The two of them quickly made their way up the stairs closest to the entrance. They only stopped running when they finally reached an elevator, both gasping for air as if they’d drained their lungs over the past few minutes.
"You know this place?" Kaija asked between ragged breaths as she watched Karl hit the elevator button.
Only then did she have the presence of mind to take a good look around the place Karl had dragged her into.
The place looked like what had once been a bustling shopping center, its interior design vintage, with tall columns supporting the structure and wooden stairs adorned with similarly old-fashioned floral carvings.
There weren’t many people inside, just a few stores still open, while others had already closed down.
Judging by the decisive way Karl had veered into the building and led her straight toward the stairs, she could already tell he hadn’t picked this place at random. He must have been here before, although the place didn’t look exactly like his usual quirky, extravagant taste.
"Let’s just... let’s go upstairs first," Karl said, still panting heavily beneath the mask. "We should be safe here."
With that, the elevator doors slid open, and he quickly pulled her inside.
"You see?" Karl said, finally pulling his mask down a little to breathe. "That’s exactly why I had to cover you up like this. I’m sick of running from those stalkers."
"How did that guy even recognize you?" Kaija frowned. "We were basically covered from head to toe. You didn’t even let a single strand of your signature ash-blond hair show."
"In my experience, birdie," Karl replied with a long sigh, "those sick bastards are like hunting hounds. They can sll celebrity aura from miles away. There are always groups of them lingering outside KE’s gates, waiting to snatch any artist they can recognize. My fans can even recognize by my silhouette alone, let alone those hound dogs. Hunting us is basically their day job."
"I see your point now," Kaija replied, giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
She could already imagine the kind of life he’d been living, constantly at the center of attention.
"But, um... are you sure you didn’t choose this place purely on impulse?" she asked, raising a brow. "Because if I’m not mistaken, the floor we’re going to has a cinema up there..."
And not just any cinema.
A couple cinema.
The small rectangular plate next to the illuminated button for floor six clearly read it out.
Laughter burst from Karl as he pulled her closer, his chin resting on her hair. "Of course I didn’t choose it at random," he whispered under his low voice. "How’s that guy going to snap any photos of us if we rent a private room, huh? Even if he hadn’t followed us, my original plan was to bring you here after Boba World anyway."
Kaija’s face darkened instantly as she caught a glimpse of her near future in her head. Turns out she’d willingly let the wolf drag her straight into the wolf’s den.
In S Country, the concept of couple cinemas had been around for a long ti.
Instead of watching movies in large auditoriums filled with other people, these places let custors rent private rooms that could host up to ten people. And instead of rows of seats, each room usually had a single large, ultra-comfy, bed-like couch, along with a projector.
Though so people genuinely ca to watch movies with a small group of friends for total privacy, everyone knew these places were heaven for couples to enjoy so... other activities, beyond just watching movies.
The only drawback? They didn’t screen newly released films, only older titles from their catalogue.
Karl quickly dashed to the reception desk like an excited child as soon as they reached the floor.
As for Kaija, she stood frozen by the elevator, reconsidering her life choices.
How could she possibly have let herself get deceived by that angelic baby face so easily? Turns out, behind that cute exterior was a big bad wolf, who seed to have far more secret sches brewing in his head than he ever let on.
"Co on, let’s go." Karl waved cheerfully, almost overexcitedly at her from the reception desk. "I don’t have much ti left before I have to head to the airport!"
A weary sigh escaped her as she walked over to him.
Though the facility outside seed modest at best, the room Karl had chosen was quite decently decorated.
The air conditioning was already on, a thick, cozy white blanket neatly folded on the black bed-like couch alongside plush throw pillows, all of it looking far cleaner and more polished than the vintage corridors leading to it suggested.
"Do you actually co to places like this?" Kaija asked as soon as they entered their room.
Streaming services were everywhere these days, and with the huge screen in his living room, he could easily enjoy any good movie he wanted from the comfort of his own flat, instead of taking her all the way here.
"I used to co here a lot and I like how it feels whenever I co back," Karl replied, flopping onto the couch and flipping through the catalogue book. "Reminds of the good old days when nobody knew my na, and I could just go wherever I want without any of these things on."
The things he’d just ntioned: his heavy jacket, along with the bucket hat, sunglasses and mask, had already been tossed aside the mont he stepped into the room.
"But not with any girl, if that’s what you’re wondering!" he exclaid over the turning pages. "I only ca here alone, without anybody knowing, alright? This place was my secret haven back in my trainee days, where I could enjoy a good movie in peace."
"Huh, okay," Kaija stared at him blankly, still standing by the doorway with nothing removed yet. She hadn’t even thought about any girls he might have brought here before he ntioned it himself.
"So, birdie, any movie on your mind?" He lifted his gaze from the pages. "Or should I indulge you with my exquisite taste?"
"Anything you like is fine. I don’t mind," she said with a small shrug, taking off her mask and the heavy sunglasses at last. "I don’t know that many movies anyway."
"Well then, let show you one of my all-ti favorites," Karl said as he typed a long sequence of numbers into the control panel without even glancing at the book, as if he’d morized it by heart.
As soon as he finished, the movie’s intro screen was projected onto the wall opposite the couch.
"Why are you still standing there with your jacket and hat on like that?" he scowled, patting the couch insistently. "Co here already. I haven’t gotten to hug you in a long ti!"
"Oh... okay," she said, removing the bucket hat and jacket at turtle speed.
She climbed onto the couch cautiously, but as expected, the mont both her knees settled onto the leather, Karl lunged forward from his seat and tugged her by the arm.
Before she could react, she found herself nestled between his legs, her back pressed firmly against his chest in a tight back hug.
"You’re gonna squeeze to death, Karl," she complained under a small voice, though her ears were already burning red.
"You won’t die from squeezing you, birdie," he grumbled, tightening his hold around her waist. "I’m the one who’s gonna die early from how you keep teasing so badly."
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