“I don’t understand” I said lamely, my eyes unable to look away from those tickets.

What was going on? What had he planned now? And so on and on my mind asked these unanswered questions. I was soon reaching a breaking point of frustration when no reply or explanation was given.

Seeing as there was nothing else he had for me, I wanted nothing more than for him to leave. So I turned around and went and took a seat on one of the small arm chairs near the coffee table. Limited earnings meant limited furniture and comfort too. But there was no question of comfort with him around.

I refused to meet his gaze as I spoke, wondering if my fear was as evident as in my nightmares in which he frequented. Cool air did nothing for the sweat that formed on my forehead and prickled down my back. “You should try coming back later since my Mom isn’t here. I doubt you have any business to discuss with me.” I said as I continued to form any reason to make him leave.

Maybe it would be a better idea if I left, I considered idly while trying to calm down. It was terrifying that he still had such a hold on me. It only proved that I would never be free from this, whatever it was. But as if reading my mind Mr. Lee said the exact opposite.

“It’s over Jonghyun. It’s all over and I’m here to give you answers.”

I closed my eyes tight and waited for the bullets or stun guns or anything to come at me..but nothing did. For a second I wondered if this was all just a weird dream or if In fact my whole life had just been one weird dream but then I opened my eyes and realized I had already lived through it all. Life was still happening.

“No more Mr. Lee. My name is Hyunbin and I’m here to apologies so would you let me enter and give me the chance to explain?” he asked with a smile so unlike the one I was used to. No, this one actually had a hint of Jinki’s smile to it and before I noticed I was nodding my head.

For some odd reason, the thought about vampires not being able to enter without an invite came to my head and for a second I actually pondered it. It would explain a lot but at the same time he wouldn’t be walking around in broad daylight. Jonghyun you are officially losing your mind, I told myself.

Mr Lee (I wasn’t suddenly all palsy to start calling him Hyunbin-shi) took the seat across the table and placed the tickets under one of the coasters. He crossed his legs and joined his hands as if in prayer and appeared to give an image of an old friendly caring acquaintance rather than a secret agent working for the-God knows what- who had lied and pointed a gun at me, TWICE!

The whole atmosphere went silent as neither of us spoke. A complete sense of unease was starting to come over me as I argued whether letting him enter was a good idea or not.

“You may have a lot of questions to ask me” he started to say and Jinkis face flashed in my mind. Mr. Lee would know where Jinki was, wouldn’t he? But I highly doubted he would tell me even if he did. So I stayed silent and said nothing.

I heard a soft “clunk” as something heavy hit the glass of the coffee table. It was as if years hadn’t passed and I was still in my back yard as I stared down at the stainless steel container.

A fear jolted in me so strong that I was out of my chair and feet ready to run on command. Mr. Lee however stilled to that of a statue and waited until I had regained myself and was back in my seat. I eyed the thin slit that horizontally cut through the container, to redeem its contents no doubt.

“Whatever is in there is none of my concern.” I said sternly. “And I have no wish to know.”

That piece of junk on my table was the cause for it all and to me it was a sign of my Fathers betrayal. How he had used me for his work like a lab rat or so I was made to believe.

“After what I have to say I think you will change your mind” said Mr. Lee sounding quite sure of himself. I inertly cringed but said nothing. The sooner this was over with, the better.

“But before we get to that I need to tell you about the missing bits, the things you were too young to remember.” And with that he took out two photographs and placed them facing up in my direction. With some hesitance I fumbled with them, afraid if knowing the truth was worse. This could change my life completely and would I want that? My life was good right now..but who was I kidding. This wasn’t life, I didn’t have my friends and I didn’t have Jinki.

I picked up the first one, scanning Mr. Lee’s face and hoping to know what I would expect and coming up blank. He just retained his posture and made no move but in his eyes I could see him urge me to look at the photos.

I turned my focus to the first one, it was old and yellowish brown at the corners. Two men stood in the picture, draped in while lab coats and wearing smiles on their faces as they shook hands and posed for the camera. A date and time was stamped on the photo along with the names of the two people. The year was the year before I was born and the people, I knew one of which. He was younger then but his smile and shabby long hair were all the same. Tears came to my eyes as I immediately recognized my father in the picture. Yet the second person was foreign to me. Dr. Kim Sewoon & Dr. Park Hansae declared the label.

Park Hansae..? why was it that I had no recollection of this person yet the name sounded familiar. I racked my brain over it, again and again because there was something important to recall.

"Your father was working on a project that was to protect our country but at the same time is dangerous if it was given to any other source. However his partner working on the project promised to leak it to another association out of selfish greed for money. He killed your father and indented to take the secret with him but never found it because all the while you were the only one told where it was. He disappeared though but Nick and the man who attacked you on the street were assassins sent by the enemy to kidnap you and get the information by any means. Dr. Park Hansae has been under our radar for a while and catching him is a necessity for our protection and to get an upper hand on the plans of the enemy. I just tell you this to make you realize how important this case really is”

Then I remembered a chat I had had with Mr. Lee. He had once mentioned this person before, saying he was the one who killed my father. I stared back at the picture. The balding old man, his eyes droopy and smile fake. He was the one.

I picked up the next photo in haste, not waiting for any coxing from Mr. Lee. This time however the photo was laminated and well preserved. Also, the person standing next to my father in this photo was different. The year stamp was around the time I would have been 3 years old. Yet my father still had his youth on his side. His posture was more relaxed and his stance was more comfortable in this picture. Something about it gave such a friendly vibe unlike the business one from the last photo. My dad stood with one arm resting on the shoulder of a man in an officer’s uniform who stood cross armed in the photo. He too was smiling, a smile that made his eyes form into crescents, a smile I had seen before, a smile his son now had.

My fingers still clutched the photo as my gaze shot up, eyes seeing the man in front of me as if for the first time. For some reason, he nodded and I nodded back. “Tell me” I almost begged.

He didn’t wait a moment longer as he jumped in to explain. The missing parts and the mystery had loomed over my life long enough.

“Dr. Park Hansae assisted your father on many cases. They were sort of lab partners and their minds were really the most brilliant ones we had a chance to work with. They worked the longest on their last project and as it neared completion Dr. Hansae was accused of leaking information to the enemies. I was assigned to overlook the operation but I was young then and didn’t have much authority. Your father’s safety was my priority and over the years we became close friends. It wasn’t surprising when our sons became close friends too.” He said with a faint smile. It didn’t linger long as he continued. “Hansae was dismissed from the team until his name was to be cleared and your father refused to share any information on progress made. Things got ugly and I should have ended it there but I was incompetent and I hadn’t noticed the threat. It was partly my fault your father died.”

He took a pause then and studied his hands. It took me a while to realize he was ashamed to look me in the eyes. When he continued I heard his voice quiv