Just a tad late. Sorry about that.

Enjoy.

January 4th, 2020

"I think that I need to rethink my career plan."

Eunkyung's hands froze above the keyboard of her laptop. "What?"

I interlocked my fingers. "My music. Making music. If it doesn't take off before the end of the year... I might need to pursue something a little more reasonable than singing."

Eunkyung pushed aside her laptop. She adjusted her glasses. "Why? Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"

"It's just a thought that crossed my mind earlier."

"Are you going to tell Sera?"

"I…" I trailed off, the question catching me entirely off guard. "I don't know. I probably won't."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Maybe go to school again? I'm not sure."

"You can't afford to go to school again."

"And you can?"

Eunkyung narrowed her eyes. "We're not talking about me, Jae."

"I…" I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Right. I'm sorry. Just stressed."

"It's alright." She leaned back in her chair. "There's an easy solution to your problem."

"Which is?"

"Work your ass off," she answered, like it was the simplest thing to do. "Make your music the best it's ever sounded. Try everything you can to succeed. Take risks." Eunkyung grinned. "The only reason you haven't succeeded yet, Jae, is because you're too afraid to take the dive. You're too hesitant."

"But what if I can't? What if the stars don't align for me, Eunkyung?"

"They already have." The grin on her face slowly morphed into a proud smile. "You have grown and changed so much in the last three months… you and Sera. You two, together, will change the world, Jae. You two could sing into the night sky, and the stars would sing right back."

I smiled. "Thank you for your confidence, Noona. It's appreciated."

"It better be." She grinned. "Now get to work. You still have some time before school starts."

I finished the rest of my tea and placed the mug into the sink. "I'll go get some work done then." With my worries settled and my mind put at ease, I headed back into my room, my thoughts already drifting towards a new EP concept.

[;]

The orange sun dipped below the horizon, creating a thin band of gleaming golden light that reflected against the deep blue surface of the sea. A crowd's clamor surrounded both Seraphine and I as we stood side-by-side at the edge of Santa Monica pier.

Sera tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear, her gaze momentarily flicking to me. Her hands were stuffed into the pocket of the large, violet hoodie she wore. "It's a little weird, isn't it?" She suddenly asked after a long moment of silence.

"What is?"

"Having nothing to worry about school-wise. Being on break. Being bored."

"Our break is pretty much done, so you won't have to worry about being bored for the next six months."

Sera removed her hands from her pockets, placing her elbows on the pier's fence and resting her head in the palm of her hands. She fully turned her head towards me. "Think it'll be a good year?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. But I'm going to try my hardest to make it a good one. I mean, we're graduating this year. That's insane to me." I met her gaze. "What about you?"

"I'm excited. For school. For graduation. For summer. For everything." Sera grinned. "I've got a good feeling about this year."

"Yeah?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Mmhm."

"How's your family?" I asked.

"They're good." Sera glanced out at the ocean right as a wave crashed against the pier, the sea foam bubbling up against the pillar beneath us before dissipating into clear mist. "It's nice to have them back."

"How long is your mom staying again?"

"Until next Saturday."

"That's not very long."

Seraphine shrugged. "I'm used to it. It's been like that for as long as I can remember; Mom being able to stay for just the holidays or a couple weeks, and Dad leaving for a few days before coming back."

"Sounds hectic."

She nodded. "I'm not sure how I made it after my Nai-Nai passed away."

"How long ago was that?"

"Close to five years ago."

"Did sixteen year-old Seraphine know how to take care of herself?" I asked.

"After Nai-Nai passed, she had to," Sera replied.

"Our lives are a little tragic, aren't they?"

"That they are." Sera interlocked her fingers. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"What do you mean?"

She nodded. "I think we're better people for it. As… sad as that is to say."

"I agree." I leaned against the pier's fence. "What's your plan for the year then?"

"You mean my resolution," Sera supplied.

"Mmhm."

Seraphine hummed in thought. "I think that, ultimately, I want to make good memories. whether its through making music with you, spending time together just like this, or whatever. If I can look back on this year and say 'Yeah, that was a good year,' then I'll be more than happy."

"That's… a way better answer than I was expecting."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Yeah." I smiled. "It's definitely a better answer than mine."

"What's yours?"

"I…" I remembered my conversation with Eunkyung earlier this morning. "I want to do my best this year. Give it my all. I think… by the end of this year, I want to be successful."

"Well, that depends on what success looks like to you."

"Comfortable," I answered frankly. "Like I'm not pushing myself to the limit every day."

"That's a good answer," Sera said. "More realistic than mine, honestly."

I shrugged. "Maybe both are more reasonable than either of us think."

"Being successful in a year versus being satisfied with a year," Sera said, weighing the options. "Yeah. I'd say both are equally reasonable, especially considering our personalities."

"Think so?"

"Jae, you're a music-making machine. If you put your mind to it, I genuinely think you can be successful by the end of the year. And I… while, I like to think I have a pretty positive outlook on things. And if I put my mind to it, I know that I'll be able to succeed in my goal."

"Your confidence is inspiring, Sera."

She winked cutely. "Thanks." She giggled. Then, she smiled. "But that's enough of that kind of talk." Sera moved closer to me, then she held out her hand as if asking for something.

"What is it?"

"Your phone," she said.

"Oh." I gave her my new phone. Because I had gotten it so recently, I still considered it Sera's phone. And I hadn't stopped thanking her for it either.

"You don't even have any new apps?" Sera swiped through my phone, desperately looking for something. "Jae, I bought you this phone, and you really haven't taken a single picture with it?"

Wasn't the main point of having a phone to call or text people? Not to take photos? "Uh... Should I be?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes. Then, she motioned for me to stand beside her. "C'mere. Let's take a picture."

I awkwardly positioned myself to her right.

Sera glanced up at me, her lips drawn into a small pout. "I'm not a stranger, Jae. You can move closer."

"Sorry." I adjusted how I was standing, moving closer to her. Close enough that I could catch the scent of her perfume— the same as the one she wore on Christmas day. Hesitating slightly, I finally made the decision to drape my arm over Sera.

She leaned into me. With my phone in her hand, she tilted it, and held up a peace-sign. "Smile, Jae. At least pretend like you like me."

"But I do like you."

Sera's cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red.

"Wait, not like—"

"Okay, okay, okay, whatever," she interrupted. She narrowed her eyes. "Smile."

I raised my hands on surrender. "Yes ma'am."

We repositioned ourselves. And after a few small mistakes, Sera eventually snapped the perfect photo. Our cheeks were touching and faces were alight with wide, brilliant smiles. The tiny blue star on Seraphine's cheek glimmered in the fading sunlight. My golden eyes shined like pools of fresh honey.

Sera grinned up at me, accompanying it with a thumbs-up. "Now you'll have a background for your phone." She handed the device back to me.

True to her word, the lock screen was the selfie that she and I just took.

"Not afraid that people will ask questions?"

Seraphine shook her head. "What's a selfie between two friends?"

"Fair enough," I replied, slowly nodding.

Sera looked like she wanted to say something else, but the expression was gone before I could even think about commenting on it. And so, we moved on to something new. We headed back towards the middle of Santa Monica pier, to Pacific Park— the amusement park that stood on the pier itself.

When I asked Sera to come out, I didn't have much of a plan besides seeing her again, catching up, and just hanging out. But Seraphine seemed like she was focused on something else. Like something was distracting her.

"Something else on your mind?" I asked as we stood in line to grab a bite to eat at one of the stands. "That was a pretty intense talk we had back there."

Sera glanced up at me. "I'll… I'll talk about it later, Jae."

Understanding that was all I was going to get out of her, I nodded. When we reached the front of the line, I placed our orders. The raven-haired cashier grabbed two hotdogs and a basket of fries, placing them in front of Sera. I swiped my card.

"Thanks," I said to the cashier, picking up the fries.

"You're welcome," she beamed. She jotted something down on the printed receipt and gave it to me. "Have a good day."

"Mmhm." I folded up the receipt and put it into my pocket. "You too."

I followed behind Seraphine as she quickly found a rather isolated table on the pier. She set down the hot dogs. Then, she shot me a full, harsh glare, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed into cold daggers. "Why did you keep it?"

"...Keep what?"

"The receipt."

I raised a brow. "Because it's a receipt."

"Jae." She sighed. "Look at it."

I fished out the receipt and began to unfold it. "Sera, it's just a receipt, I don't know what's got you so worked—"

Scribbled onto the receipt were four simple words.

If single, call me.

And beneath that was a phone number.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Sera rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's not like we're…"

Sera's eyes somehow narrowed further. "Hm?"

My mouth opened and closed as I looked for an answer. "I mean, it's true," I said. "We aren't together."

"Yeah, but I…" Sera trailed off.

"You?"

"Nothing."

"Then let's just leave it at that, alright?" I offered, folding the receipt back up and placing it into my wallet. I began to munch on our food, and before long, Seraphine did the same. Yet she seemed more distracted than ever. I couldn't exactly blame her. Sure, what I said came off as a little strong, but at the end of the day, it was true.

Seraphine and I weren't dating.

And for her to say something like that was out of line.

The rest of the day went on in effectively complete silence. We eventually made the decision to head back to Sera's car before it got too late.

Speaking of her car, after Christmas, and after Sera bought me a new phone, I had been more receptive to the idea of getting in a car. At least with her. Rides with my sister still felt a little shaky. But with Seraphine, I could actually enjoy the car ride— something I couldn't ever remember doing. Sera unlocked her car and popped open her door. She slid into her seat, while I followed suit.

Without a word, she started up her car with a gentle rumble. We drove our way back to my house in silence as well, with only the music that came from the car's speakers that covered up most of the awkwardness.

Eventually, Seraphine broke it.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on her lap. Her index finger tapped the top of the wheel in double-time.

"For?" I already knew what she was probably intending to apologize for. But I wanted to make sure she knew, and that she had no doubts.

"What I said earlier. About… our relationship," she murmured. "I shouldn't have said those things."

"I forgive you." I smiled. "I understand why you said them."

"Y— you do?"

I sighed. "Sera, we've been dancing around each other for the better part of a month now. It's not big of a mental leap to think something like that."

"...Like what?"

"Like you getting protective over me."

Her finger stopped tapping. Then, she let out a long, deep sigh. "Right."

I decided to leave it at that. Because even though my feelings for her were new, whatever the butterflies in my stomach were new, whatever stirred my heartbeat whenever she spoke or looked at me were new, I had a rough idea of what those feelings meant.

As it was now, our friendship was a little confusing to me. Ever since Christmas, Seraphine and I had grown closer with each passing week, but something about the new year made it feel… Different. Foreign. New.

Not that any of those feelings were unwelcome. Sorta.

Okay. In truth, I was afraid of them. I mean, that had to make sense, right? Being afraid of new things, things I didn't know about, things I'd never experienced before… that was normal.

It had to be.

[;]

January 23rd, 2020

Over the course of the next week and a half, my life went from spending each day languidly, to being more busy than I could even remember. With it being my last semester of college, I needed more extracurriculars than ever. Between that and taking twenty units, working forty hours a week, and continuing to practice and create music… like I said: I was busier than ever. Thanks to the conscious efforts of both Seraphine and Lux, I somehow managed to keep sane. I continuously talked to them, but because Seraphine was about as busy as me, I tended to call Lux more than often.

"She really said that?" Lux asked, entirely disbelieving. "So much for respecting boundaries." She wore a pair of rose-gold glasses, a simple blue blouse, and a pair of fluffy grey pajama pants. She sat with her back against the headboard of her bed, her laptop on her lap, and white earbuds placed in her ears. Her blonde ponytail flopped to the side as she tilted her head.

"She meant well," I defended. "And… I think I probably would have done the same for her."

"And for me?"

"I would do the same for you."

"Getting protective over me? Or assuming our relationship status?"

I rolled my eyes. "The former, Lux." I frowned slightly. "And please stop digging at Seraphine behind her back. I've said it before. I don't want to repeat myself."

Lux bowed her head. "I know. I'm sorry. It… She just annoys me sometimes."

"Everyone gets annoying sometimes," I said. "Just need to learn to take it in stride."

"Normally, I can. With being a member of the Crownguard family and all that, people get nosy in the worst ways." Lux crossed her arms, looking up at the ceiling of her room. "It only really irks me when it affects people I'm close with. That's the worst part."

"But she's close to me, Lux. Please understand that."

She pouted. "I… I know. I'll do my best."

"Thank you, Lux. That's all I ask." I leaned against the back of my chair. "So, earlier, before I got into this whole spiel about that day, you said you had something important to tell me?"

"Oh!" Lux bubbled. "As it turns out, my study abroad program that I was talking about last week finally got approved."

"That's great!"

"Yeah." She brought her hands together. "So, I'm flying out to South Korea on the 30th and attending Seoul National University."

My eyes widened. "Korea? SNU?!" I shot out of my chair, managing to catch my chair just as it was about to fall to the floor. "That's amazing, Lux!"

She rubbed the back of her neck, and her ears and cheeks slowly reddened. "Thanks…"

"Amazing." I sat back down, still shocked. "You know its considered the best school in South Korea, right? You should be proud of yourself."

"I am, I am," Lux replied. "It's just…"

"Just?"

She looked at me. "I'm gonna miss you, Jae."

"It's not like we won't be able to talk, Lux," I protested.

She shrugged. "We already talk pretty rarely as it is. And you're only thirty minutes from my house. It's unrealistic to think that the time difference won't affect our friendship."

"Well, I'm going to try my best to make sure that it doesn't."

Lux smiled. "Your efforts are appreciated, Jae."

"What time is your flight?"

"5:30 P.M.," she answered. "Gonna see me off?"

"Of course."

"How very gentlemanly of you," Lux said with a nod.

"I do my best, m'lady." I grinned.

"Gonna ask your sister to drive you?"

"Probably gonna ask Seraphine. Eunkyung won't be free that day."

"I see." On the camera, her mouth moved, but the camera didn't pick up what she was murmuring.

"...Lux."

"I didn't say anything!" She raised her hands up in surrender. "Seriously. I didn't say anything. And I wasn't thinking anything either."

I hummed in thought for a moment, then decided to let it go. Scolding her again likely wasn't going to do anything, and I trusted Lux enough to figure that she really would try her best to change her outlook towards Seraphine. Especially because this was the second time I'd told her to do so.

"Anyways, I'll send you the details of where to find us and all that."

"Alright."

The rest of our conversation continued smoothly. But although we returned to a more comfortable discussion of balancing school, work, and hobbies, my thoughts still lingered on the news that Lux delivered.

She was leaving. One of the few people that I actually even spoke to was leaving.

I perfectly understood why she was leaving, of course. Lux was moving on to bigger, better things. She had her own set of dreams and aspirations— and it would be remiss of me to burden her with my own feelings regarding her studying abroad.

At the end of the day, if Lux was happy, then I was happy.

Then again, I doubted she was eager to leave as well. That thought gave me some comfort.

[;]

"Are you free on the 30th?" I asked Seraphine. As I looked at her, it still weirded me out to see her hair in a large bun. Today, she wore a yellow crew neck together with a pair of black leggings and black shoes.

She looked up from her notebook, setting down her pencil. "Yeah. Why?"

We sat beside one another in Professor Krouse's lecture hall. It wasn't nearly as large as Professor Laurent's, so maybe calling it a hall is a stretch. It was closer to the size of a living room, honestly. Because it was an upper-division Music Theory class, there were only fifteen of us in the classroom itself. Fortunately, that meant we had a lot of time for self-study.

"I need you to drive me to LAX," I replied. "Lux is flying to South Korea for her study abroad program and I want to see her off."

Seraphine nodded. "Okay. What time?"

"Just… just like that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She raised a brow. "I like Lux, and she's your friend."

"Didn't exactly share that sentiment a month ago," I reasoned.

"Well, you and I didn't even know each other's last names three months ago," she countered. "A lot can change in a short amount of time."

"Fair enough." I smiled. "Her flight is at 5:30 P.M. From a private runway."

"Oh right. Sometimes I forget she's very wealthy."

"Me too."

We shared a look.

Then we laughed.

"Are you two getting any work done over there?" Professor Krouse asked, speaking up after hearing our peals of laughter.

"Yes, Professor," I replied, adjusting myself.

"Wonderful."

Seraphine giggled.

I rolled my eyes, a smile slowly making its way onto my lips. I always found my conversations with Seraphine to be entertaining, and sometimes in the strangest ways possible. Maybe it was because we rarely found time to actually speak to one another outside of school and work. Nevertheless, we made it work.

After Music Theory ended, Seraphine and I filed out of the room with the rest of the students. Then, we walked to our next class, Audio Engineering, which was around fifteen minutes from Professor Krouse's room. It was in the same area, just in another building.

"So she's staying until the end of the semester, right?"

"I think so."

"Do you think you'll be okay being stuck with little old me?" Sera asked, fighting back a smile.

"Not sure," I replied. "Might need to find a new friend."

She clicked her tongue and her hands came to rest on her hips. "How very rude of you." Sera's walking turned into small skips. She bounded forward, her hair bobbing along with her movements.

"It's weird seeing you with a bun," I commented.

She whirled around to me. "Why? Does it look bad?"

I shook my head and shrugged. "Not bad. Just different."

"So what's the verdict?"

"It's cute. I like it," I decided.

Sera's smile morphed into a grin. "Thank you. I will take your feedback into account for all of my future hairstyle plans."

"Ever considered dyeing it?"

"What color would I even dye it?"

"Maybe—"

Sera's eyes narrowed into daggers. "I swear if you say blonde, Jae." Her words were cutting, as was her tone.

I sealed my lips shut.

"You totally have a type." She sighed. "Nothing beats a blonde girl with blue eyes, huh?"

"Not this again," I breathed. "So I think they're attractive. Is that really so bad?"

"It's not," Sera stated. When I shot her a deadpan look, she waved her hands in protest. "Really, it's not. I just give you a hard time because it's a little funny."

"And regardless of my tastes, you're still a very attractive person," I murmured.

Sera straightened and stood stock still. "Uh…" A blush began to bloom on her cheeks. It spread like a wildfire, her ears turned bright red as she looked straight at the floor. "...Thanks, Jae."

"No worries." Is… is it flirting if I genuinely just meant it as a compliment? I tossed that thought around in my head the rest of the way to my next class with Sera.

[;]

January 30th, 2020

"I feel like I shouldn't have been surprised," Seraphine said as the security guard waved her forward. Her car rolled past the threshold of the white gate, and onto the airway for Crownguard Airlines' planes. "But here I am: surprised."

I laughed lightly. "Me too." I pulled up the directions that Lux gave me a few nights ago. "She says her plane is in Bay 4."

"We're coming up on Bay 3 right now."

"Then the one after this one," I said.

"Okay." Seraphine let out a slow breath, then she shook her head as if getting her hair free of something. "I feel nervous. And I'm not even the one she's close with." She glanced at me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright." I looked out the window towards the other runways. The intricate movements of the planes looked more like a dance than anything else as they wove in and out of each other's paths. A large passenger plane began to crest around a bend, its engines spinning up with an ear-piercing whirr. "It feels more bittersweet, actually."

Sera hummed. "Gonna miss her, huh?"

"I think it'd be foolish of me not to," I replied. There was a bit of humor to it, actually. Despite knowing Lux for the better part of four, almost five years, she and I had grown so close, so quickly in the last four months that it was almost blinding how fast it happened.

"Fair enough." Sera grabbed the wheel with both hands, decelerating and turning closer to Bay 4.

There, dominating the center of the bay, was a private jet. Inscribed on each side of the canopy and the bottom of the tailfin was the logo of Crownguard Airlines: a winged sword of white and gold, with the side profiles of two helmeted knights bearing their shields behind both wings.

And on the starboard side of the jet was its name.

Valor.

"That's a beautiful plane," Sera breathed.

"Yeah. You're telling me."

One of the guards saw Seraphine pull up, and motioned where to park. Seraphine followed his directions, and maneuvered to the inside of the bay. Then, she stopped the car at the indicated spot. She turned to me. "Time to get going."

"Mmhm."

We popped open the doors and stepped out of the car.

"Jae! Seraphine! Over here!" Lux's voice called out to the both of us. She stood at the bottom of the boarding stairs. She was dressed for maximum comfort, with a pair of white sweatpants and a golden hoodie. Beside her stood her parents, Pieter and Augatha Crownguard, their appearances as regal and graceful as ever.

There was one more person that I hadn't seen the last time I was at the Crownguard house, however. And his massive, towering stature was impossible to miss.

Garen Crownguard towered over the rest of his family. He wore a well-fitted black suit and slacks, his hair slicked back and his chiseled jaw clenched. His arms were crossed over his large chest as he stared directly at me.

Sera and I walked over to the Crownguards.

"Mister and Misses Crownguard," I said, bowing my head slightly toward them. "Garen."

The man held out his hand.

I met his handshake.

And he nearly crushed my hand with his grip.

Eventually, he released it. And I resisted the urge to shake off the numbness that tingled my fingertips.

"It is good to see you again, Jaemin," Pieter said with a smile. "And you have brought a… friend with you?"

"Ah, right." I cleared my throat. With a wave towards her, I introduced Seraphine. "This is Yeng Seraphine, a friend of Lux and I. I brought her today because my sister wasn't available to drive me here, and since I can't drive myself, Seraphine was kind enough to drive me today."

"Hello," she bubbled. Sera grinned at Lux.

And much to my surprise, Lux smiled back.

"Thank you for coming then, Seraphine," Augatha chimed in. "Any friend of Jae's is a friend of ours, right Luxanna?" The older woman glanced at Lux.

"Right," Lux approved.

Pieter clapped his hands together. "Well, since we still have a bit of time to kill until Lux's flight, why don't we have an early dinner aboard Valor?"

Sera and I shared a glance. She nodded.

I turned back to the Crownguards. With a shrug, I responded. "Why not?"

[;]

As expected, the food created by professional cooks using professional-quality ingredients and supplies tasted heavenly. And it helped that Pieter and Augatha tended to the environment well. They led the conversation as we waited for our food. They were as kind, as courteous, and as friendly as ever. Before bringing out some wine, they even asked if it was okay for them to drink in front of me. And that warmed my heart more than I expected.

"Of course," I replied. "I wouldn't want my past to affect your enjoyment."

"Nonsense, dear," Augatha stated with a wave of her hand. "Your past is important to us, and we want to make sure you know that. So I shall ask again: are you truly okay with us drinking in front of you?"

I nodded. "Yes, Mrs. Crownguard. As long as you don't drink too much."

"Ah, you need not worry about that," Pieter said. "We only drink alcohol for the taste. Not to get drunk."

A few moments later, one of the waiters placed a bottle of Chateau Austone Red on the table. Garen reached over and popped the bottle open, and began to pour wine for himself and his parents.

Speaking of Garen, he was… chattier than I expected, given his appearance and first-impression. He often joined the conversation to offer his own input, or give us a bit of advice. It was welcome. It felt good to hear the opinion of someone older than me that was around Eunkyung's age, but not a girl.

There was one more thing about him that I didn't expect.

He was rather mischievous.

"Jaemin," Garen said as he wiped his mouth with the table napkin. "Luxanna tells me that you are a musician, correct?"

After swallowing my water, I responded. "Yes, I am."

"And you play many instruments?"

"I do."

A small smile danced across his lips. "Are you aware that Luxanna has been spending the better part of the last two months singing and practicing the piano nearly every day at home?"

Lux's cheeks flared up with red. She raised her hand up to hit her brother, before realizing where she was. She slowly set her hand down and instead used it to cover her face in shame. "Garen…"

The man in question laughed loudly.

"Really?" I asked, entirely intrigued.

Lux looked up at me with a pout. "Yeah… What about it?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." I smiled. "I'm just glad that you took what I said about your voice to heart."

"Hey, hey, don't forget that I can still sing too," Seraphine chimed in.

"You can sing as well?" Augatha asked Sera.

"Yeah." Seraphine motioned her head towards me. "Jae and I are both musicians. We were assigned to be partners for a project last semester, and we've been friends ever since."

"A musician duo, then," Pieter added.

"Essentially."

"Yup!"

The conversation drifted from music to school to work to careers to hobbies, and eventually we ran out of things to talk about just in time for the pilots and crew to start the pre-flight checks. We collectively made our way out of Valor to let them work.

"Jae," Lux said, walking over to me with her arms crossed. "Mind if we chat for a bit?"

"Sure."

She looked around. "Just.. the two of us."

"Oh. Alright."

I followed behind Lux until we were out of earshot from everyone else. We sat beside each other on a bench within the bay.

"How are you holding up?" I asked.

Lux fingers interlocked, her hands rested on her lap. "Excited. Maybe a little nervous." She looked up at me and attempted a smile. But I could see it all in her eyes. She was terrified. More than anything else. "It's obvious, huh?"

"Yeah."

She sighed. Lux leaned her head against my shoulder. "I'm so scared, Jae."

"About what?"

"Leaving. Moving out. Being in another country. Failing my parents. All of it and so much more."

Cautiously, I wrapped her in a hug. She leaned into me and draped her arms around my stomach. I pressed my cheek to the top of her head.

"You'll figure it all out," I murmured. "You're driven, you're determined, and you're brilliant, Lux. More brilliant than you could even imagine. I'm not worried about you, Lux, because I know you'll be okay."

"But what if—"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about that. Worrying about that is unproductive and you know it." I gently extracted myself from her embrace. "You got this, alright?"

She nodded. "Thank you, Jae."

"Of course." I grinned. "And I'll be there for you whenever you need me."

"Really?"

"As long as you don't text me at an ungodly hour," I corrected.

Lux giggled. "Alright, I'll hold you to that. Thank you, Jae. Again." She stood up and stretched. "Think it's time for me to leave?"

I shrugged. "Probably."

"C'mon then."

Together, Lux and I returned to the rest of the group. Seraphine, upon noticing our return, shot me a glare. I merely shrugged in reply. She rolled her eyes and mouthed something that resembled, "Tell me about it later."

I nodded.

When it came time for Lux to depart, it was surprisingly tame. Her parents and brother didn't shed a single tear, and instead gave her support and more advice than she would ever remember. Lux hugged her parents tightly, clearly fighting back tears.

Garen held Lux tightly, and seemed to whisper something in Lux's ears. When they pulled away, the young woman was nodding, smiling, and holding back laughter. Whatever Garen had told her, it seemed to ease a lot of her worries.

Seraphine and Lux awkwardly embraced. Sera expressed her support for Lux and handed the blonde a piece of paper, saying, "If you're ever in the mood to talk to someone that isn't Jae or your family, feel free to shoot me a text."

Lux grinned and pocketed the paper. "You got it."

And lastly, was me.

As she embraced me, I couldn't help but poke a little fun at her. "Don't cry, alright?"

In the middle of the hug, she weakly jabbed at my side. "Asshole." She pulled away, and for several moments, simply stared at me.

"Lux? Are you okay?"

Then, she leaned forward and gently kissed my cheek. Her lips felt almost impossibly soft. Hesitant as they were, they were also filled with intent. Meaning. Purpose.

Before I could fully savor the moment, her lips left my cheek and she stood at the base of the boarding stairs. She ascended the stairs, waving back at all of us enthusiastically. After a solid minute of waving, Luxanna entered the jet and disappeared behind the slowly closing door.

"Jaemin, Seraphine," Augatha began, smiling widely. "Have a goodnight. Make sure to follow our car so we can properly escort you out."

"Thank you, Mrs. Crownguard."

"Please, Jae. It's just Augatha."

"Ah. Thank you, Augatha."

The Crownguards entered their car, and Seraphine and I climbed into ours.

"You look surprised," Sera said as she started her car.

"...Should I not be?" I asked.

"Let's just say that pretty much all of us saw it coming," Seraphine said with a smile.

"Oh. Why didn't you say anything?"

She shrugged. She pulled out of the parking spot and followed behind the Crownguards' car. "Don't think that me saying anything would have changed the outcome."

"Fair enough."

"Was it bad?"

"No!" I immediately protested. "It wasn't bad. Nor was it unwelcome. Just… unexpected."

Seraphine hummed. "I see."

The conversation drifted into silence, accompanied by the hum of the car's engine and the rhythm of the tires rolling against the runway.

Developments already?! Anyways, thank you for supporting this story thus far. Please leave a review if you enjoyed what you've read so far.

Next Chapter: 1/8/2021