(Jayjay's POV)
The music was still playing softly when the door suddenly burst open.
Everyone froze.
A girl rushed inside — fair-skinned, silky black hair , her eyes sparkling like she hadn't seen Adrian in years.
Before anyone could even react, she ran straight to him.
"생일 축하해, 아드리안!" (Saengil chukahae, Adrian! — Happy birthday, Adrian!)
She threw her arms around him tightly.
Adrian blinked, startled. "V-Val—?"
She smiled brightly, still hugging him. "보고 싶었어! 너무 오랜만이야!" (Bogo shipeosseo! Neomu orae maniya! — I missed you! It's been so long!)
The room went dead silent — except for Ciel, who was standing beside CI-N.
She leaned closer to him and whispered with a smirk, "Things just got interesting."
CI-N nodded slowly. "Very interesting."
The girl finally let go of Adrian, turning toward all of us with a sweet, polite smile.
I blinked, glancing at Keifer, who just raised his eyebrows at me like, Who is that supposed to be?
"Um…" I spoke up. "Who is she?"
Adrian cleared his throat, straightening. "Everyone, this is Valerie — my friend from when Ciel and I were in South Korea."
"Ohhh!" Ciel suddenly squealed, rushing over. "언니! 진짜 너야?!" (Unnie! Jinjja neoya?! — Big sis! Is that really you?!)
Valerie laughed, hugging her. "그럼 나지! 아기 시엘!" (Geureom naji! Agi Ciel! — Of course, it's me! Baby Ciel!)
Ciel playfully hit her shoulder. "Yah! Don't call me baby Ciel anymore, I'm grown now!"
Adrian chuckled from behind them. "Yeah right, says the girl who once cried because her ice cream fell."
"Hey! That was emotional trauma, okay?" Ciel snapped, pretending to pout.
Everyone laughed. Even Adrian, who almost fell off the couch laughing.
"Wow," Valerie said, looking at them with a soft smile, "you two haven't changed at all."
Ciel smiled proudly. "Okay! Time for introductions!"
She pointed at each person dramatically.
"This is CI-N — my first friend here."
CI-N gave a goofy salute. "Annyeong! I don't know what that means but… yeah!"
"And this," Ciel continued, "is my second friend, Jayjay — and her boyfriend, Keifer — the youngest CEO in the Philippines."
Valerie blinked, visibly surprised. She looked at Keifer, then at me, then back at Ciel.
"Wow," she said softly. "You've upgraded your social circle, huh?"
Ciel grinned. "I only pick the best!"
Then she started introducing everyone else.
"David, Rory, Edrix, Kit, Mayo, Blaster, Felix, Calix, Drew, Denzel, Eman, Eren, Saimon, Josh…"
And finally, she smirked. "And last — but definitely least — Yuri."
"Excuse me?" Yuri frowned.
"Accepted," Ciel replied sweetly.
Then she leaned closer to Valerie, whispering something that made Valerie giggle.
Valerie looked back up at everyone and said cheerfully, "안녕하세요, 여러분!" (Annyeonghaseyo, yeoreobun! — Hello, everyone!)
Everyone just stared.
Ciel laughed. "English, Val. They're lost already."
"Oh! Sorry!" Valerie said, switching to English effortlessly.
"Hello, everyone! It's really nice to meet you all."
Her English was perfect — soft, clean, and fluent, yet still carrying that Korean charm.
"Wow," Felix whispered. "Her English sounds like a melody."
CI-N tried to copy her, "Nice to… meet your melody?"
David groaned. "Bro, please stop before you embarrass our country."
Valerie giggled. "Nice to meet you too, CI-N."
Everyone laughed again.
Then Valerie turned to Adrian, her eyes soft.
"I still remember you saying you'd never celebrate your birthday again," she said gently.
She looked around at the decorations. "Looks like the Philippines changed you."
Adrian smiled slightly. "Yeah… someone here changed my mind."
He glanced at me.
And my heart did that little flip thing again.
"She's the one who made it happen," he added proudly.
Valerie smiled warmly. "I've heard a lot about you."
I blinked. "You have?"
She nodded. "From Ciel, of course."
Ciel laughed nervously. "Hehe… surprise?"
Before I could reply, Valerie turned back to Adrian. "By the way, I want to come to your school. Maybe even your class — Section E, right?"
That made everyone freeze.
Even Keifer.
He crossed his arms and said calmly, "Section E isn't a place anyone can just join."
Valerie smiled mischievously, walked closer, and sat beside me — close enough that I could smell her soft cherry perfume.
Then she turned toward Keifer, her tone playful but confident.
"Whatever Valerie wants…"
She looked at Ciel and Adrian.
They both grinned and said in unison, "Valerie gets."
I blinked, not sure if I should laugh, roll my eyes, or panic.
Valerie leaned back casually, still smiling.
"Well then," she said sweetly, "we'll just see how things go."
I forced a polite smile. "Welcome to the Philippines, Valerie."
Valerie smiled back. "Thanks, Jayjay."
The tension faded into laughter again, but deep down, something told me —
This girl's arrival just changed everything.