July 21
The red-haired girl, dressed in mourning white, stood by the window and reached out her hand.
The dim sunlight passed through the glass window and fell upon her pale fingers. She lowered her head, looked at the sunlight on her fingertips, and gently clenched her hand, as though trying to grasp that scattering light.
Knock, knock, knock--
A crisp knock sounded from outside, followed by the slightly low voice of the Golden-Haired Chief of Staff. "Linna, it's about to begin."
"Alright, I'll be right there."
The girl glanced at the sunlight outside the window and answered softly.
After the footsteps outside gradually faded away, she turned back toward the window.
Layers of dark clouds covered the sky. The dim shadows had already blanketed her entire hand, and the streaks of scattered sunlight that had covered it were gone.
She slowly unclenched her hand, lowered her head slightly, raised her bracelet, and opened her mailbox.
As usual, the mailbox was crammed full of promotional GG Billboards, with no new messages at all.
She lowered her bracelet and slowly walked toward the door.
When her hand reached the doorknob, she turned back and swept her gaze over the room once more.
The spacious room was simple and plain. Aside from the bed, there was no decoration, as though the person who lived there rarely stayed here.
It was merely a place to stop briefly when it was time to sleep.
In the end, the girl's gaze settled on the photo frame atop the bedside table, the room's sole "decoration."
Looking at the old photo frame, she hesitated for a moment, released the doorknob, and slowly walked over to gaze at the time frozen within it.
After a brief pause, she picked up the frame, seemingly intending to take a closer