— 

However, the mood in Sugarpetal’s room was different.

“Disband Sugarpetal? What do you mean, Fluffy?” Cherry asked, her brows knitting with concern.

“It’s simple, isn’t it? We only made Sugarpetal for fun,” Fluffy replied, her tone unusually heavy.

Cherry slid closer, resting her hands gently on her friend’s shoulders.
“Why are you saying this now? Did something happen?”

Fluffy hesitated. Her lips quivered before the words found their way out.
“I... I’m tired of being treated like we don’t matter.”

Her voice faltered, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Cherry pulled her into a hug without a second thought.
“Hey, hey... don’t cry,” she whispered, her tone soft as a lullaby.

“But I can’t help it,” Fluffy murmured, her words muffled.
“Didn’t you see earlier? Just because we ran into Evergarden, people looked at us like we were a joke again. Like we’ll never be taken seriously...”

The words spilled out faster than she intended, frustration mixing with years of bottled feelings.
“Just because we smile and laugh doesn’t mean we’re...”

For a moment, silence fell between them—until Fluffy’s thoughts drifted back further.

Back to middle school.
Back when she thought laughter would win people’s hearts.

But instead, she remembered the whispers.
Her hair looks weird.
She acts like a little kid.

The quiet whispers, the mocking glances.

She remembered that one afternoon, sitting at the lunch table.
The girls went silent as she approached. Then, one girl grinned.
“Do your silly dance again, Fluffy. It’s sooo funny.”

And she did, thinking it would make them accept her.
But the laughter wasn’t with her, it was at her.

She remembered hiding in the bathroom, covering her mouth to muffle the sound of her own sobs. Since then, she told herself: if her smile was louder than their cruelty, maybe she wouldn’t hear them anymore.

But the whispers never truly faded.

And yesterday, when Evergarden walked past with their grace and elegance, she saw those same looks reflected back. The same quiet judgment; like Sugarpetal was just background noise.

Her voice trembled in thought.
“Maybe this academy... isn’t the place for a band like us. Maybe it’d be easier if we—”

Before she could finish, Cherry hugged her tighter, pressing her cheek against Fluffy’s shoulder.

“Don’t say that,” Cherry whispered, her tone steady but tender.
“Fluffy, your laughter... your playfulness... that’s what makes us who we are.”

She pulled back just enough to meet Fluffy’s tearful eyes, smiling with quiet warmth.
“People’s judgment doesn’t define you. Their voices don’t matter. What matters is that you stay true to yourself.”

Cherry’s smile never wavered, and in that embrace, Fluffy felt her heart steady.

For the first time, she realized there was strength in holding on to her joy, even in the face of doubt.
Because at the end of the day, others may never see her worth—but her true self was always worth embracing.