“FLY AIRPLANE, FOLLOWING THAT SHINY STAR”

***

Yena winced as she can feel someone poked her fluffy cheek. She swat away those pesky hand as she groaned, feeling pissed off as her beauty sleep is interrupted. A few giggles is pulling her back into reality as she slowly opened her eyes.

She is greeted by a bunch of girls looking at her lovingly while giggling. Yena realized she is tucked inside a blanket and she took a moment to process her surrounding area. She felt comfortable as she know that she is currently home with her friends.

“Hi-”

“IDIOT! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WE ARE SEARCHING FOR YOU?”

Sudden outburst from a certain hamster  is the first thing greeting Yena before she can even finish her first sentence. She gulped as she see fuming Yuri is standing akimbo and pouted in front of her as Wonyoung, Yujin and Sakura retreating themselves from the area.

Yuri:

Yena blinked at Yuri as the girl nagged her while swinging her hands around. The other girls sneakily leaving the room; lead by Sakura, giving Yuri some space to release her pent up frustration of losing Yena for almost two weeks. Yena rolled her eyes as she monitor her friends leaving her behind to save themselves from getting an earful lecture from Yuri.

As Yena want to retort at the girl, she realized that Yuri is b with tears. The girl wiped her cries with the back of her hand while wanting to continue her blabbering before Yena reaching out for her and hold her fluffy cheek.

Yuri:

Yena sudden gesture stopped Yuri from continuing poured out her heart. Yena soft touch making her heart pounding irregularly as their gaze meet one another. Yena wiped away Yuri tears that are rolling on her cheeks with her thumbs while pulling the girl closer to the bed.

“Look, I am sorry for leaving you behind, Yuri. I didn’t mean too. I myself don’t know what is in my mind at that time after seeing my family. I think I just miss them so much as it had been a long time since I last meet them.”

Yena slowly explained her reasoning at the girl who are now glaring at her albeit being more quieter than before.

“I get it you really want to spend your time with them but is it hurt to at least tell us rather than dashing away? Do you know how miserable I am after missing you that day? Have you ever wonder what kind of chaos we went in while you are missing? What are we to you, Yena? Aren’t we important too?”

Yuri shifted her gaze as she uttered her last words. Her heart is shattered into pieces as Yena seems unbothered after they found her back in Fantasma a few hours ago. She can hear Yena sighed at her question which made Yuri becoming even more sadder.

“I get it. No need to answer my question. Sorry for bothering you though.”

Yuri tried to dismissed herself and quickly standing up from the bed just to be tugged by Yena. She squealed for a bit before falling into Yena embrace. Her face feels hot as Yena stared into her eyes intensely.

Yena cupped Yuri face and inched closer to the girl, still gazing into Yuri pair of luscious orbs. Yuri closed her eyes as her brain cannot comprehend Yena sudden gesture towards her.

“I might do something indecent if you keep making that face but I’ll keep it for another moment.”

Yena:

Yuri opened her eyes, is also dropped and Yena smirked greeted her. Yena seems enjoying her time messing around with Yuri after not meeting the girl for almost a fortnight.

Yuri:

“Listen, Yuri. It’s my fault for leaving you all, I admit it. Do you know that my heart yearns for something while I am away from you girls? I kept having pieces of images surging up in my mind and you know, I manage to remember you first. I called out your name as I see you cry at those flower field. My mind might forget you but not my heart.”

Yena carressed Yuri cheeks as she patiently explained her situation. The atmosphere feeling just right as Yena leaned closer towards Yuri, appreciating the beauty lies in front of her eyes. Their face inching closer to each other while their heart beat speed up.

“Seems like someone quoting my words.”

A sudden interruption of a high-pitched voice startled Yena and she moved away from Yuri. She flared her nostrils as she see a certain tiny, winged creature is buzzing around her.

“Damn, how come there are another pixies! I need to eliminate you at once!”

Yena shouted angrily at those flying creature as she tried to activate her Judgement skill. As she almost finish enchanted her activation chant, a sudden knocked on her head interrupt her moment and thus cancelling her spell.

“Knock it off, you .”

Yena flinched as she rubbed her head and glared at the perpetrator.

“Stupid Kkura! You stay out of this as you know nothing!”

She growled at Sakura and tried to activate her skill yet again. However, another girl grabbed her shoulder as she turned Yena head towards her while strictly ordered Yena to shut up.

“You are the one who don’t know anything, Yena. Calm your and cool your !”

Nako is glaring at Yena and she immediately being submissive to the girl order. However, Eunbi pinched Nako cheek as she reminding the girl to watch her language. Nako retorted as Eunbi herself cursed sometimes which made her received a headlock from Eunbi.

At the meantime, Minjoo and Hitomi is lecturing Sakura to be gentle on Yena as the girl is still weak from being malnourished after missing for almost 14 days.

“My hit can hurt a fly at most, not killing a certain duck!”

Sakura retorted which just received a sigh from their healers.

“Everyone calm down, we need to give Yena some time to organize her jumbled thoughts.”

Chaeyeon stepped in as the room is getting rowdier by bickering from every angle. Hyewon patted Chaeyeon at the back, impressed at the girl ability to control those loud sisters.

“Well, Nako did say she will explain everything to me.”

Yena pointed at the girl while smiling innocently. She may be forgetful sometimes but when people are making promises with her, she never fail to remember every single details. The winged creature just flying around the room while playing with the other girls.

Nako sighed as she combed her fringe to the back by using her fingers while trying organizing her words so that the girls can easily understand.

“Well, I didn’t tell you girls why I suddenly went missing, right?”

She smile at them while starting her story.

Nako getting ready to explain:

***

Flashback

“Wait, how can Yena family recognize her when she actually equipped her cloak? This is quite fishy.”

Nako mumbled to herself as she stopped moving. Her thoughts are running wild, processing every single possibilities before a certain puppy named Ahn Yujin calling her out.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Nako is startled when the playful yet sharp girl noticed her abrupt stop. She quickly dismissed her thoughts and tried to act normal while pushing the puppy to move. However, she is carefully analyzing every tiny details about Yena disappearance throughout her lunch.

As they camped out for almost a week, Nako often spending time with Sora as she instructed the slime to do a thorough search all over the dungeon. She manage to pick up several hint but is being careful to combine each missing puzzle before deducing a conclusion.

Nako kept mum about her findings as she need to find a better evidence before telling her friends. She didn’t want to rile their hopes up and crushing it if she ever guess it wrong. They eventually went back to Eailc and Nako went to gather more info about Fantasma at the guild.

“No way, they said they forget about what happened? How can that be possible?”

Nako mumbled as she walked away from questioning few people that manage to come back. She scratched her head as she going through every information she come by.

“Hey girl, are you the one that have missing person in her party?”

A stranger come running at Nako while panting. She tilted her head while forming a frown, clearly didn’t expect a nosy stranger will come and rubbed some salts towards her wounds. She turned her head, trying to ignore the stranger but she is holding her hands.

“Wait, I didn’t come to mock you! Can we talk for a moment?”

Her voice seems desperate and thus, Nako agreed to spend her time with her.

It didn’t hurt to gather more information.

Nako thought. They went to a cafe and choose to sit at a rather secluded area before initiating their talk.

“So, what’s your business?”

Nako asked coldly. She is being aware of the stranger that suddenly approaching her. Besides, Eunbi always remind her to remain vigilant wherever she is and Nako is holding on to that advice very well up to this moment.

“Not gonna beating around the bushes, huh? Well, this maybe sudden and I don’t want to upset you but I think you better give up rescuing your missing friend.”

The stranger said bluntly which made Nako want to beat her. However, she choose to remain rational and hear out the stranger reasoning first before deciding anything.

“Wow, such a calm kid. People usually will flip when I said that in a straightforward manner.”

The woman is impressed at Nako.

“Stop with all that talk and state your reasoning. I ain’t wasting my time hearing some shallow compliments.”

Nako slammed her hands on the table, slowly losing her composure.

“Oh gee, young blood. Sure, sure. I also lose my companion in Fantasma a few weeks ago.”

Nako leaned in closer as the stranger starting her story.

“Your friend already missing for a week, right? My companion gone for almost a week too before we discovering his body, well remaining of his bones to be exact as we searched for him for days and nights. We didn’t know what happen to him but he did say he saw someone dear to him so much before running away and went missing. We identified him thanks to his adventurer card and manage to give him proper burial.”

Nako gritted her teeth, fully understand what that stranger tried to convey at her.

“All I wanna say, better prepare your mental if worst  case happen. I don’t want to say this but your friend is as good as dead now.”

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