Itâs been a while since I wore something other than a school uniformâŚ
âDoes this dress look good on me?â
I asked Violet because she is the most objective when it comes to these things.
And indeed, Violet does not even sugarcoat her words!
âYouâre going to wear a black dress on such a sunny day? It looks hot just looking at it from a distance.â
She is relentless when it comes to giving opinions, isnât sheâŚ?
Natalie was still busy dressing herself up, while Emily was stealing and eating leftover snacks from Natalieâs room. On the other hand, I was able to finish quickly with Violetâs help.
âNatalie, are you ready?â
âYeah, Iâm about to finish now.â
Alright then, letâs go to the first matchmaking party of our lives!
We then left the dormitory with bright and confident smiles on our faces.
Without knowing what kind of aftermath this party would bring to usâŚ
ďź ďź ďź
âNatalie, do you know who we are going to meet?â
âI donât know exactly the details. All I know is that theyâre also students at our academy.â
Violet then asked angrily.
âWhat?! You accepted this invitation without even knowing who the other parties were?â
âSupposedly, the girls from the other class would be the ones whoâd go to this party, but they handed it over to us because something came up on their side.â
ââŚThey didnât hand it over to us because they were all ugly, did they?â
âDonât say something so ominous!â
Natalieâs right this time, Violet! Donât you know that words can be seeded?
We then went out, showed the guard our exit slip, and headed to the promised cafe.
When we went inside, the staff guided us, saying that the other party had arrived first.
The first matchmaking party of my life! Oh, Iâm so nervous!
What if theyâre ugly just like Violet said? No, letâs not think negatively. Arenât there a lot of handsome guys in Cloud Academy?
âThis wayââ
As we followed the employee around the corner of the hallway, we saw a man sitting at a long table.
Oh? They look fine to me though?
As we walked forward, we saw another three people sitting, which makes it four people in total sitting on the table, and all three were strikingly handsome.
Now, what about the last guy?!
Hopeful, we checked the face of the last person as he walked towards us.
âThat guyâŚâ
After confirming the last participant, we froze on the spot.
âWhy is my brother hereâŚ?â
The most surprised of all was Emily.
Esco! Why are you also with them?
Esco, who soon noticed us, was also wide-eyed.
ďź ďź ďź
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Only the sound of the clock ticking rang inside the quiet, still room.
Lariensa, who was lying helplessly in bed, soon lifted herself.
No matter how hard she thought about it, nothing would be resolved if she kept sulking like this. So she decided to apologize to Marilyn first and talk things then.
Lariensa went to Emily and Violetâs room in hopes of seeing her.
But Marilyn and her other friends could not be seen.
She then visited Natalieâs room, but she still couldnât see her friends here either.
Lariensa had no choice but to ask another friend whom she often encountered in the hallway about Marilynâs whereabouts.
âHave you seen Marilyn today by any chance?â
âMarylin went out with her other friends.â
âThatâs weird⌠my other friends said they are going to have a 3-on-3 matchmaking party todayâŚâ
âNatalie was very excited about their 4-on-4 party. You didnât know about that?â
âWait! Itâs not 3-on-3, but 4-on-4?â
âYeah, thatâs exactly what she said.â
She felt dizzy for a moment.
Marilyn went after Sibel again!
âLa, Lariensa?â
That girl was surprised to see Lariensa cry all of a sudden.
However, Lariensa had no time to think about that girl in front of her and immediately ran outside.
To tell Marinâs love affair to her future husband!
ďź ďź ďź
Lycan, who was on his way to sword training after doing his punishment, was surprised to see someone at the entrance of the training ground
âLariensa.â
It was Lariensa, his precious younger sister.
Normally, he would welcome Lariensa happily, but not today. Because his precious sister was crying.
âWhatâs wrong? Why did you come here alone? Where are your friends?â
âBrotherâŚâ
âWhatâs wrong, Lara?â
âM-Marin isâŚâ
Lariensa barely managed to speak, as if grieving.
âCheating on usâŚâ
âWhat?â
âSheâs currently attending a matchmaking party with my friends!â
ââŚâŚâ
âAnd Marin might already find a boyfriend there.â
When she saw that her brother was too calm she shook him hard to press him for a response.
âItâs Marilynâs freedomâŚâ
However, Lycanâs response was not what she expected.
âSheâs free to have a boyfriend, and it is not up to us to decide for her who is she going to end up with.â
And then he turned his back on her and started walking.
Lariensa was about to burst into tears when her brother refused to help her.
But not long after, Lycan stopped walking.
âBut Iâm still curious.â
ââŚâŚâ
âWhat kind of lowlife is hanging out with my neighbor whom I have long cherished as a younger sister?â
Only then did Lariensaâs face brighten up.
âShall we go somewhere and roam around?â
âYes!â
Roaming around, they say...
These siblings were just going to interrupt Marilynâs first matchmaking party.
ďź ďź ďź
âBrotââŚâ
âShh!â
When Emily was about to call her brother, Natalie grabbed her hand.
âPlease, Emily. Itâs the first matchmaking party of my lifeâŚâ
ââŚâŚâ
âPlease, just this time, okay? PleaseâŚâ
Although Emily was already doomed at her first matchmaking party, Natalie, Violet, and I still had hope.
Thatâs why Emily⌠This just means you need to sacrifice yourself for our sakeâŚ
I know you guys have to fill in the number for the party. That's why I made you shout those âembarrassingâ words outside the academy earlier.
You guys did all those things, but too bad Emily, you got the short end of the stick here.
âSighâŚâ
Every one of us could feel Emily's conflict withinâŚ
But the power of the majority is always stronger!
âEmily, we wonât forget your noble sacrifice.â
Before Emily could answer, Violet had already made up her mind.
We didnât know if we would like the remaining three men who attendedâŚ
But theyâre visually appealing so thatâs good.
ââŚOkay, letâs go.â
Emily, who made a big decision, took a step.
However, despite her actions, Emilyâs face looks grim.
âHoho, hello there. Are you the ones who we are supposed to meet for the matchmaking party today?â
âHohoâ? Who just said that?
Violet? Our often out-of-place outspoken friend?
âMy name is Violet.â
Seeing her assertive attitude, it seems that she also liked the guys who came quite a lotâŚ
Starting with Violet, we introduced ourselves one by one. We thought Esco would pretend to know Emily, but somehow he was quiet. But I soon found out why.
Emily, who sat across from Esco, was trampling his foot under the table and giving him a hint!
These siblingsâŚ
As I drank with tears in my eyes for the two siblings whom we are grateful and mournful of, my eyes met the gaze of a man staring at me from the other side of the table.
Why is he looking at me like that? Now that I think about it, I think Iâve seen him somewhere beforeâŚ
âHuh? I think Iâve seen you somewhere beforeâŚâ
I was the one who made the lines that seemed to flirt childishly.
Although I said that, it doesnât mean itâs not true!
Itâs not a familiar face, but Iâm sure I met him somewhere before.
âNow you recognize me.â
The guy on the other side of the table smiled at me, clasping both of his hands.
âWe met in front of the haunted house.â
âReally?â
As soon as I asked, I then remembered.
Yeah, thatâs right!
Isnât he the gatekeeper who turned so red when I acted cutely before?
âIâve always regretted not asking you what grade and class you are inâŚâ
Did he really fall in love with me because of that?
âI didnât expect to see you again like this.â
ââŚâŚâ
âN-Nice to meet youâŚâ
Oh my god! I was right. He really did fall for my fatal cuteness.
Mr. Gatekeeper, you really got a unique taste.
âI thought you werenât a student from the academy.â
âI volunteered because there were not enough people at that time.â
âI seeâŚâ
The fact that weâve bumped into each other before seemed to make everyone here amused.
And Esco took this opportunity to speak up.
âHa⌠haha! You and Marilyn have already met beforeâ EUK!â
Esco suddenly stopped talking and swallowed hard.
Everyone seemed to be wondering what was wrong, but I know.
Under this table, Emily was pressing down on her brotherâs foot very very hardâŚ
As Esco and we know each other well, he doesnât have any intention to do well at a party with his sisterâs friends.
But itâs still embarrassing for him to see his sister face-to-face at a matchmaking party!
So he ignored Emily as much as possible and talked to me and my other friends. But every time he does so, Emily would block his advances and protect us from him.
âNatalie seems to be eating less todayâŚâ
âEsco?â
ââŚâŚâ
âFocus on me, will you?â
Even at this moment, Escoâs foot must be trampled strongly under the tableâŚ
Sigh, I could see his tears pouring out like a tsunami now.
âEmily seems to like Esco, doesnât she?â
No, thatâs not it. Although it was over for her from the beginning, to save this matchmaking party, she had to sacrifice herself for our sake!
Emily, I acknowledge you as a true loyal woman.
All the guys in front of us, including Esco, are our seniors, and they said that they arenât actually close.
They also said that the people who originally planned this party somehow didnât go on and thus were given to them.
Then surely the rest of them donât know that Esco and Emily are actually siblings.
âCome to think of it, Emily and Esco look alike. I heard that people who are attracted to one another look alike.â
Pfttâ
Seeing Emily spilling her drink out of her mouth, I hurriedly wiped her face with my handkerchief.
We are now comfortably talking to each other, but only Esco and Emily glared at each other coldly.
âI think those two really like each other. They just kept on ignoring us and keeping eye contact between themselves.â
If you donât know anything, just shut your mouth, please! Itâs not like that!
Theyâre not burning hot, theyâre sinking cold!
âI think we know each other enough by now⌠So shall we decide on our partners?â
Usually, in matchmaking parties, people would just point out the person that they like and if it matches they would then become partners, but we decided to do things differently.
First, the guys must close their eyes, then weâd take out one of our belongings and mix them together! Afterwards, the men would choose one of the things placed on the table one by one, and then their partner would be decided.
Mr. Gatekeeper suggested this because he says he believes in fate or what you call that.
So we each began to take out one of our belongings, put them on the table, and mixed them randomly.
âYou can open your eyes now.â
Finally, the guys opened their eyes, and the first one to pick was Esco.