Grace Bridgewater-Edan/Jack and Grace

## Accident (3/4/17 - 3/11/17)

Jack typed away on his laptop as it rested in his lap. To any random person, it would look like a black screen full of buzzing numbers and combinations that were always changing as he continued typing. To him, it was a reading a language few understood: code. Jack had briefly taken up the offer of creating a small flash game as an application to join a popular gaming company after he graduated, and he had been elated. It was a change from his less active and more depressing life lately, so he spent as much time as he could on it, sacrificing meals, energy, and sleep.

Finally finished with his masterpiece he grinned to himself widely and tested it out briefly. Once he was satisfied, he decided to post it on a popular gaming forum for feedback. He signed in and after checking his feed, he posted the game and decided to explore while he waited.

The first few notifications Jack received of rude comments immediately dampened his mood and he was tempted to take down the forum and give up on the game, but then Grace's review came up, and as he read it he began to feel elated once more. He quickly clicked 'Reply' and typed, "Thank you so much HopeAndDespair! This means so much to me, this being my first actual game and everything. And you're an Elite user too! I don't know what forces that exist caused you to find this lost forum, but thank you for looking into my game!" After posting his comment he debated on digging up so more information on this user and finally complied with this thoughts, pulling up a window to begin one of the few things he does best: hacking.

He started on her user page, briefly reading over the small information the user had given and memorized it before going deeper. After digging a while he was able to figure out where her radio signal was coming from and was a bit puzzled to discover that HopeAndDespair was currently in Elementrium and that HopeAndDespair was indeed on campus. "So they're an Elemental?" he whispered to himself in amusement. He decided to request to open a chat window with the person.

*Hey*, he replied immediately. *I'm surprised the World Champion commented on my forum, but miracles happen eh?*

*They do happen I suppose. Sixteen year old if I remember correctly? I'm just a year older than you how interesting.*

*Clap. Clap. Clap.* Jack would not admit it, but this was fun. *And I assume you are one too? I mean, it's not that hard to hack a signal...Grace.*

*For now, call me Seokjin. It's as close as you'll get to my real name anyway, unless you feel like meeting up in person? Considering we're both on the Academy campus, I suppose it means something. You're a student, like me, aren't you?*

*Thanks.* He closed the window after that last message and closed his laptop, slipping it into his messenger bag with a blank yet triumphant expression on his face. He left his dorm and trudged down the steps to the dorm Grace suggested and entered without knocking. "I'm here... Grace?"

His eyes widened slightly as he acknowledged the younger. "...The World Champion... Is my girlfriend's cousin?" He shifted to study her, tilting his head tauntingly before he snorted. "Who would've thought? You do a good job at hiding your talents and your secrets. Just, not from me."

"Indeed." He entered her room and glanced over it with little to no interest. "I like what you've done with the place. Pretty."

"I was going to ask about it, sounded like I something might want to look into." He made his way over to her bed and sat down. "Explain."

*Ring. Ring.* Seojun stared at his phone blankly, expecting his half sister to pick up the phone. *Gracie...* he sang. *...Can I come visit?*

*Put me on speaker Gracie. I want your friend to hear me too,* he chuckled, holding the phone up to his ear. *Speaking of that, can you tell Seung I say 'Hi'?*

He nodded, already getting what she wanted him to do halfway, he slipped his phone out to text Anneline but then decided against it. "I assume that was him calling you right now?"

"Can you... Call him again? So I can speak to him I mean. I usually have a good instinct on trusting people depending on their vocal tone."

*Hey Jackie~* Seojun whispered through the phone, his voice bone chilling. Seung could agree Seojun seemed disturbing, but what intrigued him, even more, was that Seojun knew he had requested to speak with him.
"Hello," Seung spoke back carefully.
*Aw, don't be like that. I'm not going to hurt you...*

A shiver found its way down Seung's spine. "You seemed to like playing games?"
*Of course. My favorite thing to do.*
"I like games."
*Good.*

*Let's play a game, Jack.*
"What type of game?"
*Gracie's favorite type of game. Video games. I like your little flash game, it's an interesting concept and well done. May I use it for this?*
"Sure."
*You're so calm, I like it. But you're still scared of me, aren't you?*
"That's debatable."
*Can I ask you a question?*
"Go ahead."
*Do you trust me?*
He stopped for awhile to think about what to say. The boy on the line was definitely disturbing and had a habit of twisting his words, but he seemed harmless as far as Jack could tell. There was no sense of malice in his voice, so he answered slowly, "Yes."
*Smart cookie.*

By the time Grace had come back from changing, Jack was finished with his call and sat on her bed deep in thought. He could piece some things together, and one of them happened to be: Grace's half brother knew his stuff. For a guy who's existence wasn't revealed until a month ago, he was good at catching up. Second, he seemed relatively harmless, at least to Jack. Despite the uncomfortable way he twisted his words, there was no sign of malice or ill intent in his words. "Well... He knows how to get himself through the digital universe," Jack sighed. "Basically, he can code and hack even better than *I* can."

He glanced down at Grace curiously. "What are you going to do now? And is there any way I can help with that? No offense to Anneline, but you two don't really have the same thought process—you tend to be more logical half the time."

He fidgeted with his fingerless gloves, shooting her a kindhearted grin. "Well, if you ever need anything Grace, especially dealing with... that brother of yours, I'll be willing to help. Alright?"

His interest in the younger Edan grew. "Mind enlightening me?"

"Interesting. Could you play the violin for me later? I happen to enjoy string instruments. They're fascinating and unique."

"Actually.... Speaking of going to Monaco. You wouldn't mind if I maybe, kind of, y'know, went with you?" he suggested. "I've never been to Monaco but I've always wanted to go. And I could help you, things could get done quicker."

"Yeah, I love helicopter rides! I've even flown a helicopter before!" he exclaimed.

OOC: Timeskip and a new section?

**OOC:**Alright

## Timeskip/Trip (3/11/17 - ????)

Jack was bouncing in his seat as he patiently waited, swiping through programs on his phone. Suddenly he received a call from his brother, to which he spoke Korean to. "*Annyong Hyuk-ah!*" he greeted his younger brother. He listened patiently for a few minutes before saying goodbye to Hyuk and looking up, searching for Grace for whom he was waiting for.

Once he saw her, Jack gave a friendly little wave. "Bonjour Madame," he beamed, standing up. "How was the drive? You didn't get car sick, did you?" he questioned, just as pure conversation, although some part of him was worried about Grace's well being.

He nodded in understanding. Jack honestly didn't have much to say, but it was obvious he was extremely excited for he couldn't stop fidgeting. He was tapping his foot and a weird inconsistent rate, and he kept playing with his gloves, re-positioning his glasses, and tugging at his bangs.

"Hm?" he glanced up at her. "Oh... Yeah, very excited. I've never ridden in a helicopter before. I imagine it's not that different from an airplane, just with less space and fewer passengers. And of course, no service, but they'll probably have snacks."

"I hope by 'the three of us' you mean us and the pilot," Jack told her. "Speaking of the pilot, who are they?"

"Thank goodness for that," he mumbled. He glanced out the glass wall to see a black medium-sized helicopter landing on the landing pad. "I think our ride's here."

Jack jumped up from his seat with a sort of energy that hadn't been present in him lately. He followed Grace to the helipad, his mind a catalog of possibilities and calculations.

Jack watch them, a bit stumped for the first time in his life. He had never found a need to learn French so he didn't, although that didn't stop his brain from picking up a few sentences. He understood the main point of what they were saying, just not every word. Also, he *really* wanted to bow. It was hard to do away with Korean social customs that he'd gotten so used to doing, even now as an Academy student.

"Yeah, fine," he replied once he had finishing strapping himself in. His backpack, which had been sitting beside his legs, he reached to pick up and unzip to remove his laptop. "So, what's first on the agenda?"

"Alright..." He began typing at a rapid inhumane speed, scanning the various numbers, codes, and other things that appeared on the black screen in green variations. "Ah, found it!" he chimed. "Luckily people have digital forms of this stuff. Here, go ahead and read it."

He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned over to get a look at the laptop. "What is it?"

He eyebrows gradually rose in shock, and his brown irises enlargened as well. "Wow... I'm shocked... Considering Seojun's background, I didn't really think he'd get anything. I guess Seth can be reasonable at times... He got a good 300 million Euros as well, and he seemed in inherit a mansion in the Fire Kingdom. He... also... inherited... an..." he leaned closer to read the text. "Apparently, it's a run down mini-palace located somewhere in Austria."

Jack laughed a little, "He's going to have to have a whole entire renovation of it then. Let me see if I can pull up an image somewhere using the satellite, if I'm correct, it probably hasn't been inhabited for decades."

"Hey... it's pretty big. He has to invite us because honestly... this place looks humungous. Plus, it's in the middle of the woods. Pretty secretive." He took a longer look at the castle. "What do you think he'll do with it?"

"Maybe. Now that I think about it, we don't really know much about him... or his personality. Kind of makes me feel bad."

"Yeah..." He shuddered, "I don't even want to imagine half of the stuff that happened to him. Makes me thankful the worst I had to deal with was occasionally neglectful parents."

Jack took back the laptop and began typing some more. "So, we know what you both inherited. Now we need to figure where that stuff is exactly. Seth might have been nice enough to give the both of you something but he probably wasn't the type to make it easy to obtain."

(OOC: Oh, I thought it was a tablet. My bad, lol. Also, Grace knows where the mansion is since it's the home that she's lived in.)

(**OOC:**xD Jack detests tablets, he thinks it's impossible to type on. Ah okay, Seojun probably knows where the other mansion is as well so that just leaves the castle and the money.)

"Thank God for digital money," Jack whistled, his typing speed increasing. "Since it's in Euros, it's in a European bank, most likely in France or Monaco."

He continued typing until he found something and showed Grace. "Grace, do you have a bank account in France?"

"Well, surprise surprise, you now have 500 million euros in your bank account. Isn't that great?"

"So I guess the first place we'll go when we land is the bank in France to verify everything."

"So after that's taken care of—" Jack saved the location of the bank in a folder and then opened up a fresh program to begin hacking again, "—what's next?"

"Uh... yours right?" he asked. "If so, noting that. Since Seth's death was awhile ago, I don't think they'd all still be there. Want me to track down their whereabouts?"

"Didn't they live with you? Shouldn't they know your personality better than most?"

Jack leaned to glance out the window, looking down at Monaco with amazement. "It's a beautiful country, really," he stated enthusiastically.

Jack gasped enthusiastically, whispering some words in his native tongue under his breath excitedly. "Will we meet them here?" he asked, switching back to English.

He was so excited, he made the mistake of replying in Korean instead of English.

"Miahnhae—Oh, I did it again. Sorry, sorry. I tend to speak Korean when I get excited. I hope I didn't confuse you in anyway."

"Anneline... talks about me...? To other people...?" He opened his mouth to continue, but then closed it and opened it again and closed it. For the first time in forever, he was speechless.

Jack slumped in his seat, in a bout of perplexity. There were a lot of things Jack could easily register, but this wasn't one of them. "Am... I that important to her?"

"I feel so... amazed. I don't know why. Anneline tells me all the time how grateful she is, but I guess I never really thought about it until now."

"True, true," he laughed. "I guess I have made a huge impact. I feel happy for her and proud of myself."

He straightened up immediately, suddenly intrigued. "What is it?"

"Seems reasonable. Hey... You know what would be even better than just a group chat?"

"How about a messenger app? A secret one? That only one of us can give to another person," Seung exclaimed. "I've been working with encrypted code for some time now and it would be a great defense against anyone who tries to decrypt our messages."