Mickey had spoken at a normal conversational level.
Which meant Syd, Jody, Toshi, and Sally (still asleep) didn't hear what he said, since they were busy chatting noisily themselves.
Except for one person—Roxxy Barrett—who happened to be crouching down to grab a bottle from the mini fridge in front of her seat. She overheard it by sheer coincidence...
😧
Both Roxxy and Sera had the same reaction. That was... what? What did I just hear him say?
"Ah…"
Inside Sera's mind:
("Like"?! Wait—what?! Did he just say he likes me!?)
Inside Roxxy's mind:
(What the hell did I just walk into? Did Mickey seriously say... he likes Sera?)
Sera's inner monologue:
(Hold on, don't lose it—what kind of "like" did he mean? Yeah, I need to interpret this carefully!)
Roxxy's brain:
(...What the hell is happening...?)
Roxxy froze mid-crouch.
Cut back to the seats—
"…Like? You said you like me?"
"…Yeah."
"..."
Sera glanced side to side.
"…What are you saying, Mannix…?"
"I meant it."
"…Like—as in what kind of like…?"
Mickey didn't answer directly. He gave her a sly smile.
"What kind do you think I mean?"
"!!"
Sera's eyebrows twitched. Her lips curled, her face flushing red and pink.
She looked around again—and this time, locked eyes with Roxxy Barrett, peeking over the seat with an equally stunned look.
Mickey noticed Roxxy's presence too—his brow raised slightly, not expecting her arrival. But he didn't react further. He simply acted like she wasn't there and continued messing with Sera.
"Your face is red, Sera. What are you thinking about?"
"..."
He seized the moment, as Sera's brain spun like a PC overheating to the point of combustion.
"How far have your thoughts gone, Sera? Looking for a pencil instead of a pen, maybe?"
Rage overtook her as soon as Mickey started teasing her with her old Instagram captions.
The girl grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him close.
"Hey! Knock it off!"
Mickey grinned.
"I don't like this! You're making fun of me, Mannix!"
"What? How's that making fun? You posted it yourself."
"Hrk...!!!"
The more she argued, the more infuriated she got. This guy deserved a punch in the face.
...And yet, technically, he had every right to defend himself.
"You—!"
This guy was infuriatingly slick.
Sera gritted her teeth.
And when Mickey raised his hands in mock surrender, Sera struck—switching from grabbing his shirt to clawing at his hair.
Then—bam! A headbutt right to the forehead, directly in front of Roxxy Barrett.
"Whoa!?"
Roxxy jolted upright from her hiding spot.
"Oww!"
Mickey clutched his forehead in pain.
"Hmph! You deserved that, Mannix!"
Sera smirked through the sting of her own forehead, her eyes brimming with two proud tears.
Their antics immediately drew the attention of everyone in the cabin. Syd, Toshi, and Jody stopped talking. Even Sally woke up.
"…What the hell are you guys doing!?"
Roxxy jumped in to break it up.
"Ugh... oof…"
But Sera wasn't finished.
She lunged forward, grabbed Mickey's green hair—
A pink aura shimmered around her, with a symbol resembling cell division.
And with that, Mickey's hair began to grow—rapidly.
"Hey, hey, Sera! What are you doing!?"
Mickey and Roxxy both scrambled to pry Sera's fingers off his scalp.
The moment they did—
"Heh!"
Sera grinned in triumph.
Mickey's once-spiky green hair now flowed down to his back like a girl's, completely wrecked.
Toshi was stunned.
"Whoa—Mickey! Your hair…!"
Everyone just stared.
"…Ah, Sera… why…"
Mickey ran his fingers through the mess.
"…Damn. You look gorgeous with long hair, Mannix. Heh heh~"
Everyone knew she wasn't joking. It was the truth.
"Why'd you do this?"
He clutched his sore forehead.
"You had it coming," Sera replied smugly. It was the best revenge she could muster. He got hit, she got hit—it was only fair.
"Ugh… now I've gotta get it cut again, don't I?"
"Not my problem!"
Syd: "…She fights like a fifth grader when she runs out of comebacks. Real mature."
That comment turned it into a 1 v 2—but Jody leaned in and whispered:
"Kind of like someone who watches Power Rangers, huh?"
Syd snapped his head around, glaring daggers at her.
But when they locked eyes, memories from 4 a.m. came rushing back.
He quickly turned away and walked off, distancing himself. Jody might've adjusted already, but for Syd—it still weighed heavily on him.
"…What's wrong with him?" Sally asked.
"…No idea…" Jody replied.
"Did he not get enough sleep?" Toshi added.
"…Maybe…"
Jody kept up her poker face. But Toshi wasn't stupid—he knew something weird was going on.
He gave Jody a quick glance… then headed off to find Syd.
Leaving Jody to focus on Mickey tying up his hair—and Sera, who was grinning like she'd just won the war.
Syd sat alone, staring out the window.
In the far distance, he could just make out the secret base.
"…Ten minutes out," he muttered.
Toshi joined him, back against the wall, watching the others—his eyes locked on Jody.
"…Hey, Gif."
"…Hey! Don't use that name. She might hear."
Syd turned, annoyed.
"Right… forgot."
Toshi scratched his chin.
"…Tell me the truth, man. What's wrong with you? You've been acting weird since we woke up."
"…Huh? Me?"
"Yeah."
"…I've been normal. You're imagining things."
"What if I said I don't believe you?"
"Dude, what is with everyone? You and Karn—you guys been conspiring or something?"
"…I figured maybe you're hiding something from her. So maybe you'll tell me instead. Think you can fool me?"
Toshi still stared at Jody as he spoke.
"Normally, she always knows when you're off… So if there's one thing you'd never tell her…"
Toshi turned back to Syd, who looked uncomfortable.
"…Want me to make a list?"
"..."
"..."
Syd sighed and put a hand over his face.
"…Ugh…"
"You think you can out-act a guy who literally acts for a living? Use your head, man."
Toshi poked his own temple.
"..."
"…I'll tell you once we land."
"Nice."
Toshi gave his friend a solid pat on the shoulder.
"Twenty baht says it's about Jody."
"…Idiot. That'll barely buy you a handful of bean sprouts."
"You in or not?"
"Why even bet—? You've been staring at her for four and a half minutes now."
Syd shot him a glare.
"Because I know I'm right."
"..."