This introduction is 22 pages so I apologize for the length. Do comment and upvote, and don't be a silent reader!

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In a house situated in the center of the city, 35 year-old Jeno Lee was sitting by his desk, his thick rimmed glassed perched up on his nose. His black hair was slicked back, his pale skin a contrast to the dark suit he was wearing. Despite being in the confines of the comfort of his home, Jeno was dressed to a T.

His cuff links were tightened by one hand, followed by Jeno standing up to grab a briefcase when his phone vibrated.

“Mr. Lee, sir,” a woman called from in front of his study. “You’ve just received a letter, sir.”

“Mrs. Tously,” Jeno’s voice raised, greeting the plump looking housekeeper who was balancing both his afternoon tea and a bunch of laundry in her arms. “You look like you’re struggling there. Where is my wife?”

“Being a damsel in distress, sir,” Mrs. Tously replied immediately, and Jeno chuckled. “The children will be back by five. Shall I lay a dinner plate for you today?”

“Please do. I’m afraid if I don’t come home in time for dinner, my damsel will not be in distress. Instead, she will be a demon.” Jeno and the housekeeper shared a knowing smile of the craziness of the lady of the household. “I’m off to the hospital. You know the drill. Keep an eye on my wife if she’s in the kitchen and call me if any issues arise.”

“Will do, sir. Your letter, Mr. Lee.” Mrs. Tously passed him a letter, Jeno taking it into his hands before exiting the house to get into his car.

In his car, he took a moment to stare at the envelope that had a familiar wax seal on it. The red seal was placed perfectly where it should be, the male flipping over the envelope to see where it was from.

From: Marcier Boarding School

He wondered what the contents of the letter were. The Marcier Boarding School had shut down a year before he graduated after a death of a student in his year, followed by a fire that had completely burned down the anything beyond the clock tower.

Another ring on his phone and Jeno quickly placed the letter down to start driving to the hospital. When he reached the place, his feet thudded on the floor as his step quickened.

“Jeno,” a man said, his eyes tired and his hair fully white. “Son.”

“How is she?” Jeno asked, dropping his voice low to a whisper as he looked behind his adoptive father to see his adoptive mother on the bed. “What did the doctors say?”

“She has a brain tumor,” his father said.

Jeno was adopted to the Kim’s family after a loss of their son when he was in his last year of middle. The fourteen-year-old had given up hope that he would get adopted by anyone, being the oldest in the orphanage. One day, the Kim’s came in, obviously distraught.

Took one look at him, and before he knew it, he went off to live with them.

It took him awhile to realize that the reason for the adoption was because he was there to replace a gaping hole that was empty due to the loss of their son.

“Is it big enough so that surgery will save her?”

His father’s grim eyes darkened and Jeno’s shoulders slumped.

“The position of the tumor is tricky. The doctors say that she has six months to a year if it does grow. If it doesn’t, maybe longer. We can give it a try. We… We have insurance.”

Jeno lifted up a hand to give his father’s shoulder a comforting pat when the old man broke down in front of him. His mother was his father’s soul mate, and Jeno knew for a fact that if his wife ever was in a situation like this, he’d react the exact same way.

“We’ll figure something out, father,” he murmured, finally caving, and giving the man a tight hug when he heard a weak voice call out his name.

“Jeno, dear?”

“Mother,” Jeno said softly, rushing to his mother’s side and giving her a kiss on her forehead.

“Jeno, if I don’t make it—”

“Shush, mother. No need to be dramatic. I already have Bunny in my life, I don’t need another woman acting like the world is ending when it isn’t,” he said sternly, his mother cracking a smile.

The three of them began to converse with one another, reminiscing memories. The first day Jeno was adopted. How smart he was. They talked about everything under the sun except…

“I received a letter today from the Marcier Boarding School.” Jeno felt his pockets but realized that he had left it in the car.

“Your father and I were in the board of the Marcier Boarding School,” his mother told him. “Until Headmaster Park decided to shut it down due to the fire before you graduated. The walls of those school used to speak to me. Isn’t that right, honey?”

“Your mother believes in hocus pocus,” his father said, rolling his eyes before he took in a deep breath. “Your… adoptive brother used to study there, too. Those were dark, dark years.”

The way his father said it made Jeno blink. His eyes were still and Jeno accounted it to the fact that maybe his adoptive father never got over his son’s death.

Throughout the years, they would refer to Kim Jongin as his adoptive brother even if he had never met Kim Jongin. Because of Jongin’s death, he was right there with them.

“You… You’ve never told me how he died,” Jeno said, his father looked down.

“The school was going through dark times then, Jeno. There was an evil plaguing the place. He succumbed to his injuries in the infirmary. We tried to find out what initially happened to him, but we decided to let it go once we adopted you.”

Jeno knew better than to ask, checking his watch to see that it was almost time. “I better get going, mother and father. I ran out of strikes.”

“Strikes?”

“I’ve been working at the university overtime these days. I’m going for tenure.” He chewed on his bottom lip, a knowing look crossing his mother’s face.

“Oh Jeno, have you not been going home for dinner with your wife and kids?”

“Jeno, that is now how we raised you. Family always comes first!” his father exclaimed, Jeno sighing.

“I’m trying to do better, father. But I only have so much time,” he told the two. He leaned down to kiss his mother on the cheek and giving his father a hug. “I will be off now. Goodbye, beautiful lady. Goodbye, my old man.”

His parents gave him loving words before bidding him goodbye, Jeno going to handle the papers for the hospital so his father wouldn’t have to worry about it before heading home.

Home, Lee Jeno’s Household

Jeno could already feel the chaotic energy the moment he walked through the door. He had three kids, that was fine. It was, however, not fine that his youngest had inherited the creativeness and energy of his wife.

The twins, Liz and Sal, were nine years old. Poised and well-spoken. Jeno knew it was because he had sent them to England in their early years.

His youngest son, Elliot, was one hell of a character.

“Daddio!” he screeched, a spatula in his hand as he zoomed down the stairs with his colorful mismatched socks and half his hair bald. Jeno blinked at the sight, mentally telling himself to prepare for whatever story was about o arise. “Hey, buddy… Nice haircut.”

“Thanks, I did it.”

“He did,” Mrs. Tously called from one of the hallways. “Sent Ms. Bunny into a frenzy…”

“Oh no,” Jeno murmured under his breath, picking up his five-year-old and heading to the kitchen to see his wife in a big sundress with an apron on top, laying down on the table, her head handing off the edge. “Oh honey…”

“I closed my eyes for one moment,” Bunny breathed, her head turning to stare at him. “One moment, Jeno. He came back like that!”

Jeno knew that the responsibilities of a mother were way more than someone like Bunny could handle. She was a sheltered woman who had things easy. Maids on her feet, her brother being her immediate guardian and doing his best, so she was given everything she needed.

But she had a big heart and Jeno could see that she was trying her best to raise the three kids with love and care (and a LOT of help from Mrs. Tously). Her lips turned down and Jeno put Elliot down who skittered away to do something new, the male sitting on the table and gathering his wife’s upper body in his arms.

“I have postpartum depression,” she announced.

“Honey, Elliot was born five years ago,” he told her. “Look, it’s okay to admit you’re overwhelmed. I say we hire another maid.”

“No, Jeno! I had three maids when I was younger. Four, if you count Doyoung.” Bunny sat up, Jeno caressing her cheeks to calm her down. “I want to be there for my kids. I don’t want them remembering moments with the maid rather than their own mother.”

“You’re doing absolutely just fine. You’re a great mother.”

“You say that but Lizard and Salamander don’t even talk to me.”

“I thought we have agreed that it is Elizabeth and Sally every time I’m in the room,” Jeno snipped, Bunny scowling at him and pushing him away. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Lizard and Salamander, it is.”

“And Elephant is driving me crazy!”

Liz and Sal, the nine-year-old twins, for Lizard and Salamander. El for Elephant. Those were Bunny’s chosen names.

Jeno, however, did not want his three kids to be bullied so their proper names were Elizabeth, Sally, and Elliot.

“He has your energy. He has your fire, Bunny.” Jeno smiled. “The twins are introverts. All they want to do is read and write.”

“I guess they do have your brains, huh?” Bunny asked, tilting her head at him and he kissed her on the cheek. “Elliot has my imagination.”

“Daddio? Is Mummy crying again?” a voice asked, Jeno turning to see his oldest with a book. She had come down for dinner. “Sal’s taking a shower. Nice to see you here for dinner.”

“I’m always around for dinner, Liz,” Jeno said, Bunny finally getting off the table to act like she wasn’t just having a mental break down. Liz stared straight at her father.

“The last time you had dinner we us was six months ago.”

A clang sound, Elliot running back into the kitchen with a paper plane. It wasn’t long before the Lee family was in front of their food, Mrs. Tously also being invited to sit beside Elliot to handle him.

“I learned today about quantum physics,” Liz announced at the dinner table, her nose buried in the book when Jeno sighed. “No, Daddio, I will not put the book away. Niels Bohr is calling.”

“Niels Bohr?” Bunny echoed, Jeno mouthing it to her.

“The founder Quantum Physics.”

“I learned today that snakes have mating season—” Sally started, and Bunny excitedly clapped her hands, the ex-vet beaming at her favorite daughter. Sally always had a heart and love for animals just like her mother.

“And they also shed four to twelve times a year!” Bunny said, suddenly happy that there was something she could say on the dinner table.

“I learned today that Clarke Kent and Superman are the same person!” Elliot added, Jeno clapping for his son.

“Everyone knows that,” Liz said snarkily, Jeno narrowing his eyes at his older daughter.

“No everyone! Louise Lane doesn’t!”

“She’s a character, of course she doesn’t!”

“You’re a character! You’re a stinky, grumpy, ugly character!”

Liz stood up, her plate moving as the table move. Her eyes were on her brother, glowering and ready to attack. Elliot, not understanding that his sister this close to killing him, stuck his tongue at her.

“Elliot!”

“LIZARD!”

“Woah, woah, woah. I put my bet on Elliot winning,” a voice said from the doorway, the whole Lee family freezing to turn to see a man. His sun-kissed tan skin and brown hair made Elliot squeal and rush towards him to give him a hug.

“Uncle Haechan!”

“Hey there, sport.”

“Ugh,” Liz grumbled, sitting back down.

“I welcomed myself in since no one was answering the doorbell,” Haechan said, Jeno standing up to give him a tight hug.

“You’re always welcome, brother.” Jeno smiled. “To what do I owe this visit?”

Haechan looked behind Jeno, raising a hand to Bunny who gave him a nod of her head and winked. Before Bunny and Jeno got married, he and her were engaged due to their families being tight knit. Both grew up together as best friends.

“Did you get a letter from the Marcier Boarding School?”

Haechan later met Jeno after he was adopted from the orphanage, both enrolling to the Marcier Boarding School, bonding over broken rules and young boy memories. When they went off to college, it was Haechan who introduced Bunny to Jeno.

“I forgot about that.” Jeno rubbed his head.

“It’s family. Family makes you forget about everything,” Haechan whispered. “Can’t imagine how life would be like if I was married.”

“Are you joining us for dinner, Mr. Haechan?” Mrs. Tously asked, Haechan shaking his head.

“I would love to, Mrs. Tously. I miss your cooking. However, I have an errand to run right after this in the name of Mark Lee.”

Jeno raised an eyebrow at the mention of his other friend who he had attended Marcier Boarding School with for a few years.

“We’ll take it to the study then?” Haechan asked, Jeno telling him to lead the way.

[Haechan & Jeno]

Jeno’s study, The Lee Household

“How has work been?” Haechan asked, taking a seat on one of the chairs. “I heard you’re going for tenure.”

Jeno nodded, going to pour a glass of whiskey for his friend. “Ever since Bunny married me, she’s been cut out from the family fortune. I must make this work somehow, considering I’m the sole breadwinner of the family.”

Haechan chuckled. “Please. Do you think Kim Doyoung would ever let his sister starve?”

Kim Doyoung was Jeno’s brother-in-law. He was protective of his sister and loved her to bits. But even he could not stand up against his own parents when they did not approve of Bunny’s choice in a man: Jeno. Jeno’s adoptive parents were financially stable, just not the same as the Kim Doyoung’s parents were.

Jeno’s parents were wealthy in connection and focused a lot of their money on investing in schools. His father was a professor of a well-known university, Jeno following his footsteps, and his mother was a secretary in school admissions back in the day.

The Kim’s did real estate, and owned almost half of the city, and Jeno was not the type of person they wanted their daughter to end up with.

“It’s not about that,” Jeno said, giving Haechan a glass. “Bunny started popping out kids and expenses increased—”

“Your wife is a breeding machine,” Haechan added comedically.

Jeno laughed, knowing Haechan did not mean any harm by that comment. “It’s about pride, too. When I get tenure, at least we get stable income for life.”

“Said like a family man.” Haechan smirked, a hand going into his coat pocket and bringing out a letter that looked exactly like Jeno got… Except that it was open. “Did you get one?”

Jeno nodded, pressing his lips together before retrieving the letter from his briefcase. He had dropped it in when he got into the car, meaning to open it after dinner. He sat back down, opening the wax seal and taking out the paper.

He scanned the contents of the paper.

“It’s a letter summoning us to the Marcier Boarding School,” he said, frowning. “You, me, and Mark.”

Haechan nodded. “The letter is written by Grandpa Park when he was still alive.”

Headmaster Park, inheritor of the Marcier Boarding School, had a good relationship with all his students. Haechan, Mark, and Jeno especially. They had gotten close enough to him to call him ‘Grandpa’, the old man enjoying their presence on chess and chorus nights.

“I know he passed a month ago,” Jeno said, chewing on his lip. “Was it old age?”

“Died on his death bed. Look at the second page,” Haechan urged.

Jeno scanned the second page. This was a more formal letter. A letter from Grandpa’s lawyer, telling them that one of the three would inherit the school grounds, but he needed an answer to a question. The lawyer stated that he did not know the question, but he was given an envelop with instructions if they ever got the answer and reached out to him.

Jeno, Haechan, Mark.

Jeno frowned. “One of us three?”

Haechan shrugged. “You know how Grandpa enjoyed a good riddle. He liked fun and games.”

Grandpa’s family were descendants of the Marcier’s, the founders of the school. Grandpa was the last of his lineage. The letter stated that if they could answer the one question, one of them would be able to inherit the school grounds of the Marcier Boarding School.

The Marcier Boarding School was massive. Four long wings that created a box on the land, a clock tower, a courtyard right in the middle. Land stretching far and wide for the children to play in the grass. Jeno remembered roaming the hallways at night. He knew for a fact he had never explored all there was to see at the Marcier Boarding School.

“What is the question?” Jeno asked.

“We don’t know until we get there, I suppose,” Haechan answered.

“I don’t know if I have time for this, Haechan,” Jeno said, Haechan leaning forward.

“Look, if money is what you are worried about, having the Marcier Boarding School as an asset will help you big time.”

“I’m competing with you and Mark,” Jeno pointed out.

“No, you’re not. I don’t want it. I’m sure Mark doesn’t either… It’s where his brother died.” Haechan leaned back. “I also know that your adoptive brother was in Matthew Lee’s year and…”

Haechan waved a hand. “It’s not like you’ve ever met Kim Jongin. To think you got adopted because of his death. Besides, I think it’d be good for you and your family. It’ll be a good chance to bond. With Mark too, he’s been off the radar.”

“How is he?” Jeno asked, not having heard from Mark for a while.

“His brother’s death anniversary is coming up in a week, so he’s been hermitting. But the clause states we just need to find the answer to a question, send it to this person with enough information, and he’ll be handling all the legal work once we do what Grandpa has asked us to do.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow, after I talk to Mark.” Haechan finished his glass of whiskey. “It’s going to be fun, Jeno.”

“Life seems to have been a bit too boring for you.”

“We get to visit the place we studied together. The teacher’s we terrorized!” Haechan smiled. “Let’s go. Take some time off. You need it. Aren’t you curious what the question is?”

That was what made Jeno’s mind. He was curious. Why would Grandpa choose him, Haechan, and Mark? Was it because they were the closest to him?

“I’ll see you at the Marcier Boarding School tomorrow?” Haechan asked, Jeno grabbing his hand and giving it a shake of his hand. “Good. I’m leaving. Hug your kids for me.”

“Will do.”

Jeno & Bunny’s Bedroom, The Lee’s Household

“I can’t believe you’re leaving!” Bunny exclaimed. “You don’t even spend time with the kids, Jeno! You’re gone, gone, gone. Now to what? Play games and inherit some boarding school, to which we don’t even know if it’s real or a prank?”

“It is,” Jeno said, nodding. “I called the lawyer’s number associated to the letter.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know, Bunny. I… I don’t even know what the question is.”

“Elliot has been having tantrums, Jeno. All he does is cry, laugh, scream… Sometimes even spit. I can’t handle him on my own.”

“Mrs. Tously is here to help you.”

“Mrs. Tously is on leave from tomorrow to next week,” Bunny said, her eyes on him. “How could you forget? You promised you’d stay home to be with me and the kids. When was the last time I had a proper conversation with you without me having a prior break down!”

“Honey, if we get to inherit the Marcier Boarding School grounds, we might be able to do something with it.”

Bunny huffed. “Why are you so obsessed with money?” she cried. “We’re doing fine. I have money, Jeno. Hakunana Matata!”

‘Hakuna Matata, it’s a wonderful day,’ was Bunny’s life motto. His cheery wife would often interject it in times of hardship. It was Swahili for ‘There’s no worries’.

“Your money is not mine,” Jeno snipped. “I’m not obsessed, Bunny. I just wasn’t raised like you. You are spoiled and entitled. My family isn’t as rich as yours. With mother’s tumor, I can’t just conjure up money from air like you—”

Bunny was staring at him, her eyes growing wider by the minute. Jeno realized what he said, calling her spoiled and entitled, and he knew that she would throw a tantrum with the insult.

However, he was wrong. She wasn’t hurt about that.

“Kim Mama has a tumor?” Bunny asked, her voice going to a whisper. She always had a knack of calling people by weird titles. “Is that where you went today? The hospital called right before you reached home. Said that the bill was going to be sent here.”

Jeno paled, but he knew it was better not to lie. “Yes, she has a tumor in her brain.”

Bunny’s knee weakened, the female falling to a seat on the bed as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You… you were overwhelmed, my love. I didn’t want to stress you with anything else.”

Bunny rubbed her forehead. “How long does she have to live? How much is the bill?”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Jeno told her. “I got it. When I get tenure, all will be fine.”

But that conversation ended in a way where Jeno had no choice but to listen to Bunny.

He found himself packing way more bags than he expected.

The Marcier Boarding School

The Marcier Boarding School was more than two hours’ drive away from the city. The sound of the radio was buzzing in the background as Jeno listened to the news about a drop in temperature that was fast approaching. They had passed through towns and a gas station.

The Marcier Boarding School was built on private grounds that was finally built into a school. Jeno brought the car into a halt when the gates of the entrance came into view. They were ajar, Jeno guessing that he wasn’t the first to arrive. After pushing the gates open, he drove the car straight to the front of the school to see that Haechan was already standing in front, having a cigarette.

When he saw the car approaching, he threw the cigarette to the ground, coughing. He waved a hand in front of his face, noticing that Jeno was not alone.

“Uncle Haechan!” Elliot yelled out loud, hopping down from the car and running towards his favorite uncle. “Liz, Patricia, look! It’s Uncle Haechan!”

“We see,” Liz said, looking around glumly. “Is there a library here?”

“Don’t ask me why I brought them,” Jeno said.

“Your wife,” Haechan said, as if to tell him he didn’t need to explain. “So instead of bringing Sally, your real daughter, you brought Kim Patricia? Doyoung’s daughter?”

Jeno explained that the night before, Sally had gone down with a fever. She was now with her grandparents (Bunny’s parents), and they were more than happy to nurse her