Thirty minutes later, KJ arrived.
Cevil's house was a small flat in a condominium. It had only a bedroom and a bathroom, which made the living hall huge. It was a mess in there, the only couch in the house was piled up with clothes. There wasn't a dining hall there, just a small kitchen, with only a cup, kettle, a pan and pot. There were dirty dishes in the sink, flies flying above them. The fridge was left with a few leftovers' container of rice, two water bottles, and a loaf of bread that had expired. The painting on the wall had cracked. The floor was filled with dust, and there were some crumbs of biscuits and chips in the living hall. Unexpectedly, there weren't any ants or insects seen. The air-conditioner couldn't be switched on, and when the ceiling fan was turned on, it made creaking sounds every few seconds. Some of the lights were blinking, making them as if they were in a horror game.
"Uh..." Cevil said embarrassedly, "Sorry about this mess, I forgotten my house was in disaster," then he picked up a broom and began sweeping the floor.
"A-ha-ha-ha... Never mind."
They sat down together in front of the television, then Cevil took out two latest playstation from the cabinet below the television. KJ was quite surprised, how did Cevil afford to buy them? However, he preferred to stay quiet. They played for around thirty minutes when they both suddenly couldn't control their characters. They weren't able to move in the game.
"What happened?"
"Did you forget to pay your electric bills?"
"No, the light is still on, the fan is moving."
"Then?"
"Wait, I think it's the controller's battery."
"Both controller's battery gone out at the same time?"
"Uh-huh"
"Okay..."
"I'll go get a screwdriver; can you help me get the batteries? It's in the drawer in my bedroom, you'll find it."
"Sure."
KJ got his way to Cevil's bedroom, he grabbed the doorknob and twisted it open. It was dark inside, he reached for the lights, but he couldn't find the switch, so all he could do was to find the batteries in the dark. The light that came from the living hall was weak. It was almost completely dark, plus it was nighttime. KJ began to feel the things, the first thing he felt was something soft, which was probably the mattress on the bed. Then, he slowly walked around as he felt for the things. He felt something hard, he knocked on it with his fingers, and confirmed it was made out of wood. His instinct told him it was a desk, then he reached for the handle and pulled it. The first thing he felt was something very flat, a piece of paper. Then, he felt another thing, it seemed to be a leather box. Maybe the batteries were kept inside. KJ thought. He picked the box up and made his way out of the room.
He opened the box when he was outside the room, where he could see things clearly under the light. Cevil was still looking for a screwdriver in the kitchen. An identification card was placed neatly in the box – Cevil's identification card. He picked it up and saw Cevil's birth certificate. He did not really care about it, but he was curious, although he knew he wasn't supposed to as he is a cop, but he thought it wouldn't matter, since a birth certificate wasn't something very private. He began to read it. Everything was normal, until he read the father's name section:
FATHER | Jeffal Cheong Cheng Feng
AGE | 47
"Wait a moment," KJ muttered to himself. "This name is so familiar, Jeffal Cheong... Jeffal..." he repeated the name a few times, trying to recall this person. "Jeff!" KJ exclaimed softly, "The one senior's been mentioning all the time?" He was shocked.
Just then, Cevil walked out of the kitchen, then he walked towards KJ. "I've got the screwdriver, and I found some batteries too, you don't need to find the batteries anymore." KJ nodded his head panicky, then folded the paper quickly and kept it in the box when Cevil was walking towards him. "What's that?" Cevil asked, "Oh, that box. There're no batteries in there," he took the box from KJ and kept it safely in the drawer. They went to the living hall again and began inserting the batteries into the consoles.
Cevil closed the cover, then tried pressing a button, "Done, it's working," he said, gladly. "So, it was really the batteries' problem," KJ said. They continued playing the games. "By the way, never heard you mention about your parents, where are they? Don't they live with you?" KJ decided to learn more about them. Cevil lowered his controller, "I... don't have one," he mumbled. "What do you mean?" KJ asked. Cevil lowered his head, then he turned and looked at KJ, "What about you? I don't even know your age," he changed the subject. "Hey, we're talking about you, don't change the subject," KJ said. Cevil turned around at the television again, then he continued playing games. "Fine, I'm twenty-six," KJ finally replied with a sigh.
"That makes a nine-year difference between us."
"Yea," KJ said, "Can you answer my questions now?"
Cevil sighed too, "Do you really want me to answer?" he asked.
KJ nodded.
"I came home from school one day and I didn't see anyone at home. I thought my parents went out for some business, but I saw a note. It said that they think I was useless, they didn't want to take care of me anymore, and they left me." As Cevil said, he spoke softer and softer. KJ was confused, it didn't seem to make sense.
Why would they leave him with money and a house, find a new place to live instead of dumping him at the orphanage, continue living at their house and take their money away? KJ felt suspicious.
"What year was that?" he asked. Cevil thought for a while, "I think it's around the year twenty thirteen" he replied, "Let's continue playing."
KJ was having deep thoughts, while Cevil was calling him.
"KJ?"
"KJ?"
KJ got back to himself, "Yes...?" he asked.
"What were you thinking just now?" Cevil asked with a laugh.
"Nothing, thinking about what we shall play now." KJ answered quickly, then he picked his controller up and started playing.
It was the next morning when Cevil heard someone knocking on his bedroom door. Annoyed from being awaken from his sleep, he ignored it and continued laying on his bed. The intruder continued knocking on the door, Cevil groaned, he rubbed his eyes, and when he got up from bed, the knocking stopped. He went into the bathroom and washed his face, then he went to the door. He twisted the doorknob, it opened, but there wasn't a sign of anyone. Cevil scratched his head, then he walked to the living hall and saw a plastic bag on the couch. He went and opened the plastic bag lazily; it was a container of fried rice. Then, Cevil brought the container of fried rice to the kitchen to add some ketchup.
As he entered the kitchen, he froze, he was surprised. His entire kitchen had been cleaned up. The dirty dishes in the sink were arranged neatly on the dish rack, and they were cleaned, too, and shining. The cups, spoons and forks were cleaned as well, resting in the box of the dish rack. Just then, Cevil realized something, he felt that the floor he was standing on felt cleaner. It was still full of dust last night before he slept, now, it was cleaned, too. He opened the refrigerator; it was stocked with food and drinks.
Bottles of drinks stood quietly inside at the bottom layer. There were bottles of water, milk, soya beans and juice. Brown eggs were sitting at the door of the fridge, waiting to be eaten. Different types of sauces were having a silent gathering below the eggs, and they wobbled when the door opened, but all managed to balance and stood perfectly well after that. Some candies were having a rest at the top layer of the fridge, including the chocolates. Below them were some vegetables, not much, though, and the other layers were empty. Surprised, he opened the freezer. Different flavors of ice cream were enjoying the coldness and quietness in the freezer. Packages of raw meat were sleeping on the top layer.
He closed the freezer, then he heard his phone ringing. KJ was calling him.
"Good morning," Cevil yawned, "Thanks."
KJ ignored. "Hey, I have good news and bad news, which do you want to listen to first?" KJ said, trying to act mysterious, but he didn't sound happy, hence Cevil guessed that the good news wasn't as good as KJ said.
"Bad."
"So, let's go with the good news first," KJ said.
Cevil rolled his eyes, "Then what's the point of asking me?"
"The good news is," KJ paused.
"Stop acting mysterious," Cevil groaned.
"We've found the driver."
"Which driver?"
"The one that stole your paper."
"REALLY?"
"Yea."
"That's great."
"Yea."
"What's the bad news, then?"
"He refused to speak; someone threatened him with his wife."
"Hit him."
"Well..."