SeulGi emitted a frustrated groan, her fingers raking through her hair in irritation. She pressed the space button on her laptop, abruptly halting the eating show she had been engrossed in on YouTube. The source of her vexation? The incessant noise generated by her siblings, engaged in boisterous play in the living room, accompanied by the persistent background sound of her mother's admonishments.

Unemployed at the age of thirty, SeulGi found herself harbouring a growing disdain for nearly everything that encroached upon her coveted moments of solitude, no matter how insignificant. It was a sentiment she begrudgingly acknowledged within herself, an aversion that extended to approximately eighty percent of her surroundings, encompassing both animate and inanimate elements. She rationalized it as a consequence of her inability to shape her life as she desired, a byproduct of her challenging circumstances.

Hailing from a family that, while not destitute, grappled with financial constraints, only fueled SeulGi's discontent. She hesitated to seek any assistance from her single mother, fully aware that the most she could expect was the provision of daily meals, a meagre consolation in the face of her aspirations. Yet, she acknowledged with a semblance of gratitude that, at least, she did not have to endure the pangs of hunger.

This reluctance to voice her grievances stemmed from a deeper understanding of her situation. The loss of her father, not due to death, but rather his own imprudent decisions, branded him as perhaps the foolhardiest man in her eyes. SeulGi compelled herself to express gratitude three times a day (by eating her meals), a mental exercise to prevent her occasional lapses into frustration from spiralling into unchecked discontent.

How imprudent.

SeulGi, still enveloped in annoyance, exited her room with purpose. She shot a withering glare at her younger siblings, SeulAh and SeulYi, who abruptly shifted into a calm demeanor. As she made her way to the open kitchen, a surge of frustration coursed through her. Why now? Why couldn't they have been this quiet when she was enjoying her solitude in her room? It seemed like she was destined for a perpetually ill-timed family.

"Have you seen that child before?" SeulGi's mother inquired, engrossed in peeling onions at the wooden table.

"Where?" SeulGi, uninterested, swung open the fridge at chest height and retrieved a bottle of iced water. "Which child? Yours?" She quipped, her tone devoid of sweetness, a trait consistent in her interactions, even with her mother.

"That child. I have never seen her before," the older woman stated, her eyes intermittently scanning the living room where SeulGi had glimpsed her two siblings earlier. "SeulAh and SeulYi brought her home just now. She said she doesn't remember her home."

SeulGi turned to follow her mother's gaze, searching for the unfamiliar child. She nearly choked on the cold water when her eyes fell upon a small kid nestled in a corner of the living room, quietly observing her siblings. The child wore a red dress, and her hair was fashioned into ponytails.

"Who is that?" SeulGi returned the bottle to its place and approached the living room. While her siblings entertained themselves, she approached the child, looking down at her. "Hey, kid. Why are you here? Where's your mom?"

The small kid looked up at SeulGi with a curious expression before responding, "At home."

"Did she abandon you?" SeulGi asked, unfazed by the absurdity of her own question as she squatted down in front of the child. "How about your dad?"

"I don't have a dad," the child replied, still maintaining eye contact with SeulGi.

SeulGi sighed. "Every dad is the same, huh? My dad abandoned me too."

"My mom said my dad passed away."

"Nah, she lied."

"My mom doesn't lie," the child insisted. "She always reminds me not to lie."

SeulGi was about to retort with another acerbic comment when she was abruptly smacked on the back of her head by her mother, who had overheard their conversation.

"What the heck!" SeulGi exclaimed, standing up and glaring at her mother, who reciprocated the glare. "I'm stupid enough. Do you want me to get even more stupid?"

"Then stop being stupid and saying stupid things to the kid," the older woman scolded, delivering a smack to SeulGi's arm before kneeling in front of the child. "My child, this big sister of yours was just joking. Of course, your mom didn't lie. Moms never do." She tenderly caressed the child's cheek with a motherly smile.

SeulGi rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned to leave, contemplating returning to her room. However, her mother called out to her, halting her in her tracks.

"Take this kid to her mom."

"She doesn't even remember her home."

"I'm sure it's close by. You can ask around, but don't just hand her to a random stranger."

SeulGi rolled her eyes again and turned back, stomping her feet toward her mother, who now stood with the kid beside her, holding her hand. "Do you think I don't know that? I'm not stupid." She extended her hand toward the kid, who promptly took it without hesitation.

-

SeulGi glanced down at the child, her small hand tightly holding hers as they ventured through the neighbourhood in search of the child's home or her mother. The frustration of their futile attempts lingered as they had been at it for at least thirty minutes. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, offering a small consolation amid the growing uncertainty.

Realizing she hadn't yet asked the child's name, SeulGi broke the silence, "What's your name?"

JooNi looked up with a childish smile, "JooNi. My mom said she wanted our names to sound the same."

"And your mom's name?" SeulGi inquired.

"Irene."

SeulGi scrunched her nose, contemplating the peculiar choice of names for a moment before expressing, "You know your name and your mom's name aren't even close to sounding the same, right? Except for a couple of letters."

"No," JooNi insisted stubbornly. "They sound the same."

Accepting the defeat with a sigh, SeulGi mumbled to herself, "Your mom sounds like a petty liar."

Their conversation was interrupted by an unexpected exclamation, "JooNi! There you are! Oh lord!"

SeulGi looked ahead to see an unfamiliar, beautiful woman rushin