Even a Scream Has A Musical Scale - Chapter 19

She felt an unbearable surge of anxiety hit her instantly. It was as though she were so frightened and tense that she wished she could disappear from this place, even if it meant hurting herself in the process.

Her father continued speaking with an indifferent expression.

“A while back, some audacious kid sent a short video from the campaign camp. It was just a peck on the cheek, but it was surprising. You’re not the type to act recklessly, are you?”

“Uh, well, that….”

“Remember that someone is always watching you, no matter where you are. Indifference is something I really can’t tolerate.”

He tapped his ring against his wine glass twice. Hearing the signal, Katie approached carefully and filled his empty glass with wine.

She was on the brink of panic. It was hard to gauge just how angry her father was. Maxwell watched her with a barely contained smile, while her grandmother scrutinized her sharply through her magnifying glass. The fear was so intense she almost felt nauseous. She hid her trembling hands under the table and spoke.

“…It was a mission. We were playing a game in the girls’ dorm, and… I got caught. It wasn’t a big deal. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again…”

“Graham, that impudent kid, called me this morning.”

“…What?”

She asked her face a mask of bewilderment.

Her father continued calmly.

“He asked me to send you to Holbeach for the summer.”

“What!”

A short, incredulous laugh escaped her before she could stop it. The audacity of it all made her want to grab Duncan by the collar and shout at him. How could he do such a thing? Did he even realize what he had done? She hurriedly began to explain.

“You can ignore him. He’s just talking nonsense. I never said I wanted to go! I said I didn’t want to. He’s really strange, unpredictable, and unreasonable…”

“Go.”

“…What?”

She stared at her father with a dumbfounded expression. Her mind felt numb as if she had imagined the whole thing.

“What did you just say…?”

“I said to go.”

Her father answered leisurely, still sipping his wine. It was unbelievable.

“If you spend about a month at Holbeach, you might clear your head a bit. Besides, Graham seems to have a fondness for you, and it would be a shame to let that opportunity slip by. Plus, having Lester as your host isn’t a bad thing.”

“But…”

“Go up with Anna and pack your things. The rest is arranged by Greg, so you should leave tomorrow without delay. There’s no time to waste.”

“……”

She stared blankly at her father. Maxwell, too, looked at their father with puzzlement. Though he didn’t dare question the decision outright, it was clear he shared her confusion. This was truly bizarre.

If her father were his usual self, he would have never let her off so easily. A kiss on the cheek with a boy, and in front of everyone! And the video—a careless trace left behind—and yet she emerged unscathed. There were no shouts, no punishment, no dragging or confinement. Instead, she was set to leave for Holbeach the next day, as if nothing had happened. It felt as though all her sins had been forgiven.

Was she being tested?

“…Are you sure it’s okay for me to go?”

Even as she rose from her seat, she asked once more, cautiously. Her father’s face softened into a rare, warm smile—an unusually bright smile she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“At your age, it’s normal to make mistakes. Just make sure to message Anna regularly and take your medicine.”

“…Thank you!”

She ran to her father and hugged him tightly. He laughed in a staccato rhythm, gently patting her back. A wave of relief washed over her as if all her transgressions had been cleansed.

As she followed Anna upstairs to her room, she glanced down several times, still unable to fully believe what was happening. The family at the table below looked ghostly pale and translucent. The portraits hanging on the stairs seemed dark and menacing as if they would devour her.

When she looked down once more, her eyes met those of Bo, her older sister. Bo’s gaze was filled with concern, and her lips moved silently, saying:

‘Don’t go.’

****

Before leaving for Holbeach, she sought out Bo, but her sister seemed to have forgotten their earlier exchange. How could she not remember? Had the reprimand been so terrifying that it wiped her memory?

Maxwell had once been found banging his head against the wall until it bled. To them, their father was like that—a person who wouldn’t tolerate anything less than total submission from his children.

Suppressing her unease, she boarded the plane to Holbeach.

“Dani! Welcome!”

Upon arriving at the extravagant villa, the first person to greet her was Eleanor. Dressed in a hot pink skater dress, with heavy makeup and high heels, Eleanor looked strikingly mature. Despite the sun still being high, her face was already lit up with excitement.

“What do you think? Isn’t it amazing? You have no idea how hard my dad worked to get this place!”

Eleanor proudly showed off her villa, a mansion so vast it could host a party every day of the year. The beautiful beach was like a painting, and the house itself was dominated by vibrant primary colors.

The vivid reds, yellows, and scarlets covered the roof, walls, columns, and even the benches, creating an effect as though they were in the heart of the sun.

Dressed in a white dress with a white hairpin, she felt like a blank canvas, with all colors seemingly stolen by the villa.

“The colors are vibrant. It looks like a Mark Rothko painting.”

“Of course. It takes one with a refined aesthetic sense to appreciate this,” Eleanor said, clapping her hands and laughing. It was clear now that the comment was not a mockery.

She wandered through the villa, trailing after Eleanor for a while before eventually setting off to explore on her own. The place was teeming with people—some swimming, others clinking glasses and chatting, and many lounging on sunbeds soaking up the sun. Each face was unfamiliar.

Amid the sea of colorful eyes, she felt like a solitary black dot, scanning the surroundings with little success.

…No one here.

She kept her thoughts to herself; revealing whom she was searching for would only feel pathetic. Just as she was about to look for Eleanor again, a large hand suddenly reached out from behind and spun her around.

“Been waiting for you, babe.”

“…You scared me.”

It was Duncan, of course, shirtless and holding a basketball. Dressed only in short shorts, he flaunted his tanned physique, swaying his body to the music.

“Wanna dance? I’ll introduce you to some fun friends—people you won’t easily find in a boring place like Eratum.”

“No, I’m good.”

“Why? It’ll be fun.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the crowd, but she was taken aback by how close his bare body was. She jerked her hand away and glanced around for Eleanor, who seemed too busy fulfilling her duties as host to be of any help.

She hesitated but eventually grabbed the elastic waistband of Duncan’s shorts and dragged him to a secluded spot beneath a low wall.

“…Come with me for a second.”

The corner of the stone wall was covered in thick ivy, with clusters of purple lavender blooming abundantly. Duncan grinned widely, his voice carrying a playful tone.

“Where are we going? At this rate, my shorts might come off, babe.”

She ignored the term “babe” and asked him pointedly.

“Why did you call my father?”

“Why, you ask? Since you weren’t answering me, I had to call your guardian.”

Duncan responded with a playful bounce of the basketball. Her head throbbed with irritation.

“I appreciate the call, but from now on, never contact my father again.”

“Do you know how many messages I sent you? Over a hundred, and you ignored them all.”

“I specifically asked you not to contact me during the break.”

“How could you say that? The break is when you miss people the most.”

“That video of you kissing me on the cheek ended up at my father’s campaign camp. I could have—”

She cut herself off, taking a deep breath.

“Could have?”

“Could have… made my father angry.”

Duncan burst into hearty laughter, the basketball spinning rapidly on his finger.

“Why worry about that? It’s a child’s job to get their parents riled up 365 days a year. Just charm them a bit when they’re mad, and they’ll calm down immediately.”

His nonchalance seemed perfectly in sync with the city’s vibrant energy and relaxed vibe. Yeah, you wouldn’t understand the feeling of being on the edge, gasping for air.

“…I don’t know what kind of home you grew up in, but our house is different. We’re strict.”

“Got it, got it. I’m sorry!”

Duncan suddenly wrapped his arms around her. In an instant, his warm body enveloped hers.

“Just hang out with me for a bit. You’re ignoring me, so I’m acting out. I get bored easily, you know? If you entertain me for a little while, I’ll back off soon. Okay?”

“Get off me!”

His solid form pressed against her through her thin dress. She felt like her face might explode from embarrassment. She struggled fiercely, but his body was as unyielding as armor.

“Promise me you’ll accept my apology, and I’ll let you go.”

“Fine, just—”

At that moment, she locked eyes with Remington, who was walking toward them from the opposite direction.