Loud noises rang into Arcturus’s ears as he slowly opened his eyes. He found himself in a large ballroom with a lot of people dressed poshly; the people’s ages ranged from teenagers to adults. When he scanned the vicinity, he noticed musicians having a blast playing in the background with men and women twirling around with each other. The putrid stench of alcohol did not faze him. He then noticed a scarlet-haired youth dressed in such attire as well. This boy was Arcturus Mercury at sixteen years of age; he was dressed elegantly for a birthday party he had attended.

“Is this what rich people like to engage in?” Nova inquired as he covered his nose at the scent of alcohol. “Socializing in posh outfits that look too stuffy for them to breathe in while drinking alcohol until they pass out?”

“Not really, but there was a reason for us to dress this way. Not only was it my friend’s birthday, but also the birthday of his uncle. His uncle was the reason why there were so many people here and why we had to dress up in formal outfits—he had a weird obsession with formalities.”

“That uncle sounds rather kooky.”

Arcturus smirked. “He’s a riot.” He then pointed towards an intoxicated, bespectacled man dressed in a bright orange suit flirting with women as he kept drinking. His most noticeable trait was his thick-rimmed glasses that looked way too big on his face.

“I’m actually surprised he’s allowed to host a party with minors in the vicinity.”

“The Galaxia family is very wealthy, so they like to live their life freely; they like to call themselves open-minded. The head is the wealthiest information broker in the world. He happens to be this crazy man’s older brother and that boy’s father.” He then gestured over to a boy in a wheelchair, chatting with Landon, a girl with a daffodil hair band, and his sixteen-year-old self.

Nova seemed surprised. “You managed to get some friends. How wonderful.”

Ignoring Nova’s remarks, Arcturus pointed to his friends. “The boy in the wheelchair is William Galaxia and the girl with the hair band is Daffodil Henry; they’re my high school classmates alongside Landon.”

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Nova glanced at him. “You seem happy when talking about your friends.”

“I love them, obviously.”

Nova paused. He blinked a few times before smiling and fixating back at the memory. The young Arcturus started getting dizzy as he excused himself; he headed towards the balcony to get some fresh air; the older Arcturus and Nova followed him.

When they were outside, the sight of the city mesmerized him. Lamina was the smallest country in the world, and it showed how cramped the space between each building seemed. The building designs were very whimsical for they all looked like a type of plant; the vehicles did as well. One man rode on a leaf-shaped hoverboard; once he passed by, more floating vehicles zipped by; their lights made them resemble fireflies zipping about in the night. This country looked much different than his hometown, but he still found it beautiful even as an adult; he glanced over to Nova who looked as mesmerized as his younger self. The way his eyes sparkled made Arcturus feel at peace.

Nova uttered, “Lamina was always considered a haven due to how advanced it was, but this place is gorgeous. I’ve never been here before.”

“I’m not sure about it being a ‘haven’ nowadays, but this place is pretty. That's a fact.”

Nova smiled as he kept being entranced by the sight. Arcturus had more to say, but decided not to; he didn’t want to ruin Nova’s joyous expression, so he kept his own thoughts to himself and glanced over at his younger self. Lamina being a haven was a thought of the past; he, too, had thought the same initially, but he had grown rather cynical as he aged. He had met good people like his grandparents and friends, but the bad ones kept lingering in his mind; their thoughts had poisoned him.

If I recall, this memory is the one where…he shows up. His hands curled into fists and he pursed his lips; he wanted to maintain his composure and did his very best to do so.

“May I join you?” A voice called out to the teenager abruptly.

The sound of that voice made Arcturus pile up his rage even more as he sighed and turned around to see whom it belonged to. A middle-aged man with long, wavy dark brown hair greeted him; he was dressed in a white three-piece suit with a pink tie. He had a cane, which helped him as he walked towards the edge of the balcony, next to the older Arcturus; Anger welled up within him. Thoughts of telling himself to calm down repeated in his mind like a mantra.

“Sure,” The younger Arcturus replied, albeit confused.

The man took in the breeze before turning to Arcturus and introducing himself. “I am Nathaniel Hope, CEO and founder of Hope Corporation.”