CHAPTER 4

*The next morning*

Bree woke up later than usual. She isn't really used to not having the boys around. However, last night's task was exhausting that she was knocked out for solid 8 hours. Her classes start at 9 which gives her about an hour to prepare. She heard the doorbell when she was heading for the kitchen to make breakfast. Silently, she looked through the peephole. It was the cops! It hasn't even been 24 hours yet! Bree instantly turned pale. Yet, she didn't want to look guilty at first sight. Thus, she ended up letting them in.

"Morning, officers! How may I help you?" Bree showed them the living room.

"Morning, miss. I just have a few questions. By the way, I'm officer Brian and this is Officer Danny. We have a few questions regarding the disappearance of Mr. Franche, the owner of the Art Gallery. He was last seen with you. I've been told that the two of you had a nice dinner at his place. Could you guide me through what happened?" officer Brian questioned while looking around the place. He seated himself next to officer Danny.

"It was a magical night, officer! I had a wonderful time! He was a charming man. I was just about to call him to have another dinner. How is it possible for a man who was fine and safe, at his own mansion, to go missing just like that?" Bree said while sitting herself opposite the officers.

"He must have been extremely charming to get a girl as young as you to go out on a date with him. I can only imagine. However, we still have no clue on how he went missing without any trace. We have no lead!" officer Danny seemed frustrated.

"Well, the last time I saw him was when he walked me to the front door. Then, we said our goodbyes, and I walked home. I didn't want to be a trouble for him by making him drive me back home. As you can see, we live far apart. I honestly liked him. To think that he's missing, I just can't seem to take it!" Bree pretends to be heartbroken and starts fake crying.

"I'm sorry, miss. We should probably talk about it some other time. If you remember anything, anything at all, please don't hesitate to contact us. You should get going for your classes, don't you think?" officer Danny asked her out of curiosity as he walked towards the door with officer Brian.

Bree nodded in response as the officers let themselves out. She walked to the door to eavesdrop on them.

"She seems really upset don't you think, Brian? She must have really- "

"Isn't she still a teenager? How could she possibly like him genuinely? Most girls her age chase men like Franche for their fortune."

Bree tried to calm herself down. They were on to her. Just then, she got a text from him. It was a video of the boys playing in a pool. What kind of kidnapper was this guy? Which kidnapper takes kids to the pool to have fun? All of this appeared to be weird for Bree. She had never encountered such a 'cool' kidnapper.

She smiled with small tears running down her cheeks. She was so relieved to know they were safe, and having fun on that count. Not five seconds later, she snapped back into reality that she had less than 45 minutes to prepare for her class. She rushed to get ready and left her place with 20 minutes left on the clock.

*after class-2p.m.*

Bree was walking back home as she had a sudden urge to go shopping. She went to the nearest mall to get some pyjamas. She had a whole wardrobe filled with cute animal pyjamas. It was never enough for her. She managed to spend 2 hours shopping for a unicorn print pyjama and an elephant print pyjama. Something about pyjamas just gets her hyped up. Just as she was heading back, she thought of getting a nice pedicure to distract herself. She made an appointment for later that evening.

*at home*

Bree was watching a cooking programme on the TV. She wanted to learn the proper way to make her mother's favourite dish, kimbap. Kimbap is made with steamed white rice and dried seaweed, which is of course similar to sushi, the Japanese version, but there are two big differences which are the rice and the filling. While sushi rice is seasoned with vinegar, kimbap is instead cut with sesame oil and sweeter. Her mother loved it so much that she used to make it for every festival, including birthdays. Her mother was a big fan of Asian food. The boys loved her cooking. After she passed, Bree had to try her best to channel her inherited skills of cooking.

Bree was getting ready for her pedicure appointment when she heard her ringtone. It was him. Who else would be calling her at a random time like this? Bree answered on the second ring but he spoke before she could even say hello.

"Tonight, I want you to have a date with the son of Techno United's Vice President. I'm sure you know that Min kid. Both of you have AP Biology together every Sunday. On the date, ask him to be your boyfriend. Don't make it look awkward, got it?" he said with a hurried voice.

"Whoa whoa! Hold on! Boyfriend? Are you kidding me? I barely talk to him. How could I possibly get him to go out on a date with me? Are you insane?" Bree was furious. She liked him for a while now but she never once had the courage to ask him out or even confess her feelings.

"I know you can do it. Besides, he isn't that hard to ask out. I heard he'd even date a donkey if it's rich. On that count, you will be just fine. I also know for a fact that you booked a pedicure appointment which happens to be in an hour. Don't want to be late now, do we?" he said while hanging up.

"Gosh! He is definitely insane!" Bree yelled at the wall.