▲▼ CHAPTER 20 // UNVEILING THE SECRETS PART 2

     She cleared as she pursed her lips together. "I bought this house from two women a little over 2 years ago. One of them was named Chaerin but I'm not sure about the other one." The both of you were practically at the edge of your seat, so engrossed upon whatever the woman was talking about and reacting instantly when she mentioned the name. "I'm not sure if the Chaerin woman lived here or just rented a room." Now, it was your turn to question her. You had your fingers clenched together into a fist, "Did you know why did they decided to sell this apartment?" The woman just shrugged slightly as she slowly lifted up her head to meet your eyes. "I heard they had problems with money and loansharks." Your ears perched upwards as soon as you heard the glint of worriedness that she had in the midst of her sentence. Your stomach started pulling itself into a knot, not knowing how you were supposed to feel at that point of time. Daehyun saw the agitation that you had as he stepped forward to lead the conversation again. "Do you have any idea where they moved to?" The woman shook her head solemnly as she had her lips pressed onto each other. The both of you took a last sip of the water and decided to leave the apartment.

         Everything was in a mess inside your head currently. You highly doubted that Youngjae would fool you with a fake address because he just didn't seemed like the type of guy to do so - he was too gracious to do a rash act. Daehyun too, was confused. His eyebrows was knitted together as the wrinkles on his forehead came into sight. Just like you, he would never thought his friend would give the wrong address. "Damn that Youngjae." You mumbled under your breath, cursing and letting out incoherent words. Daehyun sighed, "Hey, don't blame Youngjae that way. Maybe it was a mistake or something that went wrong with the tracking device." You shot him a glare as you felt yourself burning with frustration. You had no right to be angry at Daehyun but the frustration that you had inside of you kept growing after finding out that you had the wrong address that will reunite you with your own family member. You stomped your foot one in front of the other, taking large steps while walking through the crowd. "Well what if he did it on purpose?!" You raised your voice, unaware that it turned out to be rather threatening. Daehyun let out a sigh as he tried his best to stay quiet and not tempt you any further after seeing your agitated side. The both of you continued your journey back to the Police Centre and Daehyun had to keep an extra eye on you, making sure that you wouldn't get yourself into trouble or getting lost in the crowd again. Whenever he lost sight of you for a second, he would fasten his pace and stay close to you - standing right beside you till he could feel your slump shoulders leaning to his.

         Right when you saw the building at the corner of your eyes, you fastened your pace and stomped right to the door. Your eyes narrowed as soon as you saw the familiar hairstyle bobbing behind the pillars of the building. "Hey Youngjae, is this one of your stupid pranks that you usually do?" You snapped, your eyes boring to his as his eyes widened and his forehead creasing with confusion. "What the heck are you talking about?" Youngjae's voice was full of confusion but you didn't buy his expressions since you were confident enough that he was joking around after giving the fake address. Your eyebrows rose and your heart burned when you heard the slight anger that he had when he was questioning you.

         "Are you testing my patience because heck, you're doing a great job. You do know how much this means to me right?" You shook the piece of paper that you had in your grip furiously right in front of Youngjae's face. Daehyun was fast enough to step in before the whole conversation turned ugly.

         "Hey, I told you not to blame him. We don't know the real story yet." In an instant, you turned swiftly to Daehyun as he caught your stare. You stood there with your mouth slightly agape and your grip tightening around the crumpled paper. "Oh of course, you're protecting your friend." Your hands came flying above your heads as you let out yet another frustrated sigh.

         Youngjae was unaware of the whole situation as he gestured a question to Daehyun through his own facial expression. Daehyun rubbed his temples as he tried his best to recompose himself since it was really tough for him to not blow up in anger. "We went to the address but she wasn't there. Do something about it?" Daehyun slowly took the crumpled piece of note from your tight grip as he handed it over to Youngjae. Youngjae gladly took it into his grip as he read through the address, trying to satisfy himself that there were no mistakes. And for sure, there were none and he was also sure that the address written onto the clean sheet of paper was the same address that he copied from the profile of the woman. "This is the same address and there's no way I have copied it wrongly." You rolled your eyes in annoyance. Clearly, you didn't believe whatever that came out from his mouth and believing that it was all a lie. From the look on your face, Youngjae was able to read how annoyed you were. "Of course, I'll track it again." With that, the three of you hurried to the previous room as Youngjae continued his work.

         This time, Youngjae was more focused than ever as his typing on the keyboard fastened too and his eyes searching everywhere onto the screen. It took him awhile to search for the profile and when he did, he pushed the monitor towards you. You looked through the profile again and for sure, there were no mistakes copied onto the note. Your lips were pressed tightly amongst each other and you could feel your stomach tightening by itself while guilt overwhelmed your whole body. You bit your lower lip because of nervousness. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. Just, I'm sorry.." You whimpered and you could feel yourself cringing, wanting to hide yourself under a rock. You were too harsh on Youngjae before and you had to admit that your anger got the best out of you. Youngjae just shrugged it off as he continued his job again, tracking the address with full concentration. It seemed like forever till he was able to respond to your waiting thoughts. "Damn it, she changed her address without informing the landlord. But it's somewhere in here, don't worry." Youngjae assured you as his fingers continued on typing onto the keyboard as fast as they possibly can. You looked over to your wrist watch and caught the late timing. You groaned in annoyance as you realised how long you had been discovering the whole city without realising the night time drifting in. "Hey, I have to go since it's getting late. Catch up with you tomorrow." You called out to Youngjae and Daehyun, slunging your purse to your shoulder as he nodded and waved goodbye before you were able to walk out of the door.

         You sighed as the cold breeze swept through your hair, making the ends tangled by themselves - finally you were this close to be reunited with your loved ones. Never did you thought you would be able to do so and you had to admit that it was nerve-wrecking, walking through the whole journey like an adventure. You were somehow glad knowing that this would help you end your past nightmares and eventually allow you to start an official beginning for your life. Taking small steps and placing your fragile hands deep into the pockets of your coat, you kept hugging yourself and continued trudging back home, trying to be aware of your own surroundings. The area seemed slightly intimidating with all the dim street lights on, casting small shadows of the huge trees and there were not much people hanging around which made it seemed even eerie.

         From taking baby steps, you fasten your pace as you took even larger steps in attempt to walk much faster back home. Every now and then, you would swiftly turn your head to the back hoping to catch a glimpse of anybody tailing you from behind after listening to the noise of dried and crunchy leaves being stepped on. You weren't used to going back home alone in such a dark and intimidating place so you had to keep another eagle eye around your surroundings. Your heart would pump rapidly by itself whenever you heard incoherent noises coming from your back and the ends of your hair would stand up by it's own, giving the presence of another person walking in the area. You let out a huge immense relief as soon as you found yourself on the steps of Anthea's house. Taking a quick glance by the end of your eyelids, you quickly placed your hand onto the doorknob and twisted it open.

         With one peep near the bricked pillar, he smiled and nodded while placing his hands back into his deep pockets before walking back to the Police Centre. He tilted his head again to the back to make sure you were still in the house as he let out a sigh, not a frustrated one but a much relieved one. You still felt somewhat suspicious as you took the chance to stay near the window, pulling away the cream lace curtain to witness the slender shadow overcasted by the bright yellow street lamp as it also shone the person's familiar honey brown tousled hair.

         With a sigh, you turned to hurry yourself back into your room after such a long and exhausting day but small sniffs attracted your attention. The whole house was dark and nobody was lounging in the living room or the kitchen. The sniffs and small cries started to get louder and louder which actually feared you with goosebumps rising throughout your whole body. You made your way up the creaking stairs one step at a time as the stairs did not betrayed you with it's loud creaking noises. Turning yourself to the left, the room was pitch black and there was no way anyone would be inside it. You made your way to your own room and it was pitch black too, only small streaks of light from the moon creeped through your lacy curtain hung before the window pane. Your eyebrows furrowed by itself and your heart started thumping furiously - who knew if something bad would eventually happen? Slowly with graceful steps, your legs urged you to walk even further to the end of the corridor where Anthea's room would be and you mustered your courage to find out the mystery cries. As soon as you came nearer to Anthea's room, you could definitely hear the cries and sniffs that became much clearer to your ears.

         The door to her room was opened slightly as you knelt down beside it, using it to sneakily witness her doings. Anthea was sitted at the edge of her king size bed and was holding what seemed like a photo frame that had the classic dark brown frame. The tears from her eyes would endlessly fall down onto the carpet and you could see how heart wrenching it is to her by her upsetting facial expressions. The wrinkles on her forehead became even prominent followed by those thin and pale pink lips that was trembling effortlessly, allowing the tears that was trapped at the end of her eyes to roll down her wizened cheeks and damping it. Seeing the way her nose would scrunch up to sniff the tears away made you feel small again. It felt as if you were looking at your own reflection - how broken and small she reminded you of your own self. Before you knew it, your juicy lips were by now trembling by itself as your lower row of teeth bit it.

         Slowly regaining your balance, you stood up from your position and stood right in front of the door while you held out your balled fist in attempt to knock onto the door. As soon as Anthea heard the soft knocks on her bedroom door, she swiftly placed the photo frame under the covers of her bed and furiously wiped away the excess tears that was damping onto her cheeks. You poked your head through the door and let out a small smile, slowly taking hesitant steps towards Anthea.

         As usual, she would sniff away the tears and put on her wise smile as she patted onto the vacant seat next to hers, signalling you to sit right beside her. You took the offer as you then placed your palm onto her back, soothingly rubbing her back to calm her down. Anthea turned to face you and you could see the glint of worriedness that she had kept in her eyes, "How long have you been behind the door?" A small smile was tugged to the end of your mouth as you let out a small chuckle while shooking your head. "Not long enough." From the rubbing of her back, you took her wrinkled and weak hands in yours and used your thumb to rub her palm soothingly. You saw how she tried to control the unwanted tears from escaping by biting her lower lip and blinking her eyes numerous times. "What happened?.." You questioned, trying your best to not let the weak overcome your feelings. You couldn't help seeing how sorrowful she was and how the weak that was inside of her betraying her strong and forceful image of a wise old woman. Anthea was at lost of words and all she could do was to rock herself back and forth on the bed while trying to find the right words to explain to you what was the matter about. You knew how sick the feeling was to be experiencing such mental breakdown. Anthea cleared willingly as she mustered her courage to look at you in the eyes. Looking at her distressed state, she looked similarly like a small toddler and it made you want to wrap your warm hands around her shaking body. "I can't.. I just, can't anymore.." Her voice cracked as it sounded so weak and hoarser than usual. She shook her head vigorously as if denying something to herself. You only managed to wrap your arms around her slouchy shoulder as she wrapped hers around your small waist too. Her cries accompanied you through the night as you didn't dare to leave her hanging and drowning in her own cries.

         Right after midnight, Anthea was able to recompose herself as she invited you to a small supper snack. Silence engulfed the both of you as the roaring engines coming from the cars and motorcycles broke the dead night. "I'm sorry you had to witness that." Anthea started off as she placed the rim of the cup to her wrinkly, prune-like lips. You shook your head slowly, showing a small and sympathetic smile. "I just had a breakdown, a really bad one. There's just, alot of things happening in my life right now." Anthea let out a light sigh as she pursed her lips together, stopping the urge of letting the tears overcome her emotions.

         You felt anxious and it seemed as if you can almost relate the feeling that she currently had. You nodded sincerely, "I get it. Something serious? If you need a listening ear, I'm always free." Again, her lips were pressed against each other as she slowly nodding her head. Just like a wise old woman, she would take small sips of water and rub her palms against each other.

         But then her nod was changed to the shaking of her head while her eyebrows furrowed and she sighed effortlessly again. "It's something that I rather not talk about and too personal. You wouldn't want to know, my dear." She said, taking a hold of your palm at the end of the coffee table while she tapped and rubbed it soothingly. You understood what she meant and you respected her decision eventhough the curiosity was dugging deep into your skin. Shrugging your shoulders and pursing your lips together, you slowly cleared your hoarse throat. "It's alright, it doesn't have to be me. Let it all out to someone who you can rely on and I'm sure everything would be fine." Your heart ached as those words came flying out from your own mouth. It felt as if a sharp stab of knife went straight through your chest and you felt as if you betrayed your own self with those words.

         'Everything would be fine' was clearly not a genuine statement neither does it do the job as soothing words.

         It was merely a lie to make up the deadly truth and you knew how you hated those similar words whenever someone tried to soothe you with it. You hated it because it clearly does not even work. Nothing would be fine if such problems would never happen. You knew Anthea would be feeling the same way too and it was undeniable. The night came to an end as the both of you dragged both of your feet under the comfy covers, hoping to get some peaceful sleep before the blazing sun would seep through the windows. Waking up early in the morning made you feel worse than the previous nights. Your body ached terribly and it was just one of those days whereby everything felt so off and nothing was right. 

         Anthea wouldn't allow you to leave the house without a proper breakfast. After the hearty meal, you went straight ahead to the Police Department to meet up with Youngjae. It was a piece of cake on finding Youngjae because of his elongated neck and his jet black hair that stood out from his milky white skin. "Any updates?" You hollered from the back as Youngjae nodded in enthusiasm, his eyes were opened wide and he looked rather proud of himself. You followed him to another different room which was much smaller compared to the previous one and it was much more neater. You believed that it was Youngjae's office since almost the interior were relatable to his own personality. "Apparently she moved for more than 3 times but she didn't update it with her landlord which is why it is saved as her old apartment address." His fingers furiously typing onto the keyboard as he bit his lower lip in full concentration. "I'm not sure why she didn't update it though but she's being a sneaky brat." You narrowed your eyes at Youngjae as you hissed in annoyance and smacked the back of his head lightly while he whinced in pain.

         "She is my grandmother if you're not aware." Youngjae rolled his eyes as he let out a small yet playful chuckle and shook his head. In just a matter of minutes, he hissed a yes under his breath as he scribbled something down onto a new sheet of paper before handing it to you. "I've tracked down the 3 latest houses that she had lived since the tracking doesn't work that well onto her current stay because she haven't been updating with her landlord." You nodded, looking over to the piece of paper. You reckoned that almost all of the houses listed down onto the sheet of paper wasn't far away from the town area which was a good thing. Honestly, a great wash of relief and excitement washed over your entire body as you were thankful enough to have Youngjae assist you in this small mystery. He could have just pushed the deal aside the first time even if Daehyun did pestered him but his kind heart took the risk to help you out and you were really grateful upon his act. Sliding the piece of paper into your pocket, you thanked Youngjae before leaving.

         "Call Daehyun for me and tell him to meet at my workplace? I need his help." You called out to Youngjae as he nodded in an instant. Walking out off the huge wooden door, you were ready to set off to you first day of work. First day working in the café wasn't too bad since there was nothing much you could do except for taking orders and helping out during kitchen duty. It was also not much of a hassle since Jaebum decided to lend you a helping hand throughout your first day. "One coffee please." A soft yet husky voice interrupted your thoughts while you jerked upwards, fishing out your notepad from the pocket of your white apron.

phew didn't even realised this was a long one

happy reading!