The mayor wasn’t at all pleased seeing me in broad daylight, judging from the frown on his face. I would be surprised if he’s delighted to see me, since it’s natural for stepfathers to feel remorse on the first child, especially if they were not close at all. Though there are some stepfathers who willingly break the stereotype. Though mine is not that at all.

He’s traditional.

“Hi, Mayor Kim.” I greet, giving him a timid smile. “Is my mom inside?”

He rolls his eyes, a sight I disgustingly disapprove, and walks away without answering my question. CL suddenly shows up running and breathlessly says, “You have to see this.”

We agreed not to acknowledge the superiority. It was really awkward for the both of us after addressing each other without suffixes for a year.

I follow her to the master’s bedroom. CL trashed in, but I knock before entering, to not feel trespassing since I didn’t grow up in the place. My mother is placing all her things inside a duffel bag. “Mom, what are you doing?” I ask, stepping closer but not too close. I’m not really comfortable with the room—the house in general. It’s too clean.

“I’m getting a divorce.” She answers, and suddenly collapses on the floor. CL rushes to her side to hug her as my mother breaks down into tears and shouts.

“Mom, I have Dara to think about. Don’t do this.” I reprimand.

Her cries become stronger.

I heavily sigh, tired. “Okay, I’ll talk to Mayor Kim after I place a call. But you need to approve me going inside Dad’s former lab.”

She seem to agree when her cries softened, turning into purrs. I roll my eyes inwardly. Mom.

I grab my phone and make a call with Taeyang. He picked up after a few rings. “Hello?” His voice cracks, but maybe because we don’t call each other often since we are always together before.

“I need the whole group to assemble in front of the devil fountain at 10. I have no family dinner for tonight. Details to be said later.”

“Okay.” Taeyang says and ends the call. I place my phone again inside my pocket and walk back to the living room to find the mayor.

Well, after the war ended, I kind of became the mediator between the two. Although the mayor hates me, he listens to me intently. Maybe it’s because I went through things more than him, or because I can kill him before he can even blink, but it’s nice to know even though he doesn’t like me, he listens to me. The mundane mayor can still be reasonable.

“Hey, old man.” I greet as soon as I enter the kitchen, where’s he’s sitting all alone. It’s an expansive room with a long table, fitting for ten. There’s a red velvet linen spread on top of the glass, a diamond chandelier hanging from the ceiling, lighting about the center, and the chairs were made from mahogany (according to my furniture enthusiast mom). The mayor is sitting at the far end, a bottle of wine and a glass filled up to the brim was in his hand. There was no sight of the housemaid.

He looks up to me, his eyes glazed with anger, and I quickly take it back, “I mean, hey, Mayor Kim.”

He gestures for me to sit beside him, but I sat opposite to him. The mayor often gets a little touchy whenever he’s drunk. Super touchy.

“Wait there.” He says and stands up, grabbing another clear glass in the upper shelve of the counter. He goes back handing me the glass, and the mayor fills it half. Maybe he had overheard my phone conversation that’s why he didn’t fill it—but that’s impossible, given that the kitchen is far from the bedroom.

“I can’t let you sleep together with Dara drunk, aren’t I?” He says, laughing. Well, I see why.

“Mom said you both are getting a divorce.” I say, not beating around the bush anymore. He chuckles, hiccups and answers, “Yeah, why would I drink if not?”

“Why would you drink if it were?” I ask, taking a small sip from the glass. The mayor laughs. “I shouldn’t be drinking if I initiated it myself, should I?”

I nod.

He continues, “I really love your mom. When we met, I was subject to impeachment because I have no wife. She became my angel, and I willingly took everything including Chaerin. I love her very much to the point I cut connections with everyone who dare says she’s not a good choice. I even made Dara go inside the haunted house because she was accused of killing the dog, the golden retriever we dearly called our child, which was admitted been killed by Chaerin. I’ve always wanted a child with her, to prove anyone she can bear my heir, to make them believe she’s the best choice.” The mayor pauses, breathing heavily. “But after the war, they tell me she’s the best choice but I find myself can’t seem to agree. Every night, I am always reminded of the fact that she was just a refugee and I am just a choice.” Tears start to spill from his eyes, and his next words were muffled. “I was just a choice she made to protect her husband.”

“Then why file a divorce?” I ask.

The mayor wipes his tears and looks at me in the eye. “Wouldn’t you do everything to make Dara wake up? I did it for her sake.”

“But she didn’t want—“

“Did Dara tell you she wanted to wake up?” He rebuts. “How you wouldn’t know that her brain is forcing her to not wake up?”

“But isn’t that ideology comes out when you don’t know the person well?” I counter. “I thought you love my mother, but you’re only spouting nonsense.”

He laughs. “Nonsense? You consider it nonsense because you refuse it to be an idea. I love your mother, and all I’ve ever thought about was for her sake. This divorce would give her the freedom.”

“You are her freedom.”

“How would I believe that?”

“Because she’s carrying your child.” I drop the truth—the truth my mom has been keeping since three months ago. I can’t believe he didn’t notice her stomach inflating, but men will be men. They’d refuse until they’re answered. I stand up from my seat and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Stop with it before my brother or sister becomes fatherless, Dad.”

And my last word made him cry—a little too harder than a sob.

I hate Mayor Kim, but well, he’s my stepfather. I can live with that.

“So what are we doing here?” Seungri asks as soon as he sees me approaching. They’re all wearing all-black clothes. I guess habits never die. Though we look like we’ll walk down the runway rather than search in my father’s former laboratory.

“We’ll go inside my father’s former laboratory.” I answer.

Taeyang raises an eyebrow. “Why? You forgot a lot of things inside? Or your mom wanted you to get her a few things to work with? Play with?”

I shake my head. “No. We’re going to find something to save Dara.”

“Why? Did Doctor Kang failed in ensuring she wakes up?” It was Daesung’s turn to ask. Really, the sense of equality in this group gives me goosebumps.

“No.” I decide I’ll tell the truth rather than tell them a very believable lie. “Tomorrow morning is her funeral.”

“Are you trying to bring back someone from the dead?!” Seungri exclaims. “Yah!”

I smile at them, and the more they are horrified. “Let’s go?”

“Wait, wait—“ I cut off their protests by walking towards the lab, which was just opposite of the fountain. As soon as I reach the door, I try keying in the passcode, but after a few tries, the door won’t still open.

“Hyung, let’s talk about this. I know you love her very very very much to the point you’d die for her but hyung!” Seungri tries to convince me and I inwardly laugh. “Come on, we don’t bring back the dead. It’ll just cost her misery!”

“How can I open this?” I mutter out loud, bringing out more horrified gasps from my friends. Seungri shouts, “Hyung! Stop this!”

Taeyang mediates. “Are you serious about this, GD?”

I turn and look at Taeyang in the eye. I tried digging deep into his consciousness, tell him this is the only answer I can think of to wake her up—without actually telling him she’s not dead but asleep to keep the fun—and after a few seconds, he nods and says, “Step aside.”

“Yah!” Seungri complains. Taeyang does his magic. He places his hand over the lock and a series of metals start to unravel themselves automatically. The door swings open and we all step inside, even though Seungri and Daesung were hesitant. Top was just like his usual: indifferent.

The inside was like it was before: dusty and dirty. There are no signs of it being cleaned before being left to flee. Though there are a couple of boxes strewn everywhere, and a couple of laboratory equipment were on the floor, all broken into pieces. I can guess the one who entered the house after my father escaped was not the easy man.

I walk around to my father’s desk, and the other started searching without specific details. Seungri stops in midway and asks, “What are we looking for?”

“Something to help Dara wake up.” I answer, opening every drawer. But either spiders greet me or syringes do. My father must’ve kept a number of syringes.

“I still don’t know why we’re trying to bring up the dead.” Daesung comments, looking through the counter.

Taeyang opposes, “I don’t think we’re looking through here if we’re bringing up the dead. We’d be travelling to the magical world and begging them for potions. All we have in a laboratory are answers for debatable sicknesses.”

I really do love my best friend at times. His sense of understanding and observation are in a different par.

“But I wouldn’t be wasting my time here. I would have made Esmeralda call on my father and ask him directly instead through a shaman.” Top complains. “Negative. All I can see is dust and spider webs. If you can count dried hydrogen peroxide, then I saw one.”

“Oh.” I gasp. “Good idea. Why didn’t I think of that?” Top winks at me and then continues searching from the glass cabinet.

“But what really happened to Noona?” Seungri asks, opening a couple of boxes from the front.

I decide to stop playing. “They’re planning on cutting of her machine dependency and perform euthanasia. Although she can breathe without the Oxygen concentrator, she doesn’t respond. Dr. Kang announced her brain dead just this morning. Tomorrow is her funeral.”

“Yah, if she’s still breathing that means she’s not brain dead.” Taeyang says, obviously pissed off. “Are they doctors or what?”

“But if there’s an answer as the old man says, then that would mean she’s going to wake up by not medical means but with something else.” I answer, sitting on the swiveling chair. I open the middle drawer, and my eyes widen in what I saw.

To Kwon Jiyong. GD. My son.

I open the letter.

August 18, 2001

YG Building, Block 2, Skeletal Street, 4005

Son,

This is your father, Kwon Henry. By the time you’re reading this, I wouldn’t know for sure how old are you, but the time I’m writing this is your 13^th birthday. It’s your coming-of-age, marking the 13 years you’ve been alive in this world, and I would thank everyone for that. You’re safe and that makes me glad even though I’m robbed of my freedom. Chaerin is growing up well too, and as a father, I couldn’t ask for more.

“Are you reading something?” I hear Taeyang asks, and everyone starts to gather around me.

Today must be the day where your family training begins during weekends, and I feel bad you won’t learn anything. Although you’ve gotten every power I have as well as your mother’s, the family training program is a very important phase for a Kwon because these days, we are taught a special power our ancestors call our gift.

And since I can’t be the responsible father of yours physically, I’ll tell you in this letter that gift, at least to preserve what a Kwon has. Because no matter what I do, I hold myself guilty of what you are experiencing now. I heard from YG that you’ve been bullied and I can’t even go there to save you.

I’m sorry, child. Your father has been very selfish. But we can’t get you back because you’ve already been surrendered and our clan will be murdered completely. I can’t risk your life, but maybe I did the moment I left you.

Oh, right. The gift.

Many years ago, there were world leaders governing the whole world. One day, they decided that it’s time to make the world live in equality and they mixed all of their bloods to make a Pax blood. They made it with a special bottle that will choose who’ll be the first ever Pax. After that, Primerio, the prime monster’s leader and Clementia, the mundane’s leader, got married. Everything was peaceful until months later, Primerio found out that the cause of his death will be a Pax and that his powers, his life, will cease to exist. He just wanted the equality, but not to lose everything he had. So he vowed to kill the first born Pax.

But, in tragic coincidence, Clementia got the vial. She drank it and the first pureblood Paxes were her twin sons. She faked their death to give the shaman a chance to save her sons. Primerio found out and killed Clementia.

And of course, since the blood were passed down it became half. We won’t know who’s the pureblood Pax unless examined but then it would be better to assume it’d come through time. But if you marry a Pax, you can have a pureblood Pax children. And I’ll leave it to your imagine that I winked.

Anyways, our gift doesn’t enter there. It enters here: it turns out Clementia was not killed but been done by Primerio to sleep for eternity. Sort of like the Sleeping Beauty type, but not through kiss. There’s no clear answer on how to wake her up. The doctors found it strange that she’s still breathing, but didn’t make actions to hold her funeral because, well, she’s still breathing.

She was passed down to every hospital by Primerio himself but no one can wake her up until she went to YG. Our family went to YG since the start so I guess it makes sense. Your grandfather of maybe a hundred times, who was still a trainee that time always wondered why Clementia was wearing a bracelet with names on it. And he had been practicing our other gift that time, the power to control other people’s minds.

Taeyang whistles. “But you can’t do that because he didn’t teach you that! All you can do is the powers you naturally know you can do by birth. The flame, the apparating, the speed running and the craft because you were born with it. But family powers?”

I told him to shut up.

It took him five years to perfect the power to control people’s minds and then he set out his plan to wake Clementia up when he had access to her room. He held her arm and communicated with her by stating all the names on her bracelet like a mantra.

And she woke up after a day. The doctors were ecstatic but Clementia was…crazy. She thought she was still being killed. But she calmed down after a few seconds. After that she assumed another identity and lived in the magical world. I met her a few days ago and she had named herself Esmeralda.

But she didn’t know how she woke up. All she knew she was in comatose all the time.

Our gift is special, GD. It is the only answer to a power of corruption, and I hope you’ll use it well. Use your mind well. Clear it of negativity. And then that’s how you control their minds. But it takes time. It took me even three years to perfect the gift. A gift this special is very hard to master and I hope you master it too.

Always take care, and I wish you all the happiness.

Your father,

Kwon Henry

“It’s the answer!” I shout, standing up from the chair. “I-I found the answer!”

“But hyung, your father said it takes year to perfect the family gift. We should have everyone convinced that you can bring Dara to life.” Seungri reminds me.

“Or we can kidnap her now.” Daesung suggests.

I point at him. “Good idea. Everyone hold onto me.”

They reach out their hands and holds my arms. Then I apparate.

We arrive at Dara’s room and we’re welcomed by a sobbing old man. “Young boy! Young boy!” He shouts as soon as he sees me, tears strolling down from his eyes. “I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

“What is it?” I ask, trying to calm him down. If not, he’d have another hard time to breathe.

“Young girl’s family went and took her. Said they’ll have the funeral now! I can’t do what I promised!” He cries. “I am of no use!”

“What?”

“They’ll have the funeral at the local cemetery near the capitol of the town where she lived. Please, young boy! Save her!” The old man cries again, begging, holding me with both of his shaking hands.

“Okay, old man. I-I’ll save her. But please, lie down on your bed.” I try to calm him down even if I’m already on the verge of having a breakdown. “Come on, it’s not your fault. They’re just scared of me. So please, lie down and rest. I’ll go save Dara.”

He nods and goes to his bed, and the others put their hands on me. Then we apparate to the local cemetery.

As soon as we arrive, we’re stopped by the presidential guards. “Come on! It’s my girlfriend’s funeral!” I shout as I try to break free from their grasps. All the guards came rushing, and soon, we were surrounded by twenty presidential guards that are too strong for us to handle.

If it were not the treaty, I would’ve killed them all.

“But we were instructed not to let you in.” One of them reasons out.

“She’s my girl—“ I stop speaking, and my eyes widen as tears stroll down my eyes as I see them lowering her to the ground.