Chapter 83. Grocery Shopping

… Albeline Mansion…

… Outskirts of Slough, Berkshire…

"Ji-hun?" A solemn face peeked through his slightly open door.

Ji-hun looked up from the computer on his desk at his younger sister. "Juni? Is something wrong?"

The young girl coyly slipped inside the room and clicked the door shut behind her, her straight black hair had little braids in them, golden jewelry hanging from them.

Her big dark eyes were similar to her older brother's and she had a doll-like face, one that was set in a perpetual pout.

"No… Well, can I ask a favor?" She fiddled with her fingers.

Ji-hun immediately dropped everything he was working on to give her his attention. It had been three years since the first time he heard his sister call his name and speak to him but he was awestruck every single time.

"Anything." He agreed without thinking about it.

Juni was the only girl in the big manor house and the apple of her brother's eye. Ji-hun never missed a chance to spoil her.

"I want to go grocery shopping, could you please take me?" She politely asked.

Ji-hun was already getting up before the meaning of her words sank in, making him freeze halfway when he did. "What? Grocery shopping? Why?" He frowned.

Wilkins, the House-Elf was in charge of housekeeping, there was no reason for Juni to go grocery shopping.

"Did you mean clothes shopping? Do you want more accessories?" Ji-hun immediately corrected.

Juni made a face. "I have to live in a separate room because my clothes, shoes, and accessories take up all the space in the first one, why would I want more?" Her voice had little inflection, much like Ji-hun when he was younger.

Juni had spent much of her childhood in a coma and the time before that was spent in fear of losing her mother, there was no chance for other emotions except sadness and waning hope.

Ji-hun on the other hand became brightly animated after his sister was fully healed of her Blood Malediction by the 'Gem of the Abyss'. He also pledged his life to Master Albeline much to the other's chagrin.

"You can have another room if you want." Ji-hun suggested, totally missing the point.

"Ji-hun!" Juni scolded but her voice never rose above its usual timbre. "Are you taking me or do I have to figure it out myself?"

Ji-hun stepped around his desk, adjusting his black-rimmed glasses. "Where's your jacket? It's cold out…"

Juni shot him a blank stare. "The sleeves of my dress are long enough, I'll be fine."

Ji-hun didn't even bother to argue with her, he just took off his long plaid jacket and placed it over her shoulders, tucking her hair behind her ears. "There, you're ready to go." He pronounced, looking her over with pride.

Juni gave him a disgusted look, buried under her brother's jacket. She had always been a frail child but spending a number of years lying down worsened it.

Her head barely came up to her brother's chest. Juni wasn't bothered about her height but her brother constantly treating her like a toddler grated on her nerves.

"I will only stand this because I need your help, let's go." She turned around to leave his study.

Audric got tired of Ji-hun hanging off his legs everywhere he went and put the kid to work instead, he learned fast and was a pro at handling technology and Muggles.

"Hey! Juni! Wait up for me! Why do you even need to go grocery shopping anyway?" He asked after he caught up with her.

Juni kept her brisk pace, although it was futile because her legs were short. "Because I want to cook for M-Master A-Albeline." She huffed audaciously like she hadn't just stuttered over the Master's name.

It was something Ji-hun had come to accept would be a part of his younger sister. She wasn't terrified of the Master, far from that but she could never say his name without stuttering.

It was expected that she would be intimidated by him, he spoke little, had an eyepatch over his left eye, and had a serious expression on at all times. He also preferred to be alone, spending all of his time in his study, working.

Juni idolized him, she always tried to do little things for him, like buying him little trinkets and candy, fighting daily with Wilkins over who would clean his bedroom, and apparently, cooking for him.

When she first woke up from her coma, she followed him around, calling him 'Uncle' much to Master Albeline's horror.

"Very well." Ji-hun accepted because the only person that he respected was Master Albeline, as long as she wasn't hurting herself, he would let Juni do whatever she wanted.

"Will Wilkins let you cook though?" He mused as they walked across the foyer.

It was early spring which meant that the carefully tended garden around the manor house was already a bright green, buds popping out here and there.

Juni was allowed to go anywhere in and around the mansion, except the Master Wing. She hadn't been interested in schooling so they didn't bother to enroll her in Hogwarts.

Ji-hun was the last person to care about schooling and he didn't want his sister to be too far away from him, so it was a win in his books.

"He has to catch me to stop me." Juni replied in a soft but devious voice.

The Albeline Manor was impregnable, not just the manor but the surrounding areas. Even Muggles knew not to trespass on this part of the outskirts of town.

Juni wasn't bored spending her teenage years inside the manor house, she hated strangers and wasn't interested in making friends. Happy to spend her time painting in her room or in the gardens or in any of the numerous rooms of the manor that was open to her.

There were a handful of workers in the manor but except for the three of them and Wilkins, the House-Elf, the rest of the workers weren't allowed to live in the manor.

Dirk Baldric was fired the day Master Albeline returned home and after a year, Ji-hun filled up the position. He literally had nowhere else to go, plus there was nowhere else he wanted to go so he didn't mind hanging off Master Albeline's legs till he gave in and let them live with him.

They would just be going into town to buy groceries from the nearest market. They wouldn't be spending very long out, at most it would take an hour and most of that time would be spent getting from the manor to the town and back.

There was an assortment of automobiles to choose from for their journey to town. Master Albeline had a hobby of buying the Muggle contraptions, he even had a garage made to keep the cars.

They were going to a Muggle market so apparating there was out of the question. Ji-hun himself preferred the magical way of traveling but Juni loved the smoky cars. She liked to stare out the window as they passed by places, places she had no interest in going to but loved to watch from a distance.

Juni was always clamoring to go with the Master whenever he wanted to go on a drive. Ji-hun didn't see the appeal in sitting in the rumbling car for hours without speaking or doing anything so he tended to opt out but Juni was always looking forward to the drives.

Like right now, she had her face out the window, staring at the stretch of green as the driver took them to town.

Ji-hun waited impatiently in the hallway that led to the restrooms in the store they had gone into. Juni said she needed to use it and although Ji-hun didn't want her out of his sight, there was nothing he could do.

He was confident about her safety when she was within the land belonging to Master Albeline but outside of it, his anxiety shot through the roof whenever she was out of his sight for more than a minute.

It had been ten minutes.

Ten minutes since Juni said she needed to use the restroom, in that time, Ji-hun had subsconsciously moved closer and closer to the entrance of the women's restroom.

The women milling around had been eyeing him up suspiciously but he didn't even seem to notice them, panic heating up to the boiling point under his skin.

"Excuse me, miss?" He intercepted a woman who just stepped out of the restroom.

The Muggle woman looked him over appreciatively. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Did you see a young girl wearing a liliac dress and a black plaid jacket in there? She's my younger sister." He explained earnestly.

The lady's skeptical expression immediately faded away when Ji-hun mentioned their relationship. "I'm sorry but I didn't, she might still be in the toi…"

Ji-hun didn't wait to listen to the rest of her sentence, barging through the doors of the restroom. "Juni!!!"

"Young man! You can't…"

"Oh my…"

"What is…"

Ji-hun ignored the gasps and protests of the women, searching profusely while calling his sister's name. The women in the restroom were quick to hurry out of there, gathering in groups at the entrance to gossip.

Jihun threw open every door, his heart falling lower to his stomach with each empty one that he found.

Juni was gone.