Dahlia

35

Although they had seen each other before in a different version of the female, it did not stop the overwhelming feeling bulking up in each other's hearts. It couldn't be described easily by words so they just could act it out through action.

And the action was none other than shedding tears.

Nara just let the tears drench her cheeks to indicate the guilt she brought into her family's life though it wasn't her fault to begin with. The appearance of her mother behind Sangyeon's bulk figure had made things worsen as the old lady seemed to be in great shock. Suddenly, she had no strength to stand and a soft thud then heard as she fell on her knees.

"Nara, is that you?" The mother cried, extending her hand forward for the figure that looked exactly like her daughter to reach. "Am I seeing you right? Sangyeon, is that your sister?"

Sangyeon knelt next to his mother, rubbing comforting circles on her back. With a raspy voice, he confirmed, "Yes, she is."

The male wanted to cry so much, but being the oldest and the only man in this household, he refrained from doing so. Especially when Hyunjae was around. So, to ease the choking, he clenched his jaw tight and swallowed the tears and the desire to cry.

He had to maintain his image as strong.

It was then, that Hyunjae placed his palm on Nara's back, beckoning her to join them as their eyes met. He knew she felt awkward to do it. A year obviously, was a long timeline.

She indeed was hesitant. Her steps started slowly at first but when the courage reached her, she fastened her feet, jogging to where her family was. She got down as well in front of her mother before she crashed into the old lady's loving embrace, dampening her mother's knitted cardigan with her tears.

"God... thank you for returning my daughter," the mother cried, constantly enchanting Nara's name. Perhaps it still felt like a dream for her - to have her daughter respond to her call.

Secretly, Hyunjae was shedding tears too. This probably was the most memorable history one could ever write. When it came to a family, even a tough guy like Sangyeon could cry as well. It proved how big the role of a family plays in one's life.

Hyunjae ran his tongue along his molar as he turned around. He intended to stop the lump in his throat from forming but then, he was greeted with a surprise.

Haknyeon was standing in the driveway, eyes bulging out as he looked at the picture unveiled. His brows subtly moved towards each other like magnets pulling but Hyunjae could tell it wasn't a surprise he felt. It was anger.

And when he stomped his feet, approaching the house, Hyunjae was alerted.

"Haknyeon, wait..." He was shoved aside which was still a question - did the younger have always be strong?

"Kim Dabin!"

The yell from Haknyeon could've shaken the whole neighbourhood. The small family finally broke their loving hug and found the voice which sounded mad for no reason.

"Haknyeon..." Nara was the first to stand, wiping her cheeks with her palm.

"Where were you?! You never called about our plan and you just disappeared!" The younger indeed was mad, his whole face looked red from the anger. But, then, in a split second, he started to soften as he noticed the subtle difference in the demeanour across from him. The aura... "Screams like... Nara?"

"Are you still down for our plan to see cherry blossoms next spring?" She questioned and in no time Haknyeon gasped.

Right before the mess happened, the two were discussing that certain flower that commonly would bloom in spring. Because it was seasonal, they seemed to be anticipating its arrival and promised to go sightseeing together.

But, in the end, the boy went alone. For, the female never came back.

"Oh my god!" Haknyeon was unable to recover from the shock. "I can't believe this!"

"Trust me," Hyunjae draped his arm around the younger's shoulder. "None of us can believe it either."

The dinner was then carried out as planned and somehow the air was brighter than the other family dinner they ever had before. Too many stories were told, and even Haknyeon shared one from his household. Nonetheless, none of them sparked the topic of the accident to Nara.

And that was a relief.

But, that did not mean she had forgotten. It was still renting free in her head which sometimes made her breathe heavily, holding back the anger. Just like right now, when Nara stood by the glass door, staring outside at the empty driveway. Indeed, there were a lot of changes in this neighbourhood and it pained her that she wasn't able to see them change in real time.

"How did police conclude the case?" Suddenly she asked the demeanour next to her who mirrored her action.

Sangyeon flinched at the sudden question but managed to explain. "We lacked evidence, so it was concluded as an accident. The explosion afterwards had destroyed everything."

"Lack of evidence?" Her eyes squinted, catching the sight of her neighbour's dog in the driveway but soon her facial muscles relaxed when the boisterous noise from Hyunjae and Haknyeon was heard, taking a seat on the couch behind her.

"It wasn't even raining that day, how could the car glide away?" Haknyeon pondered with a tap of a finger on his chin. He had been thinking about it since the first minute he was told about the fatal accident. But, the sadness consumed forcing him to just let the curiosity slide.

"The impact was hard too. Otherwise, you wouldn't be badly injured and Yeonhee will..." Sangyeon paused, exhaling a large amount of air. Maybe, it wasn't the right thing to bring up the death of someone. "Do you remember what happened?"

There was a subtle twitch of her facial muscles. It was as if it was too hard for her but that was understandable. Throughout his career, Sangyeon had seen a lot of these cases and the trauma was inevitable. Some of the victims needed to go through a few times of therapies to get better. He wondered if Nara needed one.

It was then that Nara exhaled, turning her body around and facing those two demeanours on the couch. Her gaze then lingered around the house, probably looking for her mother. Judging from the silence, she was sure that the old lady was now taking a rest in her room.

"Hey," Hyunjae interrupted her focus, and his hand extended forward in an attempt to reach hers. And as Nara connected them, he asked, "Are you okay? No need to push yourself. We all know it's hard for you."

She shook her head. "The reason I want to be Dabin for a while is this."

"Huh?" Sangyeon and Haknyeon got confused, staring at each other.

Nara used her free hand to tug her brother's arm and when Sangyeon looked over, she requested, "You can protect me with your power as the authority right?"

The older becoming more confused and little did Nara know, Hyunjae stood up and strode closer to her, demanding an answer to his question 'What are you talking about?'

"I'm risking my life right now to bring up the truth," her eyes flickered from her brother to her husband. "Because it wasn't an accident. Someone was trying to get me killed."