Chapter 189 189- Idle Night
Chapter 189 Chapter 189- Idle Night
Kai and Eva spent the rest of the day normally as if nothing happened. However, Eva did notice something odd about Kai.
He seemed rather in a sour mood. Well, considering his stoic expression most of the time, that should've been normal. But, Eva could see the difference from one glance. Kai was hiding something from her and she was more than curious to know what it was.
However, she couldn't find it within herself to ask him since she knew that if he didn't tell her, it was for a good reason.
Hours passed until it was night and Kai and Eva were sitting on the couch. Kai was reading a book silently while Eva was playing chess alone. The cozy atmosphere and the warmth of knowing that the person you love the most is next to you is something she wouldn't exchange for anything.
"Hey, Kai… Let's play a game of chess." She said as she looked at him with a loving smile.
Kai's eyes shifted from the book and looked at her. "Why all of a sudden?"
"It's just for fun. Come on." She said as she set up the pieces again.
Kai went silent for a second before he closed the book and sat right in front of her.
"To make it more interesting. For each piece eliminated from one of our sides, the other can ask a question that should be answered, no matter what. What do you think?" Eva suggested while Kai was setting his pieces.
"What about a checkmate?"
"A checkmate? Hmm, let's see. The winner can ask the loser to do anything." Eva said with a smile.
"..." Kai squinted for a second before he nodded his head.
"Great! Let's start then!"
Moving her first piece, Eva rested her hands on the table and looked at Kai with a fond smile. The latter also moved his piece and the game began. Each one of them moved a piece until Kai was able to take her first pawn.
"Oh, so you're the first one to get me. Well, what's your question?"
"What did you eat yesterday?" Kai asked.
"..."
The room went silent for a second before Eva exploded in laughter.
"Hahahaha! No, not that way, my love! I mean like personal questions." Wiping the tears on her face, she explained to him.
'I guess he never played such games before. Oh, seeing Kai being clueless about something is really cute!! I might get addicted to this~' She thought to herself as she looked at his thoughtful expression.
"Hmm, let's see. What's a thing that you never told anyone because you were too embarrassed?"
Eva's face flinched when she heard that question.
'Wait! Isn't that too quick of an improvement from the question before that?!' Blinking awkwardly she thought about it for a second.
"Hmm, when my bra belts were torn during a photoshoot a few years ago. Ehem, my chest was getting bigger and I didn't realize that the size I had was too small so… Yeah, it was pretty awkward. Luckily, nobody realized that." Eva said with a blushing face.
"I see…" Kai nodded his head in understanding. "Well, let's continue."
After that, the two continued playing, and this time, it was Eva who took his pawn. "Ok, my question is. "What is a weird skill or talent you have that you've never told me about?"
Kai looked at Eva silently for a second before he frowned slightly. A weird talent? He never thought about it before. Granted, Kai had many talents. Most of them were developed during his youth when he was basically not a human but instead a learning machine.
"I can change my voice to anything I want." He replied after a moment.
"Wait, really?!" Eva asked. "So, when you took my appearance that time, that voice wasn't an illusion?"
"Yes, I imitated how you speak."
"Oooh, that's actually rather cool. Try it again, please!"
Kai nodded his head before he coughed a few times as if he was adjusting something and then looked at Eva.
"I can speak in your voice. It's not 100% perfect most of the time but if I listen to someone speaking long enough, I can copy it." He said with a voice that was terrifyingly similar to Eva's.
"Woah! That's my voice! It's really amazing!!" Eva blinked with excitement. "Actually, it is bizarre. So this is how my voice sounds to you?"
"More or less."
"Hmm, interesting." Eva thought to herself. She actually didn't hate her voice that much when she heard it from Kai. Aren't people supposed to find their voices weird when they listen to it in a video or a voice record?
"Ok, let's continue," Kai said with his normal voice.
The two continued their game. Each time one of them got the other's piece, they would ask fun questions. Eva's angelic giggles echoed in the house. The two were clearly having fun with it. Even Kai's sour mood seemed to alleviate as they continued playing.
Time passed quietly till they reached the end game and it was Eva's turn.
Looking at her beloved with a smile, she asked. "I know this might sound like a bad question. But… How was your childhood, Kai?"
Her face tensed up with anticipation and wariness. This has been something on her head for a very long time now. However, she never found the opportunity nor the heart to ask this question because she knew it was taboo.
The things that Chal told her a while ago still resounded in her head, that Kai would eventually open up to her and tell her about himself. Now, it was tile to test that. Granted, she thought he would most likely refrain from telling her anything but if there was one thing Eva wanted, it was to ease the pain of the most important person in her life.
Kai didn't respond for a while before he sighed and spoke. "Why you ask?"
"I'm just… Sorry for asking." Eva tried to explain herself before she shook her head and apologized.
'I guess it was a bit too soon.' She thought to herself.
However, surprisingly enough, Kai stopped her. "No, it's fine. I can answer that. However, I can't divulge into too many details… For your sake."
His response made Eva look up with surprise. She never expected to hear that from Kai, not now at least.
However, the latter seemed to be completely oblivious to that as he continued. "My childhood, huh… Well, for the most part, it wasn't a fun time. I lost a few too many things, got tricked a few too many times, and missed a few too many opportunities to fix a few too many problems." He said with a rather low tone.
Eva listened to his words carefully. Her face had a sad look on it. It wasn't out of pity, but out of sheer pain that her beloved had to go through that when he was barely a few years old.
"Most things were mainly my mistakes and I did get the consequences deserved. I trusted people that should've never been trusted. I didn't see myself as a human for the most part either. I was naturally gifted from the moment I was born so even the people around me found me weird… Monstrous, maybe even something that shouldn't exist. If I wasn't being trained ruthlessly, I was alone and if I wasn't alone, I was learning something forcefully."
Exhaling a long breath, he continued. "It was a… pretty unfortunate time."
'And it's still following me to this day.' He continued in his head.
After he finished speaking, the two remained silent for a long while.
"Are you still stuck in it?" Eva asked with a wavering tone to which Kai nodded his head. He knew reality as it was and reality said that he was indeed still stuck on it. The fact that he still wants to put a bullet in Claire's head is proof of that.
However, if Eva asked him whether he regrets that or not… He would've not had an answer. Because he simply really didn't know. Does he regret harboring this hatred? Probably not. But, at the same time, he doesn't want his life to be around that. Not now, not never.
"I see…" Eva stood up and walked around the table before she stood in front of Kai. A small smile appeared on her face as she wrapped her arms around Kai's neck and pulled him into a tight hug.
"You did great, Kai. Nobody would've been able to handle what you went through. I know it might sound weird… But I'm really proud of you. Always been and always will." She said as she closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.
Kai looked to the side at the woman hugging him before he looked ahead again, not saying a word. No words were needed, after all. The two understood each other perfectly well.
Eva then pulled slightly away and looked into Kai's face with a mesmerized expression. The two stayed awfully close for a few moments before the distance between them closed completely and their lips connected.