"Are you going to sleep through this phase of the celebration?"
The voice came from outside the room, cutting cleanly through sleep.
Not gently either. The kind of interruption that feels personal because the sleep had been too good—heavy enough that waking felt less like opening your eyes and more like being dragged upward through water.
"Ughh…"
Noi made the sound somewhere beside me.
I shifted beneath the blanket, one arm still trapped awkwardly underneath me. My head pulsed faintly behind the eyes, slow and dull. The room had darkened while we slept. The warm gold from earlier was gone now, replaced by softer reds bleeding in through the lantern light outside.
For a second, I genuinely considered ignoring the world entirely.
"Wake us up," Noi muttered toward the door, voice thick with sleep. "She said and…"
Yoru sighed from outside.
Not loudly.
Just enough to express disappointment without wasting effort on it.
I pushed myself upright.
The motion came slower than intended. Blood rushed strangely for a second, leaving me lightheaded enough that I had to stop halfway through sitting up.
"Noi, we have to—"
I paused.
She was already upright, rubbing at one eye while the other hand searched blindly across the mattress for balance.
"What time is it?" she asked.
We both looked toward the balcony.
The sun hung low near the horizon now, caught at the edge of the world. The room carried its color with it—deep amber layered with red from the lanterns outside. Long shadows stretched across the floorboards.
"We might have overslept," Noi said.
There was no panic in her voice.
Just reluctant acceptance.
"It was a needed nap," I replied.
And it was.
The exhaustion hadn't vanished, but it had settled into something manageable instead of dangerous.
Barely.
Noi stood and stretched once before walking toward the door.
The moment she opened it, she froze.
"You guys are already dressed?"
There was genuine offense in her voice.
Yoru stood outside in dark formal clothing, cleaner than before but still restrained in the way only he could manage. Bao beside him looked nearly identical to usual, save for the red tie cutting through the otherwise severe image of a man permanently halfway through office work.
"Five minutes," Noi declared.
Then she shut the door.
Everything immediately became movement.
—
The bathwater was cooler this time.
Not cold—just no longer carrying the sleepy warmth from earlier. I splashed water across my face while Noi moved through the room with alarming efficiency for someone who had looked half-dead moments ago.
Honestly, it was unsettling.
"I didn't pack any clothing," I said while drying off, "or anything red for that matter."
"That's fine," Noi answered immediately.
Drawers opened behind me.
"I gave Abigael money earlier to rent something for us."
I glanced back.
"You planned ahead?"
"That surprises you?"
Fair.
We stepped back into the room.
"There you are!"
Abigael approached before we fully crossed the doorway. Folded fabric rested carefully in her arms, her smile bright enough to ignore the hour entirely.
"Miss Concord, I got the dresses."
Her cat ears flicked lightly as she stopped in front of us, the motion small but impossible not to notice. One twitched again as she adjusted her grip.
I tried not to stare.
Failed, probably.
"Ah, thank you dear," Noi said warmly.
She immediately pressed extra money into Abigael's hands.
The girl tried to refuse.
Noi ignored the attempt completely.
"No really, Miss Concord, this is already—"
"Take it."
The smile on Noi's face never changed.
Which somehow made arguing with her impossible.
Abigael finally relented with a small laugh, bowing slightly before stepping back.
"Enjoy the festival."
Then she disappeared down the corridor, red sleeves trailing briefly behind her before vanishing around the corner.
Noi shut the door behind her.
"Alright," she said, turning toward me. "Let's get dressed."
She handed me the outfit.
The fabric felt heavier than expected.
Not thick. Just properly layered.
The dress came in two parts, both carrying the same deep shade of red. Not bright crimson anymore—darker than that. Richer. A reddish-brown so deep it nearly crossed into black where the folds caught shadow.
Silver and gold accents traced the edges.
Subtle.
Measured.
Expensive-looking.
I adjusted the sleeves slowly, unfamiliar with the fit.
"It's almost like…"
I trailed off.
Noi stepped behind me, gathering my hair with practiced fingers.
"Blood?" she finished.
Hairpins slid into place one by one, cool against my scalp. Gold flashed faintly in the mirror as she secured the bun.
I nodded once.
The comparison fit too well.
A part of me didn't like that it fit at all.
"What clothing is this?" I asked, adjusting the collar until it sat comfortably.
"Ao dai," she replied.
She stepped back after fixing her own outfit.
"Do you like it?"
I looked at her properly then.
And paused.
The change wasn't dramatic.
Not really.
But something about the dress shifted her presence entirely. The sharp corporate beauty she usually carried had softened into something older. More elegant.
Dangerous in a quieter way.
The red suited her too well.
"Yes," I admitted.
And meant it.
Something in her expression eased after that.
Just slightly.
—
The streets had transformed.
Not changed.
Transformed.
Lanterns glowed overhead now, washing the town in red light until the entire place seemed submerged in color. Stalls lined the roads in uneven rows, fabric draped between them like flowing ribbons.
Music threaded continuously through the streets.
Strings. Drums. Flutes somewhere deeper in the crowd.
And flowers.
Everywhere.
Red petals drifted through the air with the wind, collecting in corners, sticking briefly to shoes before movement swept them away again.
The whole place felt unreal.
Like the town had decided to become a story on purpose.
"What's with the flowers?" I asked, catching one against my sleeve before it slipped free.
Different shades.
Some bright scarlet. Others dark enough to resemble wine.
"It's for atmosphere and substance," Yoru answered.
He walked beside Bao, both of them looking painfully underdressed compared to everyone around them. Their suits remained mostly untouched except for the addition of red ties, which apparently satisfied some minimum requirement in their minds.
"You could dress up more," Noi said, poking Yoru lightly in the back.
He ignored her completely.
Which only widened her grin.
Definitely used to this.
"Are those two dating?" I asked quietly.
Bao handed me a glass of lemonade before answering.
"I don't know," he said calmly. "But there's a possibility."
He took another bite from whatever he had bought from a nearby stall without changing expression.
The image settled into my head immediately.
Noi endlessly bothering Yoru while he tolerated it with increasing spiritual exhaustion.
Honestly?
Possible.
Petals drifted everywhere now.
Caught in hair. On shoulders. Against shoes.
The whole street looked painted red by movement alone.
"Hmm," I murmured, watching couples weave through the crowd. "Is romance in the Concord that common?"
We had paused near the side of the street where the crowd thinned enough to breathe properly. Children rushed past in bursts of noise while older groups moved more slowly beneath the lantern glow.
Bao took a sip of his drink.
"Oh, it's very common."
"Really?"
"It's less troublesome."
That only confused me more.
"That's how I met my fiancée," he added casually.
My thoughts stalled.
"You're married?"
The surprise nearly made me spill my drink.
"Engaged," he corrected immediately.
Another calm sip followed.
"Have I seen her?" I asked, suddenly far more interested.
"No."
He shook his head once.
"She's in Research and Development."
I tried mentally sorting through everyone I had met since joining Concord.
Security.
Clerical staff.
More security.
That was basically it.
"I don't think I've met anyone from there."
"You probably haven't."
A faint smile appeared briefly on his face.
A real one this time.
Small.
Unprotected.
"How did you meet?"
"We were assigned the same dormitory during intake."
The smile lingered afterward, quieter now.
Something about it reminded me painfully of Amihan and Tatsu.
The memory surfaced without warning.
How are they?
The thought hit harder than expected.
I kept it to myself.
"Wait," I said suddenly, remembering something earlier. "Why did you say it's easier?"
Bao looked toward the crowd instead of at me.
"If a background check isn't done properly," he said evenly, "an employee might marry someone who sees them as something else."
The sentence settled heavily between us.
Not dramatic.
Not exaggerated.
Just real enough to matter.
I understood immediately.
Or enough of it.
That kind of mistake didn't stay small for long.
"But it's not common," he added after a moment. "You don't need to worry. Just… take note."
"Hmm."
The festival flowed endlessly around us.
A sea of red moving in every direction.
I looked up.
The sun was gone now.
Completely.
Only the moon remained.
Redder than before.
The orange had nearly vanished, swallowed beneath layers of deepening crimson until the entire thing hovered somewhere between beautiful and threatening.
Too red.
Maybe it was because everything still felt unfamiliar.
Maybe exhaustion had worn something thin inside me.
Or maybe the world really had changed a little tonight.
But the scene felt breathtaking in a way that almost hurt.
Every lantern.
Every drifting flower petal.
Every passing sleeve of red.
The entire town had become scarlet.