[KAI's P.O.V]
"Zack, when are we done?" I asked the photographer.
"Another shoot near that area and we're done." He replied.
"Alright."
I patiently did my shots, gave expressions, and joked around with the members.
As soon as the photographer gave us the green signal that we were finally done. I rushed to our manager. "Manager, take me to Ari's place."
"What? Now?"
"Yes, now," I said excitedly.
"But there are only two vans--"
"Fine, give me money, I'll take the cab." I stretched forth my open palms.
"Gosh, why are you in such a hurry?" He put his hand in his pant pocket and wriggled out a few dollars.
"Thank you!" I put the money in my pocket and rushed out of the building while waving to Cao Yu and Shi Qiu.
"Kai, where are you off to?!" Cao Yu asked.
"To meet her!" I shouted as the doors closed behind me.
I took the cab and showed the address I had noted yesterday in my phone to the driver.
"That's a bit far." He said.
"That's okay," I said.
After two hours, the cab stopped in front of Ari's house. We would have reached an hour ago, but LA's traffic has tragically become my worst enemy now.
I paid the driver, but I was short five dollars.
"Can you hold on for a minute?" I told him and he nodded.
I ran to the door and rang the doorbell. I was super excited to see Ari after such a tiring day. I wonder what she is doing now…Maybe daydreaming of me? Nah, I'm thinking too much. She must be busy with her writing and stu--
The door suddenly opened and in front of me stood the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Well, I did see and meet a lot of other beautiful girls, but Ari's somewhat different. That's what a guy who is deeply in love with his girl would say anyway. Gosh…I sound so cocky all of a sudden. It's making me cringe…
"Kai?" She exclaimed. Her face was filled with surprise.
"How are you?" I smiled.
"Good…What are you--"
"Hold on, before we get into a conversation, can you give me five dollars? I need to pay the driver." I laughed timidly.
Ari looked behind me and noticed the waiting cab.
"Yeah, one sec…" She went inside, closed the door, and came back out after a few long seconds with five dollars. She handed it to me and I quickly paid the bill.
I went back to Ari. "So, how is your mom?"
"She's, um… good." She smiled.
"Can I see her?" I tried looking inside her house, hoping to see her mom so that I could greet her, but strangely, Ari stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her.
"Actually, she's a bit busy right now." She said.
"Oh."
"Yeah, I'm sorry Kai."
"Nah, that's okay."
We looked at each other. I noticed the color of her irises as she stared up at me with her wide eyes. They were spheres of milk and dark chocolate.
A soft wind blew and I gently grabbed her hand. "Should we go for a walk?"
Her cheeks turned pink, but she nodded with a soft smile.
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We silently walked side by side. Hand in hand.
"So, how was your photoshoot?" Ari finally spoke.
"It went well," I answered.
"That's good." We passed by bakeries, cafes, and restaurants and suddenly my stomach started to growl. Also, its lunchtime so maybe we should eat something.
"Did you eat lunch?" I asked.
"No, did you?"
"No. I'm pretty hungry."
"Should we eat something then?"
"Sure."
"What do you want to try?"
"Anything LA gives me." I chuckled.
"I know a good restaurant, it's just a few blocks from here. We can go there."
"Sounds like a plan."
Ari took the lead. She took me to the aforementioned restaurant and we went inside. The feel of the restaurant was kind of calming and nice. A soft melody played in the background and Ari and I sat at one of the booths near the window.
A lady came and gave us the menus. "I'll give you some time darlings." She smiled and walked away.
I opened the menu and went through the hundred-plus (overexaggerated number) items they had.
"I don't understand anything…" I said.
"Do you want me to order for you?"
"Please do."
"They have really tasty burgers here. You don't mind burgers, right?"
"I'm fine with anything." I smiled.
"Awesome." Ari hollered the lady who arrived promptly. "Yes? What can I get you both?"
"Two cheese burgers with onion rings as the sides and a strawberry milkshake."
"Got it. Anything else?"
"No, that's it…Thank you."
The lady left and I looked at Ari in awe. For that one moment when she ordered, she looked so cool.
She looked at me and asked, "What?"
I shook my head. "Anyway, did your mom say anything about me? Does she have any objection?"
Ari froze for a moment. It's come to my notice that she does that when she is startled or nervous.
"Ari?"
"Oh um…" She shook her head slightly. "She doesn't have any objections and she loved you." She smiled.
"I'm glad…" I sighed in relief. "I will talk to my parents soon…just give me some time, hm?"
She nodded.
After a while, our food had arrived. We ate to our fill and being honest, it was delicious. I loved whatever Ari ordered for me.
I wanted to pay for the meal, but regrettably, I didn't have any money on me.
"Sorry I couldn't pay…" I said.
"My treat." She grinned and sipped the milkshake before passing it over to me.
After drinking and paying, we left the restaurant and headed back to Ari's home.
"What are your plans for tomorrow, Kai?" She asked.
"I'm not sure yet."
"Hm."
We talked some more random stuff and before we knew it, we were standing in front of Ari's front door.
She stopped and turned around. I thought we would go inside, but she didn't invite me…Which was sad, but there might be some reason, right?
"Oh, um…do you want some change for the cab?" She asked.
"No, I'll manage. The manager is there so."
"Okay."
We looked at each other blankly. However, my heart suddenly began thumping. I didn't know why and I had no idea what was wrong with my body, but gradually, I began to lean toward her. I got closer to her and I was glad that she didn't flinch or anything because then, it would've been awkward.
I was closer to her now, our noses were touching and right when our lips were about to touch, I heard the door behind us open and impulsively stood up. Ari was startled as well, but she turned around, taking a step back toward me as Ari's mom looked at us both with wide, shocked eyes.
"Mom…" Ari uttered.
Did she see me attempting to kiss her daughter…?
Are we in trouble now?
"Gosh, you two startled me…" Her mom breathed softly. "And hello, young man." She greeted me.
Ari shifted to the side so that her mom could see me properly. "Hello, Aunty." I quickly bowed.
"Ari, where did you disappear to? I wanted to ask you something about Kai's suit."
I raised my brows. "Um, you can ask me now, Aunty--"
However, she ignored me. "Come on in and call him here if he's not too busy."
Wait…What? "Aunty, I'm right here so why does Ari need to call?"
Her mom frowned and I saw Ari hiding her face with her palms.
"You guys have a strange sense of humor..." She chuckled. "Come on in, Ari. We have a lot of work to do." She grabbed Ari's hand and dragged her inside.
"Wait, mom--"Ari tried to stop her mom from dragging her, but she couldn't fight with her mom's grip on her.
"Oh--" Her mom suddenly turned around and I thought she finally realized that I was Kai! But…"if you are meeting Kai, can you tell him to drop by?"
This is so weird…
"I'm thinking of a blue suit rather than black…" She mumbled to herself and closed the door before Ari could even explain to me what the heck was going on.
I am Kai!
Why is her mom telling me to call me and ask me to drop by?
This is so--
"Kai, please don't be mad."
No way…
So what Bai He and Yifan were trying to say was…
"Ari's mom is in a misunderstanding. She thinks that I'm Kai and she also talked to my mom thinking it was your mom and now mine and Ari's marriage is in a month…"
…True and not just a lame joke?
I stared at the door in front of me and thought of ringing that bell and calling out to Ari. But instead, I turned around dazedly and walked away, unsure of where the path was taking me.