Under The Veil of Night

"I’m glad that you like it."

Misae grinned. "But this is your birthday, so let’s do something that you like too."

For things that Mike liked, he could only list training at the very top. Unfortunately, it was not something he could possibly do with someone like Misae. Considering the girl’s physical abilities, it was close to impossible for her to do a lot of practice.

His eyes landed on the café near the cinema. "Are you hungry?"

"I do. What about you?"

"Me too," Mike pointed to the café. "Shall we eat there?"

"Okay!"

The two of them walked inside and the waiter greeted them. They picked a seat near the window as the waiter handed the list of foods and drinks. As this was quite a decent café, the price was quite high. The foods looked rather decent and delicious, though.

"I’ll have a pancake," Misae decided when she looked at the blueberry coated picture at the front. It looked rather delicious. Since this was still quite early, she didn’t want to eat too much.

Mike ordered the same as he didn’t know what to order. Aside from the pancakes, they also ordered iced tea.

"Do you like a pancake that much?" Mike saw her eyes were sparkling as she gazed at the picture.

Misae grinned. "They’re one of my favorites. But my mother didn’t allow me to eat them too much because they’ll make me fat."

"You’re not fat."

"I’m still a bit too heavy, though. I’m thinking about doing some exercise when it’s the vacation," Misae frowned.

Mike wanted to say that he truly didn’t think of her as someone fat. However, he recalled the first lesson he got about women. Never argued about their weight! It would be a pointless and long argument without any end.

He shook his head slightly. Why are the women liked to care about their weight so much? He never cared about them too much. After all, he barely remembered his own weight. Was it 100 kg or 120 kg? He didn’t remember anymore.

When the pancakes arrived, Misae nearly squealed in delight as she took her fork and ate the pancake with delish. It was apparent from her face that she enjoyed the food very much. Seeing her eating with such happiness, Mike’s mood increased as he ate. He didn’t even realize when he finished the pancake as his attention was fully focused on the girl before him.

"It tastes good," Misae smiled happily when she finished hers. "You’re already finished?"

"I eat slightly faster," Mike answered.

"Oh yeah, how much is the pancake?"

"You don’t have to pay, I’ll be the one who pay."

"This is your birthday! I can’t let you be the one to pay."

"This is our first date, so I’ll be the one to pay."

Hearing the word ’date’, Misae’s cheek turned crimson red in embarrassment as she recalled that today was, indeed, their first date. However, she couldn’t possibly let him be the one to pay for their meal, right?

"I insist!" Misae pouted.

Internally, Mike cursed his self. Facing the cute expression she made, he felt that he couldn’t possibly refuse. It was his own fault to fall for her, so he couldn’t possibly blame her.

"Let’s just split it by the two of us," Mike said reluctantly.

Misae smiled. "Yes!"

"But next time, I’m the one to pay."

"Okay!"

As Mike proceeded to pay the foods they have, Misae thought about their activities today. They have watched a movie and ate together. It felt like a dream that she didn’t want to wake up from. It was very exciting and fun.

"Are you daydreaming again?" Mike noticed that the girl’s eyes were rather unfocused. There were no other handsome men around here, right? He didn’t want to go through the trouble taking her away from their sight again.

Misae shook her head. "No, I’m just thinking, is there any specific place you want to go?"

"Shall we walk around the place?" Mike asked. This was still Ryukalin Clan’s territory, so there shouldn’t be anyone who dared to make trouble. There might be some annoying people, but they shouldn’t be near.

"That’s a good idea!"

The two of them walked out from the café. As they walked, Mike’s eyes landed on Misae’s hand. He pondered a bit before taking them to his own hand. From her hand, he noticed that she tensed a bit but soon relaxed again. Holding hands, the two of them walked on the pedestrian streets.

Considering Mike’s rather big build, it created quite a disparity between the two of them when they walked together. Although Misae herself was quite tall, she was nothing compared to this man.

Misae’s lips slightly rose up as she felt his warmth through his hand. It was clear that his hand was slightly wet. She could easily guess that he must be nervous. Somehow, she felt glad that she was not the only one who felt nervous from their outing today.

Her other hand clutched the small bag she brought. It was then she recalled that she already prepared a present for his birthday. She quickly took out a rather small box wrapped carefully from her bag.

"Mike, Happy Birthday," Misae pushed the box to him.

Mike was stunned. His other hand reached out to the box. "Thank you very much."

"You’re welcome."

"Can I open it here?"

"No! Not here!"

Seeing her flushed cheek, Mike chose not to tease her further. She was simply too cute like this that he couldn’t help but want to tease her even more. How he wished that time could stop just like this.

Mike’s eyes noticed the jewelry store not far from them. "Misae, which one would you like?"

Misae’s pupil grew larger. "There’s no need! Today is your birthday, so you’re the one who receives gifts and not me."

"I want to give you one," Mike chuckled.

Misae wanted to refute but seeing his face up close, she closed her mouth again. She was truly not a match against his naturally devilish handsome face. She turned her gaze towards the store as she searched for one that she preferred.

She noticed a silver necklace with heart-shaped pendant. It was beautiful, but she felt rather embarrassed if she had to ask for that one. As she hesitated over asking or not, Mike already reached out to the necklace and asked the store owner.

"How much is this, Sir?"

"Ahh..." Misae looked up to Mike. "I have not finished looking."

"You want this, right? Here you go," he bent down slightly and put the necklace on Misae’s neck gently. His smile turned wider and gentler as he saw her cheek flushed red in embarrassment.

"Let’s walk again."

"Yes!" feeling that his gaze already moved somewhere else, Misae felt relieved. She was too nervous under his stare to the point that heat already made its way to her cheek. Still, she felt very happy.