“Thank you, Ms Choi. I think that’s all, we will contact you if we need any more information.” The police officer tells Yena. She nods and thanks the officer half-heartedly, doubting that they will actually be of any help to the sisters. Don’t get her wrong, not all police officers are bad, but it only takes a few bad ones to ruin the credibility of the whole force. A rotten apple spoils the barrel, after all.

 

She sighs, pulling out her phone to check the directions to the convenience store where she parked her bike, but sees the kid at the counter making a fuss.

 

“Why can’t I register for my sister? I’m her family.” Yujin asks exasperatedly.

 

“I’m sorry, based on hospital regulations, only adults are allowed to do registration for patients. Maybe we can wait till your parents come before we do the registration?”

 

“We are orphans.” Yujin deadpans and the nurse’s face turns pale.

 

“Oh uhm, any relatives?”

 

Silence.

 

“An adult you know, maybe?” The nurse is sweating.

 

Yena is free to leave now that she has finished giving her statement to the police, in fact she should leave asap before Nako’s toothpaste ice cream melts even further (who is she kidding, it’s probably just a pool of mint green syrup by now), but it’s like her feet is stuck to the ground, listening to the conversation between Yujin and the nurse. And after hearing Yujin’s words, how can she just walk away like that?

 

“I will do the registration.” Yena doesn’t know when or how she has made her way beside Yujin, picking up the clipboard on the table. “I just have to change the details of the next of kin, right?”

 

“Yes.” The nurse visibly sighs in relief.

 

Yena begins to cancel out Yujin’s details, putting in her own details instead and she notices that the sisters have different surnames. But she doesn’t mention anything, just keeps filling up the form with her own details.

 

Yujin fidgets beside her. “You don’t have to do this; you have already helped us enough.”

 

“Do you have someone to call?” Yena stops writing to look up at the younger girl, who just avoids her eyes. That’s her answer there, and she turns back to finish filling up the registration form.

 

“Thank you.” Yujin mumbles as she looks down at her shoes, and Yena just hums.

 

They finish the registration and Yena turns to look at Yujin, the high school girl looking so small even though she towers over her physically. Her yellow uniform and hands are still stained with her sister’s blood, and although she’s no longer shaking, she looks lost, clueless. She’s only a kid, and the only person she can depend on is unconscious on a hospital bed, so it’s obvious she doesn’t know what to do. So how can Yena leave her alone like this, knowing that she doesn’t have anyone else to take care of her?

 

“Go to your sister first.” Yena tells her.

 

“Are you leaving already?” Yujin finally looks up, gaze like a sad, kicked puppy as if saying, ‘don’t leave’.

 

If Yena had any plans to leave before, they are definitely gone with that gaze on the younger girl’s face. “I will be back.”

 

--

 

Yena pulls the ward door gently, and it seems like it was quiet enough because Yujin doesn’t even notice she’s there, just holding her sister’s hand to her forehead as she sniffs with her head down. Yena just slides the door close again, choosing to plop down on the seats outside the ward. The kid needs some alone time, and Yena will gladly give it to her.

 

She pulls out her phone to see a text from Eunbi, that just reads ‘Call me when you are free’, so she does just that, pressing Eunbi’s name and holding her phone to her ear.

 

“What’s up boss.” Yena greets, already having an inkling on what’s up. She’s not sure if it’s because the sisters’ situation resonates with her, or she has a soft spot for the kid, but she really hopes they will take on this case.

 

“We can do it,”

 

Yena leans back in her seat with a satisfied smile.

 

“But you will have to be the outreach for this case.”

 

“What!” She shouts, causing the nurse to glare at her while bringing a finger up to their lips. Yena bows, mimicking the gesture before whispering back into the phone. “We have Hyewon and Minju though, why me?”

 

Given the nature of their work, they have to operate in the shadows where people don’t see them, and law enforcement can’t catch them, so it’s not like they can just go around giving out fliers to promote themselves. That’s why, Hyewon and Minju are often the ones bringing the victims to them, letting them know of this helpline. And if these victims decide to engage their help, they will be the main points of communication between the group and the victims, ensuring that the identity of the rest of the group remains hidden.

 

“You have already made contact with them, so it’s easier for you to approach them.”

 

Yena doesn’t even bat an eyelid when she has to shoot at a person, but ask her to convince someone with her words, she’s at a loss of what to do. “Unnie, I can threaten, but I can’t persuade. You know that.”

 

Eunbi does know that, she knows all the members like the back of her hand, but she’s also the type of leader to push them to improve, to be better people. “That’s exactly why you should do it. Grow a little, get out of your comfort zone. It’s all up to you if this mission can go on now.”

 

“Unnie-“

 

The line goes dead, and Yena splutters, “Unnie? Unnie!”

 

She pulls away to see her home screen, the call already disengaged. She sighs, leaning her head against the wall behind her. What has she gotten herself into?

 

The ward door slides open, and Yujin peeks out timidly. Yena clears as she fixes her posture. “Sorry, was I too loud?”

 

“It’s fine.” Yujin shakes her head, eyes darting to the plastic bag on Yena’s lap.

 

Yena follows her gaze and remembers why she even stayed behind. She stands up as she holds out the plastic bag she got from the convenience store to her. “There’s a set of clean clothes inside and some food. Wash up and eat it.”

 

Yujin takes the bag from her with a small ‘thank you’, and Yena sticks her hands into her pockets, ready to finally leave.

 

“Can you look after my sister while I wash up?”

 

“Nothing is going to happen to her, she’s safe here in the hospital.”

 

Yujin gives her those darn puppy dog eyes again, and she sighs.

 

--

 

That’s how Yena finds herself beside the figure of Yujin’s older sister, watching her as she sleeps peacefully, the bandages on her body the only sign of the horrible things she went through. The unconscious girl has round cheeks that make her look like a baby hamster, and if she didn’t know better, she would have thought Yujin is the older sibling.

 

She looks at the charts on the table, Jo Yuri. Age twenty. Yujin is still in a high school uniform, which means she’s at most eighteen, so these two kids have been living independently without any adults’ help? How do they manage the rent, or their daily expenses?

 

But Yuri begins to fidget, face contorting into a frown and Yena scrambles closer, thinking if she’s in pain because of her wounds. But it seems like she’s just having a bad dream, the girl whining as she cowers in her sleep. Something heavy grows in Yena’s chest as she watches how the girl can’t even escape the pain even in her dreams. Before she knows it, she’s reaching out to gently press a finger on Yuri’s forehead, soothing the frown away.

 

“It’s okay, you are safe now.” She whispers, hoping that it will be enough.

 

Thankfully, the frown begins to dissipate and Yena smiles as she pulls her hand away. That’s right, a beautiful face like this shouldn’t be pulled into a frown. Wait, what? Before she can register her thoughts, Yujin enters the room in the clean set of clothes she got.

 

The sleeves and pants seem to be a little short, but otherwise it seems to fit her well. Yujin totters in and Yena moves to the head of the bed, vacating the seat beside the bed for the younger girl. Yujin mutters a small ‘thank you’ before settling into the chair beside her sister, pulling out the sandwich Yena has gotten for her.

 

As Yujin nibbles at her sandwich, Yena considers leaving, pretends she forgot about Eunbi’s words and just head back to base. But she knows their leader doesn’t take back her words once she says them, so she has to step up if she wants to help the two sisters.

 

“So, you play baseball?”

 

Yujin nods. “How do you know?”

 

“Guessed.” It doesn’t take a genius actually, there’s a baseball bat in the sisters’ house, and the kid runs well. Yena crosses her arms smugly. So it’s not that her stamina dropped, but the kid is just a very fit athlete. “No wonder you run so well, might be even faster than me.”

 

Yujin huffs, “Please, I bet I can outrun you.”

 

Yena scoffs, hands going down to her waist. “Then shall we compete then, huh?”

 

“Sure, when Unnie wakes up.”

 

Yujin’s words remind her of why they are even here in the first place, the two of them turning to look at the comatose girl on the bed. “How did she even get to know that asshat?”

 

Yujin had watched it all unfold in front of her, and she should have known it was all too good to be true.

 

--

 

Yuri is giggling while looking at her phone and Yujin squints her eyes at her older sister’s suspicious behaviour. She has been like this for a few weeks now, smiling at her phone and lost in her own world whenever she receives a text. Yujin isn’t stupid, putting two and two together she quickly realizes that her sister is probably seeing someone. Which isn’t a problem, in fact, she’s happy for her sister, but she just needs to make sure that that someone is a decent person who can give all the happiness in the world to Yuri, just like what she deserves.

 

That’s why Yujin puts another chip into before wiping her hand on her jacket, snatching the phone right out of Yuri’s hands.

 

“Hey! Give it back!” Yuri immediately clamours all over her, but Yujin stands up, using her height to her advantage as she holds the phone as high up as she can.

 

It’s a text message from a guy named Sejun, and Yujin can’t see the individual messages clearly while trying to wield Yuri off, but all the heart emojis are enough to confirm her suspicions. Curiosity sated, she lowers her hands and let Yuri snatch it back, and crosses her arms over her chest as she watches her older sister prod at her phone.

 

“So?” Yujin asks.

 

“So what?” Yuri answers, shooting a quick reply before putting her phone in the safety of her pocket.

 

“Who is this ‘Sejun’?” Yujin narrows her eyes at her, as if daring her to lie.

 

Yuri sighs, “He’s just a senior at school.”

 

Yujin lifts her eyebrows, and Yuri throws her hands up exasperatedly. “Okay fine, I’m sorta seeing him. We only just started, I wanted to tell you when things were more confirmed.”

 

“But is he good to you?”

 

Yuri ducks her head, smile growing on her face when she thinks of him. “Yeah.”

 

Yujin hums, plopping next to her sister on the couch. That’s good enough for her. “He better be good to you, or else I’m going to beat him up.”

 

Yuri slaps her arm, causing her to yelp. “I’m going to beat you up first.”

 

Yujin rubs her arm. “Are you taking his side over mine?!”

 

Yuri sticks her tongue out at her, and Yujin does the same back.

 

--

 

Thinking back, that conversation was pretty ironic. Or maybe it was a forewarning.

 

Things went well for a while, apparently this guy was rich, and didn’t mind paying for their expenses. Yuri didn’t have to work part time at the café to earn their daily expenses anymore, and Yujin even got a new personal baseball bat, no longer having to use the school’s old rickety one. She just didn’t know this all came at a price.

 

“Unnie, I’m back!” Yujin calls out as she dumps her sports gear at the door while taking off her shoes. She frowns, Yuri’s shoes are placed neatly at the side already, so she’s home, but why is there no reply? She heads to her sister’s room, opening the door without knocking only to see Yuri diving under her covers.

 

“Jinnie, I’m not feeling well today, you settle your own dinner today, okay?”

 

Yujin would have taken her word for it, if she didn’t see the first aid kit and the bloodied tissues at the corner table. “Okay, do you need me to get you porridge or something?”

 

“No, it’s okay.”

 

Yujin hums and pretends to close the door, tiptoeing closer to the bed. Yuri’s definitely not going to show herself if she uses brute force, so she’s just going to go with the element of surprise. She waits till she sees the tension releasing in the cocoon under the covers before flipping the covers open with one single pull. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next.

 

Yuri had hidden her face in her hands, but Yujin can still see a part of the white bandage sticking out at her temple. But then what’s even more concerning is the bruises littered all across her arms. Judging from the different shades of the bruises, it wasn’t a one-time thing, but inflicted at different occasions and time. Yujin’s blood begins to boil. She may be the younger sibling, but that doesn’t make her protective instinct any less.

 

“Who did this to you?” She asks quietly, calm voice different from the anger bubbling inside her.

 

“No one, I just tripped.”

 

Yujin didn’t believe that even for a second, but she also knew Yuri wouldn’t tell her anything. If she couldn’t hide her wounds, she could at least hide the perpetuator. Yujin sighs as she opens the first aid kit again, pulling out a bottle of ointment. She unscrews the bottle, pouring some of the ointment on her palms before rubbing it on Yuri’s arm, ignoring the hiss from her older sister.

 

“Please at least fight back next time.”

 

--

 

Yuri did try to fight back, but she didn’t stand a chance.

 

Sejun’s fancy sports car always stood out like a sore thumb in their apartment complex, so Yujin spotted that first as she crossed the road back home. She didn’t think much of it, but it’s her sister’s screams of pain that got her sprinting, and she arrived at the lobby to see him stepping on Yuri’s feet as he grips tightly onto her wrist.

 

“You are telling me you want to break up after all that I have done for you?”

 

Yujin sees red. It was him all along?

 

She doesn’t stop as she runs into him at full speed, throwing him off Yuri before pulling her sister behind herself. “If she said she wants to break up, then it means she wants to break up. What do you not understand?”

 

Sejun chuckles, standing up straight after being thrown against his car. “Yujin-ah, that’s not words you can say. Do you know who got you that bat?”

 

She pulls out the bat from her duffel bag, throwing it at his feet. “Take it back and screw off then.”

 

He laughs like she has just told him the funniest joke. “Yujin-ah, you have forgotten about your school fees. What about the food you eat every day? The allowance you get from your sister? That’s all my money.”

 

So this is how he gets Yuri to keep quiet on his abuse. Yujin is this close to decking him in the face, the only thing anchoring her is Yuri’s grip on the back of her shirt. “We didn’t need you before, we won’t need you now.”

 

Sejun smiles, cocking his head to the side to look at Yuri instead. “Yuri-yah, think through it again. I will be back.”

 

--

 

Yujin screws the bottle of ointment tight before placing it back into the first aid kit. She hasn’t said a single thing ever since they got back to their apartment, just treating Yuri’s wounds in silence. Yuri wrings her fingers, not knowing what to say, how to start.

 

But Yujin beats her to it. “How long has he been doing this to you?”

 

“About one month after we started dating.” Yuri looks down at her lap, unable to face Yujin.

 

Yujin closes her eyes, partly disappointed but mostly angry that her older sister had been suffering all this time and she didn’t know. She should have been more vigilant, should have paid more attention to her own older sister. But it’s too late for all the ‘should have’, they can only focus on the present. “You are going to break up with him right?”

 

Yuri nods, and Yujin doesn’t question further, just pulls her sister into a tight hug. She swore that she will beat him up last time, and she won’t hesitate to make good on that promise if she ever sees his face in front of her.

 

He did turn up after that, several times in fact, but Yujin didn’t have the chance to beat him up, Yuri refusing to let her out of the house, the two of them just hiding in their apartment as he banged and hollered at their door. They thought he would get the hint and finally give up after some time, but it went on for weeks, earning the irk of their neighbours. They can’t go on like that, so Yuri finally listened to Yujin’s pleading and filed a police report to put an end to this madness.

 

He didn’t turn up for one day, then two, and they thought it’s finally over. But it was only a temporary stop.

 

--

 

Yujin had came home that day after school, only to see their front door unlocked. Her blood runs cold, and she pulled open the door to see Yuri cowering in the corner as Sejun rolls up his sleeves. Yuri locks eyes with her, and she shakes her head slightly, as if telling Yujin not to come in. But he spots the action, turning around to look at Yujin, a maniac gaze in his eyes.

 

“Ah, your baby sister. Maybe I should beat her up instead, huh?”

 

He takes a step towards Yujin, but Yuri claws at his ankle, stopping him from going any further. “Jinnie, run!”

 

--

 

“Maybe if I didn’t run off then, Unnie wouldn’t be here like this now.” Yujin wipes her eyes, tears coming out again as she relives the whole situation.

 

Yena steps closer to Yujin, placing a hand over her shoulder. “You did the right thing. If you didn’t get help, it might be the two of you lying here now, or worse, in a coffin.”

 

Hearing the whole story only fuels Yena’s determination to help this pair of siblings, even if it means she has to convince the sisters to trust her with her words instead of her fists. “Don’t worry, I will help you guys.”