Shadow’s POV 

Kyungsoo walks the rest of the way home with a smile plastered on his face, carrying the bouquet of flowers and a card that he had hurriedly bought and signed. I can’t help but smile at the nickname he used to sign the card. D.O. I remember the origin of that name all too well.

Krystal was patiently teaching Kyungsoo how to spell his name out in the English Alphabet. Coming from California, she had come to a deal with Kyungsoo that if he taught her Korean, she would teach him English. So far, Kyungsoo had felt that he wasn’t getting the very good end of the deal.

“It’s so frustrating,” he groaned.

Krystal simply shook her head, ignoring his complaints. “Try again,” she said.

“D….O…..,” Kyungsoo smiled. “I did it!”

Krystal just laughed. “What about the K-Y-U-N-G-S-O-O?”

“The what?” Kyungsoo had said.

“You have to spell the rest of your name out. You don’t want me to call you D.O., do you?”

Kyungsoo stuck his tongue out. “I don’t care.”

And from that day on the nickname had stuck. But it was only known to a select few, including D.O.’s parents.

I glance at the figure walking next to Kyungsoo. I wonder if Luna still remembers that nickname. It’s good to see her again. To me, it feels like finally seeing a long lost friend.

Kyungsoo takes a quick glance at his watch and his eyes widen. He quickens his already fast pace, breaking into a run.

“Can’t be late, can’t be late, can’t be late,” I hear him mumbling under his breath.

He glances back, remembering Luna. He quickly grabs her hand and pulls her along with him. For some reason, I feel slightly upset.

We all reach the house exactly 2 seconds before we hear the crunching of gravel. We turn to see Kyungsoo’s mom driving in. Kyungsoo is panting and drenched in sweat, holding the bouquet of red roses.

“Hap-” Kyungsoo pants, “Happy birthday umma.”

Kyungsoo’s mother gets out of the car and smiles. “Thank you, D.O.” She hugs him. “Punctual as usual,” she grins teasingly.

She then turns to Luna, her grin still on her face. “So who is this?”

We all sit at the dinner table. Kyungsoo, his mother, me and Luna.

It took a while for Mrs. Do to convince her to join us for dinner but Luna finally agreed when she used the fact that it was her birthday as an argument point.

“So are you Kyungsoo’s girlfriend?” Mrs. Do asks Luna with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Luna chokes on her food while Kyungsoo turns beet red and looks down at his plate. I grow anxious. They don’t have feelings for each other…do they?

“N-no, we’re just friends, Mrs. Do,” Luna stutters. I unconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.

“Really? Well, you would make a great couple, you know.”

“No we wouldn’t, mom,” Kyungsoo says, shooting her a stop-talking look.

Suddenly, the front door to the house opens. “I’m sorry I’m back from work so late,” Mr. Do says. “Happy birthday,” he goes to hug his wife but then turns to face the table, realizing they have company.

“Oh! Kyungsoo, you have a girlfriend? You never told me about this!”

Kyungsoo groans and puts his head in his hands while Luna smiles sheepishly at Mr. Do.

“Dad, it’s just Luna,” Kyungsoo says.

“Luna’s your girlfriend?” Mr. Do asks with a surprised expression.

Kyungsoo groans even louder and he and Luna proceed to explain the whole just-friends thing all over again.

Kyungsoo has been sitting at his desk for an hour now and he has barely touched his homework. Based on his faraway gaze, he is thinking about something.

Dinner ended half an hour ago with the cutting of the birthday cake, and Mrs. Do had driven Luna home because they insisted that it wasn’t safe for a girl to walk alone in the night. Kyungsoo had retreated to his room to finish his homework but he hadn’t finished a single question so far.

I wonder what he’s thinking about. Is he thinking about the fight with Damon? Is he thinking about his mom’s smile when she accepted her birthday gift? Or is he thinking about Luna?

The thought brings a stab of pain to my heart. Because I know he’ll never think of me.

Sure, he might reminisce the memories he had with Krystal when they were kids. But he’ll never think about me, the Krystal who grew up and fell in love with him.

Sometimes there are advantages of being pretty much invisible. There’s no chance of embarrassing yourself, no chance of rejection. There won’t be awkward moments that Kyungsoo will catch me staring at him or smiling at his actions or words.

But because I’m pretty much invisible to him, there’s also no chance of him loving me, none at all. There won’t be times where he’ll smile at me or say my name or laugh at my jokes. Because I’m simply nonexistent to him.

And it hurts, being invisible.