SINB

THE NIGHT gets colder and colder, so cold I can’t feel my face.. But the only thing keeping me from freezing to death was the thought of her. I don’t think I’ve ever paid any notice to anyone as much as I notice her. She’s special in some kind of way. At that moment when our eyes met, there was something between us that wasn’t there when we didn’t enter that records shop. The universe then stopped and waited for us. imagine if I didn’t meet her at all. The world would be a different place. Wouldn’t it?

After the wealthy midtown of Bugak-san, I turn and walk towards the dark. My section of the town, you could say was way much more poorer. There was no sound, but o the echo of dogs barking and there were only two working streetlights illuminating the way, just enough to make my way to the apartment. I think about her as I enter the apartment building. I think about her in the elevator and down the long hallway and every moment until I have to stop thinking about her again when I stood in front of my place 5-D. She was the light.

YUJU

My mother, the CEO of the biggest company in Korea. My mother head of the household, would kill me if she knew what I’ve been doing out this late, exploring the records shop and meeting a girl. Instead of going home to study, a part of me wondered if I was ridiculous.

I stood in front of my house, and prepared myself for what was to come. I could still see the lights still on from my parents bedroom. They’re waiting for me, I just know. I took my keys out to open the door, but my sister did the honour of opening it for me. Hara was there glaring at me with her foolish eyes and smiling her stupid smile.

“Hello, it’s about time you got yourself home. You’re gonna get in so much trouble.”

“Shut up.”

“That’s not how you should speak to me.” I ignored her. I've got no time to spend on her.

I went upstairs to retreat to my room, but there was stood my mum.

“Why are you so late Yuna?”

“You didn’t have to wait for me to come home.”

“Answer me Yuna. Why. Are. You. Late?” I could see she wrinkles forming on her forehead as she crosses her arms across her chest.

“ I called you before saying that I will be friends house to do a project, I was studying in one of the study room as well. I’m sorry I should’ve check on the time.” I had my head down. “Why do you have to be so serious about this?” I say under my breath.

“ Speak up child, what did you say?”

“I said why do you have be so serious about something so small like this!!” she raised her hand, I lift my head to look at her and she slapped me across the face, I didn’t feel anything. It was only a while latter I felt the stinging sensation overcoming the side of my face.

“ Ya, do you think this is how you should speak to your mother? Huh? You arrogant child. I didn't give birth to a useless, crap talking daughter.” My father approached us, standing side by side to my mother. I could feel them towering over me.

“Make sure you stick your face in those textbooks and you are not moving from your room until you get to the top of school, get that certificate home and become a doctor, if you don’t, forget about me paying for your college fees and your stay in this house.”  I could feel his breath close to my face.

“Do you understand what I’m saying Yuju?”

“ Yes, father.” I say almost too quietly, bowing to them. They closed the door with me still standing there. I straighten up and leave to my bedroom. I close the door behind me and press my forehead against the wall.

Top of the school? That’s impossible.

And become a Doctor on top of that? When will they understand that’s not what I want, that’s what they want.

I was so angry but can’t do anything. I can’t scream. I can’t fight. Tears start to stream down my face I guess that way my only option, I slide down the wall until I hit the floor and bring my knees to my chest. Tears flow uncontrollably, that’s the best I can do.

My head hurts. My heart hurts. My eyes start to get heavy and I shut them, drifting away to meet the moon and the stars. It's weird to think that I want Sinb to be here.

I can never be what they want me to be. And from today, I won’t. I’ll be who I want to damn be.

SINB

I open the door and my blood starts to boil.

He left. Again.

“ARRRGGGHHHH, why?” I scream.

I come back home to have the place to be completely trashed. The draws were open, the coffee table turned over, the sofa was wrecked. My apartment was turned inside out.

“ What the was he trying to find? Why does he always make me ask all these questions? Where are my answers?” I grabbed my hair, to try to stop the headache. "What does he want?"

I run to my bedroom, and swing open the closet and lift up the loose plank of wood, the tape was still there, I hugged it.

“ On my 19^th birthday, till then I can listen to your voice.”

 I put it back, closing it with the wood. I can’t let him find this. I went to bed, too tired to do anything else. Closing my eyes, I forget about everything, just for now. I wish Yuju was here.

SINB

It was Friday night and we all decided to go to Sowons’s house to ‘study’. Bad idea, very bad. Study? I don’t think these kids know what in heaven’s name that is, maybe except Umji, the only one who deemed to have the most intelligence out of all of us.

“Hey have you started that Science assignment yet?” My eyes furrows at the assessment question. (What is the universe made of? It states big and bold at the top of the page.

“Sinb, look at me” I turn to meet her face, and she smiles toow widely and the dimples start to form under her right eye.  I want to put my finger on it. 

“Does it look like I have?”

“I’m guessing that’s a no then. You’re so dramatic, Yerin, I can’t even deal with you and dramatic lifestyle anymore.” I laugh at her.

She flips her hair and face me “ Why do you have a problem?” I burst out laughing again. “ What? Do we have sassy Yerin now?” Together we roll around the floor, holding our stomach, hurting from our uncontrollable laughter.

I calmed down before asking Sowon “Have you?”

“Yeah. Do you need help? Where?”

“Okay let me see, maybe…all of it?”

She frowns at me before throwing her textbook at me. “Seriously? It’s all in the textbook. Chapter 4.”

“ Well, that’s a lot of help.”

“Wait what is the Quantum millennium of J.J Thompson’s law?” Umji asks and proceeds looking at her laptop.

“ I’m not even going to try to answer that.” Yerin rubs her face, before putting her head down on the table.

“Urghhh, I’m so hungry. Do we have something to eat? Eunha finally speaking, coming out from under the coffee table rubbing her eyes.

“ Ya, we just had dinner like an 1 hour ago. How exactly are you hungry already?” Sowon manages to say and Eunha rests her head on Sowon’s shoulder.

“Never mind then.”

Umji gets off the white couch, joining with us on the carpet floor, carrying her laptop, before placing it in front of us.

“Guys, feast your eyes on this.”

“ Well hello who do we have here?” Yerin wakes up from her sleep, focusing on the screen.

“Me too, that’s my reaction when I saw this.” Umji smiles widely.

 “Well where can I get myself a man like that?” Yerin says. Everyone was so focused leaning closer towards the screen.

Sowon turns and winks at me. “You’re type?” I laugh nervously.

“They're cute, but not as cute as Eunha” Sowon and Eunha smiling at each other staring deep into each others eyes. I have gathered the theories that revolve around them and I came to the conclusion that: they might be dating secretly, I mean who knows.

“Hey answer my question! You’re so out of it today. Any of them your type?”

“ I mean they’re okay looking”

“Okay? Seriously, they look like heaven.”

“I don’t know.” Okay, translation: I don’t feel the same, they don’t faze me. What even am I looking at?

“ Where can I buy one of them?” Yerin still staring at the screen.

“Obessesed much? It’s not like they make them in the factory and come out with little Jungkooks or little Wonhos or little Bo gums, Yerin.” Sowon says

“They would probably suffocate and die in the package before making their way in the mail here.” Umji jokes, causing laughter to all of us. I’m laughing too, imagining the tragic scene.

“Hey Sinb why didn’t you invite Yuju over to study with us?”

“Yuju? No way, it would be too awkward, plus I barely know the girl, it’s been 2 weeks, to be accurate 2 and half. The only thing I’ve been saying to her is Hi and Bye.” (And met her at a Record shop and looking at each other, and holding hands)

“True.” They all say in unison.

“Plus were not even studying, you guys are too busy looking at ‘cute’ guys” I say slowly closing the laptop lid. And Yerin shift her eyes to me, frowning.

“I was enjoying my moment and you had to ruin it.”

“Too bad. Times up.”

Yerin stands up and grabs her stuff and gets ready to go.

“ Hey, I got to go home, my parents would be worried. I’m going first yeah?”

“ I need to go to.” Umji gets up too. Followed by Eunha.

“ Okay then, laters see you guys at school then.” Sowon and me wave them off at the front door.

“ Guess I got to get going too.”

“ Sinb?” I turn around to look at her. She has the most peaceful face, she can be a goddess sometimes.

“Yeah?” I smile at her.

“ I’ve got to tell you something. But not now, just when you’re ready. Just to let you know that you’ll be the first one to hear it. Okay?”

“ Okay.” I muttered out.

“Laters, get your a** home safe.”

“ Um, hello independent women here, it’s not like I haven’t been doing this for the whole of my life everyday.” She waves me off and I walk out the front gates.

What was that something she got to tell me? And what was the something I got to tell her? Maybe I shouldn’t chase these lies. I’m done with sharing rooms with people I don’t know.  Questions. Again. 

YUJU

I entered the house after studying in one of the study rooms in the public library and went straight up stairs. My parents are not home and it was 10:24pm. Work probably. And I was too tired to thinks about anything, I just want to sleep. But by that moment I must’ve ran out of luck.

“Oh. Look. My. Little. Sister. Is home.” Says the voice down the hallway.

“ Hello Hara.” I say and she moves aside for me to enter my room. But still standing there.

“Can I help you?”

She’s always been proud, maybe for the whole of her damn life. My parents seem to adore her so much. Just because she got herself in one of the best University. While I seem to have nothing for the whole of my 18 years of life. She seems to have everything. Maybe I was an accident. Maybe that’s why Dad’s always so disappointed in me.

“So are you going to just stand there? Move so I can close the door.”

“ I don’t want to.” She smirks at me. The thing about a knife is that her words are just like it and it stabs into me, and the only way to get rid of it is to pull it out, it’s going to hurt like a motherer but there’s no other choice, unless you want to die with something so small.

“Why are you like this?” I ask her.

She goes on with her usual tiness.

“ Like what? I’m prettier, smarter and better than you?”

“No, why are you such a pain in the a**? Why are you such a pain to look at?”

She stops smiling her joker smile. This time not hiding her surprise, she backs out of the room.

“Whatever. Is that all you got? Telling me that I am a pain to look at?” She look at me, up and down.

“You look like sh*t. Don’t you have some studying to do? To try to get at the top of school?”

“I don’t care about that. I don’t even want to be top. I don’t want to turn out to be a piece of like you.” I say it quietly and it feels good with that escaping my mouth.

“Speak. Up. Yuju. I can’t hear you.” 

“ I said I don’t want to study and go to some stupid university and turn up like you.”

Her fingers curl up into a fist. I step closer towards Hara, until our face were an inch apart.

“ I’ve been trying to figure this out for years. What was my point of all of this? What do I get out of it? Studying and studying. Studing for what? What did I deserve to live in this hell house?”

“ You deserve much more hell, this is just the start of it. Plus what can you do to me anyways?”

“ So you’re just the downtown? Who thinks she’s so cool just because she made it into the best university? If you’re so pretty and so smart and so much better than me? Then what exactly are you doing here at home, not studying, not getting a job? Were you just a tiny lost fish in UOS university, who doesn’t know how to swim?"

She clenches her fist. “Watch what you’re saying. You think you can have all the freedom you want. And you act all tough and , like anybody’s gonna treat you so differently?” she says.

“ Hara, you’re just as ed up as mum and dad. You’re not any special like everybody else.”

She takes a step towards me and grabs a handful of my shirt in her fist.

“ You listen up here punk, I’m older than you. And I have the power to be in charge of you and if you dare to take that authority away from me. You’ll be sorry.”

" I need to stop living like it was yours and mum and dad's choice." I grit my teeth. 

I don’t let myself get worked up by her power talk. I punch her right in the face. My knuckles make my way into the sockets of her eye, hurting me more than it did to her. She stumbles but don’t fall back. Her face is red, enraged. I want her to know that I as her little sister, I’m capable of ripping her apart. No more little Miss Nice, I play it hard my way. 

I don’t do enough damage and she comes charging at me punching me in the stomach harder than anyone can pray. I crouch down holding my stomach, she pulls me by the collar. The blow made me slow and blurry. Her fist meets the side of my mouth. My lip splits open. She stood up and kicked me hard on the side. And she didn’t stop. Rivers of blood escaping out of my body. I think there wasn’t any spot she didn’t cover. 

This was the end. I’m going to die.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey. Hey what's up. How are you guys? All i've got to say is I hope you are enjoying this, and if you guys have something to say, please never ever be afraid to comment below. Thanks