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[Rei]

“We are going to Seoul!” Miyu sang.

I look at her questioningly, slightly raising an eyebrow to make my point.

“Remember last time, we went to Seoul, but you decided to bail on us the last minute? We’re doing it again! A trip to the city!” She beamed excitedly. “And with Mark getting better and all, I think it’s fun for all of us to take this trip.”

My eyes narrowed at her “Who’s going to take care of the pack?”

“That is all taken care of! Papa Tuan has it covered.” She grinned, as if she’s got it all figured out. “Plus, that man is happy that his son is healthy now.”

Papa Tuan? Huh… I’d like to meet him one day. Maybe.

“What about my grandmother’s approval?” I challenged. I really don’t want to go, yet again.

A smile reaches her eyes, making her looking like the creepier version of Cheshire cat, she responded “Don’t worry.” Patting the top of my hand.

Ever since Miyu and the boys knows where I reside now (not sure how they even know), they continue to make visit, frequent visits.

“Don’t worry? Do you know what that lady can do? She can even kill you while you’re taking a dump.”

Miyu paled for a second before covering it with a nervous laugh, waving it off like shooing a fly away.

After meeting her at the café, I headed straight home.

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Knocking on the door of the office, I was hoping to find my grandmother, but she was nowhere in the room. Walking further into the room, wanting to wait for her to talk about the trip.

I haven’t been in the office in a long time, and it was a throwback to the past. I remember seeing my father by the desk, rummaging through the stacks of papers on the table with furrowed brows, which I always ceased it down.

I pulled the chair from the table and sat down, looking on the desk, I stumbled upon photographs of my parents’ car. My grandfather said they had a car accident, but looking at the picture, their car was in a perfect condition. There were more than 10 pieces of photos, I went through all of them until the 3 last ones.

A vintage necklace hung around a burnt corpse. I remember that necklace, it was my mother’s. The more I look at it, I could feel my heart picking up. Going through another 2, their unique wedding band that I recall liking to play around. The last photo was their corpses, before it was burnt. It was horrifying.

My eyes stung with tears, chest tightened with pain, I couldn’t breathe. This was my parents last day. They were tortured, brutally. They were mutated, inhumanely. I feel the bile rising in my throat.

Wanting to know more, my fingers swipe over the papers and found pages of reports of their death. My breaths erratic, this is the truth, the ones I’ve been searching for half of my life.

At the corner of the documents, I saw the black envelope. Was this the one that arrived in Bane Mist pack? I wondered. Picking it up, I read the contents, in white font they were written

“If the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, might as well cut off the entire tree. They fall closely, and together they fall.”

A creak on the floor echoed around the room, she stood still, staring at me; cautiously waiting for my outburst.

Carefully, I lifted my gaze from the information I just learned today than I ever did in the past 9 years. Emotionlessly yet coldly, I look right in her eyes. The lady flinched under my gaze. “When, were you, going to tell me the truth?” My voice low.

Darius followed behind, nose still stuck in some book “This is imp –” He froze, going white as the second ticks.

My grandmother stutter “I-I was going to tell you when you’re completely ready.”

“I’m not a child. You said so yourself, that I’m a grown 25-year-old woman. How long were you going to keep this from me? You’re lucky that it wasn’t me that died four months ago – how many more obstacles should I go through for you to tell me?” My voice raised this time, I was starting to get impatient.

“Hey! Don’t take it out on your grandmother, she was trying to protect you.” Darius came in defense.