Several droplets of rain trickle down the window pane. Kyungsoo forces out a heavy sigh before storming to his bed. Sweeping his hand across the mattress, he knocks off a Pororo doll that tumbles to the floor.

“Oh no!” He gasps, nose-diving to the floor to pick up the doll and cradles it in his arms. He whispers softly spoken words to it and kisses its velvety beak briefly. He sets the doll on a nearby cabinet, perfecting its angle before grinning victoriously to himself.

Beaming with happiness, he swivels round to stare at the large window. The rain hammers against the window pane furiously. Irritated by the constant slamming of the rain against his window, his glowing smile soon fades to a frown. He takes one last look at the gloom from beyond his cosy bedroom: the houses opposite are enshrouded by the veils of smoke produced by their chimneys, the dim lighting from the lampposts illuminating them perfectly; inky-black clouds blanket the sky and the desolate streets are inhabited by darkness and shadows. He draws the curtains shut, leaving only the sound of relentless rain to echo around the room.

Kyungsoo takes a dramatic fall onto his bed, lightly bouncing among the duvet and blankets. He submerges himself under the sea of blankets and slams his head face down onto the pillow. Unconsciousness almost overcomes him but sadly his phone begins to ring. Groaning and , he reaches out for his phone. Not only is there a deafening rainstorm outside, there is also a continuous ringing sound assaulting his ears. Aimlessly, he scrambles his hand around his bedside table in search of his phone. Admitting defeat, he lifts himself up, supporting his body with his elbows, and snatches the phone off the table. The veins in his eyes sizzle when they come into contact with the harsh brightness of the screen and he quickly squints as much as possible to avoid damaging his eyes any further. Soon enough, his eyes adjust to the light and he makes out the name of the person messaging him. The name reads: Kai. He squirms a little under the suffocating blankets while opening the message.

From: Kai

‘Did u get home safe?’

All of his movements due to discomfort stop dead when he reads the message. He keeps himself poised. Memories from earlier in the day flood his mind again…

While Kai’s mother was driving him home, Kai had requested that they exchange phone numbers. This action had fireworks exploding in Kyungsoo’s head and he almost forgot to enter his own number into the other’s phone as he was so excited. He couldn't even comprehend the reality that he was exchanging numbers with the most popular boy in the school. Kai had promised that he would text him later to check if he was safe at home since Kyungsoo’s parents are away for the week. Although he seems egocentric and big-headed from a distance, Kyungsoo thinks that Kai is a caring and generous person under his preppy clothes and social status. Maybe the reason the two never really crossed paths before was because Kyungsoo was always too afraid to go near him and his adoring fans. But today was different. Today, it was just the two of them. Kai didn't have a croud of people for him to act in front of for once and Kyungsoo kind of liked it.

Snapping awake from his daydream, Kyungsoo fumbles about with his phone as if it’s a foreign object before sending a reply. Usually this would be a simple thing to do, but at the moment the difficulty can be compared with scaling the tallest mountain or diving in the deepest waters. If it were one of his friends asking him if he was alright, he would be able to answer with ease. A quiet, ‘I’m fine’ would be his answer but this is an entirely different situation. He knows that responding with something negative would only arouse concern from the other so that option is gone, replying with something witty would be out of character, not responding at all would be disastrous and trying to act differently from his usual character would confuse himself as well as Kai.

He exercises his fingers, takes a deep breath and almost passes out from taking in too much air. Ivory-pale fingers reluctantly tap the screen, inputting the letters he needs to form his response. After much needed self-encouragement, he sends the message and flings his phone across the room. Curled up in a ball, huddling his knees close to his chest, he trembles under the blankets and takes deep breaths to calm himself down.

                                                                                                                -

Kai drags his feet along the cold, tiled kitchen floor and tugs on the stiff fridge door. With much effort, he gets it open without toppling over from the amount of force he uses. His movements are closely followed by his mother who had followed him into the kitchen. She had intended on preparing dinner but her attention has been drawn towards her son instead.

“Kai, you better not be snacking before dinner,” She warns, watching him like a hawk. "I'm gonna start making dinner soon, so could you be patient for once?"

“Geez, mom,” He responds. “You don’t trust me; your favourite son?”

“You’re my only son,” She says, the dissatisfaction is clearly audible in her menacing tone of voice. “Now scram.” Her words are harsh. She points with a newly manicured finger towards the kitchen door; suggesting that Kai should leave. When the boy whines childishly, she rolls her eyes so far back into her head that her brain would be perfectly visible. The situation is beyond embarrassing for her. Here she is, disciplining her seventeen-year-old son as if he’s a dog that just peed on the rug. Raising her eyebrow and pointing more vigorously to the door is an indication that Kai should probably abort his mission to annoy his mother. Defeated, he sluggishly exits the kitchen and trudges up the uneven staircase. Every step making a different pitched creek.

As soon as he kicks open the door to his bedroom, he hurls his bag across the room. Not caring at all where it lands. To say that he’s angry would be an understatement because he’s absolutely livid. It doesn’t last longer than five minutes though… After all, there's something important to think about. (What dinner could possibly be would usually be this.) The main thing he has on his mind just so happens to be the small, timid boy he approached at the bus station earlier. Kyungsoo.

Why did he approach him today of all days? Why couldn’t he go up and talk to him before? The way he stood so nervously and jerked his head in several directions as if confused by something was so entrancing. His face was the epitome of innocence, his neat, black hair blew tamely with the gentle breeze, he had the biggest pair of doe-shaped eyes that Kai has ever seen and whenever he decided to hum a simple tune to pass the time, his lips would curl into a pretty heart shape. Every day he is surrounded by people who have probably spent days or even weeks perfecting their appearance so he’ll notice them but Kyungsoo has never tried to get in his way. His timid nature betrayed him eventually and he stood no chance against the other while trying to get his way, but he tried. Kai is used to getting his way. At a young age, he had learned how to manipulate people and make them fall in love with him; that is what developed his self-centred attitude. However, there is still a modest amount of sincerity inside of his heart. They’re both so different. He’s charming, outgoing and devilish; Kyungsoo is shy, buttoned up and angelic.

Overcome with uncertainty, Kai flops onto his bed and raises his hand to his forehead. He sighs, "I'm not cut out for all of this deep thought."

Without warning, his mother creeks open the door slightly and pears her head in to take a look at Kai who is perfectly wrecked on his bed.

“Kai? Are you alright?” She says nervously, flicking one of the curls from her fringe.

“Yeah… Why?”

“I didn’t mean to act so harshly back then. I, um… I’ve been, uh… Bad day at work, that’s all!” All sorrow disappears and a cheeky grin soon replaces it. “I’ve never heard of that boy before,” she continues.

“What boy?” This catches Kai’s attention. He sits up and stares at her like a lost puppy.

“Y’know, the one we drove home today.”

“Oh… him…”

“He didn’t seem like all your other friends. He seemed more kind-hearted.”

“Well… I don’t really know him, I just see him around school sometimes. I saw that he was alone at the bus station with no umbrella and I didn’t want to leave him to walk home in the rain. That’s cruel, even for me!”

“I was just curious," she says hurriedly, defending herself. "You don’t really seem to mix with quiet people like that.” After that, she leaves the room. Cherry-red lips tugged into a smirk and soft, wavy hair flowing freely behind her.

Kai takes out his phone and finds Kyungsoo’s contact. He did promise him that he would check to see if he got home safely. His thumbs flutter over the keys and he unintentionally leans his body forward to focus his eyes on the screen. Five minutes after he sends the message, he gets a reply.

From: Kyungsoo

‘I’m fine. Thanks again for taking me home.’

He feels like replying, he feels like starting a conversation, but he can’t be bothered. Cursing his own laziness, he leans back and takes a deep breath; inhaling the scent of his newly-washed bedsheets. He doesn’t want to think any more. The more he thinks, the more confused he gets. Sleep is the best cure for his uncertainty. A nice nap will take the confusion away.

Author's Note:

I've decided to use 'mom' to describe the mothers in this story since it is used more internationally. (Only us folk from the UK seem to use 'mum'...)