I stole the key from Mom. Simple. Quiet. I knew exactly where she kept it.
We dressed in black. Not full ninja mode, just dark enough to blend into the night. But the truth is, we still looked like two idiots trying to cosplay burglars.
Once we got inside the office, I didn't even waste time admiring the place. I knew what I came for. I headed straight to the filing cabinet, fingers trembling.
"Please be here... please..." I whispered under my breath, flipping through folders like a madwoman.
And then I saw it.
A photograph.
Clipped neatly to the edge of a thick, sealed file.
Choi Kang-Dae.
14 years old.
Height: 6 feet.
Black hair. Blue eyes—cold, sharp, like the ocean during a storm. Beautiful, but in the kind of way that makes your chest tighten.
My breath hitched.
Why is a child on a wanted list?
What kind of file is this?
I opened the folder slowly. Medical history. Surveillance notes. Keywords underlined in red—classified, unauthorized, threat, containment.
And that same boy—smiling faintly in the photo. He didn't look dangerous. He looked... sad. Wounded. Like someone who'd lost everything.
I couldn't stop staring. Was this the boy my mother tried to save?
Because my mother wasn't stupid. She wasn't reckless. She wouldn't just risk everything for someone unworthy.
Unless... unless he wasn't the monster.
Unless someone else was.
But then who killed her?
Was it him?
I didn't want to believe it.
I took quick photos of the file, trying to steady my hand. My fingers were clammy, and I was shaking a little. I turned to Ha-rin, whose eyes were already wide.
"Let's go," I whispered.
We snuck back out and went straight to her house. I'd already told Mom I was staying over. She didn't suspect anything.
But I couldn't sleep.
Not even a minute.
I lay in Ha-rin's room, staring at the ceiling, while she snored lightly beside me.
My mind was burning with questions.
Who is this boy?
What was he to my mother?
What really happened that day?
And what exactly did I just walk into?
One thing I was sure of—
We only had 28 days left to stop it all from happening again.
I asked my mother if I could take a sick leave from school.
I'm in the 4th year of secondary school.
And I don't usually skip classes—I'm a diligent student. Guess I got that from my parents.
Mom looked at me closely and asked, "What's wrong? I've been observing you since yesterday. You seem… troubled. Are you being bullied at school?"
I nodded. "Yes."
She immediately asked if she should intervene.
I shook my head. "I'll take care of it. Just… let me skip school for a week."
She didn't ask any more questions. Maybe she sensed something.
Besides, after one week, it will be July 21st.
Summer holidays begin then…
And my mother dies exactly five days after that.
---
Kim Dae-hyun and Kim Dae-yoon—my sweet twin brothers.
Dae-hyun doesn't express himself much, but he's brilliant. Quiet, like a cat who reads books.
Dae-yoon is the opposite—loud, athletic, always needing attention.
They were always like that.
Until puberty hit.
Now?
They're like two overgrown cats who refuse to leave me alone.
Still… I can't help but love them.
This morning, they sat on either side of me and asked if I'd play with them.
I said yes—if they behaved well today.
I even packed their lunches and sent them off to school with a smile.
---
After my mother left for work, I secretly followed her.
I saw her speaking to a strange man in an alley.
I couldn't hear the whole conversation—just one line from him:
"You could lose your life. It's very dangerous."
My mother didn't even flinch.
She simply replied,
"I can't leave a child like that."