Chapter 23: hidden truth
_______________________________________________________________
It's not that I don't believe what Black said, but to say I'm genuinely surprised wouldn't be wrong.
Seriously?...
"Black, maybe there's been some kind of misunderstanding," I said, looking directly into my brother's eyes. As I spoke, I slowly took out my phone, careful not to let Black notice.
"I'm not mistaken. I mean it, White. I'm protecting you—you must trust me. I'm your brother. I would never let your life be ruined by Sean," Black said, sitting upright but avoiding my gaze. Taking advantage of the moment, I quickly typed out a short message and sent it to Sean.
He probably knows what to do.
I don't know if Sean is really dangerous, bad, or scary, like my brother says. All I know is that this feels like a misunderstanding.
I trust Sean more than I ever thought I would.
********
POV: SEAN
*Ting*
The sound of a message notification broke through my stress and worry. Yok, Gram, and Kumpha were visibly tense. Anxiety hung heavy in the air. Kumpha was the one who had told me that White had been taken by his brother. I slipped my hand into my pants pocket and pulled out my phone.
"I got a message," I murmured, quickly unlocking the screen.
[White]: "Black is back."
Seeing White's message made me sigh. I knew it wasn't just an announcement that his brother had returned. It was a signal, a subtle push for me to either come clean or take action. And, of course, that's exactly what I planned to do.
"Why did you call me here?" Yok asked, raising an eyebrow. After Kumpha told me about Black taking White, I had immediately summoned Yok and Gram to this spot.
"Gram," I said, meeting my best friend's gaze. He looked at me expectantly. "I have something to tell you."
"What's going on?" Gram asked, his tone skeptical.
I glanced briefly at Yok before turning back to Gram.
"You're the only one who doesn't know about this yet."
Kumpha stood quietly nearby. The reason he was here was simple: he was involved in this, too. I didn't see the need to exclude him. In fact, his presence might even help. He was there when it all happened, just like I was, and he knew exactly what went down.
Gram frowned, his eyes darting between Yok, Kumpha, and me before settling on my face.
"I'm guessing you're not joking. So, what's going on, Sean?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" I replied coldly. "Is what happened before something to laugh about?"
"..."
Gram fell silent. I shifted my gaze to Yok, locking eyes with him. He met my stare with a challenging expression, even managing a faint, taunting smile.
"No need to pretend, that's enough, it's okay Yok."
"What did I do?"
When he asked me this, I couldn't contain my emotions, pushing him so hard that I pushed him back a few steps. Then I spoke loudly to him, even though I'm not a loud-mouthed person.
