[C h a p t e r 3 1]

-Ten Years Ago -

Josephine slammed the car door closed behind her, Kris wincing slightly at the damage it would do to the car. He then proceeded to enter his side, starting the engine. Before he pulled out, he turned to look at Josephine.

“Is he someone special to you, Josephine?” he asked suddenly, a soft look in his eyes.

Josephine continued to stare ahead of her, her eyes hard. The silver tin she had gone to collect was pressed tightly against her chest as she hugged it. “Your task is to drive, Kris, so I suggest you do that unless you want to be the third person I kill.”

Kris cocked an eyebrow in amusement at her retort as he then went to put the car in reverse. Her threat answered his question anyway.

Donghae and the twins were seated in the dining hall, in a slight depression over the past few days at Henry’s disappearance. Chanyeol was sitting perhaps a little further away from the other two, as they both still hadn’t forgiven him for letting Henry run away like that. Together, they released a tired sigh.

“I wonder when Hyung will turn up?” said Baekhyun wistfully for what was perhaps the hundredth time. He then turned to glare at his twin. “This is all your fault, Chanyeol. If only you hadn’t told him about the girl’s fire escape, he would still be under our watch!”

Chanyeol glared back at his brother. “Will you stop blaming me already? What else was I supposed to do? Knock him on the head again and drag him back to the room?”

Baekhyun slammed his hands on the table as he stood, his chair squealing as it slid on the linoleum floor. “Of course that’s what you should have done! Hyung’s gone crazy! We can’t just let him wander the streets like this!”

Chanyeol also slammed the table, glaring back at his twin as he stood. “Of course Hyung’s gone crazy! That’s why we have to let him come back to his senses by himself! We can’t force him to stay still if he doesn’t want to himself!”

Baekhyun was about to retort when they heard a small commotion coming from the hall that led to the front entrance. A boy suddenly poked his head into the door way, an excited look on his face. “Some guy’s just bought a cockatoo here with him! Come and have a look!” he shouted before continuing on his way.

The three friends exchanged a confused glance with one another. “Cockatoo?” they all said in unison.

“Why would someone bring a cockatoo?” questioned Baekhyun. Donghae shrugged as he then stood.

“Whatever the reason, let’s just go check it out. It’s better than sitting here letting you two bicker over a pointless argument.” He then pushed his chair out of the way and headed over towards the entrance.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol returned to glare at one another for several minutes before they suddenly poked their tongues out. They each cracked a smile and together they walked over to follow Donghae.

The twins came to a stop when Donghae stood blocking their way. They peered at one another in confusion before leaning in closer to Donghae’s face. “What’s wrong, Donghae Hyung?” asked Baekhyun.

Donghae slowly raised his hand in response as he pointed to the man heading up the steps towards the girl’s dorm with a bird cage in his hand. “It’s Henry ,” he said in shock.

Both twins snapped their heads in the direction Donghae was pointing and huge grins spread across their faces. “Henry ! Henry , you’re back!” shouted Chanyeol in glee as he and Baekhyun began shoving their way through the crowd. But it seemed that Henry did not hear them for he continued to walk off deeper into the girl’s dorm.

“Hyun? Hey, Hyung! Can’t you hear us?” shouted Baekhyun as he, Chanyeol and Donghae finally caught up with him. Still receiving no response from Henry, Baekhyun angrily went to pull his shirt from the back. “Hyung! You’ve been gone for two days and you’re not gonna give us an explanation?”

Henry shoved off Baekhyun’s arm as he glanced down in annoyance at the younger boy. “I’m older than you, Baekhyun. Why do I have to give you an explanation like you’re my father or something?” snapped Henry.

Donghae suddenly shoved past Baekhyun and came to grip Henry by the front of his shirt, staring angrily into the boy’s eyes. “Has it occurred to you that we’re just as worried about you as you seem to be about Josephine? I can’t stand this anymore, Henry! You’re completely hopeless and I really don’t regret hitting you on the head!” shouted Donghae.

Henry met Donghae’s glare before averting his eyes in annoyance. With his free hand, he pried Donghae’s fingers from his shirt. “I appreciate how worried you guys are about me, but you can stop worrying. I found Josephine today.”

The anger in Donghae’s eyes suddenly disappeared as he now peered up at Henry in surprise. “You found her? Then where is she?”

“I don’t know…” sighed Henry in frustration. He then turned around and walked several more steps to stop outside a room. “Is this the room Josephine used to stay in?”

“Yeah…” replied Donghae hesitantly. As Henry was about to open the door he suddenly stopped him. “But ; what do you mean you found her but don’t know where she is?”

Henry pushed Donghae’s hand out of the way and opened the door. “I mean, I found her but she was talking weirdly with me.” He then went to place Dino’s cage on a table and began searching the desk that belonged to the bed on the right side. “She then left with some guy named Kris. You guys ever seen or heard of him?”

Donghae shook his head as he and the twins watched him search the room. “Never heard of him.” His brow then creased in confusion. “What are you looking for, Henry?”

“Clues. Hints. Anything that will give me more information about what is going on with Josephine.” He moved over to Josephine’s bed where he began throwing her pillows around after thoroughly searching them.

“Wow… Hyung is acting like a real detective already,” said Chanyeol quietly beside his twin. Baekhyun gave him a smart slap to the head.

After several more minutes, Henry collapsed onto the bed in frustration. His search of the room had turned up nothing. Dino squawked quietly from his spot on the table.

“I’ve been wondering this for a while, Hyung… Why do you have a cockatoo with you?” piped Baekhyun when it seemed that no one was going to say anything any time soon.

Henry turned to look at the bird. “His name is Dino. It’s Josephine’s cockatoo. She told me to look after him.”

The twins exchanged a surprised glance with one another before rushing over to the bird’s side. “Josephine had a pet cockatoo? A crazy girl like her looks after birds?”

Henry sat up, glaring at the pair. “She’s not an evil person, you know. You guys just never understood the real Josephine.” He then turned away, staring at the wall before him. “She even took in stray injured birds and nursed them back to health,” he said quietly.

The other three exchanged a surprised glance and Donghae went sit down beside Henry, patting him firmly on the shoulder. “It’s not the end of the world, right Henry? You at least know the name of the guy who took her.”

Suddenly, Henry’s eyes brightened as he realised something. “Of course! How could I have forgotten?” He then turned to hug Donghae roughly before walking over to pick up Dino’s cage. “I can get Uncle  to search for Kris’s record! Thanks, Donghae!” he said as he hurried out of the room.

Again, the three of them exchanged a glance with one another and Donghae just shrugged in return at the twins. Then the three of them stood up and hurried out of the room. “Wait for us, Hyung Henry!”

“Perhaps we will finally have to put the plan we’ve been discussing into motion,” said Lee Soo Man from his position behind his desk, staring at the point his fingers made as the tips touched each other.

Kris felt uneasy at the boss’s announcement. “Are you… sure about this, Master ?”

Lee Soo Man slowly looked up from his fingers to stare at Kris coldly. “Do you also doubt my decisions, Kris?” he asked in a tone that bordered on deadly.

Kris swallowed nervously as he replied, “No, Master .”

Lee Soo Man smiled as he leant back in his chair, studying Kris. “You are still young, Kris. There are many others who desire to be in your position, much older and wiser than you are. Do you also doubt my decision in making you one of my right-hand men?”

“No, Master ,” replied Kris solemnly as he stared at the ground.

“Good.” Lee Soo Man stood, walking around his desk to stand opposite Kris. “Then I suggest you go and explain the details of our plan to Josephine.” He paused, pondering over his next words. “Are you sure you do not know the name of the boy?”

The scene in the mountains flashed back through Kris’s mind and he faintly recalled that Josephine had called the boy, ‘Xian Hua’. “No, Master ,” he replied, gazing into Lee Soo Man’s eyes.

Lee Soo Man met the younger man’s eyes, staring into them as if he didn’t believe Kris. He then walked past Kris and headed towards the door. “Very well; you’ll just have to convince Josephine to go and meet him one more time so we can have a witness to our plan.” He paused at the door, his hand on the handle. “A word of advice, Kris: don’t let your emotions rule you.” With that last statement, Lee Soo Man opened the door and stepped outside.

Kris stood there staring at the door, his blood cold. He then turned away angrily, his hand curling into a tight fist. Who was the real one letting their emotions rule them? Hadn’t Lee Soo Man himself impulsively decided that Josephine was to join the Syndicate? Taking a calming breath, Kris relaxed his hand. There was no point in getting vexed over what Lee Soo Man had said to him. Although he had to admit he had a liking for amber, there was still no way he would let that interfere with his work. When he felt that he had calmed down enough, Kris stood up straight and left the room, heading off to find Josephine.

Tbc.

Whoo~~~ We're getting close now . I don't know what else to say for once, lol ;)

Next Chapter: What is Lee Soo Man's plan?!