Breaking the Rules (EXO)

21: Kiss

Kai turned to Corina and smiled. "I think it's incredible that you're able to handle so much going on all at the same time. You truly do put in a lot of effort." He said, his head slowly tilting to the side as if begging her to argue and say that she didn't.

But she did. She worked very hard. And for someone to notice this, well, it made her feel a little touched. She could feel a small heat in her chest as she looked at his smile and immediately looked away. "I try." She said easily.

"How are things?" He asked, taking the containers out of the bag and setting them on the counter. "Any news?"

She shrugged. "My older brother is coming to live with us. His apartment was damaged during the explosions in China."

Kai looked surprised. "I'm so sorry. But at least he is okay, and is coming here."

Corina nodded. "Yeah. I talked to the school district today and they're offering him a job. He's a language teacher as well."

Kai nodded. "Well I'm glad to hear that you've sorted everything out for him." He said, turning to face her and leaning back against the counter. "I look forward to meeting him."

Corina immediately whipped around to look at him. "Who said you're meeting him?" She demanded.

He didn't look the least bit intimidated. In fact, he pushed off the counter and strode right towards her, stopping just before her and taking the bowl of soup from her hands. "I," He started, putting the bowl on the counter beside them. "Meant to say that I would love if I could meet him," He said, looking down as he twined his hands with hers and bit his lip, slowly looking up to her eyes. "You know, you don't always have to be so big and bad." He said, leaning forward so their foreheads were touching. "It's okay to sometimes let someone take care of you."

He slowly moved his face closer to hers, tilting ever so slightly. Corina could feel her chest constricting. Is this how it was supposed to feel? Like she couldn't breathe? She could hear her heart slamming in her ears and watched as his eyes closed to just a slit. She followed his lead, closing her eyes and waiting, just waiting, for his lips to touch hers.

Her phone rang and her eyes shot open. She didn't move, and neither did Kai. "Don't," He said, reaching up to touch her cheek. He brushed her hair behind her ear, his hand resting on her neck. "Ignore it,"

"It's my brother." She muttered, reaching around him to grab her purse from beside the pot on the stove. She dug through it to find her phone, and Kai sighed in defeat. "Hello?" She asked, watching as Kai moved to lounge against the counter.

"Your ultimatum was too much for me. I have booked a flight to Korea in two days. I will forward you the details of the flight and the itinerary. See you then." With that, he hung up.

Surprised, Corina took the phone away from her ear and placed it back into her purse, looking to Kai. "It was my brother."

"You said." He said, looking down at his feet. His hands were on the counter behind him, and his brow was pulled together.

She bit her lip. "He'll be here in two days." Kai nodded his head. "Maybe... we could grab lunch or... something," She said, knowing she was going to regret this in a few moments. She took a few timid steps towards him. "The day after? If you're able."

Kai's head was still down, but his eyes were on her as she moved towards him. "I can figure something out." He muttered.

She nodded her head. "Uhm," She started, biting her lip again. "I don't really know what to do-"

Kai reached out, grabbing her arm and tugging her towards him. Surprised, she clumsily tripped in his direction and he swept her up in his arms, one hand clasping her chin and tilting her face upwards towards his. "You don't have to know," He said, pressing his forehead against hers once again, smiling and biting his lip. "I know what to do." This time, he wasn't as timid about moving closer to her, until their lips were touching, and she couldn't stand on her own.