CHAPTER XXXIV: On Water, It Shall Float

The following morning, I left the house early as expected.

Everything was quiet and only the helpers and guards were at sight.

It was a relief, to be honest.

I was not in the right mood for a confrontation with Forden.

Once Haru, Solar, Ross, and I all met up at the airport's entrance, we immediately proceeded with boarding our designated plane.

It almost took us half a day to reach Japan, so we planned to dine somewhere first before going to our hotel.

Before going to his house, Haru decided to accompany us in our meal together.

We agreed to eat a late lunch in a small Japanese restaurant near to where we were supposed to stay.

After we were done, we said our farewells to Haru.

The three of us went to the reception of the hotel to ask for our respective key cards.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to Aya Hotel. What can I help you with?" The female receptionist greeted us.

We were fortunate that the staff knows basic English because it would be hard to communicate well if not.

Especially since Haru had already left.

"Reservation by Aile Beaumore. Thank you."

"One moment please." As the receptionist began typing her way, I turned to Solar.

"Why Aile?" I asked.

"It's the name my parents gave me. Why?"

I gave her a blank look.

"I mean why did you use your second name instead of your common name, you know, Solar? Ring a bell?"

"Oh." She paused, "Well, my father said that it's more appropriate to use, in case of emergencies. For heightened protection and security."

After she explained that, the receptionist gave us our room keycard.

I noticed that Solar remained silent all the way up.

Did I say something wrong?

My worries flew out the window when she began squealing upon the sight of our huge room.

We only reserved a single luxury penthouse that includes two individual floors.

On the second floor, there were a maximum of three separate bedrooms accompanied with personal bathrooms each, along with an overlooking balcony.

The first floor was composed of the kitchen, the living room, and the dining area.

It was extremely spacious even for the three of us but we couldn't dare complain since Solar was the one who paid for it.

"Oh my gosh! I only saw the pictures online but girl! This is one hell of a room! I'll choose my bedroom now!" Before we could say anything, she was already running towards the second floor.

"Well, I guess we should pick ours too?" Ross said out loud.

I just shrugged and lifted my luggage.

Once I faced the stairs, I was about to step on it when Ross suddenly grabbed hold of my suitcase.

I turned back to him but he already walked past me.

I shook my head and followed him.

When we reached the second floor, we instantly searched for the bedrooms.

Solar was already jumping on top of the bed in one of the bedrooms, so we diverted from there.

Coming face to face with another door, I opened it and glanced inside.

It was clean and splendid to look at.

Because I was too tired to search the other room, I decided to just go with this one.

Ross looked around the room I chose and placed my luggage down after he was done.

I thanked him, which he welcomed with a smile.

He then proceeded to go to his room while I lay down on the bed to rest my body.

When I was beginning to feel sleepy, I decided to take a warm bath first before calling it a night.

The bathroom was equally plush.

There was also a bathtub so that's what I went to first.

After enjoying my relaxing bath, I hurriedly dried my hair and unpacked some of my stuff before going to bed.

The following morning, I woke up to my alarm ringing loudly.

I switched it off and fixed myself for the day.

When I went outside, all their doors were still closed.

I went down and headed straight for the kitchen.

I tilted my head when I saw that the kitchen counter, as well as the dining table, were all spotless.

I could already guess that no one had dinner last night.

Well, we were all tired from the flight so it was a given.

Since they were probably still asleep, I took the initiative to call for room service.

Just as the food arrived, I heard footsteps going down the stairs.

Ross came into view.

All dressed and smelling nice.

He helped me arrange the food on the table while I went upstairs to call for Solar.

We ate our food hurriedly because Solar couldn't contain her excitement any longer.

After finishing our breakfasts, we all gathered our stuff and headed out.

All of us opted to meet Haru at the hotel lobby.

Luckily, he arrived early because it would be a great hassle to miss the bus if that were to happen.

Basically, all we planned for the whole day was to roam around the nearby provinces and visit their recognized tourist attractions.

We took plenty of pictures, ate different kinds of food, enjoyed numerous rides, and went to local museums, which were all guided and introduced to us by Haru.

Approximately twenty-four hours later, we found ourselves at the hotel's ski location.

We were supposed to ski together in the afternoon but Solar wanted to enjoy the spa because she wasn't able to do so yesterday and Haru was late because he was still doing errands for his family.

So that left us with just the two of us - Ross and I.

He was currently renting the equipment we needed for the activity while I was just busy making snowmen somewhere.

I was on my third snowman when a pair of shoes appeared in my line of sight.

From my crouching position, I looked up at the tall figure in front of me.

Ross had a funny look on his face as he quietly observed my handmade creations.

"What?" I taunted him.

He smirked, "Nothing."

Little did he know what I was holding behind my back.

So when he was still judging my handy snowmen, I threw the ball of snow directly at his face.

He obviously didn't expect that.

When he came to senses and finally understood what I did to him, I was already running away at full speed.

I looked back and saw that he was chasing me. Pretty quickly might I add.

An unconscious squeak came from me as I watched him shorten the distance at an unimaginable pace.

Just as he was about to reach me, I turned left and watched him stumble down to the snowy field.

I couldn't help but laugh hysterically at his predicament.

He was covered with snow from head to toe.

Even his hair had specks of white in it.

I grabbed the camera I had brought with me and took his picture.

Once I was satisfied, I glossed over it and burst out laughing once again.

"Har har. Very funny. You had your fun, now, would you please help me?"

Due to my conscience, I lent out my hand for him.

But, of course, he would do the typical.

He pulled me down with him so I was lying beside him drenched in cold, fluffy, snow.

"That was a bit childish, don't ya think?" I grimaced.

"Which one? The throw and chase or the pull-me-down?"

"Both." I groaned as I tried to stand up.

Ross, however, laid on the ground instead and flapped his arms up and down.

"Snow angels? Really?"

He grinned and stood up.

He looked really proud of his work so I didn't bother to tell him that it didn't exactly appear similar to what he had in mind.

The both of us enjoyed skiing for the rest of the afternoon.

With a few stumbles and flops, we were able to handle it at the end.

As expected, Ross returned the equipment we used as I offered to buy a cup of warm drink in the hotel's café.

"Good evening! What would you like?" The registrar personnel asked.

"Hmm…one hot choco please."

She smiled and nodded.

Just then a thought passed by.

"Ah, make that two please." I added and gave my credit card to him.

"I understand. Two hot chocos. Kindly wait for a moment." He left to prepare my drinks after he handed my card back.

I stood at the side as I waited for my order to finish.

Once it was handed to me, I thanked him and walked towards where Ross took our equipment.

The scene flashing before my eyes, however, made me freeze in my spot.

Ross was happily chatting away with another tourist.

I could tell she was flirting with him by the way she slid her hand on his forearm.

There were also other women gawking in his direction and there were also others who labeled them as the 'perfect couple.'

Not only did they appear sweet, but they were actually flaunting it for everyone to see.

My hands gripped the cup tighter mindlessly.

I remained in that spot, quietly waiting for him to realize that he was being watched and flirted on.

But five minutes passed and the hot chocos in my hand had already turned cold yet he was still there, laughing like her jokes were the funniest thing that ever existed.

He didn't even realize that I was there.

Without staying for another second, I turned on my heel and strutted away.

Upon approaching the nearest bin near me, I tossed the cups in my hand and continued my way towards the elevator.

I arrived at our room and saw Solar lazing around on the couch while drinking water.

"Did you guys enjoy your skiing? If you did, I suggest you also try the spa! There were so many handsome guys there to drool on, plus the service was so great that I almost felt rejuvenated. I, hey! Where are you going?!" She called out.

"I'm tired. Don't wake me up." Was my only response.

I slipped into my room and took off my dirty clothes.

I entered the bathroom and ran the warm bath.

Stepping inside the bathtub, I carefully rated my head on the edge and sighed.

"Now, that's childish."

Why do I even have to be so immature?

I slumped down into the water.

Slowly submerging myself in this might allow the embarrassment to fade away.

As well as these lingering feelings.

I know what I yearn for with him is impossible to obtain.

As my heart beats for the possibility, my rationality awakens me.

I'm not a fragile young maiden nor am I a stronghold.

I am merely a shattered and scraped human with bruises, burns, and scratches.

Someone of high calibre is polished to become difficult to touch.

And that's Ross.

And this is me.

I always felt ridiculous reading romantic novels, especially criticizing the female lead's insecurities.

I thought they were meaningless.

Because love knows no boundaries.

No validations.

But being here now, it feels so real, as though it continues to float with clarity.

I'm not naive nor am I dense.

I know what I'm feeling. I know it for sure, but why does this feeling seem more unrealistic the more I believe it?