I came back to the country in secret, wanting to give my boyfriend, Sean Holt, a surprise.

Instead, at his birthday party, I saw him with his arm around another girl while everyone around them egged them on to kiss.

The moment their lips met, I turned on my phone's camera and flash:

"Go on, keep kissing! I'm recording!"

"You'd better get your fill, right?"

...

Before Sean Holt's birthday, he sent me a message.

"I know my Miss Sinclair has been busy lately. Just remember to give me my birthday present when you can."

After I read that, I decided against telling him I was coming back to celebrate his birthday.

I wanted to give him a surprise.

I'd already contacted the bar they mentioned in the group chat.

After convincing them I just wanted to give my boyfriend a surprise, I successfully passed myself off as a server for their private room.

The plan was to reveal myself and surprise him right as he closed his eyes to blow out the candles.

Wearing a mask and a hat, I huddled at the edge of the private room, sneaking a peek.

After our last hurried farewell, I hadn't seen Sean Holt for three months.

Whenever I was free in the evenings, I would want to video call.

Sean Holt would always put me off with excuses, like it was too late and he wasn't dressed, or he was too tired from work and just wanted to rest his eyes.

I hadn't seen him in such a long time.

Seeing him today, he looked the same as before, but I just felt like something about him had changed.

After all, we hadn't seen each other for three months; a little change was perfectly normal.

I tried to reassure myself, attempting to banish the wisp of unease from my heart.

The door opened, and a very beautiful girl walked in.

She had long black hair and wore a white dress. She radiated a gentle grace, like a beam of light shining into the dim private room.

'I wonder whose girlfriend she is. He's a lucky guy,' I muttered under my breath, walking over to close the door.

I turned back, and my gaze fell upon Sean Holt. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he expertly grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her down to sit beside him.

Then, he wrapped his right arm around her.

My breath caught in my throat. I felt sick.

The air conditioning must have been set too low.

The girl wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed them.

Sean Holt saw it, took off his own jacket, and draped it over her shoulders before pulling her close again.

Someone beside them teased, "President Holt really knows how to take care of a woman. None of us guys can even compare."

The girl next to Sean Holt smiled bashfully and lowered her head. Sean Holt's mouth twisted into a smirk, the cigarette still between his teeth.

"Fuck off," he said. "Stop messing around. Can't you see she's sensitive? She's so shy she's hiding her face. Now I can't even see her."

"Ooh, if that's the case, shouldn't President Holt give her a kiss to make her look up?"

A chorus of catcalls and whoops erupted.

'I wonder what dumbass set the lights so low today.'

Amid the uproar, I saw a moment of perfect stillness: the look in his eyes as he gazed at her.

"Light the candles, light the candles! They should kiss right when he makes his wish! Hey, you, the server! Yeah, you! Hurry up and light the candles."

That voice, a rush of an idea, was nearly swallowed by the surrounding clamor, but I heard it.

'Not a bad idea, actually,' I thought. 'Kissing by candlelight while making a wish. It's kind of romantic.'

I lit the candles. The cake now sat precisely between me and Sean Holt.

The candle flames flickered, dancing before my eyes.

I watched Sean Holt lean closer and closer to the girl, like a predator stalking its prey. She tried to shrink back, but his hand held her firmly in place.

She struggled for a moment, then stopped, closing her eyes as if in anticipation.

I watched Sean Holt kiss her.

It wasn't a fleeting peck, nor was it a tentative touch.

It was a passionate kiss, the likes of which I had never seen from him.

Thunderous applause erupted, the cheers especially loud, as if this were some grand banquet.

As if this was how Sean Holt's birthday party was supposed to be.

Sean Holt laughed and chided,

"Everyone, quiet down. I just barely got her to look up. You're going to make her shy again. I told you, she's a bit bashful."

Muttering about how well President Holt treated women, the crowd's jeering gradually died down.

Julian Sterling, who had been sitting silently in a corner of the private room, suddenly let out a derisive snort. All eyes fell on him.

His gaze swept over the girl in Sean Holt's arms before settling on Sean himself. He asked unhurriedly,

"I hear President Holt has a girlfriend in Meridia. They say your business trip three months ago was just to see her. I wonder, does your girlfriend know what you're doing right now?"

After speaking, he seemed to remember something and slowly added another sentence.

"But that's just what I heard."

He seemed to know exactly how to walk the line.

His tone made it sound like a casual question, not meant to be taken too seriously, but it instantly chilled the room.

I stared at him, stunned. 'I can't believe a friend Sean described as such a player would have such a strong moral compass.'

Sensing the tense atmosphere, the others tried to smooth things over.

Sean Holt stared coldly at Julian Sterling. A storm was brewing.

Suddenly, Sean Holt laughed, and the tense atmosphere immediately dissipated.

He handed the girl a glass of water and said nonchalantly,

"What girlfriend? She's just a 'little sister' my family elders asked me to look after."

"My only girlfriend is my Hannah, of course. She wasn't easy to win over. I hear Mr. Sterling used to like her, too. Of course, that's just what I heard."

As Sean Holt spoke, he leaned back, pulling the girl named Hannah against his chest.

Hannah poked Sean Holt's chest coyly. He caught her hand in his, and only then did she stop her playful giggling and say,

"Stop being so jealous for no reason. Julian and I are completely innocent. Besides, Julian takes good care of his reputation; he's never seen with any girls around. Unlike you."

"Hey, I was just joking. Why are you getting jealous again? I'm behaving myself these days, you can ask them if you don't believe me. Besides, even if I'm such a bad boy, you still like me, don't you?"

Sean Holt said, tapping Hannah on the head with an indescribable intimacy.

"You're right, who knows why. I guess I just fell for your sweet talk."

Hannah said, pressing herself affectionately against Sean Holt's chest.

From a distance, Julian Sterling suddenly raised his glass and took a large gulp of his drink.

'This is quite a show.'

'It would be even more entertaining if I had nothing to do with it.'

A wave of suggestive laughter rippled through the onlookers.

"That's our President Holt for you! Aren't you going to comfort her some more? Give her another kiss!"

The jeering grew louder. As if to declare his ownership, Sean Holt leaned in and kissed Hannah fiercely.

Thankfully, his need to stake his claim was so blatant that it gave me plenty of time.

I took out my phone, opened the camera, and selected video mode.

The lighting was too dim, and the auto-fill light unexpectedly turned on the flash.

Sean Holt threw a hand up to shield the girl's eyes and stopped kissing her. He asked irritably,

"Which clueless idiot turned on their flash? Are you sick in the head?"

His followers, the ones closest to me, started walking over, spewing obscenities as they came.

One of them, moving especially fast, made a move to snatch the phone from my hand.

I slapped his hand away. A loud CRACK cut through the air.

The air went so still it was as if everyone had held their breath. They finally realized something was wrong.

"Go on, keep kissing. The camera's rolling."

"It would be rude to stop now, wouldn't it?"

I waved my phone, smiling as I spoke.

"Oh, by the way, Brother Holt, I just got back from Meridia and I haven't had the chance to meet your Saozi. Aren't you going to introduce me?"

I tilted my head, accepting the role of the so-called "sister" without a shred of guilt, and asked Sean Holt with smiling eyes.

"Well now, this must be the little sister. And drop-dead gorgeous, too. President Holt, you never mentioned having such a beautiful sister. Keeping her all to yourself? Not cool, man." A guy with a devil-may-care attitude chimed in, sizing me up before turning to tease Sean Holt.

"Fuck off. She's not someone you should be joking about." Sean Holt's face was a mask of irritation as he snapped at the guy who'd spoken so rudely to me.

Everyone finally realized something was wrong.

Hannah slowly sat up, disentangling herself from Sean Holt. Julian Sterling was watching me, a glint in his eyes.

"Weren't you supposed to be back in six months? Why are you back early? You should have told me—I would have sent someone to pick you up."

Sean Holt took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled a plume of smoke, trying to feign composure as he spoke.

But the hurried pace of his words betrayed his unease.

I pocketed my phone, walked over to the table, picked up an empty glass, and poured myself a drink.

Glass in hand, I watched the muscles in Sean Holt's body tense and stiffen, and I suddenly broke into a smile.

'It was so hilarious, I was laughing until I cried.'

"How could I possibly dare to disturb you, Brother? I just happened to be worried you'd have no one to celebrate your birthday with. Who knew you'd already found such an understanding flower to keep you company? But really, you're the one in the wrong, Brother. Even if I wasn't due back for a while, you should have told me you were getting a Saozi. Otherwise, how could I have possibly prepared a gift?"

I gave Sean Holt a dazzling, theatrical smile, then downed the drink in my hand in one go. Turning to Hannah, I said:

"So you must be Saozi. You're absolutely gorgeous. My brother really lucked out. I'll have to ask you to go shopping with me some time, Saozi. Let me buy you a gift as a little thank-you for taking my brother off my hands."

No one said a word.

'How boring.'

"You're not well enough to be drinking. This is no place for you. Go home. I'll have someone take you."

Sean Holt tried to snatch the glass from my hand, but I wouldn't let go.

"Whoa there, Brother, let go. If you keep this up, Saozi might get the wrong idea, and that would be all my fault."

I pried Sean Holt's fingers off my hand, one by one.

When I was done, I rubbed the spot he had touched, as if trying to wipe away something unclean.

I looked up, my face fixed in a perfectly composed smile.

"My apologies for the poor timing; I didn't have a chance to bring gifts for everyone. Please, put everything tonight on my tab. The next time we meet, I'll be sure to properly make it up to all of you."

I turned and left.

The moment the door to the private room clicked shut, I heard Sean Holt's voice:

"The little sister gets spoiled rotten sometimes. Pay her no mind. Let's continue."

The sounds of clinking glasses and merry chatter resumed, as if my appearance had been nothing more than a trivial interruption.

My fingernails dug into my palms, and a dull ache clenched my heart.

"The little sister gets spoiled rotten sometimes. Pay her no mind. Let's continue."

'Little sister?'

In a daze, old memories began to surface.