Anna dozes off on her way home from the show. She remains the brilliant idol she has always been, pouring her heart and soul into every performance. However, offstage, fatigue has caught up with her. She closes her eyes, feeling tired and dispirited.
"An... Anna!" The manager's voice jolts her awake.
Anna sits up and sighs deeply. "Are we at my house?"
"Yes. You worked hard today," Rachel, Anna's manager, a woman in her thirties, says gently. "Go in and get some rest."
"Okay. Thanks, Rach." Anna bids her goodbye and steps out of the van. She looks reluctantly at the large house before entering.
"I'm home," Anna calls out to her parents, who are having tea in the living room. She glances around, searching for someone.
"Gab went out," Mary says, reading Anna's thoughts. "He's eating at a friend's house today."
"Really?" Anna's fatigue vanishes instantly, replaced by joy. She leaps onto the sofa, stretching and relaxing.
Mary and Daniel exchange a knowing look.
"You're that happy when he's not here?" Daniel asks telepathically, his face stern.
"Please, Dad. My head hurts. Just speak normally," Anna yawns.
"Fine. Answer my question," Daniel repeats aloud.
"Do you even need to ask?" Anna sits up and shrugs nonchalantly. "You know why I'm like this."
"But he's your brother!" Mary protests. "He's family!"
May is about to bring in more drinks and snacks when she senses the tension rising and quietly retreats.
"So what?" Anna responds grumpily. "I can't stand it anymore. When will he leave? Don't tell me he's staying with us from now on."
"An!" Mary looks at her in disbelief.
"What? Are you serious?" Anna stands up, yelling. "Have you forgotten what he did?"
"He served his sentence!" Daniel also stands up. "It's all in the past now. You should move on too!"
"No, I can't!" Anna's voice trembles as she fights back tears. "Do you know how those flashbacks tormented me? And now, just when I thought it was getting better, they're back! Because of him!"
Daniel and Mary are taken aback by Anna's strong reaction.
"I know that when others believed me as a witness, you didn't." She smiles bitterly. A tear escapes from her eye. "You don't want to admit that your sweet little Gab is a psycho. But he is!"
"An, stop it!" Mary tries to hold her back, but Anna continues.
"Please, Mom, Dad, can't we just send him away and return to our normal lives? I don't understand why we have to endure this awkwardness. Why did he come back here anyway? No one welcomes him. Jay and Kay have been avoiding him, right?"
Anna turns to her two brothers, who have just returned from work and are standing there, confused.
"What... What are you talking about?" Kyle doesn't want to get involved.
"Calm down, An. Don't be like that." Jason tries to cool the atmosphere.
"I'm not finished!" Anna persists. "I felt your emotions the other day, Mom. You're afraid of Gabriel too, because of your 'clairvoyance'!"
"And you, Dad," she looks directly at Daniel, "you feel relieved when he's not around. I don't need my ability to know that. Don't act so high and mighty! Sure, I'm a brat, but at least I'm honest, unlike you hypocrites..."
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"Enough! I said enough!" Daniel screams, slapping his daughter. His face turns red with anger. He immediately regrets it, but it's too late. Anna grabs her coat and storms out of the house. The room falls silent after she leaves.
"Let her be!" Daniel says stubbornly. "She's been too spoiled!"
___
Gabriel returns shortly after dinner. He finds his parents sitting at the tea table and his brothers at the high table having dessert. May and Clara have just gotten off work.
"Evening, everyone." Gabriel smiles as he comes in.
"Did you have a good time, honey?" Mary asks, seeing her son in a better mood than usual.
"Yes, Mom." Gabriel has a silly smile on his face. "Nathan's family is funny just like him. Their jokes made me laugh so hard."
Noticing the unusually gloomy atmosphere, Gabriel asks, "Where's An? Is she not home yet?"
Everyone falls silent. Daniel sighs deeply and leaves the room. Jason and Kyle look away, avoiding the subject. Mary answers dejectedly, "She ran away from home after having a fight with your father."
"What?" Gabriel is stunned. "But why?"
"Don't worry," Mary tells him. "It happens sometimes. She's at that age."
"She must be staying at a friend's home, or at her manager's, like the last few times." Kyle shrugs.
"She'll come back after cooling her head," Jason adds.
"Is... that so?" Gabriel's bewildered by his family's composure. They are used to Anna's rebellious phase, but he's not. In his mind, she's still the little girl who was targeted by extremists seven years ago. Nathan's warning about a serial killer roaming freely also worries him.
A while later, Gabriel leaves in a hurry.
"Where are you going?" Mary calls after him.
"I'm just checking to make sure she's somewhere safe," Gabriel replies worriedly. "It's dangerous outside these days!"
With that, he disappears like a breeze.
"Uh... does he even know where to find her?" Kyle asks, glancing at his watch. "I can't take him. I've got to go now."
"I sent him Rachel's contact," Jason responds, checking his phone. "She'll know where An is."
A thunderclap rumbles, and it starts raining heavily.
"Seriously, she hasn't been gone for that long," Kyle mutters. "But now he's making me nervous."
___
Anna exits a convenience store in the suburbs, holding a bag filled with beer cans and snacks. She has been wandering aimlessly when the rain catches her. Usually, Anna would go to Rachel or her friends to talk and unwind together. But today, she just wants to be alone, so she deliberately comes to this quiet place. It's not easy talking about a third brother who is an ex-convict when you are a public figure.
Anna adjusts her face mask and clutches her umbrella, trying to avoid recognition. Sometimes, being a celebrity is hard. She walks into a quiet, narrow alley. Normally, she wouldn't mind these paths, but tonight, this alley makes her uneasy. The streetlight above flickers erratically. In the cold rain, she hears footsteps approaching from behind. She quickens her pace, resisting the urge to look back, but the footsteps persist. Anna takes a deep breath, gripping a beer can tightly, and turns to confront the follower.
"What do you want?" She yells, trying to sound tough.
"Huh... What?" The man looks at her blankly, fingers pressed to his temple, indicating he's having a telepathic call with someone else.
When Anna doesn't respond, he shrugs and walks past her, resuming his call. She sighs in relief.
Anna sits down on a public bench, feeling pathetic. What's the point of having "absolute empathy"? What's the point of being an idol who brings joy and happiness to others? She can't even understand her own family and can't get along with them.
"I turned off my phone and my Evo account so no one can call me. But will they even bother looking for me? Probably not, huh." Anna thinks to herself, chuckling bitterly. Her mood is particularly low, and the downpour isn't helping.
"An? Is that you?"
A familiar voice calls out to her. Anna looks up in surprise. Through the rain, Gabriel is running towards her, a worried look on his face. Strangely, Anna doesn't find it unexpected. Deep down, she knew that even if no one else would come for her, Gabriel would. It had always been that way, until that irreversible incident seven years ago created a rift between them.
"What are you doing here?" Gabriel asks, standing before Anna in his raincoat. "Have you eaten yet?"
"You... How do you know I'm here?" Anna questions, trying to act tough.
"I met your manager, Rachel. She helped me list the places you could be," Gabriel replies. "I checked some of your friends' houses, but you weren't there. Then Dad called me, saying you just made a transaction in this area. So here I am."
"Right, my card is on his account," Anna says gloomily. "But does he even care?"
"He's really worried about you!" Gabriel crouches and looks at her with gentle eyes. "Everyone's worried. Come on, let's go home!"
Anna suddenly feels her eyes stinging. "What's with this rain," she grumpily comments, fighting back tears. "It's getting into my eyes."
___
About an hour later, in a dark and deserted alley of the suburbs, not far from where Anna was earlier, a woman's weak, terrified cry for help is drowned out by the relentless rain.
"Please... someone help!"
The woman crawls on the ground as a tall, thin man stands over her, wearing a black hooded raincoat. Thunder crashes, illuminating the scene for an instant. The rain intensifies, pouring down in torrents. The man turns slightly, revealing only the blood-dripping kitchen knife in his pale, slender hand.