Chapter 404: – Not Found
It was a story from the far distant past.
As John stared at Gray, he began to recall the times long forgotten. The times when he wasn't even a teenager yet.
A "genius" older brother who could do no wrong. One who worked like a machine and faced no challenges, getting a full ride to university. And one who had been on the verge of graduating with scouts already lining up to poach him for the tech field.
John remembered how Gray had ignored them all for that last year, delving deeper into his studies and completely forsaking his family.
And then he vanished. Without a word, without a clue. Without so much as a text.
John remembered that his parents thought he was just being distant as usual. Gray had a bad habit of taking forever to reply to messages.
But then the university called and said Gray never showed up for his finals.
And although a search was put out, Gray was never found again. John still remembered how his parents couldn't believe it.
And John clearly remembered how his life changed from that point onwards.
His father decided it was due to a lack of discipline that his eldest son turned out that way, so he cracked down on John's activities and forced him to study, controlling his every act.
His mother became super naggy, always asking how he felt, if he needed anything, if he had any concerns...
John hated it. And while it got better as he got older, he still despised how Gray threw everything away and disappeared just to dump everything on John.
But John had forgotten about it. The past was the past, and since it seemed like Gray had died somewhere nobody could find him... something likely considering how Gray's best friend had died.
In any case, since it was unchangeable and not worth dwelling on, John moved past it. He came to terms with the fact that his older brother likely folded under stress and depression from being alone.
AND YET HERE HE WAS.
John adjusted the cuffs on his suit, idly wondering if he should throw another punch or two.
The silver-haired beauty ran up to Gray and quickly held out a napkin, dabbing the blood off his lips. "Are you hurt, Husband?"
Gray glanced at her and smiled, waving his hand. "It's fine. I expected this."
John clicked his tongue.
...So this was how people felt when they saw him and Yue, huh? For some reason, John felt really irritated.
Seemed like childhood trauma and grudges never really went away.
Or maybe it was the fact that the closure John got turned out to be a lie. The grieving, anger, acceptance, and moving on for an older brother John thought had given up on life turned out to be pointless considering how healthy and happy the guy in front of him seemed to be.
But John took a breath and calmed down.
This wasn't the time or the place.
And running up to John to emphasize that was Jenny. "John." She grabbed John's arm and said, "Not here."
John nodded. "I got it."
A casual look around showed people in the cafe stunned into silence. Not only that, but a few of the Project MirAIs fans were glancing between John and Gray, clearly connecting a few dots. And...T/his chapter is updated by nov(ê(l)biin.co/m
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