April

Eight years later...

For some reason, I don’t know what I’m doing here. All I know is that I was on a plane and I was reading a book, I felt my hand heavy maybe because I was holding a book. If I’m conscious then why I am at this place?

In which level of sleep I am? Or maybe it’s not a dream.

I keep walking, feeling the ground crunching beneath me with each step. Even though I feel kind of fuzzy in the head, I notice that I'm walking on grass, barefoot. It feels a bit scratchy against my skin. I wonder where I am. Lots of questions pop into my head, but something inside tells me to keep going. So I walked until I saw an old house, burned and cracked.

It was my house I recall. The home where I have blurry memories of my parents.

I slowly took small steps towards my house and looked around but I could see no one so far and as I kept walking towards my house, the vision was getting darker.

Oh, no wait! It's the day that is shifting to night? I looked above my head and saw heavy grey clouds like it's about to rain just when I couldn't be able to sort out the situation, I found myself at the door.

"When did I reach the door?" I thought to myself as if someone dragged me here. Now it's completely dark outside. I reach out my shivering hand and slowly twist the door knob.

The door opened with a long creak sound and I stayed put at the door with no intention of going in. But no wonder what got into me was that my feet moved on suddenly and I got dragged inside and the door got shut with a loud bang that I almost jumped with shock.

There was no light inside, not a single ray of light but I felt another presence.

There is someone here with me I could hear the breathing, whoever it is, it's breathing as if he is tired.

"Hello?" I asked with a hesitant voice and suddenly with a click sound, the bulb right above my head, turned on.

The sound of breathing got louder and I felt my right hand getting heavy for some reason, but I didn’t look down nor did I turn around. My body is not in my control.

Who is controlling?

Suddenly I felt someone's breath on my shoulder and flinched, my whole body started shivering and an unknown fear mixed with excitement rose in me.

"You chose me, precious" a deep voice echoes in the silence and I know this voice, I hate this person that’s all I know.

I close my eyes tightly and My body started turning around on its own,I couldn't stop. My hand now is slowly move and rest on his stomach.

I know my face is close to him, close enough that I can sense the smell of cigarettes. Am I dreaming?? If yes then how can I sense a smell?

His hands move slowly, stopping at my waist, making my breath shallow and the sensation is like I can feel every tiny movement of atoms, the blood flow, warmth spreading through my veins, all the way to my heart. This can't be just a dream. I feel like I'm not in control of my body anymore. As if he is the one who has control on my body and soul.

Opening my eyes, I meet his piercing gaze. He's injured, blood is dripping down from his head onto his coat. Anger and heat is what I felt, though I don't understand why. My hand moves almost on its own, grasping something heavy I can't see.

Suddenly, my hand rises, and my bracelet clinks against that unknown object.

 A metallic sound fills the air.

"Wait... could it be...?" I start, but he interrupts.

"You asked for this, April!" His voice echoes, distant. Without thinking, my hand pulls the trigger and A loud gunshot shatters the air, jolting me awake from the depths of my seat.

My whole body was in sweat even some of my hair strands on my neck felt wet.

I immediately check my hands which are shaking terribly. I am wearing that bracelet!

The realization scared me but a loud sound of snoring distracted me suddenly and I looked to my left. The passenger next to me was snoring, I looked at him so closely for no reason and memorized every movement his lips made while snoring.

He completely looks like a horse and even sounds like a horse.

It’s fucking annoying!

I’m on a 14-hour flight to New York, I remember.

But I should have listened to Ha RI when she told me to book in first class.

It’s been 8 years and I’m finally going to meet her now, it has to be a happy feeling but I feel nothing at all. No excitement at all. Maybe it’s just some year gap for some people but I do not forget anything. I’ve been preparing myself in every manner and now I’m traveling towards my motive.

I swallowed the pill of realization of my reality 8 years ago and took an oath to myself to have vengeance.

I looked at the screen of my phone and it's showing 10:15 exactly so I decided to go to the bathroom before the announcement, but passing through this gigantic male version of the horse is almost impossible.

I exhaled with frustration and saw a crew member passing by.

"Uh excuse me...." She stopped immediately on my call and responded with a wide delighted smile.

"Could you please tell this person to give me a little space... I really have to pee" I said with as much as a warm attitude as I could put, she helped me wake up the person next to me and I successfully passed through him.

I was walking towards the bathroom while fixing my clothes when the person passing through me dropped a pamphlet from his pocket.

"Excuse me you dropped this" I immediately called him picking up the pamphlet,

It was some "Travel Guide of Cannes.

He moved around and I was amused to see the person is quite aged with so many silver hairs but still his physique is quite competitive compared to a young person. He silently took the pamphlet and turned around without saying a thank you.

I felt no urge to curse him instead I continued to where I was going. As the plane landed, I gathered my luggage and headed towards the cabs. But then, a poster caught my eye, especially the words written on it.

 It read, "Here for my best friend, a 5-4 half Korean with jet black hair with don’t care face." I let out a long sigh and approached the person holding it.

As I got closer, I saw he was a young-looking Korean bodyguard. I glanced at the scribbling on the poster and then back at him. He looked at me with a puzzled expression, so I pointed at the poster.

"That's me!" I told him, and he lowered his hands, examining the poster again and matching its description with me.

He gestured for me to move forward, taking all my luggage in hand as he led me towards a car. Sitting inside, I let out a long exhale. "You could have just written my name," I said plainly to the person next to me. But in the next moment, I found myself pulled into a tight hug with an excited scream.

"April!" Ha Ri shouted, stretching out my name as she hugged me tightly. I couldn't help but smile, feeling happy to see her too.

"I can't believe you're finally here," she said, pulling away from the hug. I noticed she was in disguise, her identity hidden. Of course, she was a famous model now, having launched her own brand called "SHIN" a few years ago. Her talent in fashion design had spread across Europe.

She looked me up and down as the car started moving. "You've changed a lot over the years," she commented, examining me. "Oh my god, you've got some curves now!"

"Really, Ha Ri? Is that the first thing you notice about me?" I said, sarcastically smiling as I stopped her hand from pinching my butt.

She paused, then became serious. "Actually, I have a lot of questions. I was afraid I wouldn't get answers," she admitted, turning her head towards the window, avoiding eye contact. "We've been friends since elementary school, but you shut me out for three years. When I came to Korea to find you, you weren't there, and I found out about your aunt's death from the neighbors." She reminded me of the pain I caused her, and I knew she desperately wanted answers.

"I was okay, and I'm sorry," I whispered, seeing a tear welling up in her eyes before she burst into tears with a loud scream, startling both me and her bodyguard.

"Is everything alright back there?" her bodyguard asked immediately, concerned.

"Yeah, she's just fine," I assured him, embracing Ha Ri in a hug as her sobs filled the car. Her crying may have been loud, but it made me laugh every time.

Just after we arrived at my apartment, Ha Ri bombarded me with questions about everything, and I found myself sharing about the past eight years, leaving out my true motives of coming to new york. She's the only person I have to lose, so I want to keep her out of it all.

"So, how did you manage to pay for all your fees? Graduating from Hankuk University is no small feat," she asked, flopping down on the bed.

"aunt soo hee had so many savings and insurances for me, it helped alot out plus i sold the store at great price, stayed at hostel, girls were great there and guess what" I teased, watching her try to guess but she gave up.

"An officer reached out to me for the verification of a bank account that was my mother's, she left all her fortune there for me which aunt soo hee was probably planning to tell me on my birthday" i stopped and saw Her eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately sat up, eager for more. "Why didn’t Aunt Soo Hee ever tell you all of this?" she realized. "That’s not fair! I always paid for the food!" she protested, calculating all the money she had spent. I couldn't help but laugh; she hadn't changed at all.

"Well she planned to tell me when I became responsible enough to handle it," I explained.

"And I guess pursuing a PhD is enough eligibility, no?" she joked, her face filled with countless expressions. Then she added, "Seriously, how are you not old?"

"Who says all PhD holders have to be old?" I challenged.

"I do! It's on my vision board," she declared excitedly.

"What else is on your vision board?" I asked, growing suspicious.

"Well... YOU," she paused, "finally getting laid with someone," she said innocently.

"Why does our conversation always end up about my virginity?" I groaned.

"It's important!" she insisted. "You only have this year, miss, or else I’m going to take it!"

"Eww," I responded, and we both burst into laughter, enjoying each other's company after so long.

Suddenly, Ha Ri's phone rang, and she answered immediately. All I heard was her saying, "Okay, I’ll be on time," before she hung up with a long exhale, her face showing signs of frustration.

"Who was it?" I asked as she lay down completely, and I joined her.

"My manager," she replied, staring at the ceiling.

“You have a manager?”

“Yes that’s the second best decision I made in my life,” she said and I wondered what the first one was.

“She reported to me that she has fed my dog, picked up my outfit for tomorrow, and booked my flight to Paris for the promotion of my new clothing line, she's a saint” she explained and a long silence filled with air.

"Truly, it is the best decision!" I whispered, and we both chuckled silently at how much of a mess she was.

"I'm so sorry... I did plan to spend the night with you, but I almost forgot... gosh," she apologized.

"Hey, it's okay! Besides, I also have an invitation to a charity event... I might head off tonight," I informed her, and she looked relieved. She immediately took her things to go.

“Then shall we hit the club tomorrow night? What do you say?”

“Perfect!” I confirmed and she went off to go but the one thing really tingled me for some reason.

“Hey!” I called her and she turned around from the door “What was the first thing?” I asked squeezing my eyes and she smiled widely.

“Lending my eraser to a nerd in elementary school,” she said and recalled the memory of the beginning of our friendship.

As soon as Ha Ri left, I shifted my focus to my next move. I laid out all the pictures on the floor and arranged them on my study wall in a sequence I had memorized, like a periodic table. Over the past eight years, I had planned and gathered information about George Kingston. Despite being the CEO of The Crown and one of the biggest diamond traders in Europe and North Africa, he remained a mystery. Who was he really? What did he look like? Where did he live? None of this information was on internet. Not a single picture of him could be found.

The last photo slid out from the envelope, and I placed it in the center of the picture board I had created. This person was the closest connection to my enemy, and he would be the bait for the fish I wanted to catch.

"Ray Wallace," I repeated his name as I stared at his picture. I'm not planning on to find him; he will find me. The first move I decided to make was against "Miller Brown." He was the one making threatening calls to my Aunt before her death, but whether he was responsible for her murder remained unknown. Aunt Soo Hee often changed her SIM cards after receiving those calls, and luckily, I found one of her old SIM cards in her drawer while cleaning. The call records showed that the last call she received on this SIM card was from a number registered under the name "Miller Brown."

Miller's social media profiles provided valuable information. He was married with two kids and used to be a reporter until 2012 when he became disabled in an accident. Afterward, he founded a small organization dedicated to welfare and charity work for disabled people. With a few partnerships, he expanded his work. I noticed he had met many renowned people throughout his journey, including "Kent Wallace."

His Instagram had been last updated four weeks ago with an invitation to his open charity event, which was scheduled for tonight.

to be continued...