Somewhere..

  The door slammed open.

  Isaiah and Ramos barely had time to react before Shin came crashing in like a hurricane, grinning like he just won a prize. “GUYS, GUESS WHAT!” he shouted.

  “WE GOT A NEW MEMBER!”

  Isaiah sighed, already tired. “Shin, i don't think we don’t need-”

  Then Shin stepped aside, revealing a small girl in a fancy dress, holding a small notebook and pencil standing behind him.

  …

  Ramos blinked. “…a child..?”

  Isaiah stared. “Shin… what the-”

  Shin spoke fast. “Relax. She’s temporary. this is alice! ”

  Isaiah’s eye twitched. “Temporary?! Didn’t you say this gang was going to be ‘too dangerous’? And now you’re bringing in a kid?!”

  Shin scoffed. “Look- some idiots from the Roses gang were messing with her. You know how weird they get.”

  He gestured vaguely.

  “Pushing, pulling her hair..fake flirting, too. Got annoyed, so I handled it. And now she’s here. these pigs started chasing me too.”

  He crossed his arms.

  " What, was I supposed to just let her walk free after that? That’d be, I dunno, evil or something. they can find her again and who knows what they will do.”

  "Yeah, you being evil.. that's rich coming from the guy who thinks 'taking care of business' means causing chaos."

  Shin patted Alice’s head. “hey.. It's fine! Look, she's smart, not annoying, She’s also quiet ,but she understands everything.

  Before Isaiah could argue more, Alice pulled out a small notebook and started writing. Then she held it up between Shin and isaiah.

  Shin squinted at the words. “ Can you help me find my parents? ’”

  The room fell quiet again.

  Isaiah’s anger calmed slightly, while Ramos just blinked confused, because he couldn't read.

  Shin stared at the words for a second before suddenly slamming his fist into his palm. “Alright, that’s it. She’s staying with us until we find them.”

  Isaiah’s eyes twitched. “what..?"

  Shin turned to Alice. “ Also You can’t just wander around alone, y’know. It’s dangerous out there.”

  Isaiah groaned. “Then let’s take her to the SJA, They deal with stuff like this-”

  Shin immediately turned on him, yelling. “NO.”

  Isaiah groaned. “ Shin-”

  “We are not taking her to the SJA.” Shin declared. “She’s staying here. With me. Us.- but we lowkey dont have somewhere to keep her comfortable.."

  Isaiah choked on air.

  shin paused. Looked around.

  The hideout was just an open space filled with bookshelves, cabinets, scattered files, a TV, a cozy couch, and a small kitchen in the corner.

  No rooms. No beds.

  “…Uhhh.” Shin slowly turned back to Alice.

  Isaiah, still recovering from choking, wheezed, “Where exactly are you putting her, genius?”

  Shin didn’t answer. He just casually pulled out his phone, walked off, and started dialing.

  “…Are you seriously calling someone for help..” Ramos asked.

  Isaiah crossed his arms. “ Wow, You have people to call?”

  Shin ignored them, holding the phone to his ear. Then, after a few rings

  “Oh H-Hey, Mom… I know I haven’t talked to you in, like… months or so…”

  He awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

  “Uh, do we have a spare room for a kid?”

  Silence.

  Then, a woman's voice came through the phone, completely unimpressed.

  “Shin. Did you run off for a few months and start a family?”

  Isaiah choked. Ramos froze.

  Shin’s face went pale. “Huh?.. what- no!?”

  “Oh my god,” the woman continued continued. “You left the house, refused to take responsibility for your noble duties, and now you’re calling me because you have a child?! Shin, is there something you wanna tell me?”

  Shin slowly turned back to Isaiah and Ramos staring, and they immediately looked away from shin to avoid any awkwardness.

  Shin clutched the phone tighter. “I- I DONT HAVE A FAMILY IN SECRET, OKAY?! I just-” He glanced at Alice, who was quietly watching, then turned back. “I, uh… kinda maybe temporarily picked up a kid, and I need help.”

  Another long silence.

  Then woman sighed. “...I’m going to need more context.”

  Shin groaned and leaned against the couch. “Oh, I’ll give you context. Just-just tell me if I can bring her over.”

  Sapphire hummed. “Fine. But if I find out you actually had a secret wife,

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I’m going to seriously disown you.”

  Isaiah accidentally let out a laugh but immediately let out a fake cough to cover it.

  Shin hung up the phone with a long sigh. He turned to Alice, who blinked up at him expectantly.

  “Welp,” he muttered, “Looks like you’re meeting my family.”

  Alice just nodded.

  Isaiah raised an eyebrow. “So… that’s it? You’re just taking her there like it’s some daycare drop-off? you cant just do that..”

  Shin scoffed, crossing his arms. “What else am I supposed to do? I’m barely making enough money to keep us all from starving, and we don't even have a bed in here, and like i said im not letting her go out alone.”

  Isaiah and Ramos glanced around the room. Peeling wallpaper, scattered papers, an old couch that looked like it had seen war, and a single flickering light bulb.

  “...Yeah, fair,” Isaiah admitted.

  ---------|

  With that settled, Shin, Alice, Isaiah, and Ramos set off for his family’s place.

  When they finally arrived at the Stellis estate, Isaiah and Ramos froze at the gates.

  The place was massive. Pure white stone walls towered over them, surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges. A fountaine stood in the center of the courtyard, glistening under the sunlight. The entrance alone had double doors larger than their entire hideout.

  Isaiah’s jaw dropped. “Dude.”

  Ramos simply stared.

  Shin, on the other hand, barely acknowledged it, pushing open the gates like he was stepping into a grocery store. Alice followed him in without hesitation.

  Isaiah grabbed Shin’s sleeve before he could get too far. “Hold on- hold on-are you sure we are in the right place..?”

  Shin blinked at him. “Uh. Yeah?”

  Isaiah gestured wildly to the mansion. “You grew up in a freaking castle, and you’re telling me you dropped all this to live in a dump?”

  Shin nodded shamelessly. “Yeah, because I actually value my freedom.”

  Isaiah shook his head. “No, see, I get that. But. You-” He gestured again, struggling to form words. “You left a mansion for our worthless area of trash?!”

  “Yup.”

  Isaiah looked at Ramos, hoping for some shared disbelief, but Ramos was still busy staring at the mansion, as if trying to process its existence.

  Before Isaiah could complain any further, the double doors swung open.

  And there stood an elegant blue black haired lady, Sapphire Stellis.

  The moment she laid eyes on Alice, her cold, calculating expression melted into pure delight.

  “Oh my lord.., aren’t you just adorable?” Sapphire said with the sweetest warmest tone ever, stepping forward.

  Alice, ever the calm one, simply tilted her head.

  Meanwhile, Sapphire finally acknowledged Shin, her eyes narrowing. “Get inside Now.”

  Shin sighed. “Yep. saw that coming.”

  Isaiah and Ramos, still recovering from their shock, reluctantly followed after him into the estate, unsure of what kind of chaos awaited them inside.

  As they stepped inside, Isaiah and Ramos were immediately overwhelmed by the sheer size of the interior.

  The entrance hall alone was bigger than their entire hideout, complete with a massive chandelier, polished marble floors, and paintings that probably cost more than their lives.

  Isaiah leaned over to Ramos, whispering, “Dude. We look like absolute criminals right now.”

  Ramos blinked at him.

  Isaiah gestured at their outfits, dark clothes, messy hair, lingering scent of cheap cigarettes and alleyway dust. Compared to the pristine luxury surrounding them, they looked like a couple of rogue street thugs who had just broken in.

  “We gotta be on our best behavior,” Isaiah whispered urgently. “One wrong move, and they’ll throw us out like stray dogs.”

  Ramos gave a slow nod. “Noted.”

  Meanwhile, Shin, completely ignoring the suffocating level of wealth around him, casually stretched. “Alright, where’s my-”

  Before he could finish, footsteps echoed down the grand staircase.

  Onyx Stellis, a deep wine red haired lume, ever the picture of composure, descended gracefully, dressed in a well-fitted suit. His sharp gaze landed on Shin first, then flickered to Alice, then Isaiah and Ramos.

  A brief silence.

  Then Onyx sighed. “Of course you’d come back like this.”

  “Nice to see you too, bro” Shin said with a lazy grin.

  Onyx ignored him and turned to Alice, his sharp expression softening slightly. “And who’s this?”

  Before Shin could answer, Sapphire stepped in. “This is Alice,” she said warmly. “Shin apparently decided to take responsibility for once in his life.”

  Isaiah accidently let out a laugh before slapping a hand over his mouth.

  Shin shot him a glare before turning back to Onyx. “Yeah, yeah, she’s Alice. I’m temporarily kee Long story.”

  Onyx looked at Alice carefully, then glanced back at Shin. “And where exactly were you planning to keep her?”

  Shin opened his mouth to respond-then hesitated.

  Onyx’s gaze turned suspicious.

  Shin cleared his throat. “Uh… good question.”

  Isaiah and Ramos exchanged a look.

  Sapphire pinched the bridge of her nose. “I knew it. You picked up a child with no actual plan.”

  “Okay, first of all-”

  Before Shin could defend himself, more footsteps echoed from the hallways.

  Half of Shin's other family members were curious about the commotion.

  Pearl, Bianca, and Oliver Stellis had arrived.

  Pearl, bright and pale as a pearl, and as elegant as ever, raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar guests.

  Bianca, a stunning lady with dark blue roots to silver tipped fancy hair. folded her arms, giving Shin a look that screamed; What did you do now? And

  Oliver, a shady vampire looking guy with a wine red shaggy hair, the only one who actually seemed amused by all this, smirked as he spotted the two shady-looking figures standing awkwardly in the background.

  “Well, well,” Oliver smugged. “ My son finally returns home, and he brings guests. Dangerous-looking ones, at that.”

  Isaiah immediately straightened his posture, nudging Ramos to do the same.

  “We are NOT dangerous, sir,” he said way too fast. “We are very respectable individuals.”

  Oliver’s smirk widened. “Oh, I’m sure you are.”

  Isaiah wanted to curl into a ball and die.

  Meanwhile, Alice, completely unaffected by all the tension, simply looked up at Shin expectantly, as if waiting for him to keep talking.

  Sapphire clapped her hands together. “Alright. Now that introductions are somewhat over. Shin, if you’re serious about this, we’re going to have to make arrangements.”

  Shin sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. How about you guys keep her with you till I can try to think of something..? Its pretty much dangerous out there for her to be on her own.”

  Alice reached for his sleeve, giving it a small tug.

  Shin blinked at her, then smirked. “See? Even Alice agrees with me.”

  “She didn’t even say anything,” Onyx pointed out.

  “Her silence speaks volumes,” Shin replied.

  Oliver chuckled, and Sapphire sighed again.

  Isaiah, meanwhile, turned to Ramos and whispered,

  “We’re never gonna survive this place… Just how huge is his damn family?”

  He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

  “Can we find her parents already? Because being stuck in a mansion full of rich people is giving me second-hand stress.”

  Ramos nodded “Noted...”