INT – PLANE
The flight wasn't shaky—hallelujah. And thank the stars Miss Murasaki didn't micromanage the seating, probably because the school literally rented the WHOLE plane.
"This is unfair…" I whispered dramatically, clutching my chest like a wounded heroine.
Oriel looked at me over the phone screen, our headphones connected like a friendship umbilical cord.
I pouted harder, staring at the scene on the screen.
Three characters.
Cold, ruthless male lead: the Student Council President.
Genius, beautiful female lead: the Vice President.
And the adorable side character.
Lights off.
Plane silent.
Everyone asleep.
…except us.
Because there is NO WAY I'm risking spoilers for this new romance anime. Never. Not in this lifetime.
Oriel stayed awake with me, curious and also probably entertained by my suffering. Dhylan, on her other side, was passed out like a tranquilized gorilla.
My window shade was down. My mood was down. My heart was down.
"Do I need to become the SSC Vice President to pull a guy like that?" I sighed. "They're so cute!"
I hit play. Oriel leaned in, eyes glued now too.
"This guy is soooo in denial," I hissed. "He likes her so much he's allergic to the truth."
And of course… my brain immediately pasted Ice's face onto the male lead.
Cool, ruthless, limited patience?
Check.
Check.
Check.
"Maybe I should be like her, no?" I nudged Oriel, pointing at the genius female lead with the IQ of the sun.
Oriel paused the show. Slowly turned toward me. Smiled too gently. Too softly. Too suspiciously.
"What?" I asked.
"Well…" She pointed at the screen. "You're… kinda more like this one."
I followed her finger.
To the side character.
My soul left my body.
Straight up evaporated.
Gone. Returned to title screen.
She's not bad, she's cute too but I wanted to be the female lead ofcourse, this is why I watch romance anime, not to be the background.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND!" I gasped, snatching the phone like she'd insulted my ancestors. The blanket we were sharing slid off, but who cares, my pride was dying.
"This?!" I pointed at the bright, bubbly girl bouncing across the screen. "The one who jumps around and faceplants into the ground?!"
NO.
NOOOOOOOO.
SHE'S NOT EVEN THE MAIN LEAD.
"This one?!" I pointed again. "The one who smiles and doesn't get anything?!"
Oriel lifted both hands in surrender.
"I mean… she brings sunshine," she explained, smiling sheepishly.
"Yeah—and disaster!"
My voice jumped. Too loud.
And that's when the universe punched me.
"Ashfault. Keep your voice down."
Ice's voice.
Ice's voice.
ICE'S. VOICE.
It echoed like the ultimate dramatic twist in the anime.
It was literally the same line the male lead always tells the side character.
Always.
Every. Freaking. Episode.
I froze.
Completely stunned.
Like a kid being told to sleep past bedtime.
I scrambled for the blanket, clutching it to my chest like a shield. My soul curled into a ball, sulking in the corner of my heart.
Thank you, romantic anime, for destroying me further.
Thank you, universe, for this cruelty.
I sniffed. Quiet. Pathetic.
Oriel patted my back as my pout deflated into a full sulk.
I hit play again.
Fine.
I'll accept being the side character in this brilliant love story.
Even the engine roaring outside seemed to mock me.
INT – HOTEL LOBBY - 10:45 PM
I clutched my small bag like a survival kit while the staff wheeled everyone's suitcases away with terrifying efficiency. Honestly? The SSC was more organized than the government. If they ran the country, tax refunds would probably arrive in two hours. LOL.
I unfolded the tiny slip of paper they gave us at the registration desk. It looked like some secret prophecy scroll.
"What room are you?" I asked Oriel, who was beside me while Dhylan was still stuck in the boys' line.
"538," she answered, holding up her paper and key card like a rich princess who already owns the world.
Ooh same floor maybe? I unraveled mine slowly, dramatically, as if willing the universe to cooperate.
"...005."
I blinked. Hard.
My eyebrows met. Confusion level: legendary.
"Eh?" Oriel rushed over to peek. "And they didn't give you a key card?"
"Yeah, why??" I stared at the paper. "How am I supposed to enter the room? Teleportation?"
"I'm 559," Dhylan announced as he joined us. He looked at our papers like a detective solving a low-budget crime. "Oh, we're probably on the other wing. Fancy."
We plopped onto a nearby couch to wait for everyone to get their numbers.
"Why am I 005?" I groaned. "Is that even a floor? Am I underground? Basement gremlin edition?"
"The first number usually means the floor," Dhylan informed me, pushing his glasses up even though he wasn't wearing any. Classic nerd energy. "Meaning I'm on the same floor as my Ori."
He leaned lovingly against Oriel; she leaned lovingly away.
"Then where am I??" I squeaked. "Sublevel zero? Hidden dungeon?"
"And you don't have a key card," Oriel added, holding hers up with an evil sparkle. "Which means you need your room leader to let you in. And to approve when you leave."
"Oh lucky me," I deadpanned.
"Luckily," she puffed her chest, "I am the room leader."
"Ahh lucky!" Dhylan sighed dramatically. We both sighed in synchronized envy.
"I heard it's for safety," Oriel added, flipping through a hotel brochure like a true mom friend. "This hotel is huge."
Dhylan threw his arm over the couch, crossing one leg over the other like he owned the place. "We're not kids. We're legal adults. We can do whatever we want."
"That's what you said," Oriel said flatly, "until you remembered the wrath of Ice."
Dhylan froze.
Eyes wide.
Soul trembling.
"No way… no." He hugged himself like a traumatized teddy bear. "I'd rather lock myself in the room. I tried to stand up to him once. Once. I was shaking in reality. SHAKING."
His voice dropped to a whisper of despair. "I had nightmares of his face…"
"You? Stood up to him?" Oriel looked at him with the most confused eyebrows I've ever seen. "How??"
Dhylan didn't answer. He looked haunted—like he could still hear Ice judging him in the wind.
I just sat there smiling awkwardly, bowing my head in apology and gratitude. Because yes, I remember that day more clearly than anyone.
And yes… Ice really was that scary.
Next chapter:
Fire swears she's just a side character—until a silent hallway, a cursed-feeling door, and one very unexpected bathrobe encounter turn her whole night upside down. She wanted horror-movie ghosts.
She got something more chilling instead.