Chapter 715: You Owe Us.

"This is the life," Hori murmured, stretching her arms lazily as though the entire sky belonged to her.

The fizz in her glass caught the soft cabin lights, and she took a measured sip like she’d done it all her life, even if the label on the bottle clearly read

non-alcoholic

.

She still swirled it with a little flourish, savouring the image more than the taste.

She padded down the aisle with that same air of self-satisfaction, the hum of the engines and the occasional muffled creak of the plane making the silence more pronounced.

First class was nearly empty, save for them, in their little island of luxury carved out in the sky.

Izan sat slouched in his wide leather seat, a pair of chunky headsets clamped over his ears with a black sleeping mask tugged down across his eyes.

His head leaned slightly toward the window, but the soft rise and fall of his chest told anyone looking that he wasn’t actually asleep.

Olivia, meanwhile, sat cross-legged beside him, holding her own glass, hers very much not a mock-up.

She swirled the deep red liquid absently, the reflection dancing in her eyes before she raised it for a quiet sip.

As Hori reached them, her lips curled into a mischievous grin.

"Let me try a sip of yours," she said, pointing to Olivia’s glass like a child demanding a taste of candy, but Olivia shook her head immediately, the smile tugging at her mouth betraying how amused she was.

"Not. If Komi finds out Izan let you near this, he’s finished. Done. Buried."

Hori groaned dramatically, plopping down on the armrest beside Olivia’s seat.

"Oh, come on. She’s not even here. It’s just grape juice with... attitude."

Izan tugged his headset off one ear and let it hang around his neck, pulling up the mask so it sat crookedly on his forehead.

His tired eyes flicked between the two of them, and he let out the faintest of sighs that was more smile than frustration.

How did it come to this?

he thought, staring at the half-arguing, half-laughing pair.

One was pretending to be older than she was, and the other was playing gatekeeper, but the seriousness didn’t match the playful tone in her eyes.

Izan sighed, shaking his head a bit while Olivia leaned into her seat, smirking.

Hori, on the other hand, leaned closer, waiting for Izan to say something,

anything

.

And he did, just not out loud.

Just in his head, tracing back through the last few days, replaying the moment when everything started to veer off course.

The moment that explained why he was here, thousands of feet in the air, in the company of the two people least likely to be sipping wine and sparkling grape soda beside him.

........

The game of hide-and-seek had reached its fever pitch.

The house was cloaked in an eerie stillness, broken only by the measured footsteps of the seeker.

The air pressed heavily with that strange blend of suspense and absurdity.

From the shadows of his hiding spot, Izan could hear the creak of floorboards, the slow scraping of slippers against wood as a voice rang out, soft at first but cutting straight into his nerves.

"Where are you...?"

The words were drawn out, playful yet chilling.

A deliberate taunt.

Another step closer and then, another pause.

"Come out, come out... wherever you are."

Izan felt a bead of sweat run down his temple as he pressed himself further back, lungs held hostage, every muscle straining to stay silent.

The voice lingered, drifting into the air like smoke.

"You can’t hide forever..." and then, the silence that followed was almost unbearable.

He could hear his own heartbeat pounding against his ribs, faster, louder, almost betraying him.

Then — a sharp inhale, followed by a burst of laughter right in front of him.

"Found you!"

Hori’s face popped into view, grinning with triumph, her eyes glinting with mischievous victory.

The hider’s breath escaped in a rush, shoulders sagging as all that tension broke apart at once.

Izan stepped out of his cramped hiding spot, brushing imaginary dust off his hoodie.

His face was caught somewhere between a glare and a reluctant smile.

"You two are insane," he muttered, flicking his eyes between Olivia, who stood a little behind, arms crossed and clearly in on the plot, and Hori, still giggling at her victory.

"What was that? A horror film audition?"

"You already know what this is about," Olivia said coolly, as if the entire performance needed no explanation.

"Yeah," Hori added, half out of breath from laughing.

"Don’t act dumb, Izan. You know."

Izan sighed, running a hand through his hair, more exasperated than surprised.

"I said no the last five times, and the answer’s still—"

"Don’t even," Olivia cut in sharply. "You owe us."

"For what? Getting jump-scared in my own house?"

"That," Hori grinned, "and... because we’ve already decided."

Izan stared at them for a beat, unimpressed. "Decided what?"

"That you’re going to be the one to talk to Komi for us," Olivia said, matter-of-fact, her tone daring him to challenge her.

Izan chuckled.

"You’re serious," but they didn’t even bother answering.

For a moment, he looked like he might protest, but then his shoulders dropped in resignation. "...Unbelievable. You two really think I’m just going to—" but then he paused.

"Wait, is that why—," and just like that, the memory fractured.

It had started in Hori’s room, where Olivia was pacing, restless, turning circles as though the very thought of confronting Komi herself left her uneasy.

Hori, by contrast, lay on her bed, her feet up against the wall, scrolling lazily on her phone.

"I’m telling you, she won’t listen to me," Olivia said, frustration creeping into her voice.

"But she might listen to him. He has that... pull and that older-brother thing he has got going. Plus, Miranda says he’s the Man of the house, so it’s got to count for something, right?"

Hori let her phone drop onto her chest.

She smirked. "You think so?"

"I

know

so," Olivia said, narrowing her eyes.

"The question is, how do we make him do it? He’ll never agree if we just ask."

Hori’s smirk widened into something more mischievous. "Easy. Hide-and-seek."

Olivia blinked, thrown. "What?"

"You don’t get it." Hori sat up now, expression lit with amusement.

"Izan’s been ridiculously confident in hide-and-seek since he was little. Like, he thinks he’s unbeatable. All because Komi never liked busting him when she found him."

Olivia tilted her head, interested despite herself. "So she let him win?"

"Exactly." Hori laughed softly, shaking her head.

"And guess who always had to play along? Me. Because Komi thought it would be fun. So I know how this works. He hides, we find him, but before that, we throw out the bait. He’s confident we won’t find him, so we make him owe us with that."

Olivia’s lips curved slowly as the idea settled.

"We use his pride against him."

"Bingo."

And so the plan was set.

[Back in the present memory]

Izan rubbed his temples, clearly piecing it all together.

"So this entire—" he gestured vaguely at the empty house, the game, the whispered threats— "was just to trap me into owing you?"

"Pretty much," Hori said cheerfully.

"You’ve completely lost it."

"But you’ll do it, won’t you?" Olivia pressed, her gaze unwavering.

"Favours are meant to be repaid and promises are meant to be kept."

For a long moment, Izan didn’t answer.

His jaw tightened, eyes flicking to Hori, who only looked smug about how well the plan had worked.

Then, later that night, Komi’s soft sigh filled the kitchen, her hands stilling on the mug she’d been holding.

Izan stood there awkwardly, leaning against the counter, halfway through an uncharacteristically clumsy attempt at persuasion.

He had already spent the better part of half an hour circling the request, finally landing somewhere close to begging.

"Komi, mum, please," he said, his voice stripped of its usual cool edge.

"They won’t let me breathe unless you say yes. Just... hear them out, alright? For me."

Her eyes lifted, and for a moment, Komi only blinked at him.

Then, slowly, she nodded.

"...Okay."

The weight that lifted from Izan’s shoulders was immediate, his relief obvious even if he tried to mask it.

[Present]

The pilot’s voice broke through the overhead speakers, calm and professional.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be arriving at our destination shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing."

Izan leaned back into his seat, eyes closing for a brief moment.

The echoes of laughter, whispered threats, and Komi’s eventual quiet agreement still lingered in his mind, but there was no use crying over spilt milk.

One chaotic game, one ridiculous scheme, and yet, somehow, it had worked on him.

A/N: Okay, guys. Things have been a bit fast-paced and intense with all the games and stuff, so in this bit, I intend to slow down for a couple more Chapters before we get back to the action. Have fun reading, and I’ll see you, maybe tomorrow, or sometime later this evening.