We landed back in the Philippines at dawn on Monday, though we'd slept through most of the flight.
When we stepped out of the airport, a sleek black car was already waiting near the entrance.
The world was still dark. It was barely three in the morning.
The window rolled down slowly, revealing Carthanalenia and Egrathiel seated in the front.
"Let's go home. Mom. Dad," she smiled.
The drive back was brief. Ten minutes at most.
By the time we stepped inside the house, Anathasia was leaning heavily against me. She was the type to sleep on schedule no matter what, so being awake at this hour clearly wasn't ideal for her.
Once inside, the last thing I remembered before collapsing onto the couch was…
Anathasia pressing against me.
—
By morning, before I even opened my eyes, I felt something warm and heavy resting against my chest.
Slowly, I blinked awake.
Anathasia was sprawled on top of me, her head tucked against my chest, her soft breaths brushing faintly against my face.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, gradually filling the living room with a muted glow.
Somewhere in the kitchen, something crackled and sizzled. Probably Carthanalenia. Or Egrathiel.
My gaze drifted back down to the girl sleeping on me. Without thinking, I began running my fingers gently through her white hair.
When I shifted slightly, she stirred.
A faint mumble escaped her as her eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first before settling on mine.
She rubbed one eye lazily, glanced around the room, then looked back at me and yawned.
"Good morning…"
"Yeah." I gently patted her head. "Good morning."
Slowly, she lifted herself off my chest and sat upright on the couch as I pushed myself up as well.
We both yawned again, then stared into nothingness for a solid minute.
Once we were fully awake, our eyes met at the same time.
"So," she started. "What are we going to do about that thing from yesterday?"
"I'm not sure…" I leaned back against the couch, folding my arms and closing my eyes. "Still trying to process it."
"Who posted that photo in the first place?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
I opened one eye and glanced at her.
"I mean… I did. I just didn't think people would interpret it like that."
A sigh escaped me.
"Breaking up over someone else's photo is just—"
"Stupid?" she supplied.
"Definitely." I opened both eyes and stared at the ceiling. "I'm honestly more surprised someone had the time to overanalyze my account in the first place."
"Relationship standards these days are beyond absurd," I continued, sighing once more.
"Our trip was funded by a billionaire family… and it was a vacation, not a date,"
I looked back at her.
"What sane person who knows their financial position would… go to Japan for a "date" anyway? It's absurd no matter how you try thinking about it rationally,"
Anathasia also folded her arms, leaning back on the couch as well.
"Big words. Rationally." She chuckled softly. "But you're right. It doesn't make any logical sense no matter how you look at it."
We fell silent again, staring into nothing.
About a minute later, a calm voice interrupted us.
"Miss Anathasia. Mr. Kyle. It is time for breakfast. Miss Carthanalenia is requesting your presence."
Our train of thought immediately dissolved.
We exchanged a glance before getting up from the couch.
After a quick breakfast, Anathasia and I headed to campus, leaving Carthanalenia and Egrathiel at home.
It didn't take long before we were standing in front of the campus gates.
"Let's just pretend we didn't do anything," I muttered under my breath as we stepped inside.
Anathasia nodded quietly.
We walked through the quad as usual.
Though… that didn't really last long.
"Abe, did you and Dunaleff really go to Japan on Valentine's?" someone called out before we even reached the classroom.
"I saw a tall woman pick you up. Was that your mom?" another added.
"That white-haired girl in the picture, was she Dunaleff's sister?"
The questions started stacking on top of each other.
And we hadn't even entered the room yet.
Thankfully—
"That's enough. Don't we have another event to prepare for in the next few days?"
Arianne stepped in, arms folded.
The rest of the class fell quiet. Aside from the ones interrogating us, everyone else was already hunched over their notes. Some were cutting decorations for the upcoming Foundation Day event our education program had been assigned to handle.
"Yeah," Robert chimed in.
My gaze drifted toward the front row, where he was cutting stacks of letters from construction paper.
"We only have three days to prepare. It'd help if everyone focused on their own assignments."
He shot me a quick glance and subtly gave a thumbs up before returning to his work.
At that, the crowd reluctantly dispersed and went back to their tasks.
Arianne looked at us apologetically, offering a small, strained smile.
"Sorry about that. Everyone's just… surprised about the photo you posted yesterday."
She paused.
"Especially since you usually keep your private life to yourself."
A sigh escaped her as she glanced away.
"But that's still no excuse to disrespect someone's privacy."
A brief silence followed before she looked at us again.
"With that said, Professor Wang asked for you and Dunaleff to come to his office once you arrived."
"I'm not sure why," she added, lowering her voice slightly, "but I think he wants to make you two the event coordinators for Foundation Day."
I froze.
"Hold on. Professor said that?"
She nodded.
"Mhm. He told us to send you to his office for the details."
For a moment, I glanced back at Anathasia.
We exchanged looks.
She shrugged.
With a quiet sigh, I turned back to Arianne.
"Alright. Thanks for the heads-up."
With a nod, we split up. Anathasia and I headed toward Professor Wang's office while Arianne returned to managing the rest of the class.
On the way, we passed Noah carrying a box filled with papers. He shot us a casual smile as we crossed paths, and we continued on.
Just a few steps away from the office, Anathasia suddenly spoke.
"Kylie—"
"Please don't butcher my name."
"Right." She tilted her head slightly. "But what exactly did you do that suddenly made that—" she paused, "—stuck-up… I mean, Professor Wang think making us coordinators was a good idea?"
I stopped in front of his office door, staring blankly ahead.
"I don't know…" I lifted my gaze until our eyes met. "I just told him you were more capable than you let on after our research defense a few weeks ago."
She rubbed her temple with a quiet sigh.
Then she froze.
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at me.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She stayed silent for a moment, rubbing her chin as if connecting pieces in her head. A few seconds later, she spoke.
"I think Professor Wang…" she trailed off, her expression shifting. "might be testing us."
"And I think you catching his attention is part of it."
I didn't interrupt.
"The man definitely knows you're holding back," she continued. "And I'm even more certain he knows putting us on the same task would make everything finish faster."
"So…" I murmured, "we kind of brought this on ourselves?"
Before I could finish—
The office door suddenly opened behind me.
"Ah, there you are," a familiar voice said calmly.
Anathasia forced a polite smile at whoever stood behind me before grabbing my shoulders and turning me around.
—
"Do you think you two are up for the job?"
Professor Wang sat behind his desk while we took the seats in front of him.
Silence settled over the room.
It was the kind that stretched just long enough to feel deliberate.
[Should we? It sounds troublesome…] Anathasia's voice echoed through the telepathic link.
[I mean…] I glanced at Professor Wang, who was still smiling calmly at us.
"You'll also receive additional points for participating," he added.
"We'll take it," Anathasia replied immediately.
And just like that, we became the coordinators for Foundation Day.