Breakage

“Don’t go!”

A six year old girl dashed out of her mother’s grip and threw herself at the figure standing near the door. Her death grip on her sister’s dress caused the neatly pressed fabric to crumple but the child did not seem to notice amidst her tears. Her mother frowned and snapped at Krystal,

“Don’t stall your sister! She’ll be late!”

Krystal ignored her mother and simply latched herself tighter onto Jessica as her sobs escalated into wails.

“You can’t! We-we’re supposed to play dress up and tea party with snuffles… And you said you’ll help me with my math! Please… Unnie…”

Jessica looked down at her sobbing sister before turning towards her father waiting beside the car.

“Dad, just give me a minute.”

Her father nodded gruffly.

“Don’t take too long, you’re going to be late.”

Jessica ruffled Krystal’s hair before lifting her up and carrying her as if she were a baby. Nodding at her mother, she walked over to Krystal’s room and opened the door. Safely depositing Krystal on the bed, she turned back to close the door before joining her sister on the bed.

“Now, now, don’t cry. You’re a big girl.”

Jessica gently wiped Krystal’s tears away with her thumb and Krystal’s cries instantly reduced to sniffles.

“Don’t-don’t go.”

Krystal looked up at her beloved sister, tears b in her eyes. Jessica simply smiled a little and pulled back the blanket, allowing Krystal to slither in and lie down. Tucking her in gently, Jessica patted Krystal’s stomach rhythmically, lulling the tired girl to sleep. Krystal yawned but struggled to keep awake.

“You…You won’t go, right? Sica-Unnie?”

Krystal managed to say before she drifted off to dreamland. Jessica stared at her sleeping sister for a while before gingerly planting a kiss on her forehead. She helped the girl tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear before straightening up.

“Sorry, Krys. I can’t stay. Not this time.”

Jessica threw Krystal one last look before she silently got up and walked out of the door. There was some scuffling as her mother struggled with Jessica’s suitcase before her father finally took over, while Jessica straightened her dress and went into the car. It was a tearful goodbye on her mother’s part before the car lurched and headed towards the unknown. Jessica craned her head to stare at the house for as long as she could, just as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

“Bye Krystal. No more following your unnie, you hear me?”

~

Krystal hurried down the staircase, grinning in excitement. Dashing into the kitchen, she plopped down in front of her bowl of cereal and started to shove the food inside . Her mother was fretting over the amount of food they had left.

“Oh no, we need eggs and vegetables and-“

“I’ll do it!”

Krystal shot up, though her full mouth made the words sound incoherent. Her mother looked at her, amused, before turning back to the cupboard.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Krystal stopped short, swallowed the entire chunk of food and repeated herself with the same enthusiasm.

“I’ll get the stuff! I wanna help!”

“You’re only 9 years old, you’re too young to go out by yourself-“

“The supermarket’s only a few blocks away! I can do it!”

Krystal was bouncing up and down in excitement as she quickly ran over to her mother’s side. Her mother chuckled.

“You’re always like this when she comes back.”

“Pass me the list and some money!”

Her mother quickly jotted down the items they needed and passed the list to young Krystal, who scanned through the items eagerly. Once she received the 50-dollar bill, she immediately stuffed it into her pocket and made a dash for the entrance. She quickly slipped into one shoe and was still hopping around trying to put on the other shoe as she opened the door.

The blank face of her sister stared back at her.

Krystal froze. Jessica’s hand was poised, ready to knock on the door, and she quickly retrieved her hand. Then she let a small smile scamper across her lips as she ruffled her sister’s hair.

“Hey Krys.”

“Unnie!”

The bundle of joy threw itself at Jessica, causing the latter to stumble back a bit. Krystal gazed up at her sister with adoring eyes as she babbled on and on.

“You’re back! You’re early though. I was just going to get some groceries for mom to cook lunch! Oh yah, I have soooo many things I want to tell you! I got first place in the 100- meter-dash in my school! Isn’t it great? I also-“

“Who’s there?”

Her mother had heard the commotion and walked to the front door. Upon seeing Jessica, her face broke into a huge smile.

“Sooyeon! You’re early! Aigoo, you’ve gotten thinner. Have you been eating? You mustn’t fall sick!”

Her mother hurried over and cupped Jessica’s cheeks. Jessica laughed and waved away her mother’s concerns.

“I got off early so I came here first. And don’t worry about me too much. I’m fine, umma!”

Turning her attention to Krystal, she grinned and poked her on the forehead.

“Good for you! You must have beaten all those irritating boys, didn’t you?”

Krystal nodded vigorously, extremely proud of her achievement. Her mother quickly cut in before Krystal started spouting everything that came to her mind,

“Come in and make yourself comfortable. Krystal, weren’t you going to go and get the groceries?”

Krystal instantly deflated as she realised the task she had wanted to so badly now just robbed her of spending time with the sister she adored so much. Slowly letting go of her sister, she shuffled to the side, her head drooped in sadness.

“Right…”

“Actually, umma, I think I’ll go with her.”

Krystal brightened up immediately, a grin breaking out on her face.

“Really?”

“Yep! I don’t think you could carry it all back yourself anyway.”

“Yay!”

Krystal cheered, hooking her arm with Jessica’s as she started to pull her away. Jessica waved goodbye to her mother and grabbed Krystal’s hand before breaking into a run.

“Let’s see exactly how fast you are!”

The sisters raced to the shop and stopped at the entrance, panting as they tried to catch their breaths. Jessica wobbled and had to hold the glass wall to keep herself steady while Krystal quickly recovered and was ready to go.

“Unnie! Let’s go!”

Jessica let out a faint smile and nodded, taking a deep breath before she took Krystal’s hand and led them into the department store. Krystal dragged her all the way to the egg segment before quickly grabbing a random box of eggs. Jessica swiftly stopped the excited Krystal and replaced the box in her hand back onto the shelf.

“Krys, you must always look for the cheapest price before you buy anything. It saves money. Got it?”

Krystal nodded as Jessica scrutinised the tags and carefully placed one box of eggs into their basket.

“Okay, what’s next?”

The sisters chatted happily as they bought all the various food items before they strolled back to their house. Jessica offered to help cook but was almost instantly declined by both her mother and Krystal, since they had first-hand experienced the after effect of the food Jessica made. While Jessica brooded on the couch and muttered something about cooking classes, Krystal and their mother whipped up a feast fit for a king and laid the dishes onto the dining table. Jessica soon entered, lured by the enticing aroma and the three of them sat down for lunch.  The meal was full of laughter and happiness, something that had been lacking in the house for quite a while since a particular someone had left.

After they had polished off the food, they all sat around the table, contentedly chatting as they caught up with each other’s lives. All of a sudden, Jessica looked around for a while before asking,

“Where’s Dad?”

Instantly the whole table quietened down and even Krystal seemed a little subdued.

“He went for a trip 2 years ago and he hasn’t come back. He went to Paris or something, right Mom?”

Her mother sighed and softly ordered,

“Krystal, go back into your room.”

Krystal looked completely confused and Jessica’s expression mirrored that.

“Why?”

Krystal whined, but a sharp look from her mother shut her up.

“Just go.”

Muttering under her breath, Krystal stomped out of the kitchen and purposely slammed the room door so that her mother would know exactly how she felt at that moment. After Krystal had sulked for a while, her mother suddenly opened the door. She looked tired and more haggard than before.

“Krystal,” She said, avoiding Krystal’s penetrating gaze, “your sister’s leaving.”

“What? Already?”

Krystal sprang from her bed and dashed past her mother to see the familiar figure standing by the door. There was a sense of déjà vu as Krystal ran over and enveloped Jessica in a tight hug.

“Why are you going already? Weren’t we supposed to play monopoly or something? And you were supposed to help me with my schoolwork! I’ll work hard and won’t ask you too many questions, please!”

Jessica seemed stiffer than usual and when she smiled, Krystal could sense something that her sister was hiding. However, she also knew the smile was genuine and once she felt her sister ruffle her hair, she knew she wasn’t going to stay.

“Sorry, Krys. Not this time.”

Just like history repeating itself, Krystal silently watched Jessica leave as tears ran down her cheeks.

Jessica did not visit again for the next two years.

~

Krystal ran. She ran just like she had for the past few days; a sense of urgency and anticipation fuelling her speed. Skidding to a halt in front of her house, she burst in while shouting,

“Mom! Did you receive the letter-“

Her voice died down in as she noticed the figure sitting with her mother in the living room. Jessica smiled slightly at her and raised a hand gingerly,

“Hey Krys.”

Krystal remained frozen, unsure how to react. For the whole two years, she had been waiting for her sister’s return, but it had never come. Though the hope was diminishing, she had absolute faith in her sister and that faith drove her to do something that she would have never thought she would do.

She had auditioned for SM Entertainment, the same company that Jessica was training under.

She was hoping that if she joined the company, she would be able to meet with her sister more regularly. Instead of always waiting for her sister to come visit, she had decided to go and join Jessica.

Looking at her sister, admiration, pride, happiness bloomed within her and she grinned. She was sure that her sister would be so proud of her when she told her that she would be joining SM Entertainment.

“Unnie, you’ll never guess what happened.”

Jessica’s smile fell a little and Krystal became slightly confused. Nevertheless, she knew that her news would cheer her sister up. She would finally be standing beside her sister and the both of them would be supporting each other throughout their journey to achieve their dreams. It was an amazing idea.

“I made it into SM Entertainment!”

Krystal grinned at her sister, but her sister simply dropped her gaze. Krystal was stunned, left staring blankly at her quiet sister. She had been expecting a happy smile, and a hand that would ruffle her hair and a voice that would be b with pride. A voice which would tell her, Good for you, Krys!

Not this.

“Krys, I actually wanted to speak to you about that.”

Krystal had a bad feeling about that but she kept shut. Jessica looked up at her sister, before delivering the words she had never expected Jessica to say.

“Don’t do it.”

It was as if a lightning bolt had flashed across the sky and struck Krystal at the very core. She spluttered a bit, but her mind was reeling with shock and confusion that it was almost impossible to get any words out.

“Being an idol is very hard, especially when you’re a trainee. You wouldn’t know whether you could make it-“

“I can do it!”

Krystal’s voice sounded more desperate than she intended it to be, but she pressed on.

“I’m 11 years old, I’m a big girl now! I’ll just work very hard, then I can catch up with you and we can both stand on the stage togeth-“

“Krys, listen to me.”

Krystal started to shake, her mind still in a mess from the reaction of her sister. She shook her head in confusion and stared at her sister, who calmly looked her in the eyes.

“You’re not ready to be a trainee. Its way harder than you think.”

“I-I don’t get this, unnie.”

Krystal stuttered, trying to string the words she had in her mind into proper sentences.

“I did this for you, so we could both achieve our dream together. Side by side, the Jung Sisters, you know?”

Jessica slowly shook her head.

Krystal froze, before anger bubbled within her very depths and she erupted in the midst of her own disbelief. How could her sister do this to her? How could the very person she had admired just crush her dreams as if they were worth nothing more than a penny?

Unnie, how could you?

“Are you scared I’ll surpass you? Is that why you’re trying to stop me?”

“Krystal, please, liste-“

“No, I won’t listen!”

Krystal’s shout came out of nowhere, silencing everyone in the room. Her eyes lit up in flames as she glared at her sister, her breathing ragged.

“Why should I listen to a person who didn’t even come back for two whole years?”

That sentence struck Jessica and she looked away, while her mother, who had been silent the whole tie, finally spoke up.

“SooJung, that’s a bit too much.”

“Even you, mom! You’re looking down on me, aren’t you?”

Silence took over the room again. Krystal nodded, and her lips as she said determinedly,

“ I’ll show you, I’ll show you all, what exactly I can be when I put my mind to it!”

Krystal walked to the table and snatched up the contract, before stalking off to her room. Stopping just as she opened the door, Krystal turned around and pointed at Jessica, who looked back at her with an unreadable expression.

“I’ll definitely surpass you, mark my words!”

As Krystal slammed the door, she grabbed a pen and signed the contract, breathing heavily. She stared at the contract before looking at her reflection in the mirror. She felt a bitter taste in that she absolutely detested.

The bitter taste of betrayal.