N0 B0DY, N0 CRIM3 | Bang Chan

Ephemeral

Kiera had decided on a black dress that stopped right above her knees. The off-shoulder dress exposed the tops of her shoulders and stopped just below her neckline. With them, she wore a simple pair of black flats. A golden chain with a small heart sat hooked around her neck. Her mother had gotten it for her a few birthdays ago. 

She didn't bother putting on fancy makeup or other accessories. She kept the whole outfit looking as simple as possible. She didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. She had no idea who was coming, her father hadn't told her. She was sure that by the time evening rolled around, she'd be exhausted. 

A knock at the door caused her to open it. Her father stood in similar black attire. A black suit, black shoes, his golden wedding ring still sat on his finger. "Are you ready to go?" 

She nodded and left her room. The two of them walked silently through their section of the white house. Things felt different between the two of them. Lately, her father had barely uttered a few words to her unless he had to. 

The pair entered the large banquet room where everything was going to be held. The white house chefs were cooking a few rooms away. Her father had picked out salmon and a few different things for the lunch menu. Apparently, it had been his wife's favorite food. 

Kiera didn't know and she didn't care. How was she supposed to care about a person that didn't care about her? Her mother never had her best interest in mind. For years, she had been selfish. Only caring about herself and nobody else. She focused more on making her daughter a living and breathing replica of herself than caring about her daughter's true feelings. 

Kiera lifted her head up at the sound of voices. Her father went forth to greet a few of the men who came in. Kiera couldn't force herself to go up and greet them. This was the one thing that she hadn't been excited about. She had to play the role of a grieving daughter and she didn't have it in her. 

She spun around and walked out the back section of the room. A few minutes later, she came back with a glass of ice water. More people had entered the banquet hall. All of them were dressed in black to mourn. As she took a sip of her water, she spotted two of her mother's friends. 

Before she could pretend that she didn't see them, the two of them hurried over to her. One of them stuck out their arms and wrapped her in a tight hug. She kept a tight grip on her cup of water trying not to spill it. 

"You poor thing!" She exclaimed. "I'm so sorry about what happened to your mother. It's been hard for us, so I can't imagine what it's like for you." Tears welled up in the woman's eyes. 

Kiera forced herself to pull off a fake smile and nod. On the inside, she was screaming because she hated being touched. Did this woman have no sense of personal boundaries? 

"How have you been?" The other asked. "Are you okay? Do you need anything? It must be so hard now that she's gone." 

"I'm alright," Kiera finally got out. "It's been," she paused for a moment, "tough. It's been tough, but life keeps on going. Bad things happen and you have to keep living." 

"If you need anything, anything at all, let us know." 

She nodded and thanked them for taking the time out of their day to come to the white house. The three of them talked a bit longer until they spotted another of their friends who arrived. The moment they left her alone, Kiera shut her eyes, and took a deep breath of air. 

"It must be difficult to pretend to mourn someone you hated." 

The voice caused Kiera to stiffen at once. She slowly turned her head around and let out a sigh of relief. Henry Eden stood with his arms crossed over his chest. She had talked to his husband back at the lunch banquet a few weeks ago. It wasn't a surprise that Clyde must have told him that she called her mother a bitch. 

She let her shoulders drop, "you have no idea." She knew she shouldn't have been saying anything bad about her mother, considering that she was dead, but she couldn't help it. At least, someone here knew the truth about how she felt. "If you're here, where's Clyde?" 

"He went to the bathroom. I was waiting for him and then I saw you lingering around over here away from everyone. You look like you're out of your element." 

"Unfortunately," Kiera grumbled. 

Over in the bathroom, Han Jisung was cursing himself for being anxious. It wasn't like Lee Know and he hadn't been undercover with this many people before. However, this was worse because he had to interact with everyone. He couldn't just pick and choose who he talked to. Anyone could come up to him and start speaking at any time. 

When they got back to Chicago, he promised himself, he'd find a doctor, and get prescribed anxiety medication. This was way too much for him. His brain was spiraling with thoughts. They were the enemy and here they were lingering in the lion's den. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to take a deep breath before he walked out of the bathroom. 

By the time he got back to the banquet hall, Lee Know was already talking to Kiera away from everyone else. He couldn't help it, he chuckled. Lee Know had been way better at this than he had. 

If something went wrong with the kidnapping later, they could use their undercover identities and pretend to be her friends instead.