Chapter 9: The place beside him
1033 Words
The first rumor started two weeks later.
Small.
Almost insignificant.
A blurry photo uploaded anonymously onto a gossip forum around 2AM.
Kai Vale standing outside a café beside an unidentified man in a black hoodie.
Most people ignored it.
Fans dismissed it quickly.
probably staff lol
leave kai alone omg
he’s literally just standing there 😭
But the company noticed.
And unfortunately—
Manager Lee noticed most of all.
—
“You’ve been careless lately.”
Kai stayed silent inside the company meeting room while printed photographs slid across the table toward him.
Rainy streets. Coffee shop windows. A blurry side profile beside him.
Eli.
Kai’s stomach tightened instantly.
“It’s nothing,” he said carefully.
Manager Lee leaned back in his chair.
“You think scandals start big?”
Kai hated that calm voice.
“They start like this.”
Tap.
Another photo slid toward him.
Kai exiting the studio hallway.
Looking over his shoulder.
Smiling faintly.
At someone off-camera.
His heartbeat stumbled.
Because he already knew who stood outside the frame.
“You’ve changed recently,” Manager Lee continued quietly. “Distracted. Secretive.”
Kai lowered his eyes immediately.
Wrong move.
Manager Lee noticed everything.
“Who is he?”
“Nobody.”
The answer came too fast.
A dangerous smile spread slowly across Manager Lee’s face.
“Oh,” he murmured. “So he matters.”
Kai’s chest tightened painfully.
Shit.
Manager Lee stood slowly from his chair before approaching him.
Kai forced himself not to react when fingers tilted his chin upward.
“You know what happens to idols who let the wrong people get attached to them?”
Kai looked away immediately.
The grip tightened.
“I asked you a question.”
“They get ruined.”
“Good.”
Manager Lee finally released him.
Kai immediately stepped backward.
Humiliation burned hot beneath his skin.
“Cut him off,” the older man said calmly. “Before I do it for you.”
Cold fear settled inside Kai’s stomach instantly.
“What does that mean?”
Manager Lee smiled.
“Exactly what you think it means.”
—
That night, Kai sat alone inside the dorm kitchen staring blankly at his untouched food.
The lights remained off.
Only the refrigerator glow illuminated the room faintly.
His phone buzzed softly against the table.
Eli.
Kai stared at the name for several long seconds before answering.
“…Hello?”
“You sound tired.”
The concern in Eli’s voice nearly shattered something inside him.
Kai pressed a hand over his eyes.
“I had meetings all day.”
Silence lingered briefly.
Then softly:
“Did something happen?”
Kai swallowed hard.
He shouldn’t say anything.
Shouldn’t involve Eli further.
But exhaustion loosened his restraint tonight.
“They know about you.”
The silence afterward felt dangerous.
Eli spoke carefully this time.
“Who?”
“Manager Lee.”
Kai heard movement on the other end of the call.
Like Eli standing up suddenly.
“What did he say?”
Kai laughed weakly.
“That people like you ruin idols.”
The line went completely silent.
Too silent.
Kai immediately regretted saying it.
“Eli…”
“Did he threaten you?”
The softness in Eli’s voice scared him more than anger would’ve.
Kai stared down at the cold food untouched before him.
“No.”
A lie.
Eli knew immediately.
Kai could feel it through the silence alone.
Then quietly:
“Where are you?”
“At the dorm.”
“I’m outside.”
Kai froze.
“What?”
“I wanted to see you after your schedule.”
His heartbeat quickened instantly.
Kai rushed toward the window near the kitchen.
And there—
Across the empty street beneath dim streetlights—
stood Eli.
Black hoodie. Hands inside pockets. Looking up toward the building quietly.
Waiting.
Kai’s chest tightened painfully.
Nobody waited for him like that.
Not anymore.
He quickly grabbed his jacket before slipping out of the dorm unnoticed.
Cold night air greeted him immediately as he crossed the street toward Eli.
“You’re insane,” Kai whispered the moment he reached him.
Eli looked relieved just seeing him.
That realization alone felt dangerous.
“You didn’t answer my messages earlier.”
Kai blinked.
Three unread texts sat on his phone.
He genuinely hadn’t noticed.
“Sorry.”
Eli relaxed slightly. “It’s okay.”
No anger. No blame.
Just relief.
And somehow that hurt Kai more.
“You shouldn’t stand outside my dorm,” Kai muttered nervously. “What if someone sees you?”
“I didn’t care.”
Kai stared at him.
Eli said things like that too naturally.
Like consequences only mattered if they affected Kai.
The thought unsettled him deeply.
Then Eli suddenly frowned slightly.
“You didn’t eat dinner.”
Kai froze.
“How do you know that?”
“You look dizzy.”
Simple.
Immediate.
Like noticing Kai had become instinctive now.
Eli reached into his bag quietly before pulling out warm convenience store food.
Kai blinked in surprise.
“You brought food?”
“You forget meals when stressed.”
Something inside Kai’s chest cracked softly.
Nobody should know him this well.
Nobody should pay this much attention.
And yet—
Kai accepted the food anyway.
Warmth spread through his cold fingers slowly.
Eli watched him carefully.
Not possessively.
Not greedily.
Just… attentively.
Like Kai existing safely in front of him was enough.
The silence between them settled comfortably afterward while distant traffic hummed quietly around the sleeping city.
Then Kai spoke softly.
“You know… when I first got those messages…”
Eli looked at him immediately.
“I was terrified.”
Something painful flickered across Eli’s expression.
“I know.”
Kai looked down at the warm food inside his hands.
“But now…” he whispered, “I think I get disappointed when you’re not there.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Eli stopped breathing for a second.
Kai realized what he admitted too late.
The confession hung dangerously between them beneath dim city lights.
And slowly—
very slowly—
Eli smiled.
Not frightening this time.
Not obsessive.
Just devastatingly soft.
Like Kai had unknowingly given him the entire world.
- Writer
