’ll be right there, noona, don’t worry,” He ignores her protests and hangs up.

He runs down the road into every single karaoke place his eyes could find, silently wondering to himself as to why he’s trying so hard to find her.  He didn’t know why.  He just wanted to, and he’s doing it.  

At the far, far end of the street was an underground karaoke place.  It wasn’t what its name suggested; instead of cheap and dark with bright, buzzing neon lights, it looked prestige; walls covered in pastel colours and expensive soundproof walls that coated the place with utter silence, even though the lights on top of the doors to all rooms lit up with the words ‘Occupied’.  Kai went to the front table after he looked around.  “Which room just got occupied around 5-10 minutes ago?” He asks and the man points at the room number 12, seemingly the biggest out of all the others.  

“She ordered alcohol, and I don’t want any weird stuff you youngsters do going on in my place,” He warns.

“Thank you and I assure you, nothing will happen,” He dips his head in a bow and makes his way towards the room, pushing down the handle and narrowing his eyes at the curled up girl at one side of the couch, her back to the door.  There was an unfinished shot of alcohol on the table and Kai had to hold back from laughing all over again as he knew that she couldn’t stand the taste as much as she had no tolerance of alcohol whatsoever.

She was drunk and she had the mic in her hands.  In that position, she was singing a song.

If you believe, you do best without me

I’ll let it go, boy, it’s over

But before we say goodbye

Let’s give it a try

If you leave, then baby I’ll leave

I’ll let it go, boy, it’s over

But I have no-

“Wha-“ Haerin turns as the music stopped abruptly and spots Kai sitting down with the remote.  Her hand lets go of the mic, that tumbles to the ground with a loud feedback.  “Jongin, I told you to leave me alone,” She sits up, weakly holding herself up as she sways, finding herself crawling over to where he sat.

“Yeah, you’re a bad liar,” He turns to look at her.  “But a great singe-“

To his utmost surprise, his words were stopped by Haerin’s lips.

He sets his hands on her shoulders to push her away when she swiftly straddles him, but Haerin persists into the kiss, shaking her head subtly when she breaks away for air.  “Don’t,” She leans in and tilts her head to kiss him again.  “Just- let me-,” She was somehow elated to find him finally kissing back.  Her teeth nibbles at his bottom lip, seeking entrance and Kai grunts in surprise when her tongue slips out for a taste of him.  His hand trails towards the nape of her neck, not knowing whether to follow his instincts to press her closer into him or stop this thing happening between them.  She just broke up with his best friend, for God’s sake.  What was he doing, kissing her back in this room?

“Noona, stop,” Kai says in between kisses, putting his hands over hers as she reached for the buttons of his shirt and had started undoing them.  “Noona-“

“Is this what he w-wanted, Jongin?” Haerin stammers through her alcohol-clouded head, struggling against his iron grip as she showers his jawline with kisses.  “Is this what I should have done?”

Kai a breath through his teeth at the sensation she was giving her.  This really has to stop.  “No, noona, it’s-“

“He couldn’t take his eyes off of that woman’s body,” Haerin finally lets her head fall onto his shoulder, breath shaking and body trembling.  “I can’t- I don’t understand anything,” 

Kai shuts his eyes and frowns at her words.  “You don’t have to,” He softly answers, putting his hands behind her head and on her back, hugging her as her hands clutched at the front of his shirt.  “You don’t have to force yourself into understanding everything, noona,” He whispers into her ear and finds himself sighing in relief as Haerin’s sudden burst of libido dies down, allowing him time to calm down his nerves.  

Things could have completely went the wrong way, if he took it further.  She was already sleeping soundly on his shoulder, seconds after he finished talking.  If a shot could turn her into someone like this; he was going to make sure she gets nowhere near alcohol, ever again.