If I could sum up the ride to the airport with one word, I’d go with ‘suffocating’.
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No one uttered a single word. It was as if discussing the move to Korea was a forbidden act.
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I kept looking back and forth from Mom to Dad, hoping to hear something, anything, from them. All I got was silence. You’d think Damian would feel as suffocated as I did. But this dear brother of mine had already begun his nap the moment he got into the car.
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How could he be so calm about this?
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Come to think about it, Damian was awfully calm—and fast—when he packed.
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I turned to the window and chewed my lip as I dived deep in thought. At first, he looked shocked when we got the news. However, his calm, efficient packing says otherwise. He seemed to know exactly what needed to be packed, and he didn’t make a fuss or get irritated like he usually would when there were sudden plans.
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He knew about the move.
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A little voice echoed in my mind. Did he? Part of our training was to lie and act as convincingly as we could. I consider myself acceptable, but Damian was brilliant at it. If he knew about the move beforehand, that would explain the behaviour. I’ll have to wait until we are out of earshot of Mom and Dad to ask him.
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“We’re here,” Mom looked to the back while Dad got out of the car to get our luggage. “Damian, wake up. We’ve arrived.”
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Damian woke up groggily and stared outside the window. As I got out of the car, I heard him mumble, “So it begins.” I turned to look at him, but he was already getting off.
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“Talia, come help.” My mother pestered me to get the luggage onto the trolley while Dad and Damian took out the remaining luggage from the trunk.
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“Well, that’s everything. You guys feelin’ alright?” Dad asked us casually as we walked into the terminal.
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I had no idea how to respond.
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‘No, Dad. I am not feeling alright. I feel like crap. I had to quit my job and move to Korea within a week, while you and Mom head to Europe for your, I don’t know, thirtieth honeymoon? I DON’T THINK THAT’S FAIR.’
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Am I allowed to say that?
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“We’ll be fine, you and Mom have a good trip,” Damian replied curtly. My eyes widened when I heard his reply. It was the first time Damian spoke to Dad that way. I could hear a subtle hint of annoyance in his tone. Even Mom was stunned. I glanced at Dad. He had a sombre look on his face, but he said nothing.
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Honestly, I felt sorry for him. People always say you will start noticing the little details as you grow older. I couldn’t agree more. We might have harboured resentment towards Dad when we were younger, but as soon as we entered high school, those feelings of resentment turned to mixed feelings.
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Back then, Dad tended to sleep late every night and head to work early in the morning. After dinner, he would train us until it was our bedtime. Later, he would hole up in his study and continue working. It was a routine for him every day. Nevertheless, he still took us out for vacations, bought ice cream now and then, and even set up pranks together with us for Mom. He was a combination of ‘dad-of-the-year’ and ‘worst-dad-ever’ for me and Damian.
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After checking in, Mom and Dad decided to head home.
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“Call us if things get difficult,” Mom said as she hugged us. “Promise me.”
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“We got it, Mom.” I smiled and hugged her back as tightly as I could.
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“Mom, you have got to stop treating us like kids. Talia and I are already in our twenties, and I’m gonna be thirty in three years.” Damian rolled his eyes as he hugged her.
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“You’re my kids, and I will continue to treat both of you like kids until the day I die,” Mom replied with a smirk. “Do you have a problem with that?”
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“No ma’am!” He saluted jokingly.
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When it came to Dad, Damian tensed up like a gazelle facing a lion; he clutched his bag strap so tight his fingers became pale. “Dad,” he started. “I—”
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“It’s alright,” Dad suddenly cut him short. “You don’t need to say anything. I understand it’s been a rough week for both of you, and asking that question wasn’t considerate at all. I’m sorry.”
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His reply startled us. We stood there motionless, not knowing how to react.
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I had no idea what I was doing, but the next thing I knew, I was throwing my arms around his neck. Whether it was because I knew I was going to miss him, or because I felt like something ominous was about to happen, I couldn’t tell. All I knew was that I wanted him to know that I love him despite everything we went through.
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Dad was stunned when I hugged him, but he quickly regained his composure and wrapped his hands around me, whispering, “Be careful, alright?” I buried my head in his shoulders and nodded.
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Afterwards, he would hug my brother and say the same things to him. Damian’s expression flickered; he was caught between hugging back and just leaving his hands hanging by his side.
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He chose the former.
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*
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“Did you think it was weird?” Damian suddenly turned to me and asked as I drank orange juice. Dad had bought us first-class tickets with his platinum membership with the airlines, which meant that we were entitled to rest and eat in the lounge before boarding.
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“Which one—the hug with Dad or the reply you gave him after we got out of the car?”
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“Both.”
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I set down my glass of orange juice on the table and tried to come up with a better-phrased sentence. Weird didn’t even cover it. “I don’t know how to put it into words. I just thought that it was strange to see you like that.”
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He parted his mouth slightly as if to say something, but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. That bugged me.
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Ask him whether he knew about the move. You deserve to know.
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I pursed my lips and tried to bring myself to ask him. Since Mom and Dad weren’t around, he might be comfortable answering all my questions. “Damian, did you know about the move before it was announced by the lawyer?”
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“What?” Damian raised his eyebrows. The caution in his eyes told me that he definitely knew about it.
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“It’s just that you acted like it was meant to be for us to move to Korea.”
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“What gave you the idea?” He shifted restlessly in his chair.
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“Well, for one, you knew exactly what to pack.” After I had said that, Damian just stared at me with a puzzled look.
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“Could you please elaborate on ‘knew exactly what to pack’?”
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“Damian, you used less than ten minutes to pack your suitcase, whereas I took an hourdeciding what Dad meant by ‘what you need’.”
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Damian laughed and asked enthusiastically. “Alright, tell me then. What did I pack?”
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“I didn’t see everything, but I noticed three pairs of shoes—daily, slippers, and winter boots—two chargers, and Dad’s gift to you for your 15th birthday. No clothes. Did I get that right?” I watched him closely. The flicker in his eyes told me I was right on target.
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“For the record, I did pack clothes,” he muttered. “ Talia, I know you have a lot of questions. However, I promised Dad I won’t tell you until…”
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His voice trailed off, and his eyes were no longer on me; rather, they were fixated on something behind me. Or someone.
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“Damian?” I slowly turned around to see what he was looking at, only to have him stop me before I could.
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“Stop,” he instructed me sharply. “Stay here, I’m going to the washroom.”
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“Now? But—”
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“Talia. Stay right here.” He gave me a warning look. At that moment, I thought I was speaking to Dad. That tone, that look, it was like Dad was in front of me right now. I froze and instinctively nodded stiffly before seeing him walk away to the back.
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I stared at the spot Damian had just been earlier, recalling his expression. In a heartbeat, his gaze went from having a cheeky glint to a cold, hard, murderous stare. Why?
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The enemy.
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My throat tightened, and I was on the verge of freaking out. What should I do when I see them? All the training I had gone through felt useless to me. What if Damian’s fighting the enemy now? Would he be alright? Would I be?
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When Damian didn’t return after ten minutes, a million thoughts came crashing through my mind. Fear had begun to creep its way into my heart.
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If only Dad were here.
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Then it hit me—Dad.
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What would Dad do in a situation like this? No, what would Dad ask me to do?
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Use your powers when fighting is no longer an option.
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I didn’t want to use my powers—not here, not now. But I couldn’t sit still, not knowing if Damian was safe… or if he was the danger.
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My brows furrowed as I recalled one of the first lessons I had with Dad after my powers manifested—making a psychic link to find someone.
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I sat straight and closed my eyes while channelling my psychic powers. The low humming of my powers rang in my ears as I began the process of creating a link into Damian’s mind.
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Open your mind. Tell me, who are you looking for? 5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJCudOlBVj
Damian.
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Picture him. 5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLho6h9kXO
6’1”, dark tousled hair, deep-set dark eyes that turn warm brown under the sun, birthmark at the nape of his neck.
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What was he wearing? 5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9H0iMg3MsH
A plain navy-blue t-shirt, or was it ocean blue? Navy, definitely navy blue. He also wore a denim jacket with cargo pants.
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Now, breathe. Tell me, where is he now? 5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GNk4FHUOa
The washroom.
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Can you see him? Not quite.
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It had always been hard to ‘see’ Damian as he tends to put a mental block in his mind to prevent psychic intruders, but this time was harder. It was as if he were trying to shut me out.
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Lucky for me, I wasn’t going to give up that easily. It was time to push harder.
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The humming became more intense as I poured all my concentration into ‘seeing’ what Damian was doing. Slowly, a blurry image began to form in my mind.
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Focus. Clear the fog in your mind and concentrate on entering Damian’s mind.
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Sweat began to trickle down my brow. I have to do this, I need to know he’s okay.
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Almost there…
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I got it! I’m in—
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“Ghk!” I gasped, gripping my throat. My eyes snapped wide open; my chest hitched violently, lungs straining for air while my heart pounded so hard it was thundering in my ears.
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What did I just see?
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With a shaky breath, I forced myself to calm down.
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No. That couldn’t be him. Damian would never do that.
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Once again, I shut my eyes and focused on the image in my mind.
As the blurry image became sharper, I saw a frightened man with a black facial mask trembling in the corner of the washroom while a silhouette loomed over him. I narrowed my eyes to look closely at the silhouette, and I couldn’t believe it.
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It was Damian.
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At his feet lay a lifeless body, which made my stomach churn. It was my first time seeing a corpse. To make matters worse, the corpse was beaten up beyond recognition, and his throat was slit open, covering the floor where he lay with a pool of blood.
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What have you done, Damian?
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*
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As confusion and fear twisted in my chest, Damian began to approach the last survivor. With a butter knife that glinted dully in his hand, each step he took was a step closer to death for the survivor. His expression was unreadable—cold, calculated, and laced with a murderous glint that made my blood run cold. This man wasn’t my brother, whom I grew up with; he was a trained killer.
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“Please…please! I was only doing what I was told! I can give you—”
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Damian didn’t bother to wait for the man to finish his sentence. With one clean, unhesitating stroke, he slit the man’s throat like he was slicing a piece of paper. A strained gasp escaped the man, thick and gurgling, before everything went quiet.
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The silence engulfed the entire washroom. It sent chills down my spine. Fear had taken over my entire body, and I couldn’t bring myself to stop ‘seeing’. Suddenly, Damian snapped his eyes upwards and looked around the washroom.
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What was he doing? Was there someone else in the washroom?
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Once he confirmed he was alone with the two corpses, he tapped the knife absently against the sink—slow, rhythmic, and contemplative. It could only mean one thing—he was planning out his next move.
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Later, he sat down on the floor meditation-style, eyes closed. The moment he did, I knew I had to get out of there.
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Damian was trying to trace the link back to the person who had entered his mind. And that person was me.
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I have to get out of this psychic link.
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But no matter how hard I tried to pull away from his mind, Damian kept dragging me in deeper. His desperation clawed at me—he needed to know who had seen him. Since he wasn’t planning to let me go, I clenched my teeth and made a last-resort decision—I revealed myself to him psychically.
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‘Damian.’
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His eyes shot open with surprise. Then his face drained of colour like a cold wave of dread had crashed on him, and it threw him off guard. Immediately, I took that as an opening and pulled myself out of his mind, ending the link.
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When I opened my eyes, I was drenched in cold sweat and breathing in rapid, short gasps. I found myself unable to process what had just happened. How was I going to face Damian?
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“Talia!”
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I flinched at the sound of my brother’s voice as he called out to me. When I saw his face, he had a flushed look and was panting rapidly. He must have run here after I ended the psychic link.
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With a taut and strained voice, he asked, “You saw it, didn’t you?”
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“No shit, Sherlock. What the—”
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“I’ll explain on the plane,” Damian raised his hand and interrupted me. Afterwards, he gripped my shoulders tightly and said anxiously, “Talia, you have to trust me, okay? No matter what.”
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I was already gripped by fear from the washroom incident, so I could only give a small nod to him.
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“Let’s go, the plane is ready for boarding,” Damian said quietly as he strapped his backpack onto his shoulders.
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When I heard that, reality began to sink in. From now on, I need to be on my guard and watch my back everywhere I go.
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This wasn’t just some dramatic change of scenery—it was a shift in my entire world. I wasn’t moving for a fresh start. I was being moved like a piece on a chessboard, and I had no idea who the real opponent was. Every stranger could be a threat. Every shadow might be watching. I had to stop thinking like a normal girl and start thinking like the person my parents had trained me to become.
This was no longer about comfort or curiosity.
It was about survival.
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and then Add to home screen.