[Music Recommendation: "A Sweet Smile" by Yu-Peng Chen (Genshin Impact OST) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

"Sena, wake up!"

Someone tugged my body awake. Grunting, I peeked to see who it was and Hora's face appeared before my eyes—too close in fact.

"Hora?" I asked as I got up and rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's time for you to rise and shine because we're going to surprise Crystal at the airport."

My body immediately sprung up from bed.

"Right! Crystal will be back today!" I exclaimed in joy. Then, I hurriedly bounced towards the bathroom to bathe and prepare myself. "Her return flight is in the morning, right?"

"Yes, and that's in two hours so hurry up!" Hora yelled back at me from outside the bathroom. "Seriously, where did you run off to yesterday that you both returned late? Did the Meet & Greet take that long? Ooooor you went on a date with Kaiden after?"

Ack! Bullseye. Hora would make a great physic or mind reader, or whatever they're called. I fell silent and just brushed my teeth so she wouldn't pester me for answers. It's not like I'm purposely hiding it from her, it's just that… I preferred telling the story once. Since Crystal would be back later, I'd just tell them in one go.

Half an hour later, I finished bathing and went into the walk-in closet, checking what to wear. More than half of the clothes there were either things Crystal brought for me, or my mom sent me. I loved them all but style-wise, I still preferred mom's. Meanwhile, at the far-end corner were the extra extravagant clothes Kaiden bought—including the nightgown. I felt my cheeks blush the moment I remembered yesterday's embarrassing events.

"Where should we go with Crystal after fetching her?" I asked Hora as I browsed through my clothes. "She just returned after that June Bride event thingy. Won't she need to rest first, before going anywhere?"

"Of course, I thought of that," Hora smugly replied. "That's why I booked all the nearest relaxing places we could go. Today will be Crystal's Pampering day!"

"Woah! You'd make a great manager, Hora!"

Hora flipped her hair. "Of course. So you better wear something comfortable."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Following Hora's advice, I picked a comfy dress and shoes in a shade of blue and white. After that, we went to the dining room to eat breakfast. Once there, Kaiden was all dressed up, too, which made me wonder… What about Callan? If we're taking Crystal for pampering, would we be taking Callan, too? Or since Kaiden seemed to be going with us, would they be having their own get-together or something?

With my questions unanswered since they remained in my mind, we finished breakfast and went on our way towards the airport. This time, the Ma's family driver drove for us. It took us almost an hour to reach the airport but we arrived on time.

Getting out of the car, Kaiden wore black glasses, and stretched his turtleneck shirt up to his chin. I sighed, noticing how he still hated crowded places. The Ma family's bodyguards secretly surrounded us from all corners, and two of them stayed near Kaiden.

That was another normal scenario whenever Kaiden would go out in public places. I noticed it before class started. If it was Kaiden alone, there was no need for too much security but since we're welcoming Crystal back—who's basically a celebrity, we needed all the protection we could give Kaiden. Especially since he hated being touched.

And so, we waited for Crystal to get off the plane. We sat on the free bench in front of the station she would get out of. Few minutes passed, and finally, Crystal walked out, together with Callan. They were happily chatting with each other, not knowing we were there.

"Crystal!" I shouted as soon as I saw her.

Crystal looked around and when she saw it was us, her eyes widened and her lips grinned from ear to ear.

"Senara! Hora! And my stupid brother?" she exclaimed. "You're all here!"

In my joy, I ran towards Crystal and hugged her.

"I missed you! How have you been? Was it good there?"

"It is! It's an amazing place. We should all go there sometime."

Hora jumped in and hugged both me and Crystal from behind.

"Crystal, I missed you! Welcome back!"

"Hora! I missed you, too! Wait, did you grow taller?"

"No, she didn't. Don't give her false hope. That's her final height," I teased.

"Hey! I can still grow taller!"

"Do girls stop growing at sixteen?" Crystal asked, curious.

"Yes—"

"No—"

Hora and I chorused, obviously not agreeing with our answers. Hora's eyes squinted at me, telling me of her plan for revenge once we're back home or when she finds the opportunity to do so.

"Anyway," Hora shrugged me off and grabbed one of Crystal's arms, "we have a great plan for you today."

"Right! I bet you're gonna love it."

"Oh, what is it? You're both making me so curious."

"It's a secret. You'll know when we get there."

"Better make sure it's not something exhausting," Callan butted in from behind. "She needs to rest. The flight was taxing since we just went from West to East in one day."

"Of course, Mr. Loverboy. We already thought of that, so rest assured," Hora calmed him down.

"L-l-loverboy?" Crystal blushed hard. "W-why are you calling him that? He's just Callan."

Hora and I grinned at each other.

"If you say so," I said in a sing-song tone. "Don't worry, you can tell us ALL about it later. For now, let's go."

"R-right. Ahm, how about them? Callan and my stupid brother? Are they going with us?"

'Finally, someone asked!'

"Would you like to go with us, too, Kaiden? Callan?" I asked the two boys.

Kaiden shook his head, "Sorry but no. I only came here to get Callan. I need him for something urgent."

"Wut?!" Callan grimaced. "I just returned, boss! I need to rest, too."

"No. You're coming with me."

"Nooooooo."

Poor Callan. It seemed that there's no rest for him.

Oh well, at least we three could spend our time together for some girl bonding. And with that, we went our separate ways.