Narrators POV

You wake up on a hospital bed, unsure of the reason. But flashes of a car accident fade in and out of your mind. You groan as your headache was too much. A doctor walks to your room followed by a young nurse.

 “Hyorin…” the doctor starts hesitantly. “Do you remember what happened? Can you speak?”

“Is my dad okay? My brother? I mean my family? Are they hurt? Are they alive?” you ask anxiously without thinking.

The doctor looks away, avoiding your gaze “ Joesonghamida.”

You look down. No it can’t be…

 “Your mother is in a coma. It cannot be determined when she’ll regain her senses. –“the doctor paused. “Your brother and father died on impact”

Omo Appa… Oppa… why are they dead, how did they deserve this. How is umma alive but not them!?

Tears begin dripping from your eyes as you start to recall the full details from the car accident.

-flashback-

You see your brother and father’s panicked faces, the swerve. You hear the repetitive honking of the truck. A silence. A sudden yell and piercing shriek. You then close your eyes bracing yourself for impact but right before closing your eyes, you see oppa suddenly jump towards you shielding you from the airbag’s pressure and the falling glass shards. You open your eyes, and you see your oppa’s glass torn body, barely conscious- as he whispers his last words, barely audible past the sirens.

-end flashback-

The memories were too much for you and you are now sobbing, as the doctor softly spoke. “Your brother… was very brave… he protected you well.”

“My oppa, his blood was all over the place. How can a human be so willing to die for someone else... he had things to do, a life to live! How can he do this to me!? Letting me live on by myself without him!?” it’s just not fair…

The doctor awkwardly stands there and then attempts to comfort you, “Your grandmother will take care of you.”

“Halmoni…” You wonder how she was coping,

My grandma, my family, you thought, thankful.

Your tears start cease, and the silence is broken only by the hum of machinery, so you clear your throat.

“When will I be well enough to live with Halmoni?”

“The recovery will take three months, a pretty fast recovery with your injuries.”

I can’t let my life be told in a hospital, you thought.  Oppa would hate that.

-1 week later-

You let go of the support beam and fall, for the eighteenth time.

“Aigoo, you don’t have to try so hard Hyorin!”One of the nurses said.

“Ani. I have to get better so I can hurry and go to Halmoni.” You say determinedly.

“Aish… chincha this girl… gonna kill herself one day” the nurse starts muttering. “Arasso, try one more time and you have to rest”

“Arraso~ ”I’ll get it this time, you think to yourself. It’s for oppa!

                You once again cautiously loosen your grip on the support beam, but this time you take 2 steps before collapsing; an improvement.

A nap would be good, you thought before collapsing into a deep sleep. When morning dawns, you realize your grandma had not yet visited.

-3 months later-

Finally. Your life is waiting ahead, waiting for you to put you past behind you, as your brother would say, without regrets. Or he would say that… but for now you have the car accident image of him covered in blood.

“Your halmoni is picking you up today~~” one of the nurses says cheerfully.

“Chincha!?” You say quite happily.

The doctor enters with your halmoni. They were discussing your conditions and the medication requisite. You sit and fidget, excited to see your beloved grandma after such a long time.

“Halmoni! It’s been so long!” you exclaim as soon as the doctor paused his droning.

Your grandma turns around and looks at you. And you notice how thin and frail she has become. She smiles, but it seemed off.

“Aigoo Hyorin. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, thank goodness you’re alright.” Your grandma says slowly, almost as if it were recited.

An uneasy feeling lingers in the air but you ignore it. “Now Hyorin, here are the supplements you have to take daily and make sure you go out and take a walk everyday okay?” the doctor hands you the pills and you say your farewells, to the nurses and the doctor that you’ve grown attached to and leave with your halmoni.

It is silent on the way to your grandma’s house, and only the cold rush of other cars sound. “Has Halmoni been doing well lately?” you ask, trying to keep an upbeat tone, in a futile attempt at conversation.

Your grandma nods rather coldly and you fall silent. How did she change this much? The news of the accident must have been harsh on her. I’m here for you halmoni…

You reach your new home and you get out of the car. You wait while your halmoni opens the door, and you walk in after your halmoni. The happy warm atmosphere is gone. The family pictures that were everywhere are gone and replaced with abstract paintings, crude empty squares; the walls are now white and distant. Your gifts, letters and cards to halmoni that littered her house are oddly absent.

Your halmoni shows you to your room and is about to leave. But then you start to talk, “Wait! Halmoni is all strange and this is wrong. Why did you change this much? It’s unhealthy to stay like that! Where are our family pictures? Where are the things I gave you before?”

There is a slight pause and then a slap echoes the room.

“Why should I tell you anything, you ungrateful brat, stop complaining, I didn’t even want to take care of you, but how would I look to others. Family pictures? You’re so called gifts? I threw them away because I don’t need things that remind me of trash like you.” Your grandma says icily.

She was about to leave the room but then turns, “Also, don’t talk to me like you know me so well, I dislike speaking to my son’s murderer.” She adds, and then leaves.

Shocked by the events that just occurred you collapse on the unfamiliar bed, this can’t be real. A single tear trickles and drips off her cheek.

It wasn’t just my oppa and appa… I lost my halmoni as well.