She stopped suddenly at one of the food stalls when the smell of fresh fried snacks caught her attention. "Wait," she said, turning back toward him. "This smells amazing."
Kai stopped beside her and glanced at the small cart. An elderly woman stood behind it, skillfully flipping food in a small pan while steam rose into the cool evening air. Alina leaned slightly forward to look at what she was cooking, completely absorbed in watching the process. Kai noticed something she didn't.
The metal stand supporting the cart had a small, broken edge sticking out near the ground. If she stepped forward without looking, she would definitely catch her shoe on it. Before she could move any closer, Kai reached out and lightly held her elbow.
"Careful," he said quietly.
She looked back at him in confusion. He nodded toward the ground. Alina looked down and immediately saw the sharp edge.
"Oh," she muttered, stepping back. "I didn't see that."
"I know," he replied calmly.
The old woman behind the cart had been watching the small interaction with quiet amusement. She finished preparing the food and handed them a small plate before studying them both carefully.
"You two look nice together," she said suddenly.
Alina blinked, and Kai raised an eyebrow slightly.
The woman continued smiling warmly. "Are you a couple?"
The reaction was instant.
"No." Both of them answered at the same time. Their voices overlapped so perfectly that for a second, neither of them realized what had happened. Then they both turned slightly toward each other, and their eyes met. Alina quickly looked away first. Kai adjusted the edge of his mask as if suddenly very interested in fixing it.
The old woman laughed softly. "Ah," she said knowingly. "Not yet."
Alina cleared her throat awkwardly and pretended to focus very seriously on the food in her hands. "We're just… friends," she said quickly.
Kai glanced sideways at her but said nothing. The woman nodded slowly as if she didn't quite believe it. "Friendship is a good beginning."
Alina nearly choked on her drink. Kai coughed quietly behind his mask.
The woman continued cooking while speaking casually. "When people take care of each other like that, it usually turns into something more."
Alina froze slightly. "Like what?"
The old woman smiled gently. "Like, sunflower."
For a moment, neither Kai nor Alina said anything because whatever she just said, neither of them understood, and they didn't want to continue this conversation because, for now, this much awkwardness was enough.
Then the woman placed another snack onto their plate and handed it to them. "You two would make a very beautiful couple," she added kindly. "If you ever consider it."
Alina looked like she didn't know where to look anymore. She focused very intensely on the street lights across the road.
Kai simply nodded politely. "Thank you for the food."
They paid and stepped away from the stall. For several seconds, they walked in complete silence. Alina tried to focus on eating so she wouldn't have to say anything, but the awkwardness between them was impossible to ignore.
Kai noticed she was walking while looking down at the plate instead of the path ahead. Just as she stepped forward, someone rushing past nearly collided with her shoulder. Kai reacted immediately. His hand moved to the small of her back and gently guided her to the side before the stranger could bump into her.
"Watch where you're going," he said quietly.
"I was watching," she replied.
"You were watching your food."
"Well… It's good food."
Kai didn't argue. Instead, he slowed his pace slightly so she could walk comfortably beside him. They continued through the market, passing stalls filled with lights and music. Now and then, Alina would stop to look at something—handmade jewelry, colourful lanterns, random souvenirs—and every time she did, Kai waited patiently beside her.
At one stall, she got distracted looking at small wooden keychains. Without realizing it, she stepped backward while examining one of them. Kai caught her wrist immediately before she bumped into a table behind her. She looked up in surprise.
"You really don't pay attention to where you're going," he said calmly.
She frowned slightly. "I was paying attention."
"You almost walked into that table."
"But I didn't."
"That's because I stopped you."
Alina stared at him for a moment, then she muttered quietly, "You're very annoying."
Kai tilted his head slightly. "And yet you're still here."
She didn't answer that. But a few seconds later, when they started walking again, she unconsciously moved a little closer to his side. Kai noticed. He didn't say anything. He just slowed his pace slightly so she wouldn't have to rush to keep up.
Alina was still holding the small paper plate from the food stall, happily eating as they walked. Kai walked beside her, one step slightly behind as usual, his eyes moving between the path ahead and her distracted figure. She was completely absorbed in the food, occasionally nodding to herself like she was judging the flavour very seriously.
"Good?" Kai asked quietly.
She nodded with absolute confidence. "Very good."
And that was exactly when it happened. She took another step forward without looking down. The broken edge of a thin iron rod sticking slightly out from the pavement caught the front of her shoe. The metal pushed straight into the soft fabric and snagged it hard.
For a split second, her body jerked forward. The plate tilted in her hand. Her balance disappeared. Everything slowed. Her foot twisted slightly as the shoe got stuck, and her body started tipping forward toward the ground. Kai saw it instantly. His hand moved before the fall even fully began.
He stepped forward quickly, one arm catching her wrist while the other slid around her waist and pulled her sharply toward him.
Instead of falling to the ground, Alina stumbled straight into him. Her forehead bumped lightly against his chest as her body collided with his. She instinctively clutched the front of his hoodie. For a moment, she was frozen there, leaning against him, his arm firmly around her waist to keep her steady. The world seemed to pause for a second.
For a brief second, neither of them moved. Her breath had caught in surprise, and Kai's eyes had already dropped to the ground where her foot remained stuck.
Kai could feel her breath hitch in surprise, and Alina could hear the steady beat of his heart through the fabric of his hoodie. His hand tightened slightly to make sure she didn't lose balance again.
"Careful," he murmured.
Alina blinked, still slightly stunned. "I—"
But Kai had already noticed something else. Her foot hadn't moved. She tried pulling it back, but the shoe didn't budge. Only then did she realize what had happened. Kai looked down. The iron rod had pierced through the side of her shoe and trapped it.
"Don't move," he said quietly.
His voice was calm, but beneath it, something was tense. Kai guided her gently toward a wooden table beside a closed stall. His movements were controlled, but the firmness in them left no room for argument. He stopped beside the table and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Hold onto me," he said.
She obeyed instinctively. With his support, she lifted her other foot slightly and awkwardly hopped forward. For a second, she tried to balance like an uncoordinated frog, and Kai lowered her carefully until she sat on the edge of the table.
Once she was seated, he crouched down in front of her, resting on his heels. The lights from the nearby stalls fell across his face, reflecting faintly in his eyes. Without saying anything, he reached for the laces of her sneaker and began loosening them. The moment the shoe slid free from the metal rod, he pulled it off completely. His fingers held her ankle gently but securely as he examined her foot.
There it was. A red scratch ran across the side of her foot where the metal had pushed through the shoe. It wasn't deep, but the sight of it made something in Kai's expression tighten. For a moment, he stared at the scratch, his jaw setting slightly.
"See what you've done to yourself," he said quietly. The irritation in his voice wasn't loud, but it was unmistakable.
Alina tried to shrug it off. "It's just a small scratch."
Kai didn't respond. Instead, he stood up slowly. "We're leaving," he said. His tone carried finality.
She slid off the table and tried to take a step, determined to prove she could walk. The moment her injured foot touched the ground, she winced slightly, her body reacting before she could hide it.
Kai saw it. His expression darkened instantly. Before she could say anything else, he bent slightly and slipped one arm behind her knees. In one swift motion, he lifted her off the ground. The sudden movement forced her arms around his neck to steady herself as she was pulled against him.
"Kai, what are you doing?" she protested.
He didn't answer. With his right arm securely holding her legs, he reached down with his other hand and picked up her torn shoe. Only then did Alina realize something that made her pause. The arm holding her was his injured one. The same hand she had bandaged before was gripping her firmly, ignoring its own pain completely.
"Kai, put me down," she said quickly, lowering her voice when she noticed people looking.
He continued walking toward the parking area.
"I said, put me down. Everyone is watching."
"I don't care," he replied without even glancing around.
"You don't care, but I do."
This time, he stopped walking. Slowly, he looked down at her. The calm in his face had hardened into something else entirely.
"If you cared about that," he said quietly, "you should have cared enough to watch where you were walking."
The sharpness in his voice made her fall silent. He resumed walking. "You were staring at food while walking through a crowded street," he continued, his voice low but firm. "If that rod had gone deeper, do you have any idea what could have happened?"
The way he said it left no space for argument. She stayed silent, knowing very well he was genuinely angry. Kai rarely raised his voice, but when he spoke like this, it carried far more weight than shouting.
He carried her all the way to the parking lot without slowing down. Kai opened the passenger door with one hand and carefully. She placed her inside the seat before walking around to the driver's side. The entire drive back to the house passed in complete silence.
When they reached home, he carried her inside again without asking. She didn't protest this time. He walked straight to her room and gently placed her on the bed.
"Stay here," he said.
Before she could respond, he turned and walked toward the bathroom. A few minutes later, he returned holding a small bowl of warm water and a clean towel. He placed the bowl beside the bed and sat down near her feet.
Without saying anything, he dipped the towel into the water and squeezed it carefully. The warm droplets fell back into the bowl before he gently lifted her foot and began cleaning the scratch.
His movements were slow and careful. The towel wiped away the dust and dirt from her skin while he held her ankle steady. Once the scratch was clean, he reached for the first aid kit he had brought and opened it. He applied an antiseptic gently before covering the scratch with a small bandage.
"There," he said quietly once he finished. He stood up afterward and stepped back slightly.
"You should sleep," he said. "It's already late." He turned toward the door.
"Kai." Her voice carried a sudden urgency that made him look back. Alina's gaze had dropped to his hand. The bandage she had wrapped around it earlier was soaked with fresh blood. A thin line of red had already reached his wrist.
"Kai, your hand," she said.
He glanced at it briefly. "It's fine."
"It's not fine." She picked up the first aid kit from beside her and gestured toward the bed.
"Come here."
He hesitated for a second before walking back and sitting down near her. Alina carefully took his injured hand into both of hers. The bandage was damp and warm from the blood that had seeped through it.
"You carried me with this hand," she said quietly while unwrapping the bandage.
Kai didn't respond. She cleaned the wound gently, the same way he had cleaned her foot earlier, dipping the towel into the water and wiping away the dried blood.
"Friends take care of each other," she said softly while wrapping a fresh bandage around his hand.
Kai looked at her. She finished tying the bandage and lifted her eyes to meet his.
"You saw my pain," she said quietly. "But you didn't even feel your own?"
Kai watched her for a moment before answering. "I did feel it," he said.
"Then why ignore it?"
His gaze shifted briefly to the bandage on her foot. "Because seeing you hurt was worse."
The quiet honesty in his voice settled heavily in the room, and for a long moment neither of them said anything. The night outside had grown completely still, and the only sound left was the faint movement of the curtain in the soft breeze from the window.