"Oppa... Oppa... Kai oppa.. Let's go out later." Sori whined. Lyorin stepped out of her room and saw Sori pulling Kai's arm, asking him to accompany her for shopping. Kai was staring at Lyorin who just came out her room to gather for breakfast. He ignored Sori and was looking at Lyorin who was witnessing the scene. Sori who noticed that Kai's attention was not on her, "Oppa, after breakfast, we'll go shopping okay?" She tried getting cuddly but was pushed away.

"I'm not free." Kai responded in a harsh tone.

Lyorin didn't like the way Kai treated Sori. So, she volunteered to accompany her for shopping since she had no activities planned ahead. "Sori, I can accompany you for shopping." She smiled.

"Tsk! Who wants to go with you?" Sori sneered and walked away.

Lyorin remained calm and put away the negative feeling she was receiving from Sori. She headed downstairs to the dining room for breakfast.

"Good morning Mr and Mrs Lee." She greeted. "Wow. This is quite a spread you have here. Can we finish all these?" She looked at the table full of food.

"Good morning dear. Hope you slept well last night." Mrs Lee was carrying more plates of food. Lyorin quickly gave her a hand. "I'm not sure what you usually have for breakfast. So, I prepared everything that I could possibly think of. Don't worry. I'm pretty sure those 12 boys can finish up the food." She smiled and gestured Lyorin to take a seat.

Lyorin grabbed an Oreo cookie. She separated the cookie, eating the half without the cream first, followed by the other half without the cream again and then lastly she ate the cream all by itself. She then drank the glass of milk.

Without realising, Mrs Lee was staring at Lyorin's odd way of eating the cookie. "You're just like your mother." She muttered suddenly.

All eyes were fixed on Lyorin's shocked expression when they heard Mrs Lee mentioning about Lyorin's mother. Mrs Lee could not control her sadness. "I'm sorry, excuse me." She stood up and left the dining table.

Lyorin was speechless. That was the first time she ever heard someone bringing up about her mother. She was confused. Mrs Lee must had seen and known her mother.

"Lyorin, we'll talk about this later okay? Eat your breakfast first." Mr Lee smiled and placed more Oreo cookies on Lyorin's plate.

After the small incident during breakfast, Lyorin's mind kept wondering about her parents, her past and everything that she was not aware of. She wanted to know all of it. It was late afternoon, while waiting for dinner, Mr Lee requested for Lyorin to meet him in the study room. Once there, she was in awe with the ceiling high shelves filled with books. There was even a ladder spotted.

"There are about 800 books in here. I was a college professor before and these are all my readings." Mr Lee came into the room. He motioned Lyorin to sit on one of the sofa chair. "Tea or coffee?" He asked making his way to the little pantry. "Wait, let me guess. Tea with a spoonful of milk and a spoonful of honey?"

Lyorin was surprised at him for knowing her favourite kind of tea. She loved honey milk tea. She would refuse to drink tea without the honey or the milk. It was a must for both ingredients in her tea. After mixing the warm tea, Me Lee handed the cup and to her and settled himself just opposite.

“Thanks. This tea is lovely.” She said.

“I’m glad that you like it.” He responded. Mr Lee took out what seemed like a photograph. He passed it to Lyorin. She scrutinized the photo of a young couple. “Lyorin, this is your father and this is your mother.” He pointed.

Lyorin covered in shock as she stared at the faces for the first time in 17 years of her life. “When…was this taken? W-what are their..names?” She stuttered nervously.

“This was taken before you were born. Your father is, Kim Junho while your mother is, Im Jin Ah.” He told.

“Where are they now?” She asked further.

“Lyorin, they’re gone. They gave you up right after you were born. Unfortunately, your mom passed away just 3 weeks later. Your dad got into an accident.” He sounded remorseful.

“Mrs Lee mentioned about my mother just now. How did she know her?”

“Mrs Lee met your mother before. Lyorin, the reason why we kept this from you is because; we didn’t want you to get hurt. Your parents were…” He stopped. “They’re not the parents you deserve to have.” He finished but something about his tone made it seem like he was forcing himself to tell her the details. It felt unreal.

Despite sensing something wasn’t quite in place, she continued with her questions, “Wait, what happened to my dad?”

“He got into an accident.”

“What kind of accident? Did they know who I am?”

“He was involved in a car accident. Yes, they knew about you.”

“Then, that explains why they left me because I’m jinxed straight after I was born.” She said out flatly. Lyorin understood everything now. She didn’t blame her parents at all for leaving her. It was only right for them to do that. She was after all, a curse.

“No, please Lyorin. You’re not supposed to think that way. They were irresponsible and heartless. It’s them, not you okay? Don’t blame yourself. This is your destiny and they should have never disregarded that. Understand?” He explained, hoping to convey the real intention. Lyorin nodded but was not swayed by his words. “You can have the photo.”

“Thanks.” She muttered softly.

Dinner was ready. So, she excused herself and left the room to help out. Mr Lee told her to proceed first as he would join in awhile. After Lyorin had already left the room, Mr Lee sighed and slumped back on the sofa chair. He was in despair and conflicted. He didn’t want to lie, but he already promised. “Junho, I hope you had made the right decision for this,” he wished softly.

-------------------

Dinner was fast and quiet. Everyone was trying to be accommodative to your mood; all except, Sori, who kept blabbering to Kai. He had an annoyed face throughout dinner. You didn’t have the appetite but still eat a little, not wanting to waste the food that was prepared. After dinner you were in your room thinking about your parents. You felt numb. You didn’t know what to do or hope anymore.

Eventually you got up and headed out of the room. You needed air. Perhaps, that would make you feel better. You sought permission from Mrs Lee, who wasn’t in favour of you being outside at night. It was nearing 8pm. However, you promised to be back early and would only take a walk around the lake, just opposite the mansion.

The light breeze gently caressed your skin as you carefully walked on the rounded stone steps. You explored the surrounding until you finally reached just by the lake. Your eyes glistened at how beautiful the lake was. The night was calm and peaceful but what you were feeling was a total opposite. You were down and gloomy, almost a wreckage on the inside. You took out the photo that was given and carefully gazed it. It was quiet until someone unexpected appeared.

To be continued...