Baines got up from his bed and stood still for several seconds.
The weight of his soon to be made decision gnawed at him heavily.
How could he bring himself to tell his sister, his last family member present in his life, that he had decided to run away?
What if his mother woke up after he left? What if Cecilia needed him?
What if his brothers suddenly returned to an empty home?
What if every person he searched for had already died?
His thoughts spiraled in a complex web, stacking atop each other, which only made his chest tighten. He crossed the room toward the far wall and pressed against one of the carved panels hidden between shelves.
A soft click echoed, and a concealed door opened inward.
He stepped further, and a little indoor garden greeted him. Cold air was spread across the air, and as it wafted past his face, his shoulders visibly relaxed with a soft exhale.
The indoor garden beyond the passage was dimly lit beneath the moonlight filtering through the glass ceiling above. Rows of herbs and flowering plants stretched quietly through the enclosed space, their scents blending into something earthy and familiar.
The ambiance was one of tranquility and relief, an almost surreal contrast to his world outside. He slowly moved in.
This place had always been his anchor, the one thing that kept him from spiraling into despair.
When he was younger, his mother used to tend the garden herself. Even after she fell ill, he continued caring for it out of habit more than anything else.
When the nights felt too long… when the silence pressed too hard… this room reminded him of what he still had.
He knelt near one of the herb beds and brushed away a few dead leaves.
That was all most days had become, tending to this indoor garden, visiting his crippled sister, half-lifeless mother, and elderly uncle.
His fingers paused slightly against the soil.
He remembered the night it all began like it was yesterday. How everything had instantly spiraled out of control. How everything had suddenly vanished before him. The laughter, happiness, and the last of the memories had now faded like dreams from his mind.
"I will leave this house today. I will leave to become the strongest so no one can do this again. I will find them and protect my family." Baines whispered, swearing to himself.
Wiping away the residue of tears gathered around his eyes, he stared at the garden for what was possibly the last time before leaving the hidden room and then the room.
After a while, he stepped out of the corridor dressed in black clothing, holding a black bag hung around his shoulder.
He moved carefully through the corridors, constantly watching for others out of habit. The manor had become emptier over the years, but today he found himself trying to listen for footsteps instinctively.
He maneuvered his way through the corridor before stopping before the last turn to his father's office when he heard a loud and frantic voice.
'…What?' His eyebrow rose before he rushed over to peek across the corridor.
He knew that voice instantly. The owner of the voice was the exact person he had tried his hardest to avoid.
A young lady not even twenty years old, seated in a wheelchair, was his sister, Cecilia.
This situation was different and strange. It wasn't that he was already caught but rather the opposite.
"What…what is happening?" His voice trembled beneath his breath at the sight before him. She was ordering the guards to capture someone, and not just anyone, but someone he was very familiar with.
In that brief moment before the order, Baines had caught a glance of the figure's silhouette before it vanished.
He couldn't believe it.
"Catch him! Hurry! He must not escape."
Following her order, eight guards around her expertly rushed out, leaving only two guards with her. The atmosphere shifted in an instant as the situation took a strange turn.
The cripple mid-teen didn't stop for a moment after the order and shouted,
"Kwon, you traitor. You've finally shown your hand, huh? We will catch you today and make you spill everything you know…"
Following her words, the sound of weapons clashing began echoing through the corridors. The guards had caught up and begun the attack.
"What's happening?" Baines whispered, stepping out of his hiding spot. At this point, his meticulously well-planned escape was thrown out the window.
Deep confusion marred his expression as he walked out of the dark corridor into the open.
"Stop there!" One of the guards behind her reacted immediately, drawing out her sword and pointing it in the direction from which he had approached.
Cecilia also reacted instinctively to her words while the second guard pulled out his weapon, pulling the wheelchair closer for safety.
Baines eventually stepped out, asking, "Why are you ordering them to capture Uncle Kwon?" His posture was stiff in place, and his expression hardened in disbelief.
Seeing his presence, Cecilia didn't answer immediately, but her shoulders dropped in relief.
"I was just about to call for you. Stand down." She ordered the guards, and they complied, lowering their swords but not dropping their guard.
Cecilia then directed her gaze at her brother. Noticing something else, she asked,
"Why are you dressed like that?"
"No, Cecilia, tell me." Baines shook his head as if he had heard wrong, "What is happening? Why are you trying to capture Uncle?"
Catch him before he escapes.
His uncle.
No, their uncle.
There was no mistaking it. He knew what he had seen, and honestly, they felt unreal.
How could she suddenly turn on the man who had been there their entire life—who had held them both as newborns, who had taught him breathing techniques to ease his grief time and time again, who had even stayed with them when the world had abandoned them?
"Don't you dare call that traitor your uncle…" Cecilia hissed back,
"When he was the one who made us like this."