K S LO ENGLISH

I had just sat on a bench in the park when I heard the sound of clothes rustling.

I looked beside me and saw a familiar figure.

“Skadi? Why are you here?”

“I can’t be here?”

“Of course you can…”

“By the way, do you know what day it is?”

I turned and looked at Skadi, her long white hair cascading down her back.

Her red-gem-like eyes studied me closely, afraid to miss even the tiniest expression on my face.

I smirked and said, “Today is your birthday. Of course, I remember.”

“Then?”

She leaned closer, and the faint sea-like smell of her hair rushed into my nose. Her stern yet somewhat cute-looking face took up most of my vision, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

The inclinations of a teenage girl are hard to hide.

Hold up—I don’t think she is still a teen.

Whatever, never mind.

However, I gave a resigned smile and showed my hand. There was only a foreign translated novel and nothing else.

“I’m sorry, Skadi. It’s not that I don’t want to bring you a gift, but…”

“You fought with your family again?”

“Yes… They seem not to understand that what I meant by being tired isn’t about being physically tired; it can’t be recovered from sleep. It’s mentally.”

“I just scrolled on my phone for a bit. Ah… you called it Terminal, right? Then I fought with my mom.”

“Do you need a hug? You said nothing can’t be cured by a hug!”

“With pleasure…”

She opened her arms and gently hugged me, rubbing her chin lightly on my forehead.

“Do you wish me to sing a song? Take it as helping you relieve your stress.”

“Thanks… It’s even your birthday…”

Before I had finished the sentence, Skadi’s ethereal voice echoed in my ears. It was comforting, like the bells in a church.

A while later, the song slowly faded, and silence returned everywhere.

Skadi opened her eyes.

“Ah… It’s tempting to rush towards your family and knock them down with a bang and finish them with a snap. Then you won’t be sad anymore.”

Hearing her comfort me like this, I inevitably said with an imperceptible smile, “Then you will have to deal with so many things.”

“Also, my parents are doing this in good faith, to make me study. Not to mention, my parents aren’t the Seaborn nor those sea monsters. If you deal with them, then the police will have to deal with you.”

“Then I will hide with you in Iberia, in a town where there’s no people, and live a happy life together.”

I struggled out of her arms. My gaze met Skadi’s eyes, filled with unwillingness to let go. I smiled and patted her head gently, then said, “Alright, Miss Abyss Hunter, let’s talk about something more practical.”

“I’ll get back to my place and bring your present down. Let’s celebrate your birthday then, alright?”

Skadi nodded and stood up faster than me.

She opened her arms, spinning in place, just like an ancient western countries’ wooden puppet—cute and dopey.

“I adorned myself just to come and see you!”

She couldn’t hide the excitement deep in her heart; she was hoping to hear words of praise.

“You’re beautiful.”

Hearing this, the smile on Skadi’s face immediately faded. She pouted, arms akimbo, and said with slight disgruntlement, “All you have left in your brain is the sentence ‘You’re beautiful’?”

Hearing what she said, I checked her outfit closely: a red, long-sleeved sweater, which had multiple pink fish patterns embellished in the center. Besides, she wore a short pencil skirt padded with wool. Just like her sweater, yet this time embellished with buttons in the center. She also wore thigh-length over-the-knee socks and a pair of ankle-length boots. Probably because of the cold weather, she wore a red coat.

“Then…”
I cleared my throat and said, “You’re like the most garish and beautiful rose in the garden; many people have stopped because of you but are afraid to ruin you by picking you.”

She showed a pleased smile after hearing this and held out her hand to me. Her thought was obvious.

I took her hand, and she gently pulled me, seeming impatient.

We walked towards my place.

“By the way, how did you know I was feeling down today?”

“I saw you walking out in a rush, eyes stuck onto the ground, not caring about anything.”

“So, I decided to follow you.”

“Really? No wonder I had the feeling someone was watching me.”

“At least it’s not those perishing Seaborn!”

I smiled and told her to wait there, then I went upstairs to fetch the present I had prepared.

Even though it was unavoidable to be nagged by my mom, clearly, she wasn’t angry at all.

I took a birthday gift box and hid it behind me, but I forgot how big the box was.

“It’s all exposed!”

Skadi grinned and pointed at the gift box behind me. That’s when I realized that I was too skinny.
No, wait! It’s definitely because the gift box was too big!

None of my business, after all.

Skadi and I walked to a bench and sat down. There weren’t a lot of gifts in the box; however, all carried my full love.
Mostly because the gifts were too big.

Right after she opened the box, a warm light shone on her cheeks. The first thing that caught her eye was a grey rabbit doll.

It was wearing a black mantle with a shimmering cape. It also wore a black hat decorated with a white diamond pattern.

Its red eyes were looking at Skadi—very cute.

“It’s you in your work outfit, Skadi!”

The doll also wore a sapphire-blue scarf. Skadi took out the doll slowly, allowing it to lie quietly on her lap.

Skadi carefully pulled the scarf off the doll, feeling its tender touch between her fingers.

“I knitted this scarf for quite some time. How is it?”

Skadi didn’t reply; she noticed there was a letter.

Skadi opened the envelope and saw a handwritten letter.

To Skadi, who is the cutest in the world:

We have already met for a year! I appreciate you for being with me all these days. I understand there are many exaggerated ways to celebrate birthdays, such as filling the trunk of a luxurious vehicle with white roses, booking an entire restaurant, presenting the whole night view to the girl, and buying extravagant jewellery for the girl.

Please forgive me—I’m still a student; if I could, I wouldn’t mind using those kinds of ways to show how much I love you. Disappointingly, I don’t have that kind of money nor ability.

I can only use weak words again and again to tell you ‘I love you.’ These gifts may be cheap, but I’ve spent a very, very long time preparing them.

After all, no one like me would prepare a birthday half a year in advance.

Skadi, I really love you—really. Yet, the feeling is ambiguous and vague, and at least my literary level can’t afford me to express this kind of feeling. However, my love for you is real. If you look me in the eyes closely, you will see that.

I love you.

There is also a bracelet in the box. I’ve carefully picked the gem in the jewellery store. It’s not expensive; please keep it.

Happy birthday, Skadi.

Love you the most on Dr.

After Skadi had read everything, she was stunned for a moment, then put everything back into the box.

Just when I thought she wasn’t happy about the gifts, Skadi jumped into my arms, her voice trembling slightly.

“I’m happy with this. Thank you! I love you.”

After saying that, she gently left a kiss on my face.

“I love you too, Skadi. Happy birthday.”

Written on 7th March, 2025