♧ THREE ♧

"Kim Sunggyu-ssi, are you actually trying to extort money from me?"

Looks like worming his way out of this was going to be a tough one. "Extort?!?" he bellowed, setting the box down. Maybe if he scared her off, she would back off and think twice about bothering him any further. "Me?!? In case you need some sort of reminder, you were the one who inflicted damage by running me over with your car!"

It was a fierce battle of pride now, with Seulbi remaining unfazed by his accusations and Sunggyu equally adamant over his claim. "Maybe you got a little loony in the head from your so-called 'nausea and vomitting' so let me help you get your facts straight: my car didn't run into you and you never were run over in the first place," Seulbi snapped, crossing her arms. "You ran into my car."

"Let me help you get your facts straight too. You, yourself, ran over me and knocked me unconscious, thus the hospital bout. That still puts you at fault!"

"Hey. Most people nowadays end up in the hospital due to an unidentified hit-and-run incident, you should be grateful you weren't one of them. You were properly given medical attention and everything was covered without you having to spend a single cent. I gave you monetary compensation when you came complaining to me, didn't I?"

Sunggyu watched as girl wonder simmered to a slow boil, which was weird because he felt her aura getting colder by the second. Her glare was cold and piercing despite her anger.

"But running off with 25 million won in hand," she growled, the pitch of her voice so low right now, he was having a difficult time hearing her despite it being such a small, resonant space. "I handed you that money for treatment your injuries and this is how you spend it? Running away to Jeonju, hoarding juice and cookies? Props to you, it was really well-played! You had me believing in your sorry sick act as an excuse, just like how you fooled those girls back at the bar."

The situation was getting too toxic for him right now. Shimgoon, who was with them in the elevator, was looking rather cross as well-- he could tell because the elderly man always looked so meek and gentle in every encounter that they had. Quickly, Sunggyu reached for the elevator button, kicking the box outside once the doors opened and rushing out.

Seulbi pushed the doors back open just as they were about to close, following him out of the elevator and into the hallway. "You, sir, are nothing but a complete phoney and fraud who took advantage of the whole situation!" she continued to grill, following him like predator stalking her prey. "Are you a professional con artist? Is your name really even Kim Sunggyu or is that some fake identity you made up to escape altercations?"

"Yes, my name is really Kim Sunggyu and no, I'm not a con artist by profession," he whistled in complete sarcasm as an answer to her accusations, kicking the box faster towards the ward.

"Normally, I won't even bother with the police for this because it's not worth my time and I have a whole load of other things to attend to, but I guess this time I can make an exception for you. I hope you get out of that kind of logic while you still can, Kim Sunggyu. At the end of the day, it still pays to work hard... not to be dishonest. Your financial hardship, no matter how dire, in no way justifies any form of crime you commit-- that's just a completely lazy way of dealing with it and it will never get you anywhere!"

She knew she had ticked him off the moment he had kicked the box so hard. He had almost sent it flying to the nearing wall from the sheer force alone. Her reasoning had peeved him in some way that triggered all that harbored anger and unjust feelings generally directed towards the upper echelon of society. "You only say that because you've never hit rock bottom before, Lee Seulbi," Sunggyu gritted as he turned around to face her, his temper rising as well.

"I guess there's some truth to it after all. The rich are the most whacked-up people in the whole of society! What may be considered as extra change to you means a life-saving amount to people like us, but you greedy and stingy people hold it all back for your selfish and unecessary wants! Hard work? People like us have to enslave ourselves to any job we can get our hands on just to put food in our stomachs and a roof above our heads and it's still not enough no matter how many jobs we take in and no matter how hard we work our asses off. While your kind sit comfortably in your mansions, spending your parents' 'hard-earned' inheritance lavishly. Is that even fair? What exactly is fair even?"

Sunggyu, filled with so much rage, had completely lashed out at her in response to her earlier justification. If Seulbi wanted to be completely honest with herself, although his speech was moving, her stance still remained as clear as still water. Call her apathetic, yes, but in the end, it still boiled down to morals.

"You've probably never earned a single cent with your own blood, swear and tears. Honestly, you're the last person I want to be hearing from when it comes to explaining the value of hard work! Look, if you really want us to get out of this russ that you and society has condoned onto us, then empower us. Give people like us hope to look forward to another day-- confidence in our own self-worth and dignity. Help us help ourselves. We can only do so much to climb out of the deep abyss we've been thrown into. Sometimes, we just need that extra hand to pull us upward."

Empower us.

This guy thought a bit differently after all. Most people would end such a charged speech with 'give the impoverished what we want' or something like that, implying they helplessly needed saving and would be content with being provided for. But what he had just told her-- it was an active approach to solving the problem. The impoverished may be poor, but they definitely weren't powerless, given the proper support. Kim Sunggyu had earned some of her respect, that's for sure.

But she was still so wary about him running away with her money.

"Oppa!"

The sudden cry of a little girl completely interrupted the two's emotionally-charged half-screaming match. A little girl in pigtails was standing there beside them with her hands innocently folded behind her back as she quietly observed the two of them. "Oppa... are you having an argument with unnie?" 

And just like magic, Sunggyu managed a complete 180-degree change in a split second. "Absolutely not! Everything's just fine-- your unnie's just having some hearing problems." She had to hand it to him, he was skilled alright. No one would be able to think up of an excuse of that caliber that quickly. "Why, what's the matter?" he pressed on further.

"Naeun is crying because she says she's really thirsty now."

"Okay, okay, I'll be there in awhile. Just give me a few more seconds with unnie."

Happily, the kid skipped back to bring good tidings to everyone.

"I heard that loud and clear, Kim Sunggyu," Seulbi told him once the girl was out of earshot. "You have no soul. Even lying to little children--"

"We will continue this later," Sunggyu told her, effectively dismissing her. Seulbi scoffed, feeling completely insulted after that remark. He had a lot of nerve to tell her off like that. Paranoid that he was going to run away from this and obviously not wanting to give this whole discussion up, the heiress stormed after him, hot on his heels. The sight that greeted her as she entered the general ward made her stop in her tracks her and feel extremely awful about herself for earlier's heavy accusations.

By a bed in the corner lay an elderly nun, her foot propped up in a cast. Surrounding her were a bunch of children, while a rather pretty boy (whom she assumed to be the nun's caretaker) sat at bedside, overseeing the younger ones so they wouldn't start running around and misbehaving, even though the ward was barely occupied.

"Sunggyu," the nun greeted with a smile overflowing with love and affection as she saw him standing by the doorway. He could not help but mirror the smile back as simultaneous excited cries of 'hyung' and 'oppa' filled the air. One-by-one, the children rushed to greet Sunggyu, clearly overjoyed to see him there.

"Shhhh. We're not at home, so let's all be respectful and try to be quiet, alright?" he eased, letting such a hearty laugh than rang warm in everyone's hearts. Seulbi, forgetting that she was completely cross with him for lying, bit her lower lip to keep herself from laughing as well. Sunggyu's eyes had totally disappeared into thin lines right now. "Hold it, are you even happy I'm here or are you happy because I've brought you something to eat? Hey, let's all wait our turns and get in line-- Sungjong, a little help please?"

"I'd rather not," the pretty boy responded with an amused smirk, enjoying the sight of kids dangling off of Sunggyu's legs and torso. "It's fun seeing these rabid children clawing at you for food. Go forth, my minions--"

"Yah, Lee Sungjong!"

"Yes, hyung!" Quickly, the boy scrambled out of his chair, diving towards the box before he could experience the elder's wrath. "Kids, there's enough for everyone so why don't we form one single line? Then we'll all eat together too!"

Apparently, the boy called Sungjong had much more control over the children, for they did as they were told. Distribution went much smoother then, each and everyone not forgetting to thank their Sunggyu-hyung/oppa, who was looking at them with so much pride and satisfaction on his face. The joys of being the family breadwinner.

The elderly nun, Sister Mi-nyu, sat up and was trying to get herself out of bed. "Sister, is it okay for you to be out of bed? It would be best not to push it," he eased.

"I've been itching to get this cast off me since day one," she joked around. Sunggyu closed the gap between them and pulled her in for a tight hug. She had been his motherly figure for most of his life, after all, and she always would be. "I've missed you, my dear Sunggyu. I hope you've been taking good care of yourself."

"I have. Everything's fine back at Seoul, don't worry!"

"Hmm, I don't think so. Kim Sunggyu, what is with this bump on your head? Did you get yourself into a fight?"

Then suddenly, he was looking over at her direction, giving her his 'oh, you are so dead right now' smirk. The girl grimaced in complete guilt from her actions.

"No, no! I fell and hit my head pretty badly-- but I've already seen a doctor and he says it's fine. I'll be fine, don't worry! Nothing ice and time can't heal."

Seulbi frowned. That's not what you told me when you asked for a monetary compensation of 25 million won.

"And who is this lovely young lady over here?" Mi-nyu asked, smiling at her this time. "Your friend, Sunggyu?

"Yes. A really good friend from Seoul," Sunggyu nodded. What a complete phoney. Seulbi could read right through him now-- in his head, he was practically puking his guts out at the thought of even admitting they were friends. It was all an act for the sake of keeping the elderly nun out of worry. 

After her presence was acknowledged, Seulbi quickly schooled her expression and gave everyone a respectful and sincere 90-degree bow as a greeting. It would be rude after all to just suddenly ditch without introducing herself. "Good afternoon, my name is Lee Seulbi. It is my honor to meet all of you."

Typical rich kid. They only had their manners on display for the public eye when in reality, they were all spoiled and snooty. He could tell that her extreme politeness enamoured Sister Mi-Nyu and the kids so much. She even spoke in jondaeatmal too, greeting them in such a formal matter.

"Such a charming girl Sunggyu brought home! I approve. Don't you think so too, Sungjong?" she whispered to the boy addressed, who only nodded in approval. "Let's not be rude. Go and introduce yourself to her!"

That remark completely stumped her. Were they implying that Sunggyu and her were together? Oh God, no. "E-Excuse me?" she couldn't help but stammer. "I'm not..."

"You'll have to speak louder, Sister. Oppa says unnie's hard of hearing," the little girl from earlier kindly pointed out. From her peripheral view, she could see Sunggyu doubling over in silent fits of laughter, amused that his lie had been taken so seriously. That only made her want to kick him over and out the nearest window. She was just about to storm over and do just that when the pretty boy suddenly appeared before her, effectively cutting her off in her path.

"HELLO. MY. NAME. IS. SUNGJONG," he greeted as he offered his hand and introduced himself, properly enunciating every word for her as if he were initiating primary contact with an alien from outer space. That made Kim Sunggyu at the corner laugh even more. For Pete's sake, she wasn't slow-brained or illiterate.

Despite feeling a bit peeved, she still shook his hand anyway. "Hi. Lee Seulbi."

More introductions were made after that and the kids were so happy to have met a new unnie friend. Seulbi was at a total loss as to what to do with these children, who had been constantly pulling on her hand and shirt for her attention. She didn't say much and she looked very awkward but then she exuded that quiet charm that made them like her regardless. When Sunggyu had volunteered to take out the trash, she was more than willing to help.

"Modern-day Robin Hood, huh?" Seulbi teased as they walked through the hallway. "Extort from the rich, give to the poor."

Sunggyu only smiled sheepishly, refusing to reply to that remark. Instead, he switched the focus of the discussion elsewhere. "First time dealing with kids?"

"Yeah."

"I knew it. You looked like a deer caught in the headlights every time someone started yelling out your name."

"I'm not very good with children. With people, in general. It's not that I dislike them or look down on them, it's just..."

"You've been too holed up in your ivory tower, I see. Typical rich kid."

That had brought their discussion back to where they had left off. The atmosphere had become downright tense and awkward after that. Not one of them said a word as Sunggyu found the nearest trash can, quietly dumping its contents into the proper receptacles.

"I'm not going to call the police," Seulbi told him, breaking the silence.

"Y-You aren't?"

"I came here for urgent matters and am a bit pressed for time. There's a certain someone I'm looking for. Someone I want to see. A little birdie told me I'd find him here in Jeonju," she told him. From the gleam of her eyes, she looked like she was dead-set on finding whomever it was she was looking for. "Seeing you here side-tracked me a bit and I can't afford to waste any more time away from urgent business. I really do have to get going, so kindly tell Sister Mi-nyu, Sungjong and the kids that I'll be leaving. Whether you learned your lesson or not, I'll leave that up to your conscience, Kim Sunggyu-ssi. Also, I'll be thinking about what you've told me. They do serve as valid points for reflection."

Truthfully, she didn't have it in her to send him to jail, not when she had seen for herself the responsibility he was shouldering. The children needed him. Sungjong needed him. Sister Mi-nyu needed him. It would have been a big slap to their kindness and friendliness had she chosen to have Sunggyu apprehended by the police.

"Likewise," he finally admitted. "I guess this is goodbye for good, then?"

"Why? Missing me already?"

"That's it. Go! Get lost and good riddance!"

<<<< >>>>

Searching was proving to be a particularly taxing job. It took almost an hour for the Medical Director to consider their request, another hour to retrieve the medico-legal document on that particular date and year and an additional hour to check it out carefully, only to end up with not even a small lead to help them progress forward. Feeling dejected, Seulbi dragged her feet towards the car parking lot. The big hospitals were unable to provide what she was looking for, so she decided to ditch them and move on. That left two-third of her ever-growing list still unaccomplished.

Seulbi was able to chance upon seeing Sister Mi-nyu and the rest step out of the hospital. It seems like they were planning on taking a cab. Well at least, Sister Mi-Nyu, Sungjong and three of the youngest kids were. Sunggyu and the older kids were probably commuting on public transportation, but were sending them off first.

An injured elder needed a more convenient and injury-friendly ride than a cab in this kind of wintery weather. Taking pity on their situation, she jogged up to them before they could flag one down.

"Do you need a lift, Sister? Where are you headed?" Seulbi offered. Sunggyu was staring at her in confusion for she had randomly popped out of nowhere once again and now he was really highly under the assumption that she was stalking him.

"Back home to Little Haven Orphanage," the elderly nun replied before politely turning her down. "Thank you, my dear, but I'm afraid where we live is a bit far off, towards the outskirts of the city. Also, I just can't leave the kids."

Seulbi glanced at Shimgoon and he understood almost at once. Now that the hospitals and small clinics were barely cooperating due to the tediousness of the processing, they had decided to try their luck around the vicinity of the car crash site. Little Haven Orphanage was along the way and was in their preliminary list of places to check, plus they might have something helpful that would lead them closer and further in their search for the missing Lee.

"It's no problem. We were just on our way around there as well," Seulbi told them, giving her assistant one look but he was already on it. Shimgoon had already pulled out his phone in quick response.

Frowning, Sunggyu pulled her aside. "Hey. What happened to 'urgent matters'? I thought you were pressed for time! You don't have to do this."

"Chill. I said it was on the way, did I not? Plus, you'll get to save up with your transportation budget for something else. If you think about it, the privileges being offered to you are good enough. Win-win for you."

He couldn't argue with that. When he brought her back to the bigger crowd, Sungjong had such a knowing smile on his face as if he had been thinking of something diabolical. Sometimes, he didn't know whether to feel grateful or scared that they were friends. It was Shimgoon speaking that managed to interrupt his current train of thought.

"Young miss, I have arranged for a van and a driver which will be here for pick-up shortly. It would be nice if they all went together."

"Yes, please do, but no need to hire a driver. Please personally see to the van, Shimgoon. It would be discourtesy on our part if we didn't."

"But young miss, the sedan..."

An excited smile graced Seulbi's face. "Not a word to Woohyun and the others. I'll drive it."

<<<< >>>>

"Any luck with finding Henry-hyung, Princess?"

"Frauds, all of them. They faltered every time I asked further details about it. The situation doesn't match up, the dates don't match up. Clearly, they were only in it for the money. Also, getting access to hospital logs is taking up most of my time; I have to wait for clearance from the medical directors before I can move. To top it all off, I'm running out of leads."

Currently, Seulbi was on the phone with Hoya, who had called in to check on her.

"I can head there and help you search. I'm not comfortable with allowing you to do this all by yourself, Bee."

"As much as I'd like some help, I need you there to keep the other two oppas from clawing at each other's throats. They're practically brothers at home, but you know how Namu and Yeol always tend to heads when it comes to business matters."

She could hear chuckling on the other end of the line. "They were pretty much cooperative with each other during this morning's meeting, even as they were reporting the proceedings to Abeonim and Aunt Soyeon after that. In any case, let's still hope and pray they don't, alright? The last time I tried to intervene, I ended up sporting a black eye and we had a social event that night. Totally uncool.”

That made her laugh as well, easing the tension a bit as she continued to laugh along with her cousin over the phone. For a moment, it seemed like there was no problem, that it was just another day of the year and she was casually chatting up her cousin whom she dearly missed.

"It bothers me though. Is it okay to work based on the premise of Uncle and Aunt's accident alone? What if we do find someone whose story exactly matches, but then he's not it?"

"Bee, we have the DNA tests to make sure of that for us. Don't worry about it."

"But still..." Her unease had a point though. It was a waste of resources and of time, which they didn't have the luxury of right now. Finding out that that person was not it would break their hearts, and they had to start over from scratch. Wishful thinking on her part, yes, but she wanted to make sure that the Henry she found was the real one.

"Don't lose heart, Bee, we'll get through this slump together. Whatever happens, we-- Woohyun-hyung, Sungyeol and I-- we've got your back. Also, if you're still not home the day after tomorrow, I'm definitely following to Jeonju, is that clear?"

"Yes. Thank you, Howon. I'll see you the soonest."

She ended the call to find Sunggyu waiting for her, both his hands shoved down the pockets of his jeans. Currently, they were now at the orphanage compound. It was a quaint place not so far off from the city borders, the countryside extended on its other end. The place was quiet and peaceful, there air was so fresh, the trees provided ample shade-- it felt like a quiet little nook one would like to run to when he needed the peace to collect his thought. Everything about the place just brought out a sense of serenity. Little Haven indeed. "You come to me in your time of need," Seulbi teased, finally acknowledging him.

"Boyfriend?"

"That was my cousin on the phone," she filled in. "Someone sounds a bit jealous..."

He only scoffed at her remark. "Keep wishing, because that's never going to happen! Everyone has settled in already, why are you still here?"

Why was he so eager to boot her out? "Same question goes for you. Don't you have a home to go back to? Or do you really like volunteering here that often? Because it's weird if a swindler like you actually turned out to be a philantropist."

He laughed as if she'd just thrown the funniest joke he's ever heard in his life. "If you count growing up here as volunteering, then sure!" he chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I don't see the joke."

"This is my home, Lee Seulbi. Of course, I'd still be here," Sunggyu admitted with so much pride. Now everything made much more sense now. The children were fond of him. Despite making fun of him, Sungjong deeply respected him. Sister Mi-nyu was extra motherly towards him. They were Sunggyu's family.

"PLEASE. JOIN. US. FOR. TEA. MISS. SEULBI?" Sungjong rang as he approached them, cutting off their conversation. Seulbi's eyebrow began to twitch, once again feeling a bit peeved by the way he was speaking to her. Stiffly though, she still accepted the offer.

"Sungjong," Sunggyu called out, clapping a hand to the younger boy's shoulder. "She's not aphasic. She's not even deaf in the first place. It was a joke I told Ahyoung alone. I wasn't expecting the kid to seriously believe it but she did."

Well this was embarrassing.

"Seulbi-ssi, I am so sorry."

<<<< >>>>

"I've made some Yellow tea, I hope that's fine," Sungjong informed them as he set down the teapot onto the center table, pouring tea for two. "Please have some, Seulbi-ssi. You can't say you've been to Jeonju without trying it."

Bowing her head politely, she thanked him and accepted the cup of tea, taking it in small, dainty sips. Sungjong had left after that to leave the two ladies alone and go check on the rest of the children. All the while as she drank her tea, Sister Mi-nyu continued to observe her carefully. "You're Sunggyu's girlfriend, are you not?" she quietly asked.

Out of surprise, she ended up taking too big of a gulp of the hot beverage. The burn was so intense as it went down that it made her eyes water and as much as she wanted to jump up and down in an attempt to relieve it, she couldn't for she had an image to keep up. "N-No! We're not even dating or anything."

Sister Mi-nyu laughed. "I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, Seulbi. I always believed that the first girl he'd bring home would be the one. Apparently not. The boy always worries about the children here. So much that he always barely has any time for himself and is always binging on overtime work. Ever since he's moved to Seoul, he's been sending a part of his earnings back here every week to help out with the expenses. Everyday I wonder if he's even eating right... he gets thinner and thinner every visit back."

He didn't earn much even if he worked three jobs a day, that she knew based on simple estimate alone, but he could still manage to set aside a part of his earnings for the people he considered as his family, not because he was forced to but because he really wanted to. The children here practically looked up to him like their hero. It was a rather touching story.

"He must really love this place. This is where he grew up, after all. It is only proper that every child should give back out of gratefulness once he becomes of age and I commend Sunggyu for that. That's not so common now. The younger generations have gotten much more selfish and greedy."

The elderly nun suddenly looked a bit teary eyed. "He would have been such a filial son, that child. It's unfortunate that his parents had passed away from a car accident."

Car accident? Seulbi had unconsciously said it out loud, prompting the elderly nun to continue.

"From what we heard from one of the police on the scene, his parents had passed from complications due to the serious injuries they sustained after their car slipped off the highway and tumbled down a ravine. It was a rainy night in September when the then two-year-old Sunggyu was brought here to Little Haven. Sunggyu has been here ever since for as long as he can remember."

That story had perked up her interest. The details were so hauntingly familiar that it sent chills up and down her spine. "Where they able to identify his parents? His relatives at least?"

"We weren't able to get the names. All we know was that their bodies were sent to Seoul for proper identification and claiming. The case was turned over to Seoul officials as well. Although we tried and tried to get in touch with any possible living relatives, we couldn't. We had no clue where to start."

Carefully, the nun reached under the coffee table, pulling out an old album. "This was Sunggyu back then," she muttered fondly, pointing out a picture to Seulbi. "He's grown up to be a fine young man, hasn't he?"

Her heart practically did a somersault the moment she had seen the photo. Seulbi barely listened to the nun's subsequent story with more photos after that, her mind going into complete overdrive as she was too preoccupied thinking about other things. Sometime later, the nun had excused herself to go to the washroom and Seulbi took that golden opportunity to finally settle what she had been thinking about once and for all. Stealthily, she had pulled out that particular photo she was first shown earlier before pulling out another photo from her wallet. She laid the two pictures side-by-side on the coffee table.

Young Sunggyu and Young Henry, despite being dressed in a different set of clothes, looked like exact carbon copies of each other.

<<<< >>>>

"Hi," greeted Sunggyu as he entered the living room. Seulbi quickly pulled both pictures off the table and luckily for her, he didn't notice as he was too busy looking elsewhere. "RiNa misplaced her favorite stuffed bunny again. You don't mind if I look through here, do you?"

"No, not at all."

"I hope she isn't hounding you with details of my rather uninteresting life story," Sunggyu hummed as he started flipping through pillows, assuming that the plushie must have been burried underneath.

"I beg to disagree. It is of my high interest as of the moment."

"Don't flatter me. I know you don't mean it."

Now that he was here, Seulbi decided that there was no other perfect time than now to discreetly conduct her little interrogation process. "Kim Sunggyu-ssi, when is your birthday?"

"Why would you want to know my birthday? For identity clearance? You're still not over the whole con artist issue, are you?"

Sure, if he thought that way, then she could play along. He was partly correct anyway; this really was for identity clearance. "I hope you don't take it as an insult. Besides, you've been referring to me rather informally. For all you know, I could be your noona."

"Noona? You? Please, girl, you look way too young to be older than me."

"I'm nineteen. I don't believe I'm that much younger than you."

"You're like Sungjong then, two years younger."

Age match confirmed .

While Sunggyu bustled about around the living room on his quest for Miss Bunny, she had sat perfectly still, observing him with such intensity. From the side view, he did look quite like her uncle Jinki. How wasn't she able to realize the resemblance to her uncle after several chance encounters with him?

"It was engraved on the bracelet I had on when I came here. For all I  know, it could have been the manufacture or purchase date, so I don't think much of my birthday. It's just like any other ordinary day of the year," he admitted. "But Sister Mi-nyu and the rest still insist on celebrating it anyway."

Her silent, broody persistence hinted to him that she wasn't going to drop the subject until she got an honest answer, so he finally decided to give in. Seulbi got up from her seat after the words escaped from his lips. This could not be just some mere coincidence.

"April. The 28th of April."

Henry Lau was also born on the exact same day twenty-one years ago.

He had noticed that she had gotten up from her seat, her jaw hanging open a little. Sunggyu looked uncomfortable with such intense staring coming from her. He could feel her eyes observing him from the crown of his head down to the tips of his toes. "What?"

By now, a curious Seulbi was closing in the distance between the two of them, his breath hitching as she got too uncomfortably close. When she reached out and pulled his chin down to properly look him in the eye, it was at that moment Sunggyu completely froze over. Gently, she ran her hands through her hair, sweeping up the bangs that were previously covering his forehead.

"Impossible," Seulbi could not help but murmur out loud, dropping her hand to lightly trace over his nose and jaw line like a child in complete awe and wonder. "How could I have missed it in the past day? You look just like he would."

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up, lady! I'm not that easy-- don't project your stupid fantasies for your ex unto me!"

Seulbi quickly pulled her hands back close to her, balling them into fists like a child who had been caught in an attempt to steal a few extra goodies from the cookie jar. "My... ex?" she muttered absentmindedly, her mind still too enthralled by the uncanny resemblances between this person and her relatives. "I've never had a boyfriend..."

"Y-You're not my type!" Sunggyu screeched at her before stalking away angrily, sounding more flustered than he had meant to let on.

<<<< >>>>

This time, Seulbi practically lingered about, finding several ways and means not to leave the orphanage so soon, not wanting to let Kim Sunggyu out of her sight. Now, she was looking at a whole arsenal of the framed certificates, medals and trophies on display. Most of them belonged to one name in particular.

"Sungjong is brilliant beyond his years. I wouldn't even be surprised if he qualified for MENSA with that IQ of his," Sunggyu chimed, suddenly popping up from out of nowhere.

Oh, so he was speaking to her again? Seulbi decided not to point that out.

"This is amazing. He should definitely head to a university or else all this would go to waste," she replied.

"His intelligence is a double-edged sword though. What brought him great achievement also became a source of pain for him," Sunggyu continued. "He must have been scarily smart back then for the school to declare him as 'special'. Because she was unable to accept that, Sungjong's mother snapped. She ended up inflicting a great deal of harm unto her own child. In the end, the family didn't want to keep him any longer and willingly left him here, and then they disappeared from his life just like that without a trace. Normally, one would become miserable and end up hating those people out of spite, but not him. Oftentimes, he's made his intention known to Sister that he'd like to try finding his family someday. He always said he'd settle for teaching the kids at the orphanage, but I know deep down, he wants to further his studies as well. I want to help him out with that."

Seulbi remained silent momentarily to let the story sink in before she spoke up again. "Give me a few minutes, alright?" she told him, whipping up her phone, waiting for the person on the other line to pick up. “Namu. Right now? Still in Jeonju. I'm highly recommending a candidate whom I think would be a very deserving beneficiary of the Nam family scholarship fund. Although he missed the deadline, you think you could consider a late application?"

"If you're vouching for him, then he must be one-of-a-kind. I'll find a way to worm around it for you since you asked so nicely, you have my word. Just ask him to send it in ASAP."

"Roger that, thank you."

"Come home soon! We're all missing you so badly, cara mia. Our day just isn't complete without you!"

"I swear I'm going to punch you in the face the moment I get back. Bye."

"But pumpkin pie~"

"Bye!" she dismissed, turning her attention back to him. "You've heard it, right? Please tell Sungjong for me."

Sunggyu was simply stunned at the length she had gone to help Sungjong out. He had also come here after he had heard from Sister Mi-nyu that Seulbi herself had promised to commit a good and fixed sum of money monthly out of her personal savings to Little Haven for the benefit of the kids miscellaneous fees at school, something he himself had been covering previously. He had intended to thank her, but he just couldn't bring himself to without being embarrassed.

"Just a few stories and you're easily moved. This is why people can take advantage of you so easily if you aren't careful," Sunggyu muttered in disbelief.

"After meeting you, I can now tell genuine apart from fake when I see it," Seulbi teased. "Though I admit that there is some truth to your earlier outburst, not all people of ‘my kind’ are that heartless."

"Why are you doing this?"

She only shrugged. "So I can rest well tonight and for the rest of my life in assurance that these children here won’t end up like you.”

“You're really not going to let that off, are you?”

“Of course not. No matter what the circumstances are, it’s still not right to run off with 25 million won.”

"I'll pay you back, geez! So stingy!"

<<<< >>>>

On the trip back to Jeonju's city proper where they she was staying for the night, Seulbi had recounted everything she had learned after that day's crazy ordeal. After she had made sure to keep Kim Sunggyu's future whereabouts on tab, she started looking around a few other orphanages near the vicinity. None of them matched as strongly as Kim Sunggyu did.

"How he got to the orphanage, his birthday-- the physical resemblance!Everything fits, Shimgoon! Everything fits together so accurately, I think I'm going to go crazy!"

"You don't suppose Mister Kim Sunggyu is really young master Henry?" Shimgoon asked.

"Possibly. Try to get a hold on some of Kim Sunggyu's documents from the local registry. In the mean time, we can't give up the search just yet. We have to make sure we really find the right one."

Another phone call from Seoul interrupted their discussion. It was her Aunt Soyeon. Seulbi listened with sadness for she was sobbing through the phone as she spoke. "Come back home, my dear Seulbi. Your grandfather's condition is getting worse. It's best that we're all by his side right now to give him the support he needs."

"Please tell him to fight for a bit longer, Auntie. I have a really good lead right now, it might really be cousinHenry," Seulbi reassured. "Tell him I'll do everything in my power to make his wish come true, so please tell him to fight. He can't give up on me yet, not when I'm this close."

As she ended the call her thoughts trailed back to Sunggyu. After mulling in agony and dread for the whole night, it was then and there she decided on what to do.

<<<< >>>>

Attention all passengers: bus number XXX to Seoul will be leaving in five minutes. I repeat, bus number XXX to Seoul will be leaving in five minutes. Please proceed to the appropriate terminal immediately. Thank you.

He had been absentmindedly staring into space while waiting for his turn to board the bus when he heard someone call out his name. He thought he was just hallucinating things until it got louder and more persistent.

"HEY KIM SUNGGYU! Are you sure you're not the one that's deaf?"

Lee Seulbi.

Why was she here? Why was she running towards him? Why was she alone? Where was Shimgoon? All of those he had wanted to ask, but he could not bring himself to say any of those. She would probably start to think that he actually cared about her. Instead, it came out a bit more aloof. "Have you found the person whom you were looking for?"

"Yes," came her breathy reply. "You."

Once again, they were in such close proximity with each other as Seulbi narrowed the gap between them. Once again, Sunggyu found himself holding his breath as her hand carefully latched onto his shoulder while the other fiddled with the tips of his hair. She really liked running her hand through his hair, didn't she?

"You know, you... you're really heaven-sent," Lee Seulbi whispered with so much fondness in her tone. "I was just too stupid to realize it. You were right there all along."

Sunggyu's face was as bright red as the sneakers he had on right now as once again he found himself frozen on the spot, subject to her intense staring once again. They had only known each other for four days now, this progression between them was escalating too quickly. He wasn't even sure if they were considered as friends. "W-What are you saying?"

"Kim Sunggyu, I need you."

"E-E-Excuse me?"



"I need you to pretend to be my long-lost cousin."

A/N: "I need you~"-- I should be paid for promotion, Kidding. Just to clarify a few things before people start getting lost: Seulbi and the rest of the Lee cousins call their grandfather "Abeonim", which is supposed to be a formal variant of "Father", which some people might find weird because he's... you know, their grandfather? It's their way of showing respect. After all, he is the founding father of Woollim. Big Daddy, if we must. The Lee kids stick with the normal 'appa'/'eomma' when it comes to their parents. I hope that clears out everything.

Stay tuned for the next chapter! Thank you all for reading!