3rd POV
"Surprise~" Hajin said while extending his arms out.
"Waaow~" Evandel exclaimed in her cute childish tone while Rachel just stared at the bike that was in front of her.
The exterior was pitch black, with blakish-purple lines that were actually lights. It was a tron bike, so it was obviously supposed to be a bike that only one person can ride at a time, however, Hajin had modified the backside of the bike, extending it and also getting rid of any extra decorations that might take up space or cause discomfort.
"Daddy, will we ride on thish?" Evandel asked.
"Of course, sweetheart." He said while smiling at her. 'She's so cute~!!' He thought inwardly, feeling proud of her daughter's cuteness.
"How is it?" He said while turning his eyes from Evandel to Rachel.
"It's... good, excellent even, but... won't it reveal too much of our identities? Even if our face is hidden, there's still a chance for someone to recognize us..."
"That's... certainly a point there, nothing will really be covering our faces except masks... Well, how about this than?" He asked while turning his hand towards the bike.
Black liquid flowed out and covered the bike, and its shape started changing rapidly. In just a few seconds, it turned into a high-end super car.
"Daddy! Daddy! How did you do that?" She asked as she tugged his jacket.
"Magic~ You'll be able to do all this too one day, Ev." He said.
"Really?" She asked, maybe dazed that something like that was possible. Transforming cars were super cool in the eyes of kids, and Evandel was no exception in this case.
"Yes~" He said while encouraging her."
"So, is this better?" He asked Rachel, who was standing besides him.
"Yes..." She said while still staring at the bike, now turned car, in front of her.
"Okay than, shall we get going? Otherwise there are chances that we might end up getting late." He said as he walked towards the driver seat while Rachel circled around to the other side with Evandel.
The car's doors automatically opened, sensing that its owner was walking near it.The car was a two seater, one would think that it was because it was a super-car and a sports one at that, but that was not it. The car could extent to four or even six seats when needed. But currently, there was no need as the front row of seats was enough.
Hajin sat on the driver seat while Rachel sat besides him with Evandel on her lap.
The car was automatic, so it didn't have any special or separate part for changing gears, as it would do so by itself when required. There was a stearing wheel, but even that was optional. The owner could use it if he wanted to drive himself, otherwise there was also an auto-drive function installed.
Hajin put his feet on the accelerating pedals while grabbing the stearing wheel with both his hands. The moment Hajin placed his hands on the stearing wheel, the car felt its owner's mana and started itself by consuming the mana provided by Hajin.
Meanwhile Evandel was busy exploring the car and messing around with little things here and there with stars in her eyes. She was clearly excited.
The car pushed forward, but instead of going out of the house's parking lot, a portal appeared in front of the car and it disappeared in the portal.
The portal teleported the car outside Cube. These portals were obviously created by Hajin, who used them because he didn't want to go through the normal procedure at cube's main gate, or he would have to explain how he got the car and all that.
Still, he messaged cube that he was going outside. Normally, this would surprise them because Hajin had never gone through the main gate or any gate in that regard, but they already knew through Seung-Ah that Hajin could teleport.
The car appeared on the highway and Hajin accelerated it in high speed. The window besides Rachel was open, and Evandel had her head outside the window, looking at the cars and various people and other things passing by on the highway.
Now one would think this was dangerous, not because she would get hit by something, but because someone could see her, Rachel and Hajin together. The media was still not ready to hear about this, and Hajin made sure it never did until the time arrived.
The car's mirrors were unidirectional, so while one could see outside from the inside, the opposite was not possible. It also had a mana disturbance function so no one could see who or what was inside the car even if they used magic in their eyes, or even clairvoyance. And Evandel's face alone wasn't enough proof for anything, one could simply have blone hair and blue eyes and not be royalty.
It was not like someone had seen Evandel before, so recognizing her, especially as someone related to Rachel, was close to impossible.
Both Rachel and Evandel were enjoying the ride and the view they were getting, which could be seen from their facial expression, which was that of bright smiles. Hajin also smiled seeing that they were enjoying it too.
After a few minutes, they reached the mall. Hajin parked the car in the parking lot outside the mall, because the mall was all in a single building. It wasn't an open street themed one, but a closed building one containing all the shops and other locations.
Of course, the car grabbed a lot of attention, especially because of it's unique design. Although no one dared came near it, almost everyone who was passing by gazed at the car at least one. Some were looking at it from afar while taking photos while some just looked at it for a few seconds while passing by.
"Here, wear this." He said as he gave them caps and masks to cover their faces. He also created an illusion around their hair just in case, so to outsiders, they would appear black, but in reality, both had golden hair.
The blue eyes weren't that much because they were common among foreigners, especially from the western contries.
Rachel wore a black cap to hide her eyes while Evandel did the same but wore a blue one. Hajin didn't need any disguise because, although he was famously known for his powers as cube's most powerful cadet, the news hadn't gotten that far, so not everyone knew it. And he didn't have any features nor was he royalty, at least not on this planet.
The car's door opened as Hajin got out of the car. He than went around and reached the door at the other side. He opened the door and waited as Evandel got out and stood beside him, and than took Rachel's hand while she made her way out of the car. As soon as both of them got out, the car's doors closed as the car locked itself from the inside. The outside exterior was also magically enchanted so if anyone touched or tried to harm it with ill intentions, they would disappear, literally.
Evandel took Hajin's and Rachel's hands from each side as the family made their way towards the mall while receiving stares from the crowd that had gathered around. There were, as per normal, gossips as well.
'Kyaa~ So cute, the child looks so cute!'
'Wow, who are they. I never saw them around or heard of them.'
'Hey, isn't that Kim Hajin?' It seemed that some people recognized Hajin.
'Who?'
'You know, the strongest cadet in cube?'
'Really? That's him?'
'Yeah. But... who is that child and the girl... ?'
'Maybe the girl is his lover? Or a relative? The little child looks similar to the girl, so maybe her sister?'
'Yeah, you're right. She looks too young to have a child. And Kim Hajin is said to be around 17 or 18, but the child looks at least 5 or 6, the girl looks the same age, so it's impossible to have a child at such a young age, especially with the strict training and tense atmosphere at the military training camp before cube.'
'Indeed. And Kim Hajin and the girl have black hair, but the child has blone hair, so she's most likely a relative from another country.'
'Yeah, probably.' Everyone around agreed.
These were the usual gossips. Some were amazed by the child's cuteness, some were amazed by the car and how expensive it looked, the girls hand their eyes on Hajin while most of the guys had eyes on Rachel, or at least, they tried to, but their faces could only turn away after sensing Hajin's killing intent.
As they entered the mall, Hajin scanned the area to make sure that there was nothing weird or suspicious around. He also scanned the shops to know which shop was where."Let's go to that shop." Rachel said as she pointed towards one of the shops at the right side of the mall.
-- Zanac Fashions --
That was the name of the shop hung on the board. They made their way inside the shop and were greeted by a number of employees and waitresses.
"Weclome to Zanac Fashions, Sir. How may I help you today?" A man came near and greeted them while slightly bowing. The other waitresses and employees were standing in the back, so he was probably something like the head waiter, or maybe even the manager.
"I'm the head manager of this branch, Kang soo young." He introduced himself.
"Go choose whatever you want, Ev." Hajin said as he bent down towards Evandel and patted her head while seemingly ignoring the man, but he didn't show any sign of annoyance and the smile on his face never faded, as expected of a business professionalist.
"Okey!" She responded.He than looked at Rachel and asked, "Do you want to buy something too?"
"Nothing in particular. I'll just go along with Ev and tell you if I found something worth buying."
"Okay than." He replied and shifted his attention to the head manager, nodding his head.The manager noded in response and followed the girls. Meanwhile, Hajin went towards a sofa on the side and sat on it.
One of the waitress came towards him and asked, "Would you like something to drink, sir?"
"No, thanks." He replied while waving his hand in denial, indicating that he didn't need anything.
"Very well." The waiter lady left and continued her job while 2 waitresses remained just in case he needed anything.
Hajin opened his smart watch and started doing something on it in the meantime.
* A few minutes later *
The girls returned from their shopping while carrying various bags. The manager was accompanying them from behind.
Seeing them, Hajin closed his watch's user interface screen and turned his attention to them. Evandel came running towards him and jumped on his laps as Hajin catched her.
"Did you buy everything you liked, Ev?" He asked with a smile."Yesh!" She said excitedly and continued, "We bought a lot of thingz. And mommy also haz a shurprize for you!"
"Oh?" He said as he turned his gaze towards Rachel with a teasing smile on his face, to which she just turned her face to the side while blushing slightly.
"Okay. Give me the bags, they're probably heavy to carry, so I'll store them inside my pocket dimension."
But Rachel seemed a litte hesitant, to which Hajin said, "Don't worry. I won't check anything." He said.
Rachel finally let it go and gave him the bags, to which he took them and threw them in the air. The employees rushed towards the bags, thinking that Hajin wanted them to catch the bags. But before the could even come near, a black sphere appeared in the air and absorbed all the bags like a black hole.
The employees look bewildered but Hajin waved his hand, indicating that he was the one who did it. He than turned to the manager, to which the man presented him with a paper list that was the bill.
"Hmm, do you accept online payment?" He asked. The bill was 150,000 Won, which he didn't have in paper money at the time.
"Why of course, you can pay the bill through physical money or online." He said and gave him the account name of the shop.
"Hmm." He noded and opened his smart watch. Selecting the amount, he sent it to the account that the manager told him.
In just a few seconds, the manager received the notification and checked the payment. 200,000 won had been transfered. He looked at Hajin, to which he noded, seemingly saying, 'Take the rest as a tip'.
"Thank you for shopping from our store, dear sir. Please come again soon..." He said while bowing as Hajin and Rachel made their way towards the exit with Evandel holding their hands.After that, the trio went to various shops and stalls. It seems that Evandel was a foody, as she ate a lot of food from different stalls and from food shops. In particular, she liked cake the most. Hajin even bought a large cake at her request on the condition that she didn't ate it all in one or two days, to which Evandel reluctantly agreed.
Night soon came. They finished shopping and were returning to the parking lot when Evandel saw an ice cream stall and ran towards it, while Hajin and Rachel could only follow. They weren't carrying any bags since Hajin stored them inside [Imaginary Space], so they were not physically tired much, although, Hajin was still mentally tired. Women's shopping was never easy.
There was a special deal for family couples, which offered two large ice cream cons and a small one for the child along with some small toys and figures. There was also a photo-shop stall just besides the ice cream stall.
Hajin bought the family deal and gave her the ice cream. The current flavor the stall was selling was Strawberry. Evandel seemed to enojoy her ice-cream as she walked with them, but didn't grab their hands because she was holding the ice-cream, so Hajin got a chance to hold Rachel's hands as well. They took some photos in the photo booth and exited the mall.
"Today was very fun!" Evandel exclaimed as she ran towards the car. She seemed to enjoy the shopping the most, and was also the most energetic.
"Yeah." Hajin said as he firmly held Rachel's hand. Rachel leaned on his shoulders as they continued walking.
After reaching the car, the doors opened as they entered it. Hajin checked the time
8 : 45
It had been almost 5 hours since they left cube. It was still not time for curfew, so they were safe still.
When they reached cube, they got out of the car and Hajin turned it back to a ring as they made their way towards the gate where the guards were standing.
The guards looked at Hajin and Rachel coming and opened the gate, the illusion on Rachel's hair had already worn out as there was no need for it now.
The guards opened the gate, but were shocked to see a child with Hajin and Rachel. They first looked at Hajin, than Evandel and than Rachel, finding the last pair similar, they were even more surprised.
"W-who is that child?" One of the guards daringly asked, they were still afraid of Hajin, but that didn't stop them from doing their job, at least not completely.
Seeing the guard's reaction, Hajin sighed and said, "Wait a few seconds." He called Seung-Ah through his smart watch and asked her to inform the guards. Right after he cancelled the call, the guard's communicator rang. He picked up the call and was told of the matter.
After that was done, the guards let them get in as both of them stared at the couple and than the child.
"Damn, even kids are having a happier love life than me, who's still single... !" The male guard said while holding his tears.
"And that's why you can't have a love life, because you envy others and don't focus on those around you and just focus on your job, you're like a booknerd." The female guard said. The male guard clenched his heart as multiple imaginary arrows hit him right on the heard.
"You don't have to be that harsh you know..." He retored.
"But what I said is true, though." The female guard replied with a grin, as the male guard took the final blow and fell on the ground.
Yep, he died of emotional damage.
-- Meanwhile --
The door opened as Hajin and Rachel entered the house. Evandel was on top of Hajin's back and playing with his hair.
Both of them took of their shoes and went to the living room, placed the bags on the table and fell on the coutch.
"Haah, today was a tiring day... " Hajin said as he took Evandel from his back and placed her onto his laps.
Rachel sat besides her and leaned her head on Hajin's shoulders.
"Yeah... "
"But what did you buy though? I'm curious... " He asked as he also leaned his head on hers.
"Clothes... for when we go to my home country, and... a surprise... " She answered as moved her finger on her mouth, indicating that she won't say more than that.
"Well, I can't wait than." He said as he moved his head towards Rachel and kissed her on the cheek.
Rachel shivered at first but relaxed soon, and kissed him on the cheek too.
"You're getting aggressive now, aren't you." She said with a teasing smile.
"Yeah, but that's just my way to show you my affection." He said while smiling.
"..." She blushed and turned her face, embarrassed. She probably wasn't not expecting him to say something like this out of nowhere, so bluntly at that.
"O-oh, right! Will you meet my parents when we go to England?" She asked, trying to avert the topic.
"Oh~ Who's sulking now~? But yes, I do plan and want to meet them, after all, they should know about our current relationship and... their grand daughter too." He replied.
"Yeah..." She said while looking down, maybe she was sad because of something? Something that Hajin already knew at first glance.
"Are you worried how your parents might react to Evandel?" He asked as he again leaned his head on her shoulders.
"Yeah..." She replied, hesitantly.
"I see... I had already somewhat guessed that. In any case, we will meet your parents. And they will probably like Evandel. I don't know about their personality, but I'm sure they're understanding, especially since they are the king and queen of an entire country." He reassured her.
"Yeah... you're probably right. I shouldn't worry about it for now." She said as her enthusiasm returned.
*Zzzzz*
*Zzzzzzzzz*
Both of them looked towards Evandel, from where the sound was coming from, and saw her sleeping. She probably got tired of their talking and slept as the tireness accumulated throughout the entire day hit her at once.
They both smiled as they gazed at their cute daughter sleeping so soundly.
Hajin looked at the time, and saw that it was already 10 PM, so he turned to Rachel and said,
"I think we should go to sleep. It's already late at night, and I have to go somewhere tomorrow..." He said.
"Mm, okay. Oh, can I come too?" She asked while tilting her head.
Hajin chuckled and kissed her on the forehead.
"Hahaha, Of course, darling~"
"///" She blushed and noded her head.
Hajin than carefully stood up and carried Evandel trying not to wake her up and went to the bedroom while Rachel followed behind him.
After he left the living room, the lights in the living room shut down automatically as if having a sentience of their own. Somehow, Only the bedroom lights were on while all the other lights in the house turned off.
Hajin placed Evandel on the bed as he layed down as well. Rachel did the same and layed besides him and placed Evandel between them.
Hajin turned off the lights by a mana signal and hugged both Evandel and Rachel.
"Good night." Rachel said and leaned forward while moving her face closer. Understanding the sign, he also leaned his face closer and kissed her on the lips one last time as a good night kiss.
"Good night to you too~." He said as their foreheads touched and they closed their eyes and fell asleep.
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Word Count : 3334