You're sitting in the lecture hall, waiting for the lecturer to start the hour. The place is buzzing with chatter, friends gossiping and joking around. You're observing the people coming in, since you're seated at a pretty high vantage point. You see a boy with pink-brown hair walk in and you're amused at the strange colour pick. Guys normally bleach their hair blonde or something, and even if they do dye their hair, it's usually the boring red or blue. You've never seen guys with this hair colour.

You take a closer look and realise that it's not just anyone who's sporting that hair colour. It's Kai. His head is down and his hands are in his pockets. You notice that he never looks ahead when he's walking. It's as if he's repressing his surroundings, tuning everything and everyone out. It's fascinating how a man who never seems to give a care about the things around him always end up in fights with people. He is quiet too, never once talking more than necessary. You briefly wonder if he even has friends until your lecturer turns on the mic and starts the lecture.

You're walking home after studying in the campus library for hours. It's a Friday night and you really wouldn't have spent it studying, but you had no plans and you've been behind on lectures anyway. You live with your brother in a rented apartment near the campus since your family lives a little far from the university. You usually go back together on weekends, on Saturday morning. But Junmyeon has a short holiday for a week starting today. He has gone back in the afternoon, having already made plans with his friends back in your hometown. You'll be going back tomorrow afternoon since school is still going on as per normal for you.

It's already almost 11PM and you're being as alert as possible. You whip your head around when you hear someone groaning. You see someone stumbling as he walks on the middle of the road. It's a Friday night and you tell yourself that this guy might be drunk and might probably kill you or something, so do not go close. But maybe it's the familiarity of the pink-brown hair that makes you curious.

You walk slower, observing the boy limping slightly. His head is down but his hands aren't in his pockets as usual. A car is cruising down the lane and you would think that Kai would move out of the way. But he doesn't. He continues to limp and walk slowly. The guy behind the wheel winds down the window and shouts at the boy. And that's when you move.

You rush over to Kai, circling your arm around him. But he hisses in pain, flinging you away. He shouts, "Are you crazy?!" When he looks up and glares at you, his expression turns from surprise to confusion. You turn and bow to the driver, who has shut up when you came over to help.

"Come on, Kai," you murmur, taking his wrist and hoping he doesn't feel pain there. Luckily, he doesn't shrug you off or scream at you.

You slowly walk him over to the pavement while the car drives off successfully without a walking obstacle in his way. When it's just the both of you alone in the quiet neighbourhood again, you take a better look at Kai. He has a cut along his cheek and bruised lip. Blood is soaking through his shirt as well. He notices you surveying his appearance.

"What?" he snaps.

You shake your head, suddenly reminded that you're still holding onto him. You let go of him and ask politely, "Do you stay around here?"

"Do you see me around here often?" Kai rolls his eyes, finding your question stupid.

You are nervous and scared even as you ask quietly, "Do you want to come back to my place so I can treat you?"

You wish you weren't so scared out of your wits because the look of Kai's face is pure surprise and even then, it is a pleasant kind of surprise. You wish you could have enjoyed that look.

But you're flustered and you blubber, "My brother's out of town, you can wear his clothes and sleep in his room. I'm just worried about your—"

"You're nosy," Kai mutters quietly, looking straight ahead now.

You realise that he doesn't seem to have a filter when he talks. You're silent. The both of you are walking side-by-side, the only sound is Kai breathing in pain and the wind rustling the leaves of trees. You're about to ask Kai again about going back to your place when he speaks up.

"How much longer to your house?"

You are shocked but you answer quickly, "Oh! Just a few houses down! We're reaching!"

"What are you doing out so late anyway," he mumbles, glancing at your outfit. He doesn't even sound like he's asking you a question. "Studying." You're not sure if it's an observation or a confirmation. You nod anyway.

"Didn't have any plans to fight," you shrug. Then your eyes widen. If there is a detriment to your witty sarcasm, that would be not knowing when to use it and when not to.

"You have a very smart mouth," Kai mutters, staring at you with a blank face. Well, on the bright side, he hasn't killed you yet?

You reach your small apartment after climbing some flights of stairs. You enter with Kai following behind you. Your place is small, but for two people, it's more than enough. Rent isn't that cheap either, but it's already one of the lowest prices for the houses close to university. Now that you're in a lit environment, you can see how badly beaten up Kai is. You gasp softly.

"I'm sure I don't look that bad," he grumbles, rolling his eyes.

"You do," you whisper in horror.

"Stop overreacting."

"I'm not."

"You're stupid."

You actually chuckle at that despite his straightforwardness.

"You sound exactly like my brother," you explain when you see his expression. He looks like he's judging you. You drop your bag by your shoes and hold out your hand, "Come on, I don't want you bleeding all over my floor." Kai stares at your hand like it's a foreign object. You lower it when you realise he isn't going to take it. After all, a guy like him doesn't seem like he would hold your hand just to go to the bathroom. "Follow me, then."

You're starting to walk off when you feel a warm hand enveloping yours. You turn in surprise. Kai is staring at you, his face as blank as a canvas with nothing painted on it. You squeeze his hand, smiling a little as you guide him to the bathroom. You sit him on the covered toilet seat and he lets go of your hand. You go into Junmyeon's room to get some clothes that Kai can wear with his height and physique. You return and place a fresh towel and a set of clothes on the counter next to the sink.

"Call out if you need anything," you tell him and he nods, not looking at you.

You leave him to it. You go out and you hear the door being locked behind you. You get your bag and put it in your room, changing into your pajamas and taking off your make-up. Someone knocks on your door and you quickly open up to a refreshed and clean-looking Kai. He is holding his dirty clothes in his hands. You take it from him and he panics a little.

"There's blood!"

You laugh and shrug, "There's blood on my clothes sometimes too." Kai is quiet for a second. Then you hear him a chuckle — an extremely rare treat, you think. You grin and shoo him, "Wait for me on my bed. I'll clean your wounds for you."

"It's unnecessary—"

"Seriously Kai," you sigh like a mother.

Kai obeys you, surprisingly. You take a bit longer than you normally would with your usual laundry because Kai's clothes have blood stains on them. You have to wash as much of the stain off so his blood doesn't contaminate the rest of your clothes in he washing machine. When you're done, you throw his clothes with all your other dirty laundry and let it run while you return to your room with a first aid box.

Kai is lying down on your bed and you hear his deep breathing. He must be sleeping already. You quietly make your way to your bed, where the boy is lying face up. He really is sleeping, his eyes closed. You set the first aid kit next to him and sit gently on the mattress so as not to wake him up. You wet a cotton ball with antiseptic and dab it lightly on the cut on his lip.

"Motherer," Kai hisses, swatting your hand away in reflex. He is staring at your face before he drops his gaze to the cotton ball on your hand. "Oh."

"Sorry," you apologise. "You were sleeping and I didn't want to—"

"You talk a lot," he murmurs, holding your gaze. He closes his eyes again and mumbles softly, "It's nice."

"Me talking a lot is nice?" You chuckle, dabbing the cotton ball on his cut again. He in a few pained breaths but doesn't curse at you anymore. "I would have thought you'd throw me out the window for blabbing."

"I would if I had a gauge to how much is too much."

You wonder what he's talking about until you remember that he probably doesn't have friends. Your heart aches for him. Sure, he has snapped at you, intimidated you, but Kai seems like a normal boy who is just... different. All you have to do is be patient. But how patient are people these days, really? Even Kai isn't patient himself, how does one try to be patient with him? That's not the point though. Because to deal with someone like him who has anger management issues, you just have to be the bigger person.

"You would have an estimate of how much is too much if you know me," you tell him jokingly. "I went for a test and found that I speak like, twelve words per second."

"Seriously?" Kai sounds horrified.

You laugh, "No, duh." The side of his lip twitches and you move to his body. "Can I lift your shirt?"

He hums in consent and you do so. His abs are flat and his skin colour is a nice, healthy tan. Your heart is palpitating in your chest as you clean his wounds at his ribs. Apart from his fiery temper and attitude, Kai is an attractive person. y, even. It's not abnormal if you're blushing, really. The room is quiet again, except for the motors of the fan running.

"So..." you start softly, waiting for a snappy remark to ask you to get on with the question. He only hums quietly in acknowledgment. "What were you doing, fighting around here?" He flutters his eyes open and looks at you expressionlessly. "You don't have to tell me, I'm just being nosy."

A chuckle escapes his lips and you unknowingly grin upon hearing it. "You're naughty," Kai concludes, making you blush. Then he goes serious, "If I tell you, you're not going to tell anyone?"

"I don't want to be haunted by you."

"Don't laugh either," he warns.

"I have no intentions of dying anytime soon."

"Some middle-aged men were abusing a kitten."

The room is quiet and Kai is staring at you for a change in expression. You're not going to laugh, because this isn't a laughing matter. You despise people who abuse animals. But for Kai to stick up for a baby animal? Who would have thought? Your heart swells and you suddenly feel proud of him as if you even know him. You start to wonder if every fight he's been in has a meaning to it, or a cause that he's fighting for.

"What are you thinking?" Kai whispers, staring at you. You shake your head, not saying anything as you continue to clean his wounds. "Tell me."

"You. I'm thinking about you."

"What about me," he raises an eyebrow, not looking as intimidating as he normally would look.

You shrug, not saying anything as you throw the used cotton ball away. While you bandage his cuts, you ask him, "Did you injure the men?"

"Badly," he chuckles darkly, probably reminded of how the guys look.

"And the kitten?"

"Ran away the moment it could, the ungrateful little thing."

You laugh heartily. "You're a good guy, Kai," you murmur, hoping he feels your sincerity.

He doesn't say anything but stares at you, trying to figure you out. You give him a smile and leave the room to return the first aid box to its place. On the way back to your room, you turn off the lights outside. Kai is sitting up on your bed when you return. He looks up at you when you start towards your bed.

"I-I..."

Is he stuttering?

You take a closer look and you notice that Kai has red ears. You wish you could take a picture of this moment. A blushing Kai is a rare sight, isn't it?

"What is it?" you ask gently, urging him to speak.  

"Thank you," he whispers so quietly that you almost can't hear him. You know he's shy and embarrassed, being someone who probably isn't used to thanking others.

"It's my pleasure, Kai," you tell him. "I like your hair, by the way. Very pretty."

"My parents didn't like it," he mutters, looking away.

"Well," you sit on your bed and get under the blanket. "I think you look nice in this colour. Hot, even." You see his neck turning red even from behind and you have to bite your lip from smiling too wide. This boy may be violent, but his heart is soft. You decide to save him from his embarrassment. "Not going to sleep?"

"Uh..."

You laugh quietly. How can anyone be afraid of him? He's harmless. Well, mostly. You , "You can sleep with me if you're scared of the dark."

"I'm not scared of the dark," Kai rebuts, although he doesn't have the usual snark in his voice. He climbs in bed with you, to your astonishment. You didn't really think he was going to sleep with you. 

"Good night, Kai," you whisper as you turn off the lights.