The laughter was so loud that even Aurora could hear it. She snickered quietly to herself, wishing she could join in and hear the gossip they were sharing. Unfortunately, she had to stay professional and focus on her job.
Meanwhile, Hyacinth remained in her dramatic pose, continuing to sing in powerful high notes.
"But you let silence win
I scream in the dark
But you don't hear a thing
You left my heart
Like an echo that can't sing"
A crowd had started to gather, and there was even a cameraman recording the performance. At first, we were confused and slightly uncomfortable, thinking it was some random person filming without permission.
But once we saw Aunt Claris speaking to him—and even teaching him how to film properly, we realized the recording was arranged by her. Aunt Claris had clearly planned it all.
Hyacinth stared out at the crowd, her eyes fixed on a figure with white hair slowly walking away. She knew it couldn't be her—but deep down, she also knew that those beautiful eyes could never belong to anyone else.
Memories flooded back. The days of their childhood, the years they spent growing up together, all the way through high school.
A silhouette of that beautiful woman appeared in her mind's eye—haunting and vivid. Then, another image surfaced the red haired guy.
Her grip tightened around the microphone.
"Did I mean nothing, or just not enough?
Was it real, or was it just touch?"
She wanted to ask those questions—if their relationship had ever been real, or if it had existed at all.
Her gaze swept across the crowd, now beginning to sway and sing along with her. She smiled, even though it hurt.
"You were my fire
Now I'm just smoke in the rain
I gave you my higher
But you just let it fade
I scream in the dark..."
Then, quietly, someone stepped up behind Hyacinth. It was Seren and Sora, standing side by side with her.
Aurora joined in at the drums, pounding out a steady rhythm—partly to support the song, but mostly to mask the quiet tears slipping down Hyacinth's face.
She looked behind her and returned the smile to the three standing with her, then turned back to the crowd and sang her heart out.
"But love's gone off-key
You broke my heart
Like a song with no melody..."
As the final note faded, a wave of cheers erupted from the audience, filling the room with thunderous applause.
"Woah! We look so cool!" Sora cheered while watching the video on the laptop.
After finishing their concert, the four of them had returned to the rest area to change clothes. Now, they were gathered in Aunt Claris's office.
"See? I looked so cool while playing that guitar!" Soren said proudly, striking a dramatic guitar playing pose.
Sora side eyed Soren. "Nah, you don't look cool at all. I'm way cooler!"
Soren glared at her. "You're not cool at all. You're cute."
Hyacinth and Aurora: "? ? ?"
Sora stared in stunned silence. "...?"
Then, flustered, she slapped Soren's shoulder. "You— You, you, you!"
Embarrassed and flustered, she didn't know what to say. Should she take that as a compliment? But the look Soren gave her stirred something deep inside.
Sora couldn't help but stutter and try to refute what Soren was saying, but it quickly turned into a heated bickering match. As they argued, Sora glanced at Soren—only to realize that Soren was looking back at her with a gaze full of quiet admiration.
Her face flushed red, and she quickly looked away, unable to meet Soren's eyes.
In the background, Aurora and Hyacinth stood silently.
"..."
Did they forget we're even here?
The two exchanged a look, then silently agreed to leave the pair alone and quietly walked away.
When Aurora and Hyacinth step outside the door, they glance at each other and burst out laughing.
"Didn't expect them to be a thing," Hyacinth snickers at Aurora's remark. She knows those two all too well. Even when they were kids, Sora and Soren were practically inseparable even, when they were together.
To the point where younger Hyacinth was annoyed by the two of them, because she was always their child when role playing, both of them were the parents, and she only needed to act—most of the time just laying down.
She felt bored out of her wits every time she played with them, because it was always the same thing.
She herself wanted to play a hero or a dragon with them, but they kept declining it because they said it was way too childish.
Younger Sora said role playing as a family was much better because it felt more real and serious to her. She liked assigning everyone roles and acting out little domestic scenes.
When younger Hyacinth complained about always being the baby, Sora didn't seem to understand the problem—instead, she casually told her that if she was bored, she could just play as the pet instead, like a dog or a cat
Younger Hyacinth was devastated by younger Sora.
She told them that she was bored and didn't want to play anymore, but they insisted on playing for five more minutes, and it ended up lasting for hours.
Since then, she avoided them at all costs, even though they kept trying to find her.