G-Dragon's ballad played softly, waking you gently. You opened your eyes, smiling happily. You to your back staring at the ceiling as you lip synced "그새끼". After his rap you grabbed your GS3 to see the time. T.O.P.'s . funny face making you laugh.

CRASH!!

At the loud sound your eyes shot open. You jumped out of your bed with no time to put on your slippers, the cold varnish on the wooden floor making you flinch as it came in contact with your feet. You ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, where an endearing sight awaited you.

"Aish," you let out your breath, facepalming yourself. There in the middle of the kitchen sat your little brother looking at you from underneath the now empty dog food container, while Jello eagerly ate the food on the floor as if he would never eat again. With the way you felt right now, you didn't think he should eat ever again. You looked to your dongsaeng who smiled sheepishly.

"Mianhe noona." He got up slowly dusting off the pellets that stuck to his bottom. "Jello looked hungry..." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. You couldn't help but smile, and ruffled his jet black hair.

"It's okay Minjae, just go get ready for school." He smiled, his front tooth missing and he saluted you playfully. He bounded off. "Take Jello with you!" You called after him. The pounding steps stopped and neared the bottom.

"C'mon Jello! C'mon boy!" You could hear his small hands patting his thighs as he coaxed the blonde Jindo. Jello obeyed immediately, racing Minjae up the stairs.

You swept up the mess, made breakfast and ate. Minjae came back down, throwing his back pack on the sofa.

"Eat your food, I have to go get ready." You ruffled his hair and poked his ribs. "Pabo, did you finish your homework?" You looked at him leaning your head on his shoulder. He winced cutely, his shoulders raising by his ears as he shook his head. You smacked him playfully. "Do your homework as you eat," you looked at the clock, "you still have time."

"Arasseo, noona." He nodded his bowed head as his shoulders slumped.

"Hwaiting!" He glared at you as you laughed and skipped up the stairs. You peeked into his room to make sure his bed was made. Jello lifted his head off of his paws, tilting his head and twitching his ears. "Good boy, Jello."

____________

You walked down the stairs, prepped and ready. Minjae was poking his toes into the floor absentmindedly as waited for you.

"You finished your homework right?" Minjae nodded his head as he bit his lip. You smiled approvingly. You reached into your pocket for your keys and Minjae opened the door expectantly.

'Ok, Appa. I know you would had have faith in me,' your mind wandered towards your dad. You reached in vain towards your chest, you fingers closing around air. Your eyes shot open. His tags!! "Minjae, mianhe. I'll be right back. You shot upstairs flinging your bedroom door open and scanning the room. You snatched the military tags from your dresser. You ran down the stairs with Jello at your heels. You slipped the chain over your neck, kissing each tag in turn. 'Mianhe Appa...' You slipped out the door turning back to command Jello to guard the house. The Jindo barked acceptingly and you locked the house.

"Noona, can you take me with you when you go visit Eomma?" Minjae slipped his small hand in yours and looked up at you. You raised an eyebrow and pursed your lips.

"Buing~Buing~," He begged, rubbing his fist against his cheek.

You against your teeth as you shook your head at his powerful aegyo. "Neh, we will visit eomma today. I will ask Neri to pick you up and take you. I will get there after my work at the Jindo shelter."

Minjae smiled at you happily. You bit your lip in thought. You visited your mother everyday, even with two jobs, school, and taking care of Minjae. You knew what her condition was, how her lupus affected liver wasn't filtering the medicine from the chemo. Your mother had responded well to the radiation, but when you went back for a routine exam, they found a new growth, this time in her cervix. The problem was: even a historechtomy wouldn't suffice, due to the lupus in her liver the cancer had started attacking her blood. With all of these problems, you didn't want Minjae to see how she had deteriorated. The last time he had visited her, she still had hair, her skin was still rosy tinted and milky white, not dark and written over with visble veins and tired eyes deep set in dark purple sockets. The last time Minjae saw her, she was still your mother, but you had to take him.

You walked in comfortable silence toward Minjae's school. He walked toward the gate. He stopped short and ran back to you kissing you quickly then ran into the gate and out of sight.

"Looks like we are visiting the hospital today..."