Kapitel 20: Visitors

A hot meal was served for Ki-tae, he noticed his mother had served a plate for two but the other one seemed untouched. He felt he should say something to his mother about the scars he saw on the body of his older brother but knew that if Jin wanted her to know about it, he would have told her himself.

"Why does he keep fighting if he knows he will simply get beaten up?" He mumbled to himself.

"Did you say something, Kitty?" The mother asked but he would shake his head horizontally. He proceeded to take a spoonful of the steaming hot mashed potato in his presence.

"Arrrgghh! Hot! Hot!" Ki-Tae screamed, spitting out the potato on the floor with his mother laughing.

"Of course, it is hot, silly!" She said as she continued laughing and Jin could be seen sitting behind his door with a content smile on his face, listening to the exchange between his mother and younger brother.

It did not take long for night to cover the sunny skies and with that, the arrival of darkness. This darkness was marked with the arrival of Mr. Wang.

Despite his power and influence, his appearance was not fit for someone of his stature. Mr. Wang wore glasses due to his poor sight that went well with his maroon-colored eyes and had bright red hair on his left side and white hair on the right. He had a hunched back and measured an average height for an adult male. Unlike his wife, he was scrawny looking and walked with a limp.

He had on an expensive silky black suit with designer shoes, he looked exhausted with the bags beneath his eyes giving away his sleep-deprived lifestyle. But immediately he came back, his wife would instruct Ki-tae to go to his room regardless of his protest for he wanted to greet his father but could not.

Shutting the door behind him, he would remain close to this door to enable him to eavesdrop on the conversation between his parents.

"Woman, take my bag to the room and bring me my food." Mr. Wang commanded his wife with little to no affection and his wife would wear a forceful smile and do as she was told. It took a few minutes for the dinner to be prepared and the table set.

It was curry, it was Mr. Wang's favorite meal, she did this to ease the mind of her stressed husband and this worked. Mrs. Wang was not always overweight, it was one of those things that came with having kids and she barely had time for herself to even think about working out, this was when the barrier between her and her husband began. Mr. Wang did not find her desirable any more but despite this, he never cheated for he knew any affairs could be a liability in the future due to his status as CEO of the Wang industry.

It was a construction company and made a lot of money remodeling rural areas.

The marriage was all but running on its last legs with both treating it like a contract rather than a union.

The family was gathered around the table, the silence was interrupted by the frequent clanging of the metallic spoon against the clay-like black spherical plates. Ki-Tae was oblivious to the tension in the air and would break the awkward silence by asking his tired-looking father a question.

"How was work, father?" The child would ask, gleaming with excitement but Mr. Wang would completely ignore him before focusing his gaze on Jin but did not mutter a word. This went on until they had completed their meal. Ki-Tae helped his mother to clear the table by carting away the dirtied dishes to the kitchen alongside her.

Jin was left alone at the table with his father, who was wiping his mouth with a dining cloth.

"Fath-!" He was hushed by the raised index finger of his father as he finished cleaning his mouth and got up without a word but Jin knew this meant he should follow him. Like a chick following its mother, and into a room that was restricted from the rest of the household. The door would be locked upon both entering with Ki-tae catching the back of his trembling older brother and father just before both entered.

The mother would soon exit the kitchen and her gaze followed the direction in which Ki-Tae's head was facing.

"Hey, I can take it from here. Go get ready for bed, Kitty." The mother instructed him.

"Why did father take brother to the secret room?" Ki-Tae asked his mother with a concerned look.

"Secret room?" The mother asked, clearly puzzled with a hint of worry on her face.

"Oh, that's what big brother and I call the room since no one but father is allowed in," Ki-tae said with an innocent smile.

"As expected of my children." She said, patting the head of Ki-tae as she ushered him into his room, walking behind him, before sparing the 'secret room' a terrified glance.

"Master Ki-tae, I do not get the point of this story." Geun would ask, looking more lost than interested.

"Those scars on Jin… It was from my father. Jin acted like such an idiot in school and got in all that trouble so my abusive father's rage would be focused on him and him alone. Of course, I found out when I was much older." Ki-Tae said.

"What happened to your father?" Geun would ask, suddenly regaining interest.

"I killed him," Ki-Tae said with an eerie smile.

This sent shivers down the spine of Geun but wondered if he was being sarcastic or not. It was difficult to tell but more importantly, he got the message behind this short story.

"Do not judge a book by its contents, for the words may be written in blood. You need to learn to see beyond what is before your eyes." Ki-Tae said, sounding wiser and wiser each passing moment.

Geun's face would brighten up but just before they could go any further, the rest of the Guild Members would emerge from the shadows.

"That is right. Alone, we may be weak. But together, we can conquer the world." A-Yeong said.

"Take it easy, female Hitler," Joon-Gu replied as everyone would share a much-needed laugh.

Chaewon and Jin-Hyuk had encountered Hayoon in the dark streets and had offered to walk her back in which she accepted willingly. Now in her home, they assisted her in arranging the food items.

"Wow, this is a lovely house. Do you stay alone?" Chaewon would ask in a casual tone while pretending to admire the house.

"Hahaha! Thank you. I stay alone, or rather, I stay with this little guy over here." Hayoon replied. Her puppy coming out to play with her but for some reason, it was hostile to her guests. Barking like a rabid animal.

"I am sorry, this has never happened before." Chaewon would apologize, locking the Chihuahua in her cage as punishment, at least till her guests left.

"Awww, she is so adorable! I could gobble her all up." Chaewon said creepily but her tone made it sound cute.

"I know right. The fact that she would remain that size and cute forever fills me with joy." Hayoon replied, full of energy but would soon smack her forehead in embarrassment.

"Forgive my manners but what would you both like to drink?" She asked.

"Anything, really." Chaewon replied as Hayoon soon excused herself to get her guests something to drink and returned a few minutes later with 2 cups filled with beverages.

"Here you both go," Hayoon said, handing both of them the cup.

"You are a police officer?" Jin-Hyuk would ask, collecting the beverage as he studied her reaction carefully.

"Hahaha! How did you know? You psychic or something." Hayoon asked, but her expression was not one of surprise. Jin-Hyuk would then point at the picture frame over a table in which she had her uniform on.

"Oh yeah! Of course, silly me." Hayoon replied.

"The killing on the news was quite scary, but I am glad we have you protecting us," Chaewon said with a broad beautiful smile that made Hayoon question her sexuality for a brief moment, taking a sip of the beverage. Hayoon's jovial personality would suddenly shift, staring blankly into the eyes of Chaewon.

"I am sorry if I said something wrong." Chaewon would say, she was clearly unsettled but Hayoon brushed it off with a smile

"Not at all, I would have loved to offer you guys something to eat but I am pretty drained and need to shut my eyes, I feel like I could sleep for a year but thank you so much for the help!" Hayoon said, bowing her head.

"Raise your head, it is embarraswinn…" Chaewon would find herself slobbering over her words, feeling light headed with Jin-Hyuk following suit.

"Y-Yew bewtch..wha…. gave….. us…. awey?" Jin-Hyuk would mutter weakly as both bodies hit the ground, with shattered glass following shortly. Hayoon had long picked up they were Abnormalities the moment she laid eyes on them. For some reason, she could see the genetic make up of each individuals she lays eyes on, this was the secret weapon to her rapid promotion at work.

With this ability, she easily confirmed the DNA found at the crime scene belonged to these two from the onset and knew this was no coincidence that they bumped into each other.

"Do not underestimate my intuition! I am a police officer, damn it!" Hayoon said, sounding triumphant as both lost consciousnesses but a contented smile was seen on the face of Jin-Hyuk just before he blanked out.