Part 03: The Welcome Party

It was around 9:30 when Aiden woke to the annoying buzzing of his phone, which was charging on top of his bedside table, his head pounding as if he had a bad case of hangover. Aiden groaned as he begrudgingly reached for his phone, “Hello?” Aiden answered, his voice sounding raspy.

“Are you now just waking up?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, as he greeted Aiden.

“Why are you calling me so early in the morning old hag?” Aiden replied, sounding annoyed as he laid on his bed, still under the covers of his black comforter. His room still dark as his curtains prevented the sunlight from shining into his bedroom.

“It’s already 9:30! Get out of bed!” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said in a peppy voice, annoying Aiden who was still half asleep.

“It’s Saturday! It’s not like I have any classes or anything! Besides, I don’t have anything going on until later this afternoon” Aiden said, sounding vexed as his voice was starting to return to its normal cold tone.

“If I don’t wake you up now, you’ll be wasting the entire morning and early afternoon sleeping” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as Aiden sat up, his lower body still covered by his comforter as he leaned his back against the headboard.

“I was planning on it, but now that I’m up, that’s down the drain” Aiden replied as he ruffled his hair in annoyance, making his bed hair a lot worse than it was, “You better not be calling me just to wake me up”. Vice Chancellor Gutierrez laughed, loud enough for Aiden to move his phone a few inches away from his ear, annoying him a little bit more than he already is, given that he was rudely awaken, and his head was still pounding.

As the laughter died down, Aiden returned his phone on his ear, “I’m glad one of us is having fun” he said sarcastically as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez settled down.

“Anyways, I called to congratulate you on a job well done last night. We have received almost all of the surveys we sent out last night, and the current approval rating for this year’s Student Organization Fair and the student council is at 94%” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez happily and excitedly announced as Aiden rubbed his eyes before giving out a yawn.

“You woke me up for that?” Aiden said, sounding uninterested, “I was just doing my job and duty as Student Council President, nothing more, nothing less. Hardly anything to celebrate”

“Don’t be such a party poop! Savor the accomplishment at least” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez chuckled as Aiden rolled his eyes, “In any case, get out of bed, and enjoy the weekend. Hang out with your friends!”

“That’s too troublesome. I rather sleep, but since I’m awake, I rather read a book or study” Aiden said as he removed the comforter that was covering the lower part of his body, sitting on the side of his bed.

“You sound so boring right now, and here I thought that people at my age group is boring” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as another round of laughter started.

“I’m hanging up now. Bye!” Aiden said as the laughter continued on the other end of the line before he ended the call. After hanging up, Aiden casually placed his phone back on top of his bedside table before falling back on his bed, now fully awake.

Staring at the ceiling, Aiden closed his eyes for a bit. After everything around him went black, he could hear a child’s voice inside his head saying, “I promise..” a fragment of his childhood memories flashing an image where he was doing a pinky promise, his mother standing at a distance with another woman, whose face he can’t seem to picture, his memory too hazy to discern anything. The only thing he can clearly picture from that fragmented image was his mother who seemed happy, but at the same time uneasy.

Aiden slowly opened his eyes, the darkness of his room greeted him, “Itsuki..” he whispered, remembering his younger brother after his subconscious flashed a fragmented piece of memory, triggered by the words “I promise”. Aiden was a bit confused; he wasn’t sure if what he saw and heard was a dream or something he was forgetting. The only thing he can distinctly remember was feeling a sharp pain in his head last night after hearing the words “I promise..” spoken by a child, likely his late younger brother.

“Am I relapsing? Is it because their death anniversary is getting closer?” Aiden asked himself before sitting himself up, placing both his feet on the carpeted floor of his bedroom, “The timing couldn’t be worse”.

As he sat on the side of his bed, another memory of his childhood flashed in his head. It was a painful memory that he was already all too familiar with – the fateful night his mother and younger brother died. The severe trauma and emotional stress of the incident caused some parts of Aiden’s childhood memories to become warped and hazy, especially his memories that preceded the incident. For reasons unknown, even to Aiden, he seems to have a gap in his memories, especially the three days before the night of the accident, although he remembers the day before those three days, it’s just a complete blank after that, up until the moment he witnessed the car his mother and younger brother was in erupted in flames - the night he lost the two people he loved the most, forsook the Labrador family name, and the night he “died”.

Meanwhile, outside the MJU Station, Mingyu was waiting for Jasper, Moira, and Angela to arrive before meeting up with Ball at the main entrance of the university. It was particularly cool for an August, with overcast skies and light winds. Mingyu was listening to ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ by My Chemical Romance as he waited for his friends to arrive, his white air pods sticking from his ears. As he waited, people exiting and entering the station were looking at him, since he is Filipino-Korean, he really stood out, given his fair complexion, height, hair style, and fashion. It took another ten minutes before Jasper arrived, and another five minutes before Moira and Angela arrived.

Mingyu is wearing cargo shorts, a pink t-shirt, and a white Jordan Aerospace 720. He was also wearing a stud earring on his left ear, a hanging cross earring on the right, a chained bracelet on his right wrist and an apple watch on the left. His light brown hair which he dyed was also styled in a way that made him resemble a K-Pop star or at the very least a Korean actor.

Jasper is wearing a striped long sleeve shirt, black ripped skinny jeans and a black Dr. Marten’s boots. He was also wearing a stainless-steel hoop earring on his left ear, his cross necklace, which was on top of his shirt, a black multilayer bracelet on his left wrist and an apple watch on his right, a ring on his left index finger, and his red Beats earphones wrapped around his neck.

Moira is wearing a cream beret, her hair lightly curled. Her outfit consisted of a white tank top covered by an oversized black long-sleeved shirt which exposed her tank top’s straps and her shoulders, black leggings, denim skirt, and boots which reached up just below her knees. She is also wearing a gold bracelet on her right wrist, and her apple watch on her left, she also had a ring on her right ring finger, and hoop earrings on both ears. She was also carrying a small white purse with her.

Angela is wearing a newsboy hat, her hair fixed in a French braid. Her outfit is a pink shirt, skinny jeans, a Vans high top shoes, and her jacket tied around her waist. Her earrings consist of small hoop earrings, and a heart necklace that has “MewGulf” engraved on it. She’s also wearing a rubber wristband on her left wrist, and her apple watch on her right, she also has a ring on her left pinky finger. Like Moira, she’s also carrying a small purse, although cream in color, a shade darker than Moira’s beret.

All four really stood out as their outfits were quite fashionable, but each person has a unique take on their outfits, which is reflective of their personalities and tastes. Mingyu and Jasper’s presence attracted more attention towards them, although some of the girls that were passing by and eyeing them were being cautious as they were under the impression that Moira and Angela were Mingyu and Jasper’s girlfriend respectively – a completely inaccurate assumption at best.

After exchanging pleasantries, they all walked together towards the university’s main entrance, where Ball was already waiting. Compared to Mingyu, Jasper, Moira, and Angela, he was wearing something a lot more casual, a plain white shirt, shorts, and slip-ons. Although dressed simply, he was still getting attention from people that were passing by where he was waiting, due to his height, complexion, and more importantly his looks – handsome and baby-faced. A few minutes later, the group met up with Ball, they guys greeting each other with fist bumps, while the girls opted for the plain and overused high-five before Ball started leading them to the International House.

As Ball led the group towards their suite, Bank was still busy cleaning up and making sure that their suite was presentable for the guests they were expecting, making sure to spray air freshener he bought at the convenience store in the student center. While cleaning, Bank was brainstorming on what he should cook everyone for lunch. He was especially nervous since Jasper is also coming over and wanted to make sure that the food he’s going to make was perfect and good enough to impress him – a gesture of thanks for the mango shakes and breakfast Jasper bought him the other day.

Min on the other hand was still sleeping in his room, still trying to recharge his energy given how drained and exhausted he was from wearing the bulky Captain Wolf mascot during the final hour of the Student Organization Fair last night. He was completely unaware that they were having guests over as neither Ball nor Min informed him about that matter, the duo was already asleep by the time he came back from the Geronimo Center - both also forgot to message him.

After Bank finished cleaning the living area, he received a message from Ball informing him that they were on their way back to the suite. Bank immediately placed his phone inside his dark blue apron’s pocket before cantering toward their pantry to get some snacks out, and then their fridge to take some drinks out, placing them on the living room coffee table before running back to their cupboard to get some glasses out for everyone to use. After making sure that everything was set and in order, he was finally able to take a breather, sitting down on the couch, he pulled his phone out, opening his mobile game, as he waited for the others to arrive.

As Ball’s group walked, the eerily quiet and empty campus was giving Mingyu, Jasper, Moira, and Angela a surreal and unsettling feeling. Having not entered the university during the weekend before, even during their freshman year, as they had no reason to go on campus during the weekends - until now. It was far different from the usually hectic, and bustling campus that they have gotten used to during the weekdays, the deeply contrasting atmosphere was hard to comprehend, as if it was a whole different place entirely.

Although the campus felt empty and deserted, there were a number of people present on campus. Among those were the security guards manning the university gates; campus police that were patrolling within and outside the immediate vicinity of campus; a number of professors and instructors who were coming in to finish work they weren’t able to do during the weekday; research assistants and graduate students who are manning and operating the laboratories and research centers in the graduate schools; janitorial staff who were keeping the campus clean and neat; gardening personnel who were watering the plants and doing some planting, mowing, landscaping, and other yard work to ensure that the university looked presentable; the maintenance staff who were working on a myriad of things, including preventive maintenance and repair of broken equipment; kitchen staff who were manning select parts of the central cafeteria; ROTC cadets and officers who were doing drills and their morning jogs and routines within the campus; and of course the students who are living on campus, including the international students.

Due to the vast size of Mount Juliet University, it still looked like a ghost town, even with people present on campus. Compared to the student, faculty, and staff population of the university that are present during the weekdays, only a small percent of them are present on campus during the weekends, hence giving the impression of the place being deserted. Although it felt deserted, the feeling and atmosphere was peaceful and serene, compared to the bustling and somewhat chaotic scenes that happened during the first week of classes.

When they reached the International House, Mingyu, Jasper, Moira, and Angela were surprised to find that there were some international students loitering around the vicinity of their residential hall, given that they barely saw the students moving freely during the week when classes were in full swing. Of course, the ROTC are still present in front of the International House, albeit operating on a skeleton crew, in comparison to a full company during the weekdays. One of the Gazebos out front looking like it has been permanently converted into an ROTC field HQ, as there were more equipment and things inside the Gazebo than it did during the previous days.

When the group got closer, they saw that there are still ROTC cadets posted outside the glass door of the International House as well as the base of the steps leading up to the entrance. Before they could pass the Gazebo where the ROTC field HQ is, they were stopped by an ROTC Cadet-Sergeant who looked like she was in command of the squad in security detail around the International House. The Cadet-Sergeant asked for Ball’s companions’ WolfCards as she held an iPad with a card reader attached to it, preparing to run their credential through the MJU database to make sure that their identities checked out and that they are currently enrolled students in the university.

As Mingyu, Jasper, Moira, and Angela were getting their WolfCards out, they heard a voice coming from behind the Cadet-Sergeant – a familiar voice for the members of M.A.S.S. at least. The NCO turned around, and when she realized that it was Cadet-Captain Rebecca Francisco in civilian clothes, she immediately rendered a salute, which the latter politely returned.

“You don’t have to check their credentials” Cadet-Captain Francisco ordered as the Cadet-Sergeant looked confused and hesitant to carry out her order.

“But, ma’am, they’re…” the Cadet-Sergeant responded before her superior officer cut her off.

“They’re members of the Student Council and the International Student Organization” Cadet-Captain Francisco said to the surprise of the Cadet-Sergeant who was unaware who the four students were.

“This is Student Council Chief of Staff Moira Sato, Student Council Public Relations Officer Angela Dela Cruz, International Student Organization Vice President Mingyu Park, and International Student Organization Treasurer Jasper Hernandez” Cadet-Captain Francisco said, pointing to the person whose title and name she was saying, to the embarrassment of the Cadet-Sergeant.

“Apologies ma’am, I didn’t realize they were members of the Student Council and the International Student Organization” the Cadet-Sergeant apologized to her superior officer, before turning around and facing Ball and their group, giving a salute before profusely apologizing.

“Carry on Cadet-Sergeant” Cadet-Captain Francisco said as the NCO gave her a salute, the former saluting back before the latter returned to her post.

“Well, that was an awkward encounter” Rebecca commented, looking at the Cadet-Sergeant as she returned to her post in the Gazebo.

“I wasn’t expecting you guys to be on campus on a Saturday” Rebecca continued as she faced the group.

“I could say the same to you” Moira said as she returned her WolfCard in her wallet, “What are you doing here Rebecca? Also, you’re not wearing your uniform” Moira continued after noticing Rebecca wearing normal clothes, and not her usual ROTC uniform.

“I just dropped off my report for the Student Organization Fair, I also went by our barracks to check our equipment and deployment orders for tonight” Rebecca explained.

“Also, I’m off duty this weekend, so I’m wearing normal people’s clothes today” Rebecca added as she gave a chuckle before Mingyu and Ball greeted her.

“Hey, who’s that?” Jasper asked as he lightly elbowed Mingyu.

“Oh, that’s Rebecca Francisco, Cadet-Captain with the 1^st ROTC Company” Mingyu explained as Jasper lightly nodded his head.

“Hey, Rebecca!” Ball called out, prompting everyone to look at him.

“Are you busy today? You want to join us?” Ball said as he extended the invitation to hang out in their suite to Rebecca.

“That’s a great idea!” Moira and Angela said in unison, their eyes sparkling.

“I’m not really busy until later in the afternoon” Rebecca said, Moira and Angela looking delighted hearing that Rebecca was free.

“It’s the same for us! You should come and hang out!” Angela cheerfully said as Rebecca happily accepted Ball’s invitation to the excitement of Moira and Angela.

“Alright!” Mingyu commented as he moved his fist towards Rebecca, waiting for the ROTC officer to give him a fist bump. Ball, Moira, Angela, and Rebecca looked at Mingyu, as if he was doing something weird.

“What?” Mingyu asked as he looked at everyone’s reaction, his arm still stretched out towards Rebecca.

“That’s a complete 180 Mingyu” Ball said, giving a small chuckle.

“Definitely” Moira and Angela added in unison as Rebecca gave a chuckle.

“What are you guys talking about?” Mingyu asked, legitimately clueless at what the other three were talking about.

“Did you forget already? You were pretty hostile and untrusting of Rebecca the first time we met her” Angela said with a pouting face.

“You even called her a robot, remember?” Ball added as they ganged up on Mingyu.

“Well, I had a change of heart” Mingyu said, sounding defensive, “You guys did too, remember!?”

“True, but we weren’t aggressive towards her as you did” Moira said, to Mingyu’s slight annoyance.

“Well, past is past. I didn’t mind, honestly” Rebecca said in defense of Mingyu, whose face immediately lit up when Rebecca took his side, “I probably would have done the same in all honesty”.

“Definitely a complete 180” Ball commented again, Moira and Angela nodding in unison before Rebecca returned Mingyu’s fist bump.

“Oh! By the way, this is Jasper!” Mingyu said, putting his arms around Jasper’s neck as he introduced him to Rebecca, “Well, I guess it doesn’t do much since you already know him”.

“Yeah, I was pretty surprised you know my name and position in the International Student Organization” Jasper admitted as he offered Rebecca a handshake, which the latter returned.

“Well, she is the commanding officer of the MJU 1^st ROTC Company Intelligence Detachment!” Angela said as Moira and Rebecca chuckled in response.

“That’s true, then again, Jasper is #10 in MJU’s Hottest, so everyone knows who he is” Rebecca said as Jasper got a bit flustered by Rebecca’s compliment.

“Alright, everyone ready?” Ball asked as the group nodded, before everyone started walking towards the International House entrance, with Ball and the guys leading the way, while the girls followed behind them.

This was the first time that Moira and Angela were entering the International House in broad daylight, the last time they went there, the sun was already setting, and they didn’t have time to actually appreciate and concentrate on the interior design and aesthetics of the International House as they were more focused on their upcoming meeting. For Mingyu, Jasper, and Rebecca, it was their first time entering the International House, and was somewhat looking forward to actually seeing the interior of the building that the international students were staying in.

The main lobby of the International House was quite modern and majestic, resembling the lobby of a luxurious hotel. The ground floor was basically an entire reception area which included the welcome desk, couches, chairs, flat screen televisions, computer stations, vending machines, and closed-door lobbies, among others. Just above the welcome desk were three large flat screen televisions, which were showing different CCTV feeds from all over the International House, both the interior and exterior.

The basement of the International House, like the other Residential Halls contains a large laundry room, equipped with washers and dryers. There are also game rooms equipped with computers and game consoles, pool tables, arcade games, darts, card games, as well as a mini theater where students can watch movies in groups. The basement has ten mini kitchens and a central dining hub where the international students can cook meals outside their suites - which are also equipped with electric stove tops and ovens. The purpose of this mini-kitchens and central dining hub is for larger dinner parties or get-togethers.

The 1^st floor of the International House is where the central atrium is located. The central part of the International House above the ground floor is hollow up until the 9^th floor. The corridors to each floor from the first up to the ninth has large glass panes with rails in front of them that overlooks the gardens at the atrium. The entire 10^th floor is supported by four massive reinforcement beams to prevent it from collapsing from its own weight. Underneath the 10^th floor there is an oversized domed pendant light that provides lighting to everything below it, the lighting adjusts with the light outside, getting dimmer as the sun sets, with the LED landscape lights in the atrium garden providing lighting during the night.

The elevator hoistway from the 1^st floor up to the 9^th is made of glass, allowing the people riding the elevators to have a view of the atrium. Moira and Angela, as well as the rest of the Student Council didn’t notice this fact when they attended the meeting with the International Student Council due to the atrium being dark. All the suites in the International House are keycard access only, and only those that live in a specific suite can enter it, their credentials and access code entered into their WolfCards.

As the group reached the first floor, Mingyu, Jasper, Moira, Angela, and Rebecca marveled at the beauty of the atrium, the indoor waterfall, floras, gazeboes, benches, indoor firepits, and hammocks made it feel like they were actually outside, as the lighting emanating from the domed pendant light looked so natural. Ball just chuckled at everyone’s reactions, since they all looked like children that went to an ice cream store for the first time.

As the group walked towards the Thai students’ suite, everyone continued to look outside the corridor, entranced by the natural beauty of the atrium as they reached the suite – Room 119-A. When Mingyu saw their suite number, something started nagging him from the inside. Sensing some familiarity with the number he was seeing, although he was confused given that this was the first time he has ever been to the Thai students’ suite. The feeling felt like he knows those numbers from somewhere but could not figure out exactly what it could be associated with, he quickly dismissed it as Ball got his WolfCard out of his pocket, getting ready to open the door.

Ball swiped his WolfCard into the card reader, unlocking the door, the smell of pine trees and cool air greeted them as he opened the door to their suite. The International House suite looked like a studio apartment, the furnishings and appliances inside looked modern and new, which surprised the group as they entered, not expecting that the suites looked so different from the suites in the other Resident Halls on campus. Although the other Resident Halls at MJU were pretty modern as well and almost similar in design, the International House seemed like it was two levels higher in modernity and technology.

“Sorry for being late Bank!” Ball spoke in Thai as he entered, their guests following him from behind.

“It’s okay, I actually just finished cleaning up and getting the snacks and drinks ready” Bank replied with a smile on his face, speaking in Thai, still wearing the dark blue apron.

“By the way, I also invited another person. She’s a friend of mine, Angela, Moira, and Mingyu” Ball added still speaking in their native language as he gestured towards Rebecca, who was a standing between Moira and Angela, right behind Mingyu and Jasper. Bank nodded his head in acknowledgement before being greeted by Mingyu, followed by Jasper who commented how he looked adorable with the apron on, causing the Thai student to lowkey blush and avert eye contact.

Ball gestured for the girls to come closer so he could introduce Rebecca to Bank, after the girls complied and Rebecca came into full view, Ball introduced her to Bank, the latter smiling and giving her a “Wai”, happy he was able to meet another friend. “Right, so this is our suite, make yourselves at home” Ball said, as the girls walked towards where the couch is.

As the girls were settling down, Bank knelt towards the coffee table, opening the drinks and the snacks he prepared earlier. Ball went to the cupboard to grab a glass for Rebecca, since Bank wasn’t able to take out enough glasses, given that Rebecca joined them the last minute. Mingyu and Jasper pulled the bean bags in the living area and moved them closer to the coffee table where the drinks and snacks were before helping Bank pour the drinks into the glasses.

The snacks were a mix of Thai and Filipino snacks, the drinks were a liter of apple flavored C2s Bank and Ball bought at the university convenience store in the student center. After Ball placed the extra glass on the coffee table, he turned on the 70” flat screen television which was mounted on the wall in front of the couch. The channel that showed up was the MJU Hottest channel, which was showing a pre-recorded show that was taped on the weekday to be aired during the weekends.

The current topic being talked about by the hosts were the new “Hot” list that they were going to publish next week, which included a new list called “MJU’s Hottest International Students” and also a major revamp and make-over to their ranking system that would feature a new look, updating their ranking system to incorporate the international students, and a new phone app.

The topic caught the attention of everyone in the living area as they focused on what was being talked about on the show. Especially about the new list that would include the international students to their ranking, and the new hot list slated to be released next week.

“For sure, Min, Ball, and Bank would make it to the top ten no problem” Mingyu said before taking a sip of his drink.

“No doubt about it, they’ve already caused quite a stir on campus, and it’s only been week one” Moira chuckled before trying out one of the Thai snacks on the table.

“So-sorry” Ball responded as he gave out a forced smile, before translating what Moira said to Bank, who also apologized.

“Don’t apologize guys, it’s actually a good thing, I think” Moira said, clarifying her remarks.

“Yeah! It’s been extra lively because of you guys, and the international students as a whole!” Angela said, as she tried the snack that Moira just ate.

“I doubt Aiden is enjoying any of it” Jasper said as he tried the squid flavored chips from Thailand.

“Who knows, he might be enjoying it as well” Mingyu replied teasingly, giving a wacky expression, biting his lips, his eyes squinted. Moira, Angela, Rebecca, and Ball looked at him, surprised by what he just said.

“What do you mean by that?” Jasper asked, as Bank lightly elbowed Ball and asked him to translate what was being talked about, also curious as to what Mingyu meant. M.A.S.S. was holding their breathes, nervous that Mingyu might slip up and reveal something he shouldn’t reveal.

“Just a gut feeling is all” Mingyu responded, forcing himself to return to his normal expression as Jasper looked at him suspiciously.

“I still doubt he’s enjoying it. You know, all the things he doesn’t like doing, he was practically forced to do in a span of five days. But then again, who knows what Aiden is thinking or feeling” Jasper said as he grabbed another squid flavored chip.

“Wait, do you know Aiden personally? Like in a really personal level” Rebecca suddenly joined in, looking at Jasper who seemed surprise by his comment.

“Well, I mean yeah. I’ve known Aiden since High School” Jasper replied, looking at Rebecca who seemed surprised by the revelation.

“What’s up with that reaction Rebecca?” Angela asked.

“Oh, I didn’t think that there are people that are actually close to Aiden on a personal level” Rebecca responded, taking her glass of C2 and taking a drink.

“What makes you think that?” Moira asked as Ball and Bank sat on the floor, next to Mingyu.

“Well, he looks so unfriendly. There also rumors within the ROTC that he doesn’t have any friends” Rebecca replied.

“It may seem like that, but he actually has friends, although it’s a one-sided relationship” Mingyu chuckled.

“What do you mean by one-sided?” Rebecca asked.

“We think that we’re close friends with Aiden, but Aiden doesn’t think so. Though I really don’t know, like Jasper said, we don’t exactly know how what Aiden is thinking and feeling” Mingyu said.

“You probably don’t know, but me, Katrina, Jasper, and Aaron are Aiden’s closest friends -  technically” Mingyu added to the further surprise of Rebecca.

“You mean, Katrina Tolentino and Aaron Keeling the Student Council Comptroller and Sergeant at Arms?” Rebecca asked for clarification.

“That’s right, we’ve all been friends since we were in High School. Though I met Aiden during our Middle School years” Mingyu explained

“Oh man, I miss Mount Charlotte!” Jasper chimed in, surprising Moira, Angela, and Rebecca.

“You guys went to Mount Charlotte!?” Moira, Angela, and Rebecca said in unison, startling Mingyu and Jasper, the latter almost spilling his drink.

“Yeah, did we not mention that to you guys? Also, what’s with that reaction?” Mingyu asked, looking at the girls who looked shocked and surprised. Ball and Bank looked confused, as they could not relate to what they were talking about.

“No you didn’t!” Angela replied, shock and surprise still written on her face.

“So, what is this Mount Charlotte thing?” Ball interjected, focusing everyone’s attention towards him.

“Mount Charlotte is the official High School owned and operated by Mount Juliet University. It’s a pretty prestigious High School, and is pretty rigorous, with an acceptance rate of 5%. Additionally, their classes are a mix of High School and College-level curriculum, and anyone who averages below 90% on their grades are automatically expelled” Moira explained.

“Really!? How did Mingyu graduate from there!?” Ball exclaimed in shock and surprise.

“Why do you think we reacted the way we did?” Moira chuckled.

“Hey! Don’t be rude!” Mingyu countered, his face looking annoyed and disappointed.

“Don’t be harsh on Mingyu guys. He may look like an idiot, but this guy’s pretty smart!” Jasper said as he placed his arm around Mingyu’s neck, causing Bank to subtly purse his lips.

“Mingyu actually ranked 5^th in our entire batch for academic excellence during our senior year” Jasper added in further defense of Mingyu, “Though, Mingyu can be slow and dim-witted at times, especially on social occasions. People judge him based on his personality, rather than his academic achievements”.

“Wow, now I feel bad. Sorry Mingyu” Moira said, her voice sounding remorseful as Angela and Rebecca apologized as well.

“It’s fine guys!” Mingyu chuckled, “I get that all the time. You guys aren’t the first, and definitely won’t be the last to assume that”.

“Wow, I didn’t think Mingyu was that smart, he’s pretty nice too” Ball commented before translating everything that was said to Bank, who reacted the same way as everyone else, making him look like he’s having a delayed reaction.

“So, anyways. I’ll explain to Ball and Bank a little about Mount Charlotte” Moira said as Mingyu and Jasper nodded in agreement.

“Like I already mentioned, Mount Charlotte is a pretty rigorous institution, and the expulsion rate hovers above 90% due to academic underperformance. All of their senior students are exempted from taking the National Achievement Test - the standardized examination issued by the national government – and university entrance examinations, instead universities scout the students and try and recruit them to be their prospective students after they graduate. It also goes without saying that if you graduate from Mount Charlotte, you are automatically accepted into Mount Juliet University, and the students are left with the choice whether to attend MJU or go to a different university” Moira explained to the astonishment of Ball and Rebecca, the latter seemingly hearing it for the first time. Ball immediately translated what Moira explained to Bank, who also gave a similar expression.

“I didn’t think there was such a school here in the Philippines, it’s quite surprising to hear that such a place exists at all!” Ball said, his face in disbelief.

“So, if Mingyu was the 5^th in academic excellence, how did everyone else do academically?” Rebecca asked.

“I only got the 5^th spot during my senior year at Mount Charlotte, I was on the 9^th spot during my Freshman and Sophomore Year, then 7^th on my Junior year; Jasper was the 5^th from his Freshman to Junior year, and took the 4^th spot on our senior year; Katrina started off at 9^th, then moved upwards to 3^rd on our senior year; Aaron was consistently on the 9^th spot during our years at Mount Charlotte” Mingyu explained

“What about Aiden?” Rebecca asked, curious as to why Mingyu left him out.

“Oh? I mean it goes without saying that he took the 1^st spot from Freshman year up to our Senior year” Jasper responded to Rebecca’s question.

“That’s Aiden for you!” Mingyu proudly exclaimed.

“Well, I’m not surprised, he did rank 1^st in the university last year” Moira shrugged.

“But, going back to earlier, all four of us have been friends, although Mingyu has known Aiden longer, since they were already friends when they entered Mount Charlotte. Katrina met Aiden and Mingyu during Freshman year, I met the three of them on our Sophomore year, and we met Aaron on the second semester of Sophomore year” Jasper explained.

“His expression never changes, and his attitude is mostly cold and snobbish” Mingyu added.

“I mean no offense, but how are you friends with a person like that?” Rebecca hesitantly asked.

“That’s actually a good question, I’ve also wondered that myself” Angela chimed in, Moira nodding her head as well, with Ball listening intently, preparing to translate to Bank whenever someone speaks.

“Aiden may seem like he’s unapproachable, and it’s true that his expression and his cold tone stays constant, be he does have a nicer side as well, although he shows it in his own kind of way” Mingyu said.

“Take that #CoffeeShower incident with Hazelyn Mendoza. Aiden saw that another student was being bullied, and Aiden protected her from those bullying her, albeit in his own way” Mingyu continued.

“By spilling his coffee all over Hazelyn?” Rebecca said, “It’s a bit of an overkill though?”

“It’s true, I’m not saying that Hazelyn completely deserved it, but Aiden seems to dislike people like that” Mingyu said as everyone listened, with Ball whispering his translations to Bank.

“Seems? You sound unsure about that Mingyu, and what do you mean by ‘People like that’, are there certain people that Aiden dislikes?” Rebecca said.

“Yeah, because this is purely my opinion and observation from High School, and his attitude towards Hazelyn and Jason Marquez. Like we’ve said earlier, we don’t know what Aiden is thinking or feeling, since he doesn’t talk much about himself” Mingyu replied.

“What I mean is, people from rich families that have influence, and likes to flaunt and take advantage of their status to belittle, hurt, or bully people who are not well off like them” Mingyu added.

“What happened in High School?” Angela asked, curious as to what happened for Mingyu to say the things he just said.

“Hey, are you talking about the Home Economics class incident?” Jasper said as he looked at Mingyu, who nodded in response. “What happened in the Home Economics class?” Moira asked.

“It happened during our Sophomore year. Jasper, Aiden, and I were in the same Home Economics class, and one of the students, the son of the CEO of a real estate company, started beating our Home Economics teacher. Our teacher for that class was pretty new as well, from what I heard back then, she just graduated from college earlier in the year, and that was her first teaching job. Anyways, what happened was, the student bumped into our teacher, and the vinegar that she was holding spilled all over his uniform. He got so furious he grabbed her by the collar and slammed her on the whiteboard and started punching her in the face. Of course we were all shocked, but we couldn’t do anything since he was wealthy and his father had influence, our teacher was already crying and begging for him to stop, but he didn’t, and no one dared to interfere – except Aiden” Mingyu explained, his face was somber as he told the story.

“What did Aiden do?” Rebecca asked, Mingyu looked at her for a bit before he continued.

“Aiden left our cooking station and walked up to them, his expression the same as usual, holding a cup of vinegar. He called out to the student, and after he turned around, Aiden splashed the cup of vinegar in his eyes, causing him to let go of our teacher. Of course, since it got into the student’s eyes, it temporarily blinded him, that’s when Aiden grabbed a bowl of warm water from a nearby cooking station and splashed it all over him, he then walked up to the student, grabbed him by his collar and punched him three times in the face, knocking him out. Aiden then tended to our teacher, her face was swollen and bleeding, he started shouting instructions for someone to bring ice and towels, and for someone to call other faculty members, the nurse from the clinic, and the security guards. Jasper and I helped Aiden with the teacher, while some of our classmates did what Aiden ordered” Mingyu further explained, everyone in the room except for Jasper was shocked, Angela was teary eyed, after hearing what that student did to the teacher.

“What happened next?” Moira asked eager for Mingyu to continue his story.

“As expected, it became a huge issue in Mount Charlotte, and the incident spread like wildfire throughout the school. The student that Aiden punched had a concussion, broken nose, fractured jaw, and lost three teeth, his father stormed into the school the next day and Aiden was sent to the Principal’s office. The father threatened to sue Mount Charlotte and Aiden, and from what I heard from the people present in the room, the Principal pleaded with the father to at least spare Aiden from any lawsuit, and that Mount Charlotte was going to take the full brunt of the lawsuit aimed at them. People said Aiden’s facial expression didn’t change at all, they said his demeanor was calm and unfazed, even with the threat of a lawsuit being thrown at him” Mingyu continued.

“Did Aiden go to court?” Rebecca asked, curious as how everything concluded.

“That’s the interesting part actually. They said as the father was fuming in the office, Aiden got up from where he was sitting, and walked up to the Principal’s desk, grabbed the phone and made a call. An hour or so later, some people in suits came to Mount Charlotte, and went to the Principal’s office, after that, the father dropped his threats and removed his child from the school, and they were never heard from again since then. The teacher of course, made a full recovery, though she had to do some counselling before she could go back to Mount Charlotte and continue teaching the Home Economics class. Everyone at school was wondering who those people in suits were, I tried asking Aiden about it, but he just dismissed it every time I asked, as the weeks and months passed, everyone forgot about the incident, and I stopped pestering Aiden about it. Honestly I forgot all about that incident until now” Mingyu concluded.

“I didn’t know something like that happened with Aiden in High School” Moira commented after hearing Mingyu’s story.

“It’s something we never really talked about since it happened a long time ago, and Aiden never really spoke nor commented about it either, like always he just keeps to himself. Of course that’s not to say that’s the only incident that showed his nicer side, there were minor incidents throughout our High School days where Aiden would help those being bullied or were needing help, though it wasn’t as bad as the Home Economics class incident” Mingyu said.

“Yeah, for real though. After that incident, everyone was afraid to go near Aiden, but as time passed, and word spread that Aiden was helping those being bullied, people learned to like and admire him, even though he has the kind of attitude. Almost all the rich kids who bullied other students stayed away from him, afraid to end up like that student he punched” Jasper chimed in.

“I think that was also the time Aiden started getting popular at Mount Charlotte, he was getting at least a dozen confessions and love letters in a month, and of course Aiden turned them all down, in a not so nice way I might add” Mingyu said.

“Even though he turned them down with wittiness, sarcasm, and cold attitude, they still liked him. It actually annoyed and irritated him, Mingyu and I can tell since he sighs, rolls his eyes, becomes extremely moody, witty, sarcastic, and snobbish” Jasper added before giving a chuckle.

“Yeah, those are the signs Aiden is irritated and/or annoyed, so watch out for them. Although his facial expression and cold tone never changes, his eyes, the way he speaks, and body language, gives away how he actually feels, though it would take time to get used to them, since they’re extremely subtle and hard to catch” Mingyu explained.

“Hey! You were right about that night Moira!” Angela suddenly exclaimed before Moira shushed her, prompting Angela to cover her mouth.

“What are you guys talking about?” Mingyu asked as he looked at Moira and Angela.

“Oh, it’s nothing” Moira deflected the question as she forcibly laughed to avoid the topic.

“Come on now, if you have something to share about Aiden, you should. We shared our story” Mingyu said, trying to convince Moira and Angela to share what they know.

“He does have a point you know” Rebecca added.

“I’m curious about it too, Angela already gave it away, so we already know there’s something you’re not telling us, plus the way Angela quickly covered her mouth reeks of something” Jasper continued. As the pressure started mounting, Angela held unto Moira’s arm, and nodded, signaling for Moira to go ahead and tell everyone.

“Fine, but what I’m going to tell everyone stays in this suite” Moira said to everyone’s agreement. “Where’s Min by the way?” she asked, looking at Ball and Bank.

“He’s still sleeping, I think he came back late last night” Ball responded, “Wait, does this have something to do with him as well?”

“Yes, actually. More precisely it has something to do with Min and Aiden” Moira said, reiterating her words to make sure it was clear to everyone.

“Though, I don’t know if I should be telling the story. I don’t want to share it with everyone, given that Min might disapprove of it” Moira said, worried about Min waking up and overhearing their discussion.

“Don’t worry about it, Min sleeps like a log when he’s tired. Even if an earthquake happens, he won’t wake that easily, believe me it was a struggle waking him up for the first day of our regular classes, so it’ll be fine, he’s sound asleep” Ball said, reassuring Moira.

“Alright, but I’m stressing this. Do not tell anyone outside this room, especially Min and Aiden” Moira said, underscoring the necessity that this would remain in their group. Everyone agreed and gave their word that they won’t speak of what Moira was going to tell them before she started.

“It happened right after the first Student Council meeting on Monday, Min got an earful from Aiden in his office. To be honest, that was the first time I’ve heard Aiden raise his voice at someone, he sounded pretty mad at Min” Moira said, surprising Ball, Mingyu, Jasper, and Rebecca.

“Wait, you said Monday?” Ball asked Moira.

“Yeah, it was the night we first saw you and Bank in the student center lobby, while Angela and I were in the elevator” Moira said as Ball quickly translated what Moira said to Bank.

“Ah! Raika-“ Bank was about to react when Ball covered his mouth and whispered something in Thai before removing his hand from Bank’s mouth. Moira and Angela subtly reacted but was able to relax as Ball stopped Bank from finishing his sentence, Rebecca subtly laughed as she realized that Bank was going to say “Raikantopeni”.

Moira cleared her throat before continuing, “Anyways, I personally got scared as Angela and I listened, we thought that Aiden might do something, although after a few minutes Min left Aiden’s office, grabbed his things and left the Student Council room. Then there was a deafening silence, until Aiden called me into his office. That was really nerve wracking, I thought I was going to get an earful as well, it was so bad that Angela and I were trying to be as quiet as possible, going as far as to holding our breathes before Aiden called for me”.

“Did you get an earful too?” Jasper asked.

“No, actually, Aiden asked to be left alone, so I hurried back to Angela and we quickly packed our things and left the Student Council room. As Angela and I were waiting for the elevator, I told her that Aiden’s expression seemed different” Moira responded.

“When I was in Aiden’s office, although his expression and tone of voice was the same, his eyes looked soft as if he felt some sense of guilt and remorse for shouting at Min like he did. Although it was just his eyes that looked different, his expression and demeanor was slightly off, different from normal” Moira continued, then that’s when Angela and I got on the elevator, and then we encountered Min, Ball, and Bank in the lobby.

“I did warn Min not to disturb Aiden, but he went anyways” Angela added.

“I want to say that it had something to do with the Polo Incident that morning, or because Min was the International Student Representative, or because Min disturbed him, or…” Moira paused, hesitating to continue, her face lightly blushing.

“Or?” Mingyu asked, the atmosphere in the room suddenly seemed suspenseful.

“Did something else happened?” Jasper asked, curious as why Moira stopped halfway. Moira faced Angela, her face a bit red, not wanting to tell what Min said at the beginning of the meeting.

“Tell them Angela, I don’t think I can do it” Moira said as she asked Angela to continue her story.

“No, you tell them, you already made it this far” Angela said, forcing Moira to reluctantly continue.

“Or..” Moira took a deep breathe, “Or it could be what Min said to Aiden at the beginning of the meeting”. Moira’s face started blushing as Angela’s face started to blush as well, everyone was leaning towards Moira and Angela, keen on hearing what happened.

“What did Min say to Aiden?” Ball asked, having a gut feeling that Min teased Aiden in some way or form.

“Min told Aiden, ‘I don’t know if you’re aware, but when I first saw you this morning, your face had calm  and contentment written all over it, it was baby-like and angelic at the same time. Probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and the cutest thing I’ve seen here so far at Mount Juliet’. He said that in front of the entire Student Council members, of course we were all shocked and surprised. I don’t know how Aiden reacted, given that we were all caught off guard by what Min said” Moira explained, her and Angela’s face fully blushing. Rebecca blushed before quickly covering her mouth, trying to hide her smile and excitement; Mingyu quickly bit his lips, as he lowered his head; Jasper went blank, trying to absorb what Moira just said; Ball facepalmed hard as Bank tugged on his shirt, wanting a translation on what Moira just said. Ball reluctantly translated it to Bank, his hand still on his face before Bank placed both his hands on his cheeks, his face blushing.

There was silence in the living area, with the television making some background noises as everyone tried to process and absorb what they heard. Moira, Angela, and Rebecca moving both heaven and earth telepathically as they tried to find strength to conceal their Fujoshi feels in front of everyone; Mingyu tried his hardest not to laugh, biting his lip harder as his laughter got close to slipping out; Jasper’s mind was in overdrive, his brain calculating what he just heard as if it was actual rocket science; Ball was still face palming hard, his face red as he whispered “Shiiiiit! Really!? Why!?” (Shiaaaaa! Jong pa!? Tam mai wa!?) (เชี่ยยยยยย! จริงป๊ะ!? ทำไมวะ!?) in their native language; Bank squatted behind Mingyu, reacting the same way as Ball did, whispering “Shit! Shit! Shit! Really!? (Shia! Shia! Shia! Alai wa!?) (เชี่ย! เชี่ย! เชี่ย! อะไรวะ!?).

The shocking and surprising revelation almost incapacitated everyone to the point that no one could break the silence. No one had the strength nor strong enough will to speak and get the group out of their current state, as the television behind them continued to generate background noises. The psychological effect was strong enough to render everyone thinking and speechless, the same as what happened to the Student Council when Min dropped his cheesy line, except back then Aiden was able to snap everyone back to normalcy. This time, however, there was no Aiden to snap everyone back to normalcy, hence the struggles the group was facing to recover from the psychological devastation they were experiencing.

As the group was struggling to recover, Bank’s cellphone started vibrating and playing a tune inside his dark blue apron, causing him to snap back to normalcy. The alarm that he set was a reminder for him to get ingredients for the lunch he was going to cook for everybody, since he got distracted by his mobile game earlier, and the stories that was being told, he completely forgot to finish brainstorming and deciding on what he will be cooking. As Bank realized he messed up, he suddenly called out to Ball, his tone of voice sounded with urgency, snapping everyone back to normalcy.

“What’s wrong Bank? You look flustered?” Jasper asked, using his clear and slow way of speaking. The other boy didn’t even hear what Jasper was saying as he was preoccupied in telling Ball what was happening and why he was in a panicked state.

“Did something happen?” Rebecca asked as she looked at Bank talking with Ball, Moira and Angela were also confused as the normal color of their faces started returning.

“Hey Mingyu, you think Bank’s okay?” Jasper whispered at Mingyu who was sitting next to him.

“I don’t know, it seems like something bad happened, I can’t tell. I don’t speak Thai” Mingyu whispered back as he and Jasper looked at Bank and Ball, listening in on a conversation they don’t understand.

“Hey, guys. Is the university grocery store open on the weekends?” Ball asked as he turned towards everyone after Bank finished talking to him about something that seemed important and urgent.

“Unfortunately they’re closed on the weekend” Rebecca promptly responded before Ball translated what she said to Bank, who looked even more distressed.

“Why, what’s up Ball? Maybe we could help” Mingyu asked before offering their assistance.

“Bank is going to cook lunch for us today, and he completely forgot all about it, being caught with all the stories and all. We already have Jasmine Rice in our pantry, but we need ingredients for the dish that Bank will cook. We’ve been using our WolfCards since we don’t have the local currency yet, so we’ve been buying stuff here in the university until we get our monies exchanged. I do have a credit card, but I don’t know if places around here would accept them” Ball explained as the others listened on.

“Credit cards huh? I guess going to Commonwealth Market won’t do” Mingyu commented.

“What about SM Marikina?” Rebecca suggested, “That’s pretty much the closest mall here at MJU that has a supermarket and accepts credit cards”.

“That’s a great idea! It’s already 10:45 so they should be open already” Moira commented on Rebecca’s suggestion.

“Should we take a jeepney or FX?” Angela asked, “Maybe a taxi or Grab?”

“Let’s take the LRT. We can get on at MJU Station and get off at Santolan Station, it would be walking distance from there to SM Marikina. If we all go, it wouldn’t be a hassle carrying the groceries back” Rebecca suggested.

“That would work, how much ingredients are we buying Ball?” Moira asked.

“It’s not much, we just need some vegetables, chicken, pork, and some spices and we’re good to go” Ball replied before reassuring Bank that they will get the ingredients that he would need.

“Alright, let’s get going everyone! Before it gets crowded at the LRT Station and the Mall” Mingyu announced as everyone got up from where they were sitting except for Bank and Jasper.

“You’re not coming bruh?” Mingyu asked as he noticed Jasper still sitting on the bean bag.

“Nah, I still feel sleepy, besides, it’ll be faster with just you guys. If you, Ball, Bank, and I go together, we might get rushed in the train and the mall” Jasper said.

“Did you play video games all night again?” Mingyu asked as everyone else looked at Jasper.

“Maybe?” Jasper smiled before laughing, indicating his guilt, “I probably stayed up a bit late last night”.

“He does have a point though, people were already looking at Mingyu and Jasper at the station earlier, I can’t imagine if Ball, Bank, Mingyu, and Jasper are together. There’s also a possibility that some MJU students are in SM Marikina as well. It is a weekend after all and the possibility of us getting rushed and/or crowded by people is highly likely, especially if they are High School and College Students” Moira explained agreeing with Jasper’s reasoning.

“I agree with Jasper and Moira’s assessments, if we consider what happened with the Gerry’s Grill incident, it could get ugly. Plus SM Marikina is still within a 20-kilometer radius of MJU, so the possibility of MJU students present in SM Marikina and its immediate vicinity are high” Rebecca added as Ball translated what was being discussed to Bank.

“I’m actually staying as well” Bank told Ball in Thai, “I have to clean up and start cooking the rice, so when everyone gets back, all I have to do is cook the dishes, plus I have to set up the plates and all”.

“Bank said he’s not going as well, so it’s going to be me, Mingyu, Moira, Angela, and Rebecca” Ball said as he faced everyone.

“Why is Bank not coming?” Angela asked, curious as why he was staying behind as well.

“He said that he still needs to clean up, cook the rice, and prepare the plates and utensils” Ball replied.

“That makes sense, divide and conquer” Moira responded, “Right, we should get going then”.

After Ball, Mingyu, Moira, Angela, and Rebecca left, Bank started clearing the coffee table of left-over snacks, trash, and the empty C2 bottles. Jasper grabbed the empty glasses and placed them on the sink, grabbing a damp cloth in the kitchen and wiped of the coffee table, making sure to catch the crumbs that he was wiping off the side as to not make a mess in the living area. After Bank clipped some of the snacks and returned some of them to the pantry, he threw away all the trash that he collected before washing the glasses that Jasper placed in the sink. The latter then moved back the bean bags to their original places before sitting down on the couch.

“Hey Bank” Jasper called out, “Is it okay if I put my earphones on?” Jasper said as he pointed at his earphones and then his ear. Bank smiled and did a thumbs up, before going back to washing the glasses, Jasper placed his earphones on and leaned the back of his head on the wall as he slowly dozed off.

Meanwhile, Aiden was sitting on the couch in his living room, a cup of freshly brewed coffee sitting on his coffee table. The curtains were wide open, allowing whatever natural light there is outside to enter, with the room temperature set at 17°C, it was a perfect atmosphere while reading – at least for Aiden. As he was reading, his phone suddenly buzzed accompanied by a notification sound, Aiden slightly lowered his book to look at the notification banner to see where it was from, when he got a glimpse of what it was, he quickly placed a bookmark on the page he was on before closing the book and laying it beside him before reaching for his phone which was beside his coffee.

The notification banner was from a bookstore he usually frequents, and it was informing him that the newest BTS Album he has ordered have arrived and was ready for pickup. Additionally, since he has been a loyal customer, the bookstore was also adding a 16.5 Cooky cushion and a limited-edition photobook. The notification made Aiden’s day, his eyes blinked rapidly when he read the email, after placing his phone back on the coffee table he started clapping his hand rapidly, his expression almost remaining the same as his face almost smiled in delight and excitement. He quickly finished his warm coffee in one go and quickly hopped into the shower to get ready.

It didn’t take Aiden but 15 minutes to finish taking a shower and getting dressed. His outfit consisted of a black oversized Dprique shirt, a black Nike Pro tight fit short-sleeve underneath, black cargo pants, and black Timberland boots. He also put on a chained bracelet on his right wrist, and his Apple watch on his left wrist, he also wore his dangling cross earring on his right ear, and two hoop earrings on his left ear, and of course his pendant. His hair was ruffled, and he wore his fake eye glasses as his disguise, not wanting to attract any attention to himself whatsoever. Ironically, Aiden’s outfit and style practically makes him stand out even more than usual, albeit completely unrecognizable to anyone – except for Mingyu, Katrina, Jasper, and Aaron, who, for some reason can see through whatever disguise he has on.

As soon as he finished getting dressed, he grabbed his iPod, cellphone, and wallet before heading out. Since Aiden was in a particularly good mood, the songs he was listening to was a bit peppy and has an upbeat tempo - BTS’ Go-Go. He was also walking faster than usual, excited and extremely looking forward to getting his new BTS Album, the 16.5-inch Cooky cushion, and the limited-edition photobook, as well as window shop for new books to read. The bookstore that Aiden was heading to was in close proximity to MJU, located just across from the MJU station, hence the necessity for Aiden to disguise himself. Coincidentally, MJU international exchange students Monica Sawyers, Miko Yun, Tadashi Morinaga, and Fiona Ridein were heading to the same bookstore, since Monica is an avid book reader, while Fiona is a huge Manga reader, Miko and Tadashi were just tagging along so they can explore as well.

Monica, Miko, and Tadashi are all exchange students from Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, while Fiona is an exchange student from the University of Maine in the United States. Although she grew up in Auckland, Monica was originally from South Africa, before migrating to New Zealand with her parents and older sister during her elementary years. She can speak conversational Japanese due to her studies of the language; Miko is Korean, but was born in New Zealand, he can speak both English and Korean fluently, the latter due to him spending five years in South Korea with his relatives before going back to New Zealand to pursue his college degree; Tadashi is half Japanese-Chinese, he can speak English and Japanese fluently and a bit of Mandarin due to him spending time with his Father’s family in Japan, and his mother’s side in Taiwan; Fiona grew up in Maine and has been an avid fan of Japanese culture, particularly Anime, she can speak Japanese fluently due to her participating in multiple exchange programs in Japan during her middle school and high school years.

In another rare stroke of coincidence, another MJU international exchange student, Fujiyoshi Sakamoto, exchange student from Hamamatsu University in Japan was already in the said bookstore, looking for Filipino dictionaries and browsing around. Fujiyoshi can speak conversational English, and simple Filipino phrases, due to him studying English in the Philippines for a few months after graduating from high school. His short time in the Philippines made him fall in love with the language, people, and culture, which influenced him to start a vlog detailing his experiences and travel in the country. It was also due to this that he decided to participate in the exchange program at Mount Juliet.

It was close around 11:15 when Aiden reached his destination, having just opened less than an hour ago, there were barely any people inside, a pretty good sign for Aiden since he can grab what he went there to get, and then quickly browse for some books and then head back to his condominium. Fujiyoshi at the meantime was in the dictionary aisle of the bookstore, browsing through different varieties of dictionaries, having a difficult time choosing what to buy. Meanwhile, Monica and her group just reached the MJU station and was getting ready to cross the street to get to the bookstore, as this was happening Aiden was at the register waiting for the cashier to get his BTS Album, his 16.5-inch Cooky cushion, and the limited-edition photobook in their storage room.

Unfortunately for Aiden, the cashier that was tending to his order was new and was having a hard time finding his ordered goods, causing him to wait a bit longer than he anticipated. As he waited, the sliding doors of the bookstore opened and the bell rang, indicating that new customers have entered the establishment, it was Monica and her group. Of course, Aiden didn’t mind the ringing bell, as he was really looking forward to getting his goods and heading home.

“Oh, it feels nice in here, it’s too windy outside” Miko commented as they entered the air-conditioned bookstore, his kiwi accent coming out.

“I know right? My hair was flying all over the place” Fiona added as she fixed her long brunette hair.

“I told you earlier Fiona, just tie it, so it wouldn’t fly all over your face” Monica responded.

“Oh wow, this bookstore is huge! It reminds me of the one we have in Auckland” Tadashi commented as he scanned the somewhat empty bookstore, failing to notice Aiden and Fujiyoshi who were within a ten-meter radius from them.

“Oh my God guys! Let’s look around, they may have some Manga here!” Fiona excitedly said as she and Monica started walking towards the aisle closest to them, Miko and Tadashi following them. As the group cleared the entrance, Aiden was finally able to get his goods, the cashier placing everything in a large paper bag which has the name and logo of the bookstore printed on it - Cooky’s large ears protruding out of the paper bag. As Aiden was leaving, he noticed a sign for 70% off on select books, which caught his attention, prompting him to walk over the aisle where the sign was hanging. As Aiden entered the aisle, Fujiyoshi emerged from the dictionary aisle carrying two dictionaries on his arm, barely running into Aiden.

Monica and her group were two aisles away from Aiden, where the Manga and Japanese visual novels are located, it also had a sign hanging above it that says 50% off, which the group failed to notice. During their quick pass through the other aisle, Monica was able to grab a book ‘Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile’ by Herman Melville, carrying it on her arms as they browsed the Manga section. As Fujiyoshi was heading to the register, his eyes noticed the 50% off sign, and immediately changed course and headed to the other end of the Manga aisle, opposite to where Monica and her group are.

Fujiyoshi failed to notice the other international students since his eyes immediately caught the latest volume of Hunter x Hunter that was just release a few days ago in Japan and was surprised to see it in a local bookstore in the Philippines. He immediately grabbed an open copy and started skimming through it, Monica and her group doing the same, their focus directed at what they are reading.

Aiden was able to grab three books, mostly political and historical in nature, as he left the aisle he was on, he also noticed the 50% off sign on the Manga aisle. Since it’s been years since he read any Manga, he decided to check it out and browse for anything interesting, carrying the large paper bag on his left hand, and the three books on his right arm. Aiden passed by Fujiyoshi whose back was turned, his focus on the Manga he was reading, Aiden failed to notice Monica’s group as his attention was focused on the shelves.

Aiden was walking and looking at the shelves, failing to notice that Monica was doing the same. As the two neared the middle of the aisle, they accidentally bumped into each other, causing Aiden to drop the books he was carrying, prompting Monica to quickly apologize. The loud thuds of the books falling on the floor caught Miko, Tadashi, Faith, and Fujiyoshi’s attention, causing them to head towards where Aiden and Monica are.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry” Monica apologized as she helped Aiden pick the books up from the floor. As they both stood upright, Aiden quickly cringed, albeit subtly, when he realized it was Monica the he bumped into, luckily for him, Monica didn’t recognize him due to his different appearance. Aiden knew that he would have to change his tone of voice, lest he be discovered as the Student Council President that Monica had a heated exchange of words the other night – an annoying and frustrating turn of events.

“Monica, you alright?” Fiona asked as she, Miko and Tadashi walked up to Monica and Aiden.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I accidentally bumped into this kid” Monica said as she gestured towards Aiden who they still failed to recognize. “Kid!?” Aiden thought to himself as he subtly winced at Monica’s poor choice of adjective to describe him.

“Hey, is everyone okay here?” Fujiyoshi asked as he approached the group, carrying his dictionary and the Hunter x Hunter Manga on his arm.

“Yeah, we’re okay, thank you” Monica replied, her tone of voice soft, the complete opposite of her commanding and authoritarian tone that she used during their joint meeting.

“Oh! Hey, I know you!” Tadashi exclaimed. Aiden froze in place, shocked and at loss at how someone could recognize him in his current appearance, which was completely different from how he usually looks.

“Yeah, you. You’re one of the exchange students from Japan right?” Tadashi continued, allowing Aiden to lowkey breathe a sigh of relief as he looked at the other student behind him.

“Yeah, my name is Sakamoto Fujiyoshi from Hamamatsu University!” Fujiyoshi said, introducing himself in English, his accent noticeable. “I’m Morinaga Tadashi!” Tadashi said as he introduced himself.

“Oh? Nihonjin? (Japanese?)” Fujiyoshi asked in Japanese after hearing Tadashi’s whole name.

“Iya~ Iya~ Hafu desu (No~ No~ I’m half)” Tadashi replied in Nihongo, Aiden, Monica, and Fiona able to understand what they were talking about, leaving Miko guessing and confused as to what was said.

“Sugoi! Nihongo jozu da ne! (Wow! You’re Japanese is really good!)” Fujiyoshi replied in amazement.

“Arigato! Demo mada da yo!  (Thank you! But not quite yet)” Tadashi replied before Monica interjected and interrupted their exchange of pleasantries.

“Tadashi, English, please” Monica said, her tone of voice went a bit colder, “We have people here who can’t speak Japanese you know”.

“Oh. Sorry Monica, I got carried away” Tadashi replied as he and Fujiyoshi looked at Monica’s direction.

“Anyways” Monica said before turning towards Aiden, “Are you okay?”.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you, and I’m sorry for bumping into you” Aiden replied, his voice softer, akin to how he sounded like before the death of his mother and younger brother.

“Oh, no. It was my fault, I wasn’t looking at where I was going” Monica said, claiming the fault entirely as her own, surprising Aiden on the inside, not knowing that Monica has a nicer side to her.

“Oh!?” Miko reacted, catching everyone’s attention, “Hanguginiseyo? (Are you Korean?)” Miko asked in Korean, looking at Aiden, as the latter pointed to himself, “Ye (Yes)” Miko replied.

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak Korean” Aiden replied, to the disappointment of Miko.

“Oh, man. You look like a Korean though?” Miko said in English as Aiden shook his head. This prompted Tadashi and Fujiyoshi to walk towards Monica and the others to get a good look at Aiden.

“Uwa! Sugoi! Chotto Nihonjin mitai ne? (Woah! Wow! He kind of looks Japanese, right?)” Fujiyoshi commented as he got a glimpse of Aiden, his comment directed at Tadashi.

“Sou da ne! Kao to me wa Nihonjin mitai da! (You’re right! His face and eyes look Japanese)” Fiona commented, surprising Fujiyoshi and Aiden, the latter reacting subtly.

“Uwa! Sugoiii! Kimi mo Nihongo hanashite dekiru!? (Wow! Amazing! You can speak Japanese too!?)” Fujiyoshi reacted after hearing Fiona speak in Japanese, with almost no accent.

“Un, sou da yo! (Yes, I can!)” Fiona responded as Monica once again interjected, “Guys! English, please!”. Causing Fujiyoshi and Fiona to apologize and turning their attention back to Aiden.

“So, are you Japanese?” Monica asked, becoming curious due to Fiona and Fujiyoshi’s comments.

“I’m Japanese-Filipino” Aiden replied, causing everyone to react in amazement.

“Can you speak Japanese?” Fiona asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

“Just a little bit, I’m not really fluent” Aiden responded, which of course wasn’t completely true. He is actually fluent in Japanese due to his mother teaching him at a young age, and him spending time in his grandparents’ home in Japan during the summer time when he was younger.

“What’s your name?” Fujiyoshi asked in English, causing Aiden to carefully think of his response. There was a short moment of silence before Aiden responded.

“Itsuki. Kurosawa Itsuki” Aiden replied, using his late brother’s name as cover to conceal his real identity.

“That’s a cute name!” Fujiyoshi responded with a smile on his face.

“Are you a high school student?” Miko asked, joining in on the interrogation. Aiden knows that he can’t continue lying to the international students, as it goes against his principles and conflicts with his duties and responsibilities as Student Council President. Aiden then decided to fake his expression, putting on a cornered and uncomfortable face, hoping that it would cause them to back off.

Monica noticed Aiden’s faked expression, quickly reading the situation, “Guys, I think we should stop, he looks uncomfortable with all the questions we’re asking”.

“Oh, sorry. We didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable” Miko said after noticing Aiden’s fake expression.

“Yeah, we’re actually international students from Mount Juliet University” Tadashi added, as Aiden once again faked an expression like he was surprised and was just hearing this for the first time.

“You know what, as an apology for bumping into you and making you feel uncomfortable, I’ll shout for you in that café over there” Monica offered as she pointed at the café built inside the bookstore, right next to the entrance.

“Shout?” Aiden asked, confused as to what Monica meant by “shout”.

“Oh, I’m sorry. In American English it means to treat someone, “shout” is actually a New Zealand thing” Monica explained, as Fiona and Fujiyoshi nodded their heads, as they didn’t know what “shout” meant either, as both of them use American English, just like everyone in the Philippines.

Before Aiden could reply, Monica pulled Aiden towards the café, with Tadashi inviting Fujiyoshi too, as Fiona and Miko followed behind them. When they got to the café, Aiden ordered his usual cappuccino with four extra shots of espresso - getting it hot this time. The large amount of espresso that Aiden asked for surprised the international student, wondering how old “Itsuki” really is and if he’s a high school or college student, given that his Japanese features may be deceiving them to his actual age.

Meanwhile, in SM Marikina. Ball and the others just left the Supermarket, everyone carrying a bag each, filled with the ingredients that Bank needed to cook ‘Pad Kaprow Gai’ (ผัดกะเพราไก่) and ‘Pad Pak Kana Moo krob’ (ผักคะน้าหมูกรอบ) - Thai Basil Chicken and Crispy Pork Belly Stir-fry w/ Chinese Kale respectively. As the group prepared to exit the mall, Ball noticed a “Gong Cha” store causing him to stop and look, this also prompted Mingyu, Moira, Rebecca, and Angela to stop in their tracks.

“What’s wrong Ball? You want to buy some milk tea?” Mingyu asked as he looked at Ball who seemed really keen on getting a milk tea. Ball turned towards the group, eyes sparkling, his baby-faced features proved irresistible for the girls – Mingyu as well, to a certain degree.

When they entered the shop, there were already a number of people hanging out inside, with people starting to stare at Mingyu and Ball as they ordered their drinks. Even the female cashier was blushing as Mingyu and Ball ordered, the same reaction can’t be said with Moira, Angela, and Rebecca, which were getting subtle death stares from the girls, as everyone assumed that they were Ball and Mingyu’s girlfriends, and another female friend. The reaction was different for the guys, being it the exact opposite of than those of the girls.

After they got their drinks, Mingyu noticed a promotion poster, with the dates written in big red fonts “11.09.22”. Then everything suddenly connected, causing Mingyu to point at the poster and loudly exclaimed “Ah!!”, causing M.A.S.S. and everyone else in the shop to look at Mingyu.

“Wait. What? What happened!?” Ball said, startled and confused as to what Mingyu was exclaiming at, holding the bag where the three other milk teas that they got for Jasper, Bank, and Min are in.

“That!” Mingyu pointed at the promotion poster, confusing Ball, Moira, Angela, and Rebecca.

“What about the poster? You interested in the buy 2 take 1 offer?” Moira said as she looked at the poster.

“We could always come back when the promotion period starts you know” Angela added as she took a sip of her Milk Tea w/ grass jelly.

“No! Not the promotion! The date!” Mingyu said as his excitement was making him say things incoherently.

“What about the date? Something special about it?” Rebecca asked.

“11.09! It’s the same as Min, Ball, and Bank’s room number!” Mingyu said, garnering simultaneous facepalms from Ball, Moira, Angela, and Rebecca.

“Why are you getting excited about something so mundane Mingyu?” Moira asked as she removed her hand from her face. “119-A!” Mingyu said, still speaking incoherently.

“We already know it’s their suite number, what about it?” Rebecca asked, starting to sound impatient with Mingyu and his incoherent responses.

“11.09! November 09! Do you know what day that is!?” Mingyu said, his speech almost returning to normal, his face filled with excitement.

“Uhmm..” Angela murmured as she took her phone out, looking at the calendar, “Wednesday?”

“No! It’s Aiden’s Birthday! Don’t you see the coincidence!? 119-A! Min, Ball, and Bank’s suite number looks like November 09 – Aiden!” Mingyu finally explained as everyone reacted in shock and surprise. Moira, Angela, and Rebecca squealing hard, catching the attention of not only the people inside the shop, but the people walking outside the shop as well.

“OMG! Min is staying in Room “A” as well!” Ball added, causing the girls’ excitement to amplify.

“Holy shit the coincidence!” Mingyu said as he gave Ball a fist bump as M.A.S.S. celebrated that almost destined-like revelation that Mingyu shared with the group.

“OMG! They’re so meant for each other!” Moira flailed, her face so flushed she looks like she was about to pass out from all the excitement; Rebecca was holding her chest, as she tried to control the overflowing feels she was experiencing; while Angela could only hit Moira and Rebecca’s arm.

“OMG! How do you know Aiden’s Birthday!?” Rebecca said as she tried to control her breathing.

“Back in high school, I took a quick peek at Aiden’s application for Mount Juliet and got a glimpse of his date of birth, though that’s the only thing I was able to see. I never told anybody about that, since Aiden would probably get furious, given how he’s so private and secretive about his personal life. I’m telling you guys because we all share the same goal of supporting Min in his quest” Mingyu explained before the manager politely asked them to not block the entrance, and that if they weren’t going to buy anything else, move somewhere else as to not disturb the other patrons, cutting the M.A.S.S. mini-celebration short.

The group apologized to the manager before they all started walking towards the LRT station and head back to MJU, so Bank could start cooking. They continued their discussion about Min and Aiden until they reached the station, which is when Rebecca started telling the group about what happened in the Veterinary Science Club’s petting zoo, a subject she could not bring up earlier with Jasper and Bank present.

Back at the Bookstore Café, Tadashi, Fujiyoshi, Miko, Fiona, and Monica seemed to be getting along well as Aiden listened in on their conversation. Although not in the mood to join, he was extremely interested at their topic of discussion, which was their travelling and experiencing different cultures, as well as their experiences so far in Mount Juliet. For Aiden, it was an opportunity to hear directly from the international students, especially in regards to Mount Juliet as the feedbacks he was hearing would tremendously help him and the Student Council make changes to better the experience and stay of the international students and position the university to better serve the next batch of student coming to the university next academic year.

As Aiden listened on, Fujiyoshi looked at Aiden, “Itsuki-kun! So what did you buy? You’re carrying a really large bag there” the Japanese exchange student asked in English, curious as to what Aiden got. Not wanting to reveal his hidden love for BTS, he slid the bag a little further away from the table using his foot.

“Oh, it’s for my cousin. She asked me to pick up the things she ordered” Aiden responded with another lie, making him feel uneasy lying to his constituents.

“Oh, what about those books?” Fujiyoshi said as he pointed at the books Aiden was carrying earlier, which was laying on the table.

“Oh, these are mine. I like to read on my free time” Aiden replied, which was a fact. Fiona suddenly reached for the books and examined them, amazed and surprised at the topics of the books Aiden picked.

“Wow, this are in-depth books in Political Science, International Relations and History! ‘On Liberty’ by John Stuart Mill; ‘Diplomacy’ by Henry Kissinger; and ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu!” Fiona said reading the title of the books as she shuffled them, amazed at the types of book he was reading.

“Wow, do you like those kinds of books Itsuki?” Tadashi asked as Fiona returned the books where it was.

“I do. I find them interesting to read” Aiden replied, slightly pushing his fake glasses upwards using his left middle finger.

“That’s pretty impressive, a kid like you reading such complex books and topics” Miko commented which irked Aiden a little bit, still annoyed by the fact that everyone was calling him a kid.

“To each his own, I guess” Aiden replied, before taking another sip of his cappuccino. As he laid his cup back down, he noticed the book that Monica has, catching his attention.

“Herman Melville” Aiden said, catching Monica’s attention, “You have good tastes”.

“You know Herman Melville!?” Monica said, surprised that Aiden knows who he is.

“I’ve read a few of his works. ‘Moby Dick’, ‘Redburn: His First Voyage’, and ‘Mardi: And a Voyage Thither’, they’re good books, I especially like the first one” Aiden said, impressing Monica, who was still unaware that the person beside her was the same person that humiliated her the other night.

“For a kid, you read pretty interesting books” Monica commented as she took a sip of her tea.

“Right, thank you” Aiden replied before looking at his watch. Realizing that it was already 11:50, Aiden tried to excuse himself so he could buy the books and head back to his condominium. As he excused himself, everyone else agreed to leave as well, Aiden walked to the register to pay for the books he picked, with Fujiyoshi, Fiona, and Monica doing the same while Miko and Tadashi waited by the entrance.

Since Aiden and Monica’s group were walking towards the same direction, they ended up walking together to the station, which Aiden begrudgingly and reluctantly agreed to, telling himself that once he gets to MJU station, he will be home free and could finally enjoy the goods that he got, which has been delayed by the unexpected meeting with Monica, Fiona, Miko, Tadashi, and Fujiyoshi.

When they reached the station, Aiden was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, as he was moments away from regaining his freedom. Monica and her group were about to part ways with Aiden when someone suddenly placed their arm around his neck, surprising him, as four other people emerged from behind the person clinging on to him – Ball, Moira, Angela, and Rebecca.

“Yo Aiden! What are you doing here!?” Mingyu said out loud as he clings on to Aiden.

“Aiden!?!?!?!?!?!?” Ball, Moira, Angela, Rebecca, Monica, Fiona, Miko, Fujiyoshi, and Tadashi exclaimed in unison as they looked at the person that Mingyu was clinging on, stunned at the sudden bombshell that Mingyu just dropped on everybody.

Aiden clicked his tongue as he pushed Mingyu’s arm off his neck, “You always show up in the worst possible moment Mingyu” Aiden said his normal tone of voice returning as Mingyu backed off a few feet.

“We-we were hanging out with the Student Council President!?” Fujiyoshi reacted as Aiden’s identity was revealed to Monica’s group. Ball secretly taking his phone out as he took secret pictures of Aiden in his cool-looking outfit and style. Moira, Angela, and Rebecca could not believe what they were seeing. Aiden was wearing such a cool outfit, and his accessories made him hotter than usual, exceeding that of Mingyu, Jasper, Ball, and Min combined. Completely different from the Aiden that they were accustomed to.

What surprised Moira, Angela, Rebecca, and Ball more was that Aiden’s ears were pierced, a fact that they didn’t know nor realize, though Mingyu seems like he was aware of it. As M.A.S.S. with the exception of Mingyu was comprehending what they were seeing, Monica’s group was still reeling from the fact the person they have been calling “Kid” was actually the Student Council President of Mount Juliet University, the most powerful and influential student on campus.

Aiden removed his fake glasses, and looked at Monica’s group, “Forgive me for my deception, I wasn’t expecting to run into any of the international students nor the domestic students” Aiden said putting emphasis on the “domestic students”. Ball taking another stolen shot of Aiden without the glasses on.

“I wouldn’t have resorted to deception if I was Aiden the Student Council President, but right now I’m just plain Aiden Kobayashi, and I’m not too fond of mingling with other people on my free time. No offense to all of you, but that’s just how I prefer it” Aiden continued, his comments directed at Monica’s group, but somewhat towards Mingyu’s group as well.

“No, we’re sorry for calling you a kid earlier!” Miko apologized, followed by Fujiyoshi, Tadashi, and Fiona, Monica remaining quiet, unable to react or say anything. Moira on the other hand, was too distracted by how Aiden looked that she didn’t even notice Monica.

“Ms. Sawyers” Aiden said, grabbing Monica’s attention, the rest of M.A.S.S. finally noticing Monica, which irked Moira and Angela a bit.

“Although today was a bit uneventful, I did learn a bit about you. Notwithstanding our first joint meeting, you and I have some similarities, believe it or not, and I do hope that we can work together going forward” Aiden said, surprising Moira, and Angela. Monica unable to respond, still processing what just happened.

“So Aiden! You want to join us? We-“ Mingyu interjected before Aiden interrupted him mid-sentence.

“Not interested. I’m going home now. In any case I’ll see you all later tonight at the welcome party” Aiden said before walking towards the station.

Monica and Mingyu’s group just watched as Aiden walked off, disappearing into the crowd of people heading up the station. After Aiden’s silhouette disappeared, the two groups introduced themselves to each other, with Mingyu and Fujiyoshi greeting each other first, as everyone else followed suit. Moira and Angela pretty much snubbed Monica but greeted and introduced themselves to the other international students, Monica doing the same to Moira and Angela. After their introductions, there was a short exchange of pleasantries before the two groups parted ways.

Back in the Thai students’ suit, Bank just finished setting the plates, utensils, and the glasses he washed earlier. The rice was also halfway done, all that was left was for Ball and the others to come back so he can start cooking the dishes, since he was busy and all his attention was focused in the kitchen, he didn’t notice Jasper has already fallen asleep, although the living area basically shared the same space as the kitchen where Bank is.

After finishing up in the kitchen, Bank decided to turn the television off, which he forgot to turn off as he was busy preparing everything for lunch. He walked towards the living area, searching for the remote, until he noticed it sitting beside Jasper’s left hand, which was laying on the couch, his palm facing upwards. Bank quietly and carefully grabbed the remote before turning off the television, laying it on top of the coffee table.

As he was about to head back to the kitchen, he got a good look at Jasper, who fell asleep with his earphones still in his ears, his head that was leaning on the wall earlier was now laying on top of the back pillows of the sofa. His right hand resting on top of his groin, his legs wide open, and since Jasper’s head was slightly tilted backwards, his Adam’s apple was more noticeable, making Bank gulp slightly.

His eyes then shifted to Jasper’s left hand, when his heart suddenly started pounding like crazy, his face starting to get warm as he started blushing. He slowly walked towards the empty space beside Jasper and sat down slowly – still wearing his dark blue apron. After sitting down, he shifted his body towards Jasper, poking the other boy’s biceps, which felt firm from the muscles, to see if he would wake up easily. After poking him several times with no response and reaction at all, he decided to go forward with his plan he formulated just a few seconds ago.

Bank slowly inched closer towards Jasper, One Ok Rock’s ‘Stand Out Fit In’ can be heard from his air pods. As he got closer, he could smell Jasper’s perfume, which made his heart pound more due to the nice manly aroma, his face getting hotter and redder as each second passed. When he was at least an inch away from Jasper, he stopped moving, settling where he was. Bank quietly exhaled, before slowly moving his right hand towards Jasper’s left hand, intending on intertwining their hands together, even for just a little bit, even if it seems one sided and selfish.

Bank’s index finger was a mere centimeter away from Jasper’s index finger when he stopped, hesitating and asking himself if what he was doing was right, his emotion and rationality exchanging blows, his heart and mind doing battle inside him, with the former overcoming the latter. As Bank slowly moved his fingers between Jasper’s fingers, he heard the door unlocking, causing him to jump out of the sofa.

Bank was still blushing, and a bit flustered when Ball and the others entered the suite. Of course, Ball quickly noticed Bank standing in front of Jasper, “What are you doing Bank?” Ball asked in Thai as he walked towards the kitchen counter to place the grocery bag and the Milk Teas down.

“A-ah..” Bank stuttered as he quickly thought of an excuse, “I was trying to wake P’Jasper up, but he doesn’t seem to respond when I poke him” he replied in their native language which Ball easily believed.

“Oh? Bank, what’s going on with Jasper?” Mingyu asked when he saw Bank standing in front of their sleeping friend.

“Bank said he’s trying to wake Jasper up, but it seems like he won’t respond when he tried poking him” Ball explained, translating what Bank just told him.

“Oh really now?” Mingyu grinned, placing the grocery bag he was carrying on the kitchen counter as he walked towards Bank.

“This is how you wake Jasper up” Mingyu told Bank with a grin on his face, turning his back towards Jasper as he let himself fall on his friend’s thighs, his tailbone hitting Jasper’s right hand, pushing it down on his groin and his private part causing Jasper to instantaneously wake up, the reflex caused Jasper’s head to swing forward, his forehead hitting the back of Mingyu’s head, as both of them groaned in pain.

After seeing what Mingyu just did, Bank slightly tilted his head towards Ball, his eyes focused on him, slightly pursing his lips before speaking in Thai, “You and Mingyu have the same personality, no wonder you both get along so well!” Bank said his voice sounded like a mother scolding her child, Ball could only smile awkwardly. Moira, Angela, and Rebecca were shocked at what Mingyu just did as they watched him and Jasper groan in pain.

Moira was the first one to walk over towards Jasper, but not before placing the plastic bag she was carrying on the counter, followed by Angela, Rebecca, and Ball in that order. After reaching where Jasper and Mingyu are, Moira slightly pushed away Mingyu – in a playful way of course.

She then tended to Jasper who was reacting more to the pain coming from his forehead than his crushed groin and private part, Angela was right beside Moira, with Rebecca next to Angela. Ball was standing between Rebecca and Ball as Mingyu and Jasper’s groans filled the living area, drowning out any other sounds. Bank continued to fuss at Ball who was trying to calm him down, the latter remembering how Ball and Min woke him up the other night by putting ice cubes in his pants, and the other day when Ball threw his backpack on his nuts – which made him more empathetic to Jasper’s current predicament.

Coincidentally, the groaning emanating from the living area woke Min up from his deep slumber, his face still sunk into the pillow. He slowly turned on his back, moving the pillow he was laying on and took out Aiden’s pictures from under it, “Good Morning Aiden” Min groaned before kissing his index and middle finger before pushing it to the picture where Aiden was doing a finger heart- Min’s favorite picture.

The groans continued to come from the living area, forcing Min to sit on the side of his bed, rubbing his eyes before he gave out a yawn, “What the hell did Ball do to Bank this time?” he whispered to himself before getting up from his bed, laying Aiden’s pictures on his desk, before he walked towards his door only wearing his boxer shorts on -  a recipe for an upcoming disaster.

Min was yawning and ruffling his hair as he slowly walked towards the living area where the groans where coming from, getting louder as he got closer. Min was half awake, his eye not fully opened as he turned the corner and walked into the living area, “What the hell did you do this time Ball?” Min asked in Thai, failing to notice who were in the living area.

As soon as Min came into full view of everyone, Angela immediately screamed, her face got flushed quickly, getting the attention of everyone. Moira and Rebecca’s face blushed as Angela covered Moira’s eyes, with Rebecca doing the same for Angela, and Ball covering Rebecca’s eyes. Mingyu and Jasper’s groans faded for a bit as they looked at where Min is standing, his hair messy, only wearing his boxer shorts.

Angela’s scream fully woke Min up, as he realized there were girls in their living area, “Shiaaa! What the hell are you doing Min!? Get dressed there are girls here!” Ball told Min, still covering Rebecca’s eyes.

“Shiaaaaaaaaaaaa! Ball! Bank! Why didn’t you tell me we have guests!?” Min exclaimed, covering his groin area before running back to his room to put some clothes on, his face red due to embarrassment. As soon as Min returned to his room, Ball released his hand from Rebecca’s eyes, the latter releasing her hand from Angela’s eyes, and then Angela from Moira’s eyes, the three girls still blushing.

“I wasn’t expecting that at all!” Moira exclaimed as she fanned herself, to try and calm herself down.

“OMG! OMG! That was crazy!” Angela said, fanning herself as well as she tried to calm herself down, the image of Min only in his underwear already seared into here brain.

“I have to admit, that was unexpected” Rebecca added, her face red as well, but not as pronounced as Moira and Angela’s faces due to the fact that since she’s and ROTC officer, she has more control of her emotions than others when it comes to guys being shirtless or something similar.

After a few minutes, Min came out of his room, now fully dressed, his face was still red due to the embarrassment he was feeling, “Sorry about earlier!” Min apologized as he returned to the living area, his apology directed towards Moira, Angela, and Rebecca.

“Don’t worry about that Min!” Moira responded, her face still blushing.

“Sorry for screaming like that, I was just surprised and all, and that was my first reaction” Angela said.

“Don’t worry about that Representative Nontanakorn” Rebecca finally added, catching Min’s attention.

“Oh!? It’s you!” Min reacted after seeing Rebecca, “I almost didn’t recognize you without the uniform on”

“You guys know each other?” Ball asked, “When did you meet her?”.

“We got acquainted last night! Also, I apologize again for earlier, that wasn’t how I would’ve preferred to meet you again, but some people forgot to tell me we were having guests over” Min told Rebecca before looking at Ball and Bank, the latter two avoiding eye contact with Min.

“Sup Min!” Mingyu greeted, still rubbing the back of his head before Jasper did a wet willy on him, causing Mingyu to jump away from Jasper.

“WTF Jasper! That’s nasty as fuck!” Mingyu reacted as he wiped his ear out.

“That’s what you get you little shit!” Jasper laughed, still rubbing his forehead, “Hey Min, sorry for waking you up with our groans and all”.

“Bruh, you’re nasty!” Jasper replied, as he laughed at what Jasper just did.

“Oh? So it was you and Mingyu who were groaning?” Min asked.

“Yeah, sorry about that” Jasper said as he looked at Min.

“No, worries, I thought it was Bank who was groaning. I was under the impression Ball did another prank on him, like he always does” Min explained, “So what did happen?”.

“I just woke Jasper up, is what happened” Mingyu responded.

“That’s not the entirety of it!” Jasper reacted before Ball explained to Min what happened, speaking in Thai as Bank listened on as well.

Min just laughed at the explanation Ball told him, “Wow, sounds like something you would do Ball!” he responded in Thai.

“That’s what I told him!” Bank interjected his face pouting, before the conversation could continue, the rice cooker started beeping, signaling that the rice was finished cooking.

“Oh! I totally forgot about that!” Bank commented in Thai as he went towards the kitchen, immediately unpacking the ingredients that everyone bought.

“What’s going on Ball?” Min asked in English.

“Oh, Bank is cooking for everyone” Ball replied with a smile on his face, “He’s cooking ‘Pad Kaprow Gai’ and ‘Pad Pak Kana Moo krob’ for lunch”.

“Oh wow! I’m actually hungry” Min told Ball before he faced everyone, “Bank is a really good cook!”

“So we’ve heard” Moira replied as she sat on the couch beside Jasper.

“So Min do you always sleep in like this?” Jasper asked, the pain he was feeling already disappearing.

“Not always” Min laughed, “It’s just I was so tired after I got home last night, and since we don’t have classes, I decided to just sleep until the party tonight”.

“Why were you so tired last night? What did you do?” Angela asked, curious as to what Min did to make him so tired that he would decide to sleep all day.

“Ah-ah” Min stuttered, unable to tell them the reason why he got so exhausted the previous night.

“President Kobayashi ordered him to don the Captain Wolf mascot last night, as punishment for him suddenly disappearing, and then showing up late for his shift at the control booth” Rebecca explained as everyone looked at Rebecca and then Min. Before anyone could question Min, Bank called out for his suitemates to help him prep and the ingredients so he could start cooking.

“Do you guys need any help?” Jasper offered, followed by Angela, Moira, and Rebecca.

“Oh no, we’re fine. All of you are our guests so you should just relax” Min responded with a smile on his face before Bank pulled him by the ear and had him slicing the chicken. Ball worked on the vegetables and Bank worked on the pork.

Everyone just watched the Thai students as they prepped the ingredients, as if watching a live cooking show, with them being on the front row seats. They were amazed on how Bank was handling the knife professionally, Min and Ball weren’t too shabby either, by the time they realized it, Bank was already cooking some of the ingredients they were prepping, the aroma from the spices circulated within the suite.

The aroma from whatever Bank is cooking was making everyone hungry. It didn’t take but another 30 minutes before everything was cooked, and Bank instructed his suitemates to plate the food, putting the side dishes on two large plates, and the rice on individual bowls. Ball placed the two side dishes on the coffee table, while Min carried the bowls with rice on a tray as Bank finished up in the kitchen.

After Ball placed the side dishes on the coffee table, everyone gathered around the freshly cooked food and savored the aroma and the appetizing presentation of the food. Min came afterwards, passing the bowls of rice to everyone before handing them their utensils. After Bank joined the group, everyone started eating, with Jasper and Mingyu greatly impressed at how tasty the food was, quickly finishing their bowls. Moira, Angela, and Rebecca were left speechless on how good Bank’s cooking is, true to the reputation and bragging that Ball and Min has been doing.

Mingyu and Jasper asked for a second serving of rice, which Bank gladly acknowledge, a huge smile forming on his face knowing that Jasper was happy and content with the food he cooked. After getting another serving of rice, Bank asked Ball and Min to grab some drinks and glasses, which his suitemates promptly followed. After the trio went back to the living room, they all started eating with their friends, talking about random topics as they enjoyed the ‘Pad Kaprow Gai’ and ‘Pad Pak Kana Moo krob’.

After everyone ate, they thanked Bank for the delicious food he cooked, thanking Min and Ball as well for letting them hang out in their place. The Thai students were all too happy to host them for lunch, with Min suggesting they do it again with everyone in Cappuccino Power and Rebecca. Min, Bank, and Jasper also thanking everyone for getting them the Milk Tea.

“What’s Cappuccino Power?” Rebecca asked before drinking her glass of water.

“It’s basically our group. It’s me, Aiden, Min, Ball, Bank, Moira, Angela, Katrina, Aaron, and Jasper” Mingyu explained to Rebecca.

“We were technically formed before the #CoffeeShower incident at the cafeteria happened, Min decided our group name later that night” Angela explained.

“Oh, that’s a really interesting group of people” Rebecca commented, “Aiden’s Praetorian Guards, High Ranking Student Council members, and the Thai Exchange Students”

“Praetorian Guards?” Mingyu asked.

“Aiden’s closest associates; you, Katrina, Jasper and Aaron” Rebecca chuckled.

“Oh right, that sounds cool actually” Mingyu responded as he gave out a chuckle.

“That’s better than the ‘Old Guards’ that Min and I came up with” Ball chuckled.

“Bruh, you make it sound like we’re actually old” Mingyu commented to the laughter of everyone.

“Since we’re talking about Aiden, what did happen last night? What’s the deal with the Captain Wolf mascot? Moira asked, changing the course of their discussion.

“From what I heard as well, Min was late for his shift last night at the control booth, and we’re also aware that Min disappeared for a short while, prompting Aiden to organize a search party, but isn’t the punishment a bit unusual and disproportionate to what Min did?” Moira continued.

“That’s what I thought too, but I received orders from Cadet-Major Del Rosario to serve as his escort along with a team of cadets and make sure he acts as Captain Wolf until the event concluded, I didn’t receive any other details other than that” Rebecca explained.

“After the event finished, President Kobayashi ordered Min to stay behind and help the ROTC and the university staff clean up” Rebecca added.

“Talk about overkill, what did you do to Aiden last night for him to punish you like that?” Mingyu asked.

“I guess Aiden hates me that much” Min laughed before Ball grabbed a pamphlet below where the television is hanging and smacked Min in the head. “You probably teased him or something!” Ball said as Moira froze in place, shifting her eyes.

“No, actually. I got an earful from Aiden for disappearing and then showing up late, after he told me earlier that night not to be late” Min explained, omitting the fact about the pictures from the AG booth.

“Well, that would definitely do it” Mingyu commented, “Aiden doesn’t like it when he tells someone something and they don’t deliver. I could see why Aiden would make you do the things he made you do”.

Before anybody else could follow up with what was just said, Mingyu, Jasper, Moira, and Angela’s phone started vibrating followed by a notification sound. It was Aiden, reminding the members of the Student Council and the International Student Organization to gather at the Ballroom at 16:30 to assist with the setup and preparations. A few minutes later, Rebecca’s phone vibrated, a message from Amy requesting the she report at their Barracks at 15:00 for the mission briefing – basically in 30-minutes. This forced everyone to cut short their conversation and say their goodbyes to their hosts, offering to help clean, with Bank insisted they don’t have to clean, before everyone left to get ready for the welcome party.

Aiden arrived at the Ballroom at around 16:00, his outfit different, but still looked cool and fashionable. His outfit basically consisted of a black v-cut shirt, with a black zip-up hoodie, a black ripped skinny jean, and his black Timberland boots, he also wore the same accessories he had this morning, his pendant tucked away under his shirt.

When Aiden entered, the university staff were already setting up the tables and chairs, portable stage, the speakers, and the video and music equipment they were going to use. The female building manager approached Aiden as soon as he entered, complementing him on his outfit and his looks, Aiden only forced a smile before being updated on the current progress in regard with the setup.

After the building manager finished her report, Cadet-Majors Del Rosario and Montanillo, both wearing their dress uniforms, accompanied by Cadet-Captain Francisco and the other Executive Officers of the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th ROTC companies wearing their combat uniforms, entered the ballroom.

“Excuse me! No students are allowed here as of this moment” Cadet-Major Del Rosario called out to Aiden, not recognizing him due to his outfit, Cadet-Captain Francisco immediately cringed before loudly clicking her heels together and rendering a salute, quickly confusing all the other officers present.

“President Kobayashi, senior cadet-officers of the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th ROTC companies reporting for duty!” Cadet-Captain Francisco said out loud as Aiden turned around, holding a clipboard which has the seating arrangement that Moira made, and the list of attendees for the welcome party.

Cadet-Major Del Rosario, Cadet-Major Montanillo and the other three Cadet-Captains quickly clicked their heels and rendered a salute after realizing that the “student” that Cadet-Major Del Rosario was calling out to was their Student Commander-in-Chief. Of course, Cadet-Major Del Rosario felt embarrassed addressing Aiden like she did, leaving her shocked and speechless.

“What’s with that face Cadet-Major, you look like you’ve seen a ghost” Aiden said when he saw Cadet-Major Del Rosario’s face, almost drained of its color. He looked at the other cadet-officers in front of him and saw the same reactions, except for Cadet-Captain Francisco who didn’t seem bothered by his appearance, displaying a normal reaction, given that she already had her share of shock and surprise earlier in the morning after that run-in by MJU Station.

“As you were” Aiden ordered as everyone lowered their arms and assumed the parade rest stance.

“A-apologies President Kobayashi! I didn’t know that was you!” Cadet-Major Del Rosario said, profusely apologizing to Aiden.

“Don’t think too much about it, Cadet-Major Del Rosario, you’re not the first one to react like that nor will you be the last” Aiden said, as he started getting used to the same reaction to his changed appearance.

“What’s the current status of the 1^st through 4^th?” Aiden asked.

“Sir, all cadets are standing by and awaiting your orders” Cadet-Major Del Rosario replied.

“Good, what’s the deployment formation for tonight?” Aiden continued.

“Sir, the cadets will be broken into four sections, the first section will be charged with the security outside the student center, the second section will be patrolling within the student center, the third section will be posted outside the immediate vicinity of the ballroom, and the fourth section will be stationed inside the ballroom, along with the bulk of our medical teams” Cadet-Major Montanillo reported as Aiden nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“Good, callsigns for Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be Persona, Dionysius, Black Swan, and Filter in that order” Aiden ordered as Cadet-Majors Del Rosario and Montanillo responded simultaneously with a “Yes, sir!”. One of the Cadet-Captains beside Cadet-Captain Francisco whispered to the other Cadet-Captain beside her, “Aren’t those BTS songs?”, which caught the attention of Cadet-Captain Francisco who immediately shushed the other two officers.

“Right, since Cadet-Majors Del Rosario and Montanillo will be joining us at this event, the overall operational command of the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th will be under Cadet-Captain Francisco, the different sections, as planned will be under the NCO’s” Aiden continued to the surprise of Cadet-Captain Francisco.

“Me, sir?” Cadet-Captain Francisco asked, confused as to why she was chosen.

“Would you rather I not hand you command of the battalion Cadet-Captain?” Aiden asked, as the other officers looked at Cadet-Captain Francisco.

“No-no sir, I’ll be honored to command the battalion by your orders, sir” Cadet-Captain Francisco replied, a smile on her face noticeable, even though she was trying to suppress it.

“Good. It’s settled. Cadet-Captain Francisco, you will base your HQ here at the ballroom, find a suitable spot where you can setup, relay the updated chain of command to the battalion” Aiden ordered as the executive officers rendered a salute, before excusing themselves.

“What about Cadet-Major Montanillo and I, sir?” Cadet-Major Del Rosario asked. “Relax somewhere” Aiden ordered before walking off.

Cadet-Major Del Rosario and Cadet-Major Montanillo looked at each other confused, “Relax?” they said at the same time before looking at Aiden who was walking towards the stage. After a few minutes, Grace and Katrina entered the ballroom and was surprised to see Cadet-Majors Del Rosario and Montanillo just sitting on the side, looking bored.

“You guys okay? Where’s Aiden?” Grace asked as she saw the two cadet-officers looking bored and uneasy just sitting around. The two were about to stand up to render a salute when Grace stopped them from doing so, prompting the two to sit back down.

“President Kobayashi is up front, inspecting the stage” Cadet-Major Montanillo replied.

“Why are you guys sitting down?” Katrina asked, curious as to why they weren’t doing anything.

“President Kobayashi ordered as to ‘relax’ so we’re just sitting here awaiting further orders” Cadet-Major Del Rosario responded as Grace and Katrina looked at each other.

“Grace! Katrina!” Aiden called out as he walked towards them. Grace and Katrina looking at where Aiden’s voice was coming from, the former looking shocked and surprised.

“A-Aiden?” Grace stuttered, surprised to see a different looking Aiden.

“Once the university staff finishes with setting up the tables and stage, go ahead and instruct them on how to do the decorations. Katrina, check the sound booth and setup the music playlist for tonight. Once those are done have Amy and Alexis assist with prepping the stage” Aiden ordered as he walked towards the door to check on other things.

“What if the others arrive?” Katrina asked as Aiden continued walking.

“Have them help out as well!” Aiden replied in a loud voice as he exited the ballroom, Grace still looking surprised and unable to move on from what she just saw.

“Welcome to the club” Cadet-Major Del Rosario told Grace, who seems to be having a hard time absorbing what she just saw, “That’s how we reacted too earlier”.

“Well, Aiden does wear nice things every now and then” Katrina said catching the attention of the others

“You don’t seem surprise though?” Cadet-Major Montanillo asked as he looked at Katrina.

“Well, I did the first time I saw him wear nice clothes, but I’m used to it now” Katrina replied before heading towards the sound booth where all the sound equipment is located.

“Right” Cadet-Major Montanillo replied as Grace walked towards the university staff working on the stage.

After a few minutes, the rest of the Student Council and International Student Organization officers arrived in the ballroom, with Angela, Moira, Jasper, and Mingyu basically wearing the same clothes, with Mingyu changing his shorts to a black ripped jean. Aaron was wearing a blue t-shirt, and a grey vest on top of it, black cargo pants, and Nike Air Jordan, a black and red Beats headphone around his neck, and a hanging cross earring in his left ear and stud earrings on his right ear, he also had a bracelet on his left wrist and an apple watch on his right; Kobe was wearing an oversized shirt, skinny jeans, a cap, Dr. Marten boots, and his apple watch on his left wrist; Min is wearing an oversized white long sleeved polo shirt with the top button unbuttoned, exposing his chest, and the sleeves rolled up just above his elbow, white skinny jeans, and white Timberland boots, he’s also wearing a watch on his right wrist.

As soon as everyone arrived, they gathered around Cadet-Majors Del Rosario and Montanillo, exchanging pleasantries and compliments on each other’s outfits. Just then, Grace and Katrina returned from what Aiden instructed them to do. Katrina was wearing a loose shirt with skinny jeans and an orange high top converse, earring studs on both ears, and bracelets on her left wrist, and apple watch on the right; Grace for her part is wearing a summer dress with a large leather belt around her waist, a wedge sandals, dangling earrings on both ears, bracelets on her right wrist and a watch on her left.

After arriving, Grace started giving everyone instructions to help out with the decorations and other preparations before the catering service arrives to set-up the buffet stations on either side of the ballroom. Moira and Angela were tasked to setup a table by the ballroom doors which would serve as the reception area; Aaron and Min were tasked to assist the university staff doing the decorations around the vicinity of the stage; Jasper and Aaron were sent to help out the university staff decorating on the other end of the ballroom, close to the main entrance; Kobe and Katrina were tasked with assisting the catering service with whatever they need, while Grace, Cadet-Majors Del Rosario and Montanillo went to finish prepping the stage, and assisting with the decorations.

Aiden meanwhile was scouting the area, making sure that the ROTC has covered the entirety of the venue, both the exterior and interior, to prevent any unwanted guests or group of students from sneaking in and causing a scene. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t be this stringent, but given that this event is not only a welcome party for the international students, but also a PR stunt by the university to boost its image on the domestic and international stage to help with their student enrollments - a form of power projection for Mount Juliet University, so everything must be done down to the letter.

By 17:45 members of the Executive Council, the Council of Deans, the Board of Student Governors, the MJU Times, the MJU Radio, the MJU TV and the Gang of Eight, the International Exchange Program Staff, the Department of Modern Foreign Language faculty, and Dr. Carla Harrison started arriving, and were escorted to their assigned seats by Moira, Angela, Grace, and Katrina. All of them were seated at the central area facing the stage, where the Student Council and the International Student Council are also assigned to be seated. The formation of the tables is a large ‘W’ facing the stage, enough to fit all the attending guests that are not considered as international students.

The long table facing the stage is where the Executive Council Members and the Council of Deans, and the Board of Student Governors were slated to sit. The first prong to the left is where the MJU media personalities and the Gang of Eight members will be seated, the central prong is where the Student Council members, International Student Organization officers and the International Student Council will be seating, and the final prong is where the International Exchange Program staff, the Department of Modern Foreign Language faculty and Dr. Harrison will be seating. Cadet-Major Del Rosario will be seating with the Student Council, while Cadet-Major Montanillo will be seating with the Gang of Eight.

Of course, MJU TV brought along a camera crew and a student reporter to cover the event, MJU Radio and MJU Times also have student journalists and reporters standing by to do interviews, take photographs, and of course cover the entirety of the event which they will published and air the following week for the entirety of the university.

By 17:50 large groups of international students have entered the student center, with ROTC cadets lining the stairways and corridors to direct the international students to where the ballroom is located. The dress code for the night is casual, except for the members of the administration, staff, and faculty in attendance who were wearing business casual clothes, this also included Cadet-Colonel Belarmino, Cadet-Major Del Rosario, and Cadet-Major Montanillo who are wearing their dress uniforms.

The other tables in the ballroom were circular in shape and could hold at least ten people each. Moira’s seating plan was designed in a way where the international students are seated in alphabetical order via their surnames to ensure that they will not be cliquing with their fellow students from their home universities and home countries, this would give them a chance to meet other international students, practice their English skills, and make new friends. Due to an error in printing the names of the international students, Ball, Bank, and Fujiyoshi’s name weren’t included in the seating plan, but were on the attendee list, to quickly remedy the situation, Aiden ordered the students to be seated in their table.

Of course, Aiden tweaked the seating chart a little bit, rearranging the Gang of Eight in a way that Heidi, Oscar, Prince, (who was also extended an invitation per Aiden’s orders), and RJ are seated next to each other, next to Cadet-Colonel Belarmino and Cadet-Major Montanillo, while Jason and Hazelyn were seated on the far end closer to the stage, the two ROTC officers acting as a buffer between the two groups. The members of the Student Council and International Student Council were seated according to their positions, with Aiden and Monica seating closer to where the Chancellor and the Deans are and the lowest ranking officers closest to the stage. The officers of the International Student Organization who are not part of the Student Council were seated at random at the end of the table with Ball, Bank, and Fujiyoshi.

While the remaining international students were being led to their seats, most of the people already inside the ballroom were chatting with other people, some students were taking pictures and selfies. As one of the university staff who was assigned to control the music played some catchy tunes as everyone waited for the event to start, the song that was currently playing was ‘Right Now’ by Akon.

The mood in the venue was festive, the ballroom being filled with chatters and laughter which by all accounts was somewhat drowning out the background music. Student journalists and reporters from the MJU Times, MJU Radio, and MJU TV were interviewing some of the domestic students, international students, faculty and staff that were present, with questions ranging from their current thoughts about the international students, perception of the international students, how the international students would impact the university life and culture, the international students’ culture shock, thoughts about MJU, what the international students are looking forward to, how their stay at MJU is going so far, and their thoughts about the Student Council among others. The official University Photographer from the Office of University Relations is also present, taking snapshots of the venue, domestic students, international students, ROTC cadets, the food, the decorations, members of the administration as well as faculty and staff that are present.

As everyone was going about their business, Chancellor Gazmin called for Aiden, who promptly reported to the Chancellor. Aiden was summoned to discuss the proposal that he presented the other day at the Executive Council Meeting, as Chancellor Gazmin arrived with his decision in regard to the only proposal that have not been approved – the expansion of the Student Council. Before the Chancellor got to the actual topic, he congratulated Aiden on a job well done with the Student Organization Fair, which Aiden accepted humbly and gracefully, in contrast as to how he reacted to Vice Chancellor Gutierrez that morning. Of course Aiden was a bit nervous, not knowing what the Chancellor has decided in regard to his progressive proposal for the reformation of the Student Council.

“I have thought long and hard about your proposal Aiden, and I have reached a decision” Chancellor Gazmin told Aiden, who was feeling nervous and anxious inside, but has mostly kept his exterior reaction and expression the same as usual.

“I will accept whatever your decision may be Chancellor Gazmin, you know what is best for the university and our students” Aiden said before the Chancellor could say anything else, Vice Chancellor Gutierrez was also anxious as she’s one of the people in the Executive Council who fully supports the Student Council’s reformation.

The Chancellor gave out a chuckle as he placed his hand on Aiden’s shoulder, “You see Aiden, it’s that attitude and personality of yours that made me decide to approve your proposal”.

The Chancellor’s answer almost made Aiden smile, as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez quickly clapped her hands in excitement, as she lowkey jumped up and down in her heels, “Thank you Chancellor Gazmin, I promise I will not disappoint, and will use this opportunity to further improve the Student Council and serve our students and the university better” Aiden said as Chancellor Gazmin patted his shoulder.

“I have no doubts you would, but there is a small matter I would like you to do for me” Chancellor Gazmin asked as he removed his hand from Aiden’s shoulder.

“Yes, Chancellor Gazmin, what would it be?” Aiden replied.

“The position of the University Intelligence Officer, its name sounds a bit authoritarian in nature, would it be possible for you to change it?” Chancellor Gazmin kindly asked, smile forming on his face.

“Of course sir, that wouldn’t be a problem” Aiden replied.

“Thank you for understanding Aiden, as much as possible I wouldn’t want the Student Council to be perceived as an organization invading the privacy of our students, the optics of it casts the Student Council in a very negative light” Chancellor Gazmin said.

“Though I do approve of you keeping an eye on the members of the Gang of Eight and gathering information about possible trouble in the university. I do agree with you in prevention rather than cure when it comes to the security and stability of our student body and university. I have been hearing reports of brewing trouble between Ms. Mendoza, Mr. Marquez on one side, and Mr. Espinosa, Mr. Hernandez and Ms. Enriquez on one side, and I think it’s in all of our best interest if we keep it to from evolving into a full-blown open conflict amongst our largest groups and organizations” Chancellor Gazmin continued.

“I understand sir, and I do apologize for the naming of that position, with your permission, I just came up with another alternative for the title of University Intelligence Officer” Aiden said.

“Oh? Is that so? As expected of our Student Council President this year. Well, let’s hear it” Chancellor Gazmin said.

“Would the title Attorney-General be more suitable, Chancellor Gazmin?” Aiden suggested.

“I actually like that; it sounds better and more professional. What do you think Aurea?” Chancellor Gazmin said as he looked at Vice Chancellor Gutierrez who seemed impressed by how quick Aiden thought of a replacement name, at the same time, there was an expression of approval for the new name.

“I think that’s a good replacement from the previous title that Aiden suggested. I like it” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, giving her blessing on the new name.

“Well, there you have it, Aiden. You have my permission to establish these position as you see fit, you can also start searching for the candidates that can fill these new positions. You have full authorization and autonomy in setting this up. I do expect a report about your progress by the next Executive Meeting” Chancellor Gazmin said.

“Yes sir! Thank you very much!” Aiden responded before he excused himself. Chancellor Gazmin just gave another chuckle before he and Vice Chancellor Gutierrez took their seats.

After a few minutes, the main entrance to the ballroom was closed, and the last of the international students have been seated. Moira Sato, Student Council Chief of Staff and Katrina Tolentino, International Student Organization Chief of Staff and Student Council Comptroller, the designated Emcees for the event took the stage and greeted everyone present in the ballroom as the chatters and laughter died down, the music was also muted to allow everyone to hear Moira and Katrina properly.

“Good Evening everyone!” Moira greeted as she was greeted back by everyone.

“Wow! What wonderful reception and energy! This is going to be great night, right Moira?” Katrina said, they’re voice sounding excited.

“Firstly, we would like to extend our deepest thanks and gratitude to all our international students, our fellow domestic students, administration officials, faculty and staff for joining us tonight in this festive occasion!” Moira continued.

“To start off our welcome party, we have Chancellor Harrold Gazmin to deliver the opening remarks” Katrina announced as she and Moira stepped back from the center stage before Chancellor Gazmin made his way up to the stage, Katrina giving the Chancellor a mic as thunderous applause greeted the Chancellor.

“Thank you, Katrina and Moira” Chancellor Gazmin said before facing everyone.

“Before anything else, I would like to extend our thanks to President Kobayashi, the Student Council, and the International Student Organization for organizing this wonderful event for our international student” The Chancellor started his speech.

“I, along with the entire faculty and staff of Mount Juliet University are glad to see that you all have been adjusting well to our university culture. Most of you must’ve been surprised to see a lot of things here that you may not have experienced in your home universities, or even your home countries. But I would like to assure everyone that the MJU student culture is as unique as it would get, and I would like to stress the importance of immersing and integrating yourselves in this unique culture of ours. I strongly believe as an educator that by immersing yourselves in things you have not experienced before, you open yourselves up to further learning, growth and development. There are things in life that we cannot learn within the confines of a classroom, and that most of our learning in life comes from experiences and exploring something new. By opening up yourselves to things unknown, you expand your perspective and view of the world, and with that you help your knowledge and understanding grow, which allows for you to become a well-educated and wise person. This welcome party that our Student Council have organized is also another part of your learning experience, the opportunities for discovering something new and meeting other people is part of our ethos here at Mount Juliet, which I strongly believe will aid in your growth and development as students, and future professionals. I do hope everyone enjoys this event, especially the food, which I heard are the best of what the Philippine cuisine has to offer. Now I’m going to end my speech here since most of you looks like you’re about ready to storm the buffet lines, thank you all for attending this event, and I hope everyone has a wonderful and enjoyable night!” Chancellor Gazmin said as he ended his speech, which was met by yet another thunderous applause and standing ovation from everyone present.

As the Chancellor made his way down the stage, he returned Katrina’s mic before the two emcees took center stage again. “What a powerful and inspiring speech from our dear Chancellor!” Moira said excitedly.

“Now, we know all of you are hungry, but we have one more speech for the night before we let everyone start lining up our buffet tables” Katrina said.

“Everyone, please welcome our Student Council President, Aiden Kobayashi!” Moira and Katrina said in tandem as another thunderous applause filled the ballroom, scattered squeals can be heard from different parts of the venue.

When Aiden took center stage, mic in hand, the scattered squeals became full-blown as everyone who hasn’t seen Aiden in his outfit reacted with surprise, excitement, and glee. Especially Min, who was seeing Aiden in an outfit other than his MJU uniform for the first time, his eyes sparkling, his heart beating faster. The sight of Aiden wearing all black, with his earrings and other accessories made Min fall in love with the Student Council President even more.

RJ, Oscar, Heidi, Hazelyn, and Augustin started flailing and squealing at the sight of Aiden. A fresh new look that they were just seeing for the first time, as everyone on the venue got their phones out and started taking pictures and/or videos of Aiden. Of course the students at the back, although they couldn’t see Aiden up-close, can see what he was wearing as the projectors, and flat-screen TVs were showing a live feed of the stage, allowing them to at least take a picture, even from the screens. Some members of the Executive Council were even joking about how no one took their phones out while the Chancellor spoke, but with Aiden, who hasn’t even spoken yet, was already greeted by squeals and cameras.

“Alright everyone! We know you guys love our Student Council President, but we all should quiet down and let him deliver his speech so we could all partake!” Katrina said as the squeals died down, allowing Aiden to start speaking.

“Thank you everyone for the rousing welcome! I’m happy and excited that all of you could join us tonight in this event” Aiden started his speech, his expression still the same.

“The hell was that? Happy and excited? His expression didn’t even change. He’s like Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series” Mingyu commented after hearing Aiden’s opening remarks, garnering chuckles and muffled laughter from everyone in his proximity who heard what he said, Jasper grabbing the program pamphlet and smacking it on the back of Mingyu’s head.

“I will make this speech short, for the sake of those who are ready to have their dinner” Aiden added as laughter erupted in the ballroom.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank the members of the Student Council, the International Student Organization, the ROTC, and university staff who helped setup and decorate this ballroom, and also made this event possible” Aiden continued.

“As with Chancellor Gazmin has said, the Student Council and the International Student Organization are glad to see that everyone is adjusting to our culture here at MJU. As members of the Student Council, we are proud and honored to be given the opportunity to serve the first batch of international students here at Mount Juliet. Our goal and duty are to ensure that our students, both domestic and international, are taken care of and that their educational experience here is something that they would remember as a great experience in their collegiate journey. I do hope that our international students have had a wonderful and eye-opening first week, and that their adjustment to the culture and traditions here in our country has been a smooth transition. This welcome party is just one of many events and activities that the Student Council have in store for all our students this academic year, and I do hope everyone participates in those events and create fun and memorable memories. I hope everyone enjoys the food, and I hope everyone has a fun night. Thank you very much!” Aiden said as he concluded his impromptu speech which received a thunderous applause as Aiden exited the stage, returning his mic to Moira as he climbed down the steps.

“Now that our opening remarks are over, everyone help yourselves with the food!” Moira announced as everyone started getting up from their seats and started getting in line at the buffet tables. The music started playing again, the song being played ‘Harlem Shake’ by Baauer.

Everyone was greeted by the aroma of different Filipino foods at the buffet line, Kaldereta, Kare-Kare, Lumpia, Sinigang, Lechon Kawali, Fried Chicken, Pancit Malabon, Palabok, Lechon, Crispy Pata, Adobong Baboy, Chicken Inasal, Pork Barbeque, Beef Tapa, and Liempo for the main dishes. For desserts, there are Leche Flan, Puto Bumbong, Buko Pie, Bibingka, Cassava Cake, Ensaymada, Mango Float, Maja Blanca, and Sapin-sapin. Of course there’s white rice being served as well, being a staple in Filipino cuisine. There were also a variety of drinks, like Sago’t Gulaman, Buko Juice, Calamansi Juice, Buko Pandan, Mango Shakes, Coffee, Tea, Soft Drinks, and of course Water.

Most of the international students, especially the Korean and Japanese students were amazed by the presentation of the Lechon, the pig having an apple in its mouth skewered by a bamboo stick. The South American students were surprised and in awe by how some of the Filipino foods they were seeing were somewhat similar to the food that they have in their home countries – a legacy of Spanish colonization. It took about 30 minutes for everyone to get their food, and everyone was sitting on their respective tables, enjoying their dinner, making small talk, and enjoying the music playing in the background. To the surprise and shock of everyone – Aiden’s praetorian guards included, Aiden was actually eating something, filling half his plate with rice, as he got Beef Tapa, Lechon Kawali, Pork Barbeque, Kaldereta, and Iced Coffee.

After everyone was finished eating, Moira and Katrina went up the stage again as the event was moving on to its next part – games. “Did everyone enjoy their dinner!?” Moira asked as her voice echoed throughout the venue, she was greeted by cheers and shouts of approval from everyone.

“That’s good! We’re moving on to the next segment of our event, games!” Katrina announced excitedly as the students got excited.

“Now, we have six games in total for the night, two of which are playable by everyone, and the other three will be played by grouping everyone per country of origin, and the last one will be a surprise game, and the participants will be selected at random” Moira announced as a competitive atmosphere started building up within the ballroom. The six games that Moira had come up with are Trip to Jerusalem, Bring Me, Stop Dance, Paper Dance, Pinoy Henyo, and the last game which Moira kept a secret and purposefully did not announce, saving it for last.

The first game to be announced was Trip to Jerusalem, a game where the players must move around the chairs and quickly take a seat once the music stops, the player that wasn’t able to get a seat is eliminated, and one chair is removed as the next level starts. Moira grouped all the international students by country, and the domestic students were free to join any country they wished to join or stay with the Filipino team, each group nominated their player who will represent their country. There were 20 chairs total, with 21 students participating, all the countries were represented including the Philippines. It was a nail-biting game which resulted in the German Students’ victory.

The next one played is Bring me, where the host says, “Bring me + whatever he/she wants”. The game got so intense and competitive, even more so when Moira hyped up the last round of the game, when she said, “Bring me Aiden Kobayashi”. Everyone participated in this game, but with the help of Aiden’s male Praetorian Guards, they handed the victory over to the Thai students – which Min greatly savored.

The next game that was played was Stop dance, a game similar to Trip to Jerusalem but without the chairs. Players will start dancing and when the music stops, they must freeze, those who move, or smile are eliminated from the game.  Like the first game, the international students were grouped by country and they chose a representative to play for them. The game was won by the Korean students easily.

The next game was paper dance, similar to stop dance, except players would have to stand on a paper (usually a newspaper) with their dance partner once the music stops and must keep their balance being careful not to step outside the paper. The paper gets folded in half every round, getting tinier and tinier until one pair remains. Everyone participated in this game, which was won by the French students.

The next game was Pinoy Henyo, a game similar to charades. Once again, the international students were grouped by country. This was the most exciting and rowdiest of all the games that they have played so far, with the American and Canadian students in a tense competition with each other, but ultimately the former won the extremely competitive game.

After finishing the five games, the international students and domestic students still have the fighting energy, with everyone still feeling competitive and eagerly awaiting the next and final game for the night. The mood was really friendly, even though the competitiveness of the students seemed ruthless at times, everyone was enjoying and having fun.

“Wow! Everyone is so competitive! I never would’ve expected that!” Katrina said as they prepared to move on to the next game, which she herself didn’t know as Moira was the only one who knows what the last game is – the surprise she has been keeping from M.A.S.S.

“Alright! Is everyone ready for the last game for tonight!? I know I ‘am!” Moira announced as she gave a grin, with the students shouting in excitement.

“Alright, this last game is going to be different. I’m going to be choosing eight random students, which will be paired together, four pairs in total. After all the pairs are up on the stage, I will announce the last game we’re going to be playing for the night” Moira announced as anticipation filled the room, with Katrina bringing Moira a glass bowl filled with folded papers.

“Is everyone ready!?” Moira asked as the excitement and anticipation for the next game grew.

“Our first pair!” Moira said as she picked two pieces of paper in the glass bowl.

“Oh! This is interesting! Cadet-Major Amy Del Rosario and Cadet-Major Alexis Montanillo!” Moira announced as the two cadet officers made their way up the stage.

“Alright, our next pair!” Moira said as she once again picked two pieces of paper.

“Jasper Hernandez and Chatchawee Chungwatana!” Moira announced as Bank reluctantly walked to the stage, with Jasper pushing him from the back to make him go faster.

“Our third pair!” Moira said as she picked two pieces of papers.

“Princess Geronimo and Grace Manalo!” Moira announced as Prince and Grace made their way up the stage. While Prince and Grace made their way up the stage, Aiden started having this bad gut feeling, like something was about to happen, although he can’t tell what it was exactly.

“Finally, our last pair for the night!” Moira said as she picked two pieces of paper for the last time before Katrina took the glass bowl away.

Moira looked at the two pieces of paper she was holding, as a wide grin formed on her face before making the announcement, “Our last pair! Aiden Kobayashi and Thapthim Nontanakorn!”.

The last pair drew large squeals and screams from the girls in the ballroom. The announcement shocked and surprised Aiden to the core, the gut feeling he just felt was now coming true. While Aiden dreaded the announcement, Min tried to hide the smile forming on his face. Even though Aiden didn’t like it, he was forced to, telling himself it was part of his duty as Student Council President.

The truth of the matter is, the papers that Moira was drawing from the glass bowl were actually blank and she was just randomly calling pairs she thought would make a really nice couple, especially in the case of Amy x Alexis and Grace x Prince. Moira’s real objective and goal was Jasper x Bank and Min x Aiden from the very beginning of it all.

“Alright, now all of our couples are up on the stage, our last game for the night would be..” Moira announced, her voice fading at the end of the sentence as a huge smile formed in her face before pulling a box of pocky stick that she placed in her back pocket. The squeals and excitement coming from the students as well as some faculty and staff filled the ballroom. All the participants reacted in surprise, as they weren’t expecting Moira to pull something like that out of the blue (No pun intended).

Moira controlled every aspect of the game, including how the game would be conducted. In this case, they will do it by pair, and move on to the next one after a round has concluded, the selected pair would be taking center stage, where the spotlight would be focused on them. Before Amy and Alexis were called, Amy whispered an order to Alexis to break-off at the half-way mark, which Alexis almost didn’t comply with, only breaking off when their lips were a centimeter apart – to Amy’s surprise.

The next one to be called on was Grace and Prince, their round went by fast as before they could reach the half-way mark, Grace quickly broke off. To the subtle disappointment of Prince, RJ, and Oscar, but to the slight irritation and annoyance of Grace, who gave Moira a quick death stare as she walked off.

The next pair garnered squeals and shouts of excitement as the majority of the students, faculty, and staff present took their phones out to take a video and/or picture of Jasper and Bank who were getting ready to do the pocky game. Bank was nervous, but was somewhat excited, since he has feelings for Jasper. On the other hand, Jasper was only thinking of this as a game and was prepared to do everything to win.

As Jasper and Bank started the pocky game, the song ‘Alipin’ by Shamrock started playing in the background. When Bank reached the half-way mark of the pocky stick, he stopped, his nervousness getting the best of him. As much as he wanted to break off, he couldn’t as he was conflicted on what he should do, by the time Bank decided to break off, Jasper’s lips touched his, just as the song’s chorus started playing, “Ako'y alipin mo kahit hindi batid…”. This made Bank blush, his heart pounding like crazy as Jasper finished off the remaining pocky before pulling his lips off from Bank’s. Their small kiss garnered loud squeals and excitement, mostly from the girls, but with few guys getting excited as well, as the JasBan kiss was replayed on the projector screen and TV monitors within the venue.

Aiden and Min clearly witnessed what just happened, and as the two looked at Jasper and Bank, Aiden spoke, “You better break off Thammasat Kid, I won’t let you have my first kiss” Aiden warned as the third pair made their way down the stage. Aiden’s heart was beating really fast, unsure whether it was nervousness, anxiousness, or something else, Min never responded to what Aiden said, and the latter just assumed he heard what he said, with the music in the background being muted for Moira’s announcement.

Moira clearly couldn’t hide her excitement as she announced the last pair, which produced the loudest squeals and screams of the entire night, Heidi Enriquez, the leader of the Aiden’s Guardians, Cadet-Sergeant Joyce Cruz, and Cadet-Corporal Jane Domingo helplessly watched in horror as Min and Aiden took center stage. Ball was silently praying to whatever deity was listening for Min not to do anything crazy, especially in front of the international students, and the senior members of the university administration. Although he supports Min with his quest to confess to Aiden, doing something crazy in this magnitude would surely anger Aiden, and derail any plans that Min has.

The contrasting outfits that Aiden and Min were wearing was quickly noticed by everyone; Aiden who was wearing all black, and Min who was wearing all white. One of the student journalists present coined the term “The Black Prince and the White Prince” as she wrote it down on her notepad before taking a picture of Min and Aiden standing a foot from each other.   

Moira passed the pocky stick to Aiden, as the latter was in deep thought. Before he placed the pocky stick in his mouth, Aiden snorted, as if he just thought of something that might help him avoid his first kiss being stolen. The hype and anticipation for Min and Aiden surpassed those of Jasper and Bank, with the majority of girls, especially Moira, Angela, and Rebecca - even Vice Chancellor Gutierrez, and some guys, especially Mingyu, RJ, and Oscar were looking forward to the slow-suspenseful pocky kiss that was about to happen, Ball was cautiously optimistic as he knows that Min does unexpected things out of the blue.

Min just stood in front of Aiden as the latter placed the pocky stick in his mouth, Aiden was mentally, emotionally, and physically preparing himself for when Min bites the other end of the pocky stick, getting ready to enact his plan into action. When Moira signaled for them to start, Aiden was caught off guard when Min suddenly and quickly pulled the pocky stick out of his mouth and leaned in to actually kiss him on the lips. Just before they kissed, the music was unmuted and ‘Hinahanap ng Puso’ by Gloc 9 was playing, as if timed by faith, the moment their lips touched the words “Hinahanap ng puso ang pag-ibig mo…” was being sung in the background. As Min broke off from their kiss, he gave a teasing smile before eating the rest of the pocky stick – Aiden was left shell-shocked, syntax errors popping up in his brain.

The reaction from everyone was almost instantaneous, the entire ballroom erupted in thunderous squeals and screams, the excitement was quite literally causing some students to feel weak. Moira’s face was so flushed, not expecting that Min would do something so bold; Katrina was also flushed, having been caught off guard by what just happened; Angela couldn’t help but squeal and slap Kobe’s arms repeatedly; Mingyu just covered his mouth, shocked, but was somewhat happy that his best friend’s lips were devirginized; Rebecca was left unable to respond while in her field HQ, as the kiss was repeated on the projectors and TV screens; Ball was left with his mouth wide open, his worst fears was just realized; Vice Chancellor Gutierrez was also flushed, her face red as she covered her face with both her hands; Chancellor Gazmin gave another hearty laugh; Heidi, Joyce, and Jane semi-fainted after they saw Min and Aiden kiss, a shock that hit them hard to the core; Fiona and Monica, who were also closeted Fujoshis could not help but get flushed and cover their smiles; the entire ballroom was pretty much paralyzed and flushed after the unexpected turn of events.

As the thunderous reactions continued, Aiden slowly walked off the stage, like a zombie without direction as he tried to absorb the fact his first kiss was stolen in front of everyone. As he neared the stairs, Mingyu ran up to him and assisted him back to his seat, where he remained shell-shocked, his face flushed. He was unresponsive, as if he was in a state of catatonia.

It took another 20 minutes before the entirety of the ballroom calmed down, with medics attached to callsign “Filter” attending to those who got weakened by the overflowing feels and shock of what Min just did to Aiden, including the commanding officer of the ROTC medical teams - Cadet-Corporal Jane Domingo. After Moira recovered, she and Katrina took center stage again, catching her breathe as she spoke, she announced that the floor was open for everyone to enjoy. On Moira’s signal, the university staff assigned to the sound booth started playing ‘Cupid Shuffle’ by Cupid as the international students started forming a conga line, moving towards the stage, students holding unto the waist of the students in front them.

The front of the line was formed by a mix of Mexican, Brazilian, American, and Italian students, carrying one of the female international students from France, behind them, enter Arianne Janice Fulcher, the non-traditional student from Mount Royal University, Canada that Monica is not quite fond of. Although an exchange student, she seems like she was somewhere between her mid-30s to her early 40s, according to Monica she’s somewhat daft, and can be insensitive with the things she does and say, although she reluctantly admits that she can be a very nice person, overbearing at times, but nice.

By the time the front of the line got onto the stage, ‘Cupid Shuffle’ was nearing its end. Arianne is dancing like she’s really enjoying herself, even flailing her hands around, her face smiling as the international student behind her struggled to wrap his arms around Arianna’s waist as to not break the conga line. Arianne has a bit of weight to her, approximately 150 kgs. (330 lbs.), and her belly and arm fats tended to wobble like a jelly as she danced around, this caught the attention of the students who did not join the conga line and watched her dance on stage.

Mingyu, being the mischievous person he is, immediately commented , “Mukhang balyena yung babae!” (She looks like a whale!) which caused Jasper and Aaron, who were near him to laugh; As if their minds were connected, Fujiyoshi said in Japanese , “彼女は鯨みたいんだ!” (She looks like a whale!) causing Fiona to laugh, while Momoko Watanabe, the East Asia Representative was shocked at first, then gave a muffled laughter; Ball, who shares Mingyu’s mischievous personality said in Thai, “เธอดูเหมือน ปลาวาฬ เลย!” (She looks like a whale!) as he laughed, causing Bank to lightly punch Ball’s arm, as he tried to prevent himself from laughing, Min just laughed his heart out, while Kimnai Inchareon the Southeast Asia Representative just covered her mouth so she won’t end up laughing; Augustin Camoin, Europe Representative said in French, “Elle ressemble à une baleine!” (She looks like a whale!) with Emeline Cailteux laughing after hearing what Augustin said; Shin Lee, the Peace Officer of the International Student Council, and exchange student from Malaysia, but can speak fluent Chinese said, “她看起來好像鯨魚!” (She looks like a whale!) which Feng Mian understood and reacted with shock; on the other side of the ballroom, one of the Italian exchange students facepalmed, saying, “Lei si assomiglia come una balena!” (She looks like a whale!) which drew laughter from the other Italian student sitting at their table; on another part of the ballroom one of the German students laughed, “Mein gott! Die sieht aus wie ein Waal!” (My God! She looks like a whale!) also drawing laughter from his fellow German student at their table; finally Miko like all the others that commented about Arianne, said in Korean, “그녀는 고래처럼 보인다!” (She looks like a whale!) as the three other Korean students at their table laughed hard.

As the front of the conga got close to the center of the stage, the song changed to ‘You Know I’ll Go Get’ by Rizky Ayuba, one of the songs used for the “Coffin Meme” a popular meme during the COVID-19 Pandemic two years ago. After the song changed, the guys carrying the female French student, altered their walking pace to mirror the carrying of the coffin from the “Coffin Meme” slowing down the pace of the entire conga line and adding more weight to the stage, beyond its maximum capacity.

“Hey, what’s the weight limit for the stage?” Moira asked Katrina with a worried expression on her face after seeing the section of the stage Arianne just stepped on slightly bend.

“Around 163 kgs. I believe, why?” Katrina said as Moira looked at the guys carrying the female French student and Arianne behind them, Katrina looking at where Moira is looking, causing her to wince. Just in front of the stage, close to where Mingyu, Jasper, Aaron, Min, Ball, Bank, and Fujiyoshi were seating, they could hear something creaking, but could not pinpoint exactly where the creaking was coming from due to the loudness of the music and other students shouting and having fun.

The song then changed to ‘Astronomia 2k19’ by Stephan F, the song widely used for the “Coffin Meme”. As the song started, the stage creaked more, and as the beat of the song started speeding up – disaster. The section of the stage that Arianne was on finally gave way, collapsing under the extreme weight of the students that were on the stage. The international students behind Arianne managed to avoid falling down the section that collapsed, but Arianne and the group that was carrying the French student weren’t so lucky, Arianne was the first one to hit the padded floor, followed by the six guys and the French student who all piled up on top her.

As this happened, Mingyu opened his mouth about to laugh, but Jasper covered his mouth from behind before any laughter could come out. Jasper himself was trying to hold his laugh, along with Aaron, Kobe, Min, Ball, Bank, Fujiyoshi, Miko, Fiona, Monica, Angela, Moira, Cadet-Major Montanillo, RJ, Oscar, Hazelyn, Jason, and Rebecca; Aiden for his part looked shocked, but was internally holding his laugh in. Everybody else filled the room with gasps and shocked expressions. This was followed by a loud bellowing, like a cargo ship blowing its horn, coming from underneath the piled students. The six guys and the French student walked away unhurt, but Arianne, who took the first fall and the brunt of the other students’ fall was hurt. Rebecca immediately dispatched medical teams and ROTC cadets to help Arianne.

After they got Arianne on the folding stretcher, the six strongest ROTC cadets lifted the stretcher, but before they could walk off, the stretcher ripped in half, causing Arianne to fall on the floor again, as another round of bellowing echoed in the room. The Filipino students trying their hardest not to laugh.

Seeing that a simple stretcher wouldn’t do, Rebecca called in for a heavy-duty gurney, which promptly arrived. After they secured Arianne on the gurney, they wheeled her off towards MJU’s Medical Center. As she was wheeled through the ballroom, students started applauding, with some students who were close to the gurney tapping Arianne on the shoulder and arms as a form of support.

After Arianne was wheeled off, and the other students who also fell were checked, some of the university staff and ROTC cadets removed the collapsed portion of the stage, and the music started playing again. The music that played is ‘Bang Bang Bang’ by Big Bang, which cause Mingyu to quickly stand up from where he was sitting, shouting “Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah!” and started dancing to the beat of the music, followed by Jasper, Aaron, Ball, Min, Fujiyoshi, and then the entirety of the ballroom. Aiden just sat on his chair, looking tired, but quickly snorted, seemingly approving of Mingyu’s party side coming out. He just remained seated looking like his energy was drained from his unexpected first kiss with Min, Monica meanwhile, was sitting across from him seemingly looking confused as to what was happening.

The moment was uncannily similar to BTS’ reaction to Stray Kids’ cover of ‘Bang Bang Bang’ with Aiden being Yoongi, Monica being Jungkook, Mingyu being Taehyung, Jasper being J-Hope, Ball being Jin, Aaron being Namjoon, and Fujiyoshi being Jimin. As everybody was jamming to the song, Aiden remembered that BTS is going to be on V-Live later tonight, so he took his phone out and set and alarm for 20:15 the time that he needs to leave if he was going to catch the beginning of the broadcast.

The party went on until 19:45 when Moira and Katrina officially ended the welcome party. Aiden was thanked by the members of the Executive Council, the Council of Deans, the Modern Foreign Language Faculty, the International Exchange Program staff, and Dr. Harrison for the fun and eventful evening. Notwithstanding the small accident with stage collapsing, the welcome party was already considered another success on par with the Student Organization Fair, with student journalist and reporters dubbing it as “The party of the year”. Feedback from the international students was overwhelmingly positive and with near unanimity said they enjoyed the party – except for Arianne who suffered a compressed spine.  

As the international students and other guests started leaving the ballroom, Aiden instructed Moira and Katrina to tell the catering staff not to clear out the buffet lines yet. He then summoned Cadet-Captain Francisco from her field HQ along with the other executive officers of the battalion and ordered them to immediately relieve all the ROTC cadets of their duties and summon all the cadets in the ballroom, so they could also eat something from the still ample leftovers that were kept warm by the warmers, staying true to his word about feeding the cadets after the welcome party has concluded.

When the ballroom was cleared by the international students and the guests, the only remaining people left were the entire ROTC battalion, members of the Student Council, the officers of the International Student Organization, and the two Thai students from Thammasat University. As the ROTC cadets enjoyed their dinner, they all thanked Aiden for the thoughtfulness and generosity he has given them, with Aiden acknowledging their gratitude with a nod. Cadet-Sergeant Joyce Cruz and Cadet-Corporal Jane Domingo, heartbroken after Aiden and Min’s onstage kiss, pigged out from the food, drowning their sorrows with all the food and drinks they could put their hands on. While the ROTC cadets ate, the university staff who helped setup the venue came back to start cleaning up, and since there were still food left over, Aiden ordered Moira to tell them to grab something to eat before the catering staff clears the buffet line – to the staff’s appreciation and thanks.

After everyone finished eating, Aiden dismissed all the students still remaining in the ballroom before he started walking towards the exit. Min quickly followed Aiden to the exit as the entire ROTC battalion walked behind him, by the time M.A.S.S. realized that Min might be confessing to Aiden, they already lost both of them due to the large number of ROTC cadets leaving the area.

Min caught up with Aiden by the fountain where he and Ball talked about Yu-Yu the other night, grabbing the latter’s wrist from behind, “Aiden, wait. I have something to tell you” Min said as Aiden stopped walking, facing Min, removing the other boy’s hold from his wrist.

“Wha-what do you want!?” Aiden stuttered, still feeling the effects of Min’s kiss earlier in the night.

“I-I.. Uh..” Min hesitated as Aiden grew somewhat impatient, “Just say it!” Aiden ordered, his face blushing.

“I don’t have time for this, Min! If you’re not going to say anything, I’m leaving!” Aiden said, his cold tone wavering, face flushed. In a rush to get home to catch BTS’ broadcast on V-Live and get away from Min.

As Aiden started to walk away, Min reached for Aiden’s hand and pulled the latter towards him, causing Aiden’s phone to fall on the ground, before kissing him on the lips again. As Min kissed Aiden, the latter’s alarm song, ‘It’s You’ by Henry started playing. While their lips touched, Min slowly intertwined his left hand with Aiden’s right hand as he cupped Aiden’s face with his right, softly rubbing his thumb on Aiden’s soft cheek, their kiss lasting longer than it did earlier – with virtually no resistance from Aiden whatsoever.

Min slowly broke off from their kiss, laying his forehead on Aiden’s forehead. “Aiden, I like you” Min finally confessed, softly kissing Aiden’s nose before Aiden slowly backed away from Min, his face really flushed. Without saying anything, he picked up his phone and slowly walked away, leaving Min by himself.