I ran my fingers around the edges of the jewelry box, letting the coldness of the metal shake my whole body. To be honest, I actually have no idea what's in here. When I was little, I used to love sitting beside my mom as she got ready in front of her vanity. She never opened that box yet every time she sat in front of the table littered with perfume bottles, jewelry boxes of all shapes and sizes, and accessory holders, she would always brush her fingers over its lid. When I finally asked her about it, a faint smile appeared on her lips and her eyes regained a bit of the twinkle they had lost from the abuse my father gave us.

"You'll find out when you're older," she answered.

I never got more out of her than that.
And even after all these years, I never asked her again. I kind of just lived contently with her answer...that I was going to eventually see whatever was inside soon enough.
But now she's dead.

This mysterious box with its even more mysterious contents now stares at me every day from the coffee table as I walk past it on my way in and out of the house. I know I should open it. I know that if I keep waiting, he could eventually find me and take away the box.

Then I would never get to see what was inside.

"It's been like 2 months _____________," Mark said from his seat across the coffee table from me. His eyes moved in the direction of the box then back to me. "I think you should open it. Like now."
I sighed, slumping my head into my hand, "I know..."
"You know, but you sound unsure."
"It's just that....maybe it's still not the right time to open it. My mom always told me that I could open it when I was ol-"
"You're like 20...I'm pretty sure that qualifies as being 'older'."

"Fine," I huffed, grabbing the box and pulling it towards me. My fingers flew up to clapse of the heart shaped locket that has been swinging from my neck since October and undid it, catching the necklace as it fell. The pendant, even with the small key inside of it, usually didn't weigh that much, but today it felt like I was holding a huge brick in the palm of my hand.

My fingers were shaking.
I think at this moment, I was more scared of dropping the key and accidentally letting it enter the land of lost hair ties and bobby pins than of the actual contents of the box.
Mark sensed this and immediately covered the hand that held the key with his own, giving it a slight squeeze.

"You ok?"
My eyes met his and he automatically knew the answer.
No.
I was totally not ok.
But I really didn't have a choice.

"Let's just get this over with," I replied, sliding my hand out from underneath his. I stuck the key into the small hole on the front of the jewelry box and turned it.

The box let out a click and popped open slightly.

I took a deep breath and lifted the cover off in one swift motion, tilting my head in to see the inside before the tip of the lid could even hit the table. Nestled deep in a pool of red velvet fabric was a green seal that looked like the kinds you would see people use in those old Chinese movies to stamp a letter or something. The Chinese characters carved into the bottom of it was stained red, meaning my mom...or someone...had to have used this before.

"Why the heck would my crazy dad want to kill us over this thing?" I held the seal in my hand. It was heavier than I thought it was gonna be, and I have a bad feeling that it was only going to get heavier.
Mark scooped it out of my hand and held it up to the light, his eyes squinting a little as he examined it, "This thing's made out of jade. Holy crap making a seal out of pure jade costs like a mini fortune."
"But my mom isn't rich," I took it back and turned it around in my hands, feeling the sides for any hidden carvings, "so how did she even get this?"

Other than the character carving at the bottom and the intricate animal perched at the top, the seal was completely smooth on all sides.
No secret carvings.
No hidden messages.
Nothing.

But it didn't make sense. Even though selling this thing could get you quite a bit of money, there was really no alternative reason as to why someone like my dad would go through all this trouble to get.
And knowing him, it definitely wasn't just about the money.

"What the heck does she want me to do with a seal?" I put it on the table then reached over and grabbed the box. "There's nothing on it and unless I'm going back to Taiwan for some strange reason, I'm not ever gonna use it."
Mark eyed the seal and picked it up as I flipped the box over and emptied it onto the table. The piece of fabric floated out, leaving the inside of the box open. I let my finger brush slightly over the red plush that lined it, silently admiring how soft it was and how I wanted it in pillow form as I traveled from one side to the other.

Until something suddenly didn't feel right.
My eyebrows automatically furrowed in confusion. I moved my finger back and forth between the side that felt strange and the side next to it. The plush didn't sink in as much as the other sides, and I definitely heard it make a noise that a soft, pillow-like material shouldn't be making.
It crinkled.

"Mark, I think I found something!" I almost yelled out, trying to contain the excitement and nervousness bubbling up inside me. "Feel this part of the box then touch the other sides. Doesn't it feel different?"
He reached in and did what I told him to do, his eyes widening as his fingers also picked up on the difference.
"I think you're onto something," he nodded, taking his hand out of the box then standing up and walking into the kitchen. I heard a drawer open and the sound of metal shifting against metal before the drawer shut. Mark reappeared with a small knife in his hand. He sat down across from me again and slid the knife to me. Part of me didn't want to find out what was behind the red plush. I didn't mind the stand still we were currently in. Yes, the constant fear of my dad lurking around every corner and getting me is a bit of a hassle but so far, he hasn't appeared. And our lives were slowly going back to normal even with the box sitting on the table everyday. If I tear open the plush and find out what's underneath, all of that might shatter. But if I wanted to get to the bottom of all this, I have to cut it open.

I slowly dug the knife into the top of the red lining and pushed it in. After the blade was in about halfway, I started moving it towards the corner of the box, away from me first then back the other way.
The lining came off from the side cleanly but it took a bit of arm strength, as if someone had done this before and just hot glued the fabric back on.

"Oh my gosh," Mark reached over and pulled out something from the newly revealed inside part of the box, "there's actually something in here!" He held up a rectangular piece of paper and scanned it quickly before handing it over to me.
"It's a business card," I looked at the name printed in black ink on the front. "I don't recognize the name though."
"There's a phone number on it," Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "You wanna try calling?"

My hand reached over the table and took the phone from him, feeling the uneasiness build up more with every number I touched on the screen. I moved my thumb over the green call button and hovered over it, took a deep breath, then quickly tapped it.
Mark leaned over as I put the phone on speaker and listened to it connect.

Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ri-

"Hello, you've reached CE Bank. This is James Fung speaking. How may I help you?"

Author's Note
chapter title: Can't Stop-CNBLUE [x]