Listen to: Running on Empty by Chrishan ft. Auburn

Kris woke up to Ace shaking his right foot.

“Daddy wake up! It’s six-thirty already! The cosplay con starts in two hours! Just get ready! Please! Come on, eat breakfast and shower because you stink! Daaaaaaaad!”

“Alright, I’m up. I’m up.” Kris said groggily, he also noticed he was still in his jeans and a shirt. “Oh right. I didn’t change last night. Ace, I’m gonna shower, you go watch TV.”

“Yes dad.” Ace replied and Kris got up from his bed. He got a towel and entered his bathroom. He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and dried his hair. He could hear Tom and Jerry playing on the TV from his bathroom. He smiled a little. He remembered the days he watched Tom and Jerry back in Canada with an old friend he couldn’t quite remember. He shook the thought off and walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Hey buddy, you enjoying Tom and Jerry?” Kris asked while he prepared instant ramen.

“Yeah dad, it’s really fun, although I don’t get why they chase each other every single episode? Can’t they just make up?” Ace asked irritatingly.

“Well they’ve been chasing each other for as long as I could remember. Maybe some things will never change.” Kris let out a chuckle. He then slurped his ready-made breakfast in a wink.

“Daddy, come on, change already, I can see your belly, good thing it’s not like those beer-bellies I see at the toy store.” Ace frowned.

“Well son, daddy has to look good, that’s why I don’t have a beer-belly.”

“Well why don’t you put those washboard abs to good use then? Be like uncle Kai or uncle Suho. Wear less and stay shirtless. The fans would surely love that.” Ace said with a smirk.

“Oh you nasty alpaca, I’m not the type to go shirtless, besides, the only people who saw me shirtless are you, my members, mom, dad, and that kid whom I used to watch Tom and Jerry with.”

“Alright. You’re clearly the conservative type, not like what the fans think of you.”

“What? What do they think of me?”

“An eye-popping, ually-frustrating, ovary-exploding leader. They even write those dirty fan fictions about you guys. It’s scary.”

“What??!! How did you know about this?”

“Well I saw mom’s laptop when she placed it on the bed beside me.”

“What? She reads those kinds of fan fictions?”

“No, actually, she writes them.”

“What the actual fire truck?!!” Kris’ mouth was agape.

“Yep, I even saw one of those fics that she wrote, it escalated pretty quickly.”

“Well I could’ve lived the rest of my life not knowing that. I thought she was the intelligent shy type due to what I heard about her previously. Thanks for ruining my entire perception of your mother.”

“You’re most welcome.” Ace said with a goofy smile.

Finally Kris was done changing into his jeans and shirt. He wore a graphic face mask and a black cap.

“Ready to go?”

“Always ready.”

“What time is it?”

“Adventure Time!!”

“No, it’s eight o’clock, we have to go now, the event starts in one hour!”

“Okay, let’s go!” Ace jumped into Kris’ backpack and he left the zipper open for a bit.

“Are you going to be okay in there?”

“Yeah dad, I’m alright. I’m like a character from Toy Story. I can play ‘dead’ when you need me to. Now, let’s go!” Ace shrieked and Kris obeyed.

Kris hurried down the many steps of the apartment building and sprinted to his car. He put his backpack on the passenger seat beside him and started the engine.

“Dad, come on, we’re going to be late!” Ace shouted.

After five minutes:

"Are we there yet?"

"No." Kris swerved to the other lane.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"I said no."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Daddy, are we there yet?" Ace asked once again.

"No we are not." Kris said calmly for the umpteenth time. He was calm, ever so calm. He was a bit annoyed, but he knew he was doing a good job. It's a miracle that he still didn't shout at Ace. He was excited as well, he was going to see Ace's mom.

A few more minutes in:

“Daddy come on! You could drive faster than this. Come on you slowpoke! I bet you are no fun and you couldn’t even drive properly.”

Okay. Now even I’m positive that he’s going to get mad over this.

Ace is in for the ride of his life, literally.

“Yeah like you know how hard it is to drive!” Kris shouted irritatingly. He stepped on the gas and went from thirty, to eighty miles-per-hour.

“Daddddeeeeeyyyy! I’m gonna hurl!” Ace said from the ped bag.

“Well that’s what you get for shouting at Kris Wu.” Then he slowed down the speed, he only wanted to threaten his son, not kill him.

“Kris Wu, Kevin Li, Jiaheng, Duizhang, and Kevin. How can one person have so much names Dad? It’s like I don’t have only one dad whom I’m shouting at.”

“What? How did you know about those?” Kris kept his eyes on the road but he was still shouting.

“Mom.”

“Oh, right.” Kris shut his mouth and concentrated on his driving.

 

At long last, they were finally at Yeouido. Kris took his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He put on a spiky silver wig, a headband with a silver plate on it, and put on a mask that covers up half his face, except his left eye.

Yes, he dressed up as Hatake Kakashi from Naruto, one of his favorite animes. Hey, if he was going to go on a cosplay con, he might as well enjoy it.

He went inside the building. He had only one thing to say.

“Holy Otaku Heaven.”

He immediately ran over to one of the numerous Naruto booths in search of merch. Yes, Kris Wu is now fanboying.

“Dad, you should really get your back into looking for my mom.” Ace whispered from his backpack while he was looking at a replica of a shuriken.

“Okay, just a second.” Kris replied. He paid for the shuriken keychain and attached it to his bag, now he was going to get serious.

Where could your mom be? He thought and turned around.

“There she is.” Kris said breathily. He was astonished. Ace’s mom was dressed as The Baroness from G.I. Joe and was on the stage, competing for the prize of best costume. Well she was perfect just perfect.

“Bingo, now let’s go.” Ace whispered. Kris went nearer to the stage. He pushed and shoved. Finally he was really close.

"Ace, play dead for a while okay? A long while."

"Sure daddy." And with that, Ace was once again a regular stuffed alpaca.

 

“Oh, look, there’s a young man in the audience who has an awesome rendition of Kakashi from Naruto! Come on up here young man!” The emcee shouted as the crowds pushed Kris towards the stairwell of the stage. When he was finally up there, his heart fluttered, he was beside The Baroness a.k.a Ace’s mom.

“What’s your name young man?” The emcee asked him.

“Uhmmm, I’m uh, I’m---“

“Isn’t it obvius? It’s Shamo the famous cosplayer from China!” One of the girls in the audience shrieked. The rest followed suit.

“Uh yeah, I’m Shamo.” Kris said awkwardly. Does he really look similar to that particular cosplayer? The Baroness beside him shot a look.

Something is off with this guy. I haven’t seen him before but he’s familiar.

“So Shamo-ssi, thank you, how are you liking it here in Korea so far?” The emcee asked Kris.

“Oh, I’m uh, really, enjoying it here.” He spoke.

“So you’re dressed as a modern Kakashi?”

“Yeah.” He said shyly. The audience cheered. This Shamo guy has a lot of fans.

“Okay, let’s begin the deciding of the winners.” The emcee announced and left the stage, letting the judges deliberate.

The contestants left the stage and was sent to a room. As soon as they sat down, The Baroness asked Kris.

“Hi! Your costume is really good!” she spoke in fluent Mandarin.

“Oh, oh, gomawo.” Kris thanked and bowed slightly.

“Your Korean is pretty good for someone who’s Chinese, no matter. I speak Mandarin fluently so I’ll make it easier for you.” She smiled.

“Thank you.” Kris said in English. Now he’s going to ask the most important question he has ever asked, ever. “What’s your name?”

“I’m The Baroness.” She replied casually. Kris gets it.

“Haha, okay, I’ll ask you later after you change. You’re still in character.”

“Thanks for understanding Kakashi.” She smiled. Kris’ heart was still fluttering. He was questioning himself if this was love at first sight. If it was, it feels so good.

Now they were once again on the stage. It went pretty fast. The Baroness won. Kakashi won second place. Still pretty good.

“So, can you join me for the rest of the convention?” Kris asked her as they left the stage.

Ace coughed an exaggerated cough. Kris hit the bag and started coughing himself.

“Are you okay Kakashi?”

“Yes. I’m alright, so?”

“Sure, I’d love to!” The Baroness exclaimed.

They went to a few booths, tried some stuff, bought some, and treated each other like friends, not to mention they don’t even know each other’s names.

The two of them changed outfits and went out of the washrooms. The Baroness was no more and transformed into the girl next door. Kris wore his animated face mask instead.

“Oh, Kakashi, still wearing a mask I see?”

“Yeah Baroness. So, shall I drive you home?”

“Thanks but I can commute on my own. I know how to ride a bus.” She said confidently and walked away,

“Wait, but I have a car. I’ll take you home.” He stopped her as he held on her wrist.

“Quite the gentleman type eh Kakashi?”

“Hehe, come on Baroness. I’ll take you home.”

They went inside the car, Kris opened the door for her. It’s the classic gentleman’s approach. Kris tossed both of their bags to the backseat.

He started the engine and drove smoothly.

“So Baroness, did you have fun today?”

“I had a lot of fun, how about you Kakashi?” She smiled on over to him.

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun.” He smiled back. “So, Baroness, what’s your name?”

“I’m Ari, Kwon Ari. I’m actually Arianna if you call me by my real name. So Kakashi, is Shamo your real name?” Arianna asked.

Kris was still dazed, what a nice name.

“Kakashi?” Arianna asked again. Snapping her fingers.

Kris parked to the side of the road. “Kakashi, why’d you stop the car?”

Kris faced her. Ariana was still in a questioning state.

“Kakashi?”

Kris took off his mask. This is it. I’ll reveal myself to her.

“You! You’re—“

“Yep. I’m Kris. Kris Wu.” Ariana’s mouth was opened wide. She covered it. She’s in shock.

But then the horn malfunctioned and let out a loud blast.

“Ahhhhh!” A scream, and two high pitched screams suddenly erupted.

“Dad, be careful with that horn! It’s not really pleasant you know!” Ace got out of the bag and rubbed his fluffy ears.

“Mom!” Ace exclaimed.

All of them froze.

Arianna was about to scream but chose not to.

“And that my dear Arianna, is our son, Ace Wu.”