one.
내 여자친구를 부탁해 | Please Take Care of my Girlfriend
Jongin and school were never friends to begin with. He spent most days dancing in the blind spots of the school courtyard while everyone else was studying hard. Today was supposed to be no different but the sun felt hotter than usual and out of all days, Jongin forgot his water bottle. Eyes closed and chest heaving as he’s trying to catch his breath, he falls back onto the nearest bench just as a refreshing breeze is passing by.
Even with his eyes closed, he feels something large block the sun and his eyelids open. Instead of a teacher, he’s met with a pair of light brown eyes, big and beautiful with long curly lashes and a coat of long wavy black hair blowing gently with the breeze.
“Anyeong, Jongin,” she speaks.
He watches her slip a puff of her lit cigarette then blows out the smoke into his face. Jongin erupts into a round of coughs and before he could even ask for her name, she sticks the cigarette in between his lips and darts off with her hair blowing in the wind, eyes piercing his soul and smile imprinting into his heart. Jongin rushes to his feet but she’s already vanished from his sight and a heavy hand lands on his shoulder, spinning him around to face his principle. His eyes widen and lips part to drop the cigarette from his mouth that tastes more like her lipgloss than tobacco. While he’s getting dragged away by the collar with a never ending slur of cuss words belting at him, Jongin finds her again in the bushes, smiling and waving at him.
For his punishment, Jongin kneels for four hours straight with his hands in the air. By the time school is over, he couldn’t even get up.
“Where’s your house?”
Jongin’s eyes follow the length of the long legs up until he’s met with the pretty brown eyes from earlier. The girl is peering down at him with her head tilted and hands comfortably stuffed in the pocket of her blazer.
“E-excuse me?”
She heaves a heavy sigh and grabs a hold of him to pull him up before tossing his arm over her shoulder. Jongin groans from the pain aching in his knees but the girl seems to have no real concern at all.
Seated in the darkness of his apartment, a raspy groan escapes his lips as the coldness of the ice pack leaves a soothing sensation on his bruised knees. He hisses and the girl simply brings her eyes up to him momentarily before turning back to tending his knees.
“How did you know my name?” Jongin grumbles when he recalls their first meeting.
The girl with the pretty eyes tilts her head leisurely. “Isn’t it a waste to live in such a big place by yourself?”
“What?”
Her eyes flicker to his and unlike his bewildered ones, hers are calm and serene.
“Let me live here too,” she states.
Jongin doesn’t know what to say so he just continues staring at her, watching her every move as she rises from the ground and closes the distance between them until her lips are pressed against his.
Jongin doesn’t know her name or anything about her at all but he knows he’s fallen for her. For someone who didn’t believe in love at first sight, he was experiencing it all right now.
A week later and Jongin is grimacing at the amount of sunshine that is entering the living room.
“These curtains have to go,” Soojung says with the dark curtains already replaced by her new white ones.
“Let’s get new names.”
“We just can’t throw away the names we’ve been living by all these years,” he says as they’re eating breakfast.
“Why not?” She asks, her voice flat and always sounding uninterested. “Take it as a new start for the both of us.”
From then on, Jongin became Kai and Soojung became Krystal, K&K.
They have a lot in common. They share a common obsession for ramen and dancing. On rainy days they like to listen to indie music while drinking a warm cup of overly sweet coffee. They were both orphans who now only had each other. Kai had fallen in love with every single particle of her and he accepted it. Days turned into months which then transformed into years and from mere strangers, they became each other’s vital organs.
Kai scowls at the fruit bowl that is stacked with all kinds of apples. Krystal is allergic but she buys them every weekend and forces Kai to eat them so it’ll keep the doctor away. Little did she know, the doctor is what he needs most and even if he were to eat all the apples in the world, it’ll never stop him from needing a doctor.
“Do you need more pills?”
Kai blinks at the gold plaques on the white walls that he’s read over a thousand times. His hand reaches into the pocket of his jacket and fishes out his meds, shaking it to show the half empty bottle.
“How are you feeling?”
He sighs. “Like I’m dying.”
“Jongin—.”
“—You asked so I answered,” says Kai, bored and feeling hungry. He thinks a bowl of ramen might fix this situation.
His doctor leaves his desk to take a seat next to him but Kai doesn’t batter an eyelash. “I promised your father I would take care of you.”
“And he’s dead,” Kai interrupts with a small pout. “My father’s dead and I’m following right after. Nice seeing ya, Doc.”
Excusing himself, Kai places a warming hand on his shoulder as he exits the office.
Dancing makes him feel better. Better doesn’t justify it actually. When he dances, he has all control of his body unlike the cancer cells in him that keep growing without his permission. Dance is all he has.
“Soojung dropped this off for you.”
Kai turns to Sehun, his childhood friend that he had recently reunited with. In his hands he’s holding a bright yellow umbrella, one that he’s seen in their apartment. Silently, he takes it and holds it in his hands for a few seconds.
“I told her it wasn’t going to rain,” Sehun says and turns to stretch with his eyes still focusing on Kai through the mirror. “But she said her s can tell when it’s going to rain and that this morning they told her today was going to rain.”
Kai snickers as he can imagine Krystal shamelessly sassing off to Sehun about her s. “That’s Krystal for ya,” he smiles and stuffs the umbrella into the side of his duffle bag before joining Sehun in his stretching routine.
Feeling loose and well worked, Kai returns home feeling good about his day. As he enters the apartment he’s long shared with Krystal, he gets surprised to hear her crying in the living room. Still, he enters slowly and catches a big blob of blankets in the middle of the living room floor. Kai sighs and drops his bag next to the couch before reaching out to pull the covers off of Krystal. She turns to him with red eyes and fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. Seating himself, next to her, he firstly reaches out to wipe away some tears.
“What’s wrong?” He asks calmly without much worry.
Krystal hiccups. “I passed the audition.”
He tilts his head slightly while gazing at her. “That’s good.”
Kai reaches out to her and she hugs him like she never has before. She holds him tightly against her and her cries become more intense but Kai doesn’t think anything of it and pats her back calmly. When she finally decides to let him go, his shoulder is soaked with her tears.
“Did you eat?”
Kai nods and she flares her nostrils.
“I didn’t,” she says and he holds back a smile.
“Then let’s eat,” he says calmly and ruffles her hair before leaving to prepare a simple dinner.
While Kai plates the dishes on the table, Krystal watches him silently, almost like a prey stalking their victim.
“What.” He groans and places the last dish on the table.
Krystal leans towards him and props her face in her hands. “Do you have any deep dark secrets that I don’t know about?”
Kai raises a brow as he’s stuffing a spoonful of rice into his mouth. “Why the sudden curiosity?”
She shrugs. “Do you have any wishes?”
Meeting her eyes, he slightly grins. “I wish for you to stop being so weird and eat.”
Krystal blinks as she thinks for a moment before eventually feeding her self. “Wish granted. What else?”
Sighing, Kai turns to her and this time, it’s a real wish. “Meet a good guy and get married.”
“Can’t I marry you?” Krystal returns at once and despite the rapid beating of his dying heart, Kai keeps his composure.
“I’m not a good guy.”
Krystal blinks with her eyes refusing to leave his. Then after a long moment, she responds. “Okay.”
In a sweaty dance room filled with males, there is only one female voice and it dominates all. Chanyeol groans in pain with a red patch growing the in the middle of his forehead meanwhile Krystal is laughing without any sympathy for him.
“Rematch,” Chanyeol demands and forces her hand out for another round of rock, paper, scissors.
Across from the room, Kai watches with very little interest. There was no real reason to even start the game but now there’s no way it will end without someone getting seriously hurt.
“Yah, the competition is in a week,” Minseok hisses at Chanyeol. “If you get hurt I’m going to kill you, Chanyeol. And you, Soojung,” he points to her and she snaps her head in his direction. “Stop trying to injure my guys here will ya?”
“It’s just a game,” she tells Minseok but her eyes are flaming with fire. “Plus, how much harm can a flick to the forehead be.”
From the opposite corner of the room next to Kai, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun snickers.
“I always wonder how your flicks magically transforms into drop kicks,” Baekhyun teases and she scowls in his direction.
“I’m trying to concentrate here! Shut up!” Chanyeol roars and the room falls silent for a moment until a small beeping sound disturbs it.
Kai turns off the alarm on his phone and excuses himself with no one really paying any attention except for Krystal.
In his palm, he has two white pills. In the bottle, he sees another week’s worth of meds and that’s it. Kai sighs and pops the two in his hands into his mouth with the bitter thought of returning to the doctor’s for another prescription.
Kai was showering when she breaks the bittersweet news to him.
“I fell in love.”
With the hot water pouring over his body and washing away the soap, Kai turns slightly to the shower curtain where he hears her brushing her teeth.
“Hand me my toothbrush,” Kai says instead as he wishes the pain would wash away with the water. But this is what he wished for. He hears rustling for a few seconds before her hand slides into the shower with his toothbrush and some toothpaste resting on the bristles, ready for him to use.
“I like him alot,” Krystal continues and it sounds like a lie because of her naturally monotone voice. “I’ll introduce you to him.”
Kai swallows. “Okay.”
His name is Kris Wu Yi Fan, Chinese Canadian with an impressive height of 187 cm and impeccable looks. Not to mention is family background that will put you in denial that he is not of blue blood.
She did it, Kai thinks but as much he wants to, a smile refuses to appear.
“Zitao knows him well,” Sehun says one day during a late night dance practice.
Kai stops everything and turns to Sehun. “How well.”
“They grew up together until middle school and reunited during college.”
“Can you get me more details about him?”
Sehun turns to Kai with a raised brow. “Why are you so curious about him?”
Kai swallows as his whole body tenses up. “Because,” he mumbles. “If my bestfriend is in love with him, I need to make sure he’s the best.”
The younger dancer doesn’t say anything for a few minutes but his eyes are searching deep into Kai’s. “Fine.”
It was around two in the morning when Kai awakes to warm arms snaking around his torso and a nose digging into his back. He can smell the alcohol that’s mixed in with her perfume and strawberry shampoo.
“How much did you drink?” Kai grumbles in a half comatose state.
Krystal fumbles around until she’s comfortable and Kai begins to think she’s fallen asleep when she answers him. “What do you think about marriage?”
Typical Krystal, she never answers any of his questions correctly.
“Marriage is like a toothbrush holder,” he mumbles although he’s now wide awake.
“Why a toothbrush holder?” Krystal yawns and he feels her press her cheek into his back as her arms stay tight around his torso.
“Because.” His eyes land on a picture of them on his desk and he feels like he’s going to suffocate to death. “Marriage brings two people together, like toothbrushes in one holder.”
Silence.
“Then I must be married already,” Krystal mumbles and Kai feels tears leaving his eyes.
“You fool,” he whispers. “You can’t get married without a wedding.”
“Perfect health records, family is still rich and will be until this Earth is no more although he prefers to live life quietly,” Sehun rants off the top of his head while he and Kai are walking home one night. “He speaks four different languages and he’s basically the perfect human being. He donates monthly to endless charities and volunteers during his free time.”
Kai feels relieved after hearing about his Kris Wu Yi Fan guy, she really found a good one.
“But again,” Sehun stops in his tracks and Kai turns to him silently. “Why did you want me to find all of this out?”
His eyes lower as a sigh escapes his lips. “My last wish is to marry her off to a good guy.”
Sehun furrows his brows. “What do you mean by last wish?”
Kai reaches out to cup the back of his neck and pull him close. “I’m dying, my friend. I have for a long time.”
Sehun shrugs his hand away. “What?”
“Like my father,” Kai adds and it’s enough for Sehun to understand. He was the only one who knew Kai during that time anyways.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sehun asks with his voice suddenly trembling and cracking. “Why? Why, Jongin?!”
“Because,” Kai sighs. “I never truly felt like I was dying until now. It wasn’t until she told me she fell in love that I realized, I’m going to be gone soon.”
“You ing idiot!” Sehun cries as he shoves Kai. “Why are you being so stupid!? If you love her why don’t you just love her until your last breath?”
“And let her suffer while I’m not here? Because of my selfish reasons?” Kai refutes with tears lining his soft brown eyes. “Never.”
Sehun scoffs and for a while they just cry in silence.
“Come on man,” Sehun mutters with his lips trembling. “Why does heaven have to take you?”
Turning to him, Kai smiles despite everything and pulls Sehun in for a hug. Together they cry in the middle of street and for the first time, Kai is scared to die.
“Dance with me!” Krystal rushes to Kai when he pops his head into her studio. He barely has time to react before he’s already dragged onto the floor with his hands being placed on her waist. “Ya, we haven’t danced together in so long!”
Kai chuckles although he wouldn’t technically call this real dancing when all he’s doing is letting her control his every move. They goof around like this until a knock from the door interrupts them.
“Soojung.”
Krystal stops at once as her head snaps towards the door and Kai’s eyes follow before landing on who he assumes to be Kris. Already, Kai knows he is nothing compared to Kris.
“Oppa,” Krystal calls and her hand drops to grab Kai’s wrist. She pulls him over to the live manga character and Kai wishes he was more prepared for their first introduction. “Oppa this is Kai, my bestfriend,” Krystal turns to Kai proudly with a soft smile. “Kai, this is Kris.”
Their eyes meet and both men reach their hands out to greet each other. His throat burns with his heart and Kai wants to run away, screaming how much he loves her at the top of his lungs but instead he stands there in the dance studio, smiling for Krystal.
They go out for dinner later that evening with Krystal wanting to introduce Kris to all their friends. Like the usual third wheel, Kai walks a few strides behind the happy couple. Visually, they look like a couple that had descended from heaven. There's a slight wave of relief knowing Kris is a good guy and that when he's gone, Krystal won't be alone.
Sehun has to take a break every other hour to cry a little when he remembers that his middle school friend is dying. Despite the pain that resonates in his heart every time he thinks of Kai, Sehun keeps his mouth shut and respects his wishes of keeping it a secret from the rest of their friends.
"If I go beg him, do you think he'll marry her?" Kai asks Sehun as they're eating grilled pig intestines together.
Before answering the depressing question, Sehun dramatically downs a acidy gulp of soju and sighs. "Yah, why spend the rest of your time worrying about her when you should be worrying about yourself?"
Kai remains his usual calm self and picks at the food on the grill. "Krystal hates being alone. She's afraid to."
Sehun scoffs. "So, what about you?" He pokes Kai in the shoulder. "What. About. You."
Kai smiles but it's nothing close to being happy. "I'm gonna die anyways, so I'll only hurt for a little bit more."
Sehun slaps his chopstick onto the tabletop and for the umpteenth time that day he breaks into ugly sobs with his face hidden behinds his hands while Kai pats his head gently, in no real attempt really to cheer him up when it's going to happen all over again in an hour.
A few nights later, Kai comes home to Krystal making a mess in the kitchen with her phone balancing between her shoulder and ear. She's laughing loudly and it's obvious she's talking to Kris so Kai just quietly slides by, hoping she wouldn't notice him. Krystal does but she lets it pass and continues on loudly with her conversation.
He was in the middle of changing when Krystal barges in with her one and only deadpan facial expression.
"Let's eat."
He thinks back to Sehun's words the other night. What about him. If he keeps staying by her side, it'll only be harder on her when he leaves.
Kai keeps his back faced her while pulling down his shirt. "I already ate with the guys."
"But I didn't eat yet," she says and usually this is when Kai turns around and joins her but this time, he retreats to his desk and pulls out his laptop.
"Then you eat," Kai sighs and her hand drops from his door knob.
"Yah, are you mad at me?" She pouts but he doesn't look up. "Kim Kai, answer me!"
"You won't die eating alone for once, Krystal!" Kai barks and her expressions harden. "And, don't you know how to knock?! Who said you can just barge in like that?!"
Her teeth instantly sink into her bottom lip and her eyes turn sour. "I've been doing that for the past ten years so why does it matter now?!"
Slamming his laptop to a close, Kai shoots up and faces her. "Do you think I'm just a doll you can play around with?!"
She scoffs because she'd rather look like a then cry in front of him during a stupid fight. " it then! I wanted to tell you over a dinner I especially worked hard on but since you're being an , I'll just tell you like this!"
Kai gulps.
"I'm getting married!" She shouts and slams his door shut after her.
Thirty minutes later and he receives a text from her.
By the way, I'm not talking to you anymore.
Kai can't help but smile despite the mixture of emotions burrowing inside him.
Okay.
At breakfast the next morning, Krystal doesn't bother to give him a look as he serves their breakfast. Her eyes remain on her food and although Kai is shooting his best puppy eyes at her, she doesn't budge and pretends not to notice. Sighing, he reaches out for his phone and messages her.
Still not talking to me?
Less than split second later, her phone vibrates and she casually replies.
Nope.
Kai grins.
What if I apologize, will you then?
Krystal heaves a sigh.
Do you honestly think it’s that easy? Tsh. Jerk.
His phone vibrates and Krystal stuffs a spoonful of rice into .
I know I was overly dramatic. I’m sorry Krys. Please talk to me so I don’t look like a total douche congratulating you through text.
Krystal spares him a quick side glance and Kai knows he’s getting through to her.
You were totally pmsing last night.
He almost chokes on his food and despite trying so hard to keep in character, Krystal cracks a little and snickers.
Kay, fine. I was. Now will you talk to me again?
Kai watches her glance at his text and after a long second, she clears with a sour expression.
“What.”
He smiles and he can tell she’s fighting the one that’s tugging at her lips.
“Look at me,” he says and after a moment, she diverts only her eyeballs in his direction. “Good enough,” he comments quietly. “Anyways, congratulations on your wedding.”
Krystal blinks and then she smiles shyly. “Yah, I tried to cook all your favorite foods and everything too. Then you flip out on me, urgh. You .”
He grins and scoots closer to wrap an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I don’t know what got into me.”
She turns to him with her lower lips pushed out. “Apology accepted, only if you agree to walk me down the aisle.”
Kai’s brows rise slowly and he holds back a gulp. “Me? Why me?”
Her eyes lock onto his and they turn gentle. “Because you’re all I have. Sometimes water runs thicker than blood and in my case, my uncles and aunts only “care” because I have money. You’re my only family, Kai.”
That, he knew but would he be strong enough to walk the woman of his dreams down the aisle and pass her hand to someone else in marriage?
She nudges him slightly and when his eyes return to hers, he just automatically nods.
He’ll do anything for Krystal.
For the next few weeks, Kai watches from afar as Krystal plans her fastly approaching wedding with Kris. Her groom seemed to have taken care of most of the bigger things such as catering and the location while Krystal focused on the smaller details. She’s happy and it makes him happy to some extent but he will always wish it were him instead.
He’s been expecting this for some time and maybe he should’ve reached out first but planning a funeral and a wedding all at once is quite time consuming and exhausting. Kai has met Kris plenty of times by now but this is their first time truly being alone without Krystal’s stupid side comments.
“She wants you to pick the dress with her,” Kris says and Kai shouldn’t be shocked, but he is. “It’s her last wish.”
Kai swallows. “And how do you feel about that?”
Kris shows some slight discomfort as he shrugs. “What can I do?” He chuckles lightly. “It’s her last wish from you.”
Kai’s eyes lower from the older male’s to his lap.
“I’m thankful that she has you,” Kris continues sincerely. “You’re done a lot of things for her and you’ve taken great care of her,” his eyes turn slightly sharp as Kai meets them again. “But now I’ll do it. So I hope you’ll grant her last wish and I also hope it’ll be the last.”
Kai blinks nonchalantly. “Of course. Please take good care of her.”
Fast forward to a few days later and Kai is staring blankly into space as he waits for Krystal in an overly decorated room that also has an overkill of some vanilla scented room fragrance. His eyes travel from the fake flowers on the table to the venetian style textile and back to the thick gold velvet curtains where Krystal is fumbling behind with two other store associates. Outside, it has begun to snow again and it almost feels like it’s Christmas.
Finally, the curtains swing open and the moment his eyes land on Krystal, Kai begins to curse at God for being so evil. She puts all the angels in heaven to shame with her beauty and it’s as they are the only two people present in the room. Krystal is never bashful but here she is, shy and red faced under the eyes of Kai who has his jaw on the ground. His heart races faster than anything in this world and soon enough, he can feel the stinging of tears but he fights them back with every muscle in his body.
“W-what do you think?” Krystal asks nervously as she awkwardly holds the fake bouquet.
Kai takes in every detail of her under the lights. He has never wished so badly for anything or anyone before until this very moment. Reality is hitting and Kai doesn’t think he’s ready to accept the fact that he himself will be sending her down the aisle, in this very dress to another man while he withers away during every second of it. He doesn’t want to accept any of it but even if he doesn’t, it’s all going to happen anyways.
“You’re absolutely gorgeous,” he says in a soft whisper. “So gorgeous, my heart hurts.”
She smiles and hides her face behind the bouquet. Their moment gets interrupted by an associate who suggests Kai try on the tuxedo and they take a picture. At once Kai refuses, repeatedly stating he isn’t the groom but Krystal insists and with it being her last wish, Kai eventually agrees.
The man in the mirror is someone who Kai wants to be. He wants to be the one wearing this tuxedo, he tells himself. His eyes blur with tears and he takes a moment to be selfish. Dying doesn’t even hurt as much as watching the woman he love, fall in love with someone else.
“Kai-shi?”
Immediately, he wipes away all the traces of his little meltdown before leaving his little changing area to join Krystal.
“You’re so handsome,” Krystal says the moment he enters. At once she grabs for him and pulls him right to her side. Kai can’t stop gazing at her beauty as she reaches us to fix his hair with the least bit of nerves, unlike him. “Should I marry you instead?” She teases him and he almost says yes.
“Can you take a picture for us?” Krystal asks the associate and Kai shakes his head when her arm loops into his.
“Yah, this is too much,” Kai argues quietly but she scowls at him.
“This is my last wish,” she reminds and he sighs with an eyeroll. “It’s the last one, Kai.”
Their eyes meet and he reads desperation in her eyes but he’s unsure why. Eventually he gives in and she tightens her arm around his. Naturally, she rests her head on his shoulder and as the associate counts down from three, they flaunt their most natural smiles but in their eyes, there is only sadness.
Krystal asked for Kai to wait while she tried on another dress but he couldn’t do it. The cold stings his cheeks and it doesn’t help that he’s crying so hard either. He runs and runs until he’s at the dance studio where he knows Sehun will be. Kai literally collapses into the studio and Sehun darts to him with the utmost urgency.
“Why me?!” Kai cries as he latches onto Sehun who is now crying again. “Why can’t it be me instead?! I love her so ing much, more than he ever could in this lifetime!”
“I’m so sorry!” Sehun whimpers as he presses Kai’s head against his chest. “I’d take your place anyday, because no one else deserves to live more than you.”
Kai’s cries echo off the walls of the room for an indefinite amount of time with each cry killing Sehun more and more. He confesses all his love and even begs for God not to take him but it’s all pointless. Kai strongly believes he won’t be dying from terminal cancer but instead, a broken heart.
When he returns home, Krystal is going over her wedding playlist in the living room. She turns to him when he enters but doesn’t ask where he went or even why he left. Turning back to the laptop screen, she continues with the playlist and Kai sighs. Setting his guilt aside, he decides to be selfish again. He takes a seat behind her and wraps his arms around her shoulder with his chin resting on top.
“I love you,” Kai whispers softly.
Through the reflection of the laptop screen, Krystal smiles and her hand reaches up to squeeze his arm.
“I love you too.”
Little does she know about how much he actually loves her, or so he thinks.
Krystal and Kris get married a week later in a grand hotel. As promised, Kai walks her down the aisle and he’s bitter as he has to pass her hand to Kris but he does it anyway. For a second, he was convinced it was Krystal who refused to let go of his hand.
A week after the wedding and Kai reveals to everyone his sudden decision to visit the States to get some more dance training. All but Sehun falls for the scheme, he knew the time was near.
Anyeong
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