Chapter 9 9. Troublemaker

"It was a very long and complicated family tree," Sarah folded her arms across her chest as she pictured the family tree that Grace had described in her mind.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Princ- ... I mean, Adro Alymer Groendez." Adro stood up and stretched out his right hand. He remembered that in this world, people get to know each other by shaking hands, even women.

"I'm Sarah Park. Nice to meet you," Sarah replied, still a little surprised at Adro's rather strange name. However, she remembered that he was from another country.

"So, the men's clothes you asked for were for him?" Sarah turned back to Grace.

"Yep," Grace answered as she checked the inside of the paper bag from the luxury clothing brand. "Thanks for helping me, Sarah. I'll pay you back in two terms. Will that be okay?"

Sarah shook her head. "No need. Those are clothes that I bought for Harry, but I haven't given them to him."

"Harry? Oh, I see..." Grace muttered.

Harry was Sarah's thirty-fourth ex-boyfriend. However, they broke up one month after they got together because Sarah saw that he couldn't change his broken car tire. She saw him as an incompetent man to meet her standard.

Grace took out a white T-shirt and black jeans from the bag. Then she gave it to Adro. "This is a T-shirt and jeans. You can get change in the toilet, then put your dirty clothes into this bag. You ... do understand me, don't you?"

Adro nodded and accepted the dope black bag. "Of course. Thank you,"

As soon as the tall man entered the toilet and closed the door, Sarah rushed towards Grace. "Are you serious that he is your relative? I thought you and your extended family had broken up. And why is he wearing a costume?"

Grace rubbed her stiff neck. "We're not breaking up, Sarah. We're just ... like breaking up,"

"It's the same," Sarah replied.

"I know! But no matter how far away a person is, he will come to us when he needs help, right?" Grace whispered.

Sarah nodded in agreement. "Then, is he an actor? He is a beauty and his body is proportional, like a model. His eye color is also unique. Is he wearing contact lenses?"

"He... He is a... an opera actor. Yes... the opera. You know, he does play on stage. That's his job in his country." Grace lied, stuttering a bit, then held her breath when Sarah stared at her with narrow eyes.

"Well, it's not so surprising. Indeed, his face has the actor's standard. He should just appear on TV." Sarah said, making Grace secretly sigh with relief.

"Anyways, how is your leg?" Sarah glanced at Grace's leg, which was wrapped in bandages. "I don't understand - why did you go to that abandoned mansion?"

"It's just a muscle strain and a slight ankle fracture, Sarah. The doctor said it would just be a major operation," Grace answered. Then she cleared her throat and tried to explain, "And about the mansion ... I came there because..."

Furrowing her forehead, Sarah looked at Grace's face, which suddenly turned gloomy as if she wanted to cry. "What happened to you?"

"I..." Grace blinked and cleared her throat again. "I just ... felt like I needed a new atmosphere. Because of things that happened lately, I intended to calm myself by hanging out at the beach. But suddenly I was curious about that mansion when I passed it."

"Gosh, Grace... I had a weird thought about you; you know that?" She looked softly at her and then stroked her hair. "Don't make us worry. You have to take care of yourself."

Grace smiled. "What were you thinking? Of course, I won't do anything stupid." She glanced away.

"At least don't endanger yourself, you idiot! How could you possibly be curious about that rickety building? Are you a freak or what?"

Grace just snorted in annoyance. However, she accepted the scolding sincerely because she knew Sarah was worried about her. And Grace felt sorry in her heart for not being honest with her best friend. However, she couldn't possibly admit to Sarah that she wanted to commit suicide.

"By the way, why hasn't your brother come out of the toilet? Is he defecating or something?" Sarah asked. How does a person need that much time just to change?

Because Sarah brought it up, Grace realized it. "Sarah, actually, he is a bit strange. Can you check on him for a moment, please?" She asked in a rush.

Sarah nodded and then stepped toward the toilet door. She put her ear to the white door and turned to Grace. "There is a flowing water sound. I think it comes from the sink faucet. The sound is very strong."

"What?" Grace covered her mouth with one hand.

'Could something happen inside? God! What should I do? I didn't think he would do anything weird in the toilet!' Grace thought, secretly hitting herself on the head.

Sarah took the initiative to knock on the door. "Hello... Adro, are you okay there?"

"This thing won't stop pouring out water," The man's voice echoed from inside.

Grace and Sarah looked at each other. "Oh, God... Please try to break in," Grace said with lip movement while pointing at the toilet door.

Sarah nodded, then knocked on the door again. "Have you changed your clothes? I want to open the door. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Please," Adro answered.

Opening the door without hesitation, Sarah blinked as she stepped back because the spray of water splashed her face. She immediately opened the door wider.

"GOOD GRIEF!" Sarah screamed with bulging eyes.

In just an instant, the floor in front of the toilet became soaked as water continued to splash out.

"The faucet broke?!" Sarah screamed.

"Oh my God..." Grace whined as she pressed the bell button to call the nurse.

***

"It looks like the faucet was a bit damaged from the start," Grace said to the two hospital plumbers who had just finished repairing the sink.

"The whole sink was changed just two months ago. It couldn't be damaged because all the seals are still good. This thing broke because it was pulled forcefully." One of the plumbers answered with an annoyed face.

"I-is that so?" Grace muttered, lowering her face.

"There's no need to worry. If something has to be replaced, I will cover all the losses." Sarah firmly said.

"If so, I will tell the staff about it. Maybe they will put it on your bill." He replied.

"This is all my fault. I didn't know how that thing worked to make it break. The only person here who must take responsibility is me," Adro stepped in.