"Mommy, I'm sorry…”

"No, sweetie." Mrs. Im kissed her little daughter's forehead with tears in her eyes. "You did nothing wrong, ok? You did nothing wrong.”

Nayeon whimpered as her mother carefully put the ointment on her swollen palms. She started to sob again. "Am I really that bad? Why grandma always angry at me, say I am a useless kid and punish me…A-And daddy, he n-never praise me or smile at me…”

"No, of course you are not! Your grandma and dad don't know how good you are at all." Mrs. Im's heart ached seeing her daughter like this. "You are mommy's little angel, you know that right? Mommy can give up anything just to keep you safe and happy.”

She gently wiped Nayeon's tears and cupped her face. I have to end this. No one can abuse and trap my kid anymore. "So now…mommy needs to ask you something. Just answer honestly, ok?”

Mrs. Im lowered her voice and whispered beside her daughter's ear. Nayeon stood in amazement at first, which she did not blame her because she knew this was too much to take.

"If you don't want to, just say no, mommy won't blame you. There's too much we'll have to face if we…" Her words were cut off when Nayeon nodded, vigorously.

"Are you sure, sweetie?" Mrs. Im asked in surprise but also felt comforted.

She nodded again.

*********

"I was eight that year. Things were hard at first, after divorce, we have almost no savings because mom spent too much on the lawsuit. We even slept in the park for few times. Eventually, we had enough money for a small residence, but da…he wouldn't stop bothering us. We moved several times and finally settled down at this neighborhood. Two years later, you moved to here. So you know what happened after that.”

Jeongyeon stayed quiet for a while after hearing Nayeon's story. Nayeon thought she was spacing out, but she gently threw her arms around her shoulders and pulled her into her embrace.

"If I made you feel I was trying to spy on your past before, I-I apologize. And…I'm so sorry for mentioning your father that night.”

Jeongyeon's voice was slightly husky, she would only be like this when she felt sad or lost. Nayeon smiled bitterly and leaned on her chest. "That was not your fault, I was overreacted. I'm glad you're here, Jeongyeonnie.”

"I'm glad I decided to come, too. If I didn't drop my pride to sneak to the outside of your room trying to make peace with you, I definitely wouldn't have known you are so helpless and needed someone by your side, and I wouldn't have the chance to learn how brave you and your mother are.”

"But I-I don't want you to involve my…family issues, you can leave if…" The brawl outside the room was getting louder and louder. "What are you talking about?" Jeongyeon hugged the trembling girl tighter, knowing she was the only one she could rely on at this moment. "Auntie said I am part of your family, right? You also promised that I will never feel alone because you will give me strength when I'm sad, so now, I'm doing the same to you.”

"……You only want her to be the Im you want, everything you ordered her to learn or to do, she always obeyed. Nayeon wanted her grandmother and her father to like her and to be proud of her, but what did she get? Scolded, taunted, even beaten? You are her father for god's sake! You just stood there watching like a coward when she needs you and sometimes even made her suffer more!”

There was a loud sound startled them. Someone pounded on the table and a low voice followed: "What do you want from me now?”

Nayeon swallowed, her expression full of worry. "I-I think I should go out, I can't let mom face him alone…”

"No." Jeongyeon frowned. "Auntie asked you to stay in here, right? She's protecting you, and you should listen to her.”

"You want me to apologize? Fine, I'm sorry, I'm ing sorry! I'm sorry I chose to be