Shadow’s POV 

Everyone is digging into their meals and commenting between bites of food how the food tastes amazing when Luna says, “The food here is so good that it’s probably worth any price we have to pay.”

Price we have to pay. Krystal and I both realize it at the same time. We’re paying.

Krystal puts her fork and knife down and asks for the menu from Sehun who has kept an extra copy just in case we (really just him) need it again to order more. Sehun passes it to her and Krystal scans the prices of the dishes we’ve ordered. Her eyes widen as she does the math in head, the cost piling up considerably every time something new is added.

Kyungsoo notices her pale face and looks at her, concerned. “Are you okay, Krystal?” he asks.

She doesn’t say anything. She just turns the menu to face him and points to the price list on the menu with her finger. It’s a sufficient explanation.

To her surprise, Kyungsoo doesn’t look the least bit faltered or shocked. Maybe he’s been here before and knows what the prices are like? Then why is he making me pay? Well, I guess I offered…but still, Krystal and I both think.

Kyungsoo just pats Krystal’s shoulder reassuringly and tells her calmly, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay.”

“But….I thought we agreed I was the one paying,” Krystal says, although inside, she is relieved at the fact that someone else is paying. I know because I feel the exact same way.

“Well, first of all, the original rules were that I had to pay if I lost, and I did lose. Second of all, you didn’t sign up to pay for all four of us, just two, so don’t worry, I’ll pay.”

Krystal almost sighs in relief as the weight of paying falls off her shoulders but she catches herself in time and just allows herself a small smile of gratitude. “Thank you,” she says and Kyungsoo grins back.

“Anytime.”

Kyungsoo’s POV 

As Krystal was raising her hand to call a waiter over, I reached into my pocket and noticed something….

I had forgotten to bring my wallet with me.

I hope I succeeded with pulling off my don’t-worry-nothing’s-wrong smile. As I turn to walk to the counter, I start freaking out on the inside. Maybe I can text Sehun discreetly and ask him if he has money?

Who am I kidding? He’ll probably blab about this to the whole table and that would be the epitome of embarrassment.

I get a few queer looks as I stand in front of the counter, not saying or doing anything. The cashier clears and says, “Sir, do you need any help?”

I look at her with what I’m sure are alarmed eyes. “No, I’m fine,” I say, a little too quickly. Just then, I hear a voice that could be my lifesaver.

“Hey, Kyungsoo! Fancy seeing you here!”

I turn around and see Suho, fully decked out in a tux with a matching black bowtie. He looks comfortable in it, like he dresses up like this every week. Maybe he does. I wouldn’t know much about the life of a future heir.

Then something clicks in my mind. Suho’s credit card! I remember that Suho had lent it to me once to buy bread at a bakery after school. It was black, which meant it had no limit and I had just stared wide-eyed at it for a second.

“You sure I can use this?” I had said and he had just looked back at me nonchalantly and nodded, “Yea, go ahead.”

I jump on the opportunity now and shamelessly ask, “Suho, do you have your credit card on you?”

Suho looks a little curious. “Yes, I do…why?”

I chuckle nervously and rub the back of my neck. “I sort of…..forgot my wallet at home.”

Suho lets out his own chuckle. “Sure, you can use it.” He pulls out his wallet and hands me the credit card.

“Thank you,” I say, bowing a little to show my gratefulness. “I’ll pay you back.”

Suho waves his hand as if brushing my remark away. “Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to.”

“Really? The meal’s expensive though. There were four people.”

“It’s okay, you really don’t need to pay me back.” He pauses for a second, seeming to contemplate something, before adding his next sentence. “On one condition.”

“What is it?” I ask, curious as to what it could be.

“Introduce me to your girlfriend. I know you brought her with you,” he says.

My eyes widen a little. “How did you know that?” I ask. Suho really didn’t strike me as the creepy stalker type.

“I saw Sehun in the corner booth a moment ago as I was walking here. He kept pointing to the girl in front of him and mouthing ‘Kyungsoo’s girlfriend’, but I felt like you should be the one to give us a proper introduction,” Suho explains.

“Ahhh….” I say, relieved to find out that Suho was not a creepy stalker after all. “Sure, I’ll introduce her to you.”

Narrator’s POV 

Suho stares at Kyungsoo’s and Krystal’s retreating figures. “Why the rushed exit?” he asks, a little confused.

At this statement, Sehun finally lets out his hard held laughter and breaks into fits of it. Even Luna hides her face behind her hands, trying to hide the fact that she’s laughing as well.

Suho looks at them, even more bewildered. “Is there something I’m missing?”

Sehun points to the direction of the door, his eyes still remaining as crescents from laughing. “That,” he says, “is the hilarious face of a jealous Kyungsoo.”

Shadow’s POV 

Both Krystal and I are somewhat confused by Kyungsoo’s quick exit. “Are we going somewhere?” Krystal wonders out loud.

“Not really. Is there anywhere you want to go?” Kyungsoo turns back and asks her. His bad mood from earlier on has dissipated and now his eyes have returned to their wide, innocent state.

“Um…no, it’s just…I was wondering if there was an urgent reason to leave the restaurant. Or else we could’ve all chatted more.”

Kyungsoo expresses his distaste by scrunching up his nose. “Why? Was Suho really that fun to talk to?”

“Well….not just him, I meant Sehun and Luna as well,” Krystal says, a bit taken aback. Her mind finally latches on to a possible explanation, but she hesitates to say it, just in case she’s wrong. “Kyungsoo….by any chance, are you…jealous?”

She waits for him to deny it, but he doesn’t. His face turns a light shade of red, and he scratches the back of his neck. “Is it really obvious?”

Krystal sighs and hugs him from the side. “You know I’m not leaving you, right?” She leans her head on his shoulder. “I’m staying right here.”

“But that’s the thing,” Kyungsoo says quietly, “we never know for sure.”

“Well then, I’ll stay for as long as I can.” She lifts her head so she can meet his eyes. “It’s better to treasure the time we have together rather than live in constant fear of losing each other. Am I right?”

Kyungsoo smiles and brushes her hair behind her ear. “You almost always are.”

“Well then, store your worries away. I’m not going anywhere,” Krystal smiles at Kyungsoo.

“Me neither,” Kyungsoo says as he pulls her into his arms for a proper hug and rests his chin on her shoulder.

In that moment, I feel like everything has finally fallen into place. Like everything is right in the world again. And I know I’m happy just staying like this. 

Well, we've reached the end of this story. I hope it reached your expectations. :) I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to all my readers. I know my writing isn't the best, but thank you for giving me constant encouragement and for commenting and upvoting and subscribing. Really, it is appreciated. I may continue to write bonus chapters for this story if I think of any ideas. Once again, thank you for supporting me for all this time. Till the next chapter/ story, goodbye and THANK YOU!