Just then, Frans and Tira returned with drinks, completely unaware of the tension that had just passed.
They settled back at the long table, now cluttered with empty plates and leftover snacks. The warmth returned, but an undercurrent of silence lingered. Then Isabel, usually the loudest and brightest among them, suddenly looked different.
She straightened her posture. The soft light caught her pinkish-red hair. Her face was gentle… but her eyes carried weight. She clasped her cup of hot chocolate tightly and spoke in a quiet voice.
"Actually…"
The room froze. Laughter faded. All eyes turned to her. Kaivan instinctively looked over, the smile on his face dissolving.
"I'm dating someone now," Isabel said, blinking slowly.
A metallic silence followed. Felicia, beside Kaivan, whipped her head toward him, eyes wide.
"Kaivan! So that's why you were hugging Isabel…" she blurted. And with a movement as smooth as a shadow, her hand swung and slapped Kaivan's cheek, not hard, but enough to stun him.
Slap!
Kaivan blinked rapidly. Before he could react, another hand came from the other side. Thivi, grinning mischievously, smacked his right cheek. "So you chose Isabel over us?"
Slap!
The tiny sound rang like the opening drum of chaos. Kaivan's head snapped left and right like a confused puppet. "Huh, wait, what, ?" His voice cracked somewhere between panic and surrender.
But fate wasn't done.
Zinnia, sitting elegantly across the table, raised an eyebrow. With a single flick of her finger, she tapped Kaivan's head.
Flick!
"What is even happening?" she said, almost amused.
Kaivan's hair was a mess, his cheeks red, his expression bewildered, like a sitcom character who had just stumbled into a prank. All because the girls assumed Isabel, who had just admitted she had a boyfriend, was talking about him. Because, well… their closeness made misunderstandings almost guaranteed.
Isabel only smiled as she leaned against the table, her chin resting on her hand. "It's not Kaivan. I'll introduce him later," she said casually, sneaking a glance at Kaivan, who was still unsteady on his feet.
"Ohh, I thought you were dating Kaivan!" Zinnia teased, winking like a kid proud of catching a friend off guard.
Laughter burst around the table. Kaivan, still raising his hand in weak protest, could only let out a bitter laugh. "We're not! Why am I always the one getting blamed? Radit's here, and so is Raphael!"
Radit laughed so hard his body bent forward. "God, Kaivan's face is priceless!"
Frans leaned back, laughing. Ethan lifted an eyebrow, a small smile tugging at his lips, cigarette resting between his fingers. Even Raphael, usually serious, was wiping his eyes as he laughed.
Kaivan couldn't help but smile. "This is unfair," he muttered halfheartedly. But deep down, he knew, among this group, he was forever the designated victim of their jokes.
As time passed, the night grew deeper. The once-gentle breeze turned colder, nudging them to start thinking about heading home. With a tired voice, worn out from laughing, Ethan finally spoke. "It's getting really late. Should we stay here or head back?"
ce firm. "She's right. Why aren't we going? What if something happens? We can help."
Kaivan looked at them, fully understanding their worry, but his resolve didn't waver. "No. Not this time. Omnicent says it's just the four of us, the ones who have to go are me, Ethan, Raphael, and Radit. You two stay in the workshop. That's final."
Thivi huffed, but didn't argue. Kaivan's logic was hard to fight. Felicia lowered her gaze, trying to calm the storm in her chest.
"...Fine," she murmured at last, her voice quiet with reluctant acceptance.
Felicia suddenly burst into a harsh cough. "Uhhuk!" She waved her hand in front of her face, trying to push away the cigarette smoke drifting from Thivi's direction. Her expression twisted in irritation as she shot a sharp glance at her friend. "Honestly, you…"
Thivi let out a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "Blame the wind, not me," she said with a mischievous smile.
Ethan, sitting slightly apart from them, tried to mediate. "Alright, stop arguing already."
But his attempt failed immediately.