Min Jin
I can't believe it!
I watch Ava walk through the door and still think it's a prank.
But she doesn't come back.
Rori looks lost, and I don't know how to console her.
I expected screams, threats, even a few well-placed punches, accusations of conspiracy... but not this.
Ava left without even looking at me.
A shiver runs down my spine, but I don't have time to consider what's going on before I find a crying girl in my arms.
"Why?" Rori sobs desperately. "Why did she leave? She left me alone!"
I shake my head because I don't know what to say.
The lawyer comes to our aid.
"Each participant must follow the instructions in the email to the letter. Right now, Miss Allen's assignment probably didn't include her presence."
I struggle to jot down the information as if it were acid.
That's not like her...
What was in that email?
All hell breaks loose around us, with shouts of joy at her passing.
"It couldn't have gone any better," Susy laughs raucously, hugging her father.
"Finally, a good move from Grandpa," Ji-an congratulates. "Now we can really talk to each other, Kim."
"With that guard dog out of the way, maybe you'll remember who you are, little cousin," Seo Joon laughs. "You're one of us, your blood is ours. There were some... problems between us, but now you're here, with your family. Don't you want to cooperate and join us for the inheritance?"
Roori struggles to break away from my arms and gives him a sidelong glance.
"Even though Ava is gone, I haven't forgotten what you did to me. You're a treacherous snake, Seo Joon. And I have no intention of staying close to you even if I took the entire inheritance."
Her flash of courage leaves the others speechless, but not me.
This is Roori, the princess.
This is Ava's sister, the one she always defended. She has her DNA, but also the tenacity of us Kims.
"Roori and I will form a separate team. Don't get too smug, cousin. Only after this challenge will we know which branch of the Kims is the healthy one, worthy of the surname."
They give me a venomous look, but I don't care.
I turn back to Roori and ask her to show me her email.
Hers doesn't have any specific text, just the team she belongs to and a couple of numbers to use later.
I frown.
Mine is full of details, information I don't quite understand.
"Lawyer, do we have to follow the instructions in the email to the letter?" I ask.
He nods.
"Go to the designated place. There are people who will give you clarifications."
I get up, offer Roori my hand, and drag her away.
Heading for the Water Lily Bungalow.
I haven't been there in ages, and I would have preferred not to for a long time, but apparently, fate has other plans for me.
We drive the rest of the way without exchanging a word.
Besides, I don't know what to say to her.
Ava's behavior still stings.
I wish she had been there too.
I know we would have argued. We would have even snapped at each other.
But it would have been a way to communicate.
I can feel her absence on my skin.
As annoying as it is, I miss her.
I sigh and grit my teeth.
I tear her from my mind like I did years ago.
With pain.
With anger.
With remorse.
The bungalow is a charming, spacious building.
These were accommodations that my grandfather made available to guests during huge family celebrations.
Small apartments arranged around the central block, a small winter garden, and an enormous library.
A man in black opens the door for us, points us in the direction we should follow, and disappears.
"What should we do, Min?" Roori asks me in a faint voice.
"We need to look for clues, from what I understand."
An adult man, dressed in traditional Korean dress, comes towards us. He bows briefly and hands us a rolled-up scroll.
I pick it up with surprise.
"Mrs. Kim, you must bring all the requested items to apartment B34. You have one hour from now. Happy searching."
"Wait!"
Roori's voice stops him and he bows again.
"Do you know where my sister is? Ava."
The man gives her a brief smile and shakes his head.
He bows again and walks away.
"I had hoped she was here…"
I give her a quick squeeze on the shoulder and pull her closer.
"Roori, don't think about Ava now. She's fine. You know her, she's strong. She's probably up to something, you know how she is."
"But why bring her in if they left her out?"
"I think it was the only way to get you here. Without her, you wouldn't have come."
My conclusion surprises her. Her eyes and mouth open wide, but she says nothing.
She thinks for a moment and then nods.
"It was a trap. And she was livid because she let herself be set up."
"Exactly. But so as not to undo what she did, let's continue this investigation and get to the end. Then we can understand what lies behind this absurd machination."
The girl sighs, wipes her eyes, and straightens up.
"Okay, Let's get to work."
I smile at her.
I unroll the parchment and am stunned.
There are no words, just ancient symbols, followed by some ideograms.
"It's Chinese!" Roori exclaims, leaning toward me.
"And how the hell am I supposed to read it, when I've never studied it?" I snort, irritated.
"But I do. Dad taught me, and I know those symbols. Only…"
"What is it?"
She sighs and pushes her hair back from her face.
"How much do you know about Taoism?"
I look at her in surprise.
"Philosophy?"
"The Tales of Zhuangzi. It's from the book Autumn Waters, specifically the story: "Who Can Ascend to Heaven."
"Absolutely nothing."
We stare at each other, bewildered.
Ava knows them.
She knows them by heart.
She even wrote a thesis about them in high school.
Why did they separate us?