[C h a p t e r 2 1]

Jessica peered up from scooping ice-cream as she heard the doorbell chime, in time to see her dongseng enter the parlour with that same sad look on her face. She returned to finishing her task as she went to sit in her usual seat, handing over the order once she was done for Mark to deliver while she went to see her . She smiled fleetingly as she came to sit in the chair opposite.

“Nothing’s improved?” she asked.

Krystal shook her head slowly. “Not exactly…” She let out a sigh as she came to lean her arms on the table. “Mother’s no longer in debt.”

Jessica stared back at her sister, shocked. “What? But, how? You didn’t even take the KRW$15,000 I tried to give you the other day!”

Krystal let out a small bitter laugh. “That’s what even I’m not sure about.”

“What do you mean?” Jessica peered at her sister, wondering what she was getting at. Then he remembered what she had suggested the other day. Shee reached forward, gripping her  tightly by the wrist. “You didn’t, ! Don’t tell me you traded yourself with that bastard to clear Mother’s debts!”

Krystal shook her head, slowly prying her hands out of Jessica’s grip. “I didn’t do anything of the sort, Jessica. I even slapped him instead and that’s what makes me wonder why he still cleared Mother’s debts.”

An amused smile crept onto Jessica’s face. “You slapped him?”

Krystal couldn’t help but grin along with her Unni. “Yeah, but I thought he would fire me for that. Instead, he cleared mother’s debts for us and gave her some more money. What do you think he’s trying to do?”

Jessica frowned as she turned to glance out the window. She wasn’t feeling too comfortable with this turn of events. “I don’t know either, but it probably doesn’t mean anything good.” Jessica reached for Krystal’s hands, holding them firmly. “I want you to quit that job, . I don’t want you working near that shark for another night. Who knows what he’s thinking?”

Krystal let out a sigh, staring at her unni hands on hers. A small smile crept onto her face as she remembered how Jessica used to always cling to her side, letting her  sister protect her from harm. She knew that she wanted to repay her for those times and act like the man she had become, but she still could not let go of her protective instincts.

“I can’t quit. Not until I find out why he cleared Mother’s debts.”

“Who cares why? , listen to me; if you won’t quit because of yourself, then do it for me. Please… Krystal?” pleaded Jessica, her eyes boring into Krystal’s in desperation.

Krystal slowly removed her hands from under Jessica’s, placing them on top of her in an assuring grip. “I’m sorry, Jessica. If I don’t go back, I know that this will not be the end of it. He may have cleared our mother’s debt, but there is obviously a price he expects me to pay.” She stood up then, picking up her handbag. “I’d better get going. I’ll see you around, okay, Jessica?”

Jessica watched as Krystal walked out of the shop, a worried look on her face. She wasn’t sure why, but she had a sense of foreboding that nothing good was to come out of all this. The doorbell jingled as the door came to a close and her sister’s form disappeared from the front window.

“Dongseang…” she whispered with a heavy feeling in her heart.

“Nooooo!!” shouted Lay as his ball missed the hoop for the fifth time in a row. he fell to his knees, his head hung low as Sehun went to grab the ball, bringing it to the other side of the indoor court.

Seeing that Lay was not going to move anytime soon, Sehun stopped dribbling the ball as he turned to jog over with a smile. “Come on, now, Detective! Didn’t you say you knew how to play?”

Lay turned to glare up at him, wishing that he would just go die. “Of course I know how to play! It’s just you have an unfair advantage!”

Sehun couldn’t help but laugh at his retort. “advantage? .” He pulled Lay up to his feet. “See?  I’ve given you lots of chances. You just don’t have the skill.”

“I don’t have the skill?” he repeated incredulously. “I’ll Donghae you who doesn’t have skill.”

Lay snatched the ball away from Sehun, dribbling it back towards his end of the court. Sehun followed lazily behind, smiling as he bounded away with a determined look in his eyes. he came to a stop just before the hoop, taking careful aim before he threw the ball. It flew through the air, connecting with the backboard before falling through the hoop. Lay threw his hand in the air as he turned to smile at Sehun triumphantly.

“Ha! I told you I have the skill!” he laughed.

Sehun smiled back at him, shaking his head. “Okay, you have skill.” He then turned to scan the rest of the court. “By the way, where have those other three cops gone?”

Lay followed his gaze, also searching for any sign of his comrades. “Oh yeah… Where have they gone?” His mobile phone suddenly rang over by the bench and he jogged over to pick it up. “Anneyeong?”

“Hey, Detective… this is kinda awkward… er, Nathan’s wife is about to give birth so I had to take him over to the hospital. I hope you don’t mind us leaving without telling you first,” said Sung over the phone nervously.

“Of course not!” replied Lay with a little too much cheer as he pursed his lips with suppressed anger. he did mind that they had left unannounced. “Send my blessings to his kid. And what about Simon?”

“Simon? He said that he was going to stay.”

“Oh, really? Well, he seems to have disappeared as well.” Lay’s voice had grown slightly deadly.

“Um, maybe I can explain Simon’s disappearance,” said Sehun from behind. Lay spun around to peer at Sehun, noting the small grin he was wearing.

Lay hung up his phone, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at Sehun. “Explain.”

Sehun walked around Lay, sitting down on the bench as he opened a bottle of water. “I sent him off to buy water and when he returned, I told him that it wasn’t necessary that he should hang around anymore. He seemed rather relieved to hear that.”

“You what?” said Lay through clenched teeth. “So that means I’m the only one left to guard you?”

Sehun swallowed a mouthful of water before smiling up at Lay. “It seems that way.”

Lay felt like boxing his ears. He then turned away, taking in deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down. “First, you order my superiors to make me your bodyguard. Next, you dismiss my crew, to leave me with you! What is it that you want with me?”

Sehun stared at his back, no longer smiling. He took another swig from his bottle, glancing away. “I just thought that you’re an interesting person… Is wrong to try and get to know an interesting person more?”

Lay slowly turned around to peer at Sehun, shocked at what he had just heard. There seemed to be some sadness in his downcast eyes and Lay suddenly felt guilty for yelling at him. he let out a sigh, walking over to sit next to him.

They sat together in silence before Lay spoke. “What… is so interesting… about a detective like me?” he asked after several minutes, rocking slightly back and forth on the spot.

Sehun turned to peer at him, smiling a little. “I don’t know… maybe it’s because someone like you is hard to come across. After being flattered by everyone all the time because I’m Senator's son, it’s somewhat refreshing to have someone act naturally around me, someone besides Luhan.”

“It must be hard… living under an influential person’s shadow,” said Lay quietly.

“Yeah…” Silence fell between the two once more and they sat together on the bench, wondering what to say to the other. Finally, Sehun suddenly said, “I wonder… What’s the time?”

Lay had completely forgotten about the time and quickly scrounged around in his pockets to retrieve his mobile. “It’s nearly seven! We’re going to be late for that charity ball of yours!” he hopped off the bench and began to try and pull Sehun up to his feet. Sehun let him pull him up, grinning widely. “What are you grinning about? Aren’t you worried that you’ll be late?”

“Who cares? It’s not like I really want to go,” replied Sehun before he turned to pick up his suit jacket.

Lay peered at him suspiciously. “You already knew the time! You knew that we were late!”

Sehun just shrugged as he turned to stroll out of the court. “We’d better hurry, right Detective?”

Lay continued to stare at him through narrowed eyes, storming out angrily after him. “Stupid rich boys…” he mumbled, trying to hide the hint of a smile touching his lips.

Seohyun had been wandering through the whole resort, trying to find where Henry had disappeared off to. After he had refused to join them for a game of tennis, the four of them had not heard from him since. Seohyun was beginning to grow anxious over her oppa absence and so she had decided to trek through the extensive resort grounds. Donghae followed at a small distance behind, having given up on trying to persuade Seohyun to return back to their rooms to wait for Henry there.

She suddenly tripped over a rock at the side of a path that wound through the rose garden, Donghae coming to catch her just before she fell forward. He carefully helped her back onto her feet and Seohyun shoved his hands away before adjusting her clothes back to normal.

“You can leave me alone, Donghae. Nothing will happen at a first class resort such as this,” snapped Seohyun as she began to walk down the path again. Donghae continued to follow behind.

“I won’t leave you alone, Seohyun. If I wasn’t here, you would’ve fallen back there,” replied Donghae, growing slightly agitated at her stubbornness.

Seohyun stopped walking. She spun around on the spot with her hands on her hips, glaring at Donghae. “I don’t need you to babysit me, Donghae. Just let me look for my Oppa in peace.” She turned back around to continue walking down the path.

“Look, Seohyun,” said Donghae suddenly, grabbing her by the arm and turning her to face him. “Henry said he wanted to be alone and you know why. He said he would come back later and you know he always keeps his word. So why worry about him so much?” He then began to drag her back along the path. “It’s getting late and we should go find something to eat. You already skipped on lunch today. I’m not going to have you faint on me from starvation.”

Seohyun pulled her arm out of Donghae’s grip, staring back at him angrily. “Why should I listen to you, Donghae oppa? For however long I’ve known you, you’ve always been clinging to my side. Why can’t you get it through that thick skull of yours that I don’t feel the same way you do?” Seeing the hurt look in his eyes immediately made her regret what she had just said.

A sad smile suddenly cracked onto Donghae’s face as he softly laughed bitterly. He began nodding his head, as if accepting what Seohyun was saying. “Yeah… I’ve always known that Seohyun, but it has never changed the way I feel about you. I know you love Henry and I won’t force you to change your mind. But if my being around you all the time is really annoying you, then I guess I’d better leave you in peace.” He turned around, his gaze never meeting Seohyun’s. “But do go and eat some dinner. I’m worried for you.”

Seohyun watched as he slowly walked off, his hands in his pockets and his head hung low in disappointment. Something about the way he looked so sad seemed to tug at Seohyun’s heartstrings and she attributed the feeling as one of guilt. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she hurried after him. “Wait, Donghae; I’ll come w-”

Her sentence was cut midway when she tripped once more, landing in a rose bush. Donghae spun around as she fell, running in an attempt to try and catch her but he was too slow. Seohyun had fallen into the bush, wincing in pain as he helped her up. Donghae peered at the dozens of small cuts that the thorns had nicked her along the length of her arms.

“Can’t you be more careful, Seohyun?” sighed Donghae after he examined the cuts and saw that they were nothing serious. He peered up into Seohyun’s face, trying to hide the smile on his and earning a little slap on the shoulder from Seohyun.

“It’s not like I wanted to fall into the bush!” she snapped back at him.

Donghae just laughed as he shook his head. “Come on; we’d better go put some antiseptic on these cuts.”

Seohyun allowed Donghae to lead her away, grudgingly permitting him to hold her hand. She watched him walk before her in the early evening light, still feeling guilty about her outburst at him earlier. It wasn’t that she hated him and the feelings he had for her, but rather that she didn’t feel the same rush she had every time she saw Henry. A tired sigh escaped her lips as she thought about her adopted Oppa. Ever since the first day her parents had brought him into their family, Seohyun always had that rush of excitement as she laid her eyes on him. The feeling had confused her innocent mind back then but as she grew older, she soon realised that she was in love with Henry. That revelation alone had brought along so many internal conflicts, for everyone saw them as brother and sister, let alone the other fact that her brother’s heart seemed to have been give to that Josephine girl. It was not until recently that Seohyun had decided to throw away all her misgivings about the fact that they were siblings, but she still did not have the courage to pursue him further if his heart was still with that girl.

Donghae suddenly came to a stop at the corner of a building and Seohyun was startled from her musings. He quickly shuffled back behind the wall, motioning for Seohyun to stay quiet while he tried to peer around the corner. Curious, Seohyun crouched down beside him, also peering around the corner.

“Had a nice walk, Amber?” said a man leaning against one of the posts that supported the large patio.

Amber seemed to pay no attention to the man as she casually strolled past him. The man seemed to smile a little before he grabbed her arm.

“Lee soo man says we have to return. A new job has just come in.”

Amber peered at the hand on her arm before looking up into the man’s face with an expressionless look. For a second there, it seemed to Donghae that she had glanced in their direction and knew that they were eavesdropping. He retreated a little behind the wall, just in case.

“I was just planning on returning tonight,” she answered in a voice as cold as her eyes.

The man removed his hand, smiling widely. “Good… Then let’s head back to pack together. I’m sure you’re looking for something interesting to do after being cooped up in this boring resort for nearly a week.” He then walked off, leading the way down the path.

Amber watched him walk off, glancing ever so slightly over her shoulder with a small cold smile. Her shoes then echoed along the path as she followed Kris.

Donghae retreated back behind the wall, leaning against it with a frown on his face, seemingly lost in thought. Seohyun peered up at Donghae, wondering what was bothering him.

“Why did you just eavesdrop on those two? Do you even know them?” she asked curiously.

Donghae shook his head. “No… But something about that woman is really familiar. When I saw her walk by our table this morning I thought I saw a ghost, but… I guess I was wrong.” He then turned to look down at Seohyun, smiling. “Anyway, we were going to get your cuts cleaned up, right?”

Seohyun stood up and together they headed towards the first aid room of the resort. All the while, she continued to wonder what it was about that woman that had caught Donghae’s attention. She began to feel a little agitated that his attention was even now probably still on that woman. Then she took a mental step backwards; why should she be fretting over the fact that his attention was now on some girl other than her? It couldn’t be that she was… jealous?

No.

Absolutely.

No.

Way.

Tbc.

Anyway, so here we had a little bit of Jessica and Krystal sibling relationship, Sehun and Lay playing basketball in suits and Donghae/Seohyun bickering. Perhaps they also heard something they shouldn't have? lol it's abit boring nothing much on henber..