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Nerav laughed softly at her wide-eyed shock. "You don't have to stand," he said, gently pulling her back into her chair. "You can interrogate me just as well while sitting down."
"This is unbelievable," Serena muttered, still reeling. "Does Yunah even know?"
"She does." Nerav nodded, a boyish, charming glint in his eyes.
"So I'm the only one who was in the dark?" She slumped slightly, frustrated with her own lack of observation. "Did she recognize you instantly? At first glance?"
"No." Nerav shook his head, chuckling at the memory. "She missed it at first, too. But at least she didn't mistake me for a lookalike."
"Well..." Serena stammered, her face heating up. "It's not my fault you look exactly like the man on the cover of every business magazine."
"I don't look like him, Serena. I am him," Nerav corrected, his tone teasingly arrogant.
"Yeah, that's... that's what I was going to say," she replied, quickly taking a sip of her beer to hide her embarrassment.
Nerav watched her for a moment, his smile lingering, before his expression shifted to something more calculated. "Are you planning on going to the viewpoint tomorrow morning?"
"Hmm," she hummed in affirmation.
Nerav fiddled with the tab on his can, hesitating for a fraction of a second. "Can you... not go?"
"Huh? Why?" Serena turned to him, her brow furrowing.
"I want Noah and Yunah to go alone." He looked towards his brother. Noah was sitting beside Yunah, looking more peaceful than Nerav had seen him in years. He has never seen his brother smiling so gently and genuinely after their parents passed away. And now, he is smiling and laughing and he wants to protect it at any cost. He knows that only Yunah can make him smile like that.
"I want to do this for him. If he loves her, I'm going to help him. You've seen it too, haven't you? Yunah has a soft spot for him. Not as a 'younger brother,' but as a man. I need you to help me clear the path." He added after a pause.
Serena let out a skeptical laugh. "What? Are you drunk?"
"I'm perfectly sober," Nerav said, his voice dropping into a serious, commanding register. "I want them to have that time. I want my brother to be happy no matter whom he is with."
Serena went quiet. She looked at the pair by the fire. She thought of the Yunah she knew before Noah arrived—the shell of a person, drifting through life without a soul. Now, Yunah was vibrant. She was lively. She was smiling. The five-year gap felt insignificant compared to the light Noah had brought back into her friend's eyes.
"Okay," Serena said after a long silence, her gaze turning firm. "I'm in. But what about the others? The group won't just stay behind."
"Ivan is already handling Nisha," Nerav explained. "And I need you to handle your brother. Make sure he stays far away from that viewpoint."
Serena nodded slowly. "I can handle my brother. I can probably keep Meena back, too. But Preeti and her husband? I have no leverage over them." She leaned forward, frustrated. "I can't just force them to stay."
Nerav finished his beer and crushed the aluminum can in his hand with a slow, rhythmic click. He looked at her, his eyes dark and full of the power his title carried.
"If you keep them here, I'll personally grant you any wish money can buy. Name your price, Serena. Whatever you want, it's yours."
Serena's eyes widened. The offer wasn't just tempting; it was life-changing. She didn't hesitate for a single second.
"Okay," she breathed, a spark of mischief hitting her eyes. "We have a deal."
Nerav chuckled, the sound low and satisfied. "Deal."
*****************
A short distance from Serena and Nerav, the bonfire was dying down, but the drama was just heating up. Ivan was doing his absolute best to contain Nisha, who had spiraled into a full-blown drunken meltdown. Nearby, Preeti and her husband finally retreated to their tent, their departure quiet and stiff. Sharon followed suit, headed for his own tent; he shot a brief, curious glance at his sister sitting with Nerav but decided to keep moving. He knew better than to interfere in Serena's business—it was a battle he never won.
"Why?" Nisha wailed, her voice carrying over the crackle of the wood. Even Serena and Nerav paused their negotiation to look over. "Why doesn't he like me back? What is so wrong with me?" She grabbed Ivan's sleeve, her eyes red and swimming with tears. "Am I not beautiful, Ivan? Tell me!"
Ivan offered an awkward, pained smile, trying to gently pry her fingers off his jacket. "You're beautiful, Nisha. Truly. It's Noah who's blind, okay? He's just blind."
The consolation only made her howl louder. "If he's blind, then why does he only have eyes for her? Why is he always sticking to that woman? She's older than him! It doesn't make sense!"
Meena approached them then, a soft, weary smile on her face. She knelt beside Nisha, her voice like silk. "Nisha, listen to me. You are stunning, and it is entirely Noah's loss that he can't see your worth. You deserve someone who doesn't make you beg for a glance. He isn't worthy of these tears."
Nisha hiccuped, looking at Meena through blurry eyes while clutching her beer. "You don't understand... no one understands..."
Meena's smile turned sad, reaching her eyes in a way that made Ivan's heart ache. "I understand. I understand better than anyone how it feels to realize the man you want is looking at someone else." She paused, her voice trembling slightly. "I was supposed to be married next month. The wedding was canceled because he... he still had feelings for another woman. So believe me, I know exactly how you feel right now."
The air seemed to leave the circle. Nisha stopped mid-wail, staring at Meena in stunned silence. Even Ivan found himself paralyzed, his gaze locked on Meena as the weight of her confession hit him.
For a moment, there was only the sound of the wind. Then, Nisha burst into tears again—but this time, she wasn't crying for herself.
"How could anyone do that to you?!" Nisha sobbed, throwing her arms around Meena and hugging her tight. "You're so pretty! He's a monster!"
Meena let out a genuine, startled laugh at Nisha's sudden shift into a protector role, and Ivan joined in, though his eyes stayed on Meena. He watched the way her smile, though pure, carried a heavy, lingering hurt. For the first time, Ivan felt a sharp, protective tug in his chest that had nothing to do with Noah or the mission.
****************
Time drifted into the late hours, and one by one, the group retreated to their tents. The campsite fell into a heavy, expectant silence, broken only by the distant hoot of an owl.
Yunah unzipped her shared tent with Serena, crawling inside and collapsing onto her sleeping mat with a contented sigh.
"We should try to get at least a few hours of sleep before the hike starts," Yunah said, her voice buzzing with a girlish excitement she couldn't quite contain. She looked over at Serena, who was slowly peeling off her jacket, her movements uncharacteristically sluggish.
"Yeah," Serena murmured, not meeting her eyes. "Let's sleep." She lay down beside Yunah, staring up at the dark nylon roof of the tent.
Yunah rolled onto her side, pointing a playful finger at her friend. "And you... don't you dare sleep like a pig and miss the alarm. We're getting to that viewpoint no matter what."
Serena felt a sharp pang of dread in her chest as she recalled the deal she'd struck with Nerav. "Mmm," she hummed, her voice tight. "Let's just stop talking and sleep, Yunah. We have a big morning ahead of us."
"Okay, okay," Yunah laughed, reaching out to click off the portable charging light. The tent plunged into darkness, but her voice still sounded bright. "Goodnight, Serena!"
"Goodnight," Serena whispered.
In the dark, the word felt heavy. While Yunah was dreaming of sunrises and mountain peaks, Serena lay wide awake, haunted by her guilty conscience and the secret plan.
*****************
At 3:30 a.m., the sharp, insistent blare of the alarm sliced through the silence of the tent. Yunah jolted awake, her excitement instantly reignited. She sat up and immediately began shaking Serena, who was sprawled out, dead to the world.
"Yah! Get up!" Yunah hissed, pulling at Serena's arm. "I warned you! I told you not to sleep like a pig. We're going to miss the start of the trek!"
"Yunah... stop," Serena groaned, her voice thick and raspy in a forced display of agony. She clutched her head, playing the part of a sick patient to perfection. "I can't go. My head... it's pounding. I think I'm going to be sick. You go... go with the others."
Yunah let go of her arm, her frustration instantly melting into genuine worry. "Is it a migraine? Are you having a fever?" She pressed the back of her hand to Serena's forehead."You aren't hot, but if your head is hurting this much, let me get you something. Stay there."
Yunah scrambled out of the tent, heading for the van in the chilly night air. She rummaged through the first-aid kit until she found the painkillers, then hurried back to force Serena to swallow them. Though she felt guilty leaving her friend behind, Serena insisted—practically pushed her out—reminding her how much she had wanted to see this sunrise.
Finally, Yunah stepped out of the tent for the last time, ready for the hike. She was dressed in a sleek grey tracksuit and sports shoes, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. Under the pale, silvery glow of the moonlight, her skin looked like polished marble—flawless and ethereal.
She stood in the center of the campsite, looking around in confusion. It was still hours before sunrise, but the site was eerily still. No one was out. No one was packing. No zippers, no voices, nothing. She felt a wave of disappointment. I reminded everyone ten times, she thought bitterly. And they're all still dreaming.
Just as she was about to turn back and give up, the sound of a zipper echoed through the clearing.
It came from Noah and Nerav's tent.
Yunah's breath hitched as Noah stepped out into the night. He was wearing a sharp black-and-white tracksuit that emphasized his lean, athletic build. His hair was styled upward, a look that stripped away his usual boyishness and made him look dangerously mature.
Her heart began a frantic, rhythmic pounding against her ribs. He looked less like the younger brother and more like a man who knew exactly what he wanted. He walked straight towards her, a soft, genuine smile reaching his eyes as he stopped just inches away.
"Looks like it's just us," Noah said, his voice a low, excited hum in the quiet morning air. "Let's go."