“I’m sorry - could you repeat that?” They wouldn’t admit that they were grateful for the distraction, but it was nice to have someone to talk to, even if it was a mundane conversation.

these lights are brighter than she remembered , it’s all she thinks upon entering the party room. she’s full from dinner , satisfied but ready for sleep. and to get out of the heels she wore , paired with wide dress pants and a favorite cardigan . curiosity’s always gotten the best of haesoo , however ; and so she commences into the party room with the others. she’s underwhelmed so far , really. “i never met the guy. just his father,” she says to the nearest gravediggers alumni. someone here’s bound to have seen him in the flesh. most of the crowd seems young enough , anyways. “what’s your theory? where the hell is he ?”

“ you would think they were forced to come here, ” she remarks, tilting her glass of cabernet sauvignon towards her lips as she follows the tense lines of people’s shoulders, the gazes cast askance. they probably were; it’s so easy to retrieve message correspondences, encrypted or otherwise, though she doesn’t say it out loud. anyway, seraphina doesn’t have any incentive to do any digging, not yet, not when there’s no real benefit to having them. perhaps it’s also because their alumni relations leaves a lot to want, but seraphina would think that their society has a more unified front. “ and so serious. i don’t recall frowning as one of our requirements going in. ”