01

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A few years ago, Jeong Jun, the father of Yn, Kevin, and Areum, passed away in a tragic plane crash while returning to Korea from a business trip.

Mr. Jeong was accustomed to frequent business travels, often spending extended periods away from home. During his absences, Mrs. Jeong started abusing Yn and Kevin, subjecting them to a relentless cycle of household chores, physical violence, and deprivation. They endured days without proper meals, enduring beatings that left them half-conscious, and were even confined to the basement for days on end, sustained only by occasional sips of water to keep them alive. Amidst the darkness of their circumstances, Yn and kevin clung to each other, their spiritsunbroken despite the cruelty shown upon them.

When Mr. Jeong returned from his trips, Mrs. Jeong would fake concern for their well-being, pretending to be sweet and innocent. Although Mr. Jeong cherished his children deeply, Mrs. Jeong's affections were reserved solely for her spoiled daughter, Areum. Whenever their father was absent, Areum took advantage of her favored status, using it to bully Kevin and Yn mercilessly. Despite the facade of familial harmony, an undercurrent of tension and resentment simmered beneath the surface of the Jeong household, threatening to unravel the fragile bonds that held them together.

One day, Mr. Jeong discovered the horrifying truth about his wife and eldest daughter's abuse of the twins in his absence. Knowing that mere warnings would not cease their cruelty, he resolved to send the twins away to France. When Mrs. Jeong questioned why only the twins were being sent away and not Areum, Mr. Jeong replied, "Areum will be with us. If we send all of them, we will miss them all, right?" With that excuse, he managed to conceal his true intentions. Fortunately, neither Mrs. Jeong nor Areum accompanied them to see the twins off, much to their relief.

Mr. Jeong finally voiced the words he had kept bottled up inside. "Kids, you trust Appa, right?" he asked, his voice tinged with emotion.

"Yes, Appa," Kevin and Yn replied in unison.

"I know what you kids are thinking, but trust me, sweetheart, Appa loves you both with all his heart, okay?" Mr. Jeong assured them, his eyes filled with sincerity. "I've come to know about what your mother and sister have been doing to you. They won't cease the abuse, even if I ask them to. They'll only inflict more pain when I'm not around. So, I'm sending you to France. I've bought a mansion for you both, along with caretakers to look after you. I've also arranged for admission to a well-disciplined and enjoyable school for my lovely kids. Appa will definitely come and visit, okay?"

He paused, a solemn expression on his face, before continuing, "And there's a secret about me that no one knows, not even your mother and sister."

"After arriving at the mansion, go to your respective study rooms. There you'll find half of a locket kept for each of you. Join the two halves together and then proceed to the library in the mansion. You'll notice a mark in the library exactly like the locket. Place the locket on the mark and press it, alright? You'll uncover the secret that no one else knows. And remember, keep it between us, okay?" Mr. Jeong said softly, his gaze fixed on the twins with a mixture of concern and determination.

"Now, you guys are just ten years old, but when your 15th birthday comes, I will reveal one more secret. Take care, kids. Eat three meals a day, study well, and sleep on time, or at least sleep for healthy hours," Mr. Jeong said, tears brimming in his eyes as he looked at the twins. "Appa will miss you a lot."

Listening to his father's emotional words, the kids started to cry their hearts out, embracing their dad tightly. Yn and Kevin had always yearned to escape from their home, but never from their father, they loved him dearly.

"We will miss you too, Appa. Take care, and don't worry about us. We'll be good, and we'll wait for you to come," the twins said to Mr. Jeong, their innocent doe eyes brimming with tears.

With a small, sad smile on their faces, the kids boarded the plane. To this day, neither Mrs. Jeong nor Areum had called them even once. Only Mr. Jeong came to visit them secretly, spending at least a week with them. Unfortunately, he passed away a week before his planned visit to France to see the twins.

"It's been eight years since we came to France," Yn thought to herself as she heard Kevin's voice calling out.

"Elvyra, baby, I'm home," Kevin said, his tired eyes lighting up as he saw his twin sister.

"Kevin oppa! I missed you," Yn exclaimed, rushing to hug her brother tightly.

"I missed you too, my baby Ynnie," Kevin replied affectionately.

"Come on, Kevin, let's go eat dinner! I've been waiting for you to come," Yn said, leading her brother towards the dining area.

As Yn observed Kevin, she noticed how tired and exhausted he looked after attending meetings all day. Determined to make him feel better, she had prepared his favorite dishes. When Kevin lifted the lids to see his favorite foods waiting for him, a smile spread across his face, and he leaned in to peck Yn's forehead affectionately.

I'm always grateful for having him as my twin brother, she thought inwardly. No one understands me like him. We're not always sweet to each other; sometimes we fight like monkeys, too, lol.

After Appa passed away, we became each other's only family, she continued her thoughts. After coming to France and doing what Dad said in the library, the door opened, revealing a diary. In it, Dad confessed that he was a mafia king of the world. We were shocked to hell, but guess what? We cooled down, and he asked us when we were 14 years old if we had any interest in taking the throne. We agreed and underwent training from Dad for a year. By the end of the year, Dad declared that we were capable of being the mafia king and mafia queen.

At the age of 15, we ascended to the titles of Mafia King and Mafia Queen, ruling over the underworld. After a week of our reign, Dad decided it was time to celebrate. Just before departing for Korea on a business trip, he assured us, "I will be back next week." Tragically, he perished in a plane crash. As I recalled this memory, tears welled up in my eyes.

"Yn, baby? Are you okay?" My twin, Kevin, shook my shoulders with concern.

"Yes, oppa. What's wrong?" I asked, trying to hide the turmoil within.

"Baby, I know what's on your mind. But we can't change anything, right? Dad wouldn't want to see his little princess crying, would he?" Kevin sighed, his words carrying the weight of our shared grief.

I nodded in agreement, appreciating his attempt to comfort me.

Later, as we chatted and laughed, enjoying a rare moment of normalcy, my phone rang. My expression darkened as I glanced at the caller ID, sensing trouble on the other end of the line.

Kevin's pov.

As we were enjoying our time together, Yn's phone rang, and her expression instantly darkened.

"Who is it, Yn?" I asked, feeling a knot form in my stomach.

"It's Mrs. Jeong," Yn replied, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"Go ahead and answer it, baby. Let's see what she wants now," I suggested, my uncertainty mirroring hers. What could Mrs. Jeong possibly want from us after eight years?

Yn nodded, and with a sense of apprehension, she answered the call, putting it on speaker as I had suggested.

"Hello? Who is this?" Yn asked deliberately, her tone tinged with rudeness.

"Hello, Yn-ah, it's me, your mom," Mrs. Jeong replied, attempting to sound sweet.

"Mom? Who? I don't have a mom," Yn retorted sharply, refusing to acknowledge the woman on the other end of the line.

"Yn-ah, it's Mrs. Jeong. Please don't say such things," Mrs. Jeong responded, her frustration barely concealed.

"What do you want from us, Mrs. Jeong?" Yn asked, her patience wearing thin.

"It's nothing like that. I want you both to come back to Korea now," Mrs. Jeong continued, her tone becoming more insistent.

"No, Mrs. Jeong. We're not coming back to Korea anymore," Yn snapped, her resolve unwavering.

"Yn, please! Come to Korea for me. I regret everything I did to you both in childhood. I only wanted to discipline you," Mrs. Jeong pleaded, her words coated in false sweetness.

I nodded, silently urging Yn to agree. She shot me a look that clearly screamed, "Are you out of your mind?" I responded with a small smile and a reassuring nod.

"Okay," Yn finally agreed with a sigh, reluctantly conceding to Mrs. Jeong's request.

"Perfect! When are you guys starting?" Mrs. Jeong inquired eagerly.

"After two days, Mrs. Jeong," Yn replied, her tone laced with boredom.

After receiving Mrs. Jeong's approval, Yn ended the call and turned to me, her eyes blazing with anger.

"What the hell, Keegan? Are you out of your mind? Why did you agree to what Mrs. Jeong said? Don't you remember our past?" Yn burst out, her frustration evident.

I approached her and enveloped her in a hug, gently rubbing her shoulder to soothe her.

"Aurora, it's okay, love. She called us after eight years; I'm sure she has a reason," I tried to reason, my voice calm despite the tension in the air.

"So what? Are you going to do whatever she wants and go back to her like 'im back my dear mother~' Yn mocked, her annoyance noticeable.

"First, let's hack her information, and then we'll know what she wants. And I know you miss Appa a lot; his tombstone is in Korea. We last saw him at his funeral," I said, attempting to hide my own pain while acknowledging hers

Yn's pov.

As I listened to Keegan's voice quiver, I could sense him struggling to hold back his emotions. He was trying so hard not to break down in front of me, knowing that if he did, I would only cry harder. Without hesitation, I wrapped my arms around him, gently caressing his shoulders.

"It's okay, Keegan. Let it out," I whispered softly, encouraging him to release his pent-up emotions.

In an instant, he crumbled, tears streaming down his face, and I couldn't hold back my own tears either. We had no one else but each other to lean on for comfort, and I was grateful for our bond.

We may be known as the Mafia King and Queen of the world, feared by many, but beneath our tough facade, we were still human. Despite our strength and coldness to the world, we were not immune to pain and sorrow.

We shared a deep connection, knowing each other's secrets and vulnerabilities, finding solace in being there for one another. While we projected strength to the outside world, we were each other's confidants, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable in each other's presence, knowing that together, we could find moments of happiness amidst the chaos.

Author pov.

Later, Kevin called Yn over to help him hack into their information.

"Come on, Yn, we need to hack their information," Kevin said, his focus on the task.

"Okay," Yn muttered, joining him by his side as they both stared at the screen in disbelief.

"So, she's marrying her business partner, Kim Dong Wook," Yn scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief at the revelation.

"That's why she called us. You know, until we're 19, we're technically under her family. For the wedding, she'll need us to be there and witness it," Kevin explained.

"Do we really have to go, Keegan?" Yn asked, still uncertain.

"Yes, Elvyra. Not for her, but for our father's tombstone. Let's just be there for a month, or after her marriage, we'll return to France, okay?" Kevin suggested.

"Yes, oppa. I'm never going to stay with her and her family in the future, and neither are you or us," Yn declared, her determination unwavering.

"I know, baby. And I'm not planning on staying there either. She moved on from Appa. Who are we to stop her, right? We'll just go to Korea to complete our work and then return to France,"

Kevin reassured her, his tone filled with gentleness.

"Okay, fine. Let's sleep now. And we'll ask the maids to pack our clothes tomorrow," Yn said, her voice tinged with exhaustion.

"Yn-ah, you believe me, right?" Kevin asked, searching her eyes for confirmation.

Yn nodded, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Oppa will come to Korea after a few days. First, you're going to Korea the day after tomorrow," Kevin explained.

Searching her eyes for confirmation.

Yn nodded, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Oppa will come to Korea after a few days. First, you're going to Korea the day after tomorrow," Kevin explained.

"No, Kevin, don't you dare. I'm not going alone without you. Either you come with me, or I'll stay here and go with you," Yn argued adamantly.

"Baby, listen. I have some important work to look after. I'll finish it quickly, and Oppa will come back to you, okay? Please?" Kevin pleaded, showing off his puppy eyes.

"Fine, ugh! I can't resist those puppy eyes. And when you come to Korea, you have to take me on a sibling date. Deal?" Yn negotiated.

"Deal, princess," Kevin agreed, leaning in to peck her forehead affectionately.

"Come on, let's sleep," Yn said, gently tugging him towards their bedroom.

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