Arven suddenly remembered something. "By the way," he said while glancing around the ballroom, "where's the host? I haven't seen Garin since earlier."
Lira immediately rolled her eyes lazily, as if she was already tired of hearing that question. "As usual," she replied flatly. "That girl is busy taking pictures with her fiancé somewhere around here."
"Oh." Arven nodded slightly.
A waiter happened to pass near them, so Arven casually took a glass of drink from the tray without much thought, then sipped it slowly. "Being arranged into a marriage by your parents must feel really troublesome, huh. Good thing my family isn't the type to force things like that."
Lira scoffed softly, the corner of her lips curling into a cynical smile. "Don't speak too soon, Arven. Sometimes life changes suddenly without permission."
"If something that ridiculous ever happened to me, I'd run away from home that very night."
"You sound extremely irresponsible."
"Of course, because I have no intention of taking responsibility for forced love."
Lira had just opened her mouth, about to respond to him, when both of their attention was suddenly drawn toward the entrance of the main ballroom.
At that exact moment, both of them fell silent.
The atmosphere around the massive doorway seemed to slow down for several seconds.
Sia stood there.
The dark blue long dress wrapped around her body looked absolutely breathtaking, like the expanse of a night sky filled with clusters of stars.
The fabric shimmered softly whenever it caught the chandelier light, while the delicate golden thread embroidery spreading across its surface resembled living constellations.
The skirt flowed elegantly with layers of fine transparent fabric, moving along with her small hesitant steps. The tiny star ornaments hanging from the ribbons on her shoulders reflected faint light as well, making Sia look so radiant.
Her not-too-long hair was styled in soft waves, falling beautifully over her shoulders. A few thin strands framed her rather pale face, making her eyes appear far more alive tonight.
In her hands, she held an elegant gift paper bag with a small ribbon accent on the handle.
However, in complete contrast to her stunning appearance, Sia's expression looked extremely stiff.
Her eyes moved nervously, looking around the grand ballroom filled with unfamiliar people dressed luxuriously, carrying intimidating upper-class auras.
The moment several pairs of eyes near the entrance turned toward her presence, Sia's body instantly tensed.
Her mind was suddenly attacked by countless terrible assumptions crashing into her one after another.
They're definitely judging me... They're definitely mocking me in their heads... They know I'm strange, and they're probably wondering why someone like me could even be in a place this luxurious...
Cold sweat began covering her palms.
Even so, Sia still forced her legs to keep moving forward, trying to maintain the last remnants of confidence that were already on the verge of collapsing completely inside her chest.
Right when she felt like turning around and running away, her eyes caught sight of two very familiar figures in the distance.
Arven and Lira.
Seeing Sia looking lost, Arven immediately raised his hand and waved at her gently, signaling for the girl to come closer to them.
Sia hesitated for several seconds, gripping the handle of the paper bag in her hands more tightly before finally walking quickly toward her two friends.
The moment Sia arrived in front of them, Lira immediately locked her gaze onto her, observing Sia's appearance from head to toe. For a brief moment, the ice-cold girl seemed stunned, at a loss for words.
"…Wow," Lira murmured softly, almost inaudibly.
That unexpected compliment only made Sia tense up again awkwardly.
Lira narrowed her eyes slightly, then spoke in a serious tone she rarely showed to others. "You look very beautiful, Sia. That dress really suits you."
Sia's eyes widened as she stared at Lira in disbelief.
Arven nodded in agreement, a warm smile clearly forming on his handsome face. "Honestly," Arven said casually, "if I were the type of guy who whistles at pretty girls, I probably would've done it the moment you walked through the entrance earlier."
Hearing Arven's words, Sia immediately lowered her head deeply. Her face felt intensely hot within seconds, the redness even spreading to the tips of her ears.
Instead of feeling proud or happy, the nonstop compliments only made her awkwardness and inferiority grow stronger. Her fingers tightly gripped the handle of the paper bag in her lap until the paper became slightly crumpled.
"D-Don't joke around…" Sia whispered quietly, her voice trembling nervously because she thought her friends were only trying to comfort her so she wouldn't feel insecure. "I… I don't really look weird, right?"
Lira immediately caught the clear anxiety from the change in Sia's expression. Understanding what was swirling inside the girl's head, Lira let out a short breath. She stepped one step closer, then gently placed her hand on Sia's trembling shoulder.
"Don't feel uncomfortable because of the people staring here," Lira said in an incredibly calm and soothing voice. "We're here. You're not alone."
That simple sentence instantly stopped the panic inside Sia's head.
She slowly looked up, staring into Lira's sharp eyes that now felt so protective. It also made the tightness that had been suffocating her chest slowly begin to ease.
"…Yeah," Sia answered softly, and a very faint sincere smile finally appeared on her lips.
A few moments later, after her heartbeat slowly returned to normal, Sia remembered something. She slightly raised the paper bag she had been hugging all this time. "By the way…" she said half-whispering, "where do I put the gift?"
Arven directed his gaze, then pointed toward a long table located at the side of the ballroom, where piles of luxurious gifts wrapped in expensive paper had already formed a mountain. "Over there."
However, after seeing the way Sia glanced at the huge table with a horrified look as if walking there alone was some kind of death mission, Arven immediately smiled softly.
"I'll go with you," Arven added gently, trying to be considerate of his friend's condition. "Rather than letting you get even more stressed and lost alone in the middle of the crowd."
"Really?" Sia asked quietly, as if wanting to make sure once again that Arven wasn't just trying to comfort her or being polite.
Arven gave a light nod, and a faint smile appeared on his face again. "Of course."
Sia glanced around the ballroom once more. The crowd, the cheerful laughter, and the dazzling glow of the crystal chandeliers still overwhelmed her slightly.
But after hesitating for several seconds, she finally nodded slowly, surrendering to her anxiety. "…Alright."
Arven then began walking ahead first, leading her through the crowd toward the large gift table at the side of the ballroom. Meanwhile, Sia followed behind him with extremely careful steps.
Her fingers tightly gripped the handle of the paper bag against her chest, treating it like the last support keeping the remainder of her composure intact.
The closer they got to the gift table, the busier the atmosphere around them became. Several upper-class guests looked busy chatting, while others were occupied taking photos or laughing softly while enjoying glasses of champagne.
And finally, they arrived in front of the table.
Sia hurriedly placed her paper bag among the piles of other luxurious gifts. Large boxes wrapped with expensive silk ribbons filled the long table, stacked so high that they resembled a display inside an exclusive boutique.
However, right when Sia was about to turn around to face Arven, her eyes accidentally caught sight of a very familiar figure in the distance.
At that exact moment, Sia's entire body froze.
It was Garin.
The girl stood gracefully right beneath the spotlight of the grand chandelier. She wore a shimmering bright blue dress resembling the surface of the sea reflecting blazing sunlight.
The skirt of her dress spread out magnificently with delicate glitter details covering nearly the entire fabric, making her look dazzling every time she moved even slightly.
The upper part of the dress was decorated with rows of crystal ornaments forming elegant patterns around her neck and shoulders, while strands of tiny pearls hung softly from the sides of her smooth arms.
Garin's hair was styled half-up, allowing her beautiful waves to fall gracefully down her back. A small crown-shaped accessory decorated with blue crystals rested atop her head, making Garin truly look like a princess tonight.
However, it was not that luxury that made Sia freeze like a stone statue.
It was the male figure standing right beside Garin.
Liam.
Sia's eyes widened completely.
Liam stood calmly at Garin's side while one of his hands rested casually around the girl's waist. The formal black suit fitted perfectly on his tall body, making the boy's cold aura appear even more mature and elegant tonight.
In front of them, a professional photographer busily took picture after picture. "Good! A little closer! Yes, hold that pose!" The shout was followed by the sounds of
click,
click,
click
from the high-speed camera shutter.
Right behind the photographer, two middle-aged women stood watching the photoshoot with enthusiastic expressions.
Those elegant faces were filled with obvious satisfaction and happiness as they watched the pair of teenagers standing side by side. As if they were witnessing a beautiful scene they had long been waiting to happen.
Meanwhile, Garin… the girl smiled brightly toward the camera. It was a cheerful smile that looked genuinely sincere, without any burden.
That sight made Sia's mind suddenly go blank and chaotic at the same time.
"…What…?" Sia whispered quietly to herself.
Her mind was instantly flooded by countless questions attacking mercilessly one after another.
Why is Liam here? Why do the two of them look so close? And… why does Garin look so happy beside him?
Sia did not realize that she had stood frozen there for far too long, ignoring all the noisy sounds of the party around her.
Until finally, Arven, who noticed something strange, began following the direction of her gaze.
And Arven saw the same sight.
For a brief split second, the look in his eyes changed drastically.
However, the change disappeared too quickly, buried once more beneath his calm mask.
Arven immediately stepped forward, gently yet firmly grabbing Sia's wrist. "Enough," he said in an extremely soft voice.
Sia flinched slightly, snapping out of her terrible thoughts.
Arven slowly redirected the girl's attention, forcing her to turn her face away from Garin and Liam. "Let's go back to Lira," his voice still sounded calm.
Without waiting for Sia's agreement or answer, Arven immediately strode away while still tightly holding Sia's wrist, leading her farther from the gift table area.
Sia stumbled along for several steps in surprise before regaining full awareness. "Arven…?"
There was no answer from the boy in front of her.
"Arven, let go first," Sia called again, trying to match Arven's quick pace.
The boy kept walking forward with an expression far too calm, as though nothing extraordinary had just happened before them.
Yet it was precisely that expressionless calmness that felt extremely strange to Sia.
Sia tried observing the side profile of Arven's face more clearly beneath the dim party lights.
But the more she stared at the calmness Arven showed, the clearer it became to Sia that the boy was actually trying to hide something.