A Smile That Hides Pain (Karina x Male Reader)

Love Again

We got to the bowling alley, still soaked in the water from the mall sprinklers. And it didn't help that the bowling alley was cold. And I could already see Karina slightly shiver the moment we walked in.

"Hi, are you Y/n and Karina?" The lady behind the desk spoke. "Yes, we're here on..." "A scavenger hunt? We got a few people who came in here earlier who told us about it. Whatever you're looking for, should be on the 6th alley." The lady spoke. "Thank you." I said before I turned to walk away. Before I did, I noticed Karina shivering as she followed. 'Can't believe I'm doing this.' I thought as I took my jacket off and held it out for her.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "Just take it, you're cold, I can tell." I said. She reluctantly took it from me and thanked me before we walked over to aisle 6.

When we got there, the first thing I noticed was a note taped to one of the balls.

Ah, I see you've made it to me. Get 3 strikes and you'll find what you seek.

"We only have 6 rounds so I'll go first." I said as I grabbed a ball. "Are you saying I can't bowl?" She asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Well... I remember coming here when we were 10 and-" "I was young and couldn't hold or throw the ball properly!" She defended. "Can you throw it properly now? If so, then be my guest." I said as I stepped back and sat on the nearby couch.

She walked to the selection of balls and got one. "Watch me cook..." She said as she walked over to the alley and threw the ball. She actually did get a strike.

"Okay, you cooked. I won't lie. But you cooked a 3 star meal, at best. I'm about to make something that'll have Gordon Ramsay slobbering at the sight of it." I joked as I got up and walked over to the alley.

I threw the ball with a twist and it slowly gravitated to the right, hitting all of the pins as it did so. "That's how it's done." I said as I walked over to the couch. "That wasn't too bad, I guess... out of 10. That's my review of your throw." She said.

"Well then, why don't you try again, see if you can do better?" I said as I sat down.

"Are you dating an angel?" A voice said from behind me as I sat down. I turned around and saw a kid, no more than 5 years old. "An angel?" I asked.

"My mom told me about them. She said they're the most beautiful creatures the world's ever seen. And that girl looks like an angel. And I thought you two were dating." He said. He seemed so innocent and his voice so squeaky, in a good way. 

"Yeah..." I paused and watched Karina throw the ball. "She is an angel. But I don't know where we stand." I said to the kid. "Well, I'll tell you what my mom told me that her dad said to my dad: Do you love her?" The kid said. "I love her so much." I responded. "Then tell her that." He said before his parents finally noticed he was talking to a stranger. 

"I'm sorry for my son." His mom said as she saw me. "It's okay, he's a nice kid." I responded before I turned around.

Karina was looking at me with a smirk and holding the present. "You did it?" I asked as I stood up. "Yeah, with my eyes closed." She said proudly. "Sure you did." I said as I walked over. "What's the present?" I asked as she opened the box. She pulled out a picture of all of our friends in a group photo, including Jin and Jeon. (It's a picture of Y/n, Jin, Jeon and the members of Stray Kids, Itzy, Lesserafim, Aespa, New Jeans, and Blackpink)

"This is what I was going to give you. I found it in a box of old stuff in my closet." Karina said as she handed it to me. I almost shed a tear as I looked at it. We were all so young. And I vividly remembered taking this at Hyunjin's 13th birthday party. Funny thing was that Jeon, Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo, and Rose all looked so out of place because they were older and taller than us.

"I miss the people we were then." I said as I looked at the picture.

"Karina... I still love you. Despite what happened yesterday, I can't get you out of my head." I suddenly said. It felt so freeing to finally tell her how I felt, even after what happened. "I still love you too Y/n. And, this morning my dad called me. He asked me if I really loved Kai or you." She said.

"I told him I loved you, and I do, with everything I have Y/n I love you." She said as she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. And I kissed her back. It felt like time had slowed down around us. Like we were the only two people in the world.

BUZZ BUZZ

Our phones got another notification for the scavenger hunt. "Their timing is impeccable." I said as we pulled away. "Well, we'll have another week of no school after today is over." Karina said as she playfully nudged me.

"Look, he kissed the angel!" That kid said as he saw me and Karina standing next to each other. "Angel?" She asked as she looked at me with a smirk and raised eyebrows. "He's not wrong y'know." I said before pecking her lips and looking at the notification.

At this point in your journey, you must think you are winning. But to truly find what you seek, go back to the beginning

0000000000

Narrator POV

They arrived at the resort again as the sun start to set. This time, all of the cars were in the driveway and the clue was taped to the back of one of them.

I am small and fragile, but most people wear me everywhere for fashion. You can design me however you want, add things to give me more style, and paint me in different colors. I can be shiny and made with rare metals. I am cold, but not enough to negatively effect you. What am I?

"I actually have no idea." Y/n said as Karina finished reading the note. "Me neither, this is the most cryptic one." She said as she pocketed the note and they walked back inside the resort.

There was a walkway of candles that started at the door and led to the living room. "Can't tell if this is romantic or a demonic summoning ritual." Y/n said as they walked through the path. When they got to the center, there was a heart made entirely of roses and a gift in the middle of it, the final note resting upon it.

Congratulations, you have completed the quest. I'm glad, as you two deserve nothing but the best. This morning, the gap between you two was tall. But the love you two had persevered through all

"... Where did they come up with these?" Y/n asked, since they were actually cooking with these rhymes.

"Shut up and kiss already!" A faint voice spoke, but it sounded like Han. Y/n chuckled before he handed the present to Karina. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed it and pulled it out of the box.

It was a necklace that had a picture of the both of them when they first met all those years ago hidden in a small capsule. The moment she closed it, she pulled Y/n into another kiss and sounds of cheers filled the house as everyone came from their hiding places.

"We did it!" Han yelled as they all cheered and some even had party horns. "You planned this whole thing out, didn't you?" Y/n asked as he pulled away. "Well, we had to. After you two fell out, someone had to play matchmaker." Felix said. 

Y/n looked out the window and saw a guy holding something with a lit fuse that was getting shorter and shorter. "You got fireworks for this too?" He said as he looked at the fuse.

"No, we didn't get any fireworks."

Suddenly, the guy threw the thing through the window of the resort. It was a stick of dynamite.