Chapter 40 - Sneakers

Inside a certain salon…

Kira was leisurely sitting on the sofa while waiting for Zeri when he heard footsteps moving closer to him. The young man in a handsome outfit raised his head and the moment he saw the person standing before him, he froze.

The girl wearing some boyish outfit moments ago had come out looking almost unrecognizable. She was wearing a simple knee leveled sky blue dress, paired with a beige colored Mary Jane flatform. Her long hair was styled with a side braid ponytail and she was just such… a ravishing beauty.

"Miss Kim's features are… I may say near perfect and she have such a very good skin so we just applied a very light make up on her. And about her dress and shoes, she was the one who chose so if Sir Kira isn't satisfied with her choice…"

"No, this is good enough." Kira didn't let the stylist finish her statement and his eyes never left Zeri's face.

Kira knew that Zeri's visual was far from average. She still looked cute no matter how painfully unfashionable she was but now that she actually dressed up like a real girl like this, Kira couldn't help but find himself falling in a daze just by looking at her. This was something he didn't see coming and he was suddenly lost for words to say.

After clearing his throat, Kira moved closer to her. He raised his hand, offering her to take it when all of the sudden, Zeri put her palm on his shoulder and pulled him close to her, instead of accepting her hand.

Kira was stunned by her sudden action but when he realized that the girl just wanted to whisper something, he was a bit disappointed.

"Uhm… do I really need to be dressed like this?" she asked, her brows knotted as she look at him.

"What, you don't like your outfit? Aren't you the one who chose it?"

"But… these are the most comfortable of all the clothes she showed me and these shoes are… can I use my sneaker? They don't have sneakers here."

Seeing her brows furrowed as if she was dissatisfied with her own look, Kira could only press his lips tight. He somehow expected that things of course wouldn't flow as easy as he wanted but… sigh… Squirrel, when will you stop being the squirrel that you are?

"So you wanted sneakers?" Kira's eyes were narrowed as she asked and as expected, the girl nodded like a rattle.

"Mm. Sneakers are the most comfortable!" she even exclaimed enthusiastically, causing Kira unable to stop himself from smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. Sneakers are the most comfortable." He agreed, now smirking at her. "Let's go."

Kira casually held her hand and then led her out of the salon.

"Wait, how about the sneaker?" Zeri asked as they both entered Kira's car but Kira didn't answer until eventually, after almost ten minutes the car stopped in a certain spacious open area.

Zeri looked at Kira, curios.

When Kira stepped out of the car, he silently walked towards Zeri and opened the passenger's door before stretching out his hand towards her.

Zeri was obedient and she took Kira's hand without saying anything. As they stood there, Zeri looked around as the curiosity in her eyes intensified.

After some moment, she finally took a step and stood before Kira. She looked like she finally reached her limit and was now ready to speak and ask.

However, before she could say a word, she was distracted by a loud sound coming from above them. She turned and saw a helicopter descending.

When the helicopter was finally on the ground, Zeri looked at Kira with slightly widened eyes. She looked like she was astounded.

"You're right, were going to ride in that helicopter." Kira leaned in on her, looking amused about something. When he saw her eyes widened upon hearing him, he playfully pinched her cheek. "What, don't tell me you're scared." He added, his smile now turned mischievous. Deep inside him, he was actually hoping that this girl would be scared so he could at least start showing her his manly prowess. But… as expected… his hope was just too far from happening.

"Really?! Wow!!" her eyes sparkled in excitement. She was obviously thrilled, like a child who was excited about riding an extreme roller coaster for the first time. She looked like she couldn't wait anymore and was even the one who dragged Kira towards the helicopter.

Kira could only sigh but as they approach the helicopter, he suddenly halted, causing Zeri to curiously turned at him.

"Wait a moment." Kira said and he took off his coat and quickly wrapped it around Zeri's waist. The girl just watched him in silence while Kira was silently scolding himself for actually forgetting about making her wear the right outfit. It looked like he was too engrossed to seeing her dressed up like a real girl that he forgot about everything else.

After that, the two continued approaching the helicopter. Kira could feel her excitement but as soon as Rei climbed out of the helicopter to escort them, Zeri's grip in his hand suddenly tightened.

Kira's brows creased but he thought that she might be a little nervous after all. When she clung in his arm, the corner of his lips lifted.

Finally, they were now seated on the best spot. Zeri was sitting by the window while Kira was right beside her.

"Nervous?" he asked, grinning at her and the girl shook her head. But of course, Kira didn't believe her for she was still not letting go of his hand. Little did he know that the was not nervous about the ride; she was nervous because there were other men inside the helicopter with them.

"Relax, I'm here." Kira assured and Zeri couldn't deny but Kira's presence really calmed her down. Surprisingly, she wasn't that tensed. It was as if just holding his hand like this was enough to put her at ease.

"But... where are we going?" Zeri finally asked.

Kira raised his brow, his gaze at her still playful. "Where do you think?"

Zeri blinked, and then she tilted her head slightly.

"To the sneakers' store?"

Kira: ". . ."