Yesterday, after training, Kevin went home following Kin—the same routine as usual. However, today was Wednesday, meaning Kevin didn't have training. Finally, a day of rest. Kevin got a good night's sleep, waking up at around midday.
"God, I slept great," he groans, stretching in bed. He gets up to start his day, walking downstairs and expecting Ming to be sitting at the table.
"Oh, she's not here. Did I miss her?" Kevin asks himself. He takes out his phone to check the time.
"Holy shit, it's 12 already!? Yeah, I definitely slept in," Kevin exclaims. He rubs the bridge of his nose.
"Ow…" His nose still hurts from yesterday, when he had fallen on his face.
'I should probably put on a bandage or something,' he thinks. He walks back upstairs to the bathroom cabinet.
'There they are.'
He walks back downstairs. After eating breakfast, he reads some books Ming had lying around, then thinks about what to do for the rest of the day.
"Let's see, Ming gets out of school at around 4. If I go now, I can probably stop at Hei's bakery and pick something up for both of us. Two birds with one stone, as they say," Kevin thinks to himself. He quickly puts on his shoes and coat and walks outside, locking the door behind him.
"It gets colder and colder every day," he mumbles to himself.
"I should probably get a run in outside while I still can."
He starts to jog, slowly building up to a sprint. Kin had told him to take it easy on rest days, but he was always about putting in more effort than he should. A few minutes later, he arrives at the bakery.
'Weirdly enough, I didn't get lost that time!' he thinks. Before he walks into the bakery, he stops at the bank to exchange his few dollars into Chinese currency; after that, he heads to the bakery.
'Now let's just hope she's working today,' Kevin thinks.
He walks inside and looks around. He sees all the pastries from before—including some new ones too. When he looks toward the checkout, he sees Fei cleaning off the desk. Her warm smile and the glow in her eyes make Kevin's feet feel like they're deep in concrete. In his nervousness, he thinks about turning around and coming another day, but before he can, Fei notices him out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh! Kevin, how are you?" she says with a kind greeting. Kevin struggles to respond.
"Uhh… yeah… uh… nice to see you too." Kevin quickly realizes how awkward he sounded.
"I mean—uh—I'm good. How are you?" he says, a little embarrassed. Fei laughs a bit to herself.
"I'm doing well. It's nice to see you again," she says, putting away the rag she was cleaning with. "What are you up to?"
"Oh, uh… the last time I was here, the stuff was excellent, so I wanted to have some again. I'm also getting something for… someone," Kevin says, trying to be inconspicuous. He thinks Fei is nice, but doesn't think they're close enough for all his drama.
"Someone?" Fei says. The ever-so-slight hint of jealousy in her tone goes completely unnoticed by Kevin.
"Uhh, yeah. It's for my friend's… cousin's… little sister…"
Kevin is a fucking idiot.
'God, kill me now,' he thinks.
"Uhh—anyways, it's uhh… pretty cold today, huh?" Kevin asks, trying to change the subject. Fei decides not to pry.
"Uhh, yes! It is quite cold today. Did you walk all the way here?" Fei asks.
"Yeah—I ran here, actually. Since it's only getting colder, I thought I could get a good run in, you know?" Kevin replies.
"Yeah, that makes sense. It's good to get a run in, I suppose. By the way, I don't mean to pry, but are you alright? Your bandage, I mean." Fei points to Kevin's nose.
"Oh, this? I got a little hurt while training," Kevin answers.
"Training?"
"Uhh—yeah. I train martial arts for fun since a, uh… friend of mine runs a gym."
"Oh! Martial arts are pretty popular here, so I'm not surprised. But be careful, alright?" Fei says.
"Yeah, thanks for your concern. I honestly got hurt because I wasn't paying attention," Kevin says. He grabs a couple of pastries and puts them on the checkout.
'I have no clue what Ming even likes. What should I get her?' he thinks. Fei notices he's lost in thought.
"Oh! Wait right here!" Fei quickly runs through the door to the back of the bakery. She returns with a small pastry.
"You should give that girl this. I'm trying something new for the store's selection. Do you think you could get her to try it? She doesn't have any allergies, right?" Fei asks, excitement dripping from her voice.
"Uhh, yeah sure! I'll see if she likes it," Kevin says. He grabs the box. "Thanks!"
"Yeah, no problem. Before I forget…" Fei pulls out her phone.
"I wouldn't want you to come all the way back here just to tell me if she likes it. Maybe you could text me what she thinks?" she asks.
"Uhh, sure!" Kevin says, trying to stay composed.
'LET'S FUCKING GO!' he yells internally. He puts Fei's number in his phone, pays, and heads out.
"Bye, Fei. I'll see you later!" Kevin says, waving before leaving. He walks home and waits for Ming. A few hours later, he hears the lock click and the door open.
"I'm home!" Ming calls out. She takes her shoes off and walks into the kitchen.
"Hey Ming, how was your day at school?" Kevin asks.
"Pretty good. You're usually upstairs resting at this time. Did you not go see Mr. Kin again today?" Ming asks.
"Yep, I got a break today," Kevin replies. He opens the fridge and takes out the box Fei gave him.
"Here, I got something for you," he says, handing her the pastry box.
"Oh, thank you!" Ming says.
"No problem. The owner wanted to know what you think of it," Kevin replies.
Ming opens the box. Inside is a soft bun with a light mango colour and whipped cream on top. She takes a bite. A mango-colored filling oozes from inside.
"It's really good, thank you!" Ming says.
"Yeah, no problem, Ming," Kevin replies. Ming sits at the table to eat it. Kevin goes to sit down, but before he can, his phone rings. Kin is calling.
"Hold on, Ming—gotta take this." He walks into the living room and answers.
"Hello? What's up, Kin?"
"Kevin, I might have made a small mistake…" Kin says. Kevin tenses up.
"What happened?"
"Well… uh… you know how you said you wanted to do a fight soon?" Kin says.
"Uhh… yeah?"
"Well, I got you one. But they set it to happen in two weeks!"