SSOTA
Ukraine tried to figure out what his grandma meant by that statement, but it didn't ring a bell,
"I don't mean to sound rude, but I see no difference. You're here as the head of the mission but not my grandma?", he asked, acting like he lost his sense of reasoning,
The grandma's evil smile vanished. She wasn't expecting him to behave like that, she expected him to humble himself like how Song always did, but instead Ukraine displayed insanity.
"Ukraine, I'm not a fan of crazy", with clenched jaws, she said,
"No, I know, really. But if my grandma and the head of this mission are different, then I guess I'm not your grandson but a member of your team",
"What the hell are you_",
"I only allow my family in my house and especially my bedroom. Since you're currently not my grandma, please get out of my house and knock again, I'll decide whether to open the door for you or not",
"UKRAINE_",
"The mission is strictly formal but popping inside people's houses and sitting in their beds is not. If you wanted to ask me about the mission, you would've called me and asked me to meet you, not this",
"Where did you get the audacity to talk to me that way? Where? I have power over you, power to do anything I want to you_",
"I know, but as long as you can't kill me, that's fine. Or wait, don't tell me you can",
Vida wasn't prepared for that; it was humiliating her. She inwardly questioned if she had been too soft towards him, maybe that was the reason for him not to fear her.
She returned the photo on the pillow and put her hands behind her back. She began walking towards him, wearing a wistful smile,
"I guess I spoiled you, Ukraine. I guess I displayed myself as a bunny. But I know why I was so soft towards you, it's because you grew up without a mother! You were motherless from the moment you came into Earth, that's why I pitied you, you poor unfortunate soul",
She watched as Ukraine's mood changed after piercing a needle through his fresh wound with her words. She could now see him bothered, the confidence wearing off him, just exactly like she wanted. She waited for his comeback, but he couldn't,
"Next time you try to anger me, think about where you came from.", Vida continued, "You're just a mistake my son made when he was drunk, and you're alive now thanks to my pardon. This is the first and last time I'm letting your behavior pass unpunished. There will be no mercy next time",
She walked past him and left his room. Still standing at the door, he could hear her walking out of his house.
There was no point for him to fume, in fact he was relieved that she left without asking for the file. It was the first time he saw the dark side of his grandma. So, she was crueler than he thought. He could now understand what his father meant all those times.
...
Monday
CC HEADQUARTERS
The headquarter was busier than ever now that they were approaching the release of the two products. Each team was getting serious with the tasks, it was rare finding someone sitting idly doing nothing. Even the break alarm didn't sound as good as it was before. Nobody really paid attention to it.
The marketing team had to order lunch delivery, and Ukraine volunteered to go get it from the lobby. He carried 4 bags as he waited for the elevator. He explicitly saw how the lobby was hectic, the whole building was raining task.
"I wonder if she even had the time to eat yet", he inwardly thought,
The elevator doors slid open, and he hopped inside. He pressed the 15th floor button and waited for the elevator to go upwards,
In no time he was on the CEO's floor. He walked towards Kro's office. He found the secretary busy printing the documents, her hair tied in a rough bun with a pencil,
"Good afternoon, Mariana", greeted Ukraine from the door,
Mariana took a quick glance and went back to printing,
"Oh Ukraine, Boss isn't here", she politely told him,
"She left in the morning to meet all the store managers, after that she'll go check the venue and also see how the production is going, so I don't think she'll come back here today, did you need anything?",
"I just wanted to drop by and give her lunch, no big deal. Keep up the good work",
"You too",
He closed the door and proceeded to the marketing department.
When he entered, he found Misaki grabbing both their bags in a hurry. Sue was standing next to her, finishing to write something in a piece of paper. Ukraine put the lunch bag on the table and approached the ladies,
"What's going on?", he asked,
"Thank God you're here, I was about to call you!", sighed Misaki, "We need to go meet the packaging designers, there are bottle samples that we need to choose and count. If we go now, we'll be done by 9 pm",
"I know this is new to you, but this is how the office gets when we're approaching the release date. You'll get used to it in no time", said Sue, assuring them. She also handed the folded piece of paper to Misaki, "I wrote things you should consider when choosing the best packaging",
"Yes MD!", they both answered in sync then left the office,
"Whose car are we taking?", asked Ukraine
"Yours", Misaki answered,
"Okay",
.....
NIGHT
10 pm
Every single bone in Sue's body was exhausted. She could hear the cracking sound with every stretch she did. She arrived at her house, looking forward to throwing herself in bed. Since it was already late, she couldn't phone Kro to speak with her daughter, Zoe was probably asleep by then, and she was about to do the same thing after shower.
She was perplexed after switching the lights on and finding her living room destroyed and messy. Her house was wrecked, everything was on the floor.
She unconsciously dropped her bag and rushing from room to room, but every room was in the same condition as the living room, a total mess. The person who did that seemed to be uncaring, everything was wrecked, even the most valuable things.
What alerted her was the fact that nothing was stolen. All the expensive jewelry were just thrown on the floor, not one of it was taken, meaning they were looking for something else. Still looking around, she worked her exhausted brain to think of who would've done that, and that was when it hit her, nearly giving her a heart attack,
"Zoe! She came to look for Zoe, she's here", Sue gasped,
There was only one person who would do something that despicable to her, and that was the mother-in-law.
....
Ssota
Ukraine stood in the doorway long after Vida left.
He could still hear the fading echo of her footsteps moving through the house, the calm violence of her presence lingering even after she was gone. For the first time in his life, he had seen the dark side his father had tried to warn him about.
And now that he had seen it, he understood too much.
He shut the bedroom door slowly.
Then turned back toward the bed.
The photograph of Kro still rested on the pillow where Vida had placed it, almost neatly, as if she had not just used it to expose him. Ukraine picked it up and stared at it in silence.
Her face in that old photograph looked exactly as it always did to him now—beautiful, unreadable, carrying something too heavy for one lifetime. Or perhaps, he thought bitterly, exactly right for someone who had lived too many.
Vida's words should have been the ones echoing in his head.
Instead, all he could hear was Kro's voice.
Some things aren't what they seem.
He sat on the edge of the bed and pressed his thumb over the edge of the photo.
Vida had struck him where she knew he was weakest.
Motherless from the moment you came into Earth.
He closed his eyes.
He hated that she had gotten what she wanted from him. Hated that she had seen his confidence crack. Hated more that she was right about one thing—those words still hurt.
But beneath the hurt, something else had settled.
Relief.
She had come to take the file.
And she had left without it.
That mattered.
Ukraine placed the photo back on the bed carefully.
Then he stared into the dark room for a long time, thinking not about the mission, not about Vida, not even about Song—
but about Kro.
And about the fact that, somewhere along the line, she had stopped being a subject and started becoming a person he could not bear to lose.
...
Monday
CC Headquarters
Headquarters had turned into a machine.
The approaching product release had put every floor under pressure, and it showed. Teams moved fast, talked fast, made decisions fast. It was rare now to find anyone idling, and even the break alarm had lost its charm. People heard it, yes. They just no longer cared.
The marketing department had ordered lunch delivery, and Ukraine, eager for movement, volunteered to collect it from the lobby. He balanced four paper bags in his hands as he headed toward the elevator, watching the building's frantic rhythm all around him.
The lobby downstairs had been chaos.
And as he waited for the elevator, one thought pushed through his mind before he could stop it.
I wonder if she's eaten yet.
The elevator arrived.
He stepped in, pressed the fifteenth-floor button, and headed for the CEO floor before he could talk himself out of it.
In minutes he was standing outside Kro's office.
Mariana, the secretary, was buried in work, feeding paper through the printer with one hand while the other kept her rough bun from collapsing completely. A pencil was stuck through it like a weapon of office survival.
"Good afternoon, Mariana," Ukraine said from the doorway.
She glanced at him briefly and smiled.
"Oh, Ukraine. Boss isn't here."
He paused.
"She left this morning to meet the store managers. After that she went to inspect the venue and then check on production. I doubt she'll be back today. Did you need something?"
Ukraine adjusted the lunch bags in his hands.
"No. I just thought I'd drop off lunch."
Mariana gave him a knowing look, though she was kind enough not to comment.
"Keep up the good work."
"You too."
He left with a strange hollowness under his ribs and headed back downstairs.
...
The Marketing Department
By the time Ukraine stepped back inside, he found Misaki already on her feet, grabbing her bag while Sue stood beside her writing something urgently on a folded sheet of paper.
He had barely set the lunch bags down before he asked, "What's going on?"
Misaki looked up and sighed with relief.
"Thank God. I was about to call you."
Sue handed the folded note to Misaki.
"We need both of you to go meet the packaging designers," she said. "There are bottle samples waiting, and we need to choose, count, and approve them. If you leave now, you should be done by nine."
Then, noticing the faintly alarmed look on Ukraine's face, she added, "I know this is all new for you, but this is how things get before a release. You'll get used to it."
She tapped the folded paper.
"I wrote down the main things you need to consider while choosing the final packaging."
"Got it," Misaki said.
"Yes, MD," Ukraine added.
The two of them left together.
On the way out, Ukraine asked, "Whose car are we taking?"
"Yours."
"Okay."
And just like that, they were swallowed by another workday that refused to end.
...
Night
10:00 PM
By the time Sue reached home, every part of her body felt used up.
Her bones cracked when she stretched, her neck ached, her eyes burned, and the only thing she wanted in the world was a shower followed by bed. It was already late enough that she knew she couldn't call Kro to speak with Zoe—her daughter was probably asleep by now, and if not, Sue herself soon would be.
She pulled into the driveway, tired enough not to notice anything was wrong until she stepped inside.
Then the lights came on.
And the breath caught in her throat.
The living room had been destroyed.
Drawers yanked open. Cushions on the floor. Broken objects everywhere. Decorations smashed. Every room she ran into next looked the same—torn through, overturned, ripped apart with purpose.
Sue dropped her bag and rushed from room to room in rising panic.
Nothing was missing.
That was what made it worse.
Jewelry lay scattered across the floor untouched. Cash was where she had left it. Nothing valuable had been stolen.
Whoever had done this had not been robbing her.
They had been searching.
The realization hit so hard it nearly dropped her where she stood.
"Zoe," she gasped.
Her whole body went cold.
"She came here looking for Zoe."
There was only one person vicious enough to do this and leave without taking anything.
Only one person who would rip a house apart looking for a child she considered hers by force.
Her mother-in-law.
Sue took a step back and grabbed for her phone with shaking fingers.
...
Ssota
Night
Ukraine lay in bed staring at the ceiling, phone balanced over his face.
"Should I call her? Should I not call her? Should I call her? Should I not call her?"
He turned his head.
Then turned it back.
"It's late," he muttered. "She's probably asleep by now."
The phone rang.
Ukraine nearly dropped it onto his own face.
He sat up so fast his blanket tangled around his legs.
On the screen glowed the name:
President Kro
He cleared his throat, instantly absurdly aware of his own voice, and answered.
"Hello."
"What are you doing awake so late?" Kro asked, her voice casual, a little softer than usual, as though she had just gotten into bed herself. "You should be asleep."
Ukraine almost laughed from the unreal timing of it.
"But you called first."
"Yes," Kro said. "And yet you still answered. Today was exhausting. I expected you to be deeply asleep by now."
Ukraine smiled into the darkness.
"I was actually about to call you myself. Just to check if you were okay."
"Good God, Ukraine." Her tone turned amused. "You sound like you're talking to your girlfriend or something. You don't need to check on me every time. I'm a grown woman. I can take care of myself."
"I know," he said. "I know you can. But I still keep ending up worried about you, and I'm pretty sure that's your fault."
"My fault?"
"Yes. You keep making me worried."
That quieted her for a beat.
"And why is that? Is this about yesterday?"
"Yes." He hesitated. "Did I remind you of someone?"
Kro shifted under her blanket and rested deeper into the pillow.
"You did," she said. "You reminded me of someone."
"Who?"
Kro ignored the question.
"Mariana told me you dropped by the office today."
"Yes, I did, but don't change the topic."
He chuckled softly.
There was a pause.
Then Kro said his name.
"Ukraine?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you so interested in me?"
Her voice lowered slightly.
"You don't happen to have a crush on me, do you?"
Ukraine sat still.
Slowly, he reached into the drawer beside his bed and took out the old photograph of Kro again. He stared at it in silence.
At first Kro waited easily.
Then the silence grew longer than expected.
Long enough to make her wonder if the line had dropped.
"Ukraine? Are you asle—"
"I'm interested in you because I want to know the reason," he said at last.
Kro frowned.
"What reason?"
"The reason for that look in your eyes."
His gaze remained fixed on the photograph.
"You once told me the only thing I could do for you was care. Even a little. Ever since then I've had one question stuck in my head."
Kro shifted slightly.
"I told you to care a little," she said. "I think you're doing too much."
"Maybe."
He drew in a breath.
"But every time I want to do more, the same question stops me."
Kro's tone sharpened—not in anger, but in attention.
"What question?"
Ukraine's fingers tightened around the edge of the photograph.
"Can I trust you?"
That took her by surprise.
She had expected something foolish.
Something easier.
Something she could dodge with a joke.
Instead she got that.
A real question.
One heavy enough to matter.
"Ukraine…" she said carefully. "I can't tell you whether to trust me. That's your choice."
He said nothing.
She continued, quieter now.
"If this were food, I'd tell you 'Trust me, I'll feed you.' But that isn't what you mean. And I can't guarantee you anything."
His voice came back strained with desperation.
"If I tell you I'm on my knees right now, will you answer it? Please. I'm begging you. Can I trust you?"
Kro shut her eyes.
There was too much need in his voice.
Too much honesty.
Too much of the exact thing she knew she could not safely hold.
So she answered the only way she knew how.
"Here's my answer," she said. "Don't trust me."
Silence.
"That way," she added softly, "you won't be disappointed."
She didn't wait for him to respond.
"I have to wake up early tomorrow. Goodnight."
And she ended the call.
Ukraine stayed sitting there, staring at the photo in his hand.
The room was silent again.
The line was dead.
But her answer remained alive inside him.
He looked at the photograph one last time before slipping it back into the drawer and lying down.
His eyes closed.
His mind didn't.
After a long while, he whispered into the darkness:
"Right. You're right, Kro."
But the worst part was that even after hearing her answer, he still wasn't sure he could stop himself from trying.
***