Chapter 3: I think I was saved
772 Words
Eli did not sleep that night.
Not because he couldn't.
Because he didn't want to.
The moment he closed his eyes, he saw Kai again.
Rainwater dripping from dark strands of hair. Tired eyes hidden beneath a hood. The warmth of steam rising between them inside the convenience store. That quiet voice saying:
"Because nobody helped me when I needed it."
Eli replayed the memory over and over until sunrise painted pale light across the ceiling of his apartment.
His apartment.
If it could even be called that.
The room smelled faintly of instant noodles and damp clothes.
One broken lamp sat near the mattress on the floor while unopened bills cluttered the small table beside his laptop.
Usually the sight made his chest feel hollow.
Today it didn't.
Because for the first time in months, Eli had something else occupying his mind completely.
Kai Vale.
Eli sat up slowly and reached for his phone.
Three missed calls.
Seven unread messages.
Ignored.
Instead, his thumb instinctively opened social media.
And there he was again.
A newly uploaded clip from last night's event.
Kai smiling brightly beneath stage lights while fans screamed his name loud enough to shake the venue.
Eli stared quietly at the screen.
It felt strange now.
Yesterday Kai had looked untouchable inside this world.
Now Eli remembered the exhausted man sitting across from him holding soggy ramen at two in the morning.
The difference unsettled him.
Because suddenly Kai didn't feel like a celebrity anymore.
He felt human.
Fragile, even.
Eli replayed the clip.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Until he noticed it.
A tiny moment barely lasting two seconds.
While the other group members laughed beside him, Kai's smile dropped briefly.
His shoulders sagged.
Tired.
Then instantly-
the smile returned.
Perfect.
Manufactured.
Nobody in the comments noticed.
They flooded the video with heart emojis and compliments instead.
HE LOOKS SO GOOD OMGGGG
KAI MARRY ME
HE'S SO HAPPY LATELY 😭
Eli's expression slowly darkened.
Happy?
No.
That wasn't happiness.
That was exhaustion pretending to be happiness.
And suddenly Eli remembered the bruiselike shadows beneath Kai's eyes from last night.
The trembling hidden carefully in his hands.
The sadness in his voice.
"Nobody helped me when I needed it."
Something twisted painfully inside Eli's chest.
He lowered the phone slowly.
For reasons he couldn't explain yet, the thought of Kai suffering irritated him deeply.
No.
Not irritated.
Wrong word.
It made him feel...
protective.
The realization should've alarmed him.
Instead, warmth spread quietly through his chest.
Like his life finally had direction again.
-
Three days later, Eli saw Kai again.
Not by accident this time.
The venue buzzed loudly with fans lining outside barriers while staff members rushed back and forth carrying equipment and clipboards.
Eli stood among the crowd wearing a black mask and oversized hoodie, eyes fixed on the building entrance.
People shoved around him excitedly.
Nobody noticed him.
Good.
A sudden eruption of screams echoed nearby.
Cars pulled into the underground entrance.
Eli immediately straightened.
Kai stepped out surrounded by security.
Beautiful.
Even from far away.
Dark sunglasses hid his eyes while stylists hurried beside him fixing his clothes between movements. Cameras flashed endlessly around him like lightning.
But Kai's expression looked blank.
Completely blank.
Until-
For one brief second, Kai glanced toward the crowd.
Toward him.
Eli's breath caught.
Their eyes met only briefly before security guided Kai inside the building.
Still-
Kai had looked at him.
The warmth from that tiny interaction lingered embarrassingly long afterward.
Pathetic.
Eli knew it was pathetic.
But he couldn't stop thinking about it.
That night he watched every fancam uploaded from the event.
Every angle.
Every clip.
Every expression.
By 2AM, his laptop screen illuminated dozens of open tabs filled with Kai's interviews, livestreams, performances, and fan discussions.
Eli leaned closer quietly.
Observing.
Studying.
Learning.
He noticed things other fans didn't.
Kai touching his wrist repeatedly when nervous.
Smiling wider around certain members.
Flinching slightly whenever one particular manager stood too close.
Eli paused the video.
Replayed it.
Again.
There.
A subtle recoil.
Barely noticeable unless someone looked carefully.
Eli's eyes narrowed slowly.
The manager smiled publicly beside Kai during interviews.
Friendly.
Professional.
But Kai's shoulders always tensed near him.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Eli opened another clip.
Another angle.
Another interview.
Same reaction.
By sunrise, Eli had an entire folder saved onto his laptop.
Not intentionally.
It just... happened.
Videos.
Schedules.
Interviews.
Staff names.
Patterns.
Eli stared silently at the screen filled with organized files.
Then slowly-
he smiled.
Small.
Soft.
Terrifyingly sincere.
Because somewhere between the bridge and now, admiration had already begun changing into something else entirely.
- Writer
