12
Lee and his uncle are missing and she's afraid. Their apartment is empty and their teashop is closed. Lee hasn't gone to see her in days. Her grandfather told her that Mushi hasn't gone to any of their Pai Sho tournaments either. Even though they don't show it that much, she knows that her grandfather and his Pai Sho buddies are worried as well. Just three days ago, her grandfather and his friend, Huang had gone to the Dai Li's office (even though they really hate that place) to file a missing persons report for Lee and Mushi.
She thinks about Lee for the entire week. She hasn't eaten or slept properly in days. She has been wandering around the city, looking for him and asking around. She hopes that they didn't somehow run into any trouble with the Dai Li (although knowing Lee, she's sure that, that scenario is highly plausible). She knows what happens to those who do. She can't even think about what might have happened to him if the Dai Li really did get a hold of him; she can't stand the thought of him being imprisoned or tortured (or killed). She can't lose him.
She stiffens when she hears a rapping sound coming from her window. She sits up and nearly falls off her bed when she sees that it is Lee. He is there, tapping at the glass while he hangs on by trying to balance on her window frame. Her fingers fly onto the latches as she hastens to open the window.
Lee tumbles in and lands on her bed. She nearly falls backwards but he grabs her hand before she can. When they both regain their footing, she immediately launches herself towards him and tackles him into a hug. "Spirits, Lee!"
Before he can say anything else, she kisses him. She feels a million things at once and as she kisses him harder, his hands tangle into her hair and her tongue slips into his mouth and really, they could have gone on and on but she tears her mouth away from his and punches him in the arm.
"Ow! Hey! What's your problem!?" he snaps.
"You ass!" She jabs a finger at his chest. "Do you have any idea how worried I was!? I couldn't eat or sleep in days! I had nightmares of you lying in a ditch somewhere!"
"I'm sorry." He starts twiddling his thumbs and Jin takes the time to properly look at him. He doesn't look like someone who's been tortured or imprisoned. He looks very good actually; he's wearing clothes made out of pure silk and his hair, despite being messy, smells really, really good.
"You better be," she says. She tries to sound irritated but she's just relieved that he's okay. "Where's Mushi? Is he okay? What happened to you two?"
The questions all come flying out of her mouth in a rush.
Lee looks to the side and immediately, she can tell that he's hiding something.
"We've been um...we've...look, I don't have time to explain. It took me forever to get here without Azula noticing. I only have a few more minutes before—''
"Wait. Who's Azula?" Jin asks with narrowed eyes. The name sounds vaguely familiar.
Lee loudly sighs and presses the heel of his palm to his forehead. "Jin, listen, I don't have time to explain but...look, can you just start packing? I'll explain on the way."
"On the way to where?" Jin asks, thoroughly confused.
"To the Fire Nation," Lee says. He looks at her and she can tell that he's trying to figure out what she's about to say next. Jin stares at him, uncomprehendingly. She doesn't understand what's going on. She doesn't even understand what he's asking her to do.
"Um...what?"
"The Fire Nation...it's not as bad as you think. It's beautiful," he says as he tucks one of her side bangs behind her ear. His hand trails down her side and make its way towards her hips. "The sunsets there are beautiful, even more beautiful than here in Ba Sing Se. The food is a little spicy but otherwise, they're sort of the same with the things we eat here in the Earth Kingdom."
He starts rubbing circles with his thumbs at the side of her hips. "In the summer, we can go to the beach and swim. There are wide open spaces for Ro to play earth soccer in and a library for your grandfather and there are gardens. Lots and lots of gardens. There are flowers there that aren't here like ash lilies and sunflowers. In my...my house...there's a garden too. With a turtle duck pond..."
He trails off. Her jaw drops and she stiffens as the implications what of he has just said slaps her like a cold bucket of water. He takes a step closer and kisses her before she can reply and she tries to resist because what he has just said was the most absurd, ridiculous, craziest (and sweetest) thing she has ever heard. But she can't because his breath is warm against her mouth and he's fondling her breasts and grinding against her.
He's trying to distract her and it's working.
Her body heats as he starts nipping at her neck. She tries to force back a moan as he continues, "And...and I'll make sure that no one ever says a word about you and your family. You can wear anything you like, even Earth Kingdom clothes. I'll ask the cooks to make you some Earth Kingdom food. You don't have to change who you are. I'll make sure of it. I promise."
It takes all of her willpower to step away from him. She looks at him and she sees the pleading look in his eyes.
"Lee...are you and your uncle...leaving for the Fire Nation?" she slowly asks.
Lee looks to the side again and he starts twiddling his thumbs. It looks as if he's internally debating on what he is going to say next.
"Yes. In a way." He sighs and shakes his head. "It's complicated. I can't tell you everything. I haven't even told Azula yet. I still have to explain it to her. But she'll understand...hopefully. Look, we have to go now and you have to convince your grandfather too because—''
"Lee." She takes a deep breath and touches the side of his wrist. "I can't."
"What?" he says. First there is confusion and then hurt slowly fills his eyes.
"My...my grandfather would never allow it—''
"You don't understand! Something bad is going to happen in a couple of days from now! I need you guys to come with me," Lee says, frustrated. Jin wonders what bad thing he is talking about. "I know...I know it will be a big adjustment but once you get there, the Fire Nation won't seem as bad as you think!"
"You don't get it!" she says in a half-yell. "I won't do it because I can't! I can't, Lee! I can't live in your country, surrounded by the people who burned down my village and killed my mom and dad!"
Her voice cracks and becomes strained. Her fists are balled and a lump forms in her throat.
"I'm not going to leave you here," Lee firmly says. He grabs her hand and squeezes it. "You don't know what's about to happen. I can't let you get hurt—''
"Why does it matter anyway!? You're going home now. It's what you always wanted, right!?" she harshly says. She feels so upset and she doesn't know why. Maybe it's because she feels like he's abandoning her. Or dumping her. Or both.
"It matters because I love you!" he explodes.
"Well, I love you too! But you can't just come breaking into my room in the middle of the night, telling me that you want to take me away to the Fire Nation! It doesn't work like that!" Jin retorts.
"Wait...you love me?" he says and his lips quirk into a kernel of smile.
Jin's cheeks redden and she decides not to answer that. He's leaving for the Fire Nation and she's stuck here and she doesn't want to go with him. Even she's smart enough to know that telling him that she loves him will only make things worse.
She takes a deep breath and says, "I'm sorry. I'm not going with you."
"Jin—''
"Jin! Who's in your room!? What's with all the screaming!? You interrupted my sleep!" her grandfather irately says through the door.
"You better leave," she tightly tells him as she quietly shepherds him towards the window. "My grandfather will kill you if he finds you here."
He starts to protest, "Jin, listen for a minute—''
She kisses him to shut him up. When they break apart Lee has this look in his face and immediately, she can tell that he understands and that he (grudgingly) accepts her decision. He quietly says, "So...I guess this is goodbye..."
"Goodbye Lee."
"Goodbye Jin." He thickly swallows and he doesn't move. There's a stubborn gleam in his eyes that is mixed with worry and fear. In a firm voice he says, "I promise...I'll make sure nothing ever happens to you or your family. And...and...I just want you to know that I'm...I'm sorry."
Before she can ask him what he's talking about, he nimbly leaps to the ground and disappears into the night.
Jin dreams of the night the Fire Nation invaded her village.
She is walking with Ro as he happily skips along next to her mother. Her mother grins at him before taking Jin's hands. They are walking through the small patch of land filled with flowers and plants behind their house. Jin knows that her mother wants something bigger, so she can have more room to plant all her flowers in, but this lot was as big as her father could afford to buy, when he and her mother first came into this village a long time ago.
"Look at this, Jinny," her mother says she lets go of Jin's hand and gestures at a small patch flowers nestled between two rocks. "This is saxifrage. Your father gave them to me when he came back from his trip in Omashu. It looks delicate and fragile but it is actually very strong. Its name means 'stone-breaker.'"
"It can break rocks?" Jin asks, impressed.
"Yes. It grows in mountains. Your father picked them up when he and his troop were walking through the mountain pass to Omashu," her mother says with a smile.
Ro pipes up, "I miss dad. Is he coming home soon?"
Her mother's brows draw together. It is then that Jin realizes that she looks very tired. There are circles under her eyes and creases in her arms and she is thin underneath her tunic. Her face is gaunt and her grey-green eyes are filled with worry. Something's bothering her, Jin realizes. She wants to ask what is wrong but before she can her mother says, "Yes. He isn't supposed to come back until his division is pulled out from Gaoling. But he sent me a letter saying that he will be coming home a bit earlier."
"Why?" Jin asks.
Her mother looks away and says, "There are rumours about the Fire Nation needing earthbenders for their coal mines and...oh, it's nothing. Your father is just being...overly-cautious as usual. That's all."
No, Jin knows that, that isn't all. Her mother isn't telling her everything and it bothers her. She wants to ask more questions but her mother leans down and kisses her on the forehead. "I think that it's time for you two to go to bed. You have a long day tomorrow. School's about to start."
"But I want to make mud cakes," Ro protests.
Her mother laughs and scoops him up into her arms as she shakes her head. "No playing in the mud for you, Hiroki. Time to sleep."
They go to her and Ro's room and her mother tucks the two of them in bed. She sings them a song and tells them a story and as she bundles Jin up with her blankets, she inhales her mother's scent of wet earth and spring air. Ro is restless and it takes him forever to sleep but when he finally does, her mother's lips ghost over her hair and she says, "Goodnight, Jinny."
"Goodnight, mom," Jin sleepily says as she buries herself against her covers.
The smell of smoke invades her nostrils and she bolts upright in her bed. She looks to the side and frowns when she sees that her brother's bed is empty. The house is several degrees hotter and when she looks outside, she's horrified to see that everything is on fire—the village houses, the sheep-pig pens, the sky. Men dressed in skull masks carrying fiery whips are lashing at people and capturing them left and right.
The door suddenly bursts open and her mother steps inside, carrying a crying Ro in her arms. Jin's eyes widen in horror when she sees that his leg is bleeding. Ro is wailing and hiccupping and his tiny fists are balled up. From behind them, Jin can hear footsteps—the sound of leather boots colliding against the wooden floor.
"Mom? What's going on—''
"I went to get some water but the scary people in masks burned my leg," Ro sobs and her mother quickly shushes him.
"Jin, I don't have time to explain." Her mother's voice is breaking, stuttering through gasps. The footsteps grow louder and her mother rushes to her side. She gently grabs Jin's hand and tugs at her to stand up.
"Here, take your brother," her mother says as she frantically passes Ro into her arms. Jin's arms shake as Ro clings onto her and sobs against her shoulder. Her mother then rushes to a corner of their room and slides open a panel leading downwards to a bunker.
"Mom...what's that?" Jin whimpers. The air smells of smoke and there are sounds of people screaming and she doesn't know what's going on. Tears leak from the corner of her eyes and she takes big, gulps of air as she tries to calm down.
"Come here," she says as she carries Jin and carefully deposits her and Ro into the bunker.
"Listen to me, Jin. The firebenders are here to take whatever earthbenders they can get. I need you to stay here until I come back to get you, okay?" The tears won't stop flowing and her vision turns watery. Her mother bends down and kisses her forehead. "I need you to be calm, okay? You have to be strong, like the saxifrage, for you little brother. You're his big sister. I need you to protect him, no matter what. Do you understand?"
Jin nods her head and splutters, "Y-yes."
"And Ro?"
"Yes, mommy?" Ro whimpers as he lifts his head from Jin's shoulder.
Her mother kisses him on the cheek. "Be a good little brother."
She envelops the two of them into a hug and says, "I love you both so much. Don't leave until I come back for you, okay? Don't leave until I come back for you."
They both shakily nod their heads. The footsteps grow louder and her mother looks up, to the door. She starts sliding the panel closed. "I'll come back—''
"Mommy!" Jin's hand shoots out and grabs her mother's hand. She tries to keep her voice steady and even. "I'm scared."
"Everything will be alright, Jinny," her mother says as she gently unclasps Jin's hand from hers. Ro cries harder and Jin finds it more difficult to focus on her mother's words. Her mother re-assuringly says, "I'll handle this. It's okay. Everything will be alright. I'll be back to get you and Hiroki. I love you."
She slides the panel closed before Jin can tell her that she loves her back.
They've been sitting there for what seems like forever. Jin has cleaned up Ro's wound as best as she could and bandaged it by tearing a strip of cloth from her nightclothes. He has stopped crying and has curled up in her lap and fallen asleep. The screaming and loud noises have stopped and she wants to go outside but she doesn't because her mother told her not to. Not at least until she comes back.
The panel suddenly slides open and Jin looks up.
"Dad?" Jin says when she sees her father's wild, dark hair and hazel-green eyes. The happiness she starts feeling at the sight of her father is squashed immediately when she takes in his appearance. There are scars over his face and she can see that he's bleeding through his shirt. He lifts Ro up first before taking her into his arms.
"Dad?" Ro sleepily mumbles.
"Go back to sleep, Ro," her father tiredly says. Ro nods and complies, his head sagging as he buries himself against their father's chest.
"Where's mom?" Jin asks, her voice cracking.
He doesn't answer her. Instead, he stands up, with both Ro and Jin in his arms and brusquely starts walking outside. He says, "We need to hurry."
"Dad, where's mom?" Jin asks again. Her father smells like burnt flesh and there are black marks and ashes all over the house.
Her father doesn't answer her. He just keeps on walking and he doesn't stop until they are outside. Jin holds back a sob when she sees their village. It is completely demolished—several houses are burned to the ground, dead people are lying everywhere, children, mothers, fathers are crying.
Her father walks towards a carriage and gently deposits Ro into the back first. Jin suddenly starts trembling and she grips the front of her father's singed shirt tighter. "Dad...dad what are you doing?"
"Hai will take you to Ba Sing Se with his family. I already...already sent a letter to your grandfather. If he received it...he should be waiting for you at the station," her father says. His voice sounds so quiet, so different from the normally deep and rumbling tone he carries.
"We can't do that! We...we...me and Ro can't leave! We have to go back to the bunker! You have to take us back to the bunker!" She's screaming and shaking so badly that she wakes Ro up. Ro looks up and when he sees his sister crying, his hand quickly reaches out to touch hers.
"Jin..." her father softly says. "You can't go back there anymore. You're going to Ba Sing Se. You'll be...you'll be safe there with your grandfather—''
"Mom told us not leave until she comes back to get us! She told us!" Jin shrieks. Ro grips her hand tighter and he starts crying.
"Jin..." Her father's voice sounds broken. "I'm sorry...but...I'm sorry that I came here too late but we got tied up on the pass..."
"We can't leave dad! Not without mom! What if she goes back and we're not there and—''
"Jin. You're scaring your little brother."
"I don't care! We can't leave without mom!" Jin breaks out into a sob and whatever she is about to say next dies in a fit of loud, hysterical crying.
"Jin... mom's never coming back." Her father says the words in a rush, as if he's hoping that somehow, it will make things easier. The smoke in the air seems heavier and Jin suddenly can't breathe. Ro starts crying harder, louder. A wave of nausea washes over her and the entire place spins. She's suffocating. She desperately needs to throw up.
She doesn't remember much about what happens next. She vaguely remembers her father kissing her on the head and saying, "I have to stay here to help with everybody else but as soon as I can, I'll meet up with you and Ro in Ba Sing Se. Keep your little brother safe. I love you."
The carriage suddenly starts moving and it is only when she and Ro start moving farther away from their father that she realizes that he isn't coming with them. She tries to get out but Hai's wife holds her back as she cries out, "Dad!"
He leaves before she can tell him that she loves him back.
The smell of smoke, in the air pulls her away from her thoughts and the teahouse is suddenly several degrees warmer. She grips at the edge of the table and bites her bottom lip as she desperately tries to remain calm. Sprits, it can't be. No, it can't be happening. Not again. She's in Pao's teashop enjoying a cup of tea. That's it.
Pao suddenly stiffens in his place. He hesitantly walks towards the door and pushes it slightly open. He gives a loud, frightened gasp. All of the customers crowd around him.
Jin tries to muscle her way past everyone else. When she gets to the door, her stomach drops when she sees it—rows and rows of Fire Nation soldiers marching through the streets with their tanks and war machines. Several people have gathered outside with terrified looks on their faces. From inside she can hear all of the other customers loudly talking and running.
Hiroki.
Jin quickly elbows her way past Pao and tears across the streets. She slips past the soldiers and all of the panicked people. She keeps running and she doesn't stop, her muscles straining against her calves. When she gets to her house, she speeds towards the hallways, screaming, "Ro! Ro! Where are you!? Gramps—''
"Stop yelling!" her grandfather explodes as he emerges from his room. Ro is right behind him, trembling. Jin quickly scoops him up into her arms and rubs soothing circles on his back as he shakes.
"Gramps...what's going on!?" Jin asks. She swallows a lump in her throat. She's afraid to hear the answer.
"What does it look like!?" he irately snaps. His bushy eyebrows draw together and he grimly says, "The Fire Nation has invaded Ba Sing Se. The Earth kingdom has fallen."
Nobody but her grandfather goes outside. Jin doesn't want him to—she's afraid that they might do something to him—but he does so anyway because he's the Luong Fu and he can do whatever he wants. He yells at all of their servants to stop screaming and yelling before turning to Jin and telling her to stay put and keep everyone calm until he comes back. She stiffens because she has heard those words before and her mother and father never came back.
Before she can protest, he walks out of the door. She and all the servants gather in the living room, watching all of the marching Fire Nation soldiers through the window, waiting for them to come into the house to kill them all. Her brother doesn't say anything; he just holds her hand tightly. She suddenly thinks of Lee and worry washes over her. Mushi had once told her that they were traitors; if the Fire Nation ever found them, the two of them would be killed. But that can't happen to them. They must be in the Fire Nation by now.
Her grandfather doesn't come back until two hours later. When he walks through the door, she sighs in relief. Jin quickly stands up and says, "Well?"
"Well, what!? The Fire Nation has finally taken Ba Sing Se, that's what!" her grandfather waspishly says.
"What? But how? There wasn't even an invasion—''
"They didn't need an invasion! Apparently, they somehow managed to stage a coup from the inside. All of the members of the Council of Five are prisoners!" her grandfather says. Then he adds, in an annoyed mutter, "Of course, if Long Feng didn't fire me and replace me with that upstart How, this probably wouldn't have happened—''
"But how did they even get into Ba Sing Se?" Ro says, his voice tense and afraid.
"Well, according to Huang—''
"You got all of these from Huang? You do realize that he's the most unreliable, gossiping, rumourmonger in all of Ba Sing Se?" Jin interrupts.
"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking! And for your information, Huang got this from Soh, who got this from Lia who is better at getting the facts straight!"
Jin rolls her eyes. "Yup. That certainly sounds like reliable information, gramps."
"Don't use sarcasm on me!" he snaps. He then sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Now, quit yammering so I can finish! So, Huang told me that the Dai Li and Long Feng were somehow in on it. They helped a bunch of firebending women who dressed up as Kyoshi Warriors stage the coup. Now, if only General Sung had listened to me when I proposed to stuff Long Feng in a sack full of poisonous wasp-scorpions, this wouldn't have happened. That bastard always—''
"Curse word," Ro says in a small voice.
"—seemed shady to me. But would Sung listen to me? No. Instead, he helped get me fired!" her grandfather finishes in rage. "And furthermore, those fake Kyoshi Warriors wouldn't have gotten into the city if they enforced better immigration laws! Our immigration bureau is terrible! I've been writing angry letters to them for years about their lousy work ethic but—''
"Wait...so...what happened to the Earth King? Is he dead?" Jin reluctantly says, her insides growing steadily colder as her grandfather recounts what has happened.
"No. But who cares? That idiot is stupid and ignorant. It wouldn't matter if he was alive or dead. He managed to escape with the Avatar though—''
"The Avatar was here?" Niang pipes up.
"Yes, for months now—''
"Hey! You didn't tell us! Me and Jin always wanted to meet the Avatar," Ro says. He still looks afraid but a bit of color has returned to his face. "I always wanted to have his autograph."
Her grandfather impatiently stomps a foot. "Pah! It doesn't matter! He can't sign anything anymore! He's comatose—''
"What!?" Jin and several other servants say in unison.
He grimly nods. "Yes. One of the firebenders, lightning-bent him. But at least he's alive and at least he managed to escape. Anyways, with the Earth King gone and with the Dai Li at their disposal...well, you all know what happened next. I don't want to waste my time spelling it out for you because it's happening right now!"
It takes her and everyone else a few minutes to process everything he has just said. Finally, her grandfather claps his hands together and speaks up, "Alright. Quit gawking and get back to work! All of you! Just because our city has been conquered and we're as good as dead does not mean that we have to stop tending to the flowers!"
As if in a daze, everyone stands up and slowly disperses. Many of their servants and workers are talking in whispers amongst themselves. Niang is silently crying and Ro's face turns pale again as he walks back to his room. The air around them is suddenly thick and heavy.
Jin stays behind and continues to watch the flow of Fire Nation soldiers. Her grandfather snaps at her, "Well!? What are you waiting for!? Get dressed so you can open up the shop!"
She ignores him.
She looks at him, her face worried and drawn. She says, "Are Lee...and his uncle okay?"
Her grandfather's expressions softens and he says in an uncharacteristically comforting voice, "Jinny, I don't how to tell you this but...um...well...now...this isn't verified but—''
"But what!?"
"Didn't I just tell you to not interrupt me when I'm talking!" he snaps. Then he calms down and places a hand on her shoulder and in a gentler tone, he says, "They say that he was a part of the coup."
"What!? But...that's impossible! Lee can't possibly do that!" She sounds hysterical and she starts wringing her hands in the air. "He's a good person! He wouldn't do that! You said so yourself! Mushi and Lee were good people!"
Her grandfather suddenly looks annoyed. "Well, I'm sure that Mushi is a good person. But Pee—''
"Lee," she corrects.
"—on the other hand, I wasn't so sure. I figured that he would be because he's Mushi's nephew and all but apparently that boy is total ass. He attacked and turned on his uncle! Such disrespect! I don't know how Mushi can stand him! Now the poor man is rotting away in some prisonhold!" He frowns at her. "I knew that I should've said something about that Gee boy—''
"Lee—''
"—because he seemed shady to me. But I didn't because Mushi said his nephew was a fine boy and vouched for him and I knew that you would argue. And arguing with you is exhausting," he finishes.
Jin blinks at him once and her fingers drum against her thighs. She runs through the entire story again in her head. Then, she thinks about Lee; how he would smile, how he would kiss her on the forehead if she was upset, how he lit all those lamps for her in the Firelight Fountain, how his hand felt in hers. No, it's impossible. Lee knows what the Fire Nation has done to them. He wouldn't willingly help the Fire Nation, even if they are his people.
She shakes her head and firmly says, "No. It can't be true."
"Jinny, I don't want it to be true. But Huang said that Soh said that Lia said that, that Bee—''
"Lee—''
"—is a traitor. It certainly ties in to a lot of things. Like how they have been missing for days," her grandfather quietly says.
Jin closes her eyes and she tries to remain calm. Suddenly, the night Lee came to try to convince her to go to the Fire Nation makes sense. The invasion was the reason why he wanted to take her and her family away. He wanted to protect her.
It would have been sweet if he didn't cause the invasion in the first place.
Still, she won't believe it. He can't just betray her trust like that.
"I don't believe you," she resolutely says.
Her grandfather looks at her with intensity, his brows drawn and his lips set into a thin, bloodless line. She matches his glare and doesn't break eye contact. They stand there for a really, long time. Finally her grandfather nods and says, "Pah! Why should I waste my time trying to convince you!? Believe what you want!"
"But—''
"And since you're going to find out anyway, I might as well tell you," he gruffly says. He takes a scroll from his sleeve and hands it to her. Her eyes widen when she sees that it is a picture of Lee and Mushi. It's a Wanted poster stating that a heavy bounty will be given to anyone who catches—
"The disgraced Prince Zuko and General Iroh," she reads. Her hands tremble. She's heard those names before. "Lee and Mushi...are...are..."
Her grandfather nods. "Yes. Fire Nation nobility. I didn't want to tell you because I knew that you would freak out and do something stupid like tell the Dai Li. I met General Iroh in the Siege of Ba Sing Se but we became good friends afterwards..."
She closes her eyes. She can't focus on anything he's saying. The first emotion that washes over her is confusion. Then, realization hits her and as soon as she figures out the entire story, the real story, anger starts surging within her, hot and fast. Her jaw clenches and she crumples the paper in her hands. She should've seen this coming. He's a firebender. She doesn't know what made her grandfather ever think that it's okay to trust them. Firebenders can't be trusted. They are monsters.
She thinks of her home and how it was razed to the ground. She thinks of her mother dying as she tried to protect them and her father, holding her in his arms, smelling of seared flesh. She thinks of her little brother and the scars on his leg. She thinks of every single person the Fire Nation has taken away from her.
And suddenly, she realizes that she angry. She's never the type of person to be angry. She's been really, really angry only twice in her life—the first was when her brother ate the last of the beef jerky (she's sensitive about her food, okay?) and the second was when Lee acted like a total prick because he was jealous of Cheng but wouldn't admit it. But this anger, this anger is nothing like she has ever felt before and she desperately wants to hit someone (preferably Lee). What she feels is pure, unadulrated rage.
She trusted him. She accepted him for who he was. She liked him and loved him and spirits, she even gave up her virginity to him. And he just turns around and decides to destroy her home and tear her life apart.
"Jin! Jin! Are you listening to me—''
She turns towards her grandfather and all of her anger is suddenly directed to him. She points an accusing finger at him, "This...this is all your fault! You said we could trust them!"
"Jin, let me explain—''
"You said we could trust them!" she says again and her voice cracks, from despair or anger, she does not know.
Her grandfather looks at her compassionately and he suddenly takes a step forward and hugs her. She stiffens because he hasn't hugged her like this in a very long time and the contact seems very foreign to her. She wants to scream or cry or tear something apart. Instead, she just hugs him back and feels the prickly sensation of his bushy, white beard.
He awkwardly pats her on the head and murmurs, "I'm sorry, Jin. I really thought that we could too."
HAPPY NEW YEAR!