Second Lead Syndrome (1-187) | ✓

• 9 •

"Cecil!"

"My baby daughter..."

Kai placed Cecil gently on her feet, supporting her. Seeing only her parents at the gate, Cecil was relieved.

The heroine and the protagonist are not present.

That's good.

Cecil allowed her parents to embrace her and she patted them with a tired smile. Her mother began fussing over her, wondering why she was so pale.

Her father began glaring at Kai, who stumbled back in alarm.

"Why are you dressed in this manner? Where did you go?! Are you alright? Oh, poor thing, you look so pale!"

"Mother, I'm fine, just a little tired," Cecil chuckled softly and turning to look at her father. "And father, Kai brought me back safely, he's a...good friend of mine, please stop scaring him."

Her father was an intimidating man, despite being almost fifty years old. His features were naturally fierce, and the only obvious physical trait Cecil received from him was the black hair.

"Let me talk to him and send him off first." she whispered to her parents, and they backed off.

She turned to Kai, who smiled kindly at her and she smiled back.

"Thank you, for carrying me back. You must be tired, I can't thank you enough for helping me with my training as well."

"Well, if you want to show your gratitude," Kai revealed something on his palm, still smiling at Cecil. "Keep this to remember me, and give me a kiss on the cheek."

Cecil blinked, her face impassive. "Simple enough."

She took the rock from his palm, her soft fingertips brushing against his callous palm. Kai relished in the brief physical contact, and he froze when he felt a pair of soft lips landed on his cheeks.

He even felt the same pair of lips puckered lightly.

He was only joking about the kiss on the cheek, he hadn't actually expect Cecil to accept his request.

The smile dropped from his face, and Cecil took a step back. Kai's eyes were still wide in disbelief as he blinked rapidly, trying to recover from the shock.

Cecil wore a blank expression, but on the inside, she was jumping in glee at having the chance to kiss one of her favourite alters in this novel on the cheek.

I kissed the huge fluffy dog, Kai!

He's so cute!

So cute!

Super duper cute!

Kai looked at Cecil, still blinking in disbelief as his hand pressed against the cheek where Cecil kissed.

Cecil tilted her head, her clear onyx eyes questioning. "What's wrong? You said you wanted a kiss on your cheek."

"O-oh...yeah, I-I did."

"My father doesn't look happy, and my mother is really anxious. Take care now, Kai. I'll definitely keep this, and treasure it as well."

Kai saw her gentle smile as she waved at him, walking towards her parents.

Kai couldn't help but feel a blush creeping up his face, towards his cheeks and his ears. He immediately spun around, almost dashing away as the gates closed behind him.

After a minute of running, he skidded to a stop. He then clenched his fists, jumping into the air as he exclaimed happily.

Cecil's kiss was purely platonic on her end, but to the Kai who was still infatuated with her, it meant an entirely different thing.