Chapter 11 “First Missing”
“Brother~ I wanna eat that!” Dominique said as he pointed into one of the stands in front of a store that sold street snacks.
Due to the fact that Dominique was missing his hometown so much, they made the decision to go for a short stroll around the city. Just a few minutes of walking and spending time together, Allen got more information about Dominique.
Dominique had to leave Kaien because he was offered a scholarship in a different location, and he had to move out. Now, it was already the beginning of November and Dom was currently in the midst of his holiday, which was a Christmas holiday. Time moves by at such a rapid pace.
“No, you just ate rice crackers just now…” Kaien refused.
“But… brother! I wanna eat that!” Dominique begged, closed to throwing his tantrum.
“I’ll buy it for you,” Allen said.
“No, Allen! Don’t…” Kaien protested.
“Why are you so cruel to your own brother, Kaien?” Allen said as he stared at Kaien. It was like he was saying ‘shut up Kaien!’. And it succeeded, Kaien shut his mouth.
“Thank you, Allen~” Dominique eats it.
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“Allen, I need to buy some things,” Kaien said as they passed a supermarket.
“I wanna buy a snack!” Dominique said.
“Hey, stop eating will you. I got a snack in my apartment; just take some from there…” Kaien said.
“I don’t wanna. Your taste is different from mine. Besides, I’ll be living at Ben's apartment for my holiday…” Dominique said.
“What? Why?”
“I’ve called him just now and he seems to agree with that.”
“No, Dom. Just let me sleep in Ben’s apartment. I’m the guest after all…” Allen interrupted. “Wait, does this mean that Dominique also knows Ben?”
“I lived with Kaien until the last 8 months. Of course I know Ben…” explained Dominique. “He literally lives just next door.”
“Oh…But this doesn’t mean you’re the one who should move out.” Allen disagreed.
“I wanna spend my holiday the way I want, Allen. It’s not like I can’t see Kaien. He’s right beside Ben’s apartment, right?”
“But…”
“No, but I'm starving! It's time to go get some snacks,” Dominique remarked as he walked into the grocery store. Dominique, in all honesty, wanted to give Allen and Kaien some privacy. The sight that greeted him as he entered Kaien's room this morning was more than enough to give him goosebumps.
“Allen, are you coming?” Kaien asked.
“No, I’ll wait here…” Allen said.
“OK, I’ll make it fast…” Kaien said as he followed Dominique.
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Allen walked back and forth. It has only been a few minutes since Kaien and Dominique went to the grocery store by themselves. He took a look around. As he looked in the opposite direction, his eyes drift to the zebra cross over there. He observed a young boy, who appeared to be approximately six years old, strolling hand in hand with his parents. He made an effort to recall his memory, but apparently he was unable to find an image of this kind in his memory. Not even once he ever walked hand-to-hand with his parents. He felt a void in his heart.
At that moment, Allen was still immersed in his daydream when he felt a hand covering his mouth. He struggled as hard as he could, but he was weakened. The man, who covered his mouth with a fabric, had put some anesthetic into it. Allen fainted as another man gets his body into a black van.
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“Allen~” Dominique called as he ran into Allen’s supposed-to-be place. But there was no sign of Allen or anyone there.
“Allen?” Kaien called.
Still no one there.
“Brother, where’s Allen?” Dominique asked.
“I dunno. Maybe… he’s already back to the apartment…” Kaien answered unsure.
“Why did he leave us?” Dominique asked, confused.
“Because you’re picking snacks for too long…” Kaien teased.
Dominique pouted. “Hye Kai! Allen can’t be that cruel…”
“Hahaha…” Kaien caressed his little brother’s hair. “Let's just go back, OK? I’m sure Allen will be just fine.”
Kaien lied. That was the very first time in his life that he had lied to Dominique. He felt a bit guilty but he had a great deal of concern about Allen. And he chose not to share his concerns with his brother. All he wanted was for Dominique to be spared the burden of worry.
What have Allen done to him until he lied? Maybe the answer was…
He just loved Allen and his brother so much…
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It was around 5 p.m. Dominique was eating biscuits as he watched the TV. They went home about 3 hours ago. Still no sign of Allen’s returning.
“Dom, stop eating, will you? Your stomach will hurt…” Kaien ordered.
“But, brother… I’m…” Dominique wanted to protest, but Kaien took the biscuit first, then put it in the kitchen.
Dominique sighed. ‘Something is really wrong with my brother… He never takes my food… Is he...worried about Allen?’ Dominique asked himself. ‘I need to ask him about it…’
“Brother!” Dominique called as he followed Kaien into the kitchen. He was shocked to see Kaien was making something.
“Brother, what are you making?” Dominique asked.
“Healthy food, salad; your stomach will hurt if you keep eating junk food like that…”
“Brother!” Dominique shouted as he hugged his brother, completely forgetting his real reason to go to the kitchen. “Thank you…” Dominique said.