— ୨୧₊˚ 𝐤𝐚𝐢

You doodled mindlessly on the corner of your notebook as you tried to tune out your professor's rambling. God, I hate math. I can’t wait until I graduate from college. You think to yourself. Just then, you see Kai reach over, dropping a small folded piece of paper onto your notebook. You glance at him before picking up the note and reading it. ‘Are you going to ignore the professor and then ask me to tutor you again later?’ A slight smile makes its way onto your lips. You quickly write down a response and pass the note back to him.

‘What, are you going to refuse?’ You watch a smile spread across Kai’s lips as he reads the note. He writes down a final reply and passes the piece of paper back over to you. ‘I would never.’ You draw a smiley face on the note and hand it back to him for the final time before going back to doodling in your notebook. This was the usual routine for your math class. You’d ignore the professor, Kai would pay attention, and later he’d let you borrow his notes or tutor you. As a thank you, you’d invite him to dinner or a few snacks he could eat while tutoring you. It would probably be more efficient if you were to just pay attention during your math lecture, but why would you bother doing that when you could let Kai explain everything to you in a less dreadful way?

⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹

Every Friday, you sat in the library tutoring an underclassman for two hours. Today you started a bit later than you usually did due to him running late. Instead of beginning at 5 PM and ending at 7 PM, you ended up starting at 6 PM and finishing up just a few minutes ago at 8 PM. After thanking you for the tutoring session, the underclass said goodbye and left the library.

You took your time packing up your things in preparation to leave the library. After leaving the library, you walk through campus, thinking about what you’d have for dinner once you get back to your apartment. The cool night atmosphere was pretty relaxing; it was your favorite part about walking through your college campus after dark. After deeming it a good decision, you pull your wired earbuds out of your pocket in hopes of listening to some music while you walk to your car. Just as you place the first earbud in your ear, you hear a muffled thud nearby. Like someone had been slammed into a wall. You pause for a moment, wondering if you could’ve possibly misheard, but the silence that followed just left you feeling even more unsettled.

Despite your better judgment, you begin to quietly search for the source of the noise. You end up at the entrance of a dark walkway. At the end of the walkway, you can see what appears to be someone on the ground. “Hey-” You stop dead in your tracks as you take in the sight in front of you. The student you’d been tutoring just 10 minutes ago, struggling against the man who had his hands wrapped around his neck. He struggles against the man’s hold, clawing at his face and knocking a mask the man had been wearing to the ground. Your student's eyes meet yours, his lips parted in a desperate attempt to beg you for help, but just a second later, a sickening snapping sound can be heard, followed by your student’s body going limp.

“Annoying little bastard… actually fought back a bit more than the others.” The man who just killed your student finally releases his hold on the neck of your student. He runs a hand through his hair and turns around, now facing you. With his mask on the ground, you get a clear view of his face. Your heart drops as you realize who you’re looking at, “Kai?” Kai’s eyes widen when his eyes land on you. “{{User}}.” Time seems to come to a halt, the two of you just stare at each other in disbelief. A wave of different emotions comes crashing over you: confusion, denial, fear. You couldn’t believe that the shy, cute guy whom you had met in your English class three years ago and had become so close to was actually a killer.

You take a step back, hundreds of thoughts racing through your mind, but the one thing that seemed obvious in this moment was that you needed to get away. “Hey, no. Just wait a minute.” He quickly steps forward and grabs onto your arm. “Don’t go, let me explain.” You snatch your arm away, “Explain what? That you just fucking killed the guy I’ve been tutoring? That you’re fucking insane?” His expression darkens at your tone. “Don’t go getting aggressive with me, {{User}}. I didn’t do anything wrong. This prick was just trying to get into your pants. I stopped him. I didn’t do anything that bad.” Didn’t do anything that bad? This guy had to be out of his damn mind if he truly believed that. But that wasn’t your problem; you were not about to stand here and convince a killer that killing people was wrong.

You turn to leave, but Kai just grabs your arm again and pulls you back against him. He wraps his arms around you, firmly hugging you and pressing your back to his chest. He buries his face in the crook of your neck, his lips lightly brushing against your skin as he speaks, “Why are you so angry? I'm not a bad guy. I killed those guys for you, baby.”