"The smell of moist earth and lilacs hung in the air like wisps of the past and hints of the future."
— Margaret Millar

"Can you believe those three? Such entitled brats," Go Chaeyoung commented as she dragged Ara's silver luggage behind her. "I mean for thirty years, they've never left a single voicemail. Do they think everyone is at their beck and call?" she complained, becoming increasingly annoyed, "And I bet Baekhyun is the worst of the lot. His calls always end right after the second ring, and I—"

Suddenly remembering something more important that pertains to her lover, the oblivious mistress stopped mid-sentence and spun around to face her best friend trailing after her. "Speaking of," Chaeyoung continued with lightly pouted lips before resuming her pace. "Don't think I'll let you off the hook for not telling me that you two work together…I'm just too thrilled about this vacation to try and squeeze anything out of you," she clarified as she stopped in front of the Indrakila Suite, tapped the key card, and pushed the door open.

"Chae, about that, I really need to talk—" Ara started, but the interior designer interjected with an excited "Ooh~!"

Letting her friend's words pass her ears, Chaeyoung released the luggage and left Ara by the entrance. She happily explored the vast room like a little kid in a candy store, and took mental notes of its aesthetics for her future projects without the slightest interest in anything else at the moment.

Ara released a sigh and watched her best friend jump from one corner to another, from each furniture to multiple decors, before allowing her eyes conduct their own exploration.

Just the picturesque view from her suite was enough to justify the nightly rates, but if you include the private pool, lounging bale, personal butler, and complementary spa, it was definitely a bargain. Everything about the room screamed serenity and relaxation—

That was, until her dark lenses landed on the bouquet of lilacs sitting center stage on the rattan table.

"In all honesty, I think I like this suite better than ours," Chaeyoung announced as she headed back to her best friend's side, eyes never peeling away from the blue horizon. "The view in this room is just too breathtak—" she continued, but one glimpse at Ara's current expression caught her words.

Chaeyoung turned her gaze to where Ara's was pierced and instantly, she knew what painted her best friend's face with visible melancholy. "Is that one of them?" she asked cautiously as she made her way over.

Ara responded with a soft nod, her dark lenses still glued to the beautiful purple flowers. "The very first actually," she answered with a surprisingly steady tone.

"Do you still remember what it means?" Chaeyoung replied, her eyes also on the bouquet.

Ara nodded once more, this time with a pained, subtle smile. "First love and new beginnings," she explained, reminiscing back to the time Junmyeon gave her the laminated lilac. It was the simple yet meaningful gift that initiated the other 39 preserved floras that followed.

Chaeyoung smiled secretly to herself as she thought back to the couple she once envied. Ara and Junmyeon weren't each other's first love, but the love they devoted to one another surpassed the purest of affections, which made their end even more heartbreaking.

With a quiet sigh, Chaeyoung wrapped her arms around her secretive best friend, and together, they stared at the symbol of blooming romance and fresh starts.

"Maybe it's a sign," she told Ara, giving her a light squeeze along with an optimistic smile, "Maybe it means something good will come out of this trip."

|| The Following Morning ||

"Word on the narrowest street is that you fainted during your hotel's death march," Yixing commented as he leaned back on the lightly padded lounger facing the infinity pool.

"Says who?" Baekhyun replied casually, withholding admission. Him fainting at work was supposed to be a secret, but the fact that his friends somehow got a whiff of it, meant someone had broken their NDA.

While adjusting his army green Moncler swim trunks, Jongdae made his way over to the lounge chair next to The Lux's general manager. "Who else?" he answered, his attention mostly focused on the black strings at his hips, "Our assistants talk. Your Secretary Ji is no exception."

The future president of BYN Group both cursed and sighed internally. He should have guessed it was Ji Sun Hee. That woman had been slipping more and more since she decided to act on her unfounded presumption of authority—and now, he was starting to consider how many more clouded judgments he was willing to tolerate before cutting her off.

"So where did they take you?" Yixing interrupted, pausing the young executive's train of thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Baekhyun countered as he looked up from his mental calculation.

"Well, I also heard Sehun fetched you from the hospital right after your treatment, but he didn't take you to your family residence as protocol requires," the head of the electronics giant clarified, "So where exactly did they hide you for three and a half days?"

Baekhyun smir