#decode series

Distantly you register Beomgyu calling after you wondering what happened but you don’t care. Making it to the car you get in rounding the turns towards the sound of Kai’s voice. The closer you get the more you hear the thoughts of the disgusting and clearly drunk men who wont leave him alone. You hit the steering wheel in frustration willing the car to go faster.

You pull in to the empty and poorly lit parking lot, tires screeching. You flash your lights at the men, bringing your car dangerously close to where they stood. They stumble back pathetically but make no moves to get away from Kai.

Growling in anger you make your way out of the car. You register Kai staring at you in confusion and awe and allow yourself to check that he is unharmed. To your relief he is but he is also definitely rattled by what has happened. This renews your anger and you turn to the men utilizing the best of your vampire abilities to intimidate them.

Clearly startled by your sudden appearance and hostility they finally begin to back off stumbling back to the safety of the bar. Once you were satisfied they were gone for good you turn back to Kai worried for his safety.

“Are you alright? Did they do anything to you? Why were you here all alone? Do you need anything?” you ramble off unable to stop the flood of questions and concern. You don’t really give him a chance to answer, grabbing his arm and ushering him to the safety of your car, still murmuring questions and cursing out the men under your breath. He easily stumbles along with you, slipping into the passenger seat without complaint.

You get back in the car and ask him if there’s anywhere he needs you to take him to. He finally speaks after minutes of silence and as always he hits you with the most unpredictable response.

“Why are your hands so … cold?” he gets out, turning his puzzled gaze to your face. You immediately tense, uneasy with the line of unexpected questioning and brush him off by asking again if he’s alright. As though asking one question gave him back his courage to speak, Kai was now the one pelting you with questions you found difficult to answer.

“How did you find me? How did you know i was in danger? What did you say to those men to make them run like that?” he pushes, getting more and more agitated with each question you left unanswered.

Finally, you hear Beomgyus thoughts registering in your mind, indicating that he’s close by enough to hear you and to piece together what happened. Hoping Beomgyu gets the hint you finally answer Kai.

“I was dropping Beomgyu off at a store nearby and I saw what was happening from my car. I rushed over as soon as I could,” you attempt to placate him with your answer.

He gives you a look that lets you know he doesn’t 100% believe you but you’ll take what you can get. You settle into the drivers seat making your way over to the only nearby store hoping Beomgyu heard and is waiting for you. You assume this would be the end of his questioning but as always Kai manages to shock you.

“Why?” he asks, voice cracking a bit on his emotions. You brake a little harshly, stunned at his response.

“Why?” you begin, with a humorless laugh, “Kai, you were clearly in trouble. I wasn’t going to leave you to get attacked or worse. I know I can be standoffish and rude but i’m not that much of a monster,” you finish, a little upset at any of the implications of his question.

“Thats not what i meant…” he mumbles back, avoiding eye contact. You so desperately want to push the subject, find out what he really means but he closes off and you decide to respect his boundaries. Soon, you are pulling in to the local hardware store close to the parking lot Kai was in. Luckily for you Beomgyu was standing right out front, acting confused as to why he was left behind. You had to applaud him for his dedication to the role, you owed him big time.

Kai seemed to perk up at the sight of Beomgyu, seeming a lot calmer now that your reasoning had been proven true. As Beomgyu got in the car you quickly explained what happened to which Kai became a little flustered by and began insisting he was okay.

Beomgyu, genuinely concerned for him, offered apologies for what had happened and the option to talk to him about it if Kai ever felt he wanted to. You smiled at Beomgyu through the rear view mirror, filled with joy at how he treated Kai. It made you happy to see your family care for him given the events of the last few weeks.

“So, did you want us to drop you off anywhere? We could just take you home also, whatever works best for you,” you asked Kai, lowkey not wanting to be apart from him right now but knowing he was likely exhausted from what he experienced.

“Um… I was here with some friends before I wandered off to the bookstore. They were going to eat at the diner, I guess you could leave me there,” he responded, giving you a small smile. You nodded, changing lanes to head to the local diner.

You pull into the parking lot, turning to say bye to Kai and offer similar reassurances to what Beomgyu had told him when he cuts you off. “Sorry,” he starts, looking up from his phone, “It looks like they left already,” he finishes, shrugging sheepishly and waving his phone around to convey that they had just messaged him. Some friends.

“You should still eat, it’s been a long day for you. We can wait for you here or pick up something for you on the way to your house,” you offer, unsure of what to do in this situation. Yeonjun and Soobin would be screaming at you right about now.

“Actually… do you think, I mean, would you be able to maybe have dinner with me? If that’s possible I don’t know how busy you guys are I don’t want to keep you waiting,” he hesitantly asks, avoiding eye contact.

Your immediate reaction is a resounding yes (yes a million times yes), but you hesitate, glancing briefly over to Beomgyu. You cant just leave him behind you guys did come to hunt together. You definitely can’t have Beomgyu eat with you guys either he would expose your (totally not real) feelings so fast.

Beomgyu, ever the opportunist, picks up on your hesitation and makes the decision for you. “Well, I was still uh…shopping, I could take the car and go finish that up while you guys eat and come back to pick you up,” he offers, stumbling to cover up hunting with the shopping lie you had forwarded earlier. You send him a grateful smile, easily agreeing and reassuring Kai that it would be no problem. You hoped.

You made your way into the restaurant with Kai, waving bye to Beomgyu who shot you a wink and very loudly thought “you’re welcome !! just go for it and be yourself !!!” You shook your head, laughing slightly and continued following Kai inside.

The diner was basically empty save for a few families and teenagers. The waitress guided you guys to a booth near the back and you pushed Kai to order already, insisting that the sooner he eats the better he will feel. He smiles at you again before quickly placing his order. You willed yourself not to get giddy at the sight of his smile. You were failing miserably.

“So, you saved my life, again. Thank you by the way. I hope you know this just confirms my superhero theory,” Kai begins talking as soon as the waitress leaves. You let out a loud laugh, startled but amused by his sudden claims.

“Still definitely not a superhero,” you answer shyly. Your family would be making sooo much fun of you right now.

“If you insist, but you are special, in your own way,” he continues, kind smile still on his face but a hint of red making it’s way to the tips of his ears. How cute.

You don’t know if it’s the compliments, or his sincerity, or just the shock of the last hour but you find yourself overwhelmed with wanting to tell him about yourself. To tell him the truth. You give him as close to it as you can.

Sending a mental apology to your family you hesitantly begin, “Well, not a superhero but um you aren’t entirely wrong about being ‘special’ in a way.” You look at him nervously trying to gauge his response to that. He meets your gaze head on, offering a reassuring nod and indicating you elaborate.

Sighing deeply you continue, “Okay, don’t laugh but I can I mean I do have an ability that’s not totally normal. I can read minds.” You grip the table tightly, ready to act like you’re joking if he takes this badly.

“Oh no. You could read my mind this whole time ? Oh my god i’m so sorry,” he exclaims, giving you an incredibly embarrassed look. You stare in shock.

“I tell you that I can read minds, and your first reaction is to apologize for your thoughts. You never fail to amaze me,” you respond, once again left stunned by Kai.

“Don’t worry though. Funny enough, you actually happen to be the one exception to my power,” you quickly reassure, noting the rabbit hole he was going down.

“Wait so is there something wrong with my thoughts? Or with your power somehow? You can hear everyone else?” he immediately questions, unfazed by the news of your mind reading abilities but concerned on their logistics. He was going to be the death of you… well second death.

As much as you wish you could tell him, you hold off on mentioning anything that could imply the whole you being a vampire thing. Lucky for you he seems very content with the information you gave about mind reading. You find he is way more open and excited as he talks to you after the reveal. He trusts you again.

His food arrives and he digs in starting to look better and better as he eats. You continue to watch him fondly engaging in small talk. You even indulge him when he starts asking you what random people in the diner are thinking of. It’s worth it to see his expressive reactions to everyone’s thoughts. The time goes by too quickly and soon he is finished with his meal and insisting you call Beomgyu as he feels bad to keep him waiting so long.

You smile fondly at the sentiment but ultimately agree and send Beomgyu a text to let him know you were ready to go. Heading out to the car you walk side by side, occasionally bumping hands and then shying away from each others touch. You cant believe this is what you’ve been reduced to a blushing, giggly, love sick fool.

Beomgyu has a shit eating grin on his face as he gets out of the car to let you drive. You do a great job at pretending you can’t see it. As you all get in the car you realize you forgot to tell Kai to keep what you said a secret from everyone, something you are painfully aware of as he begins to speak.

“So Beomgyu, I figure you don’t have mind reading abilities also… unless you do? I don’t really know how that works honestly but um what’s your power then?” he finishes, a little flustered but eager to hear the answer. You roughly brake the car yet again turning wide eyes to Kai and then to Beomgyus shocked face.

“YOU TOLD HIM?! THAT IS SO NOT WHAT I MEANT BY GO FOR IT !!” Beomgyu exclaims, thoughts going a million miles an hour. You hiss out at him to shut up and rush to explain yourself.

“Yes! I told Kai how I can mind read. How that’s the major secret i’ve been hiding. Guess I forgot to mention that i’m the only one in my family with a power,” you finish, gritting your teeth and hoping Beomgyu gets the hint again. His mouth flounders around as he fails to find a reasonable response and just settles for a very weak “oh okay, yeah…” Way to be convincing.

Kai, ever observant, sends a suspicious glance over to both you and Beomgyu but doesn’t push the matter, simply nodding in response. The rest of the ride back to Kai’s house is a little tense with stilted attempts at small talk being made by each of you. You cant help but feel a little bit of relief to finally pull into his driveway.

“Well, thanks again guys really. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up. Um, also thank you for trusting me it means a lot.” Kai shyly addresses you and Beomgyu to which you rush to offer reassurances and wishes for him to have a good night.

“Also, I won’t tell anyone I swear so uh don’t worry about that! It’s all good! We’re good!,” he rushes out mainly to you, prompting the biggest smile to take over your face. Damn your feelings. Damn his cuteness. Beomgyu audibly coos causing Kai to blush harder as he bids a final farewell to the two of you and makes his way to his house.

You wave back when you suddenly notice that Kai is holding something in one of his hands. In the mess that was this evening you hadn’t noticed that he was carrying something with him. You figure it must be the book he ended up risking his life to go buy earlier.

Curious to see what he was so determined to get you peek at the cover sticking out over his arm. If it was possible your blood would’ve ran cold. Staring back at you in bold letters was the title “Myths and Folklore of the Forks Region.” Accompanying the incriminating titles was drawings of various “mythological” creatures.

Front and center was a stereotypical depiction of a vampire.

Shit.

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You wondered if this is how people felt whenever they saw anyone from your clan, and you were suddenly a lot more sympathetic to their curiosity-laced nervousness.

“Alright class, please settle down. I would like to introduce you all to our transfer student Huening Kai,” your teacher began as he struggled to be heard over the classroom chatter. “You can just call me Kai,” a soft voice interjected and you looked up just in time to catch his shy smile before he directed his eyes back to the floor, fringe falling to cover his face.

Your teacher gave a hum in response and ushered Kai to sit in the only empty seat left, the one right next to you. You couldn’t help but feel kind of excited and immediately berated yourself for thinking in such a way. You were immortal and Kai was very much not, you couldn’t afford to feel anything about him except indifference.

Kai began to walk over to the lab bench and that’s when the smell hit you. Being around humans you had gotten used to the scent of blood, especially considering the “vegetarian” animal diet your family stuck to. At this point the smell has become kind of stale and repetitive never really bringing forward temptation in any of your family.

Of course Kai would be the exception to this. He smelled heavenly and you had to harshly grip the table to reign in your vampire instincts.

The lessons were always boring but this one felt agonizing. Even though a part of you was overjoyed to be next to Kai, you were doing your best to stomp out those feelings. Your family and their safety was the most important thing to you and you could not risk putting that in jeopardy no matter what.

It was then that you realized the boy next to you was oddly quiet. You had chalked it up to his shy demeanor and slight awkwardness noting he didn’t participate much despite clearly knowing all the answers. You focused in a bit more trying to hear his thoughts to see if you could get more of an indication of just who this boy is or what he thought of you. That’s when the silence enveloping him finally made sense to you.

You couldn’t hear his thoughts.

That was like your whole thing. Everyone in the family has some sort of power and yours was mind reading, there was not a moment since you turned that you were not plagued with the internal monologue of everyone around you. Yet here you find yourself trying your hardest to tune into Kai’s mind only to find absolutely nothing.

If you were intrigued by him before it was nothing compared to the curiosity gnawing away at you now.

Squeezing the desk once again you shook your head slightly trying to gain back some sense of responsibility and control. You willed time to go faster just wanting to be away from the boy plaguing your thoughts (the irony was not lost on you).

Finally the bell rang and you sprinted out of class as fast as you could desperate to be rid of the last hour. Without thinking you walked right into the office and began to ask the receptionist to change your biology class to literally anything else. She was clearly flustered by your request attempting to calm you down and inform you that class changes could not happen mid year.

“Please, I’ll do any other subject! I work hard i’m positive I can catch up on what’s been covered already I just-,” you began to plead only to be cut off by the very smell you were trying to escape. Whirling around you made direct eye contact with none other than Huening Kai who was obviously trying to hide the fact that he had overheard your request. Feeling overwhelmed and slightly embarrassed you turned back to the receptionist giving an apology and walked right out into the hallway.

Of course this meant walking right to a waiting Taehyun who’s shit eating grin told you he had definitely had a vision of how your day would be earlier and decided not to warn you.

You grabbed him by the shoulder and began to aggressively walk him down the hallway to the next class you guys shared. “Why didn’t you tell me?” you hissed at him, paranoid that Kai might pop up again. He just laughed in response infuriating you that much more.

“It’ll be fine you’re overreacting. You know I would’ve told you if I saw something bad happening. Plus this could be good for you maybe you’ll finally get out of your whole emo brooding i’m so lonely phase,” Taehyun added on making you roll your eyes.

“I do not have an emo phase and the last thing I need is any sort of relations with a human. You know the safety of the family comes first,” you angrily responded, still careful to keep your voice down. Taehyun just hummed in response seeming very decided in his stance on the matter.

You groaned walking into your next class with him and making direct eye contact with Soobin who no doubt could already sense how you felt. He gave you a confused look wondering what could’ve possibly made you feel so much but it didn’t last long as Taehyun launched into the story in very specific detail. By the end of class they were both grinning teasingly back at you and you were fighting back the urge to beat them up right then and there, class be damned.

Lunch was no better considering you sat at the perfect angle to see everyone fawning over a clearly uncomfortable Kai. Not to mention Soobin and Taehyun wasted no time in filling in the rest of the family on your dilemma. If you thought their teasing was bad it was nothing compared to the endless tirade Yeonjun and Beomgyu were pelting at you both verbally and mentally.

“I didn’t know vampires could get hit with Cupid’s arrows,” Beomgyu mocked while Yeonjun made dramatic kissing noises in the background. You briefly considered running away to Canada right then and there. Life in the wilderness wouldn’t be so bad. Right?

“It’s not like that,” you flatly replied to their antics. “I’m a lot more concerned about the fact that I can’t hear his thoughts and the possible implications of a fault in my powers,” you continued through their snickers and doubtful comments.

Despite their actions you knew your family only had the best intentions in mind, feeling hopeful that you maybe found someone that would make you happy. Slowly their comments began to crumble your fragile resistance. Your mind kept wandering back to what Taehyun had insisted earlier, how he’d warn you if he saw something bad. He’s right, for all his teasing he would never willingly put any of the family in danger.

It was this thought that solidified the brewing idea you’d been pushing away all day. You were going to befriend Huening Kai. 

Sensing the shift in your mood and likely seeing a new vision in response to your decision both Soobin and Taehyun turned wide eyes to you but still had small pleased smiles on their faces. Yeonjun and Beomgyu noticing this but not having powers that would cue them in to the change immediately began to whine to the others demanding to be updated on the situation. 

You let Taehyun fill them in, tuning out the resulting commentary to instead focus on the mystery that was Huening Kai.  In that moment you also happened to catch the curious, wandering eyes of the very boy that had just turned your life upside down.

Things were definitely about to get interesting

Weirdly enough you also trusted him. You knew deep down he was not going to tell anyone what had truly happened, he would let everyone believe that you were nearby as you claimed. He was curious about you sure. A little confused and upset? Definitely. He wasn’t cruel though. 

Tuning back into the drive you went rigid as Yeonjun finally began to speak. 

“Look, I know you like this guy and honestly it’s really good to see you interested in someone. I mean it. But, you need to be more careful. This was way too close of a call. I think out of all of us you are probably the most responsible and paranoid about someone discovering our secret, which makes this so surprising. I get why you did it I really do and i won’t scold you more than this when I know you are beating yourself up enough already but please, be smart in how you handle the aftermath,” he finished, tone grim but demeanor less intimidating than before.

If you could cry, you would be sobbing by now. He was right. You did know better but also you couldn’t just let Kai get hit. You simply nodded in response giving a soft thank you as you continued to try and gather your thoughts on this whole situation. 

The hospital was just how you remembered it. Cold, boring, practically empty. The only difference was this time there was actually an ambulance bringing someone over. You caught a glimpse of a very embarrassed Kai being wheeled in, likely insisting that he’s fine. Yeonjun gestured for you guys to head in and you followed after him, eyes never leaving Kai for as long as you could see him. You were so gone for him already. Fuck.

The head doctor was actually also a vampire, and an old friend of your family’s clan. He greeted you warmly as you walked in with Yeonjun in tow, but quickly returned to his professional demeanor to check on Kai. Knowing the doctor and having the towns patrons be incredibly intimidated by your family had some perks as you were able to follow Kai to the check up area without being stopped. This probably violated some sort of patient confidentiality rule but no one was going to tell you anything. 

You heard a little commotion and turned around to find the rest of your siblings had also come. You were surprised, assuming they would’ve just gone home. “How is he?” questioned Taehyun as soon as he was within human hearing range. You shrugged in response still working through the shock of seeing them here. This left you wondering if they cared about Kai too.

Speaking of, you briefly caught Kai’s eye and were surprised to see him looking at your family in confusion. You quickly diverted your gaze.

The doctor thoroughly checked over Kai and after ensuring there was no concussion, he allowed Kai to be released with the condition of getting “plenty of rest.” 

Just as he was standing up Kai suddenly blurted out, “Are you by any chance related to their family?” He motioned towards where you all were standing, and you felt Yeonjun tense immediately. 

You could tell the doctor was surprised someone had noticed the slight similarity vampires shared as a means of luring in prey, but he handled the question well insisting that he was an old friend of the family but nothing more. He also diverted back to Kai’s health, motioning him towards the receptionist as he shot you a questioning look. 

You walked back to the lobby with your family as you waited for Kai to fill out any necessary paperwork. You don’t know why you were so anxious to see him (a lie, you knew exactly why), but you didn’t feel ready to leave just yet.

While waiting, you questioned the rest of your siblings on why they were here. They confirmed your suspicions that while mainly worried about you, they wanted to know if Kai was okay as well. This made you smile a little bit, a welcome joy in this whirlwind of a day. 

“Don’t think we aren’t going to talk about this when we get back home though,” Soobin continued, voice taking on a slightly sterner edge. You nodded having not expected otherwise, but were quickly distracted by Kai exiting the reception area and rapidly approaching you. He had a determined glint to his eyes that left you feeling unsettled. 

“Can I speak to you please? Alone,” he requested, eyes briefly flickering over to your siblings when he said alone. Caught off guard you easily followed him towards the corner, where he once again began to interrogate you on what had happened.

You had a choice to make here. You could give in a little to appease his curiosity, but that meant compromising your family even more. There was also the option of doubling down on your earlier gaslighting, something that left guilt gnawing at your stomach already. However, with your family easily within hearing distance and already upset with you, the choice was made no matter what you truly wanted to do.

“I already told you,” you began slowly, “I was right by your car I don’t know how you didn’t see me. It was pure luck I was even able to make it in time to push you away.”

“Yeah right. I know what I saw. You were across the parking lot, there’s no humanly possible way you made it to me in time. Plus you didn’t just push me away, you stopped the car with your hand ! I heard the metal crunch and everything,” he replied, suddenly a lot more agitated after your earlier claims.

“Look, all i want is the truth. I won’t tell anyone I swear but I don’t like feeling like i’m insane when there’s obviously some sort of explanation you could give,” he pleaded in a calmer fashion, confirming your earlier suspicions of his trustworthiness. He wasn’t lying either. 

You almost gave in right then and there but the looming presence of your siblings kept you in check. Feeling terrible you gave out a weak laugh and insisted that he probably did have some sort of concussion that maybe the doctor missed because he was not making sense.

His face hardened and he softly said, “And here I thought we were actually on the path to being friends,” before walking out, fed up with your lies and evasions. That was punishment enough for everything you had caused. 

Defeated, you walked back to your siblings and followed them to the cars, just wanting to get home. No one said a word the entire ride. What could be said? 

Being home wasn’t any better. Yeonjun immediately called for a family meeting and you all flocked to the dining table. Based on their thoughts you noted that they were divided in their stances. Soobin and Yeonjun were a lot more on the fence about Kai. Beomgyu and Taehyun saw this as a major setback but seemed to still be rooting for you and Kai.

“I’m sorry but it’s just so dangerous. He’s a great kid but he’s too observant. At least lie low for a little, avoid him as much as you can,” urged Yeonjun looking into your eyes pleadingly.

“That’ll be hard considering he’s my partner in Biology,” you countered, feeling defensive even if you sort of agreed with what he said. 

Beomgyu and Taehyun were offering support via their thoughts but had remained silent, letting the two eldest say their pieces. You knew they wouldn’t really say much anyways with Taehyun having seen how that would’ve played out and warning Beomgyu not to speak either to avoid a big fight.

“Look, I can feel how upsetting this all is for you just like I can feel how happy he makes you, but can we really trust him? It sucks I know, but we don’t even truly know him. What if he figures it out and runs to tell someone. That not only puts us in danger but him as well,” Soobin reasoned gently. He had a point, one you hadn’t considered.

Humans weren’t allowed to know about vampires. If anyone figured out he knew then his life was at risk. The incident with the doctor was already a close call. 

Looks like your decision was made for you yet again. “Fine, I’ll ignore him. It’s what’s best. For what it’s worth I’m sorry, I never meant to cause any of this or put us in danger I just thought I found a friend and let that cloud my judgement. It won’t happen again,” you responded, Kai’s earlier words ringing in your ears. 

The discussion was left at that and you decided to go up to your room and be alone for a while, ignoring Beomgyu and Taehyuns attempts to talk to you. 

The “good” news is that tomorrow would be a sunny day. None of you ever attended class on sunny days claiming illness or some other weak excuse that the school staff were too scared to counter. An unfortunate byproduct of being a vampire meant that the sun not only caused your skin to be reflective (as a means of luring in prey once again), but also was simply uncomfortable to endure for long periods of time. 

You didn’t have to worry about how you’d avoid Kai tomorrow since you wouldn’t even be there. Try as you might, you couldn’t ignore your brain screaming at you that he would definitely think you didn’t go just to avoid him. You needed to stop worrying about what he thought in regards to you if you wanted to succeed in ignoring him.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and your day off was similar. You mainly let yourself wallow in misery with the limited time you had before you were going to be forced to take on your act of indifference towards Kai. Maybe Taehyun was right, maybe you were having an emo phase. 

The following day was cloudy once again, the stormy disposition of Forks failing you. It should be easy enough to ignore Kai either way considering your grade level had a field trip scheduled to the local compost center. How thrilling. 

Both Soobin and Taehyun were in the same grade as you, with Yeonjun and Beomgyu being in the year above you. Something Beomgyu thought would be hilarious despite being turned after Soobin and thus technically younger. 

You stuck by your siblings the whole day, doing your best to blend in amongst them and not catch Kais attention. Aware of your plan they ensured at least one of them was with you at all times from the classroom to the bus.

They’re pretty successful but of course the one moment you all aren’t on top of the formations Kai takes the chance to sneak next to you. Usually you’d have some sort of warning from hearing someone’s thoughts suddenly get louder but as always, he’s the exception.  

“So what after lying to me I don’t even get an apology just the silent treatment?” he begins tone lighter than you’d expect considering all that’s happened. 

Startled you whip around to look at him and then frantically look for your siblings. You spot them trying their best to make it to you through the dense crowd of students crammed into the greenhouse. Just your luck.

Deciding it would be a smarter move to at least speak to him than pretend he wasn’t even there you let out a resigned sigh and responded. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t lie to you but i’m sorry that things are turning out this way. Trust me it’s not what i wanted,” you pleaded a little, hoping he’d be able to read between the lines. 

Those ever curious eyes stared back at you completely unafraid of what they saw. Anyone else would’ve given up on you, too intimated or scared but right then and there you practically saw Kai make the choice to be kind to you despite your faults yet again.

His eyes softened minutely and he simply nodded saying “If that’s how it had to be then okay. I don’t really expect anything from you just please do your best not to completely shut me out.” The hopeful shine to his eyes had you forgetting all the decisions you had made just days prior. 

You gave a small smile in return and thankfully didn’t have to say more as your siblings finally caught up to you. Kai greeted them shyly and walked away, leaving you with their confused expressions. 

“What happened to ignoring him?” hissed Soobin, having heard the whole conversation. 

“What was I supposed to do just pretend he wasn’t even there. This was better damage control than complete isolation at least he’s not mad,” you countered, gesturing to where Kai was laughing with some other friends and no longer overthinking. At least for now. 

“That’s a good point. If he stayed upset or got even angrier from being ignored there’s no guarantee he would’ve really stayed quiet,” reasoned Taehyun in an attempt to support you and placate Soobin. 

Soobin ultimately agrees with you both giving out another warning to just be careful and the situation is moved on from.

The rest of the trip is uneventful and you find yourself back at the school for lunch time, experiencing no other runs ins with Kai. You somehow feel both grateful and disappointed. 

Your siblings once again waste no time filling in Yeonjun and Beomgyu on what had happened. Such gossips. 

You wince a little as Yeonjun immediately becomes upset, not buying into the flimsy reasoning you and Taehyun had pushed earlier. Just as he was about to open his mouth and say something to you, Beomgyu begins to speak. 

“I think it’s important to mention that Kai is currently drilling holes into our table with his eyes right now,” he states, tone incredibly amused. You hadn’t noticed considering you were doing your best to break your habit of checking in on Kai. 

Sure enough, when you glance over at his table, Kai is staring directly at you gaze serious but contemplative. Seems his momentary pause in overthinking was already over. You somehow find this endearing. 

Suddenly he stands, walking over to the fruit and salad bar in the cafeteria, eyes never really leaving your table. It’s almost like he was asking you to go speak with him. 

“You better go. Find a way to fix this please we can’t have him taking this much interest in us,” Yeonjun interupts, surprising you by suggesting you speak to Kai although his reasoning makes up for the confusion of the request. 

You don’t think twice about getting up and making your way over to Kai. Better to take the chance before Yeonjun changes his mind or someone else pitches in with another idea. 

Kai brightens up a little when he sees you approaching him. Seriously how is he so forgiving. 

Before he can speak you began talking, “You know you really should stop staring, some people think that’s rude.” 

“Ah yes, because you are so concerned with not being rude,” he immediately answers with a small smirk surprising you yet again. You hear your family giggling from across the cafeteria. Traitors. 

Attempting to not be phased you continue, “Seriously though, I know we talked earlier but it really is in your best interest to just forget about me.” It sounds weak even to your ears. 

“See, you keep saying these things and doing stuff to push me away yet you’re doing just as bad of a job at staying away from me,” he easily replies, smile never leaving his face. He has a point. 

You choose to remain quiet, sure that any response you can give right now he will ignore. Not that you can even think of a response to that. 

“Some of my friends are going to the beach soon, you should come with us. I want you to be there,” he continues on, not paying any attention to your warnings. 

“I can’t swim,” is stupidly the first excuse out of your mouth. 

“I can teach you !” is his immediate counter. Great. 

“I’m not really a beach person sorry,” you try again hoping he’d get the hint from the double rejection. You really do feel sorry, you’d love to spend more time with him. 

He stares at you eyes contemplating but ultimately drops the issue only to bring up something far worse. 

“Be real with me. Are you like a superhero or something?” he questions suddenly. 

You splutter in response not really sure what to say to that. You settle on a very squeaky “What?!”

“Sorry. I said earlier I didn’t expect anything from you and here I go questioning. It’s just I don’t know, it lines up a little with the heroic way you saved me,” he mumbles, embarrassed at having asked in the first place.

You stare at him in awe. All you’d done since you met him is be rude, cold, and dismissive 90% of the time and here he was calling you a superhero. Little does he know you were the furthest thing from that. He really was something else. 

“Um, it’s okay. I’m not by the way. Just clearing that up,” you awkwardly respond, deciding to remove yourself from the conversation. You give a small goodbye and rush back to your table only to be met with teasing from all your siblings. 

Even Yeonjun and Soobin weren’t that mad considering just how awkward that whole conversation was. You groan and bury your face into your arms. You were so utterly fucked. 

The rest of your classes were slow and boring, giving you plenty of time to agonize over what your life had turned into so quickly. Finally the bell rings signaling the end of the day and you begin the walk to the parking lot. 

As you’re nearing the car you spot Kai across the lot again, but this time he wasn’t alone. One of his classmates was with him clearly trying to flirt, ignoring the obvious discomfort on Kais face. 

“So, prom is coming up… we should totally go together,” she began, more of a request than a question. He gave a nervous laugh in response and the weak excuse of “being out of town” that weekend. He was a horrible liar, but he was so gentle with his rejection that the girl wasn’t even phased. You didn’t miss how his eyes briefly glanced over to you right before he answered her.

Soon after she left another of his friends approached him. You slowed down a little on your walk to the car, curious to hear more of his conversations. 

“We’re headed to the city this weekend to go shopping you have to come with us,” the friend excitedly begged. You expected another rejection but were surprised when Kai agreed, claiming he wanted to buy a book that was only available in a store downtown.

The friend seemed shocked by the easy acceptance too but wasted no time giving Kai the details of where they’d meet. This had you stopping in your tracks.

Of course Kai would be going shopping right next to the woods you and Beomgyu had decided to hunt at this weekend. Great. 

You tell your family as soon as they’re all by the car too and immediately push for a change of plans regarding the hunt. Surprisingly they all disagree claiming that you and Beomgyu will be careful enough and to not worry. 

How wrong they would come to be.