Slap in the Face

It's already Saturday, the day Molly scheduled to have a charity event in an orphanage. Both Kinrue and Raven came to assist her, but unexpectedly, their cousin came with them. If Molly is not inside the van, then another war will arise between them. Kinrue is sitting in the window side while staring outside the window, Raven is on another side wearing a blindfold, takes a quick nap and Nianan is playing on his phone again while wearing a headphone. The atmosphere is quite awkward between the three. Molly and the driver couldn't help but take a glance.

She came to Raven's house to pick them up, but didn't expect the scene she'll see inside. They are sitting in different places, Raven reading a book on a single sofa, Nianan answering a call near the sliding door and Kinrue stays inside the room. It's the same awkward scene. She saw both her brother and Kinrue fight and on the edge of each other, but didn't expect her cousin to add the fuel.

The driver opens the radio inside the van and volume it up to lessen the tension. After the current song finish, another song play but unluckily it's a song of Shenrue Himura, 'Home'. She writes the song in age of 12 years old. It's about missing a home and the warmth of a father's love. It's one of the song from her last album which is dedicated to her father whom she can't remember. Even though she doesn't remember, the warmth of a so-called home is still vivid, along with the unconditional love of a father.

She can't help but shed a tear as the lyrics pierce through her.

Dad, please wait for me.

I'll come by your side and be free

Hug me once again,

Kiss me once again,

Give me such undying love once again,

Soon, I'll be back home.

Spread your arms like usual.

I'll run over and hug you back.

So, let's go to our home together.

"Kinrue, why are you crying? Are you hurt somewhere?" Molly said in surprise that startle both Nianan and Raven, who pull down the blindfold.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked.

"A-ah, I-I'm fine, it's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Molly asked and she nod as an answer.

They went back on what they were doing, but Kinrue's tears didn't stop however she wanted. It keeps falling down. She got startled when Raven put the blindfold on her out of nowhere. She's about to pull it down, but he stops her.

"I won't say a word, just let it be until you calm damn. Don't make me get mad anymore,"

After saying those words, he went back to sitting on the other side, gaze outside the window with a serious face. His action made her cry more while thinking about what happened yesterday.

Last night, after her shift in the coffee shop, she's about to go home and pack her things but bump into Raven's group. It's the same face, but beside them there's two unfamiliar faces. The other one is Raven's cousin which is Nianan, who is a year older than them and the other is a familiar woman that annoys her too way back when living in Himura Mansion. It's Callie Leroux, the epitome of beauty, brain and talent, who's a year older too. She's used to get compared to her ever since young than Shenyue, who's the same age as her. All day and night, they want Kinrue to reach her level or become much better. In the end, those words become a curse and ended up hating her a lot. Compare to Shenyue, she treats Callie as greatest rival out of all Elite Family members.

It never change after not seeing her for five long years.

Lewis is the one who introduces them to each other to break the silence. Callie offer her hands to shake with Kinrue but ignored it that made the rest look at each other in confusion. She's about to leave without a word but Renkai stops her and told to come with them to karaoke bar to celebrate the winning of Lunaris Volleyball Team. Even though she wants to decline the offer, there's no way she can say no to an innocent-looking face of him. In the end, she comes with them.

Inside the karaoke bar, some of the volleyball team members are waiting and taking turns to sing. For the half hour, they spend inside, singing, laughing, talking and dancing along. Whoever holds the mic is fine. Everything goes well, not until they take a break from singing and just talk about anything. Kinrue didn't say a single word since they came and watch them have fun. But when their topic went to the Elite Family Ranks, Kinrue seems uncomfortable. One of them is such a ridiculous question that causes an awkward silence. No one talks or tries to break it. Even Renkai, Lewis or Mirko left speechless.

"What do you think about Shenrue Himura? I think she treats you as a rival than Shenyue. She copied everything what you have done. Are you not mad about it? Many people blinded by her family rank, but there's nothing special about her." One of the man asked, chuckling.

Callie get taken aback because of those words and couldn't find a word to answer his question.

"A-ah. Well, it's been a while since I heard her name." She breaks the silence with an awkward laugh. "It doesn't matter if she copies me. In the end, you'll know who's the real and a copycat. Besides, she's too far from becoming my rival. I'd rather say her sister is much better."

"You mean Ruen?"

"Yeah, Ruen is much better than her."

As they continue to talk about her family affair, Kinrue's face turns dim. It only took a few seconds of patience before she slam the glass of soda on the table.

"What the hell? You shock me Kinrue." Mirko said, holding his chest out of surprise.

She chuckles and splashes the rest of the soda to Callie. It made the other gasps.

"Kinrue, what are you doing?" Arisa asked, in a hurry to give a tissue to Callie, and the rest were all worried, too.

"Callie, are you okay? It feels terrible. How can she do this to you? What an unmannered woman." Another man said that made Kinrue mad. She tightened the grip on the glass, biting her lower lip.

"She's a devil, inside or out. Her father must not discipline her well." Nianan added, offering a tissue.

"Oh, I heard she doesn't have a parent or siblings. What a poor woman."

This time she couldn't restrain her anger after hearing those words and throw the glass on the wall. All of them became silent. She gets another glass and is about to throw it away, but Raven stands up and stops her.

"Are you crazy? Don't you need to visit a doctor now? You've become more and more troublesome as the day passed. The more I coax you, the more you become childish. Grow up!"

"R-Raven, calm down," Renkai said.

"No. This empty head woman needs to learn what is wrong with her brain."

"Raven, I'm fine. She must have a reason." Callie stands up and gives him a reassurance stare. He sigh and let go of her hand.

Kinrue notices the softness in his eyes. It made her laugh. 'This must be it. The woman she likes the most,' she said to herself with a little relief and annoyance. "Reason you say? Yeah, I have one reason. I f*cking hate you to the bones. You're an evil copycat pretending to be an angel. I want to smash this glass in your head and pour an acid into that pretty liar face."

Before she can finish another word, Raven slap her face hard. It resounded in the place and made another long gasp. Nianan, who's sitting near them, stands up and pulls Raven away from her.

"Watch your words, you."

A tear falls down to her eyes while still holding her right cheek. Her hands tremble and glare at him in disbelief.

"All of you, calm down. We're not even drinking an alcoholic drinks, but you're all hot headed." Lewis step up to stop the fight.

They all thought Kinrue will fight back, but she left the room in a hurry without saying a word. All of them gone speechless, didn't know if they should follow Kinrue or not, but in the end, no one did. Raven kicks the table and pushes Nianan to the side.

"What an annoying brat," he said, mumbling. He looks at his palm. It's trembling and he can still feel the impact of his slap.

"Why did you slap her?" Shenyue asked with a serious face.

"She's annoying and dare to speak bad about Callie," he answered.

"Is it a reason to do it? This is the first time I saw you hurt a woman physically."

"Shenyue, don't tell me you're replacing Kinrue?" One of the man asked.

"There's no need. I'm just telling what's inside my mind. Besides, she's the same person who fainted a week ago and almost passed out in the middle of somewhere."

"Oh, if I remember, Kinrue is tough, but her health seems in poor condition. She's always in the infirmary way back then," Mirko said.

"Tsk. She's old enough to manage herself," Raven said, drinking an in can lemonade.