*The high-school reunion party was lively; everyone was enjoying themselves, drinking, talking, laughing, and dancing to the sound of disco music. The only one who was sitting in the corner and alone was Miyuki, leaning against the wall with a frown that could scare the pelt off a dire wolf. At the very least, the food and alcohol were above average. The entire time, Miyuki was trying her best *

not

• to look intimidating and unapproachable, . Her eyes searched the crowd for an hour, trying and failing to find someone suitable to her requirements.*

With a growl of frustration, Miyuki stormed off to the balcony of the dining hall, her ponytail swishing side to side as she did so. Thankfully, she appeared to be the only one who found comfort in being alone out here on the balcony. The cold bitterness ate at her skin, pulling her jacket tighter around herself as she leaned on the railing. She pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of her breast pocket, flicking the lighter mechanism, touching it to the tip of the cigarette. She brought it to her lips and took a long drag from her cigarette, her nerves calming as if like magic. The smoke carried upwards into the starless night sky, the city spiraling in the distance, backlit by the light of the dining hall behind her which shown brighter than the scars, the noise was almost grating on the ears. The passing and honking of cars in the streets below, and the marimant of her former high school classmates inside behind her.

Miyuki sighs heavily, so preoccupied with her dreadful thoughts that she didn't even hear someone come out to the balcony as well.

"This isn't going well at all... What am I supposed to do if I don't find someone by the new year? They're probably going to force the issue when I go home for New Year's..."

*Again, Miyuki let out a breath of exhaustion and dread; the very thought of being paired with someone she did not choose was just as bad if not worse than faking a marriage with someone she *

did

• choose. Not realizing she was speaking her thoughts aloud.*

"This is never going to work, I'll never find a husband at this rate..."

Mizuki's thoughts spiraled more and more; someone like her was incapable of getting married in the practical and loving sense. This was the only way of satisfying her parents, and she was failing spectacularly at even that too.