Here's where we stand; Musaki meets his half-cousin. Wonder how that first meeting will go.

Chapter 4: Cousin and a Half

As Musaki walked into his grandfather's house, he was immediately anxious to see his half-cousin for the first time and he sat down on the chair, just waiting for him to come forward. He takes a few gulps, but he tried his hardest to calm his nerves down so he wouldn't be too scared. But then he sees that it might be a good opportunity to actually meet him and that he might give him some advice on how to cope with losing a loved one.

A couple of minutes later, Oak Sung came out with Musaki's half-cousin; between 15 or 16 years of age, has dark blue eyes, about 5'7, weighing at 150 pounds lighter, wears a red vest and tan-colored shorts and wears a japanese headband on top of his head. When Musaki finally met him in person, he stood up and went up to him and he could see that he almost looked like him, from the face.

Musaki was definitely nervous and he didn't exactly know what to say, other than the fact that he was excited about seeing his half-cousin for the first time. Oak Sung then said, "Xing-Fu, this is Manny, your half-cousin. Manny, this is Xing-Fu."

"Hi, how are you?" asked Musaki, when he stuck out his hand hoping for a handshake.

Manny became really quiet after he saw his half-cousin for the first time and then he shook his hand as well and Musaki could tell that the tragic loss of his parents really hit him hard. Manny lets out a sigh and then he looks at Musaki for a sec and Musaki told him, "Heard about what happened to your parents and I'm really sorry that you lost both of them."

Manny lets out a sad sigh as the thought of losing him hit him back ten times more harder than anything and he looked at Musaki for a second and he just didn't feel like talking at all and Manny was on the verge of breaking down again and rather than just let his half-cousin see his tears, he turns away from him and didn't feel like sharing all of this to his half-cousin because it might mean reverting back to the day they died.

Besides that, they never knew each other and Musaki was hoping that there would be some common ground between the both of them, but Manny felt like he couldn't let anyone in not even Musaki because he wasn't quite sure how he got to be related to them because they never met before.

At that point, Musaki felt like it was all overwhelming for Manny to discuss his parent's death and the fact that he had a half-cousin that he never even knew he had in years, but at the same time, he understands what it's like to bring something tragic that just leaves an emotional scar in someone's life and he said, "I understand. It's just something that no one wants to bring up because it's all too painful. Well, I'm only gonna be here for a week so whenever you feel like you need to talk or even if you need someone to just have a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you."

Manny lets out a heavy sigh and he didn't respond and just walked away for a bit. Musaki wishes he could tell him about how he lost his parents as well because he could feel a quick connection between him, but he just wanted to save it until he gets to know him better. It's surprising to know that he never met him before in his lifetime and already he feels as if he knows him forever.

"So...how did it go?"

Musaki turns around to see his grandfather standing there and he lets out a deep sigh and said, "He seemed kinda quiet, didn't talk to me and such."

"Since the tragic death, he doesn't really feel like talking about it...especially to strangers. He's already been through so much things in his life and he's kept so much emotional scars throughout his life that he's kept to himself." his grandfather explains.

Musaki was surprised to hear this coming from his grandfather and he was starting to be more curious about his life and how it all came to be and he asked, "What was his parents like?"

Meanwhile, Manny was lying on his bed, looking at the ceiling thinking about all the things he's had to deal with most of his life and losing both parents was the one that hit him the hardest and the fact that he met his half-cousin, Musaki. It was like how much can he take for one day for one kid?

He lets out a big sigh as he picks up a sketch of his parents and immediately, memories of them were flooding through his mind and he wishes that he could've done something to keep them alive. He looks at them with tears coming out of his eyes and he started crying softly. He then puts his hand over his eyes and held the sketch close to his heart and just started sobbing.

"Whay'd you have to leave me?" asked Manny, tearfully.

Manny was totally unaware that Musaki was checking on him without even being seen and his heart broke for his half-cousin...completely. He thought to himself, 'You're not alone, Manny. I'm gonna be here for you and I already know what it feels like to lose two people in your life.'

Musaki quietly walked away, leaving Manny alone to grieve by himself and he's curious to know about his life just to get to know him a little better in hopes of bonding together.

You can tell that the tragedy has had an effect on Manny. What's Musaki gonna do now?