Ling turned back slowly, eyes narrowing. "Rina."
Silence.
Ling's voice sharpened. "Come in. We know you're there."
A beat.
Then the door creaked open and Rina slipped inside, hands raised in mock surrender, grin already in place. "Wow. Intimidating. You always this scary when you're in love?"
"I'm not," Ling snapped.
Rina laughed. "You didn't even let me finish."
Dadi sighed theatrically. "Sit, child. Since you've already heard half the story."
Rina flopped onto the chair. "Half? Please. The walls in this house gossip."
Ling glared. "Say what you want and leave."
Rina's eyes sparkled. "Fine. Propose to her."
Ling nearly choked. "What?"
"I'm serious," Rina said. "You're already halfway there. Dinner. Mansion. One minute kiss. Just skip the drama."
Ling stood abruptly. "Get out."
Rina leaned back, unbothered. "I'm just saying—for her good. You don't play halfway games."
Ling's jaw tightened. "You don't know her."
Rina smiled knowingly. "Exactly. That's why I'm worried."
Dadi hummed thoughtfully. "She's elegant," Dadi said. "Fuller than most. Dangerous in the way quiet fires are."
Ling's ears burned. "Dadi."
Rina nodded enthusiastically. "Dark. Magnetic. Anyone would want her."
Ling's eyes snapped up. "Enough."
Rina leaned forward now, voice lowering just a little. "What if someone takes her away first?"
The words landed.
The room went still.
Ling's fingers curled slowly at her side. For a split second, something raw flashed across her face—unfiltered, unguarded.
"No one will," Ling said flatly.
Rina raised a brow. "You sure?"
Ling met her gaze, voice calm but edged with something dangerous. "Yes."
Dadi watched that exchange closely, then smiled softly. "Ah," she said. "So now you're claiming without words."
Ling didn't answer.
But the thought stayed.
What if someone else saw what she saw?
What if someone reached first?
But she denied it again.
"I'm not doing that," she said, arms crossed, jaw tight. "You're both exaggerating."
Dadi lifted a hand lazily. "Alright, alright. We were just saying. For your good."
Her tone was light, almost dismissive—but her eyes never left Ling's face.
Ling stood there for a few seconds, restless. Then, with a sharp exhale, she crossed the room and sat down on Dadi's lap, like she used to when she was younger—too big for it now, but needing it anyway.
"Okay," Ling muttered. "Tell me what I have to do."
Rina's mouth fell open. "Wow. She's gone."
"Quiet," Dadi said fondly, one arm wrapping around Ling's back. "Now listen."
Rina straightened, suddenly serious beneath the teasing. "Tomorrow," she said, "after dinner—"
"No," Ling interrupted. "I'm not—"
"After dinner," Rina repeated firmly, "you propose."
Ling's head snapped up. "Absolutely not."
Dadi hummed. "She said propose, not marry."
Ling groaned and buried her face briefly against Dadi's shoulder. "You're impossible."
Rina smirked. "And then," she added casually, "you take the kiss. Which was already the condition."
Ling went still.
"That part," Dadi said gently, "you cannot avoid."
Ling nodded once, slow. "I know."
Silence settled for a moment.
Then Ling's voice came out lower. Unsteady in a way she hated.
"I'm scared."
Rina blinked. "You?"
Ling lifted her head, eyes dark, stripped of bravado. "What if she rejects me?"
The words sat heavy in the room.
Dadi didn't laugh. She didn't tease. She simply tightened her hold around Ling and said quietly, "Then you will survive."
Ling shook her head. "You don't understand. I can handle losing matches. I can handle humiliation."
Her throat tightened. "I don't know how to handle her looking at me like I mean nothing."
Rina's teasing softened. "Ling…"
"What if," Ling continued, voice barely controlled, "she kisses me because she has to—and nothing else?"
Dadi cupped Ling's face, forcing her to look up. "Then you will finally know the truth."
Ling swallowed. "And if the truth breaks me?"
Dadi smiled—soft, unshakeable. "Then you'll rebuild. You're a Kwong."
Rina crossed her arms, watching Ling closely. "Besides," she added, gentler now, "Rhea Nior doesn't look like someone who gives meaningless kisses."
Ling didn't respond.
But her grip tightened on Dadi's sleeve, and for the first time, the fear wasn't about control or discipline—
It was about wanting something
that could say no.
Ling lifted her head from Dadi's shoulder, eyes serious now.
"So," she asked quietly, "what exactly do I have to do?"
Dadi's lips curved into a knowing smile. "You'll do it in your room. Of course."
Rina immediately made a face. "Absolutely not. Her room looks like a horror movie set. All black. All grey. No soul."
Ling shot her a glare. "It does not."
"It does," Rina insisted. "I half expect ghosts to come with emotional damage."
Dadi tapped her cane thoughtfully. "Then add red."
Ling blinked. "Red?"
"Yes. Red," Dadi repeated, pleased. "It brings life. Heat. Intention."
Rina snorted. "She won't. I know her. She treats colors like enemies."
Ling inhaled sharply. "I will."
Both Dadi and Rina turned to her.
"I'll do anything," Ling said, voice firm, almost reckless. "Anything that makes it right."
Rina raised her brows. "Wow. Down bad."
Ling ignored her.
Dadi nodded slowly, satisfied. "Good. Then listen carefully."
She leaned forward. "Roses. All over the bed."
Rina nearly choked. "DADI!"
"What?" Dadi asked innocently.
"It's a proposal," Rina protested. "Not a making-out night. Why the bed?"
Dadi's smile turned wicked. "Who said it can't be both?"
Ling froze.
Her ears burned instantly, heat crawling up her neck. She stared very hard at the opposite wall, face carefully blank, as if she hadn't heard a single word.
Rina laughed loudly. "Oh my god, look at her."
Ling snapped, "I heard nothing."
Dadi chuckled. "Liar."
Ling heart raced—not with fear of rejection this time, but with the terrifying realization that she wasn't just planning a move.
She was preparing a space.
And once red entered that black-and-grey room,nothing would ever be neutral again.