章 1: Prologue

4:07 PM on 26 February

A young man who will be turning seventeen cranky grunted when they arrived in front of a high gate, waiting for someone to open the gate for their car to get in. A woman sitting in the back seat turns her head and smiles at the young man sitting beside her. "How are you feeling there, sweetie?" she said kindly to greet him, but the young man who got a kindly greeting didn't feel that way.

"Great, mom." He answered snappily.

Jean Keane is the name of the young man, and he is not excited about the plan for his birthday party this year because they will celebrate it at his grandmother's house; he'll guarantee that there's no music, his friends, and the first of his alcohol to be watched by everyone. It's not fun, it's not fun, bored, and that's why Jean feels annoyed when he knows they will celebrate his birthday with his grandmother and grandfather, far away enough from the metropolis.

A man with a friendly face came to them and opened the gate made of sturdy steel, then gave them a hospitality greeting before pleased them to come in with their car to go through the yard. It feels weird; everyone it's not usually waiting for them at the terrace every time they visit the Mansion. Jean's eyes observe suspiciously the bunch of people standing in front of the terrace with their eyes pointed to the car he and his family are riding.

Regard every face seems to wait for them indeed, his eyes are not familiar with those faces who are welcoming him and his family with their slight smile also deep bows. Who are they? Am I should celebrate my birthday with those people? Who is strangers and seems to be not funny at all? Stiffy people? Great, this will be the worst birthday party ever. Jean does a disappointed monologue.

"Is he my Jean, right?" A lady greets him while getting closer to Jean, her eyes looking straight at him like those eyes are observing and checking everything on his body. "You look so fine, and everything looks so fine as it should be." She said, and it made Jean scowl. His face looks confused about what she said.

That's a weird sentence.

7:33 PM

He swears to god, he doesn't want to do anything after taking his dinner with weird nuance a while ago, he doesn't really know, but maybe it's because he feels disappointed about his birthday party or today is an odd day indeed. He laid his body on the bed while playing with his cell phone, and damn, all his friends were mocking him. Jean clicked his tongue before putting his cell phone randomly around the bed.

A squeaking sound from the door opened successfully dispersed his peevish. There his mother came out with a relaxing smile she put on her face. "Hey, why are you being that lazy here? Don't you want to chat with your grandpa and granny, hm?" she asked.

Jean got up from his laid-on bed and changed his position into sitting lean on the head bed, and he gave his attention to his mother, who sat on the edge of the bed. "You know, tonight is the irritate night ever. I will be turning seventeen in a couple of hours, and what you all do to celebrate is nothing?" he said, regretting this day is happening. "I prefer my birthday party celebration with my friends at a cheap street chicken restaurant." He grumbled forward, and his mother chuckled to respond to it.

"This will be the big night, sweetie, you have to be ready, my dear son will be turned seventeen, that's your first incredible achievement!" she said to reply and calm her sulky son because his birthday will not be as expected.

"Mom, the way you talk is like granny now." He said, and then he put back on his cell phone.

The reason why his mother went to his room is to try inviting him to have a good conversation with his grandmother and grandfather because Jean doesn't want to disappoint his parents, and he accepts the invitation. And there is he now, in the living room in the house of grandfather and grandmother that's neither called an ordinary house, they have an occupancy like a Mansion, but it's not that conspicuous. It seems like an old grey building. Still, it feels pleasant enough when in it.

Jean frowned when his olfactory found the drink for him seemed different enough. The scent of his tea smells not like usual tea. "Hm... it does not look like a cup of tea for me." He said skeptically, and his eyes swept at all the faces in front of him in this room; grandfather, grandmother, and his mother and father.

"You don't think you won't drink it, right, my dear Jean? You know that's rude." The grandmother said to respond to what Jean said.

"But this is not tea. The scent smells suspicious. Of course, I wouldn't drink it." He replied, concur what his grandmother said, and then put the cup of something he's held before to the table.

"You will drink it soon." The grandmother said, looking so sure about it. Jean tilted his head while staring at her, who was cackling at him now.

They act so strangely. Jean does a monologue.

11:26 PM

"Ngh..."

"Mmh..."

Jean twisted his body left and right while sleep seems to that uncomfortable with his rest, his hands unconsciously around his stomach, more on his lower abdomen; precisely there's the source of his painful feels, feels like cramps, the feels more like stomach cramps, and it feels sharper when he tries to ignore it. He couldn't hold it anymore and woke up sweaty and flurry.

"Ngh da-damn it, what's happened in there?" He mumbled while looking at his stomach.

He was startled when he's a step on the stairs, and the lights were still on. Also, the people he met before were there; in the main room and directly gave their attention to him when they saw him on the stair.

"O-oh is it preparing for a surprise party?" Jean said unsurely while he held the pain he felt in his stomach and his other hand still around his lower abdomen.

Jean doesn't want to seem like he is in trouble with the two guys down there, so he's pretending he is on fire about this night.

"Stay away. Call Ms. Laboda!" one of a guy shouted, and the other guy immediately walked in a hurry.

"K-keep calming, young master. You will be okay." He said to try keeping a boy that he called young master to stay still at the place he stepped on it, and Jean, the grandson of the occupancy, looked confused when the guys shouted and, in a hurry, also tried to calm him when he feels it was nothing to be that panic.

"What do you mean? I'm—" his sentence off when Jean feels the morbid pain in his lower abdomen. "Ngh... I-I feel like I'm not that good. Ca-can you call my mother?" he said to ask and then tried to put a smile on. He knows his smile looks forced.

Unfortunately, Jean felt he was in bad condition. He's even couldn't move at his place now, on the stair, and when he tried to bend his leg to take a step, it was like the muscles tightened, but he didn't know what kind of muscles is it in his stomach.

"Ngh can somebody call my mother faster?" Jean shouted whoever because everybody was leaving him alone on the stair.

"If you drink your tea before, you probably wouldn't feel your uterus swollen." Jean was startled and immediately turned his head towards the source of the voice down there.

Down there, his grandmother was standing, and shortly after her, his mother appeared in the same way as her; living room. Honestly, Jean does not care about his grandmother's words, even if what she said is ambiguous enough. His focus now is the pain that he feels in his lower abdomen. "Ca-can that weird tea make my stomach feel better?" he asked because he started to feel desperate for the pain he felt.

"Of course." She answered surely, and she put a smile on.

Jean is focused on his stomach ache, and he's careless about what is around him until something on his stomach subsides due to the water that they called the tea that worked, and he is back on himself again. Jean blinked and realized that his family now surrounded him; when he glanced at the classic clock in the corner, he was surprised he found the clock ticking almost midnight, and everybody stood in the living room together. Is everybody celebrating his birthday?

"Wh-where the cake? there's no happy birthday?" What Jean said cracked this odd silence; even the atmosphere was weird, or maybe because of the midnight suggestion.

"Are you feeling better, young master?" A woman looked unfamiliar enough to Jean's eyes and asked how he felt while she came over to him with something in her hands, and Jean stared at her confusion instead answered her.

Who wouldn't be confused when they face a strange atmosphere at midnight, precisely on your birthday, like what was happening to Jean?

Jean is unmoved when that woman sews on a thing in her hand to his neck, and it's a necklace—no, it's not a necklace, it's a collar precisely. "Mom, I want an ordinary birthday party, just like a normal birthday party with cakes and a birthday song." He said while staring into his mother when he started to panic about the atmosphere that he felt.

"It's okay, my love. You'll be okay." His mother replied while she stroked his soft hair that the color of his hair was black as charcoal.

What is the meaning of it's okay, literally? Now he is in the weirdest fettle in his life ever without any explanation, this is his birthday, and everything feels weird, except his family, nothing explaining anything.

That woman puts a statue on the floor, and her eyes sweep to every existence in this room. "It's supposed to be obvious, but this is our tradition. We must do it even if it's obvious that young master Jean is a Yin breed." She said.

"Wh-what's Y-Yin?" Jean asked, and he was baffled, but no one answered him.

"He-hey, are you just going to be that quiet and make me confused like this?" He protested when his family started to make a circle.

"Come here, young master." That woman said, and Jean shook his head and refused her invitation.

What are they going to do on his birthday? Do a ritual? Come on! the era has changed now. Ritual is already part of ancient and no longer trusted. "Mom, I don't like this birthday party. It's weird, forget about my birthday, and we go back to sleep." He said, and then he intended to leave the living room.

"Jean, my sweetie, come on, it's just a moment, I promise." His mother said, trying to persuade her son.

"But mom—"

"Ms. Laboda wouldn't hurt you, son. Believe her." His father replied immediately.

That woman's name is Laboda. She comes over to Jean and pulls him softly to join their circle, and their circle has to surround a statue in the middle of them. Jean started to feel his breath heavy. The atmosphere he feels now is peculiar and makes him uncomfortable when they are holding hands each other, as though all of the energy is focused on him. Are they doing an actual ritual? Seriously! Jean does a panicked monologue.

"M-mom? Dad? Yo-you are doing a prank, right?" he asked whiningly. Jean throws it to his parent, who looks serious about this absurd thing they are doing.

"Ngh... I-I feel strange now, for real." He told them he felt panicky after seeing Ms. Laboda seem weird outside their circle.

Jean's eyes move panicky, and he can't stand what they are doing now; holding hands each other and surrounding a statue that looks like a goddess statue, he directly breaks the linked hands with his father and mother. "I told you that I feel strange, okay? Can we stop this?" he protested, and it got their attention.

"Jean—"

"It's okay, Mrs. Keane, young master Jean is a Yin breed indeed." Ms. Laboda said interrupted Jean's grandmother to persuade her grandson.

Jean frowned his face when he heard that word again. What is the meaning of Yin? He doesn't understand. "I don't understand what you are saying. What is Yin?" He asked.

"You are an Omega, my Jean. That Yin is it." His grandmother replied with happiness.

"Wa-wait, what?" He asked, not sure what they were talking about. "What do you mean, Omega? I think it's just a myth story about your family." He forwarded.

"Oh my, wait!" he squealed, his eyes popeyed when he realized what they were talking about.

"Don't make a joke on my birthday. I do not even get a happy birthday from you all. Why are you doing weird things? Please stop it. I want to go back to sleep and go home tomorrow to make the right birthday party." He said and turned his body, intending to return to his room.

But Jean couldn't take a step to leave the room as he said a while ago, and tears in his eyes dripped unexpectedly. "Y-you all doing a joke, right? That tribe doesn't exist, and the Yin form is supposed to be women, no other." He mumbled, remonstrating what they were saying about him tonight on his birthday.