Chapter 7

It is really here, Serin can’thelp but feel a lot more nervous the moment she arrives at her destination. The European-styled mansion towering her in broad daylight looks even bigger because the first time she has seen it was already nighttime. 

She walks to the huge gate nervously and rings someone’s number. Her call is answered immediately, and after a minute, an old lady welcomes her with a smile so warm it somehow melts her worry and uneasiness away. 

“I’m glad you arrived here safely.” It’s Ms. Fei, the old lady managing the household. 

“Good morning,” Serin greets her politely. “I’m pleased to finally meet you in person.”

“It’s very nice to meet you as well.” Ms. Fei gives her a more welcoming smile and walks her through the luxurious front yard. 

Everything around looks grand and beautiful. The entire landscape and the mansion itself define wealth and elegance. Serin does feel small and impressed but what consumes her more is the feeling of depressing gloom surrounding the place, especially the garden. For a moment, she can’t take her eyes off the balcony from the second floor room because that’s the place she has to be very cautious of according to someone who offered her the job. That balcony would always agitate the person she will nurse from now on, for he’s diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to what happened four years ago. 

“Don’t worry,” Ms. Fei reassures Serin right away, noticing her staring at the balcony in total silence. “Dave is a very kind person, like Jeremy.”

Right, Serin nods at her with a smile, wanting to bury her uneasiness. She knew from the start that Dave, the guy she would be looking after, is Jeremy's older brother. At first she refused the job offer because she believes that the least Jeremy would want to happen is to cross paths with her again. But after everything was revealed to her, she willingly accepted the job. And one of the reasons she is determined to help Dave get better despite the danger she would be facing is to lessen Jeremy’s exhausting responsibilities. 

Now, everything finally makes sense to her as she completely understands what Ken meant when he mentioned before that Jeremy’s life is so cruel. He lost his mom on the night of his 14th birthday, and since then, he has no longer enjoyed the beauty and fun of his teenage years because he’s the only one his sick brother wants to rely on. At such a young age, he’s already carrying a heavy responsibility because he can’t dare bury his mom’s dying wish. To protect Dave at all costs and help him live well. 

But despite keeping that promise to make their mom happy, Dave has never changed at all. He has only become more miserable. 

“I hate you!!! Who are you??? Why are you here?? You’re fucking crazy!!”

It’s only Serin’s fifth day since she started her new job at the mansion but she’s already witnessing Dave’s anguish because she completely forgot that she should never mention the balcony of his room or anything about it. 

“You said the morning sun and breeze would be good to me so I should eat my breakfast on the balcony?? I’m not stupid!!! I know you will kill me there!! You’re gonna push me there also!! Who sent you here?? Who??” 

Serin freezes to her feet, but she knows she should be doing something to stop Daver from throwing a fit. Frightened but trying her best to look calm, she approaches her slowly, “Sir Dave, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you–”

Dave suddenly grabs her by the shirt. “You, idiot!! Answer me!!”

Terrified now, Serin can’t move at all, but her eyes are still boldly on Dave’s so that he won’t get a feeling he’s causing her terror. “Sir, please listen to me. I’m here to look after you and help you.. I will never harm you. Please trust me..”

“Trust you?? What the fuck are you talking about?? Yenny said that to me before!! But where is she now??” He tightens his grip on her shirt more violently. “I hate her!!”

Because of his uncontrollable blasting screams that could be heard even from the outside, Ms. Fei and Tony Sean come rushing to his room. Dave hurriedly takes his hands off Serin at the sight of the old woman and his dad hurrying over to them. He lands powerless on the floor and wails all of a sudden. Ms. Fei then hastily assists Serin in the corner in case Dave would attack her again. 

“Dave, my son..” Tony Sean hugs his miserable son. 

“Don’t blame yourself. Dave has been like that lately,” Ms. Fei comforts Serin in an almost inaudible voice. 

“But I should be the one doing that instead of Sir Tony.” 

The old woman holds her hands reassuringly. “It’s okay. It’s dangerous for you. You might agitate him more. You are his new nurse, so he is still adjusting to your presence.”

Serin sighs, for she can’t do anything but obey Ms. Fei. 

“I need Jeremy!! Where is he???” Dave can’t stop wailing. 

Tony Sean hugs him more tightly, and it breaks his heart to witness his son in such a wretched state. “Dave, my son.. Stop worrying now, your brother is already near here.”

Dave suddenly stops crying, and that’s when Serin confirms that Jeremy is really the only one Dave depends on. Serin feels a lot terrible. She’s here to lessen Jeremy’s burden but she can’t even calm his agitated brother. 

“He’s here,” Ms. Fei utters with sadness, looking outside the window. 

Jeremy has just arrived home, and how he races out of his car shows he received a phone call from Ms. Fei that Dave is seriously throwing a fit again. But he has no idea, even the slightest, who the new nurse is. And that is making Serin so uneasy she can’t even dare look outside the window. She’s sure Jeremy will really hate to see her again. Not only that, her heart breaks for Jeremy because he is about to witness his brother’s torment. 

“Stay here and please don’t get near Dave,” Ms. Fei tells Serin, then walks to Tony Sean to inform him that his son has already arrived home. 

The old man rises up to his feet and leaves Dave with a heavy heart, for he can’t let Jeremy suffer more. It is another torment for Jeremy whenever his dad witnesses Dave throw a fit, and Tony Sean is completely aware of it, making him always prioritize Jeremy over Dave in situations like this. 

As he steps out of the room with Ms. Fei, Serin hurriedly hides from Dave’s sight and curls up on the floor by the opposite side of the bed. She does yearn for Jeremy but she never wishes to see him again in such a heartbreaking situation. 

“Dave..” Jeremy comes rushing and feels right away the misery from his wretched brother. 

He’s there, lying on his stomach with his face buried on the floor. “J..Jeremy!! P..Please h..help m..me.. They.. T..They.. are h..haunting.. m..me..”

“Don’t be scared, I’m here now.” Jeremy bends down. “This is me, Jeremy.”

Dave unburies his face from the floor and lifts his head but he continues crying fearfully. “T..They.. T..They a..are.. h..here.. I.. I s..saw t..them.. H..Hide me…” 

Though it’s against his heart to comfort Dave, he still does for the sake of their mom. “I’m here. No one can harm you.” He holds his brother’s cold and trembling hands, then helps him slowly get up. 

“D..Don’t l..leave.. me..” Frightened, he closes his tearful eyes and hugs Jeremy so tightly, as if he is getting haunted by horrible monsters.

“I won’t leave you. Trust me.” Because Jeremy feels a lot heavier in his brother’s tight embrace, he breaks free from it quickly and faces him instead. “Can you now–”

“J..Jeremy.. I.. I a..am s..sorry..” Dave shakingly points at his bed in the corner. 

He does it again, Jeremy already knows why. “Did you hurt her?” 

Dave shakes his head but his monstrous eyes can never lie. 

Why still ask though when he completely knows his brother’s true self anyway, Jeremy feels a lot terrible. Sighing, he helps Dave sit at his reading table and makes him listen to tranquilizing music through his earphones.

When he can see that Dave already calms a little, he leaves him, rushing to the other side of the bed only to freeze in great surprise. This can’t be happening, he utters in his head, seeing Serin curling up on the floor. Though she isn’t crying, he can tell she’s not okay, so he quickly gets a grip and helps her get up. 

As they stand face to face, Serin tears up. The guy she has yearned for is standing before her again. Two months without seeing him could never be that long, but now it suddenly feels like forever because she has missed him so much. 

“Did he hurt you?” The question Jeremy asks her right away instead of asking her how she got to know about the job or who told her about it. 

“Sir Dave didn’t hurt me.” She can’t dare tell him the truth. 

Since she found out that Jeremy has to endure a cruel life after losing his mom, she has made a promise to herself that she would help him get through it by taking care of Dave. And what comes with this desire is to never show him that she’s having a difficult time.

“Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?” He scans her intently, not convinced that Dave didn’t do anything to her when it’s obvious that there’s a total mess in the room. 

“I’m really okay, Sir Jeremy..” She fakes a little smile to reassure him. 

He can never make her spill the truth, Jeremy sighs heavily. At this rate, he needs to accept that Serin won’t be able to live in peace again. This time, no longer because of Gail but because of his miserable and monstrous brother. 

“We need to talk.” He signals her to follow him outside. 

In the garden, as they sit across from each other, the raging emotions consuming them are too strong to appreciate the calmness in the breeze and the dazzling glows from the morning sun. It could have been a perfect reunion for both of them but they met again in the most heartbreaking way. 

“How did you know about the job?” Jeremy has been dying to ask her this question. “I no longer asked the agency for a new nurse.” 

Now this is the moment of truth, Serin has no other choice but be completely honest with him. “The one who offered me the job is Yenny.”