Chapter 5

I shouldn't be surprised at all by this revelation.

Even then, this is still enough to unnerve me.

I mean, for the past week, I have slowly but surely made progress in understanding my new circumstances, and acclimatizing to them.

Still... I find it very disturbing for someone to talk about me... while I'm standing in front of them.

I know I'll get over it... no, I should get over it. I've already rocked the boat with my art theory midterm a week ago, maybe give it a week or so before I start rocking the boat again.

"Something wrong, Kain?" Jon asked. "You looked a little spooked back there."

I shook my head.

"Nothing... it's nothing," I replied. "I just remembered my family and how long it's been since I last visited."

"You're in luck," Jared added with a grin. "Don't you remember? Spring break's next week. You can catch up with your folks during that time."

For all of my age and experience, there are still times where I can be caught off-guard; this time is one of them.

"You're right," I said. "Thank you."

"Anyway," Sherry added, "you don't have to join the animation club immediately, if that's what Carrie brought you here for. Feel free to make it formal when you come back from... wherever."

"I never expected my recruits to all quit, though!" Carrie exclaimed. "Now we're one member short of being a formal school organization... so you can understand why I considered it really good fortune that I saw your work on EaselNet."

"Do you all have accounts there, too?"

"Sure do," Jon replied. "It's where we get ideas on how to make concept art and tips on animation, too."

I nod along to his words; there's something worth looking into there.

"So yeah, this isn't formalized and all that, but welcome to Moonlight Panorama's 'Animation Club'!" Jon says, and the four of them all spread out their arms to welcome me into their little group.

"Flattered," I reply with a smile, the shock from being mentioned long forgotten.

For all the weirdness I've seen from their club room, the members of the Animation Club are surprisingly personable, and the hour in their company passes by pleasantly.

It's shortly after I leave when I get the call: I need to return 'home' for spring break.

***

"You sure you'll be okay there?" Tessa asked me as I was putting the finishing touches to my packing. With the kind of opulence my dorm suite had, someone would most likely get paid to clean it up in the week I'm away.

"Don't worry too much about me," I reassured her. Tessa also made for good company along with the Animation Club, but it seems there's something... compelled about her actions, the way she looks when she thinks I can't see her... it's like she's making herself tolerate my presence or something. "This is a family vacation, it's not like I'm stepping into a minefield or something..."

Okay, that was new.

She looked like I said a really horrible joke – it wasn't that bad, was it?

"...anyway, I'll see you back here next week. We still have finals to polish off, don't we?"

Now that I know more of what's going on, I can see her forcing a smile as she sees me off.

This deserves a bit more looking into, but I'll do that when I return here from home.

***

The very next day, Kain found himself pleasantly surprised as a rather luxurious vehicle came to pick him up. As the sedan made its way through the city streets, he found himself marveling at just how cosmopolitan Seoul had become in the years he had been away.

Previously, he would have thought being here would be second-class compared to some other place like San Francisco or Seattle, but catching the sights quickly disabused him of that notion.

Based on what few notes Leonard could find that this guy wrote before he ended up taking over Kain's body and some educated guesses, he came up with a few conclusions.

First, Kain Park was born to a wealthy family – wealthy was an understatement. Kain Park's family was absolutely loaded, given the cost of tuition of a prestigious college like Moonlight Panorama... and that was just a half of what the kind of expense studying here would incur.

That, and he had a suite all to himself.

There were also other items and things that Leonard had yet to decipher within the suite: a gigantic pipe made of transparent plastic whose contents smelled abominable, a row of empty bottles of expensive wines and spirits... and the childish scrawls he had scattered around that was his half-hearted attempt at trying to stay in a school like this.

So... Kain was very wealthy, liked to drink, and just did the bare minimum to stay in school.

There was also the strange unopened box with 0.01 written on the side he saw upon opening the bedside drawer, but that was before Tessa knocked and ruined his morning.

He had a hunch about what was inside, and it didn't paint a flattering picture of the young man whose life he was living now.

Wealthy, lazy, wild... apparently, he ended up living the life of a college socialite, or what's called a party animal.

Kain scrunched his nose as he thought about it.

If he was really that much of a party animal, why weren't the other party animals gravitating to him?

The car was halfway to his destination, and Kain still couldn't figure it out.

There would be time to, because he'd have the week off to spend with his family.

But if that was peace and quiet, why were there lingering feelings of disgust left within this body?

Kain sighed as inwardly, Leonard braced himself for what he'd run into when he finally returned home.

***

The sedan pulled up in front of an imposing metal gate, the driver procured identification, and the guards at the front let them in.

Kain couldn't resist; he had to let out a whistle at what he saw: this place looked more like a manor from England than an estate in South Korea – maybe that was the intention?

The part of Leonard Variel that was the consummate artist couldn't help but marvel at the architecture involved in designing the buildings they passed by on the way to the larger house at the end of the pathway.

He saw perfectly-mowed lawns, a tennis court, a swimming pool, several buildings that looked like housing for the workers who lived here, a hedge maze, a greenhouse, and many other places that reminded Kain more of nobility than anything else.

With the amenities still fresh in his mind, the car slowed and finally came to a stop in front of a rather opulent entryway.

Someone opened the sedan door, and Kain Park emerged.

If he thought that the gate, the yard, and the other amenities here smacked of wealth, the interior blew him away.

This wasn't gaudy nouveau riche; everything within the house was decorated simply, but Kain could see with his artist's eye that the workmanship and materials used here were of the highest quality.

It was something he remembered from his days studying art from different perspectives: the concept of elegant simplicity.

With that thought firmly in mind, Kain couldn't help but look at the décor of the receiving room he found himself in, a masterwork of understated opulence.

"Of course, the art school student would start gawking at the receiving room when he first steps in here after a long time," a familiar voice called out to him.

Kain turned to see a smartly-dressed young woman carrying a file folder as she smiled at him.

"Long time no see," she said with a small wave. "Looks like college did you some good... although you don't look like you remember me."

"You are...?" Kain asked, slightly confused.

"Oh, where are my manners... Aria Lim; I'm part of the Park family estate staff. You really don't remember me?"

Kain just shook his head.

"Well, that won't do! Once you're all familiar with this place again, we have to catch up. Who knew art school would make you look more..."

"...more mature?"

"...less like a brat."

Kain frowned a bit before chuckling.

"Fair enough," he said, and hefted his travel bag. "Where are my folks?"

Aria seemed to deflate a little at that question.

"Out... on business, but they said they'd make it here later this afternoon. Said they couldn't miss you returning here."

Kain strained his ears a bit and caught her whispering "...better if they were here", and finally understood what that strange tension in his chest was.

"I wouldn't mind waiting. In the meantime, I'm going up to my room – I'll see you around, Miss Aria?"

"Sure. We'll have lunch prepared for you in case you want to go down for a meal."

"Thanks," Kain said, and gave the young woman wave before making his way upstairs, to what would be his room since childhood.

No, he did not get lost on the way there.

He would deny that forever.

***

"All right," Leonard Variel said as he plopped down onto the bed of what was supposed to be Kain Park's room. "These past couple weeks have been a doozy. I'm not even half done getting my bearings here, and I still have yet to understand who Kain Park is... if I have to start living his life."

It looked like a typical teenager's room, with posters on one wall, a box of various things near the bed, closets full of expensive clothing and shoes, his own computer... and of course, the obligatory secret stash all young men tended to have.

He made his decision then and there.

"Who are you really, Kain Park?" he whispered to himself as he began to look through the room for things that would allow him to assume the role of the young man whose body he was now inhabiting.

Leonard thought he'd have to do so much more for him to start accepting the truth of his circumstances, but with what happened to him like the art theory midterm, it was as if he was thrown into the deep end of the pool and made to swim.

"Yes, I understand that I made a good showing of myself," Leonard thought as he continued to look through Kain's things. "Ah, it seems I have found pay dirt."

It was a box containing photographs – Kain's childhood, most likely.

He pulled out the album, opened it, and began to look through the pictures.

Leonard began to see mental images that weren't his, as tears began to flow down Kain's eyes, even as he looked through this young man's past.

***

It was already close to lunchtime when Leonard had more understanding of who Kain Park was, and it was a fraught Kain that emerged from his room and shambled down to the dining hall like some kind of movie creature.

He took a seat at the large table, and was still rather deep in thought when the staff of the house immediately presented him with lunch.

"What's this?" Kain asked as he saw the strange-looking dish arrayed before him.

The plate seemed like it was made of cast iron, placed on a wooden holder, the food on it sizzling enticingly even as it looked like something he had never ever seen before.

"Pig's ear and cheeks."

Kain's eyes widened as he turned to Aria already seated across from him, a plate of the same dish served to her as well.

"Boiled, chopped, then grilled. It's got some chicken liver, chopped onions, then seasoned with vinegar and lime juice," Aria explained. "It's a delicacy from the chef's home town."

He took the serving spoon, put a tablespoon of it onto his bowl, and took a bite of it with some rice.

"This is... really good. Compliments to the chef," Kain declared, right before he continued eating.

Though he enjoyed lunch, there was something about Aria's scrutinizing glare at him during lunch that didn't quite sit well with him.

But that would be another issue to solve for another time, as there were clear and present things to take care of, one of which was painting a complete picture of who Kain Park was.

As he finished his meal, the ominous feeling still lingered around Kain, even as he returned to his room to do what needed to be done.