Chapter 45 - The Arrival

"AHHHHHH!"

KJ screamed as he fell on the ground with a thud. Jade fell next to him.

"Stop screaming!" Jade fired up. "You're in your spirit form. You won't get hurt."

"Could've warned me before throwing me into the neverending darkness!" KJ retorted as he stood up. He suddenly realized that he was barefoot.

"Hey Jade, can we get some shoes?" he asked. "It feels weird to walk around barefoot."

"No one's gonna see nor hear you!" the cat scowled. "You're in spirit form. You don't need shoes. Stop whining like a diva."

"Yeah but it feels weird to walk like this," KJ complained.

"Well get used to it!" Jade snapped. "We have bigger things to worry about."

KJ shot him a look before looking around. The place was familiar to him. 

"This is..."

"Yep," Jade confirmed his suspicions. "This is home sweet home."

"Home, huh?" KJ muttered. It was a place he left ages ago. In both his lifetimes, this place was a personal hell for him. He loved his grandfather, but also resented his life in this mansion.

The mansion was exactly how he remembered it. The place scrawled over ten acres of land. The landscape was surrounded by a green garden with exotic plants which were flown in from abroad. There was a golf course at the back of the mansion alongside a large tennis court for recreational activities. KJ's grandfather also had a horse racing track. The old man picked up this hobby when he was young but KJ never had the aptitude for it.

The mansion itself stood majestically at the center, looking more like a King's Palace. At almost three storey high, the mansion had over 50 bedrooms, five kitchens, an indoor gaming room, a ballroom and a large dining room. Jade catcalled as he entered the house.

"Woah KJ!" he exclaimed. "You lived here? HERE?"

"Yeah," KJ replied in a non-chalant tone.

"Why did you leave?"

Before KJ could answer, the door to the master bedroom burst open.

An old man in his sixties emerged from it. His long, grey hair was tied into a ponytail. He carried a cane, limping slightly at each step. The man had the aura of royalty but his eyes were cold and calculating. Just like KJ's.

KJ let out a sharp breath. "Grandfather..." he whispered.

For the first time in years, KJ felt a rush of emotions. Kwon Jinyoung was the only family he had. Out of everyone in his family, only his grandfather supported him. The old man even let him go when he refused to take up the family business.

KJ wanted to go and hug his grandfather but remembering Jade's warning, he stopped himself.

"Hey Jade," KJ said. "In which year are we in?"

"1994," Jade replied. "The first time you arrived at the mansion."

It's my first day at the house, KJ realized. There was a truth no one knew about KJ. Even his members did not know it. 

KJ was born out of wedlock.

His mother served as the nanny of KJ's elder half sisters Kwon Yeri and Kwon Yura. Their mother died when Yura was born and KJ's mother, Song Sia was hired as a nanny for them. Her kind demeanor and gentle nature attracted the attention of Kwon Jinyoung's widower son, Kwon Sungmin.

Soon, he was wooing her and they began a secret affair. When it was found out, the old man refused to let his son marry a lowborn girl. Instead of listening to his father, Sungmin openly defied him and left the house to live with the love of his life. He wanted to take his daughters, but they would not go with him. They chose a life of luxury with their grandfather.

Sungmin wanted to marry Sia, but she insisted that they will register their marriage only when Kwon Jinyoung will accept their relationship. "A relationship cannot last without the blessings of our elders," she would say. In the end, they decided to live together without getting married. 

Almost five years passed by. Kwon Sungmin and Sia had their own son whom they named Kwon Jiwon. They were not extremely well off. Sungmin worked as a day labor while Sia ran a small coffee shop by the docks. But they were happy together. They did not have a lot, but they gave everything for their son.

In all these years, even though the old man was estranged from his son, he kept tabs on the latter. He saw pictures of the happy family and watched over them as they struggled to live. Despite his anger, he felt a faint of pride to see his son taking responsibility of his family. The old man even sneaked in to the hospital one day to visit his newborn grandson. Watching the child sleeping so peacefully, he wanted to forgo his anger towards his own son and accept him into the family again. But the old man was still prideful. He did not want to accept his mistakes. 

That was until one day, Sungmin and Sia became victims of a hit and run. Jiwon was only three years old and was left an orphan. Hearing the news, Kwon Jinyoung rushed to the hospital.

He found their lifeless bodies in the morgue. His son, his only son, was lying there dead. He wanted to say a lot of things to his son, apologize for his mistakes, ask for forgiveness. But that forgiveness would never come. His son was gone and all he could do was to repent.

Kwon Jinyoung then decided not to repeat his mistakes. He lost his son due to his pride but he would not lose his grandson. 

Standing at the edge of the stairs, Kwon Jinyoung desperately awaited the arrival of his grandson. Standing next to him were two girls. One was around fifteen years old while the younger one was ten years old. The older one had a haughty expression on her face. Her mousy hair was let loose in wild curls while her bony face looked sullen and cold. The younger one was also similar to her sister, except that she had brown hair. She was emitting her sister's disdain for the boy as well.

"What's taking them so long?" Kwon Jinyoung grumbled. He was impatient to meet his grandson. He sent his personal secretary to pick up the boy from the hospital. After the deaths of his parents, the boy fell deathly ill. Kwon Jinyoung dispatched the best doctors in the country to save his grandson. After fighting a long pneumonia, the boy managed to survive without any longlasting ramifications. It was nothing short of miracle.

"Why are we taking him in?" the older girl, Yeri asked scornfully. "Just send him off to an orphanage!"

"Yeah!" the younger one, Yura parroted. "He's not welcome here."

Jinyoung looked at them coldly. Even though they were his flesh and blood, these two girls were spoilt beyond limits. Their mother was from a respectable family but was a greedy heiress with no respect towards others. Jinyoung chose her for his son because of her family's influence.

But a few years after the girl's mother died, their maternal grandparents declared bankruptcy and fled the country to avoid their creditors, leaving these two girls to his care.

Jinyoung, however, had little love for freeloaders. If the girls had tried to be respectable and hard working, he would have loved them like any grandparent would. But their behavior was getting out of hand and Jinyoung had no love for their covetous nature.

"He is your younger brother," he said in a stern tone. "A member of our family. I expect you to treat him as such. If he utters a single complaint against you two, I will make sure both of you will be left penniless and homeless."

Yeri pursed her lips. She knew their grandfather would not hesitate to cut them out if they cross the limit. But she was not going to stay put and let her father's bastard get away with all the wealth.

*Ding dong*

The doorbell rang.

"Finally!" Kwon Jinyoung bursted out. Ignoring his bad leg, he quickly limped down the stairs. One of the servants was about to open the door when the old man shouted, "Let me through! I'll open that damned door myself!"

The poor servant was startled and hurried out of the way. The old man paused in front of the door and composed himself. Even if the child was his grandson, he should not let his emotions get in the way. Putting on the front of a mafia don, he disguised his excitement with a cold aura.

He opened the door. His secretary, Lee Sian, was standing there, with a three year old boy in tow. Kwon Jinyoung stared at the boy with a stiff expression. He was trying to intimidate the kid with his dangerous demeanor as the head of an underworld syndicate. To his surprise, the boy was not scared. In fact, the child looked at him with curious eyes. Finally, after observing the old man for minutes, the boy burst into giggles.

The child held up his chubby hand for his grandfather to hold. The old man nearly broke down but managed to hold back his tears. Instead, his face lit up in a rare smile. The girls standing with him were astonished. They never saw the old man smile for them and now he was smiling for his grandson. This only fueled their animosity against the boy.

Kwon Jinyoung took the hand of the young child.

"Welcome home, Jiwon," the old man said gently as he held on to the hand of that innocent child. The child kept on giggling, enjoying the warm touch of his grandparent. 

Unbeknownst to them, an invisible pearly figure was placing his hand on their interlocked finger.

"I'm glad to be home, grandfather," KJ whispered.