Telefono

Sungjae's feet walked fast.

He tried to put as much space as he could between him and the house where his family was currently lounging around in.

When Lorraine had handed him his cell phone, he did not think much about it.

He thought it was a regular call until he saw the caller ID.

Panic.

That's what he had felt.

It had come crashing down on him out of nowhere.

he had swiftly snatched the little device out of the smaller woman , a look of disgust and disdain on him as he marched out of the house.

He had no idea where he was going, but he needed to be out of ear shot.

He did not take the car; it did not cross his mind; besides Lorraine had the keys and he did not have the energy to deal with her and her prodding questions.

The more he walked ,the deeper into the neighbourhood he had found himself into.

He was supposed to be familiar with the area, but no such feelings of familiarity came to him.

The phone was still ringing, the vibrations of it incessant and erratic just like his heart beating.

Sungjae soon saw himself at an old children's park.

There was no one there , but himself .

he was not surprised; it was now approaching evening and the sky had begun changing colour. The sign of an impending sunset showing across the sky.

Sungjae settled on top of a random bench.

he placed his cell phone on his lap, staring at the name display for a good 5 minutes, his breath finally evening out with every flying minute.

He closed his eyes for a second, swallowing the lump that formed at the back of his throat, wordlessly swiping away at the green answer button before placing it on his right ear.

Silence

All he heard was silence

He was sure he had answered the call correctly as he could actually feel the little crinkly noise of the line being connected on his ear.

All of a sudden, a raspy voice was heard speaking

"- 你做了吗 ?" (Nǐ zuòle ma)

Did you do it?

Sungjae sighed , his voice trembling as he replied in English

"- No, not yet"

A sudden crash was heard on the line

Definitely some broken glass and furniture had been thrown to the wall.

"-What are you waiting for " asked the voice, anger clearly laced on her tone.

"I need time " he replied, his voice candid.

"-I need more time, I... I am still trying to get used to things here. There's too much to do, please" his tone turned softer as he begged her.

A 'tsk' sound was heard coming from her.

Before she evilly muttered as "-useless" on his way.

A gulping sound was heard followed by a sound of satisfaction. The woman was clearly drinking.

Sungjae silently sighed , placing a hand on his forehead, as he squeezed away the forming creases.

a bunch of voices were heard in the background, some male ,some females, they were all muttering something in Chinese. Unfortunately, it was all too low for him to make out the words that were being told , accurately.

The muttering went on for a while , before the suffocating silence came back again.

"-How much time do you need ?" the same woman asked

"-... Zhi R~

"-I said how much time!" she yelled at him ,cutting him off.

Sungjae let his back collapse on the bench, his face contorting into what seemed like a painful grimace.

"One year..." he hesitated

"- I just need one year and everything will be done" he said softly

"The lady was clearly displease given her response was merely a hissed word "- Ridiculous"

the atmosphere was clearly tense between them despite not being in the same country at the same moment.

After what seemed like eternity, she gave him a final answer

"One year, you have one year to get the job done"

Sungjae's whole rigid body visibly relaxed at her statement. Silently thanking God for her agreeing so easily

"-But remember ...you have only this one chance. Don't fuck it up or else...."

Sungjae's now relaxed form, stiffened again.

"-Ah and by the way...do not ever leave me waiting on the line for so long"

Sungjae gulped before replying

"-Yes ma'am"

A noise of approval was heard from her, before the line cut off, leaving Sungjae to contemplate and question his life choices and the gentle breeze picked up caressing his face and his hair somewhat alleviating the heat that he felt on his body.

it wasn't up to two 3 hours later when Sungjae finally decided to go home.

He did not know the way ,so he called a cab.

Luckily for him he still had this wallet on him which made things easier for him.

As he reached his own large villa, he was surprised to see that Lorraine's car or rather their family car which they had used to go for the picnic/get together was already parked on the large driveway.

Sungjae paid the driver before making big strides towards his house.

He was just about to ring to knock on the front porch ,when the main door opened themselves.

He seriously looked on as Lorraine was staring at him with blank expression.

She had already changed into something more comfortable ,his large shirt. That meant one thing they had been home for a while.

Sungjae should have felt bad, maybe even guilty; but honestly, he did not feel anything towards the woman standing in front of him, not at the moment at least.

he eyed her once more for a few seconds before he forcibly made his way in, ignoring how Lorraine's eyes went wide when he walked past her.

She was probably expecting some kind of apology from him, but he did not care as he was making his way further into the house he felt his two legs being draped by two little but significant bodies, their dead weight luckily nothing unbearable to him.

He looked down looking at his...kids, he did not mind them as much as their mother. They were actually cute and resembled him, he could keep around.

besides... ... one day they could actually become useful

With that thought in mind he lifted them both up, his mood easing up as the room was filled with giggles from the two children.

He walked away ,playing with them as if nothing had happened, leaving Lorraine irritated but also confused.

There was no denying it anymore.

Something was definitely wrong with Sungjae.