"So when are you going to let me call you Jongin?" you ask Kai, nudging his arm. 

He glances at you, "You're allowed to." Then he mutters quietly, "I don't even know why you don't." 

People are glancing at you more often, only because Kai has been walking around with a friend. What's more, a lady friend. It doesn't faze you though. Well, it did at first, but now you're just happy to be with Kai because after practically living with him for a week, you've realised how much of a sweetheart he really is under those layers of toughness. You're kind of sad that Suho came home, actually. You didn't want Kai to leave. 

"So you'll let me call you Jongin?" you confirm a bit too excitedly. 

He rolls his eyes, sounding a little exasperated when he says, "Yes."

You're bobbing on your heels when you squeal, "Oh my god, I feel so honoured to be calling you—"

"Please act normal," Kai sighs, grabbing your elbow to stop you from jumping about.

He has a hint of a smile on his lips though and you know he is not annoyed with you. He is hardly ever annoyed with you these days. You walk with Kai, chatting to him constantly. He has opened up considerably and has started voicing out thoughts and opinions as you speak to him. It is definitely a lot more fun now talking to him than during the initial stages of your friendship. 

You're going to get coffee when you hear a familiar voice calling out your name. Kai and you stop and turn in the direction of the caller. You see your brother waving to you, smiling. You glance nervously at Kai and you notice that his walls are back up, guarding him so securely that you wonder how you actually managed to get through them. 

"Where are you going?" Suho grins at you, glancing at your friend. He does a double take when he mutters, "And with Kai..."

"We're getting coffee," you murmur nervously. Kai is a tensed position, like he is ready for war. You move closer to him, tapping the back of your fingers against the side of his thigh, and he visibly relaxes. "What do you have now? Do you wanna join us?" you offer even though you know Kai won't be too happy with that. But you press on, embracing this opportunity for your brother to meet Kai as your friend and not as a monster everyone avoids. "You can meet Kai too." 

Kai is staring at you, a kind of fire in his eyes that you haven't seen directed to you in so long. You gulp anxiously. Suho nods curtly and the three of you start to walk. The tension is heavy on your shoulders and you're starting to wonder if this is a good idea.

"How did you meet my sister?" Suho asks Kai, glancing at the boy.

"She's in the same tutorial as I am," he mutters as politely as he can. You can hear a tinge of annoyance in his voice though. 

"Ah... Is she a good girl?" your brother narrows his eyes on you, his question a bit teasing. 

Kai looks surprised that your uptight brother is actually joking but answers anyway, "Sometimes." 

"Hey!" you make a face, smacking his arm.

Kai laughs softly, grabbing your hand. You feel Suho tense next to you as if he is afraid Kai might snap your wrist or something. But you nudge Kai with your elbow and he stumbles away from you even though he wouldn't normally be this easy to push away. He just likes letting you think you're stronger than he is. (But in the back of your mind, you tell yourself that maybe Kai just lets you do it because he has a soft spot for you.)

"I'm a very good girl, okay," you huff, glaring at him. 

Suho ruffles your hair, smiling slightly though you can see the confusion in his eyes. When Kai returns to his previous spot next to you, Suho comments, "You guys seem close." 

You clear your throat. "Yeah... We've been hanging out a lot lately." When you catch his glare, you cringe a little. "It's just... It wasn't planned at first. But now it's just kind of an unconscious thing?"

The bell chimes when Kai opens the door to the cafe, letting you and your brother in before he enters. The three of you stand there, staring at the menu. Then you turn to Kai, who is already staring at you through his pink-brown hair. 

"The usual?" he mutters.

Kai never presents his questions like statements now that you've gotten so much closer to him. He actually asks them. 

You nod and beam at him. He looks at Suho, who has caught the entire exchange between the both of you. "What about you, hyung?"

You smile at the way Kai is already calling your brother hyung. Even Suho looks surprised. He smiles, this time not so diplomatic, but more comfortable. "I'll get an iced caramel latte."

Kai nods and goes to queue up while you and your brother find a place to sit at. You glance at Kai, who has his head down, now that you're not there with him. He's blocking people out again, preferring to be in his little bubble than to nose into other people's lives. 

"You didn't tell me anything about you meeting Kai," Suho grumbles, glaring at you. 

You offer a nervous smile, but he narrows his eyes even more and you drop the act, slumping in your seat. "You would have asked me to stay away from him if you knew..."

"Yes, so why'd you get close to him anyway?" he sounds a little tired from being an older brother. But this is actually better than him sounding mad and you think maybe you did a good job in inviting your brother along to this coffee treat. 

"Because he's not bad, oppa," you murmur, finding yourself staring at Kai again. He is covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawns and your heart aches because you know he hasn't been home for a few nights now and he probably slept in his car. "He's human too, you know," you whisper, suddenly protective of him. "He's not a monster despite his lack of anger control." 

It is quiet for a moment before Suho sighs, "Yeah, I guess I judged him too harshly." You blink and turn to your brother suspiciously. He quirks an eyebrow. "What?" 

"You're not joking, right? You really think that?"

"Yeah," he shrugs, glancing at Kai. "He doesn't seem too bad. I guess I should learn from my little sister sometimes and actually be nice to people." 

"Oh my god, thank you, thank you, thank you!" you gush, hugging your brother tightly, leaving him stunned and confused. 

"What for?" he asks, a little baffled by your reaction, as he pats your back. 

"For accepting Kai," you murmur into his ear and pull back quickly when you notice the subject of the conversation already coming over with a tray of your drinks. 

Kai takes a seat next to you and gives out the beverages, sticking the straws into place. Suho takes out his wallet, "How much was it? Let me pay for my sister too." 

Kai shakes his head, "It's okay. I always pay when I'm out with your sister." 

Suho looks at you with wide eyes, almost like a berating mom. You blush. "Kai never lets me pay. I've tried many times to sneak my card but he always catches me." 

"Well, you're a girl," he points out, staring at you as he drinks a sip of his mint chocolate drink. "And..." You and Suho wait for what is going to come but Kai eventually gives up at the lack of reasons. He merely shrugs, "And no reason. I just want to pay for you, I guess." 

You cannot stop blushing, so you drink your iced beverage to cool you down. Suho hums in amusement before asking Kai, "Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Tonight?" he glances at you. You nod your head excitedly and he turns to your brother. "Sure...?"

Kai is driving to your apartment after your lessons. He had waited for you to end your last class since your day was longer than his. You found him in his car, taking a nap. You almost didn't want to wake him up, but then you noticed a swollen jaw and you just had to knock rapidly on the window, waking him up from his slumber. It has been two weeks since his last fight and you were kind of proud at that fact. But now he has broken that streak. The moment you got into the vehicle, you asked him about it. 

"Nothing," he breezily answered, pushing your hand away. But you're stubborn when you grabbed his chin, turning his head this way and that to check for more injuries. He sighed and covered your hand with his to bring it down. "I didn't get hurt anywhere else." 

You sighed in relief but asked again, "So what happened?" 

"Some guy was talking down to a teacher," he finally let up. 

"Why'd you get yourself involved?" you had asked in exasperation, a bit mad that he was always doing things so compulsively, even when he could have avoided these bruises. 

"You know how I don't like it when people are bullied," he had snapped.

And you do know. But you're still mad at him anyway. Which is why the car is quiet the entire drive back. No one says anything and all you do is look out the window. Today is also the first time Kai actually has to park his car when he reaches your neighbourhood when driving you home. He normally drops you off at the end of the day when the both of you have classes that end at the same time. It's not really needed for him to drive you home since you live so close to uni anyway, but Kai always insists. 

Just before you leave the vehicle, Kai holds onto your elbow. You turn to him, one leg out of the car, one hand on the door, your lips pressed into a thin line.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs quietly, awkwardly. He still isn't good at apologising or thanking people.

You sigh, letting the stoic mask you wear break away. You get back into the car, closing the door slightly. Kai is looking at you attentively, waiting for the words that will escape your lips. 

"I just don't like that you're hurting yourself," you tell him honestly, eyes pointedly looking to his swollen jaw. "I don't like you hurting others too, but you're more important to me." 

Kai lets go of your elbow slowly and he groans. "It's so hard, you don't understand," he mutters, rubbing his face. "It's easy when you're around because you make me stop. You're like my lifeline, you know? You stop me from becoming a monster. And when you're away, I'm like... crazy again, or something. I just lose it." 

You soften, rubbing your hand on his arm. "Be kind to yourself, Jongin," you murmur, his birth name sounding a little awkward but so familiar when you say it. Kai's eyes twinkle and dance and you think they would look beautiful with the night sky. You smile softly, "We're all crazy one way or another. Most people just think they're normal." 

"Are you crazy?" he asks softly. 

Your lips quirk into a cheeky smile. "Someone told me I speak too much for my own good. I guess I am crazy." 

Kai laughs; the sound so recognisable that you know exactly what will happen in your body. First, your lips will be replaced by a smile. Then, your heart will start beating fast like a little rabbit's. Third, your stomach will start feeling funny, kind of like that feeling you get before you go to a concert. 

"I'll get you some ice when we go home," you finally say when you've managed to stop yourself from drowning in your overwhelming feelings. 

He nods and the both of you leave the vehicle. When you enter your apartment, Suho is already cooking. He glances up at the both of you, smiling, before he goes back to preparing dinner. Kai immediately enters your room, since he is more familiar with your room than other parts of the house. Suho is staring at you when you wrap some ice in a towel. 

"Did he get into another fight?" your brother asks, a little too condescendingly. 

You sigh as you wet the towel slightly. "It's his first one in two weeks. He's trying, oppa." 

He continues staring at you, an unreadable expression on his face. But then he sighs, nodding. "You're helping him," he murmurs, a little proudly that his sister is doing a good deed. "Just don't get yourself hurt in the process."

You beam at him, a show of thanking him for understanding. You return to your room where Kai is already laying on your bed, on the side that he normally sleeps at. You sit next to him, pressing the ice towel to his jaw. He cringes at the sudden drop in temperature, but continues to stare at you. Your eyebrows are furrowed and your bottom lip is caught between your teeth in concern. 

It is funny how much someone can change in two weeks. The first time you met Kai, he was as unfeeling as a non-living object. He didn't know how to feel what others were feeling. But now, two weeks later, he could read everything on your face, he could understand your thoughts just from your facial expressions.

"I'm fine," he mutters softly, reassuring you. He knows you're worried.

You give him a small smile, glancing to look at him in the eyes. "I know you are."

Suho clears his throat as he enters the room and the both of you turn to stare at him. He smiles, "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes." Then he directs his worried gaze to Kai, "What happened?"

Kai grunts, not really wanting to tell him. So you answer instead, "A student was talking down to a teacher, so he taught the guy a lesson."

Suho looks surprised and you suddenly think back to yourself when you first found Kai bloodied and wounded from saving a kitten from getting abused. Your brother has always been one to stand up for things that matter, things that are important. You can almost feel the prejudice he had towards Kai dissipate, now being more understanding. 

"You shouldn't have gotten hurt in the process though," he sighs, sitting on your bed. 

You press the ice towel firmer onto Kai's jaw and he hisses in pain. "Yeah, you shouldn't have," you chastise. 

"He was half a size bigger than me," he grumbles, sounding a little whiny. "I made more damage to him though," he offers, thinking it is good to mention that. 

You glance at Suho, afraid of what he might think. But he is smiling, nodding. "I'm glad you did."

Kai is as still as you are, not really comprehending what Suho means by that when it is so obvious. He apparently approves of Kai's violence, which should indeed be very shocking. He smiles and pats Kai's leg before getting up and going back to the kitchen. You stare at Kai, who still looks stunned. He finally looks at you, confusion written all over his face.

"I think my brother likes you, Kai," you grin at him.