"I'm Emilia — you didn't notice me?" she says as she steps into the KTV room, shutting the door behind her. Silence snaps. Music cuts. A dozen heads turn like a single camera panning. "Tomas, stop drumming on the table and say something normal," someone mutters. Tomas stands, palms flat, and smacks the lacquer like he's announcing a boxing match. "You're back?" "Yes," Emilia says. One short word. It lands heavier than any explanation. "Wow." Klara bounces up two inches and claps. "Emilia! Finally. Where have you been hiding?" "Not hiding," Emilia answers. "Just... offstage for a while." "Offstage. Cute." Lila leans back, eyes narrowing. "You disappeared senior year. People wondered." "People wondered," Emilia repeats. She doesn't look for permission to exist. She walks to the low table, sets her bag down, and slides into the seat by the window. Camden watches from the corner sofa. He doesn't raise his hand to welcome her. He doesn't lean forward either. He simply watches, like someone who has memorized a face and checks whether the memory lied. "Camden," Tomas says to break the odd silence. "You barely flinched. You seeing this?" Camden's voice is soft. "I saw her walk in." "Of course you did. Everyone saw." Tomas grins too wide, like a man who knows a joke and refuses to tell the punchline. "What happened to your hair?" somebody asks, careless. "You dye?" "No," Emilia says. "I stopped letting other people decide it for me