BAB VI

Winter in late December ...

- Flashback -

The sound of water droplets echoed the dark basement. Dividers of iron poles lined the old oak door to the end of the room, which was only 4x6 meters wide. From behind the iron, there were children aged 7 to 10 years huddled, crying small and falling asleep because they started to starve and cold. Girls and boys mingled in the narrow basement. They are a group of children from various countries who were gathered for whatever reason.

The little girl with short shoulder-length hair and wearing a red ribbon looked calmer than the other children who kept calling out their parents' names or crying sadly without a sound. The little girl approached the boy next to her and gave her a thick brown coat. With a friendly smile, the girl came and rubbed her hands to make them warmer.

"Do it like this so that your hands are warmer," she said even though the Korean language was still not fluent.

The boy raised his head and looked at the little girl in front of him with the faint smile she had, "Can you speak Korean?"

The little girl nodded confidently, "A little. Because my baby sister is Korean," she smiled.

"You're not afraid? It's dark in here, cold and wet all ... we all will surely die," he said again biting his lower lip in fear.

The little girl also bent her knees as she continued to rub her own hands and then pressed them against her chubby cheeks. Making the boy amazed and no longer feeling lonely, "My mother said, there is a reason why we were born. The reason why we are somewhere. I'm not afraid because there must be a reason why we are here."

The language was still broken, but the boy nodded in understanding. Starting to feel touched, he was meeting a protector. His lips tried to carve a smile, welcoming the helping hand of a little girl who was friendly to him. He was happy to be able to make new friends in this horrible place.

"What is your name?"

"My name is ...."

The little girl smiled again.

There was a hint of warmth radiating in every smile even though it was the beginning of the suffering of all the children locked up there. That smile never appeared again, after the girl turned into a 'monster' just like several other children selected, including the little Korean.

flashback End

***

"I see, but why keep it a secret from Yona?"

Hans frowned in displeasure with the way Sora chose to face the gang 'Kirikuzen. He had heard all the reasons Sora went to the same school as him. And to be honest, it worried Hans. He is not afraid and doesn't trust Sora; it's just that she comes to school to do something that endangers his colleague; it feels too much. Hans grabbed Sora's shoulders and looked at her begging so that Sora would be a good student at school without facing problems with the troublemaking gang.

"Because Yona wants to join them. I can't ask Yona why. So I want them to don't ..."

Hans interrupted with high brows, "Yona wants to join in?"

Sora seemed to raise her shoulders, giving a code that it was true. Then the 2nd lesson bell will begin. They were forced to separate into their respective classes.

"Remember, you are now my junior. Follow your seniors, don't go there and don't fight."

Hans rubbed the top of Sora's head worriedly and returned a faint smile from Sora who didn't want to believe that the fact was that Hans was indeed her senior. They parted ways, but Sora's steps stopped. She chose to walk in the opposite direction of her class.

==

Stella is still enjoying her electric cigarette puff after puff. She smiled wryly when she heard the roof door creak and open. All the 'party' members of the gang glanced at the door, which immediately showed a young man with a straight line of eyes and his bright short hair stepping in. Sipping as much air as possible into his olfactory cavity while snorting irritably because he was feeling bored.

"You said something important? What kind of thing to call me here?" he said to Stella, who was now standing tall in a military-style. Stella's behaviour was also followed by other members who had four male and six female members from all levels.

This 'Kirikuzen' gang was deliberately created to control a small area in the city. His only objective was to spy on among the 'paid' youths just like the tall young men who were now staring at them intensely.

"The sister of Yona, who embarrassed me last night, wanted to see you -"

Stella's voice choked up a little saying the word 'embarrass me' that made her lowered her head to look at the leader.

The young man snorted while playing with his favourite dagger that never left his pocket. Occasionally rubbing the tip of the knife then throwing it at the dartboard area behind the entrance. Right after that, the door creaked open again. Everyone was stunned when they saw the person who dared to come to their site alone. Quietly, the steps stopped while the door was still half-open, a gust of wind seemed to welcome him to come.

"Hi, Kris? Are you in a good mood today?"

Kris hissed and heard a small curse when he saw the figure of the man in front of him. The man with glasses with a dark brown sweeter stepped his long legs towards Kris, who was resigned to accept the warm pull ear.

"Homeroom teacher!"

Stella immediately glared and tried several times to escape so as not to be caught. But too late. Their homeroom teacher had already blocked his steps.

"YOU ALL! MY LOSS!"

***

Mexico

Orchestral music surrounds a Mexico classic exterior swimming pool. The strains made the older man with the eagle tattoo on his right back enjoying the immersion in the warm wine-scented pool. His activity was interrupted by the sound of jogging his proud bodyguard. The guard whispered and made the older man who also had a bullet hole wound in his left shoulder, round his eyes wide open.

Not long after, there was a faint grin on his lips.

"Are you sure? There are already two people who are also looking for Jean's whereabouts besides us?"

"Yes, sir."

The old man finished his whiskey in one gulp and grinned, "Poor luck to you, Jean, they don't expect you to live in peace. Prepare the plane! We're back in Korea."

No different from his atmosphere. The man with a wound extending from his cheek to his lips looked at the photo of Jean and the older man in Mexico. He sipped his beer and walked towards the entrance of the main room to meet his men who had been sitting sweetly at the 'Butterfly Monster' bar counter. An organization of kidnapping, drug trafficking, illegal drinks and assassins from North Korea and Japan.

A woman of Chinese character and a black man with earrings in the nose stood tall, ready to take orders. They look trendy, but they also look very savage. They faced in obedience, "Shelly and you Pate, find Jean! Follow this information. Bring her alive because Jean is my favourite child."

Shelly was seen frowning when she saw Jean's face in the photo. There was something stuck in her mind, "So Jean is still alive? I thought she..."

"That's what you have to do; Jean won't just die from jumping off a cliff."

.

.

Continued