As the sun rose, the light shined right where Karina was unfortunate enough to be sleeping. Alone, and not in Y/n's arms. She never thought she'd fall so hard for one boy. A boy who she'd known her whole life, but now was less included in her life than a stranger. That damn marriage contract had done this to her.
She threw the covers off of her as tears starting to form just by thinking of what that contract had done to her and Y/n. She put her clothes on and went into the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror, remembering what her father had done. She didn't want to hate him, but it was so hard when he played a direct hand in her suffering. He was the one who signed that contract without telling her about it first. He basically gave her away. For money.
Just as she stepped out of the bathroom, she heard her phone ringing. It was her father.
"Hello?" She spoke, hoping her voice wouldn't break from the sorrow and anger she felt the moment she saw his name as the caller ID.
"Karina, it's your father." He said from the other line. She wanted to say No shit sherlock when he spoke. She already knew it was him when she picked up.
"I got a call from Giselle's father. He told me that he told her that you didn't want to marry Kai." He said. Karina's face lit up like a kid on Christmas day. And, she was a kid and today was Christmas.
"I meant what I told you dad. I love Y/n." She said, hoping and praying he would listen.
"Why didn't you tell me you weren't okay with it?" He asked.
"Because Kai's parents butted in before I could. Then Y/n walked in. And he had heard everything you and Kai's parents had said. And he saw when Kai kissed me. We've barely talked since then. I don't know what to do, dad." She said, her voice breaking at the mention of Y/n.
"If he's the one you love, I'll call off the arranged marriage."
Those words echoed through her head as she tried to wrap her head around it.
"But you signed a contract." She said.
"The same contract that's on my desk next to a deodorant stick and a lighter?" He said in a smartass tone. Karina smiled as she realized what her father was saying.
"Thank you, dad. Give mom my love." She exclaimed happily.
"You don't have to thank me. You're my daughter, it's my job to make sure you're cared for." He said before he hung up the phone.
She started to laugh as what her dad said cemented in her head. There was still hope for her and Y/n.
Y/n POV
I awoke to the sound of hearing Karina's ringtone in her room. If you asked me yesterday at any point between 6:00 and 6:30, I would've said that I woke up to my girlfriend's ringtone. But now, I just woke up to the ringtone of a girl who played me for a fool.
I went into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror and wondered: How did it come to this? After 13 years of being afraid to tell the truth, I finally tell her that I love her. And she tells me she's getting married to someone else.
'Maybe I should've stayed with the gang.'
I pushed those thoughts away the moment they reared their ugly head. Even if Karina wasn't worth coming back, Haerin definitely was. She was the person I missed the most while with the gang.
After freshening up, I left my room, and bumped right into Karina as she left her room too. "Oh, sorry." We both said. I noticed she was about to speak when she realized it was me, but I turned my back to her and walked towards the kitchen.
I reached for the handle to the fridge, but a note caught my attention.
Dear Y/n and Karina
We're sure by now that you've noticed that some of the presents aren't under the tree.
"Yo!" I called out, hoping Karina would hear me. "Yeah?" She said from the living room. I quickly folded the note into a paper airplane and threw it at her.
"Y'know you could've just handed it to me." She said as she unfolded the note.
If you want to find the presents, you two, must solve riddles and navigate the city together. And if you don't, then no presents this year for anyone.
"Guys, come out here!" I yelled as Karina finished reading the note aloud.
"I don't think they can hear you. None of the cars are in the driveway." She said from the living room.
"Never thought I'd have to work for my Christmas presents." I said as I got my shoes on. "The first clue is uncomfortably obvious: I am see-through and was recently crashed through. You look at me everyday, yet you also see something else when you look at me. And if you look hard enough, you can see yourself when you look at me. What am I?" Karina read the riddle.
"... I know what it's talking about, but why don't you explain it anyway?" I said. "They're talking about the mall. The object is the window that Kai..." She stopped and looked away from me.
"Well, let's go then."
0000000000
"Okay, the object is the window of the GameStop, but they can't hide a present in a window." Karina said as we arrived at the mall.
"No, but the present I got Felix was a PS2, and I got that from GameStop. That's probably what the present is." I spoke. "Then go get it." She said. "It's closed for reconstruction. And they've got a guard at the front. Look." I said as I pointed to a guy who was sitting on the bench in front of the store.
"Go pay him off or something." She suggested. "I got into a bidding war with Kai over that PS2 and lost a shit ton a money. If someone's gonna pay him off, it's you." I responded. "Then knock him out or something. Didn't your karate teach you how to KO someone?" She spoke. "Here? In broad daylight? Cause a distraction or something." I said.
"*sigh* give me a cigarette and your lighter." She said. "How do you know I smoke?" I asked, since I had smoked around her or since we'd gotten here. "Because I know you... and you left them in your jacket when we got to the hotel, now give me one." She said.
I took my pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of my jacket and handed them to her. She took one out of the pack, lit it, and flung it at the sprinklers.
In seconds, every sprinkler in the mall went crazy and everyone ran out of the mall, including the guard.
"You're crazy!" I said with a smirk before quickly running into the GameStop and getting Felix's gift. After we got the gift, we quickly ran through the mall and out of another exit and sat up against the wall.
"You're insane!" I said as I sat down, out of breath. "How'd they even get that in there?" She asked. "I dunno, but you're actually crazy for that." I said with a snicker. "You needed a distraction, I gave you one." She said as we both tried to catch our breath from all the running we did.
As we both started to collect our bearings, the tension between us returned.
"Y/n... it wasn't that I didn't love you." She began. "I didn't have a hand in that marriage contract, I swear. I only learned about it that night." She spoke. "Your signature was on it." I responded. "My father signed it on my behalf, believing that me and Kai already liked each other." She said. "After that kiss, he had plenty of reason to." I retorted.
BUZZ BUZZ
We both got a notification on our phones.
Congratulations, you found Present 1. Good luck with present 2.
I am heavy and light, my weight varies from person to person. I can be orange, green, blue, or purple. I have 3 holes for 3 fingers (pause, no homo) and my purpose is to be thrown. What am I?
"It's a bowling ball." Me and Karina said together as we finished reading the next clue.
"Well, maybe this one will be easier."
YOU ARE READING
A Smile That Hides Pain (Karina x Male Reader)
Fanfiction"Sorry Y/n. My dad needs to see me at one of his company buildings." "I'm not leaving your side until you tell me what's up." "I'm sorry Y/n, but I have to go... Why do you even care so much?" "Because I don't want to see someone I love be upset!" T...