It's the frailty of genius, John. It needs an audience.

- Sherlock

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Chapter 25:
All Two Well

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ZANE

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm currently taking a course in forensic science. The classes started two months ago," she replied. "I came home early because I had another class on campus."

“Wait a minute! Are you saying you're taking two courses at once? Aren't you worried about time management?” I added.

"Don't ask me about that; you should be asking yourself," she said, walking to the living room and sitting on the long sofa. I followed and took my seat on my favourite chair.

"One of your courses might suffer. I hope it's not both," I said. "The point is you're involved in these cases and taking two courses at a time."

"The subjects are almost the same, so my schedule is a bit flexible. Plus, I already planned everything, so I guess it will go smoothly," she replied.

I sighed. "Does your sister know?"

"Do you think she'd agree? She wanted me to take a different course, so I took the same one as you," she said.

All I could do was give her some space to cool down.

Checking my phone, I found a message from our classmates in the group chat. "Our classmates are going out to eat and get to know each other," I said. "Are you coming? They keep nagging me."

"I have a lot to do," she replied. "And they just told us — last minute. It's annoying when people do that."

"Alright."

"Where are you going?" she asked as I stood up.

"Out. I'm joining them after I change clothes," I replied. "And if you have a lot to do, why not start now so you can finish quickly?"

"I've already started. You're the one interrupting," she said.

"Well, sorry." I headed to my room to change. From what I overheard in class, most of my eighteen classmates enjoyed drinking. They might help me unwind after the recent painful events in my life.

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

"...Happy birthday to you," we sang to one of our classmates.

"Thank you, guys!" exclaimed our class president, Valerie.

"One more shot for the birthday girl!" said Brylle, raising his glass of juice mixed with soju. We followed suit and drank.

Since the place was far for some, only ten of us made it to a canteen near the city. It was six o'clock, so two classmates who lived in a boarding house with a curfew had already gone home.

They were fun to talk to, but I felt I needed a few more days before I could call them close friends.

"Where's Raine?" one of our classmates, who had been with her in class earlier, asked.

"She said she had things to do," I replied.

"That's too bad," she said. "Do you want more?"

My eyes widened as I remembered I had told Raine that we shouldn't drink to avoid any danger at the apartment. I already had two small glasses.

"I need to go," I said.

"The dessert hasn't even arrived yet," Valerie pointed out.

"I just remembered I left the internet on at the flat. I really need to go sort it out."

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

Though soju isn't very strong, I was still nervous about Raine's reaction if she found out — especially my aunt's.

"I'll just tell Raine so she knows, and then I'll lock myself in my room," I muttered to myself while walking up the stairs. "Or if she doesn't agree, I'll sleep in the common room."

As I took the keys from my pocket, I sensed something unusual. There was a strange fragrance lingering in the air — pleasant, but definitely not from our building.

I turned the doorknob, and the door was unlocked. My mind flashed back to what happened last Saturday, and my heart began to race.

"Raine!" As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by an unexpected scene.

"Zane?" To my right, Raine sat on the small square sofa facing the kitchen. In my usual chair sat someone else.

When she turned, I recognized her as Raine's sister, who gave me a brief smile before turning her attention back to Raine.

"I thought something bad had happened! Why didn't you lock the door?" I scolded her.

"I thought you forgot your key again, so I left it open," she replied calmly.

"Gosh!"

"Why are you telling me this, Big Sis?" Raine asked her sister, holding her phone as if she were reading something.

"Because I know about your mischief," her sister replied.

"How did you find out? Did you install cameras here? Did you bug my friend whenever I talked to him?" Raine asked.

"I have my ways," her sister said. "Like tracking your records."

"How are your jobs going, big sis? Still managing?" Raine asked, her tone teasing.

"I have more time than you do," Elizabeth added. "I can handle it, especially since I'm lucky when it comes to advancing in my job. Whereas you, you know a lot but you're not particularly good at it."

"Did you enjoy the soju you drank, Zane?" Raine asked, giving me a quick glance before returning to her phone.

"He had two shots, Rainie. He got carried away," Elizabeth remarked, glancing at me as well.

Another quick glance followed from Raine. "You're right, Liz."

I couldn't tell if they were arguing or just teasing me. I could only listen to the two of them.

"How did you find out?" I asked, sitting down on the long sofa. "Never mind, I'll just lock my room—"

"Many people already know you, little sis. Some even trust you even though you're not really that skilled," Elizabeth said to her sister. "Alright, I'll let you take that course."

“So, are you dropping out of the education program?” I asked.

"No, not at all. I told you earlier that everything's fine because I've already planned it out," Raine replied.

"How have things been going in your life since you arrived here, Zane?" her sister asked me.

I still don’t know what answer I’m searching for, nor how to repay their kindness.

"Zane?" she repeated, pulling my attention back to them. "Are you sure you're not already drunk? You seem to get tipsy so quickly."

"Actually, I'm doing alright — living dangerously but surviving," I replied.

"That's good to hear," she said.

"What's your purpose here, big sis? I'm studying right now," Raine asked.

"John Zamora," Elizabeth said, showing her sister a picture on her tablet. "Earlier, while you were at school, they found his body in the river."

She stood up and showed me her device, displaying a photo of a thirty-year-old man.

"Do you want us to solve the case?" I asked.

"The police are already there, and there's an investigation underway. I don't want to be called out by higher-ups again because of your meddling, little sissy," she replied.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Raine finally looked up from her phone.

"What do you mean 'we'? Can't you just leave an ordinary person alone who just wants to live normally, li'l sis?" she said.

A smile started to form on my lips but faltered when I saw Raine — she avoided my gaze and chuckled suddenly.

"Is George coming too?" she asked.

"As long as you have someone to accompany you, right?" Elizabeth quipped. "You're such an introvert!"

"I'll go with her!"

"Are you sure about that, Mr. Nuñez? Do you even know that's not what I hired you for?" she asked further.

"I'm her guardian. Besides, I already promised her earlier that I'll be her knight in shining armour," I replied.

This is my chance to help again without them needing to reciprocate.

Elizabeth gave me a smile and nodded. "If that's what you want," she said. "Suit yourself, Mr. Nuñez. Just be careful."

"Now, what exactly do we need to do?" Raine asked her sister. "You wouldn't come here if it wasn't important, right?"

"There's something missing from an international organization, and he's considered one of the suspects. The problem is, he died just earlier, and we haven't figured out where he hid that thing or what caused his death," Elizabeth began.

"Why me? Don't you have colleagues for this?" Raine questioned.

"Top secret, li'l sis. I know I can trust you, and make sure your guardian is in on it too," she replied. "There are still traitors around, so I need to approach you. No one else should know what you're looking for!"