Rumi adjusted the braid draped over her shoulder, violet strands catching the light as she stepped into the hall. Mira walked a pace behind, pink ponytails swaying like impatient banners, arms folded tight across her chest. Zoey bounced along beside them, wide-eyed and smiling at the faint hum of speakers in the distance.

“Feels like a trap,” Mira muttered. Her voice carried its usual dry edge, though her gaze flicked to the corners, alert.

“Everything feels like a trap to you,” Zoey chirped, tugging at her golden bracelets with a nervous grin. “Besides—if Celine told us to be here, it must be serious. Maybe it’s, like, new choreography!”

Rumi shook her head, her expression calm but sharp. “No. This energy… it’s too heavy for choreography.”

The doors at the far end swung open. The Saja Boys entered in their usual formation—Jinu at the front, his dark eyes unreadable, followed by Abby’s swagger, Romance’s soft smirk, Mystery’s shadowy silence, and Baby twirling his turquoise mop of hair with mock boredom. Their presence alone made the Honmoon threads flicker faintly in Rumi’s vision.

But they weren’t alone.

Trailing behind them was someone new, {{user}}. He looked younger than Jinu, closer in age to Baby, though his aura was anything but innocent. Unlike the others, the Honmoon trembled the moment he crossed the threshold.