Sunday Morning.

Jung Kook woke up earlier than the usual to trash the place down. He broke some plates and glasses and spilled oil all over before leaving the house.

The sound of crashing chinaware awakened Minji. She did not think twice and opened the door lightly but to her dismay, she saw him breaking plates all over the kitchen. Her heart became heavier with every sound.

"Why is he suddenly on a bad mood?" Minji asked herself. "Something must've happened between him and his girlfriend." The word girlfriend felt bitter  in her thoughts. The thought of him belonging with someone left a pang of jealousy in her although she knows that she doesn't have an inch of right to feel that way.

Minji waited until the coast is clear before she stepped out of her room to clean the mess that Jung Kook made. Although she was careful in picking up the pieces of the shattered glasses, some of it still tore her skin. She was bleeding but she went on in cleaning and made sure that the broken plates were covered in paper before she placed them inside a garbage bin. She even labeled it so that the person who will pick it up will be careful and not get hurt like her.

She scrolled through her phone the entire two hours to look for a job suited for her fake credentials. Lee Minji graduated from an Ivy League college having a degree in Communication Arts while her, Athena Jones finished English Literature in a community college. Her fake life had it all good.

There are a few job openings for being a librarian which caught her attention. She knows that Minji's credentials are overqualified and the salary is less but the thought of peace surrounded by books was what she needed. While she was sending her resume through her phone, someone knocked on the door. Minji froze from where she is sitting.

There were at least five knocks before it became quiet. "It couldn't be Jung Kook, he would have used his key." she told herself. Minji called Atty. Choi and told him what happened after she lock herself inside her room.

"Maybe it's one of your neighbors. You told me that your neighbor waved at you few days ago." Atty. Choi tried to calm her as she was almost sobbing.

"Ww--what if...wh--what if..." It was becoming hard to breathe again after remembering how burned her mom's body was. "tth-they ffound me."

"I'll send George over. Calm down. Just stay inside." Atty Choi was trying hard to soothe her anxiety.

She hang up without saying goodbye. She embraced her legs while she sit on the floor her back leaning against the bathroom door. Tears began to fell one by one. The pool of blood and her mom's awful smell when they found her body came back. Her throat began to dry and felt everything moving.

"Jung Kook is not safe if those men found me."She thought to herself. "They might kill him."

The thought of a lifeless Jung Kook sends a brush of courage to her to run to the main door. Her heart was beating faster as her hands turned the knob to reveal whoever or whatever is outside. She closed her eyes momentarily ready to face if bullets will welcome her but she opened them in an instant when she felt the morning sun warming her.

There was no one outside. But something is. A box. A rectangular one covered in a cloth with a ribbon and a note, Wedding gift for AJ on their entrance.

It's like on the movies, she joked. "What could be it? A bomb? A headless doll with blood? Threatening letters? A wedding dress with bullet holes?" Minji was thinking the morbid things that her mom's murderers left for her while untying the ribbon. She took a deep breath before she removed the cloth covering the box. She took a couple steps backward before she lost consciousness and fell hard on the marbled floor.

******************************************************

Jung Kook was pulling in the driveway grinning to himself before he let himself inside the house. Unlike the usual, the house was today was well-lit and he can hear clanking sounds coming from the kitchen. His hands tightened to the phone but at the same time composing himself when he finally lay eyes on her.

"Make sure to bring Shiela back tomorrow or my wife will kill us both." This was Sam's message.

He did not bother replying and made heavy steps while approaching the kitchen. He was in relief when he saw Atty. Choi sitting on the bar stool while Shiela, the 2 month old boa constricter which he borrowed from Sam today is placed on the counter top. He was holding a glass of whiskey while looking at the reptile.

"Errr...uncle?" He said and sat on the bar stool next to him.

Atty. Choi poured whiskey on an empty glass and slide it over to him. "Linda is making spaghetti tonight, but I'm in the mood for pasta."

Jung Kook was swirling his glass before he finally drank it. He was about to reach for the bottle but Atty. Choi stopped him. "Allow me". The 52 year old man then poured more whiskey to his glass.

There was a long silence while they were both looking at the snake.

"She avoided animals all her life. Even the cute ones." Atty Choi finally said.

"Huh?" Jung Kook asked in confusion while his right eyebrow is raised.

"Your wife." He faced him. "She was bitten by a snake when she was a kid. She told me that she accidentally stepped on one and the snake bit her back."

Atty Choi loosened his tie a bit. "I remember when she told me that Zoos are really uncomfortable and she wouldn't touch a bunny. She developed this irrational fear that all alive animals will bite her."

Jung Kook felt a tiny amount of disgrace from what he did.

"She went through my things." He sipped from his glass. "Bitch doesn't know her place"

"Ahhh yes. Let's punish the ones who touched our belongings with their childhood trauma." Atty. Choi fixed his gaze on Jung Kook.

Jung Kook wanted to ask if she was okay but his pride is greater than his concern or his guilt.

"George, one of my bodyguards, found her there lying on the ground." Atty Choi pointed to the living room floor as if he can read his mind. "She's in the hospital right now. She'll be released tomorrow."

Jung Kook stood up and gulped one last drink. He felt guilty for not knowing that his attempt to scare her off would be traumatizing.

"I'm quite sleepy now, Uncle. Just lock the door when you leave."

"It's not her fault your Dad left you Jung Kook." Atty Choi's statement made his heart heavy.

"It wasn't my fault either." He turned his back to the person who raised him and went to bed.