“Mommy, can I have this necklace? SooYoun(Jessica) unni already has a necklace that she wanted.”

 

Krystal just turned 8 years old. The necklace she pointed to was at least $2,000 but was being sold by her parent’s company for $1,000. What she pointed to was a diamond snowflake pendant. There was only two of the necklaces that existed. You could get one letter engraved behind the bail of the necklace.

 

It was it’s beautiful shape that caught her eye. She learned how snowflakes were made, but the way she thought about it was different for other people her age. When the snowflake freezes, it freezes into a perfect 6 pointed flake. She liked to think that it was perfect just like love. She likes to think that when a snowflake falls, it travels for miles and miles, aimlessly, just like love. Just like love-- sensing and seeking out it’s destiny of where to fall. Of who they should fall in love with. She’s heard about so many stories about snow, and that if lovers watch the first snow together, they’ll remain together always. But sadly, where she lives, there is no snow. Ever since she learned what love was, she always longed to experience it. She fell in love with the idea of love and was fascinated how happy it made people. Of course at her age, she didn’t know the other effect it could make on people. Heartbreak. She’s too young to know. Sometimes she would ask her mom or her older sister who was 5 years older than her, Jessica, and they would tell her many stories of how love takes place. The forms of love, the emotions… But they never told her about the heartbreak part because they thought it would break her.   

 

 

 

 

 

Her mom smiled down at her.

 

“Alright, Krystal. But keep it close to you always. Don’t go losing it now, this is an expensive necklace. Don’t let anyone touch it or take it off you. Keep it close to your heart; and don’t let it get shattered, ever.”

 

“Of course, mommy. I will always protect it,” Krystal said with the purest and happiest smile.

 

“Would you like a letter on it? We can put one on the back right here,” her mother said while gently lifting the necklace off the necklace pedestal. She pointed to the back of the bail on the necklace.

 

Krystal’s face lightens up, “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Her mother smiles. “What letter would you like? There’s J for Jung, S for SooJung, and K for Krystal,” her mother says. “I want the letter K,” Krystal exclaims. “Okay honey, we can go later today to get it engraved on the necklace. For now, you should put it on,” her mother says as she puts the pendant around Krystal’s neck.

 

Krystal smiles the brightest smile she could ever give. The moment she saw the pendant was the moment she figured that it would help her in the future. That it would remind her of how she thought about love. About a snowflake that falls.

 

 

---

 

~Present~ (9 years later)

 

Kai walked down the sidewalk of the city street slowly; his body overcome with heat due to the amount of people buzzing by as well as the rays of the sun. It’s so busy for the morning...I can’t catch a break, huh. With a sigh, he took out his phone to check the time.

 

9:22 am. Shouldn’t people be working at this time? Kai grunted as someone accidentally shoved into him without even apologizing. He didn’t have time for this. His dad’s work meeting would be over at 10:00 sharp, and he had specifically told Kai that he wanted him to have the cake order done by the time it was over so that he could talk to Kai about something. Yes, his dad was literally having Kai order him a cake from a shop for his birthday.

 

I thought these kinds of things were supposed to be surprises for people’s birthdays. Kai chuckled at the thought of surprising his dad with a cake. How weird would that be? His dad was the man behind quite a few big companies; a serious business man with countless connections. Imagine throwing a surprise for someone like that. Kai chuckled again. He saw the shop just down the road a little further. Finally. He quickened his pace, wanting to get out of this crowd as soon as possible. God was this a chore.

 

Krystal hummed a random tune as she walked towards her favorite pastry shop. It was a normal, hot day in the summer and Krystal thought she would die if she just sat around the jewelry shop any longer. Luckily she had been allowed to go for a walk. She saw the shop just ahead and took her phone out to check the time.

 

9:25 am. She had to be back at the shop by 10:00 sharp, so she would have to make this a quick stop. She entered the shop and let the smell of all the pastries envelop her. It was without a doubt one of her favorite scents in the world. Seeing the front counter with a bunch of the newest pastries on display, she rushed over and crouched down. They were on par with the most precious of jewelry, in her eyes. Her hand moved forward to touch the pesky glass that was separating her and the pastries. She couldn’t buy any since she’d probably get yelled at by her mom for doing so; she just wanted to look at them. Looking at the pastries from this shop was one of her favorite pastimes.

 

Sighing, she stood up suddenly, bumping into someone behind her. She quickly turned around, embarrassed.

 

“I’m sorr-” She was cut off by the loud sigh from the guy in front of her.

 

“Yah. Aren’t you going to buy anything? I’ve been standing in line behind you for a long time and have somewhere to be.” Krystal raised an eyebrow. She didn’t know who this stranger was, but she didn’t like his tone of voice, not to mention he had cut her off when she had tried apologizing.

 

“Really? Thanks for sharing your story with me. I’m not in line and I’m not buying anything so go right ahead.” She gave him a sarcastic and provocative smile before stepping aside. The guy seemed to be unapproving of her sass, as he just flashed her a look.

 

“You aren’t going to buy anything? Why did you come in here then.”

 

She leaned her weight onto one leg, looking him up and down disapprovingly. He was tall, his legs looked to be really slender looking, and he was also dressed relatively fancily. His face was that of a man on a mission; but he seemed to be making a detour just to give her a hard time, which she found impossibly annoying.

 

“Is your seeing okay? I’m not in line.” She replied. The guy looked to the side to see the actual line, and Krystal also looked over. It was very long now; the pastry shop wasn’t her favorite for nothing. It was extremely popular and famous. She smiled satisfiedly, waving towards the back of the long line.

 

“You should go to the back over there. The wait shouldn’t be too long.” She moved to go past him.

 

“Are you trying to provoke me or something?” He asked, making her stop right beside him. She looked him up and down disapprovingly again.

 

“No. I was giving you advice. I suggest you take it. You have somewhere to be, don’t you?” Krystal finished moving past him and was out the door before he could annoy her anymore. What kind of person just starts making accusations to a stranger? Krystal didn’t know. What she did know was that it was extremely intruding and rude.

 

She huffed and shook her head to clear it. At least she would never have to deal with that stuck up person ever again. She still had at least 20 minutes of free time remaining, but since she had left the pastry shop early so she wouldn’t have to deal with that stranger, she had nothing left to do.

 

“Guess I’ll just head back early.” What a waste of my break. She thought regretfully as she headed back in the direction of the jewelry shop.

 

Kai checked his phone. 10:07. Damn. His father wouldn’t be happy about this. Kai silently cursed the stuck up girl who had held him up just to look at the pastries. What kind of maniac did that?

 

He shook his head to clear it. Right now, he had to focus on what he’d say to his father. Saying the line was out the door would probably be enough of an excuse. Besides, it wasn’t completely untrue. Kai began walking faster until his father’s tall company building came into view. Kim Corporation- Everything Goes. His father was an extremely successful businessman, and as such, he sponsored a number of other businesses in exchange for a small portion of their profit. He was always holding meetings and such to look for more connections and business partners, not to mention he constantly had to work with the partners he already had, so he was always busy. Apparently he was always looking for more partners, though.

 

Kai entered the massive Everything Goes building, breathing in the air of the familiar lounge. Classy furniture was set up all around the room and the walls were painted the finest shade of an orange-brown. The front desk was huge with multiple people there to talk to for assistance and navigation purposes, and there was a corner to make coffee.

 

He went straight to the elevator, taking it to one of the topmost floors where his father would be waiting for him.

 

Come to think of it, I have no idea what he plans to talk to me about. Must be important if he wants to say it right after finishing a meeting. Kai was a little nervous now that he was actually thinking about it, but he figured it couldn’t be anything worse than when he found out he was going to be home schooled, so he calmed down as the elevator opened and he stepped into a hallway that had windows as walls, allowing him to see just how high up he was. Someone who was afraid of heights would probably be freaked out, but Kai was more than used to this as he walked through the hallway. He stopped in front of his father’s office and knocked on the door.

 

“Come in.” He heard his father say. Kai opened the door, and the moment he stepped into the office, his father turned to look at him. “I’ve been expecting you. For a while now.” Kai shut the door behind him, slightly nervous again, but what his dad asked next made him chuckle in amusement.

 

“You ordered the cake at least, right?”

 

“That’s all you care about, huh? The businessman has a real sweet tooth.” His father just rolled his eyes at Kai making fun of him, making Kai laugh more.

 

“Just answer me.” Kai stopped laughing, but retained a playful smile as he walked to sit across from his father at his desk.

 

“Yes, don’t worry, I got your cake, happy birthday dad. Pink with sprinkles, right?” His father glared at him. Apparently the businessman wasn’t in any mood for Kai’s jokes.

 

“Well, we should get to the important matters, then.”

 

“What, you mean the cake isn’t important?” Kai tossed one last joke in. He couldn’t help it. His father coughed to stop them from getting off track.

 

“This is serious Kai. It’s business.” Kai sighed as he got rid of his joking smile.

 

“What, you wanna talk business to your son on your birthday of all days?” His father thought this over for a second or two.

 

“Well, I need your help, so think of it as a birthday favor for me.” Kai raised an eyebrow. His father was admitting right out of the blue that he needed Kai’s help regarding business? This was new. Suddenly, Kai was listening up as his father handed him a paper. Kai looked it over, reading a name on the top of the paper.

 

“Jung’s Jewelry and Home Decor. Are they a company?” His father nodded, seemingly relieved that Kai wasn’t joking around anymore and was catching on quickly.

 

“If you look through that sheet of paper I handed you, you’ll see they formally declined an offer to be business partners.” Kai looked at the paper, not really reading it since his father had already told him what was on it.

 

“This isn’t the first time they’ve declined, either.” Kai wasn’t sure what to say, so he stayed silent and his father continued talking.

 

“Their jewelry company is extremely successful, and I’ve been looking to get connections for a while.”

 

“...okay...” Kai finally spoke.

 

“However, we haven’t been able to. And that, Kai, is where you come in.” Kai was taken by surprise. He was going to question his father, but this was supposed to be a birthday favor...and besides, his father had never asked him for help like this before.

 

“...how can I help?”

 

“They have a daughter.”

 

“...”

 

“You are to meet her. You are to date her. And...you are to exploit her.”

 

Kai felt like he’d been hit by a truck.

 

“...the hell?” He couldn’t stop himself from blurting that out, but his father seemed to understand his confusion and thus wasn’t angered by Kai’s language.

 

“They’re extremely persistent on not joining our partnership. But this time, it’s bigger than usual. It’s not just any normal business partnership we’re trying for, Kai. Another company and I are trying to create a three-way partnership. The idea is to establish a triumvirate that will take the Korean market by storm. The Jung’s Jewelry company is essential to our plan, but they refuse to cooperate. So I need you to help us get to them.” Kai didn’t know what to say.

 

“...I don’t know, dad...exploit?” His father’s hands clasped together tightly on top of the desk.

 

“Kai, you and I both know you’re capable of this. Please. We won’t need to run around so much for business partners if this plan succeeds; and the Kim Corporation- Everything Goes business will be yours one day.” Kai thought about this. Truth be told, he didn’t want to do this. The thought of exploiting someone wasn’t exactly appealing, but it wasn’t exactly exploiting...it was like an arranged relationship for business purposes. Thinking about it that way made it a little better to Kai, who didn’t want to say no since his father didn’t ask much of him.

 

“...okay. Who’s their daughter? How am I supposed to do this in the first place?” His father nodded at the sheet of paper in front of him.

 

“She helps her parents run Jung’s Jewelry and Home Decor.” With that, his father pulled out a different sheet of paper and began writing stuff on it, implying that his conversation with Kai was over. Just like that. Kai sighed as he stood and turned to leave the room. He was confident he was skilled enough to pull this off, but that didn’t mean he wanted to.

 

“Kai.” His father said. He turned around, silently hoping his father would tell him he changed his mind and he didn’t have to do this. “Make sure to pick up the cake.” With that, his father went back to writing stuff down, and Kai snickered. Of course the tough, serious businessman that was his father was concerned about the cake.

 

Krystal smiled as her hands delicately placed a price label on a glass case. She pressed against it to make sure it stuck before stepping back, looking at the pretty orange jewels behind the glass. For a moment, she imagined the perfect orange-brown crust of a pie from her favorite pastry shop, but she shook the thought away as she blew at a bang hanging over her eye. She looked at her face in the reflection of the glass and frowned, leaning forward to fix her hair.

 

“Krystal!” She heard her mother call to her. She turned around.

 

“What is it?” She asked. Her mother rushed over to her, phone raised to her ear.

 

“I have to take an important call. Deal with any customers; and find a handsome boyfriend while you’re at it, please. Jessica’s already found plenty of boys over in America, you know. Are you never going to get married?” Her mother’s gaze shifted from Krystal to her phone. “Yes, yes, can you repeat that?” Her mother ran past her after her short lecture, talking to the person on the other line of the phone again. Krystal blew air out in front of her, walking through the second floor of the shop.

 

“What is she talking about? Of course I can find a boyfriend...it’s about more than just looks though. That’s not love.” She fiddled her hand around the snowflake necklace around her neck when suddenly there was a ringing noise throughout the store, signalling that someone had walked through the doors. Krystal’s hands quickly retreated to her sides as she rushed down an escalator towards the entrance of the store on the first floor. She saw a tall masculine figure looking around, and began making her way towards him.

 

“Hello, can I help you?” She asked politely. He turned around, and she froze, because that face.

 

“Oh. It’s you.” She stated drily. His face was that of a man on a mission, but he seemed surprised to see her at the same time.

 

“The girl from the pastry shop?” He said hesitantly. She didn’t answer right away, but she looked him up and down disapprovingly.

 

“What. Are you following me?”

 

“Of course not.” He began looking past her, as if looking for someone. She intervened, stepping in front of his line of vision despite being shorter than him. She cleared , and he just looked at her before realization dawned on him.

 

“Wow. You’re the daughter of the ones in charge of this jewelry shop, aren’t you?” Krystal’s arms were crossed.

 

“No. I am the one in charge of this jewelry shop, right now. So, can I help you?” His surprised look was replaced with a smirk.

 

“Perhaps. I’m just here to look.” Krystal looked at him with annoyance.

 

“Look around, then. If you need anything, call me over.” She turned to leave, but he stopped her.

 

“Ah, wait!” He said. She grit her teeth together in annoyance before turning back to him with a fake smile.

 

“Do you normally go around trying to accuse and mock strangers?” He just flashed her a smile.

 

“You said to call you over if I needed anything. I’m Kai, by the way.” She leaned her weight on one foot, putting her hand on her hip. She debated whether she should answer with her own name. Ultimately she figured she should, since he was technically a customer and she was obligated to treat customers with the utmost respect.

 

“I’m Krystal. Well, what’d you need? Is there a piece of jewelry you’re interested in?” He smiled as he took a few steps forward.

 

“Yes, actually.” She began looking around, wanting to get this over with.

 

“Alright. Where? I can tell you about it.” Since she had been looking anywhere but at him, she hadn’t even realized how close he was until they were only a few inches apart. Her breathing hitched in as she looked at his eyes close up.

 

“I’m interested in this jewelry.” He said. His finger went toward the glistening diamond snowflake necklace around her neck, and her eyes widened.

 

“STOP IT!” Before she knew it, her arms had themselves forward against his chest with all the strength she could muster, and Kai found himself stumbling backwards and into a shelf. The shelf was knocked over, and a bunch of merchandise went crashing and shattering to the floor. Krystal’s eyes were wide with horror as she watched the scene, her arms wrapped close to her necklace protectively. Kai groaned as shattered glass was all around him, laying on the ground.

 

“WHAT HAPPENED?!” The thundering voice of Krystal’s mother echoed throughout the large room as she raced down to the first floor before Krystal could do anything. She was still on the phone, but had rushed over due to the sound of glass shattering.

 

Krystal flinched away from her mother’s gaze as she looked at the scene in dread.

 

“Are you alright?” Her mother rushed to Kai’s side, making sure he hadn’t been cut by any glass before helping him stand. He groaned from the back pain, but tolerated it as he glared at Krystal. Her mother also turned to glare at her, and she quickly realized she was dead meat if she just stayed silent.

 

“I-I’m sorry! I…” She didn’t know what to say.

 

“I’m sorry. I’ll have to call you back.” Her mother said to the other line before hanging up the phone.

 

“Krystal. What did you do.” Her mother’s voice was laced in anger, and Krystal wasn’t sure how to respond. She was aware of her hands shaking because of what she’d done.

 

“I-I…”

 

“She acted in self defense.” Kai answered. Both of them turned to him in surprise.

 

“Self defense? Why?” Her mother was confused, but Krystal was even more confused. Why was he defending her? It made no sense.

 

“I stepped out of line, and she pushed me away. I’m not saying she’s exempt from blame, but she didn’t do the wrong thing, either.” Krystal’s mother wasn’t sure how to respond.

 

“...well, I’m sorry that this happened. No matter the circumstance, it’s unacceptable to physically harm a customer that wasn’t putting anyone in immediate danger. Krystal’s actions were unacceptable and we’ll make it up to you in any way we can.” A twinkle appeared in Kai’s eye.

 

“Any way you can?” Krystal’s mother nodded as some workers came over to clean up the mess before she turned to look at Krystal.

 

“As for you. You and I are going to have a long talk.” Krystal could feel the dread in her, but Kai cleared his throat to draw their attention back to him.

 

“Actually, if you’d like to make it up to me, could I borrow your daughter for the day?”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

Nobody spoke from the shock, unsure whether they had heard him right. Finally, the silence was broken from one of the workers cleaning the mess whispering to Krystal’s mother. She nodded before turning to Kai.

 

“You want to borrow Krystal? I don’t know what good you’ll get out of that.” Krystal wasn’t sure if she should feel offended or not, and Kai chuckled.

 

“Well, you could say...she owes me something.” Krystal turned to look at him in surprise, and her mother sighed.

 

“Well, I did say we’d make it up to you. Alright.” Krystal’s mother began walking away, but Krystal grabbed her arm.

 

“Mom-” Her mother quickly tore her arm out of Krystal’s grip.

 

“If you would prefer to stay here and talk to me about what happened, go ahead. Your choice, Krystal.” They looked at each other for a while before her mother walked away. Krystal turned back to Kai, hanging open in disbelief.

 

“What is happening.” She said to herself. Kai couldn’t help but snicker.

 

“You tried killing me, that’s what happened.” She glared at him silently, so Kai gestured towards the door. “Come on, let’s go out somewhere. Unless you wanna stay here.” Krystal’s glare didn’t leave him, but she walked and followed him out of the jewelry shop.

 

“So, where did you want to go?” He asked. She continued looking at him with annoyance and disbelief.

 

“What’re you doing.” She said. He looked down at her.

 

“What?” Her face changed to one of impatience.

 

“I said what are you doing. Why did you defend me back there? Why did you get me out of talking to my mom about the situation?” Kai flashed her a smirk.

 

“In every fairy tale, a knight in shining armor comes to save the princess-”

 

“I’m not buying it. Tell me the truth.” He snickered.

 

“Well it’s not my fault if you don’t believe me. I was going to give you the luxury of choosing what you wanted to do so you aren’t a slave, but if you’re not gonna tell me where you wanna go then I guess I’ll take the lead.” Krystal’s mouth hung open again.

 

“I can’t believe this.” Kai gestured in a direction.

 

“Come on.” He began walking.

 

“What, are you expecting me to just follow you?” Krystal said, but she ended up following him anyways.

 

“It’s noon. This is usually your lunch break, isn’t it?” She crossed her arms, still not wanting to speak to this stranger.

 

“If you’re not going to choose a place, we’re going to have to eat wherever I choose. Are you okay with that?” She tapped her foot against the ground, thinking about it for a while before looking at him.

 

“No. We’ll go where I want. I don’t know what you’re after here, but I might as well take advantage of this. You’re paying for it all, by the way.” She walked past him, and Kai looked after her with an amused smirk.

 

The two of them sat across from each other in a restaurant.

 

“You chose quite a fancy place...don’t tell me you’re actually thinking of this like a date.” Kai joked. She smirked at him.

 

“No. I figured I should go somewhere expensive to waste your money.” He rolled his eyes at her.

 

“So that’s your intention, huh. I guess I’m not complaining, since the food here is fancy.” Krystal opened her menu.

 

“I guess I’ll have to order the expensive stuff.”

 

“Yah. I thought all you do is look, not buy.” She looked up from her menu, glaring daggers at him. If looks could kill, Kai would be dead. The thought made him smirk.

 

“You’re a feisty one.”

 

“Thank you. You’re an annoying one.”

 

“Thank you.” He replied, also opening his menu. The waiter came over, and they began ordering.

 

After they ordered, Krystal brought out her phone so she could ignore Kai until the food arrived, which was fine by him. He brought out his phone as well, taking a picture of her. She stopped everything she was doing, looking at him.

 

“Did you just…” He smirked.

 

“What if I did?” She looked to the side in disbelief again before glaring at him.

 

“I can’t believe I have to do this. It’s like my mother decided I was a crystal up for sale.” Kai raised an eyebrow.

 

“Aren’t you? Your name is Krystal.” Her glare got even more heated, if possible.

 

“I’ve heard that one so many times, you don’t even know.” She gritted her teeth. Kai put his hands up in surrender before looking back at his phone at her picture.

 

Please, she can’t believe she’s doing this? I can’t believe I’m doing this. Well, it’s not like she isn’t pretty, at least. Their food was brought over relatively quickly, and Krystal’s face brightened.

 

“Ah, finally.” She picked up her chopsticks and began reaching for food. Kai just raised an eyebrow as he watched her.

 

“Can we eat all this?” He asked doubtfully. She didn’t answer as she continued picking out food. She was completely focused on the food. Sighing, Kai picked up his chopsticks and went to pick up food from a plate near him, but another pair of chopsticks went for the same plate at the same time, making them both recoil. Kai and Krystal’s eyes met awkwardly.

 

“This is all the way on my side of the table, you know.” He said.

 

“So you’re a possessive eater, is that it?” She said. He looked at her weird.

 

“What are you talking about? You’re the one hogging all the food.”

 

“It’s not my fault you aren’t eating.” Kai rolled his eyes as he let her grab food from his plate. She smiled.

 

“I win.” She whispered. He tapped his foot on the ground.

 

“Is the chicken here yet?” She looked up from her food for a moment.

 

“What, are you blind? Just wait.” She then continued to eat. He sighed, crossing his arms as he watched her. She ate quickly and without restraint. The moment her chopsticks had put something in , she was already reaching for something else. Her cheeks were puffed out with food, and Kai found it amusing.

 

“You really don’t care about how much you eat, huh?” She looked at him, but didn’t answer right away as she had to chew on her food. She swallowed before putting her chopsticks down for a brief moment.

 

“I don’t gain weight. The only care I have is whether there’s enough or not. I don’t know about you, but I love food and I see no reason to be ashamed.” Her complete focus went back to her plate, and Kai couldn’t help but chuckle. He took his phone out and took a picture, and she didn’t even notice this time since she was eating. He smiled in amusement, and for some reason Krystal chose that moment to look up at him.

 

“What do you know, you can smile.”

 

“Speak for yourself.” Kai scoffed, still smiling in amusement. Finally, the waiter walked over with a plate of chicken.

 

“I’m sorry for the wait, sir. We ran out so we had to make a new one, it’s fresh though!” Kai’s eyes lit up.

 

“Ah thank you, uh…” He read the name label on the waiter. “...Luhan. Thank you Luhan.” Luhan smiled at him.

 

“No problem. Please enjoy your date.” Kai froze at that as Luhan walked away, but Krystal somehow seemed unaffected as she looked after the waiter.

 

“Hm. He was cute. If only the people at this table could be switched around.” Kai wasn’t sure if he should be offended by her comment or mortified by Luhan’s comment. He was going to say something, but Krystal had moved on, eating once again. He sighed.

 

“This girl…”

 

“What. What are you complaining for? Your chicken is here. Did you take me out of work to watch me eat or something? Creepy…” She said with full.

 

“Of course not.” He replied simply before grabbing his chicken and beginning to eat. Krystal’s arm began reaching over, but he glared at her, and she stopped.

 

“What. Don’t tell me you’re taking that all to yourself?”

 

“Don’t tell me you want some?” She swallowed the food that was in and huffed in disbelief.

 

“What do you know. So you are a possessive eater.”

 

“I love chicken.” She put her chopsticks down harshly.

 

“I love it too, so stop hogging!” The two of them glared at each other, Krystal with disbelief and Kai with a dirty look. Slowly, he pushed his plate forward a little.

 

“...fine. Take some before I change my mind.” She wasted no time in grabbing her fair share. A smile plastered itself on her lips as she began eating once more. He also began eating, and she looked up slightly in surprise at how fast he ate the chicken.

 

“What, are you trying to outdo me now?” He looked at her weird, chewing quickly.

 

“It’s a competition?” Her eyes darkened a bit.

 

“It is now.”

 

“Maybe that wasn’t a good idea…” Kai groaned as he rested his head on the table. All the plates were empty as Krystal looked down at him with a smile.

 

“I win.” She whispered. Luhan walked back over to them with a pleasant smile.

 

“Ah, yes, he’s paying!” She announced, gesturing to Kai. He groaned from how full he was, but sat up before taking out his wallet. He glanced at the bill and his jaws dropped.

 

“It’s over $500…lucky I’m rich…” Krystal looked at him when he said that, but kept silent. Luhan just kept his pleasant smile as he accepted Kai’s money.

 

“Thank you very much, I hope you enjoyed your date here! Please come again!” Krystal tilted her head, returning his pleasant smile.

 

“I don’t think I’ll be coming back with him. Are you free?” Kai looked at her in shock. He hadn’t expected her to be so bold. Luhan gave a nervous laugh.

 

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to come between a couple.” Krystal returned his laugh.

 

“Oh, we aren’t a couple-” She started, but Luhan was hurrying off. She looked after him before turning to glare at Kai.

 

“You ruin everything, huh?” Kai raised an eyebrow.

 

“All I did was sit here. Besides, I never expected you to be so bold.” Krystal shrugged.

 

“My mom keeps telling me to get a boyfriend.” Kai smirked.

 

“Really now? As much of a pain as it’d be, I could take you up on that off-” Krystal laughed.

 

“Oh, you’re mistaken. I wouldn’t think of having you as my boyfriend.” Kai stayed silent, so she sat up.

 

“Well, we’re done eating. Let’s leave.”

 

“Suddenly you want to be in control, huh…” Kai said as he stood up and followed her out of the restaurant. “Sorry, but there’s somewhere I need to go, so you don’t get to choose this time. Although I think you’ll enjoy it.” She turned to look at him.

 

“What? Where?”

 

 

 

The two of them stopped outside of the pastry shop.

 

“I was ordering a cake, and the order should be done by now, so I have to pick it up.” Kai explained. She nodded.

 

“Alright. I’ll look at the pastries.” He chuckled.

 

“Who on earth does that. You’re always just looking. Why don’t you buy anything?” Krystal opened to answer, but he cut her off.

 

“Alright, I get it. Choose whatever. I’ll buy it.” She looked at him in disbelief as he entered the shop, weighing her options. Eventually, she ended up running in after him.

 

“What are you really after?” She accused. He looked down at her.

 

“I’m here to pick up my cake, is that wrong? Hurry up and pick something.” She looked at him suspiciously before shaking her head.

 

“I suppose I’ll take advantage of this, too.” She walked over to the counter and looked.

 

“Don’t tell me you’re going to take forever. I remember how long you made me wait the last time we were here.” She stood up and turned to look at him.

 

“I didn’t make you wait at all. It’s not my fault you couldn’t see the line.” He rolled his eyes.

 

“Just hurry and pick something.”

 

“Alright. I want these cream-filled pastries. Pink with sprinkles.” Krystal smiled, looking down at the pastries she had chosen. Kai chuckled at her before taking out his wallet.

 

“Pink with sprinkles it is.”

 

They walked out of the shop, Krystal holding her pastries and Kai holding his ordered cake.

 

“Wait. I want to sit down while I eat these.” Krystal said. Kai looked over at her.

 

“Alright, we’ll go to a park.” They walked to a nearby park and sat at a bench, where Krystal opened her box of pastries. She took out her phone and took a picture.

 

“So you’re the type that takes pictures of their food, huh?” Kai said. She looked at him.

 

“Is that a problem? I take pictures of my food and send it to my sister.”

 

“Why?” She looked him up and down.

 

“Why should I have to tell you?” With that, she picked up one of the pastries and began eating it, smiling. Kai couldn’t help but look at the pastries silently. Krystal noticed, however, looking over at him.

 

“What. If you want one just take one. Only one, though.” He hesitated, but decided to take one before biting into it. She gave him a small smirk.

 

“Who knew you were a sweet tooth.”

 

“I get it from my father.” She looked at him amusedly before focusing on her food again.

 

They ate in silence(although Kai only ate one) before Krystal spoke up, finally deciding to ask the question that’d been on her mind.

 

“So...why were you interested in my necklace?” She looked up at the tall man. Kai hesitated for a bit.

 

“...it was pretty, and I didn’t see any like it around the store.” Krystal looked at him, and they made eye contact.

 

“...um-” She was about to speak, but was cut off as a drop of rain fell onto her nose. Kai looked up to see dark clouds gathering. Instinctively, Krystal closed the box of pastries as Kai sighed.

 

“I forgot it was going to thunderstorm...come on. We’ll find cover.” He stood up and gently grabbed Krystal’s wrist. Her eyes widened at the sudden touch, but that was her only reaction. She had no choice but to let him pull her arm, making them walk faster. Suddenly, the rain started coming down harder, and thunder roared loudly overhead. Krystal jumped at the sudden noise and pulled her hand away from Kai’s to hug herself. She gulped.

 

“Sorry, it was really loud and it...startled me. I...let’s go back to the jewelry shop.” The rain plastered her hair to her head, and Kai sighed, taking off his blazer.

 

“What’re you…” She trailed off as he put it around Krystal.

 

“C’mon, you’ll get sick.” She just looked at him, but nodded. He reached for her wrist again, but she flinched away.

 

“I can walk by myself.” They just looked at each other before he nodded.

 

“Alright.” They began walking back towards the jewelry shop as Krystal looked at his figure in front of her, leading the way. She pulled his blazer tighter onto herself.

 

“What about the cake? Don’t you need to bring that somewhere?” Kai didn’t respond, so Krystal’s arm moved forward and grabbed a hold of his wrist this time. He stopped to look back at her.

 

“The cake will get ruined.” She stated. He looked down at the box before looking back at her.

 

“Then we’d better hurry and get you back to the shop.” He turned to start walking again, but she didn’t let him, her grip firm on his wrist.

 

“Bring that cake where you need to bring it. I can go back by myself.” He looked her over doubtfully, so she walked past him.

 

“Wait.” She stopped and turned around to him to see him taking out his phone.

 

“Let’s exchange numbers.” She raised an eyebrow.

 

“What? Why would I-”

 

“Hurry. Then I’ll let you go back alone.” She huffed.

 

“What, I need your permission to go back alone?” Despite saying that, she took out her phone and walked towards him. They exchanged numbers before he smiled at her.

 

“You’d better run.”

 

“You sound like a creep who’s going to chase me.”

 

“Who says I won’t?”

 

“Ugh…” She backed away, but they exchanged a playful smile.

 

“Goodbye, Kai.” They went separate ways. It was the first time she’d said his name. Kai turned around.

 

“Catch you later, then, Krystal.”

 

A few minutes later, Krystal arrived back at the jewelry shop. She walked in and shivered, pulling the blazer closer. Her eyes widened suddenly in realization. She still had his blazer.