Her Blood » 𝐉𝐀𝐘

» VII «

I tightly gripped onto the fabric of my dress as they quietly stared at me. “Don't tell me you're still letting him keep the spare key to your house.” Dad spoke, Jake hesitantly glancing at him and then at me. “I'm sorry.” That was the only thing I could say at that time. “Oh, honey~ don't be sorry. I'm sure you're letting him keep the key for a good purpose. It's not like you're in love with him anymore, right?” Mom gently rubbed the back of my hand with her thumb and I nodded. “Still...” Dad trailed off as he took his glass of cocktail. “...you should get that key back from him. Who knows what he's up to? I highly doubt that he changed. I'm sure he's still a snob like in the past. Or I'll give you another place to reside in. I know a great place.” A snob calling someone else a snob, ironic.

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“I thought you hated Sunghoon. What was with the struggling expressions back there?” Jake asked as soon as I got in the car. “Of course, I hate him, but not like how my parents hate him. Why didn't you speak up? I thought you would back me up when it comes to Sunghoon.” “It's complicated...” “Yeah, right, you won't want to lose the Best Child of Mr. Shim title.” I folded my arms. “Ah~ it's not like that. Come on, don't be all sulky about it.” “They brought up my new job once and completely forgot about it afterwards. I'm so sick of them. Wasn't me getting a job the reason why we went out to have some "family time" today?” He simply sighed and shook his head. “Calm down now, you can throw tantrums when you get back home before packing your things.”

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“Have you seen the picture dad sent you?” He ran up to me while I was clearing my closet. “No, I haven't had the chance to lay my hands on it. What is it?” “It's the picture of the mansion you're going to reside in.” He proudly smiled before shoving the screen of his phone in front of my face. I pushed his arm away a little to let my eyes adjust to the screen. “Does this change your mind about despising our parents a little?” I hesitated to answer him. The place was beautiful, of course, but what really caught my attention was how well it matched my dream house. “Guess who saw the little sketch you made when you were 16?” I quickly smacked his arm while he just laughed away. “It's impossible. I thought I threw that away, and everything else.” “Your stubborn self didn't know burning them was better than throwing them in stacks in the garbage can. Mom took all of them in the end. I bet she knows all of your secrets now—” I threw a plushy on his face to shut him up. “That was years ago!” “How can you aim so well?!”

“So, what's happening to this place?” I said while lifting up the key. “I am living here.” He confidently said as he snatched the key from my hand. “Ugh, what about your other place?” “I'll just tell mom to let her friend's family stay there. Plus, Sunghoon might randomly barge in, resulting in seeing me instead of you. It's a win-win.” “But I'm sure you have to take your stuffs from him first.” “I can handle that. Are you done?” “I guess. If you find something that belongs to me which I accidentally left out, don't observe it and contact me directly. I'll dash over here to pick it up.” “Got it. Let's go.” He said, picking up the last box and walking out from there. I lightly sighed and gazed around the place before leaving the house.

The sun had set when we finally reached my new home. I took a deep breath and quickly took out my phone to check if we were in the the correct place. “Don't worry about it too much, this is it. There aren't many buildings around, it's a quiet street and the mansion is standing right in front of us.” “Quiet street...that's kinda scary, don't you think?” “It's not like you're alone in the woods, there are some friendly neighbours around.” He got out from the car without another word. I followed him behind in a flash. I saw some people walking in and out, probably the workers who were helping me move. “There are some boxes in the car, you can take those in.” Jake ordered one of the workers with a demanding tone, which was unexpected. “Do they work under you or you're just acting all bossy because you're the son of Mr. Shim?” He looked at me and smiled. “You forgot that I'm in the position to take over my boss' place if I wanted to, didn't you?” I just folded my arms and made my way inside the mansion.

The outer appearance of the mansion was already breathtaking but it felt like I was imagining things when I walked in and got greeted by bright lights from the ceiling and the people walking here and there to do their businesses. “Good evening, Miss Hyewon.” I simply nodded, hesitantly. I wasn't used to that. I wasn't prepared anything that was happening at that moment. After six years, I was finally greeted and looked up at with respect again. But would that last long? I didn't know. I just wished it did. “Miss Hyewon, here is the new information we found about Park Jongseong. Would you like to look into it?” “Uh...I will, later. Thanks.” I stuttered and she just simply nodded and walked off with a polite smile on her face. What is happening? Did my parents come up with this? Or is it Jaeyun? I turned to see him busy talking to one of the workers. What are you up to, Shim Jaeyun?

P O V

“How did it go?” Sunghoon quickly asked when Jake walked in the apartment. Jake stood there quietly for a moment. “It was okay. I need to leave again right away.” He spoke as he strutted off to the guest room. Sunghoon slightly tilted his head. “For what?” “I'll tell you later when I get back.” “Did your parents mention about me? How did your sister react?” Sunghoon continued to shoot questions at Jake, who calmly tried his best to answer him. “They kind of mentioned you in the end. Hyewon's reaction was normal.” “She wasn't interested in the topic they were talking about, was she?” Sunghoon folded his arms and pouted. “Yup, that's what I call normal. You won't need to wait for me for dinner. I'll be staying at Hyewon's for tonight. I won't be back until...10:00 PM, I suppose.” Sunghoon simply nodded at his words. He was secretly envious of Jake.

After freshing up, Jake was ready to leave when he stopped by the door. He looked at Sunghoon who was sitting and blankly staring at the ceiling. His lips slightly curved into a smile. “My dad forced my sister to move into a new house. You can still keep the key though, because I will be staying there instead of her. Think of it as a small gift from me for letting me stay here for a few days.” He shut the door, leaving Sunghoon, who was now staring at the door with wide eyes. “You should've told me the address!”

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