It was a beautiful day, the sun's rays streaming through the car's window and lighting up Astraea and Julia's faces as they sang along to the music blasting from the speakers.

"When do you think Lyn will arrive?" Julia asked.

"I guess maybe around 10 a.m.," Astraea replied. "Maybe you should give her a call, Jul," she added, handing Julia her phone.

Julia took the phone, dialed Lyn's number, and soon enough, Lyn answered. She quickly switched the call to a video call and put it on speaker.

"Hey, I'm at the airport now, waiting for the flight! I'm so excited to see you guys!" Lyn said, her voice filled with excitement.

"Heh, we're excited to see you too! Astraea couldn't sleep last night because she was so excited to see you after all these years," Julia replied with a giggle.

"Yeah, I've been waiting for this moment! I'm really excited for the road trip!" Astraea added, her voice full of anticipation.

The trip to the airport took around two hours from home since there was no airport in Enclara, as it was a small city. They had to travel to Goldenbrook City instead. Two hours later, it was still only 8:30 AM, so Astraea and Julia decided to go to the mall to grab a bite to eat since they were hungry from the trip. As they wandered through the mall, trying to decide where to eat, Julia said, “There are so many options here, unlike in Enclara, where the choices are limited.”

“Well, yeah, it’s expected from Goldenbrook—they’re rich in gold,” Astraea replied with a giggle.

Suddenly, Julia jumped and shouted with excitement, “Astra, look! A Korean restaurant!”

Astraea looked over at the restaurant. “I’ve never tried Korean food before, but I heard most of it is spicy,” she said nervously.

“Come on, you’ll love it!” Julia said gleefully, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Astraea couldn’t help but giggle a little at how cute Julia was. “Alright, let’s go,” she said, smiling, and they made their way inside to place their order.

**Later, inside the restaurant:**

The waiter brought out a colorful spread of dishes, with steam rising from the bowls of hot kimchi, bulgogi, and spicy tteokbokki. Julia eagerly dug in, her face lighting up with every bite. Astraea hesitated at first but took a small bite of the bulgogi.

“Well?” Julia asked, looking at Astraea with anticipation.

Astraea paused, then her eyes widened. “Wow… it’s actually really good!” she said, surprised by how much she liked it.

Julia beamed. “Told you! I knew you’d love it.”

They both laughed and continued eating, enjoying the new experience together, their excitement and joy filling the air around them. As they finished their meal, Astraea couldn’t help but feel a warmth inside, not just from the food but from the company of her best friend.

“You were right,” Astraea said with a smile. “I’m glad I tried it.”

Julia grinned. “There’s so much more to try—next time, we should have a full Korean feast!”

Astraea laughed. “I’m up for it. Let’s do it!”

Here's the revised version with the changes you requested:

---

"Damn, I'm so full, it's like my stomach is gonna burst any second now," Julia complained.

"Well, you ate a lot, so suffer the consequences," Astraea replied with a laugh. She looked at her phone to check the time. "It's 9:30. We still have 20 minutes till Lyn's plane arrives. Let's go shopping!" Astraea said with excitement.

Julia agreed, so they wandered around the shops. "Look, Jul, perfect outfit for our beach trip!" Astraea said, holding up a dress.

"Yeah, it suits you. You should buy it," Julia replied.

Astraea nodded and headed to the cashier to pay. As she turned around, she accidentally bumped into someone and fell to the ground. She quickly apologized. While on the floor, the stranger offered a hand to help her up, and she accepted. When she looked up to apologize again, she was stunned. It was him. Her first love, Septis Valen.

Septis was also surprised. They gazed at each other, unable to speak. Then someone called out to Septis. It was Derek, Septis's best friend and also a close friend of Astraea’s.

"Bro, you were taking so long," Derek said, walking up to Septis. Then he noticed Astraea and looked at her with surprise. "Astra? I didn’t expect to see you here!" he exclaimed with excitement.

He glanced between Septis and Astraea, his eyes widening as he put the pieces together. A mischievous smirk appeared on his face. "Ooooh~~," he teased.

Julia came up just then. "Astra, look what I found!" she said, but then froze when she saw Derek. "Derek! What are you doing here?" she asked with excitement. They exchanged pleasantries while Astraea remained dumbfounded by the encounter.

"I never expected to see you guys here! What are you doing here?" Derek asked.

"We're waiting for Lyn’s plane to arrive so we can pick her up. How about you?" Julia replied.

"Well, we got bored, so we took a trip here. Anyways, meet my friend, Septis Valen. He's been my friend since junior high," Derek said.

"Oh, hi! I'm Julia. Nice to meet you!" Julia replied, then added, "Meet my friend, Astraea."

"I already know Astraea," Septis said.

Julia was surprised. "Oh wow, how do you two know each other?" she asked.

"Well, we were—" Septis began.

Before he could finish, Astraea stepped in quickly. "Friends! From junior high!" she said, laughing awkwardly.

"Oh, what a small world," Julia replied. Astraea nodded but couldn’t bring herself to look at Septis.

---

A moment of silence passed before Derek spoke up again. "By the way, me, Septis, and Lyn are really close friends too. We've known each other for years."

Julia’s eyes lit up as she looked at Astraea. "Astra, what if they come with us to pick up Lyn? It would be fun to have everyone together!"

Astraea hesitated, glancing at Derek and Septis, still unsure. "Maybe they have somewhere else to be, Julia," she said quietly.

Derek immediately responded, "Nah, we’ve got nowhere else to go." He grinned at Astraea, clearly teasing her.

Julia gave Astraea a pleading smile. "Please, Astra? It’ll be so much fun, and we can all catch up!"

Astraea paused, feeling the weight of the moment, but finally nodded. "Okay, fine. Let’s go."

Julia quickly turned to Septis and Derek, her face bright with excitement. "So, do you guys want to come with us to pick up Lyn?" she asked.

Septis smiled softly. "I’d love to, if it’s okay with Astraea."

Astraea looked at Septis. "I'm fine with it," she replied.

Julia grinned excitedly. "Let's go, guys!"

The group began to make their way out of the store, ready to pick up Lyn together. As they walked, Derek shot Septis a suspiciously teasing smile. Septis, noticing his friend's look, smiled to himself.

As he walked out of the store, he glanced over at Astraea. Seeing her again after all this time, he was surprised but happy. It felt like no time had passed at all. With a small, warm smile, he walked alongside her, silently grateful for the unexpected reunion.

The group arrived at the airport. Astraea was securing a space for Lyn's things in the back of the car, while Julia and Derek were taking pictures. Septis then approached. "Need help?" he asked. Astraea's heart skipped a beat. "Uhm, sure. Can you please put the baby car seat inside?" she replied. She handed the seat to him without looking, and Septis took it, attaching it to the back seat. While Astraea was cleaning, something fell. As she reached for it, she accidentally knocked over the lock on the door, and it started to fall open. Luckily, Septis noticed right away and grabbed the door compartment before it could hit Astraea. Astraea was shocked and looked at him.

"I see you're still clumsy," Septis chuckled.

Astraea blushed furiously, and his laughter made her heart flutter. It felt like a dream to hear his laugh again, and there it was. She chuckled along with him, and Septis was surprised. She finally smiled. Septis began to blush as well and quickly looked away, focusing on the compartment to make sure it wouldn't fall again.

"Be careful next time," he said, avoiding eye contact, and walked over to Derek. When he reached Derek and Julia, they noticed he was blushing.

"Ooo~ Seems like something good happened, huh?" Derek teased.

"Shut up, bro," Septis replied, embarrassed.

"What happened?" Julia asked, confused, but Derek just laughed and said, "Oh, it's nothing."

---

Back to Astraea...

Astraea smiled as she closed the compartment. Then, she received a call from Lyn.

"Hey, where are you guys? I'm outside," Lyn said.

"We're just at the exit of the airport. Wait there, we're coming!" Astraea replied, ending the call before calling the others. "Guys, Lyn's here!"

Everyone hurriedly made their way to the exit of the airport.

---

As the group met up with Lyn at the exit, she was surprised to see Derek and Septis with them. She hadn't expected them to be there. But then, her eyes flickered between Astraea and Septis, and she suddenly wore a teasing grin.

Astraea and Septis both blushed at the same time, and Septis hurriedly helped Lyn with her suitcase. Astraea, along with Derek and Julia, grabbed Lyn's other bags.

Lyn, still wearing her playful grin, glanced at them and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, looks like something good is going to happen" she teased, making Astraea and Septis blush even harder.

Septis hurriedly adjusted the straps on Lyn's suitcase, trying to hide his embarrassment, while Astraea quickly avoided eye contact, both of them feeling the weight of Lyn's knowing smile.

They all went to the car and stored all of Lyn's things in the back. Lyn put Stella (Lyn's daughter) in the car seat, and she sat in the back with Julia and Derek.

"Bro, we're full back here. You should sit in the front seat," Derek teased, and Lyn laughed. Julia was still confused.

They drove around Goldenbrook, and by 7 p.m., they decided to start heading home since it was two hours away. They chatted in the car, and Stella sang songs. Everyone laughed; it was such a fun moment. About an hour later, everyone else fell asleep except Astraea, who was the one driving. Septis woke up, looked around, and saw that everyone was asleep. Then he looked at Astraea and noticed her tired eyes. He broke the silence and said, "Astraea, if ever you feel uncomfortable with me around, please don’t hesitate to tell me."

Astraea was surprised but then smiled. "Well, I'm not uncomfortable with you; it's just a bit awkward for me. After all, we have a past, and it didn’t end well. But I’m not uncomfortable, I'm just adjusting."

Septis smiled and looked into her eyes. "I know you’re tired. I can drive if you want," he said with concern.

"Oh, it's fine, no worries," Astraea smiled, but it was clear in her eyes that she was sleepy.

"Come on, I can't bear seeing you pretending. Stop the car, let’s switch," Septis said, and Astraea stopped the car. They switched places. Astraea felt relieved to finally rest.

"Take some rest, don’t push yourself too much, okay?" Septis said. Astraea teared up a little and smiled. "Thank you," she replied.

Septis smiled, and she fell asleep. He looked at her for a moment, then stopped the car briefly to put a blanket around her and move her hair out of her face. He whispered quietly, "As long as I’m here, I’ll take care of you," before continuing to drive.