Please come home

"Ahem..." Mdm Jin coughed once to get their attention.

"Butler Bong, Ava, please have a seat," she invited the two who were still looking at each other openly. Ava was studying the old man who was also sizing her up.

Mdm Jin was confused at their sudden staring war and once again repeated the ignored sentence but louder.

Ava released her gaze and complied with Mdm Jin's invitation. She sat without any care for the old man next to her. Even though, his gaze, she could feel them on her. 'Weird old man,' she thought to herself.

" Ava, this is Butler Bong. Butler Bong-Ava," Mdm Jin introduced the two people to each other. An important formality for those who just met.

"Ava, Butler Bong is here with the intention to bring you home," Mdm Jin explained with a big smile on her face. An overwhelming feeling surged inside her, knowing that one of her dearest children finally able to return home.

Mdm Jin had seen Ava's growth and knew that the orphanage couldn't provide the best platform for a smart child like her to bloom.

Hence, she was grateful. This child deserved something better.

A slight frown appeared on Ava's small forehead after listening to Mdm Jin's explanation.

'Home?' she thought and for a while, the word played in her mind only to be stopped by the sound of Mdm Jin's creaking chair. She was now standing while looking at them.

"I leave you two to patch things up. Butler Bong, all the paperwork is in this file. All completed," Mdm Jin explained then after receiving Butler Bong's nod of understanding, she left the room. She managed to give a little pat on Ava's shoulder while smiling at her assuringly before strutting her way out of the office.

Butler Bong positioned his chair to face Ava. He held her hands and a big smile settled on his old yet calm face.

"Young Miss, it must have been hard for you to live in this orphanage," he started a conversation and waited for Ava to respond.

Silence.

He thought that she was still shocked or probably shy. It was the normal reaction from someone who went through this kind of situation. So Butler Bong thought while patiently waiting for the little girl to speak.

"Do you want to live with your real family?" he asked after realizing that quite some times had passed.

Yet, another silence to accompany the wasted saliva of the old man. Butler Bong didn't give up and wanted to ask another question when Ava suddenly pulled her hand from his grasp.

"Mister, I don't want to go with you. I'm not a toy that can be taken away after being thrown," Ava's childish voice entered Butler Bong's lane of hearing.

He was stunned.

"Young Miss, please believe me when I said that we have been searching for you the whole time. Especially your grandfather. You are not abandoned," Butler Bong tried to clarify their circumstances so that Ava could understand.

He thought she was just being rebellious, hence, he didn't think that a careless remark would be questioned by the little girl sitting next to him.

"Mister, that doesn't make sense. If I wasn't abandoned, why am I in this orphanage? You said the man who supposedly my grandfather had been searching for me, but not once did I remember anyone coming here to ask for me. Are you sure you're speaking the truth?" Ava's face didn't change the whole time she talked. The babyface she had was sterned yet cute at the same time.

Butler Bong was pleased by her visual, but knowing that he was forced into a debate by the cute little girl, he decided to postpone his adoration.

He began to sweat knowing that he needed to give a satisfactory answer to her. Both to end the debate and to clarify the misunderstanding she was having.

"Young Miss, you were sent here to protect you from the evil forces that wanted to take down the Willow Household. There was no choice back then and your parents and grandfather had decided on this path to secure your safety," Butler Bong fixed his collar and wiped the sweats on his forehead. He peered to see the girl's response. Nothing.

'What had she experienced to make her such a strong character,' he thought internally.

"That's all?" Ava smirked. She wasn't satisfied with the incomplete answer. Too many loopholes for her to poke on. Butler Bong swallowed his saliva fighting with his inner self whether to reveal more or not. Finally, he gave up and talk further on the matter.

"After deciding on the safest way, your mother suddenly ran away from home bringing you along with her. We cannot track her whereabouts until now. Thankfully, we were able to find out about Young Miss residing in this orphanage," there was a serious expression on Butler Bong's face.

Ava watched him every action from the beginning till the end. None were missing from her sight. The verdict: the man wasn't lying at her. Every word was spoken with utmost care almost like he was afraid to give false facts.

"What will happen if I don't go with you?" Ava asked after deciding to store the information she just heard from the old man at one corner of her mind. A part of her felt relief after learning that she wasn't abandoned but the other half still doubting.

"Young Miss, I'm begging you on behalf of Willow Household, please come home. Grandmaster is missing you a lot," Butler Bong finally decided that begging was the only way to persuade the Young Miss to return home.

Ava frowned to see the old man bowing and begging to someone like herself. She started to sympathize with him yet, deep inside, she was afraid that this was all illusion and once she was taken away, the harsh truth would break the illusion away.