“Are you really sure you want to proceed with this?”

Her black eyes sank deeply. Perry recalled the people who said they loved her. The lingering attachment she repeatedly failed to abandon because they so naturally spoke of “love.”

Her pale ten fingers intertwined. A cold wind blew in. Despite it being winter, the office window was half open. Perry traced the unspoken traces of someone and then turned her head.

“Yes, I’ve decided.”

The permission was granted without any hindrance. After completing the contract procedures, the discussion continued for a while. The cold coming through the open window gently caressed her light brown hair. Her gentle eye corners twisted slightly.

“I can’t let people who treat me carelessly—continue to torment me.”

For some reason, the word “helpless” came to mind. Like being shaken by the wind, swept by waves, and dried by the sun. Perry recalled a person who wasn’t even present. She sensed that presence, that person who overwhelmed her despite her attempts to ignore him.

The person who cared about Perry’s misfortunes more than Perry herself.

By the time the general discussion was over, the sun had already declined. Perry looked at the early darkened sky and began.

“Ah, to that person—”

“Rest assured. Though I received a referral, all client consultations are kept confidential as a principle.”

“No.”

A small spark of life flashed in her previously undisturbed eyes. The client, who stood up vigorously, confidently curved her eye corners and instructed.

“Tell him. Every single detail.”

※※※

[Dear Yuan

It’s been a while. How have you been? I wonder if you got home safely that day. I suppose you did. A gentleman as big as you probably doesn’t encounter many difficulties.

The performance schedule has been released. December 29, Isobel’s feast day, is the opening. You’ll come, right?

I’m enclosing an invitation. I hope this time you won’t reject my sincerity. And after enjoying the play, please come to the dressing room.

Let me say in advance that this isn’t a request. By any chance, was “I’m sorry” among the many lies you told me? If not, you should come. We have a lot to say to each other.

Even if you don’t, I do. Come to think of it, there were things I couldn’t say that day. Even if you’ve predicted what I’ll say, you must come. Understood?

I’ll be waiting, Yuan.

November 29,

Perry Humble.

P.S. You may have noticed, but my pride is completely crushed now. You know? No, actually it’s been crushed for quite some time. Since Ravina Night, I’ve tried everything to straighten my pride, but it hasn’t worked well. But not all efforts were in vain. I gained an important realization.

There are things you must do in this world even if your pride gets crushed.

See you on the feast day.]

SCENE 14. You Were There

The dressing room was filled with the scent of flowers. Roses, daffodils, freesias…… Various flowers beautifully decorated the interior. It was like a well-tended garden in itself. Perry, who had opened the door without mental preparation, stopped abruptly and stared at the scene. No matter how many times she blinked, the colorful hues didn’t disappear.

“What is this……”

“Looks like the fan club put in some effort.”

Bria Sol, who had been assigned the dressing room directly opposite, muttered matter-of-factly.

“What are you surprised about? Is this your first fan gift?”

“Not exactly…… Did you know about this, Bria?”

“Briefly, when I stopped by the agency.”

That’s some decent champagne, her quickly thrown glance was swiftly withdrawn. Perry walked carefully toward where her eyes had landed only after Bria returned to her own dressing room. The round table was elegantly set with champagne and canapés.

The gifts didn’t end there. Between the flowers, arranged as beautifully as if a botanical garden had been transplanted, were cards of various sizes tucked in. One, two, three…… She picked up over thirty cards just from what she could see.

Different handwriting was written in various sizes. I’m happy to be your fan, This production will be great too, I always believe in you, I love you…… The actor, who was slowly reading through the passionate messages, instinctively held her breath.

She could tell as soon as she touched the card. She had to. Perry read the raised Braille with both thumbs and slowly lowered her head. Navy background with white letters, the only message among the cards inserted in the bouquets that had been typed out.

[As you wished.]

“As I wished.”

Her red-painted lips exhaled emptily. Her downcast eyelashes trembled briefly.

“This is ridiculous.”

He’s not even trying to hide it anymore, Perry recalled the letter she had written in excitement. Though she couldn’t remember the exact content, the moment when she had made a fuss about a long-held dream was clear.

That was definitely it. She had such a dream. Beautiful bouquets and cards of all sizes, champagne ready to be popped. All the perfect elements for the first day as a lead in a major theater. But……

“Acting like he knows anything.”

Young Perry Humble’s dream didn’t end there. While Perry was surprised by the unexpected gift, the dressing room door should have opened and—

He should have appeared. The half-baked fantasy of the fifteen or sixteen-year-old aspiring actor was complete only to that point. Perry composed herself after staring at the dressing room door she habitually left open. There was still plenty of time before the appointed hour. She would surely meet him after safely completing the first performance.

He had always yielded to Perry’s requests. So definitely.

Idiot.

Fool.

Smarty-pants.

Perry muttered similar words, clenched her fists, and renewed her determination. She had much to say to him. So very much.

Though she waited until the theater doors closed, the man did not come.

※※※

News of Flight ZR040’s disappearance came the next day. Perry, who rarely listened to the radio or read newspapers, only heard the breaking news upon entering the theater rehearsal room.

Unlike the previous day, the usually energetic rehearsal room was chaotic and sparsely populated. The actors exchanged information in low voices.

“Mabel’s friend was on that plane.”

“I heard Liam from the lighting team had a relative on board too.”

Aircraft, missing, passenger list. Perry quickly found a familiar name in the newspaper the actors had brought. Not because her eyesight had miraculously improved. Because that person was the chief officer of the missing aircraft.

Pilot Yuan Bellium.

Voices discussing the circumstances and location of the disappearance echoed distantly. Perry couldn’t understand any of it.

Missing, accident, missing, accident, missing, accident—

“Perry.”

Slender fingers tapped her arm. The violet eyes were close enough for Perry to identify. Bria Sol gently embraced her fellow actor’s shoulders and whispered.

“Let’s go home for today. I’ll take you.”

“What? But the evening performance—”

“It’s canceled.”

The tall actor had been fully dressed in her coat for some time. Her striking features remained calm, unaffected by the surrounding turbulence.

“The situation is serious. It’s uncertain how long this will continue.”

Perry slowly opened her mouth as she looked at the now-familiar face. Though she wasn’t silent, her voice came out scratchy.

“I don’t understand.”

“What?”

“I mean, why would a perfectly functioning plane suddenly disappear……”

“It was the feast day.”

All flights are suspended on the last day of Ravina Night and the feast day. It’s included in aviation regulations, observed even during wartime. Perry recalled a letter she had once read and objected.

“But the feast day was yesterday. The aircraft departed on the 28th, and was scheduled to arrive that same day.”

“The cycle changed.”

Bria Sol explained calmly without any sign of annoyance.

“Do you know what the feast day is based on?”

“Based on? The feast day is December 29th, isn’t it?”

“A year is 365 days. The time it takes this fixed star to orbit the sun.”

The circumstances were both simple and complex. Perry, who had no expertise in astronomy, understood little. Isobel’s feast day moved based on some planet other than the sun. Coincidentally, until now, that planet’s orbit had aligned with the local cycle, so there had been no issues.

But this winter, for the first time in 170 years, the planet’s cycle changed. Very slightly. A difference so small that ordinary people could live their entire remaining lives without knowing.

“This feast day spanned both the 28th and 29th.”

The aircraft that failed to account for this variable flew as scheduled…… and was caught in the sky during the most unpredictable time of the year. It was truly an “unlucky” accident.

Perry couldn’t understand any of it.

※※※

Flight ZR040 was found in eastern Radam 37 hours after its disappearance.

Zero fatalities, two minor injuries, one serious injury. All passengers except for the pilot, who was the chief officer, returned to the kingdom after simple examinations.

「Night of Brilliance」 was postponed for a week.

※※※

“I need to go to Radam.”