“Kai—”

Krystal slid open her boyfriend’s door without warning, only to find him clad in his black jeans and in the middle of drying his hair when she blatantly intruded his room. She gulped dryly as her cheeks turned beet red. She knew Kai had a greatly toned body, but she didn’t expect his abs to be this distinctly shaped.

“What the—” Kai frowned, blurting in disbelief when the former failed to knock before entering. He was only thankful he managed to button up his jeans on time. Otherwise…

Krystal tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and painted a subtle smile on her lips, rubbing a hand awkwardly over her elbow.

“Do you, want to spar with me today?”

Kai opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing that escaped his lips was a heavy sigh. The question Krystal asked him the day before still lingered on his mind.

“Do you love me?”

His brows knitted, more towards concern and apology rather than due to distaste. He knew Krystal was still waiting for an answer, and he knew that it was near impossible to avoid the question. He threw his towel away onto his bed and forked out a pink hoodie not before pulling over a grey tee over his head. He shoved both his hands into the front pockets of his hoodie before striding over to his still girlfriend.

“I can’t today, I’ve to train Shixun.” Kai bluntly told, noting the instant change in her bright expression. He sighed inwardly. “But, since you’re here… We need to talk.”

Krystal’s eyes widened temporarily before they returned back to their original size. She backed away slightly and broke a chuckle under her breath.

“Hm, maybe not today then.” She shrugged, forcing a smile up her lips. “Have fun.”

Kai fluttered his eyes shut as he tried not to throw another deep sigh towards the blonde. The latter her heels and had taken a few steps out his door when she abruptly stopped. She then turned her cheek, far enough for Kai to hear her next words.

“You’re just, confused Kai. In case you’re wondering.”

Kai watched as his doors slid close, pulling back his lips as he thought about what the princess said.

Was he confused? He wasn’t sure. But— maybe he was. After all, there wasn’t much hesitation when he agreed to build a relationship with Krystal. For the record, the reason he ever agreed to be in one with her in the first place was because he wanted to give himself a chance to experience a new love after Shixun left.

And to end things like this, wouldn’t be fair towards Krystal because she’s never done anything wrong. It wasn’t her fault, and Kai shouldn’t be selfish enough to not think about the princess. Without Krystal, he probably wouldn’t have understood how to care for someone so much after Shixun’s departure.

“Ugh.”

Kai rubbed his temples and groaned; he didn’t have time to worry about anything else other than Shixun’s training and the mission. The relationship could wait.

Brushing his thoughts away, Kai pulled out a tablet from his drawer and went through the plans and schedules he had in store for Shixun. The day before was the first time they had Shixun to wear a fitness watch on her wrist, it was best to record her vital signs as well as her progress throughout the rest of her sessions so that he would be able to adjust and readjust her training schedules if need be.

Unbeknownst to him, Kai cracked a subtle but proud smile on his lips when he referred to her progress. Though he must say that her abilities were credited towards her endless attempts of escaping, 85% of her record stated that she was dependant purely on her own capabilities and agility as well as her instincts. Which definitely explains how she was able to withstand Krystal’s blows for a few hours.

Kai let out a hum and decided to head for the piano room, where it was brighter and calmer. The view of the stars from the piano room was the best, especially if he needs to think of various ideas for Shixun’s upcoming training programmes. Not that the ones he has now was bad but, it was always better to have backup lest the brunette either exceeds or falls short of his expectations.

Bringing the tablet along with him, Kai stuffed his phone into his back pocket and made a beeline for the piano room. He checked and added a few more notes to his tablet and records and halted just a few steps away from the piano room.

An eyebrow rose unconsciously when Kai heard a familiar piano piece being played. His ears twitched as he went closer, brows now furrowing when the piece sounded awfully nostalgic. He pressed an ear against the door to listen to it further and more clearly; though he did mentally agree that it would’ve been easier if he just went in.

But he didn’t want the pianist to suddenly stop playing and lose their focus just because of his intrusion. His eyes closed as he bask into the melodious notes being played, and Kai could only imagine his own fingers being splayed across the keys itself; as if he knew the piece by heart.

But, how?

He doubted he’s ever played it before, but it was a surprise that his fingers were able to sort of— remember. As the song was played, Kai tried to figure out where he has heard the piece being played. And as far as he could remember, nobody around him plays the piano except for Luhan and Baekhyun, however he can’t picture them playing this piece. And Krystal was always more involved in martial arts and sports rather than music.

Kai bit on his bottom lip. Of course. This wasn’t an actual piano piece, it was from a song he’s heard twice when he was younger.

When the song came to an end, Kai placed his palm meekly on the scanner; as if afraid to enter to room, not wanting to disrupt. As the door slid open almost instantaneously, Kai’s eyes met with the person own hazel ones; with both of them having their orbs wide open in surprise.

“Kai? What a surprise…”

“Oh uh, yeah… Hi, Shixun…” Kai stammered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He just remembered that they never spoke to each other after the discoveries he came across. He scratched the bridge of his nose slightly before putting up a sincere beam. “That was, a really nice piece you played.”

Shixun blushed slightly and played with her ponyt