Ambivalent

12. The Beginning

Akara

I don't have many memories with my family. The only vivid one is when they took me to an amusement park and let me ride every toy I wanted. I believe I was around five years old that time and it was the happiest time of my entire life.

Then everything was ruined.

The very next day, my family had a car accident and they died on the spot. A man came to our house and took me with him, saying I was his son from then on. I remember crying on and on for my family, and the man coaxed me gently.

As you can guess by now, that man was Mr. Aof. He took me into his mansion and acted so nice towards me. Then he picked me up and showed me a two years old baby who was sleeping in a cradle. Mr. Aof told me the baby was his son and he needed me to survive.

I held the baby's tiny hand and he unwittingly clenched his fingers around mine. At that moment, I knew I wanted to save the little baby. Hearing my positive response, Mr. Aof said he was proud of me, and this was the beginning of my new life.

I was home-schooled and trained in martial arts as well as received weapon training. Although Mr. Aof called me his son, I wasn't allowed to meet his real son, Rune, whose life I was saving by donating my blood every three month. I was also living outside the mansion with Mr. Aof's bodyguards.

When I graduated from high school, Mr. Aof told me that I wasn't good enough for university, but I was perfect for being a bodyguard, thanks to AXT+1. As I respected him with all my heart, I accepted my role he assigned to me and became his most diligent bodyguard.

Then one day, Mr. Aof called me into his room and wanted me to be Rune's bodyguard. In my eyes, he was nothing more than a spoiled kid, but Mr. Aof's wish was my command.

Reluctantly, I prepared my luggage and went to the address Mr. Aof gave me.

Knock... Knock...

When the door opened, I saw Rune from that close for the first time in twenty years. Damn, he was hot. Slender figure, fair skin, light brown monolid eyes, soft brown straight hair...

He was indeed such an eye candy... a spoiled one, but still...

He asked me who I was when he managed to rip his jealous eyes off my biceps, and kicked a rumpus, hearing I was his new bodyguard. As I expected, he tried to appal me by sleeping on the sofa, cooking and cleaning. I challenged him by offering to cook and he saw my bluff.

No spicy, no sour, no sweet, no carrot...

He tested my patience, but I kept a blank face, until he complimented my cooking skills and asked me to eat with him. Well, that was unexpected, so my mask shattered enough for him to see my shock. Damn...

Though I thought everyday would be the same with that confusing young master, that night I received a call from an unknown number.

"Your parents' death wasn't accident but murder, if you want to know more, meet me at the university cafeteria tomorrow," the male voice said and hung the phone.

My body froze and my mind went into a frenzy with the possibility. If it was true, my whole life was an illusion... a dirty lie...

Haunted by dreadful thoughts, I couldn't sleep at all. When the first lights of the day illuminated the living room, I decided to meet the man on the phone.

With ease, I informed Rune about the shadow guards and made him get rid of them, so they wouldn't inform Mr. Aof about my meeting today.

After sending Rune into his class, I rushed to the cafeteria and checked around to find the man. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to an empty table.

"You made a good decision," the man said with a smile. He was around sixty years old with all his hair white yet he was still charismatic.

"You are...?"

"I am Kamol, Aof's elder brother," the man said and I gaped because I had never heard of his name from Mr. Aof. Reading my thoughts, Mr. Kamol added "Aof and I don't get along well, so it is only natural if you never heard about me."

I nodded absent-mindedly as I didn't care about their family affairs. Leaning on my elbows, I asked "what did you mean when you said my parents' death was a murder?"

"Right to the point, I liked you, Akara," he said, drumming his wrinkled fingers on the table, "recently, I took possession of some disturbing documents and your parents' death was one of those. I have evidence that Aof killed your parents to have you, so he could save Rune's life."

"W-What kind of evidence?" I asked, trying to remain collected.

Mr. Kamol fished out a USB from his jacket pocket. Pushing it towards me, he said "this is a video clip of him ordering your parents' death. You can watch it at home."

"What is your gain?" I asked, holding the USB secure in my palm. I wasn't that naive to think he was just a nice guy, trying to help me after twenty years.

He burst into laughter, "you are smart, good. As I mentioned, there were a few documents that I received. Thanks to them, I came to learn that my dear brother is doing every kind of illegal business using the hotel as a cover."

Now, it made sense why Mr. Aof had that many enemies. "And? What do you want?"

He leaned forward, "I want to take the hotel back from Aof's nasty hands. It is a family heritage, so I don't want it to be ruined like that," he said, his hands clenched into fists on the table.

"So, you want my help or what?"

He nodded with a grin.