KO One: Strawberry Mint Candy

[A KO One fanfiction]

[The story begins in the first year of high school, so this novel includes some original settings and plotlines.]

[Original female lead, paired with Rex]

[My writing isn't great, and the characters may be out of character.]

[The author is a wage slave. Sometimes I'm too tired after work or out of inspiration, so I may not be able to write, or the writing may not turn out well. Please bear with me. Feel free to chat in the comments, but please don't curse me out. If you do, I'll abandon the story.]

When the sea breeze from Kenting collided with Taipei's night, a lost girl clutched her faded map and cried in an unfamiliar villa neighborhood, like a star drenched by the rain.

Then a handkerchief carrying a hint of mint reached out to her. Pale skin caught the streetlight, and the eyes behind thin-framed glasses shone brilliantly. Beneath that polished, high-achiever exterior was a kindness that would stop for a stranger.

“My name is Rex. I live next door.”

The fifteen-minute walk home took them from her tearful embarrassment to her tentative question, “Can we be friends?” The tears blurring the map had yet to dry, but Taipei's first marker had already quietly settled in both their hearts.

The Star Shard pen was still clasped in her hand. The “way home” her grandfather had spoken of seemed to have taken on a new shape.

She didn't know that this neighbor who smiled and said, “See you tomorrow,” would lead her into a world of dazzling wonders. Just as he hadn't expected that this slightly silly yet clever girl from the seaside would become the weakness he hid beneath his mask.

There has to be a summer like this in the story of KO One: two lonely souls collide and embrace, and from then on, the evening breeze carries not only the scent of mint, but also the unspoken words, “I'm here for you.”