[[Trigger Warning]]

          Hoseok had sat there on the bed for a few seconds after Daeun had screamed at him. He felt dizziness wash over him and the reality of what just happened hit him like a bullet.

          She must have realized what had happened too, with the speed she pushed away from him.

          What was he thinking? He should have stopped her the moment she seemed to reciprocate. She was dating Namjoon. She was in love with him, yet in her drunkenness, he had taken advantage of her and made advances she did not want.

          It wasn’t until he remembered she had ran out with only a bra on that he leapt out of bed with a jacket. He ran through the hallways, searching for her until he saw her silhouette in the distance running towards the exit of the estate.

          He had called out to her but she did not seem to hear.

          “I’m sorry!” he cried, chasing after her fleeing form. She must have been extremely mad and embarrassed to be running away at that speed.

          He continued to follow her, screaming her name. However not once did she turn around to stop for her. It was as if she could not hear him at all.

          He was determined to apologize for his wrong-doing towards her. He could only imagine what she must have felt. She had even cried out his name three times before she could get away.

          At last, she was starting to slow. They had run past many blocks until they reached another quiet neighbourhood. He panted and slowed to a stop a distance behind her. He saw her figure stoop to the ground and finally take a seat on the sidewalk. She buried her hands in her head and he saw her body tremor.

          With slow steps, he walked up to her. Even when he stood before her, she did not lift her head to meet him. He made no sound as he draped the jacket over her bare shoulders. In the quiet of the night, he could hear her soft sobbing.

          “I’m sorry,” he said after some time, “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

          When he had spoken, she had stopped crying. She was only looking into the distance, a haze over her face like she was still in a dream. She had zipped up the jacket and her breathing had returned to normal.

          “You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. Her voice was hoarse and the sound stuck in her nose after crying.

          “It’s me.”

          He did not expect her to say anything like that.

          With a deep exhale, she clasped her hands together and turned to him. Her eyes were rimmed with red and they were puffy. He could see the faint smudge of her lipstick across her cheek.

          “Do you remember the question you asked me when we met for the first time?”

          He shook his head. Her name? Her number?

          “You asked me why I didn’t use my gift for good. Why I would rather use it to hurt the people around me. Why I would allow myself to be used for the work that you guys did.”

          The conversation was vague in his mind.

          “I can’t be good, Hoseok. I tried. I’ll never be a hero.

          Not when I’ve killed my own sister.”

          Four months, one week and two days since the divorce. One month and six days since her brother left her.

          It had first been her father and now it was her elder brother. He had not given an explanation except for coming up to them during breakfast one morning.

          “Hey mom,” he had said, his beard scruffy for not being shaved for days, “I’m going out.”

          Her mother had said nothing in return, except nod. As usual, she was captivated by the dark swirl of her black coffee.

          Daeun had watched as her brother walked out the door with his guitar on his back. Then he had not returned.

          They had been a family of five. That morning they were four. Now it was three.

          But was it really? Because soon she felt it would be two.

          Daeun and her mother were sitting in court. This was a place she had visited so often it felt like this was her home and not the house they had come from. Her mother had dark circles and when the clock behind them chimed, she left her seat and turned to her youngest daughter:

          “Daeun, I need to go to work now. Tell me what happens.”

          Her head spun. Daeun’s head had been spinning for the past four months. There was not a day that she had awoken without a headache and so she only nodded mutely.

          Court had been temporarily paused and the lawyers were conversing amongst themselves.

          She knew how terrible she looked. She could feel it in each step she took. She was but a shell that was being fed, but there was no reason for her to take her next breath.

          “Daeul,” she called out in a hoarse voice, “Daeul, where are you?”

          Daeun looked around the courtroom until her eyes rested on a blonde haired girl that was currently arguing with another blonde haired boy.

          “Daeul,” Daeun said again.

          Her sister. Her twin sister. They were about as similar as… well, nothing. She and her sister had absolutely nothing in common. While Daeun was wiry and thin, Daeul had a flush, ample body. Daeun was quiet at school, keeping to herself except for a few friends and Daeul was the queen bee, constantly surrounded by people.

          Perhaps it was that open personality that got them into the situation that they were currently facing.

          Her sister’s boyfriend was facing charges of on multiple accounts. He was a lanky boy that was six years older than herself and Daeul. He always had a cigarette in his pocket and the collection of tattoos on his arms was also ever-growing. Daeun knew where and who he hung out with, but she kept shut each time he lied to Daeul about where he was going.

          This time, Daeun would not keep shut.

          “Unnie!” she cried again.

          Daeul spun and glared ferociously at her. “What?” she spat, “I’m talking to Stephan.”

          Stephan, her boyfriend, stood behind her with a flushed face. Daeun couldn’t hide the eye roll at the name. He always insisted that they pronounce it as “Steph-ahn”, like they were from France.

          “Do you have a problem right now?” Daeul caught the eye roll.

          “I need to talk to you,” Daeun said. She never liked Stephan. He scared her and she did not enjoy how he looked at her when he thought she wasn’t looking.

          “Well, I’m ing busy, Daeun,” Daeul said, “Where’s Mom?”

          “She went to work.”

          “Of course. Mom: always there when you need her to be. Not,” Daeul pulled a face.

          “Babe, go talk to your baby sister. I think the lawyers want to talk to me anyways,” Stephan patted Daeul on the arm.

          Dauen hated when Stephan called her the “baby sister”. She was only a few seconds younger than Daeul. It did not make her any more baby than her older twin.

          Daeul turned with a pout on her lips. “Baby, everything is going to be okay. If this lawyer doesn’t work, we’ll hire another alright? You won’t go into jail. I won’t let that happen to you.”

          He smiled at her and then turned away.

          Daeul followed Daeun off to the corner.

          “Say what you need to say quick. I need to get back to my Baby-poo. He needs all the support he can get right now,” Daeul said with a distracted tone in her voice.

          “Unnie, he’s lying,” Daeun said. She could tolerate whenever he lied about going to “work” or that he was going to “hang out with friends”. But she would not let him go free if he really did that girl.

          Daeul scoffed. “And how do you know that? Oh wait, I know. That stupid gift of yours right?”

          “I only want to help, Unnie. If he did – ”

          “He didn’t, alright? I know Stephan and he would never do something like that. Besides, if he did that would mean he’s cheating on me too.”

          “Unnie! Listen to yourself! He’s toxic for you. I’m sure you can do much better than him!”

          “Oh, like you’re one to talk! Do you even know what it’s like to be in love?”

          “He doesn’t love you!” Daeun exploded.

          Daeul stared at her for a long time, an expression on her face that Daeun could not read. Her sister had always been her source of comfort. For a strange reason, she had never felt a headache around her sister. She never understood why and she didn’t truly believe that her sister never lied, but it was good to be around her.

          “I hate you, you know?” Daeul spoke the words with such intensity that it scared Daeun.

          She didn’t say anything else. She only looked at Daeun and then walked away.

          Daeun stood in shock at what she heard. She had not believed that her heart could be broken any more but at that moment, she heard it crack.

          A slow, low and painful crack.

<< >>

          The trial ended the next day, Stephan walking free of charges. The victim never showed up in court and when the police tried to get a testimony from her, she would not speak. She told them to drop the charges and that nothing had ever happened between the two of them.

          Daeul was elated.

          Daeun was disappointed.

          Their mother? Still at work.

          Daeul refused to speak to Daeun. Instead, she would go out late at night and would not return until the next morning.

          Each time Daeul left the house, Daeun could feel restlessness take over her. Her distrust in Stephan was only increasing as the days passed.

          So Daeun did the only thing she thought she could do. If the police could not catch Stephan for the he was, she would do it herself. Even at the expense of her own life.

          She knew how he looked at her. She could read his interest and his lustful eyes. As long as she could get him alone, she would be able to seduce him. She would do it in her sister’s bedroom. He would feel more relaxed in a familiar place and his true nature would reveal itself. Before calling him over, she would set up hidden cameras and she’d be able to film everything that would happen. Sure, her face would be shown but that was a small price to pay if justice could be served.

          He would not enter jail for his original crime, but it was enough to see him behind bars for touching a minor.

          She knew it was a stupid plan that would be filled with hard consequences if it failed, but she had been young, naïve and thought she could play the hero. So, Daeun set everything up according to plan. Waiting patiently behind the door of her room, she heard Daeul tell Stephan that she’d be back soon after her afternoon classes. She continued waiting until the front door closed and when it did, she slipped into a sheer white blouse, making sure that the buttons were just low enough for a tease.

          He heard her knock on the door and opened it.

          “Oh. Uh, wow. Daeun,” he said in his usual gruff voice, “That a new shirt you wearing?”

          She nodded shyly. “I bought it so you’d notice it,” she glanced up between her lashes.

          “Why do you want me to notice it?” he chose his words carefully.

          “So you’d notice who’d be wearing it!” she huffed, adding a pout that she could only hope was adorable in his eyes.

          It seemed to work.

          She continued to talk, placing a hand on his chest and gently pushing him into the room.

          “I know I shouldn’t. Daeul would probably kill me, but I know how you look at me, Stephan. I wanted to let you know that I feel the same.”

          Her eyes darted to the left. There was a faint red light tucked carefully inside the vase. If she could angle him correctly, the camera would catch his full face.

          She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. He tasted like burritos and cigarettes. It was disgusting. But she had turned his body to the side.

          His expression told her she had definitely caught him off guard. “Daeul really won’t be happy if she sees this,” he holds both her arms with a strong grip.

          “Unnie won’t know. And she doesn’t have to know. Her class doesn’t end until an hour later, then it’ll take another half an hour for her to return home,” Daeun continued to speak in a soft, seductive voice.

          He put a finger on her face and traced her features until they stopped at her lips. With his thumb, he gently pried them open.

          “You’re right,” his words slurring in anticipation.

          Her fingers closed around his shirt collar and her eyes closed. She was close. As long as the video showed him making an advance, that would be enough evidence to bring to the police.

          The moment was shattered when the door to the room was thrown open.

          Daeul stood at the doorway with anger flaring from her entire body.

          Stephan immediately threw Daeun away and he ran up to her.

          “Babe!” he cried.

          She pushed him aside and stalked up to Daeun instead.

          “What the is happening?” she demanded.

          Daeun felt a new fear grip her. This was not what she had planned. Her sister was not supposed to be back.

          “I returned because I forgot my bag and come to find my boyfriend and sister in my room alone? Imagine I had forgotten my pencil and thought it a bother to come back?!” she screamed.

          “Daeul, it’s not what you think!” Daeun tried to explain.

          “GET OUT!” Daeul shrieked at the top of her lungs, “GET OUT OF MY ROOM!”

          Both Stephan and Daeun slowly turned to the door but Daeul grabbed Stephan. “You. You are staying,” she hissed, each word dripping with venom.

          The door slammed shut once Daeun was outside and she could only wait outside, tears threatening to spill any second.

          She could hear both their voices rising until the closed door did nothing to muffle their words.

          “You were touching my sister!”

          “She came onto me first!”

          “ you! That’s what you said the last time I caught you with that you said you were working with!”

          “Fine so I was touching your sister! What are you going to do about it?!”

          “You’re such an !”

          There seemed to be a struggle inside the room but it ended with the loud crash of glass on the floor. One of them had knocked over the vase.

          Daeun’s first thought was to rush in and see if her sister was hurt. That was until she remembered what the vase had hidden within it. She paused outside the door.

          This time, it was Stephan that stormed out and glared at Daeun. In his hand, he held the small camera. Taking her by the collar, he dragged Daeun into the room. Once all three of them were inside, he closed the door behind him and turned to face the two girls.

          “Somebody want to fill me in on this little detective game?” he snarled.

          This time, it was Daeul who sounded desperate. “Baby, I have nothing to do with that. I didn’t even know it was in there.”

          His lips curled in annoyance.

          “I’m not lying to you! It’s probably that good-for-nothing standing there. She’s been trying to ruin my life since forever and she probably wants to ruin yours too!” Daeul continued saying.

          Daeun wanted to reply with a snarky comment but the words became stuck in once Stephan turned to look at her. There was such rage and danger emanating from his body that it stopped her cold. She built up her courage and said, “I know you that girl. You lied in court and I’m going to prove it!”

          Her answer made him laugh. It bubbled out from him like slow magma until it became a full howl that had him wiping his tears afterwards. Once he had caught enough of his breath to talk again, he drew himself close to Daeun.

          “Always the curious one, baby sister. If you really want to know what happened that night, let me show you right now.”

          Each word sent fear straight into Daeun’s heart.

          There was a quick flash of metal and suddenly, he held a knife up to Daeul’s neck. Daeul screamed.

          Daeun jumped up to get to her sister but the knife only went closer to Daeul’s neck.

          “Sit,” Stephan commanded, still holding the knife.

          Daeun’s followed but her eyes darted to the closed door. If she ran fast enough, perhaps she could reach a phone.

          Stephan seemed to notice her thoughts and he drew a line of blood on Daeul’s shoulder. Her sister’s yelp of pain drew her attention back to the situation she was in.

          Everything happened so fast. Stephan let go of Daeul and snapped a pair of handcuffs onto Daeun. At that time, she had been so scared that she didn’t even bother to think where it had come from.

          Seeing her opportunity, Daeul ran for the door. Her fingers scrapped at the handle but before she could turn it, Stephan had grabbed a hold of her hair and pulled her onto the floor.

          Again, Daeun lunged for Daeul but the handcuffs knocked her back towards the floor as she was linked to the bedpost.

          “Stephan, you don’t have to do this,” Daeul begged as she was being dragged across the room. Her tears and mascara bled into each other and tracked a line of black down both sides of her cheeks.

          “Who knew that knicking a pair of cuffs from that dumb policeman the other day would come in handy. I had thought it as fun, but it might just help me here. If I don’t teach your sister a lesson, somebody else will. Let’s just say what I’m about to do is practically a favour for her,” he threw Daeul onto the floor.

          She tried to climb up but he pushed her back.

          “Take off your clothes,” he suddenly commanded. The simple words made Daeun forget about trying to escape and rather look up in alarm.

          “Stephan,” Daeul pleaded.

          “I said, take off your clothes!” he yelled, the sheer volume of the sound echoing around the room.

          Daeul did not make a movement. Her words were quiet when they were spoken, “I don’t want to.”

          “What did you say?” his voice was low and menacing.

          Daeul gathered her strength and stood up. She pointed a finger at him as she spoke, “I said I don’t want to, Stephan! I don’t know what you think you’re doing but release my sister.”

          Stephan stepped up to her, their noses nearly touching in proximity. “Or what?”

          With her sleeves raised above her wrists, Daeun noticed for the first times the black blue bruises that encircled Daeul’s arms.

          The realization hit Daeun and it made her yell out, “Daeul!”

          Daeul ignored her words. She continued to defiantly stare up at Stephan. “Or… Or I’m going to break up with you! You’ll go back to being the penniless loser you were before! You only have money to hang out with your friends because of me!”

          He laughed again.

          “Looks like she’s not the only one who needs to be taught a lesson,” his ominous words barely reaching Daeun’s ears.

          Daeun reached to Daeul again but could only helplessly watch as Stephan pushed her elder sister onto the bed. He ripped at her shirt, popping the buttons and leaving her pinned beneath him.

          Daeun forcefully pulled at the handcuffs yet they would not budge. They did their job and held her against the floor, too far away to do anything.

          From the corner of her eye, Daeul’s legs flashed as they kicked at their attacker. Daeun yanked again, even drawing her legs to push. Nothing bent and a trickle of blood left her wrist from where the skin had been tore instead.

          “Unnie!” she cried out desperately.

          Please, please, please, was all Daeun could think as she rotated from looking at her sister struggling and pulling at the unyielding metal that kept her away. The cycled continued viciously until her wrists were raw.

          Time continued on. Too much time. The tears had long since ceased flowing. Crying could not help her sister. She was now sitting powerlessly on the floor.

          She muttered the words over and over, but they fell on deaf ears: “Please, stop…”

          Each time he invasively penetrated Daeul’s body, he also beat her body. In the beginning she fought his every action but he overwhelmed her in power and she could only lie underneath.

          Seconds. Then minutes and finally hours. He would stop, leave the room, only to return. At some point, when Daeul had momentarily passed out on the bed, Stephan walked over to Daeun.

          She tremored furiously when his fingers touched her cheek.

          “Had enough yet?” he taunted her.

          There were so many things she wanted to do to him however her body betrayed her and she could only look ahead.

          He raised his hand and smashed her head against the bedpost.

          Even as Daeun floated between consciousness and unconsciousness, she was not immune to what her body picked up.

          His fingers in .

          Darkness.

          His fingers around .

          Darkness.

          His body crushing hers.

          Darkness.

          Her scream.

          Darkness.

          Help. Please, somebody, help.

<< >>

          It was morning when Daeun woke up again. She was still cuffed, but the door of the room had been thrown open and Stephan was no longer in sight. Daeul was also no longer in the room.

          “Unnie?” Daeun rasped out, dry from screaming.

          There was no response.

          She spun in her spot on the floor and her wrists screamed in agony. Daeun bit her tongue to hold back the pain.

          “Unnie, where are you?” And somehow, there was enough liquid inside her for the tears to fall again.

          “Why, Daeun?” the question came softly from behind her.

          Daeun immediately followed the voice and spun to the direction.

          Daeul stood at the door. She had found a shirt to cover herself, but there were enough bruises on the skin left showing to indicate only the surface of the abuse she had endured last night.

          “Unnie,” Daeun cried.

          “Why couldn’t you just keep your mouth shut?” Daeul took a step forward into the room. Something dragged behind her.

          Daeun couldn’t comprehend what was happening. If Stephan had left and Daeul was free to walk, why was she not calling the police?

          “What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to face my friends? My coworkers? Mom?” Daeul continued babbling the questions.

          “Call the police, Unnie. I’m a witness. I’ll tell them what happened,” Daeun begged.

          This time, Daeul walked completely into the room. Slowly, she drew up a chair to the door frame and stood on it. She picked up the item she had dragged into the room and this time, Daeun was able to see what she was holding behind her. It was a long, thick rope.

          Daeun realized what Daeul was doing.

          Fear overtook her body and she started pulling on the handcuffs again, more desperate than ever. She felt something crack and her hand slightly slip when Daeul’s scream cut into her thoughts.

          “Why did you do it, Chae Daeun?!”

          Daeun looked up at Daeul in surprise. Her sister’s face was a mirror of her own. Tears were running down Daeul’s face as she was vehemently glaring at Daeun.

          “Why did you have to prove yourself? Why did you have to try and save me? Why did you need to show the world that you were right?

          Why did you have to be a ing hero?!”

          Daeun shook her head. “No, no, no…” she repeated.

          “It’s all your fault that this happened. If you hadn’t done anything, Stephan would still be here with me! He may have been a lying, stealing, cheat, but I still loved him. Yet you needed to destroy everything I had and you had to take him away!”

          Tug harder, Daeun begged herself, Tear your hand out. Tear it away.

          “Because you need to be the perfect one. While we were growing up, it was always Daeun-this, Daeun-that. Do you see how well she’s doing in school? Daeul just likes to party. Do you see all the friends Daeun’s making? Daeul’s alone. I changed everything about me these last few years. You had your stupid powers to draw people towards you but I worked my off to get friends. I dressed like how they wanted me to dress, I talked like how they wanted me to talk, I even ate like how they wanted me to eat. Yet do you know what Mom says when she gets back home?

          “Be like Daeun. Stop playing around. Focus on your studies. Men cannot be depended on. You need to get a good job and then you won’t suffer like we are right now.”

          Mom, who’s never at home; she’s still talking about you. When Dad left us, when our older brother left us, she still told me to be. Like. You.”

          Another sickening crack and Daeun felt the metal loosen around her wrist.

          “I’ve been defiled. Stephan will no longer want me back. My friends are going to call me a . The world will see me as a . My life is over. I have nothing to live for anymore. I was used and then casted away like a piece of garbage.”

          One more time. One more time and you’ll be able to help Daeul.

          “Don’t ing step closer,” she warned when she saw Daeun working again at the handcuffs, “I’ll kick off this chair. Then it won’t be me who committed suicide, it’ll be you who forced me to die.” She was now standing on top of the chair. The rope had been secured to the ceiling with her trembling fingers.

          Daeun reached out with a hand. “Unnie, don’t do this. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry that I ever did something so stupid. Please get down from the chair. I can’t lose you too. I promise, if you get down, I’ll do anything you ask me to do. If you need money, I’ll give it to you. You need me to move schools, I’ll even drop out for you. Just please, don’t leave me.”

          Daeul looked down and shook her head. It was as if the scene was put on pause, as a multitude of emotions were expressed through Daeul’s eyes. “I can’t,” she eventually choked out.

          “You can,” Daeun inched closer, “I know that Stephan has wronged you, but you can be strong again. Don’t let him control you like this. You can’t have him manipulate you any longer.”

          “And the truth comes out. In your eyes, I’m a pathetic person for latching onto somebody who continually abuses me.”

          “No. That’s not what I mean at all. Sorry. I’m sorry. I take it all back.”

          “Daeun, I hate myself. But most of all, I hate you,” Daeul whispered. The noose was in her hands. She stared at it and the distance became shorter as she drew it to her neck.

          “Unnie…” the plea that bled into her tears caused her to shake uncontrollably.

          Their breaths filled the otherwise quiet room, with Daeun looking up at her sister and Daeul’s eyes fixed on the rope. After a long moment of silnce, Daeun finally spoke.

          “Why? Why do you hate me?” she uttered, barely audible.

          She saw Daeul’s knuckles become white while gripping the rope. Yet all the while she said the next words, she never made eye contact with Daeun, only staring at her fingertips.

          “I hate you because whenever I see you, I see the woman I was supposed to be. I hate you because you’re the perfect one that mom and dad always gush about to their friends. I hate you for all your success, your achievements, your entire life.”

          Pause.

          “I hate you, because if I don’t, then I’d have to love you.”

          Her movements were too slow. By the time Daeun ripped her hand out from the cuffs, leaving behind a trail of blood from the gash that ran from her wrist to her fingers, Daeul was dangling lifelessly from the ceiling. The sound that Daeun heard was nothing something she could ever forget: the crash of the stacked chair on the floor and the snap of the rope

          “DAEUL!!” she howled, finally reaching the body.

          She did not have enough strength to haul it down so she ran to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife she could find. She returned to the room and hastily stacked the chairs up again. With an increasing speed, she sawed at the rope until it finally snapped and Daeul fell to the floor with a sickening thud.

          Daeun dropped the knife and cradled her sister in her arms.

          But it was too late.

          “No, Unnie,” Daeun cried, shaking back and forth, “Don’t do this to yourself. Don’t do this to me.”

          No. No. No.

          And then there was not two, but one.

Hello everybody. I am back after an immensely long leave. This is an incredibly emotionally heavy chapter but I hope it explains a little bit more about Daeun to you all. I apologize for not updating in so long, and i want to promise that I'll be able to update again soon, but....life. 

Nonetheless, please enjoy and leave your thoughts or comments below! I love talking to you all. Again, thank you so much for your support <3