Fifteen years after "The Bloody Night," the morning sun cast its brilliant rays across the bright blue sky, illuminating the earth with majestic splendor. In the month of April, soft, cotton-like clouds drifted lazily in the vast expanse above, casting gentle shadows on the landscape adorned with freshly blooming flowers and saplings. Birds chirped melodiously, the signature sound of cicadas buzzed, and street dogs and cats ran around. It was perfect spring weather, full of newfound vitality and freshness, inviting all Earthlings to venture outdoors with their friends and family.
The cities buzzed with human hustle and bustle. Children headed to schools and colleges, driven by the typical ambition to become useful members of society and secure a prosperous future for themselves. Meanwhile, adults made their way to workplaces, serving as role models for the younger generation to emulate. Elderly individuals engaged in various exercises, yoga, and other activities, striving to maintain their health and vitality in their twilight years.
Amidst this busy, bustling scene, two pulchritudinous young women strolled through their college campus after attending lectures. Their strong and enchanting presence caught the eyes of every onlooker throughout the campus, leaving them awestruck and dazed.
"Hey, Aahana! Want to grab something from the mall?" one of them asked in a tone of excitement. Her figure was adorned in a white top, black jeans, and black wedge sandals; her dark hazel eyes shone with exuberance, and her shoulder-length wavy black hair complemented her lightly dusky complexion, her bag dangling on her right shoulder.
"I'm really sorry, June, but I can't." Adorned in a blue top, a long pink gypsy skirt, and peach-colored flats, an oval metalic pendent resting over her bosom. Her silky long black hair gliding the soft gusts of air, framed her beautiful wheatish complexion, gleaming under the warm sunlight. Clutching her bag tightly between her arms, her friend Aahana—whose deep brown hazel eyes wore a worrisome expression and whose sharp eyebrows were furrowed—replied with her soft pink lips pursed tightly.
"…" June glared at her friend Aahana with envy.
"…Is there something on my face?" Aahana asked awkwardly.
"Nothing, just wondering why the author add more details glorifies your beauty more than mine," June expressed, bellyaching about my writing of their descriptions.
"Huh?" Aahana didn't understand a single word June said.
"Hmph! Biased author!" It's your imagination, my gorgeous little June.
"Anyway, what happened? Is there something important you need to do?" June tried to inquire about her best friend's worry.
"Sigh… nothing important. It's just—remember the thing I mentioned yesterday?" Aahana sighed.
"Hm? Yesterday? Hmm," she pondered. "Ah! About that marriage thing you talked about earlier?" she recalled.
"Yes, that one," Aahana confirmed with a tired voice.
"Yeah, I remember. You were throwing tantrums about not wanting to marry and how your father was emotionally blackmailing you."
"I wasn't throwing any tantru—"
"Yes, you were," June interrupted Aahana mid-sentence. "Like a crybaby, you—"
Feeling Aahana's icy-cold glare, June attempted to change the subject. "A-anyway, so what about it?"
Reluctant to delve deeper into the topic, Aahana admitted, "I think I've dug my own grave."
"Oh? How so?" June inquired with enthusiasm.
"W-well, I lied to him, claiming I have a boyfriend, hoping that he'd drop the subject for a while."
"And?" June prompted with a hint of excitement. The situation was becoming very interesting to her.
"And it backfired!" Aahana exclaimed in frustration.
"Hmm? What do you mean by 'it backfired'?"
"Just what I said. My foolish idea backfired, and now Papa wants to meet this imaginary boyfriend of mine."
"So, in short, you're dumb," June remarked while nodding to herself.
"What?!"
"What do you mean 'what'? You silly girl! Which girl in her right mind tells her parent—on top of that, her father—that she has a 'boyfriend'?! I mean, it's just—WOW!" She sounded genuinely astonished.
"…I know, right… Tehe!" Aahana feigned innocence, tapping her head lightly with her fist while winking with a silly smile.
"Don't give me that 'tehe' of yours, dumb girl," June scolded as she gently pulled Aahana's ear.
"Ow-ow-ow—okay, sorry—sorry, I'm sorry," Aahana apologized.
With a deadpan expression, June said, "Seriously, Aahana, you're truly a hopeless case," before asking, "But why is Uncle pestering you so much to marry all of a sudden?" June was curious.
"I want to know the same thing. He never brought up anything like this before, but now he's constantly bringing up this topic for the past two weeks." Aahana responded with a heavy and tired sigh.
"Seems like Uncle is getting very impatient to see the cute faces of his grandchildren," June jested as she bumped Aahana's shoulder.
"June, why does it feel like you're asking for a beating?" Aahana's sweet smile did little to hide her infuriated tone as she clenched her hand into a tight fist.
"Hmm, so, what are you planning to do now? Tell him the 'truth' that you 'lied' to him?" June ignored her friend's little burst of anger.
Aahana sighed. "Do you really think it's as easy as you make it sound?"
"You know? You're only complicating matters further, Aahana," June concluded while rubbing her eyebrows in frustration.
"Ah! Now that I think about it," June, as a mere spectator, realized her unnecessary stress and declared, "Why am I getting stressed out when this matter doesn't even concern me?"
Offering encouragement, she patted Aahana's shoulder. "Best of luck, my dear friend! I know you can do it!" With a confident thumbs-up, she bid her farewell and began to stride away swiftly.
But before she could leave, she felt a firm grip on her shoulder. "My dear June," Aahana's sweet voice laced with a light ting of fury, "where do you think you're going when your best friend is in trouble?"
Turning to face her friend's wrathful gaze, June attempted to explain her failed escape. "E-e-eeh—I-i was just—"
Unable to concoct an excuse, she confessed with a helpless sigh, "Look, Aahana, you brought this on yourself, and honestly speaking, I don't know how to help you this time. It would've been a different story if you'd sought my advice before lying to your father."
Listening to her, Aahana's facial expression took a complete 180° as she made a pleading expression, resembling a small, cute and harmless puppy. "Please, my dear June. You know 'two heads are better than one.'"
"No, never heard of it." Resisting Aahana's puppy face, June maintained her passive demeanor, thanks to her passive skill "Puppy Face Resistance," acquired after constant exposure to this deadly cute tactic of her friend.
Seeing June's strong resolve, Aahana finally gave up pursuing her further and sighed, "Seems like I'm royally fu*ked up." She muttered helplessly while staring blankly at the sky.
"Oye! Don't swear!" June chided, smacking the back of Aahana's head.
"Ouch," Aahana winced, snapping out of her daze. "Sorry, my bad."
Ring—Ring—
Just then, something vibrated inside Aahana's bag. "Hmm?" Opening her bag, she saw her phone ringing with "Papa" displayed. Panic ensued. "Oh, shoot!" Aahana exclaimed.
"What happened?" June inquired.
"Papa's calling," Aahana replied.
"Pick it up and put it on speaker."
"O-okay." She hurriedly accepted the call and put it on speaker. "What now?" she asked June.
"What else? Reply to the call, you idiot," June answered with a hint of vexation.
"Hello? Aahana?" An aged voice crackled through the phone.
Responding with trepidation, Aahana answered, "H-hello, Papa."
"Beta, where are you?"
"I'm at my campus, Papa."
"So the classes are over for today?" he asked in a warm and gentle tone.
"Yes."
"By the way, did that voice from before belong to June?" Without giving a direct response, Aahana looked toward June.
June brought her face closer to the smartphone's microphone and answered, "Namaste, Uncle."
"Hahaha, Namaste, beta, Namaste," Aahana's father responded merrily before asking, "So, June, are you coming as well?"
Perplexed by this sudden question, June looked toward Aahana, asking for an explanation.
Aahana hurriedly pushed June to the side and asked her father, "Coming? Where to?"
To Aahana's rough behavior, June just shrugged her shoulders and took out her water bottle to quench her thirst.
"To our home, where else?" Aahana's father stated as if it were obvious.
"Wait-wait-wait, why would she come to our home?" Aahana's surprise was evident.
"Why not? Since she's with you, she can come home with you and your 'boyfriend.'"
Cough! Cough!
A sudden burst of violent coughs startled Aahana.
"Aahana? What happened?" her father asked in a worried tone.
Looking to the side, she found June choking on water, struggling to contain her amusement.
With a serious glare, Aahana warned June, "I'll deal with you after this."
"What did you say?" her father inquired.
"H-huh?! Ah, nothing!"
"So, is June coming?" her father pressed.
Aahana glanced at June, who was still struggling to contain her laughter, receiving only a shrug in response. "Uh, maybe?" she replied to her father uncertainly.
"Maybe, huh? When are you coming home? Let me know in advance."
"Um, I'll call you before we leave for home. Okay, bye," Aahana hastily ended the call.
Tut—Tut—
After the call ended, "Bahahahahahaha!" June burst into loud laughter as tears streamed down her face. "Hey, don't laugh! You know how serious the situation is!" Aahana scolded, hitting June on the back.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry, my bad. It's just—this situation is more funny than serious to me," June explained, wiping away her tears.
Ignoring Aahana's cold glare, June continued, "So, what are you going to do about this imaginary 'boyfriend' of yours?" with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Aahana sighed wearily. "I don't know, yaar. If I'd known it would become such a mess, I wouldn't have lied in the first place."
"It's not too late. You can still apologize and confess to him about not wanting to marry right now," June suggested. "I'm sure he'll understand."
Aahana didn't reply, but the look of worry and uncertainty was clearly visible on her face.
"Sigh…" Letting out a tired sigh, June said, "Well, if you really don't want to confess, then…" A mischievous smile appeared on her face. "How about we go on a boyfriend hunt?" she proposed, her eyes sparkling with newfound excitement.
"Hunt? What do you mean?" Aahana didn't feel right about this.
"What else? Your father wishes to meet this boyfriend you don't have, so we shall hunt one for you!" Her every word dripped with strange enthusiasm and mischief.
"Why do I feel like you're enjoying my misery?" Aahana quipped.
"I'm not," June replied innocently.
Observing June's sudden change in behavior and palpable excitement, Aahana remarked, "Do you think this is some kind of fantasy?"
June retorted, "Isn't it? Or maybe not, but does it really matter?"
Aahana sighed, conceding defeat. "What's the point in regretting now when the deed is done? So, what's your plan?"
"What else?" June grinned mischievously. "Just as the name suggests, it's time to hunt some fresh cherries!" she declared, pure mischievous malice visible across her face.
"'Cherries'? But we only need one, not many!" Aahana pointed out.
"It doesn't matter!" June insisted.
"Spring is here, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and love is calling. It's time to hunt."
"Please drop this 'hunt' word," Aahana pleaded, feeling awkward every time she heard the phrase "boyfriend hunt," failing to grasp the hidden meaning in June's words.
"Hahaha," June laughed merrily, her excitement palpable as she grabbed Aahana's soft wrist.
Listening to her maniacal laughter, Aahana felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She tried to ask cautiously, "W-wait, we're not actually going to hunt anyth— Woah!"
"Let the hunt begin!" June exclaimed with vigor as she dragged the nonplussed Aahana along by her hand.
"Ah! Wait!"
As they departed, the campus onlookers watched the two girls, puzzled by their unusual behavior.
And with that, the two hunters set off, embarking on their journey to find and collect the fresh cherries of spring.