Chapter 4 – A new beginning

When we finally arrived at our destination, I could only stare in stunned silence.

A mansion.

Not just any mansion—it was massive, breathtakingly beautiful, like something out of a dream.

The car rolled to a stop before an ornate iron gate, which silently swung open as if expecting our arrival. Beyond it stretched a long, cobblestone driveway lined with glowing lampposts and towering trees. At the end of the path stood the mansion—a grand, ivory-colored estate with towering pillars and large arched windows, golden light spilling from within.

Even from a distance, I could see a sprawling garden, the faint scent of flowers drifting through the crisp night air. A grand fountain stood at the center of the courtyard, water cascading down in elegant streams, its surface reflecting the glow of the surrounding lights.

It felt unreal. Too perfect. Too warm. Too safe.

So different from the dark, cold basement where I had spent the last five years of my life.

I swallowed hard.

"T-this is the Major's house?" I murmured, unable to hide the disbelief in my voice.

The Major turned to me with a small, knowing smile.

"No," he said. "This is your home now."

Home.

The word felt foreign. Heavy. Unreal.

I felt Jin's hand on my shoulder, grounding me. When I turned, he was smirking slightly, but there was something softer in his eyes.

"Call him Father from now on, Ren," he said casually. "He'll make a fuss if you don't."

My cheeks burned with embarrassment, but I couldn't stop the small smile that formed on my lips.

A Room of My Own

The moment I stepped into my new room, I felt like I had walked into another world.

It was spacious, more than I had ever dared to dream of. The walls were painted a soft cream color, illuminated by a chandelier that bathed the space in warm, golden light.

A large bed—far too big for me—sat at the center, draped in rich, silken sheets. The scent of fresh linen and lavender filled the air. To the side, an ornate desk stood against the wall, complete with neatly stacked books and elegant stationery.

There was even a window.

A real one.

Not the cold, metal vents of my old prison. Not the dim glow of artificial lights from a hidden compound. A real, open window, with curtains that swayed gently from the night breeze.

I hesitated before stepping toward it.

My fingers trembled slightly as I touched the glass, looking out at the darkened city beyond. From here, I could see the vast garden below, the soft glow of lamplights, the twinkling stars above.

Could I really stay here?

Could I really live here?

I turned back to the bed, hesitating again before sitting on the edge. The mattress dipped slightly beneath my weight.

Soft. So soft.

I ran my fingers over the sheets, almost afraid that if I blinked, this would all vanish. That I would wake up back in that dark, suffocating basement.

But no.

This warmth… this comfort… this was real.

And yet… even as I lay down, a name haunted my thoughts.

Javier.

It had been months since he almost killed me. Since he aimed his gun at me without a moment's hesitation.

I feared him.

I hated him.

But no matter how much I tried to push him out of my mind, I couldn't stop thinking about him. The person who once saved me… was the same person who nearly took my life over a crime I didn't commit.

Will I ever see him again?

And if we do meet… what will become of us?

The thought alone made my hands tremble. I missed him. I missed him so much. But the fear of facing him again, of seeing that same cold fury in his eyes—it was enough to paralyze me.

And then there was her.

Sylvia.

She might have been the one who betrayed us.

I could only hope—she would never betray him.

Because if she did… he might not survive it.

And that thought was far more terrifying than anything else.

-

Under the vast, starless sky, a lone figure lay on the damp grass. The cold wind brushed against his skin, but he barely felt it. Javier's gaze remained fixed on the pale moon above, his thoughts unreadable. Yet, if there was one thing certain—it was the loneliness weighing on his chest.

It had been months since Jin died in that ambush. Sylvia told him that an unknown individual had taken his body. But before that, she had checked his pulse—there was nothing. No heartbeat. No sign of life. She ran to get help, but by the time she returned, he was already gone. There wasn't a single soul around who could've helped them. Javier could only imagine how devastating it must have been for Sylvia to watch their friend be taken away, powerless to stop it.

Jin.

He had always been strong—brave beyond reason. Ever since they were children, Jin was the one who carried them forward. Him, Sylvia, and Javier… If only those two were still alive. Maybe, just maybe, they could have lived a normal life—one far away from this endless bloodshed.

A memory flickered in Javier's mind, pulling him back to a time before the Moon Organization even existed—back when it had been nothing more than a small, impoverished village.

Jin, Sylvia, and he had been childhood friends, inseparable and always together. Life had been tough, but their bond had made it bearable. The village was small, yet filled with kind-hearted volunteers who selflessly helped its people. Among them, one couple stood out—Mr. and Mrs. Dmitri.

They had arrived when the three of them were just eight years old. From the moment they stepped foot in the village, they treated them with nothing but warmth. Mrs. Dmitri, a doctor, had a radiant smile, her dark pupils glimmering with kindness as she tended to the sick and took care of them whenever they got injured from playing too rough. She was beautiful, graceful, and gentle, like a mother they never had.

Her husband, in contrast, carried himself with an air of quiet authority. With his neatly cut dark blue hair and strong build, he stood out among the villagers. There had been rumors—whispers that he was actually a high-ranking soldier. It wouldn't have been surprising if it were true. The way he moved, the way he spoke—it all carried a weight of experience and discipline.

But despite the rumors, to Javier, Jin, and Sylvia, they were simply the kind couple who brought them candies, gifted them warm clothing, and cared for them like real parents.

"Oh dear, the three of you are so cute!" the doctor cooed, crouching down to our level with a warm smile. Her black pupils glimmered with affection as she gently patted Jin's head.

"Our Reina would love to meet you guys, but we couldn't bring her here just yet," she continued, her voice laced with a mother's fondness. "Maybe once she's a little older. I'm sure she'll want to play with the three of you for sure."

"Reina?" Sylvia echoed, tilting her head in curiosity.

The doctor nodded. "Our one and only daughter," she said softly. "She's a miracle baby. Honestly, it was difficult for me to have her, so I was shocked when I suddenly got pregnant. Before that, I had already dedicated my life to taking care of children like you. And when she came… I thought I would only live for her."

She paused, her gaze turning distant for a brief moment before a smile returned to her lips. "But instead of stopping, she motivated me more to do volunteer work like this. I wanted to help more children—not just Reina, but all of you."

There was something about the way she spoke, the warmth in her voice, that made my chest tighten. The way she looked at us… It almost felt like we were part of her family, too.

Mr. Dmitri, who had been quietly listening to his wife, suddenly let out a dramatic sniffle, his broad shoulders trembling slightly.

"Huhuhu… I miss our Ren-ren so much…" he muttered, his voice thick with emotion, as if he were on the verge of collapsing from sorrow.

Sylvia blinked in confusion. "Ren-ren?" she echoed, tilting her head.

Mrs. Dmitri let out a soft chuckle and gently patted Sylvia's head. "It's what we used to call Reina when she was still a tiny fetus inside my womb, Syl," she explained. "You'll meet her one day, don't worry. And you should call her Ren when you do. She's convinced that anyone who calls her that really likes her—so if you want to be on her good side, that's the trick! Hahaha!"

Sylvia giggled, but there was a faint sadness in her eyes.

I looked down at the candy in my hand, the one Mr. Dmitri had given me earlier. The wrapper crinkled slightly between my fingers as I held it tighter.

Was it their daughter who wished to give this to us?

"Ren."

The name echoed in my mind, warm and unfamiliar yet strangely dear.

I wish I could meet you soon. I want to see you so much.

Ren, who was kind enough to share her parents with us, even though she needed them by her side just as much.

A small smile crept onto my lips, my chest swelling with a newfound determination.

"I will protect you no matter what, Ren."

The thought filled me with something I hadn't felt in a long time—hope.

And as I clutched the candy tighter, I could no longer wait for the day we would finally meet.

Among the three of us, Sylvia was the most attached to Mr. and Mrs. Dmitri. Jin and I had lost our parents when we were too young to even remember their faces anymore. But Sylvia—she had lost her mother just last year, right before Mrs. Dmitri found our poor village.

Maybe, in Sylvia's eyes, she saw them as her parents.

Maybe… we all did.

Jin, Sylvia, and I—deep down, we all secretly wished that Mr. and Mrs. Dmitri were our real parents. They treated us with kindness, gave us warmth we hadn't felt in a long time. It was the closest thing we had to family.

And then…

Just like that…

We lost them too.

The day they were supposed to bring Reina to meet us, we waited eagerly, excited to finally see the little girl we had heard so much about. But they never came.

Instead, what came was devastating news.

An accident.

They were gone.

We waited and waited, refusing to believe it, but then one of the men in the village—one who had always been against the volunteer workers—stood before us with a twisted smile and declared himself our new leader.

"They're dead. All of them."

As children, we could do nothing but tremble at his words. We had no power. No choice. And especially Sylvia—who had once again lost the people she cared about—was left broken.

Only one person stood tall against them. Jin.

I always knew he was strong, but at that moment, he became something more. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and stabbed the man who had laughed at the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Dmitri—the same man who had just declared himself our new leader. The laughter died instantly, replaced by a sickening silence. Shock rippled through the crowd. No one dared to move.

Jin was dangerous, even at his young age.

In that moment, I made up my mind. I would support him in any way I could. I reached down, my hands shaking but steady in my resolve, and picked up a knife that had fallen to the ground. Step by step, I walked toward the man Jin had stabbed. His gasping breaths filled the silence, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Then, without hesitation, I plunged the blade into his gut.

This was the only way for us to survive.

This was what they made us.

So many things happened after that. So many events that led us to where we are now.

Javier clenched his fists against the cool earth, his nails digging into the dirt as the realization settled deep into his bones.

Jin was gone.

Another person he failed to protect.

Can I really take over, Jin?

Do I even deserve to?

A bitter laugh threatened to escape him. I should have been the one to die, not you. You were the leader everyone believed in. The one we all followed without question. Kind, fearless, unwavering.

Javier shut his eyes, as if doing so could somehow drown out the crushing weight of reality. The wind howled softly, rustling the trees above him, whispering secrets he didn't care to hear. But the ache in his chest remained—a deep, suffocating pain that refused to fade.

And then, another image surfaced in his mind.

—KILL—

The reason they lost Jin.

Javier's teeth clenched as fury ignited in his veins. I will never forgive you.

If only he hadn't saved her back then.

But just as the hatred threatened to consume him, another image intruded—Kill's face, bruised and tear-streaked.

Javier's breath caught. His heart twisted in his chest, an unbearable pressure he couldn't understand.

Was it pain?

Why did it hurt more to remember that face—one that almost looked like an angel—than it did to think about losing Jin?

His fingers curled into his shirt, gripping the fabric over his heart as if trying to hold himself together.

His mind was in turmoil, torn between grief and an emotion he refused to name.

The wind brushed against his skin, cool and gentle, but it did nothing to soothe the storm raging inside him.

With a heavy breath, Javier closed his eyes again and let the night swallow him whole.