“Tell me,” Aron demanded for the umpteenth time. “What exactly happened yesterday?”

Hye Mi giggled as she put an empty cup onto the tray. “I told you, nothing.”

Aron scowled and wiped the table clean. He shot her a look and crossed his arms. “Liar,” he accused. He wasn’t good at reading girls but Hye Mi was an exception.  “Did you tell Kris you liked him?”

“Yup,” she nodded and popped the ‘p’.

“So… How did it go?”

Hye Mi smiled shyly. She shrugged and darted into the kitchen.

Aron blew a raspberry and shook his head. He knew that something good had happened but wanted to hear it from her. He was ready to throw a tantrum when suddenly the bell on the door rang. He turned around and gasped when he saw Kris. “It’s you!” he yelped and pointed at Kris’ face.

Kris stepped back in surprise and blinked cluelessly. “Sorry?”

Aron thought for a moment before breaking into a knowing grin. He turned back to the kitchen and hollered in a loud voice, “Hye Mi! Your boyfriend is here!”

Kris felt his cheeks flush at the word ‘boyfriend’. The title was correct, but he just needed some time to get used to it.

Hye Mi stepped out of the kitchen and dusted her hand on her apron. “Aron, if you keep on sprouting nonsense I am going to put you into a box and ship you back to California,” she threatened as she looked down to fix her apron.

Aron snorted and crossed his arm. “Who says I’m sprouting nonsense? Look up Miss Smarty Pants.”

Hye Mi looked up and froze when she saw who was standing in front of her.  Her eyes twinkled when he sent her a dazzling smile. “K-Kris?”

Kris swallowed the lump in his throat and gave her a quick wave. “Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” Hye Mi blinked curiously. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him there, she just couldn’t think of anything else to say.   

Aron scoffed and leaned against a table. “What kind of question was that? Of course he came here to see you.” She shot him a look and he grinned.

Kris awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Umm I just came to see if you were free…”

“Oh?” Hye Mi glanced at the clock on the wall. “My shift doesn’t end-”

“Until now,” Aron cut her off. He untied her apron and swiftly pulled it off her head. “Kris, you can take her.” 

Kris bit her lip in uncertainty but nodded.

Hye Mi started at her best friend with bewildered eyes and he patted her head. “It’s okay bubby, daddy understands. You can go out but remember to come home tonight. Call me every 30 minutes and don’t take candies from strangers,” he said in a fake fatherly tone. Hye Mi opened to refute but he pushed her towards Kris. “Bye! Have fun!” he shouted and ushered them out of the café.

Kris looked around with befuddlement while Hye Mi blushed in embarrassment. “Stupid Aron,” she murmured. “Didn’t have to be so dramatic, sheesh.”

Kris heard her and couldn’t help but chortle, “Come on, I’ll take you somewhere,” he smiled and gathered up all his courage to grab her hand.

Hye Mi heart fluttered at his touch and she nodded obediently. They went into Kris’ car and he drove off.

“Are you cold?” Kris asked and the heater. Hye Mi giggled and he grew confused. “What?” he blinked.

“That was the first thing you said to me the last time I got into your car too,” she told him.

“Oh,” Kris grew flustered remembering what he did that day. “S-Sorry about that,” he apologised.

Hye Mi laughed and shook her head. “It’s okay, Doctor Wu,” she teased but as soon as Kris stiffened, she immediately regretted her words.

Kris’ grip on the steering wheel hardened. He had told her to not care about what other people thought but deep inside there was still a mixed signal buzzing inside him and it was hard to ignore it.

He softened when he felt Hye Mi grab his free hand. He stopped at a traffic light and turned to her direction. She smiled and attempted to comfort him by squeezing his hand. All his doubts vanished when he saw the worry in her eyes and he was now certain that he had made the right choice.

“Are you hungry?” Kris asked. “We can quickly go grab something to eat first.”

“I’m fine,” Hye Mi grinned. “Where are you taking me?”

“Secret,” Kris flashed a warm smile and continued driving.

Hye Mi blinked at him. He had never been the type to pull surprises, but still, she didn’t mind where he was taking her. She trusted him and she hoped he knew it.

------------

“Woah,” Hye Mi whispered in awe and stepped out of the car.

Kris scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and leaned against his car next to her. The truth was, he had wanted to take her out on a date but due to his lack of experience, he had no idea where to go. Dinner was too fancy, amusement parks were too complicated and movies were too cliché. He had tried calling Tao for help but all the tall panda had said was that he should take her to a place where she would enjoy herself. Heh, nice one Tao, nice one.

“Sorry,” he meekly apologised. “I didn’t know where you wanted to go so I just… If you want to go somewhere else we can go there instead-”

“It’s okay!” Hye Mi spoke with twinkling eyes. She stared at the large sign in front of her and clapped. “I’ve always wanted to go to an art gallery!”

Kris sighed in relief and relaxed. After spending several hours on the internet, he had come across an advertisement about a new art gallery that was opening up and decided that it would be nice for Hye Mi to come here since she was into painting. He was scared that she would find it boring but was once again she had proved him wrong. He grabbed her hand and together, they walked into the art building.

Everything was amazing. Hye Mi gaped at almost every single painting they came across and Kris was amazed at how detailed she was with examining them. They played ‘I Spy’ with the paintings and had a competition to see who could find out how many paintings this gallery had altogether.

“There’s exactly two hundred and twenty-five,” Kris spoke as he walked up to Hye Mi but instead of getting a reply, she completely ignored him and kept her eyes on a painting. Slightly frowning, Kris approached her and touched her shoulder. “Hey,” he spoke softly. “Are you alright?”

“It’s so beautiful,” Hye Mi awed.

Kris followed her eyes and found himself staring at a painting with white stars. He found the stars familiar but couldn’t exactly pin point where he had seen it. “What is it?” he asked.

“It’s the Pegasus constellation…” she whispered.

Then it clicked. Kris remembered seeing Hye Mi paint the exact same constellation, only hers had bought out a brighter feeling. Seeing this version somehow made him realise how important these stars meant to Hye Mi, and he made a mental note to do something about it.

After looking at the rest of the paintings, Kris and Hye Mi decided to take a walk around the park nearby. They walked hand in hand while watching the children play on the playground. Hye Mi was still talking about the paintings while Kris gazed at her tenderly.

“Hye Mi-ah,” he called.

She looked up at him with a smile. “Yes?”

“What is painting to you?” Kris asked. “Why do you like it so much?”

Hye Mi stayed silent. Kris took it as a sign of annoyance and was about to apologise until she smiled and started talking.

“I love painting because it’s a way of escaping from reality,” she spoke. “It allows you to take yourself anywhere you like, and you’re allowed to paint whatever you wished. It’s like creating your own world, your own scenario… Do you get me? Or am I being too weird?” she chuckled.

Kris felt his heart ache at her smile. He had never realised how cruel fate could be until now. How could two people have so much in common?

“Kris?” Hye Mi asked worriedly, noticing his blank face. “Is everything alright?”

Kris snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. He gave her a soft smile and tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re just like her,” he murmured.

Hye Mi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “Who?”

Kris swallowed before flashing another smile, only this time it was filled with sadness. “My mother,” he said softly.

Hye Mi noticed his lose grip on her hand and softened. She used her free hand to softly his cheek. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

He grabbed her hand and placed it on his lips. “It’s okay,” he said quietly. “There is no reason for you to be sorry.”

She gave him a smile and he grew warm again. There was definitely something about her smile. Hye Mi pulled her hand away from his lips and they continued walking. Neither of them spoke but the atmosphere was far from awkward. Just being in each other’s presence was comforting enough.

They sat down on a bench nearby and rested for a bit. Kris was playing with Hye Mi’s fingers while she leaned on his shoulder with her eyes closed.

“Kris?” Hye Mi asked without opening her eyes.

“Hmm?”

“How old are you?” Kris stopped playing with her knuckles. Hye Mi sat up and blinked.  “You can’t be younger than me… right?”

Kris chuckled. “You agreed to be my girlfriend without even know my age?”

“Should I break up with you to find out more about you?” Hye Mi tapped her chin in thought. Kris gave her a questioning look and she grinned. “Kidding~”

“I’m 26,” Kris replied. “3 years older than you.”

“Oh,” Hye Mi giggled. “Only?”

“Why?” Kris mused. “Did you think I was older?”

“No, I just thought you’d at least be like… 30… since you were a doctor and everything.”

Kris broke into a smile and shook his head. “I’m not that old,” he jokingly scolded.

Hye Mi laughed and leaned back on his shoulder. “Can you… tell me more about family?” she asked warily.  

Kris stiffened. He had never opened up anyone about his family but Hye Mi was special, he wanted to tell her everything. “I was born in China, my family was small but very loving. When I was 12 my mother was diagnosed with leukemia, she was placed in the hospital and you know what my father did during that time? He was flirting around and found himself another woman. 2 years later, my mother died and before I could even react, my so called step mother had kicked me out of the house.  My uncle took me in and raised me, when I was 18 I decided to move to Korea to become a doctor… And I’ve been alone ever since.”

“Oh Kris,” Hye Mi softly whispered.

“I became a doctor so I could save others like my mother, I wanted to be able to save other children who had sick mothers like I did. But I don’t think it’s working,” Kris bitterly scoffed. “Pitiful isn’t it? I went through everything and here I am, still the lonely boy no one wanted.”

“No you’re not,” Hye Mi spoke. She sat up and grabbed his hand. “You’re not alone, Kris.” He blinked and she smiled. “You have me now, don’t you?”

Kris slowly nodded, and she smiled. “You’re not alone because you have me now, I’ll be here for you, I promise.”

Kris swallowed his tears and squeezed her hand. Her words seemed so sincere that he just wanted to drop everything and run away with her. Now, he was actually glad that he had opened up to her. She was like his guardian angel, taking away his burden.  

He nodded and Hye Mi laughed. Kris placed his hands on her cheeks, pulled her closer and placed his lips on her forehead. 

At that moment, neither of them what the future had in store for them but it didn’t matter, because they had each other to rely on and that was all they needed. Each other.