Saved || A Jungkook fanfic

46.

I stood frozen in the doorway, unable to mask the shock tightening my chest.

"How did you find us, Kai?"

Kai stood outside with an easy posture, hands shoved into his pockets as he rocked back on his heels. "I was kind of hoping for a little more of a happy reaction," he said jokingly, his face twisting into that familiar half-smirk—only softer now, lacking the usual malice.

A shiver crept down my spine at the mention of back then. No amount of time could fully erase the weight of our history. Even if I wanted to force a smile, my body refused.

Silence stretched between us, thick and unspoken, as we simply stared, taking in the changes time had carved into each other.

Kai still had the same tall, imposing build, but his signature silvery hair was gone. In its place was a deep brown, almost identical to Jungkook's, shifting in depth under the porch light. It softened his face, made him look more like his half-siblings than ever before.

But the most jarring difference wasn't his hair—it was his clothes. Instead of the crisp, perfectly tailored suits he used to wear, he stood in a simple, fitted white T-shirt, paired with loose dark jeans and spotless white sneakers. He looked... normal. So normal that it felt wrong.

My gaze flicked over him once more before my fingers tightened on the edge of the door. Without another word, I moved to shut it in his face.

Kai's hand shot out, catching the door before it could close. His grip was firm but not forceful, his fingers splayed against the wood as if he knew pressing too hard would make me slam it harder.

"Ailene," he said, voice startlingly soft. "Just give me a minute."

I glared up at him, ready to shove the door closed anyway, but then I saw it—his eyes. There was no smugness, no amusement, no challenge. Just something quiet. Something unreadable.

"I just want to talk," he murmured. "Properly."

I hesitated.

For a brief second, I thought about the months of silence, the weight of the past that still clung to me like a phantom. The paranoia, the sleepless nights.

And then, with a sharp breath, I relented, stepping back, and pulled the door open.

Of all the days he could show up randomly, it's on our anniversary...

"You can come in. But make it quick." My tone was clipped, irritation laced into every word as I turned sharply on my heel and headed toward the kitchen.

Kai followed, stepping inside like he had every right to be there. "When you disappeared, I figured you two had left the country."

"Thought about it," I muttered, reaching for the tea kettle.

Luckily, we had settled only thirty minutes from Jin, a small comfort in case things ever took a turn for the worse. And with Kai standing here now, that fear felt justified.

"Ah," he hummed, fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns onto the granite countertop. "You were smart putting the apartment under Seokjin's name."

I froze for half a second before side-eyeing him. Of course he figured it out, but how was the question.

"It's not like we had much of a choice, did we?" My voice was sour, but when I glanced at him, I caught the faintest smile curving his lips. He didn't look offended. If anything, he looked... amused.

"I'm the head honcho now, you know," he said casually, trying his hardest to break the ice.

I let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "I haven't been one to keep up with elitist affairs lately."