"I have to write a report."
"Oh. Well... if there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Before Evan could respond, Sophia fled the room.
She didn't see Evan watching her leave, lost in thought.
...
Leaving the hospital, Sophia went straight home to do her makeup and change clothes.
Uncertain of her own motives, when choosing her outfit, she thought of Evan's expressionless face and, gritting her teeth, picked the most sensual, form-fitting short dress she owned.
Usually wearing light makeup, today she took extra time to apply a Korean-style makeup look.
Satisfied with her appearance in the mirror, she left for the reunion.
The gathering was held at a karaoke bar.
Everyone agreed that simply having a meal each time was too boring, so when the karaoke suggestion came up, no one opposed it.
For Sophia, as long as she didn’t go hungry, any venue was fine.
At the entrance of the karaoke bar, her friend Mia was already waiting. Seeing Sophia, Mia's eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow, where did this enchantress come from?”
She circled Sophia, inspecting her.
Sophia playfully swatted her, “Be serious, you’re making me feel shy.”
“Shy? You should’ve dressed like this ages ago. With a body like yours, keeping it covered up is a waste. Come on, let’s go in and blind them with your beauty!”
Sophia: “...”
By this time, quite a few classmates had arrived, mostly the male ones. The women, needing more time to prepare after work, were still on their way.
When Mia and Sophia entered the private room, about five or six male classmates were singing loudly.
Upon seeing Sophia, they all stopped in their tracks.
“Hey, who is this?”
“Yeah, Mia, where did you find this beauty?”
Mia rolled her eyes and pushed Sophia forward. “Open your eyes and look properly. This is Sophia, from our class!”
Two male classmates came closer, and upon recognizing her, they laughed.
“It really is Sophia!”
“Sophia, did something happen to you? You look so different from the last reunion!”
The last reunion was just six months ago. How could someone change so much in such a short time?
Sophia, initially a bit shy, was now speechless after hearing their comments.
“Do you have some misunderstanding about women?”
Who says women need to go through something to change?
Although she did seem to have experienced a slight shock, that wasn’t the main reason for her change.
“Hey, isn’t this Sophia? When did you become so charming?” another male classmate joked as he entered.
Before Sophia could respond, Mia spoke up, “She’s always been charming!”
“If I had known you could be this attractive, I wouldn’t have married so early.”
Sophia glared at the guy who said that, then pulled Mia to sit down, avoiding further teasing.
If they keep talking like this, there won't be an enjoyable gathering tonight.
Since they were all adults, seeing that Sophia and Mia didn’t continue the topic, the others shifted their attention to classmates arriving later.
After sitting for a while, Sophia felt hungry and asked Mia to accompany her to get some food.
Soon, the two returned with trays of snacks.
“Speak of the devil. Sophia, look who just arrived?”
