Button Plus the Strand of an Earring

- Bryan's Apartment -

After that incident with Shirley Han at the auction hall, Bryan went back to Katrina's house and moved out. While packing his stuff, he also took important items and documents that belonged to Selina. Katrina tried threatening him with a knife against her neck, but he didn't bother taking a glance at her. All he heard were her violent screams when he shut the door and left the keys in the key hole.

He's been living at this new place ever since then.

Once the trio entered Bryan's new apartment, they headed towards the living room where Bryan brought up the venomous snake tattoo that Selina mentioned.

Bryan turned his attention towards Michael and looked solemnly in his face. "According to Selina's description, she saw a venomous snake tattoo on Roger's wrist. This is one of the main problems we need to deal with first-handed when we see him. If he really belongs to that asshole group, then we need to prepare for a fight."

Michael's white knuckles surfaced his hands as he heard about the tattoo. "And here I thought I was moving fast already. Seems like the first group I need to eliminate is the Snake Nest group. If that tattoo matches with that bastard's symbol, then slice that wrist and send it over. I'll annihilate his entire Snake Nest group, including him."

Lowering his head in slight disappointment, Alfred apologized. "Sorry. You told us to take care of Selina before you went on that mission. We failed to protect her the first time and now..."

"It's not your fault this all happened. If anyone needs to be responsible for it, then it would be the Hans and the Sins. But in this situation, our biggest concern might be the Snake Nest group. If they dig any deeper, they might trace down to Selina." Michael gritted his teeth as he massaged his hands.

"But would killing that group interrupt your original plans?" Bryan frowned at the thought of a fight between their group and the Snake Nest group. Though his members do not lack in terms of strength and weapons, he was afraid it would mess up Michael's plan.

Shaking his head, Michael crossed his arm and leaned against the couch. "They've been an eyesore, and I was planning to get rid of them regardless. But now, I have more of a reason to eliminate their existence first. Even if there is just 0.01 percent chance of them finding Selina, I will cut them off entirely. I won't risk it."

Bryan cupped his chin in his palm, "No matter what, don't forget about all the brothers waiting for you to come back. Besides, I'm only where I am because of you. Your troop has always been training well and waiting for your instructions. Never forget this point. You're not alone."

Stretching his arms in the air, Alfred voiced supportively. "That's right. Although I have no clue what secretive missions you've been up to since the start, don't forget you have buddies waiting here. As for Selina, she's our sister and we'll always look after her."

"For the sake of your safety, it's better for you to not know what I do. One day, everything will become clearer to you. But thanks for the reminder. I'll keep it to heart." Michael punched his chest lightly with his fist.

Silence filled the living room for a few minutes as thoughts buried deep in their minds. Suddenly, Bryan broke the quietness in the air when he remembered about the albums in his storage room. "Hold on, there's something I need to look for."

He stood up and dashed to his storage room where he had stacked boxes everywhere. Alfred and Michael followed after him to see what he was up to. Once they walked into his storage room, they saw him rummaging through boxes and reading labels he wrote on each box. After moving one box after another around the room, he found the box he was looking for.

Carrying the box in his hand, Bryan walked back to the living room where he started flipping through each one; searching for a particular page.

Alfred shrugged when he met Michael's questioning gaze. Taking the same seats as before, Michael and Alfred started looking at different pictures Bryan had kept in his albums. They thought Bryan was scavenger hunting for a photo, but soon realized their assumption was wrong.

Though Bryan was flipping through pages, he wasn't focusing on the pictures at all. Instead, he was skimming through pages. Alfred stared at him with a raised brow. "Bro, are you looking for your childhood in there or trying to train your photographic memory? Because either way, it doesn't look convincing. What are you exactly looking for?"

"I'm looking for a button. A button from my favorite navy suit." Bryan continued turning page by page to make sure the button wasn't stuck between the page gaps. After going through five albums, he finally found what he was looking for.

"Aha! It is her." Bryan claimed as he pointed at the picture with a button stuck to it.

Taking a closer look, Michael and Alfred easily recognized who he was referring to.

Alfred blinked, "Isn't that Celinda? You two attended the same event before?"

From a single glance, Michael figured where and when this picture was taken. "This should be the Hui family's private hall. It was an event hosted by the previous CEO of Hui Corporation a few years before he retired. This was also the first time Jason was introduced to everyone. But I don't remember Celinda's name being mentioned. Don't tell me she was the girl you were looking for?"

"Oh. Speaking of this, it was a pure coincidence. I was very bored during the party and decided to walk around the ballroom. Here comes the amazing part called crowds and their shoving game. This happened many times in dramas where a sudden blackout would occur, and the female would hop into the male actor's arms."

He left a small pause between his words, luring his brothers to move closer to his side. Chuckling, he said. "Well. Let's just say during this mini surprise blackout, Celinda got shoved into my arms and her earrings got tangled to my sleeve button."

"So, bro. Where's the juicy part? Did you hug her by the waist? Back? Or did you kiss her like a wolf that you secretly hide away?" Alfred asked for the main point of how the button came off.

"Hahaha, to avoid touching her at places where my hands shouldn't be touching; I held my hand on the back of her head. People were literally pushing each other out of madness in the dark, so I just kept her head closer to me." Bryan scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he recalled his moves.

Michael wrapped his arm around Bryan's shoulder. "Pfft, I never knew you were such a gentleman. But then again, I've never seen any girls catching your attention. She's considered a success. What did you think of her?"

Rubbing his chin, he thought deeply about that question. "Hmm, she was different. When lights came back on, she was blushing peach colors on her cheeks. Even though her earrings were stuck, she felt so shy she remained still while I tried untangling her accessory from my button."

"And...at the end...what happened?" Alfred covered his mouth, blocking his laughter.

"Well, an even more amazing part of this double coincidence was how well the person who controlled the damn lightings for the first dance did their job. Pairs were chosen by random to start the opening dance. While I was busy trying to get away from her, that damn spotlight sparked on us. So, we did the opening dance with her head against my chest and my hand stroking her head."

He covered his face as he felt his cheeks heating up.

"And even after that you didn't get to ask her for her name or contact information?" Michael raised his brows several times.

"Nope. She ran away after saying thanks to me." He replied.

Sighing, Alfred and Michael both said in unison. "Another Cinderella story."

"Huh?" Bryan looked confused when they talked about Cinderella.

Michael got up from his seat and spread the album on the table. "Look, there is an obvious dust pink strand that does not match with your button nor suit. Meaning, this is the strand from her accessory."

Crossing his arms, Alfred explained. "Cinderella left her glass slipper as she ran away from the prince. And then they found each other. Don't we have a phrase that says the first and second time could be coincidences, but third is fate? Your dance was fated. And now you meet her again. How does it feel?"

Bryan smiled, "A bit surprised and happy at the same time. She doesn't seem to remember me, but that's alright. Also, compared to when I first met her, she seems a bit different now. She gives off a feeling that she is more wary of strangers. Extremely cautious of her surroundings. Mm..maybe it is just me."

"Oh, right. She did say Roger was her ex-husband. Do you think she will go easy on him if she knows Jason kidnapped him?" Alfred asked.

Bryan's fist tightened subconsciously, but quickly relaxed. "Don't know. Regardless, he only has tomorrow left to live anyways."