...................continued,
Her hand came up.
Stopped midair.
Knock. Don't knock. Go back. But the guitar—
Okay Aika. Simple question. Two options. Science brain. Calculate.
Pros of knocking: possible guitar. Cons: explaining myself.
Pros of not knocking: no awkward conversation. Cons: no guitar.
Her fingers curled slightly.
Just as her knuckles were almost at the door —
She stepped back.
Nah.
I am not taking that risk. I'm not even that attached to recalling my previous life hobbies.
Absolute lies. But she turned around anyway.
Two steps back toward the main room.
Then stopped.
But I don't want to go back inside either.
She stood in the corridor considering this problem very seriously.
Then kept walking.
Taking turns.
More turns.
It should have appeared by now—
She looked left.
Unfamiliar wall.
She looked right.
Unfamiliar sign.
She stopped completely.
...Where am I.
She turned. Tried to retrace. Looked for anything familiar.
Nothing.
Okay. Don't panic. You just took a wrong turn. That's all. The room is here. Somewhere. In this building.
Which Ren specifically warned you was big.
He said don't go anywhere else.
I said okay.
A very long pause.
I should have listened.
She took another turn. Confident. Purposeful.
The door did not appear.
She took another turn.
Still nothing familiar.
I'll go back to the staff room door at least. I remember where that is.
She looked left. Right. Straight ahead.
...Where is the staff room door.
I have lost both doors.
She stood completely still in the middle of an empty corridor somewhere inside a very large racing circuit.
Ren's voice echoed helpfully in her memory.
It's kind of big. Don't go anywhere else.
She closed her eyes for exactly one second.
Aika you absolute disaster.
She stood there for what felt like an embarrassingly long time.
Someone inside will know where the main hall is. I just knock, ask one question, done.
She knocked on a door.
Opened it.
And immediately understood this was not what she expected.
Loud. Warm. Chaotic. People moving fast. Trays being lifted. Glasses clinking. A counter running the full length of one wall.
Several heads turned toward her.
Standing in the doorway in her hoodie and cargo pants with absolutely no reason to be there.
Oh.
She didn't move.
She looked at the counter. Everyone behind it was moving. Fast. Not stopping.
I could call Ren.
A pause.
But then he knows I got lost. And I walked out like I had somewhere important to be.
No. Absolutely not. I am finding it myself.
She straightened up.
I'll wait for someone to be free. Just one minute.
She looked at the empty stool at the far end of the counter.
...I'll just sit. Just for a moment.
She walked over and sat down quietly. Like she meant to be there.
Very normal, she told herself. Completely normal person sitting at a counter.
What she didn't notice
One server had glanced up during a brief pause.
And caught her immediately.
The slight tension around her eyes. The way she kept glancing at staff without wanting to be caught. The hands folded just a little too deliberately.
She looked exactly like someone who had wandered somewhere they didn't intend to be and was now trying very hard to pretend otherwise.
He slowly finished wiping the counter and started making his way over.
Aika didn't notice him coming.
She was too busy looking extremely casual.
She was still sitting there when she heard footsteps approaching.
Not the server.
Someone from the nearby group. A man. Walking directly toward her with the confident ease of someone who recognized a familiar face.
Oh no.
"Miss Helena!!"
Too late.
"How have you been!! It has been so long since I have seen you!!"
She smiled. Fake. Perfectly constructed. Completely hollow.
"Hello. Yes it has been a while."
Who are you.
"Oh I'm Peter, Miss Helena. I have done work for you in the past."
Peter. Filing that.
"Of course," she said pleasantly.
And Peter did not stop.
"So what have you been up to currently? I heard you visited the hospital — the food allergy — you should take care of your health Miss Helena—"
She kept smiling.
"—and I also heard you have been visiting a psychiatrist? Is your mental health okay? Well—" he laughed lightly, "—we all knew you looked a little psycho anyway—"
Something shifted in her chest. Small. Sharp.
Her smile stayed exactly where it was.
Peter's friend put a hand on his arm. A quiet urgent pressure.
Peter did not stop.
"—and why have you not been appearing in photos anymore? And I heard you left the company .,,, Miss Helena that is your own family's work, why would you—"
Aika sat very still.
Smile in place. Eyes calm.
Get up, her brain said quietly. Just get up and leave.
Then
"No reporters allowed here."
A figure stepped in between them.
Clean. Calm. Firm.
The server. Standing with the quiet authority of someone who found this very boring.
Peter froze.
His hand stopped mid air.
That specific look of someone caught doing exactly what they were doing.
Aika stared at the server's back.
Then slowly looked at Peter.
Reporter.
REPORTER.
That is why he knew everything. The hospital. The psychiatrist. The company. The allergy.
And I was sitting here nodding along with a fake smile.
I basically gave him a free interview.
She watched Peter be quietly redirected away with his friend.
I really should have worn the dress, she thought distantly.
The server came back.
Stopped in front of her quietly.
"Madam, are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
He nodded once. "Would you like something?"
She looked at the counter. "Whatever you think."
He disappeared briefly.
Came back with a small bowl of crisps and a tall glass clearly non alcoholic — set both down without ceremony.
Then said quietly
"Don't worry about the reporter. You didn't give him anything. You didn't confirm a single thing he said."
She looked at the glass.
Then at him.
I was just sitting there with a fake smile, she thought. I wasn't actually confirming anything.
She picked up a crisp.
...Huh. Maybe I didn't do as badly as I thought.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
And genuinely meant it.
She looked at him for a moment.
"Do you... know me?"
He smiled. Easy. Unbothered.
"Well yes. You were a regular here actually."
Oh. So that's why. The corridors. The wrong turns. The legs that kept moving without permission until they found this specific door.
Helena's muscle memory had brought her here.
She nodded slowly.
"I also know about the amnesia," he said. "I heard through the news. It's okay. You don't need to remember me."
Then he added casually —
"So why are you here today? I know today is the gathering and—" a slight shift in his tone, "—I also heard about the gala. At the orphanage."
She looked up sharply.
"How do you know about that?"
He smiled calmly. "I know because I am going to be serving there." A beat. "I'm the owner here. This is my place."
She blinked.
Owner.
He came over himself and brought crisps and chased away a reporter and he is the owner.
"Please sit," she said. "You must be busy"
"Of course. My pleasure." He pulled out the stool beside her and sat down comfortably.
This is the first genuinely normal human interaction I have had since waking up in this novel, she thought.
I am going to protect it.
"So..." she picked up a crisp. "Do you know what I used to be like? Maybe it will help me recall something."
He smiled. A genuine one. Like the question unlocked something fond.
"Well yes. Most of the time you came here you were not in the best state. And once you got comfortable you just... said everything. Every complaint. Every frustration. Everything.
She stared at him.
Helena came here and talked about everything.
To the owner.
Regularly.
He was genuinely smiling now. Like those memories were good ones.
"We became friends actually," he added simply.
"Oh. Really."
"Yes. You are actually the one who helped me find this place. I was looking for somewhere to open a place of my own,,.and you helped me find this location."
She looked around the warm space quietly. The lights. The counter. The whole place.
Helena helped him find this.
And now he brings her crisps and chases away reporters.
She nodded slowly.
Then he tilted his head.
"So why aren't you there? In the gathering room with everyone else?"
A pause.
Because I got lost, she thought honestly.
"I just needed some air," she said.
He nodded. No further questions.
I like this person, Aika thought simply.
Her eyes drifted to his hand on the counter.
A ring. Simple. Clean.
She smiled before she could stop herself.
He caught it.
"I got married last year," he said warmly.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you." A pause. "You know ,, you even came to the wedding."
She looked up. "Do you have pictures?"
"Yes actually" already reaching for his phone, "let me show you. It might be helpful."
He turned the screen toward her.
And she saw her.
Helena.
Standing in the wedding photo, slightly to the side. Not posing dramatically. Just present. Smiling at something off camera. Relaxed in a way that felt completely different from everything Aika had heard about her.
She stared at the photo.
Oh.
She is...
Even she who WAS Helena, who saw this face in the mirror every morning felt it.
She is really so pretty.
Not in the cold untouchable way people described her. Not the arrogant high society daughter.
Just a girl at a wedding. Genuinely smiling.
Was this you Helena? Aika thought quietly. When nobody was watching?
Then he added
"My wife was so much in love with the dress you wore that day. She had someone take a separate photo of ,,,,,,you didn't even know. You had just come in to give your greetings and the gift and she just" he laughed softly, "she made me save it. Said whenever she finds a dress like that she wants to buy it for herself."
He called his wife quickly. Asked her to send the photo.
It came through.
He turned the screen toward her.
Aika went completely still.
Helena.
Deep wine red corset gown. Floor length. Flowing. Dark hair loose and falling perfectly. Expression soft not cold arrogance. Not untouchable high society daughter.
Just —
Quietly, genuinely beautiful.
She didn't say anything for a few seconds.
Then very quietly
"Wow."
Just that one word.
He laughed warmly. "Yes. That was my wife's exact reaction too."
Helena, she thought softly. Who were you really? Behind all of it — who were you actually?
She looked at him.
"Can I see your wife's photo too?"
His whole face shifted. The warmth doubled.
"Of course." Already scrolling. "I have so many pictures of her actually."
He showed her one by one.
His wife laughing. His wife at a family dinner. His wife and him together him looking at her the way people look at something they still can't believe is theirs.
Aika watched him scroll.
He really loves her, she thought simply. Just ,genuinely, completely.
No calculation. No watching from corners. No hidden agendas.
Just a man showing someone pictures of his wife because he was asked and was happy to.
She smiled. A real one. Not fake. Not constructed.
Just Aika's. Small and genuine.
"She's really beautiful," she said quietly.
"She really is," he agreed. Without hesitation.
Then he showed one more photo.
The after party. Black and white. Everyone dancing, arms in the air.
Aika leaned in.
And froze.
Noel. Ren. Vahn. Dr. Haan. Siara. Cecilia. The mystery girl. Julius. Marcus. Maria.
All of them.
Every single person she had encountered since waking up in this novel.
All in one photo.
All connected. Long before she arrived.
"You weren't there for this part," he said gently. "It was the after party. You left quite early ,, just after the ceremony. You stayed a little while then you were gone."
Helena left early.
She came. She gave her gift. She stayed just long enough. And then she left.
Aika looked at all those faces laughing and dancing.
You knew all of them, she thought quietly. Every single one. And you still left early and went home alone.
Helena... why were you always leaving?
"Do you know why I left early?"
Ken's expression softened.
"Oh yes. You were not feeling well that day. You came with a high fever. We even told you ,..... you don't need to stand, you don't need to stay. But you refused." He smiled at the memory. "You kept saying it's a friend's marriage. My wife is also your friend. So you came. Fever and all. Stayed as long as you could. And when it got too high your driver took you home."
She came sick.
She refused to leave until she had to.
For a friend's wedding.
She nodded slowly.
Then realized
"Oh,,, I never asked your name. I'm sorry."
He smiled.
"It's okay. It is a little sad knowing you forgot completely." A small pause. "But it's alright. I pray you remember soon. It used to be..." he looked at the photo briefly, "...really good times."
Helena had a Ken, Aika thought.
Someone who was just ,. genuinely her friend. No agenda. No finance file. No spy maid. Just a person who listened and invited her to his wedding.
"Thank you Ken," she said quietly. "For telling me."
He nodded warmly. "Anytime Miss Helena. Anytime." "So why weren't you with everyone?" Ken asked, tidying up slightly. "They were having a good time."
"I just needed a moment," she said.
He nodded. Then added
"I was going to join as well. Almost closing time from now we only serve for the social circle." A glance toward the door. "And my wife Melissa will be here soon."
Melissa.
"Maybe when you see her you'll recall something," he said warmly. "She's" he laughed softly, shaking his head, "she is such a crybaby. When she heard about your accident she cried so much she made herself sick. I tried to console her for days."
Aika went very still.
A girl she hadn't met yet Melissa cried herself sick over Helena's accident.
Over this body. This face. This girl everyone called arrogant and cold.
Someone cried for her.
She swallowed quietly.
Helena. You had no idea how many people were actually in your corner did you.
"Finish your drink," Ken said warmly.
She picked it up.
Then looked at him.
"You were calling me your friend just now. And also calling me Madam."
He laughed slightly. "Well since you don't remember us I thought calling you by your name would feel strange. Like a stranger being too familiar."
She set the glass down.
"I don't recall the memories," she said simply. "But I know we were close. Even without remembering the details I know that much."
He looked at her quietly.
"So please. Feel free. Call me Helena."
A beat of silence.
Ken's expression did something soft and warm that he didn't try to hide.
"Helena," he said simply.
Just trying it. Like checking if it still fit.
It did.
He smiled properly this time.
And Aika felt something strange and quiet hearing that name said so simply. Without the weight of high society. Without Darven attached.
Just
Helena.
Is that who you were to these people? Just Helena?
Just a girl with a fever who came to a wedding anyway.
She was picking up the last crisp when Ken started getting up.
Her brain buffered for exactly one second.
He's going to the gathering room. He knows the way. He is about to LEAVE
She finished the drink in one fast sip. Set the glass down.
"Wait" quickly. "Ken."
He turned.
She paused.
How do I say this without sounding like I spent the last however long completely lost.
"I actually..." she cleared her throat slightly. "I don't remember my way back."
A beat.
Ken looked at her.
She looked at the counter.
"To the gathering room," she added. Casually. Like it was a small detail.
Ken's expression stayed completely kind. Not even a hint of amusement.
"Of course," he said simply. "Come. I'll take you."
She got up immediately.
Thank goodness, she thought. Absolutely thank goodness.
Ken offered his hand.
She took it without hesitation.
He started walking, leading her calmly.
"It's quite a big place," he said. "It was probably a coincidence I got to meet you again. I thought you were under strict restriction."
She shook her head. "No it's not like that." A small pause. "I just got... very confused."
He glanced at her.
"All the corridors look the same," she explained. Very reasonably. "Same walls. Same lighting. Same door design. I genuinely could not tell which way I came from."
He nodded seriously like this was completely understandable.
"And that door . it was slightly open. That's why I entered."
Another corridor turn.
"But I think I did a good thing entering actually," she said simply. Nodding to herself.
Ken smiled warmly.
"Yes," he agreed. "Good coincidence."
The door was already open from the other side.
And Ren was right there.
He looked at her. Then at Ken. Then back at her.
"Madam Helena" that specific tone of someone converting worry into mild irritation, "where is the phone I gave you?"
"Oh" she reached into her pocket and pulled it out. "Here"
"For what did I give you that phone?"
"For calls," she said. "So you could call me."
"Well then. One silent."
She opened the phone.
Checked.
...Silent mode.
"I wonder who did that," Ren said calmly. "Because I ended up calling at least seven to eight times."
Seven missed calls. All Ren.
And then the memory surfaced.
Cecilia's name on the screen. Her hand moving instinctively. The small click of the silent button.
Walking away. Forgetting entirely.
Oh no.
She looked up at Ren.
"I can explain," she said.
Can you though, his expression said.
She looked at him.
And just said it.
"It was me. Cecilia's call was coming and I didn't want to pick up someone's personal phone so I put it on silent. Then I was trying to come back. Then I got lost. Then I found Ken. And then I am here."
Silence.
Ren stared at her.
She stared back.
That is the complete and accurate sequence of events. I have nothing further to add.
Ren opened his mouth. Closed it.
Looked at Ken.
Ken gave a very small polite smile.
Ren looked back at Aika.
"You got lost," he said slowly.
"The corridors all look the same," she said immediately. "Same walls. Same doors. Same lighting. It is genuinely a design flaw in this building."
Ken coughed quietly.
Ren pressed his lips together very hard.
"Okay," he said finally. "Next time. Don't put it on silent."
"Noted," she said seriously.
Ken patted her hand once before letting go.
"Good to see you again Ren."
"Ken." Ren nodded. Then looked at Aika one more time.
This girl, his expression said.
Ken was already moving alongside them when —
"Yes please Ren let's go" Ken was walking faster now, a slightly panicked fondness in his step, "Melissa has also arrived. With her bike."
Ren's eyebrows went up. "Oh,, Melissa is joining?"
"Yes. It's been a year she wanted to join. She finally decided this time."
"That's good actually"
"Yes it is very good except" Ken spotted something ahead, "she is going to start nagging me the second she sees me because I didn't wait at the entrance."
Aika walked beside them quietly.
He's rushing because his wife arrived. He's nervous because he didn't wait at the entrance. He's already figuring out what to say.
She looked at Ken's slightly flustered face.
And smiled to herself.
Crybaby Melissa and nervous Ken, she thought warmly. Helena you really had the best people.
And her own worry quietly surfaced alongside.
What am I even supposed to do when they start riding. Okay I know I was interested in velocity and speed but now I am genuinely broke and I want to go home and rest.
She looked at the track ahead.
I am so tired.
I want my bed. I want the pillow mountain.
She sighed quietly.
How do I survive this last part without falling asleep standing up.
Then Melissa arrived.
Aika's exhaustion evaporated. Instantly. Gone.
Because Melissa did not simply walk in.
She arrived.
Helmet off in one smooth motion. Hair falling perfectly like it had been waiting for exactly that moment. Completely unbothered. Completely herself.
Ken was already moving toward her.
Melissa saw him.
And the look she gave him
Not angry. Not even really annoyed.
Just that specific look that said we will be talking about this later with the most elegant expression Aika had ever seen.
Pure diva, Aika thought, forgetting entirely that she was tired. Absolute pure diva energy.
Then Melissa looked up.
Straight at Aika.
And her entire expression shifted.
Warm. Immediate. Like a switch flipped.
Oh
Aika barely had time to process before Melissa was already moving toward her the helmet dropped into Ken's hand without even looking at him, Ken taking it automatically mid sentence, his explanation dying completely as his wife simply walked away.
Two arms wrapped around Aika so tightly she felt her breath leave.
"Oh my sweetie!!"
Melissa's voice was already cracking.
"You were also here oh I missed you so much"
Aika stood completely still for exactly two seconds.
Both arms at her sides. Brain buffering.
A stranger is hugging me, one part thought.
She is not a stranger, another said quietly. She cried herself sick for Helena. She saved Helena's photo because she loved her dress. She came to this circuit tonight on a bike.
She is not a stranger at all.
Aika's arms came up slowly.
And she hugged back.
Properly.
And didn't say anything.
Because she didn't need to.
She patted Melissa's back slowly. Gently. Rhythmically.
The sobbing softened gradually.
Then Ken appeared beside them.
"Melissa please" carefully, "let Helena breathe. You're hugging a little tight"
Melissa pulled back just enough to look at her husband.
"I cannot," she said, with complete dignity, "even hug my bestie?"
Ken blinked.
"I need permission honey?" she continued. Perfectly calm. Perfectly devastating. "Is that what you are telling me right now?"
Ken opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Looked at the helmet in his hands.
"...No," he said carefully.
"Good." Melissa turned back to Aika immediately. Still sniffling slightly. "Don't listen to him."
Aika looked at Ken over Melissa's shoulder.
Ken looked back with the expression of a man who had learned when to stop talking.
Aika pressed her lips together very hard.
Do not laugh.
Do not laugh right now.
Then Melissa's hands moved to her arms. Held her by the shoulders. Looked her up and down with the focused intensity of a full damage assessment.
"Helena you became so thin !!"
Aika opened her mouth.
"Haven't they been giving you food?? Are you eating properly??"
She tried again.
"Do you recall me?? It's me look at me properly"
"I"
"Are you hurt somewhere?? Does anything hurt??"
"Melissa I"
"And your stomach after the allergy how is it?? Are you being careful?? How could that DUMB forget your allergy"
"Melissa"
"because I told everyone MULTIPLE times about the seafood"
"Melissa"
"you could have been seriously hurt and I wasn't even THERE"
"MELISSA."
Silence.
Melissa blinked.
Aika stood there. Held by both arms. Lungs finally receiving oxygen.
I did not get to say a single complete word, she thought distantly.
Not one.
"I am well. Okay. And fine."
Melissa stared at her. Still unconvinced.
Aika's brain calculated rapidly.
She needs proof. Words are not enough. I need to demonstrate.
She gently stepped back from Melissa's grip.
Stood up straight.
And did a full slow twirl.
Complete 360 degrees. Arms slightly out. Landing back facing Melissa with a look that said ,.
See. Fine. All parts present and functioning. Evidence submitted.
Melissa stared at her.
Ken stared at her.
A beat of complete silence.
Then Melissa's face crumpled.
Not into crying.
Into laughter.
Proper laughter. Surprised and genuine and completely helpless.
"HELENA" she wheezed.
Ken pressed his entire fist against his mouth.
Aika stood there very seriously.
I don't see what's funny. That was a perfectly reasonable proof of wellness.
Melissa's laughter settled into something warm and fond.
She linked her arm through Aika's firmly.
"Come," she said. "Let's go find a bench. Let's talk. I have so many things to tell you to help you recall. We are going to sit and I am going to talk and you are going to listen"
Aika let herself be steered.
"and I don't care," Melissa added very firmly, "if you recall anyone else."
A pause.
"You need to recall ME."
"Just you?" Aika asked.
"Just me first," Melissa confirmed without hesitation. "Ken can wait. Everyone can wait. Me first."
From behind them Ken called "I can HEAR you Melissa"
"Good!!" she called back cheerfully without turning.
Aika looked at their linked arms.
And felt something settle in her chest so quietly and warmly she almost missed it.
Found you, she thought simply.
Helena's bestie. Found.
They both turned.
And stopped.
Everyone was there.
Not scattered. Just,,, grouped. Watching.
Ren. Noel. Vahn. Dr. Haan. The mystery girl. Julian. Ken who had followed at a safe distance.
All of them.
Just looking at the two of them.
Like it was a show.
A very entertaining show their collective expressions said.
Melissa looked at the group.
The group looked back.
Aika looked at the floor briefly.
Of course, she thought. Of course nobody went to the track. Of course everyone was just standing here watching me get inspected and twirl as proof of wellness.
Melissa squared her shoulders with complete dignity.
"Can we help you all?" she asked pleasantly.
Nobody answered.
Ren smiled.
Noel looked away first.
Vahn looked at the ceiling.
Zero privacy in this novel, Aika thought flatly.
Noel's voice cut through.
"Melissa. Let's have a race first. Everyone is waiting. Only for you."
Melissa opened her mouth.
Ren jumped in immediately.
"Yes Messy please" the nickname slipping out naturally, "it's getting late. Grandfather is going to call any time"
"You literally just got here"
"Messy."
"I haven't seen Helena in"
"Messy."
She turned to Ken.
Ken held up both hands peacefully.
"You can see Helena is all fine," he said carefully. "All working." A small pause. "You saw the twirl."
Aika looked at the ground.
He said the twirl.
"You can talk to her anytime," Ken continued gently. "But the race"
Melissa looked at Aika.
Aika looked back.
Don't put this on me, Aika thought. Please.
Melissa pointed at her.
"We are continuing this conversation after the race," she said firmly. "You are not moving."
"Okay," Aika said immediately.
Melissa looked at the group.
"Fine," she said. "Race."
Then Melissa's eyes lit up again.
"Wait" she turned to Aika, "why don't you sit behind ME Heena!! Come!! I'll show you how best I am on this track!!"
Before Aika could even respond
"No." Ren stepped forward. "She's sitting behind me."
Melissa turned to him. "Excuse me,,,,.
"I brought her here"
"I am her BESTIE"
"That doesn't mean"
"It means EVERYTHING Ren"
They were fully arguing now. Both talking at the same time. Neither listening.
Aika stood between them looking at Ken.
Ken looked back with the expression of someone who had witnessed this exact energy many times before.
Then
"She is with me."
One voice. Quiet. Flat.
Noel.
Both Melissa and Ren stopped.
Turned.
Noel looked at Ren specifically.
"Grandfather's orders," he said simply. "Have you forgotten?"
Silence.
Ren closed his mouth.
Melissa looked at Noel.
Then at Aika.
Then back at Noel.
"...Fine," she said. With great suffering.
Melissa looked at Ren.
Ren looked at Melissa.
One second of silent agreement passed between them.
Then simultaneously
"Hmph."
Both of them. At Noel. At the exact same time.
Noel's expression didn't change even slightly.
Melissa linked her arm through Ren's and they walked toward the track together with the unified energy of two people who had just formed a very serious alliance.
"Together," Melissa announced, "we will show how bad he is at riding."
"Agreed," Ren said immediately.
"He thinks he's so good"
"He always thinks that"
"Today we show him"
"Today we show him."
Their voices faded ahead.
Aika stood next to Noel watching them go.
Then looked up at him.
Noel was watching them with the expression of someone who had heard this threat approximately forty seven times before and was not concerned.
"They do this every time?" she asked.
"Every time," he confirmed flatly.
A pause.
"Do they ever actually beat you?"
Noel looked at her.
Then looked back at the track.
"No."
One by one everyone lined up.
Engines humming. Helmets on. The whole track alive with electric energy.
Noel stood near his bike.
Aika looked at it.
Then back at Noel.
"Actually" she said.
He looked at her.
"Can I go with Melissa?"
A beat.
Noel looked at Melissa already lined up on her bike ahead. Then back at Aika.
Grandfather's order was that she goes with Noel. Not specifically on his bike.
He considered this for approximately two seconds.
"Go," he said flatly.
She was already walking.
Melissa saw her coming and flipped her visor up immediately.
"HEENA!!" The delight was immediate and unfiltered.
"Move forward," Aika said, already swinging her leg over. "I'm sitting behind you."
Melissa made a sound that could only be described as pure victory.
Both hands grabbed the sides of Melissa's jacket. Firmly. From both sides.
Melissa revved once.
Just once.
The sound of it
Oh, Aika thought.
Her grip loosened slightly. Not from fear. From something else entirely.
Look at her.
Melissa sitting on that bike like she owned it. Like the track was made for her. Completely focused. Completely herself.
And ahead of them Ren and Noel lined up. The alliance on one side and the quiet opponent on the other.
Aika looked at the whole scene.
The track. The lights. The cold night air. The people she had met over the strangest few days of her entire existence.
And for the first time
Since opening her eyes in a hospital bed in a body that wasn't hers
Since realizing she was trapped inside someone else's story
Since losing everything familiar and waking up in the middle of someone else's life
Aika felt it.
Small. Quiet. Warm.
Happy.
I am actually happy right now.
She tightened her grip on Melissa's jacket.
Thank you, she thought softly. For existing in this novel.
Even if just for tonight.
The countdown began.
And Melissa flew.