Quiet [Book IV]

Names

Ears received satisfaction after a momentous wave of awe and approval from the crowd, and once the lights went on again and it was time for everyone to go home, Kai was already dressed in a dark grey Guns n' Roses tee, skinny jeans and his black sneakers. His trench coat hung on his arm and by the time he went out the auditorium having no clue what was waiting, the piece of clothing was snatched away from him and Kai almost jumped.

"Congratulations!" Baekhyun laughed out loud, placing Kai's coat above his head and running behind Chanyeol and Sehun standing side by side. The taller boys acted as a barrier for the short one, expecting to get hit with his crazy antics, but Kai wasn't planning to do anything of sort.

He was surprised. However, he regained his composure at once and rolled his eyes even though he was amused. After giving everything on stage, moving to the music, feeling that kind of energy run through his veins after quite some time, Kai was in a good mood and it was as if nothing could change it that night.

Not even when he caught a glimpse of Taemin with his group, eyeing his own. Kai couldn't care less.

"I need that." Kai said, holding his hand out to Baekhyun. "It's cold out."

"Oh please, you only want it back because Miss Dancing Queen wore it earlier." Baekhyun snorted and the others eyed Kai like hawks, waiting for him to blurt out the clarification they didn't deserve. Why did he need to explain himself and the small gesture? Would they rather see Jihyo shaking to death while he was clad in a coat that could envelope two people easily?

"Where's noona?" Kai asked. Sooner or later, Baekhyun would give up and hand his coat back, so he might as well make the conversation drift to something else.

"We haven't seen her." Chanyeol butted in. "Maybe she's looking for you, but she'll be here soon."

Kai didn't reply. Instead, he turned and faced six people who he never knew would respond to his invitation yesterday night. He tried his best to convince them and might've been the most annoying person in the history of phone communication, but seeing all of M who cheered for him, the people he missed too much... hard work really paid off.

Xiumin flashed a warm smile and Kai answered with a nod, which Xiumin knew very well was the most he could get. The rest were the same except for Kris. He was just staring at Kai, but the younger knew that he acknowledged the situation and was silently thankful for that.

The night was surreal. Kai danced on stage. His friends and former friends – technically, they were still in that position – were there. Both leaders behaved. And maybe he just dreamt of it, but it felt like he was smiling on stage earlier and just couldn't take his eyes off Jihyo.

As usual, whenever Kai was the center of attention, the silence dragged on for too long. Suho cleared his throat and smiled. "Let's eat dinner out tonight."

Kai, without thinking so deeply about it, answered almost immediately. He gestured towards M. "I'll go if they go."

And then it automatically became awkward, only breaking when blonde streaks passed by him and Kai had been distracted. A second later, Jihyo was in front of him, smile bigger than anyone else's in the area and eyes brighter than her hair. She had washed her face to take the stage makeup off and changed into clothes that were actually appropriate for the weather that'd meet them outside.

Kai secretly thought that she looked better that way, simple, just her.

"I talked to her, my dance teacher." She began excitedly. Jihyo looked at him with a certain twinkle and Kai couldn't resist it, so he stared, taking advantage of the time she couldn't notice because she was too immersed in her own thoughts. He could feel eleven pairs of eyes on both of them though, but like a few moments ago, he did not need to explain himself and the way he treated Jihyo.