Under the Veil of Night

"It's an amazing movie!" Misae exclaimed excitedly after they exited the cinema. As a girl who loved romantic stories, she loved such movies very much.

Mike smiled warmly. Truthfully, he spent half of the movie watching Misae's expressions. She changed expressions rapidly in response to the plot, and it was extremely cute in his opinion. If she asked him about the content of the film… Well, he would just redirect the conversation.

"I'm glad that you like it."

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

If Mike had to say what he liked to do, 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 train with him.

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

"I am. 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 them the menu. As this was quite a decent café, the prices were quite high. The food looked rather appetizing and delicious, though.

"I'll have a pancake," Misae decided when she saw the picture of a pancake covered with blueberries and cream on the front. It looked rather delicious. Since it 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 pancakes that much?" Mike saw her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the picture.

Misae grinned. "They're one of my favorites. But my mother doesn'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 school is on break for 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 learned about women. Never argue about their weight! It would be a pointless and long argument without an end.

He shook his head slightly. Why do all the women like to care about their weight so much? He never cared about such things 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 knife and ate the pancake with relish. It was apparent from her face that she enjoyed the food very much. Seeing her eating with such happiness, Mike's mood lifted as he ate. He didn't even realize when he finished his 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 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 cheeks 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 himself. Facing the cute expression she made, he felt that he couldn't possibly refuse. It was his own fault for falling for her, so he couldn't possibly blame her.

"Let's just split it between the two of us," Mike said reluctantly.

Misae smiled. "Yes!"

"But next time, I'm the one who's paying."

"Okay!"

As Mike proceeded to pay for the items they ordered, Misae thought about the activities that they enjoyed so far today. They 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 dragging her away until they were out of sight again.

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

"Shall we walk around the area?" Mike asked. This was still the Ryukalin Clan's territory, so there shouldn't be anyone who dared to stir up trouble. There might be some annoying people, but they shouldn't be nearby.

"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 it into his own hand. He could feel 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.

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

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

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

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

"You're welcome."

"Can I open it here?"

"No! Not here!"

Seeing her flushed cheeks, 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. He walked over to the storefront and gestured. "Misae, which one would you like?"

Misae's eyes widened. "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 followed him into the store and looked through the display cases as she searched for something that she liked.

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 pointed to the necklace and asked the store attendant.

"Can I see 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 on the necklace around Misae's neck gently. His smile turned wider and gentler as he saw her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment.

"Let's keep walking."

"Yes!" Feeling that his gaze already moved somewhere else, Misae felt relieved. She was too nervous under his stare to the point that she could not stop the heat from rising to her cheeks.. Still, she felt very happy.