The next morning,the family made their way to the airport.Ru was excited to make new friends and this time he was going to have a mom like other kids in school!Alicia had her nose buried in a book.Ryu had suddenly turned into a tough task master and insisted that she should finish reading before they reached country A.Once at the airport,Ryu alighted from the car and soon,Alicia and Ru followed.Alicia looked around and wondered where they were.She pulled on his sleeve and said in a whisper tone,"psstt..Hubby...this does not look like our usual airport..There are no aunties and uncles waving to their loved ones,no noise and there isn't even a smell of the usually polluted airports.Also there are no ticket counters and those cubicles to collect boarding pa.s.ses and drop luggage!Are you sure we have arrived at the right place?"

"Missus,we are at the airport.This side is the VIP lounge.Our plane is being readied to leave in a few minutes and the luggage will be handled by the staff!"

Alicia looked around the airport in wonder and could not help but think that being rich had its perks sometimes.Her wonder did not stop when they were led to the private plane on the runway.Her husband really knew how to spend money!People bought luxury homes but he bought luxury care and airplanes!

Once everyone had settled on the couch like seats,the airhostess and pilot came forward to meet them.But they continued to wait on the runway with the plane ready to fly.Soon Ah Hai had reached the airport and boarded the plane.Alicia was shocked to see him and looked questioningly at Ryu who shook his head and gesture for her to ot pose any questions.Coming forward,he greeted his brother and sister in law and Ru.Once everyone was ready,the plane taxied on the runway taking the people away from their home country.

Soon Ryu opened his laptop and was working on it diligently.Alicia and Ru also immersed themselves in their study and coloring books respectively,while Ah Hai muttered something about resting and went into the bedroom to sleep.He had received a scolding call from his brother last evening for not confessing that he had been hurt.Thus he could not be relieved that he was not being lectured now.His brothers worried too much about him.Closing his eyes,he decided it was better to lie down and plan his next move than just sit there trying to concentrate on something else.Soon Ru was also feeling sleepy out of boredom and went to rest next to Ah hai.

Soom they had reached their destination and climbed down the stairs on the runway .Ah Hai immediately bid goodbye to his brother and almost ran off as if his pants were on fire...Alicia looked perpexedly.She did know what happened to bring about this weird change...

Looking at Alicia's expression,Ryu explained,"Ah Hai is worried about something.He behaves this way when he is fl.u.s.tered.Don't worry.Let's go.Ru had already skipped ahead to the car bacause of the cold.Country A was big and diverse.Covering the continent it boasted of extreme weathers during each season.This was the winter season and though Alicia and Ru had donned sweaters,they could still feel the cold seep into their bones.

Once in the car,Ryu picked a small thermos placed on the table and poured small portions of fragrant soup in a gla.s.s.Pa.s.sing one to Ru and one to her,he said,"Here drink up!"Alicia could feel her insides heat up as the soup slid down her throat.Alicia had a love-hate relations.h.i.+p with winters.She loved the cold but her body seemed to hate it and she always fell sick.Hopefully,that won't happen once she had the soup.

But alas that could not be true.By the time they reached their new home,Alicia already had a red and runny nose.Ryu could only shake his head at his wife's lack of immunity and decided that he needed to monitor her food from now!It seemed she only ate sweets and no healthy food!Calling the doctor who prescribed some cold and flu medication,Ryu took his wife to a heated bedroom and tucked her into bed.finally after a lot of hemming and hawing,the medication took effect and Alicia fell asleep.Coming out of the bedroom,Ryu saw his son standing at the door with his arms crossed.He had refused to freshen up until he could see his mother but the doctor had decided against it as he could catch the cold as well.Hence the boy was staging a protest outside the door.Ryu,Ru and Alicia were the only ones in the big house.Ryu did not like being around people so other than fo the purpose of convenience,he avoided them.The housekeeper had been instructed to keep the dinner ready and make herself scarce so there was no one to coax and distract Ru.Picking up his son,Ryu decided to use emotions,"Ru,you know your mother needs rest.If you go to see her and then get sick,not only will she not get rest,she will even feel guilty for making you sick.So be patient."

Jet lag had set in and though it was night outside,Ryu and Ru were wide awake.After a dinner filled with Ru's anxious queries about his mother,Ru and Ryu made was to the living room to just play around.

Soon they were engrossed in play.The mighty Ryu Lobg was stacking blocks with more concentration than he paid to his work files.Just as he was stacking the final block,his phone started to ring,breaking his concentration and causing the blocks to fall.

Seeing the caller Id,Ryu answered the call with a ,"You b******,you still have horrible timing.You caused my house to fall!

The man who had just called: "...."What did I do?

He pulled his phone from the ear,checked the name and then reconfirmed,"May I speak with Drake?"