Ray was in his office finishing up his ramen and suddenly Leanna came in. Ray almost spat out his ramen soup when he saw Leanna.
"Why are you here? Did anything happen?" Leanna nodded and showed him the news.
"I couldn't find my brother. He wasn't in his office. I tried to contact him and Lily. But, they weren't answering." Ray told Leanna to calm down while he tried to read the news article
"President Daniel Kim's father, John Kim, died from gunshot wound." Leanna was shaking non-stop.
"I... didn't even... say I love you... daddy. Why did... why did he leave? I thought he will try to find us." Ray led Leanna to the sofa and gave her something warm to drink, "Drink it up first. I'll call Daniel right now." Leanna nodded and drank the tea, she suddenly felt sleepy and collapsed on the sofa. Ray apologized, "I'm sorry, Leanna. Sleep for a bit. I'll be back." Ray knew Leanna will be like this, he knew her personality well enough.
Ray dialled Daniel's phone number and Lily picked it up, "Yes, Ray. This is Lily speaking." Ray tried to collect his thought and carefully replied, "Lily. Listen carefully, I just received a news from Leanna that their father, John Kim, passed away from gunshot wound." Lily closed her eyes and clutched onto the phone, "How's Leanna doing?"
"I've drugged her tea and now she's asleep. She was in bad condition just now. Don't worry, I just used sleeping pill powder. She will wake up in a few hours." Ray replied but he wasn't sure if it was the best idea to drug her.
"You did well, Ray. Fear and anxiety will make everything worse. Leave the news to me, I'll tell Daniel. You take care of Leanna, okay?" Ray replied yes and hung up. He went back to his office and covered Leanna with a blanket. He looked at her and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"I'm sorry, Leanna. I have to do this. Please forgive me." He leaned forward and gave her a slight peck on the cheek.
~
When Daniel came back from meeting with Brian at H&H Corporation, he met Lily down in the lobby. As they waved farewell to Brian, the news about John Kim was on TV.
Oh shit, Lily hit her head and sweared at herself for being too slow. Now, Daniel will know.
"This is NEWS4 Julia speaking, John Kim, the accused murderer of Ken Li's wife, was released from jail months ago was shot in the head and passed away earlier this week. His body has been found. Stay tuned as we discuss about this situation." Lily can only watch Daniel since he already saw the news.
"Such bad timing." She yelled at herself for being so careless.
Daniel clenched his fist and stared into the TV. Lily held his hand and told him to sit down on the bench. Daniel knew it was his father. He didn't say anything but stayed silent. It was his way to deal with things.
Lily bought a bottle of water for Daniel in case he get PTSD suddenly. Water can calm a person.
"Lily, let's go." Lily got up and held out her hand to Daniel but he didn't respond.
"Daniel, are you having headache again?" He grabbed Lily and covered his ears. Everything around him went silent.
Lily stood up and used her body to block people from looking at Daniel.
Lily gently placed his head on her chest and used her hand to cover his eyes.
"Daniel, don't be afraid. I'm here." When Daniel's headache subsided, he rested against Lily.
"Did the images appear?" She asked. He nodded, "I... remembered... the newspaper I saw before... they accused my father." Lily comforted him and didn't say anything.
"Do you still have difficulty breathing?" Daniel shook his head, "It's better now. Thank you." Lily was relieved nothing serious has happened to Daniel. She stayed with him until they head back home.
~
Lily notified Ray that they were heading back.They were not sure how things are going to be but Lily does hope that person gets justice as soon as possible.
Daniel slept for the whole afternoon. Leanna did the same. Lily asked the hospital to provide her two nutrient IVs and asked Rachel for help.
After the IV stand and nutrient IV had been delivered to the apartment. Since hearing about their father's death, Leanna and Daniel barely ate anything. The nutrient IV is the best she could do.
~
Lily received a few calling notifications from an unknown number. It was strange because the number doesn't actually exist on the internet.
Was it payphone?" She thought. She recorded the call and answered the phone.
"Hello? Who am I talking to?"
"I'm President Ken's assistant. I've got new leads on Ken's disappearance." Lily hung up and called Brian. Lily texted Brian and they will meet up at a cafe.
~
As they waited for Ken's assistant, Brian bought a cup of hot coffee for Lily. Lily thanked Brian and carefully sipped it.
"How's Daniel?" He asked and Lily shook his head, "He's been sleeping a lot. He barely ate anything. His appetite was low so I got two IV nutrient drips for him and for his sister, Leanna."
Daniel smiled as he drank his iced water, "You are still his doctor." He teased her. Lily kicked his feet lightly, "My contract is over. I'm not his official doctor by paper. I'm still a doctor who treats people who are ill... including my boyfriend." Lily drank her coffee while trying to hide her smile.
"Hahaha, I was just kidding. You're still cute and naive... Oww! okay okay... I'll stop." Brian rubbed his knee and pretended to be hurt.
"I didn't hit that hard!" Lily laughed.
It was getting pretty late and they were still waiting for the assistant. A man with a black hoodie came near to their table and gave them an usb key.
"I'm not allowed to reveal myself. I'll go now since I gave you my proof."
Brian took the usb key and plugged it into his laptop.
"Brian, I have an extra usb, can you transfer it?" Brian nodded.
"Watch it after you get back, it's not safe here." Lily whispered. Brian agreed and they both left the cafe.
"Do you need me to drive you back?" Brian offered to give her a drive since it was too late.
Lily agreed and got on the car. She notified Ray that she will go back soon.
~
"How's Daniel? Is he still asleep?" Lily asked Ray. Ray shook his head, "He seems really off. He just woke up. Probably just grumpy."
Lily entered his room and Daniel was already up and dressed.
"Did you just wake up?" Lily asked.
Daniel didn't say anything and he kept on looking outside the window.
"My father... why did he die?" Lily didn't know what to say, "I don't know either." She stood near the entrance and felt a huge wall between them. He seems to be in his own world while she tried to reach him.
Lily slowly walked towards him and gave him a back hug. She didn't know what else she could do.
Daniel held onto Lily as he cried. Lily didn't ask anything else. She wanted Daniel to release all of his emotions he has been trying to hold on to for so long.
"It's okay to cry, Daniel." Lily whispered.