Months passed since the last time I spoke with my uncle and Jung Young Bae. About a year passed since I last spoke with my parents and my older sister. I was slowly distancing myself from family, and it somehow felt good. My father was a fisherman in Yeosu, and my mother owned a restaurant in which the food was made with my father's catch. They lived in a large hanok, hidden with a large wooden gates and vines on the stone wall. Both of my parents grew vegetables and few fruits. My mother used to go to the market early in the morning and sell them, along with a few fish from my father's catch. 

Then there was my older sister, Jung Mun Hee, who was working her way up in the happy category. She was married to a business operating manager, had two children who strived to become big when they were older, and she was on her way to becoming a fashion designer. Munhee was the form of perfection in my parents eyes, in front of teachers and our peers when we were in high school, for the people that knew us around the market and the strangers that passed us by with lingering eyes. She was Cinderella, I was the twisted stepsister that cut off her heels so the slipper would fit. 

I worked hard to get everything I had now, and it was perfect for me. There was a roof over my head, and I had a lovable family of six boys that cared for me and I for them, a job in one of the best hospitals in Seoul, and soon to be graduating from medical school as Doctor Jung Mo Ne. I was me, I was happy with what I had, but that wasn't enough for my parents. 

My father wanted me to find a suitable husband that would take care of me in the future. Mother was setting me up in blind dates with sons from her friends, and her friends friends, and sometimes my aunts friends' son. They wanted me to get married and immediately give them grandchildren so that Sung Woo and Sung Chae, Munhee's children, wouldn't feel so alone.

I wanted to tell them, all of them, that time would be the key. Time would be the essential thing to everything. I wasn't ready to get married to a man I didn't know, especially to a man that my mother picked out. Her taste in men were the complete opposite. While I preferred a man like Choi Jin Hyuk, my mother preferred a man Lee Byung Hun. When I preferred a man like Jo In Sung, she preferred a man like Kim Woo Bin.

"Noona," a soft voice interrupted me from my thoughts. "are you okay?"

I looked up at the person who spoke, seeing Junhong looking down on me with a concerned face. "Sorry," I shook my head. "Did you say anything?"

He shook his head, "No, but you were spacing out a lot and I was wondering if you were okay."

"I'm fine," I ran a hand through my hair and looked at the time on my laptop. "I was just spaced out, I guess. What is it?"

"Oh," Junhong looked down at the book he had in his hands. "Noona, I was wondering if you could help me in this math problem. I don't understand it that well..."

I took the book from his hands, reading over the problem a few times before moving my laptop away from in front of me and replacing it with the book. Taking a red pencil from the little mug filled with writing utensils, I began to circle what he did wrong and giving him an easier way that he could do problems like that. With a nod, a smile, and a laugh, he understood how to do the problem and the rest of them with my method. "Noona, thank you. I understand so much better now."

"Junhong," I called as I turned my chair around and he was almost out of the door. He stopped and turned, a smile on his face. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Can we have daeji bulgogi?" he asked. "And whatever sounds good because I'm really hungry. I only had a roll of tuna kimbap."

"Of course," I smiled and stood from my seat. "Would you like to accompany me to the store? There might be a lot to carry."

"Let me grab a sweater!" Junhong hurried out of the room, his steps fading as he moved away. I grabbed the pale pink blazer on top of the bed, putting it on and then grabbing the black purse besides my desk. Taking my cell-phone fro besides the computer, I walked to the front door to wait for Junhong. Himchan was working, so were Daehyun, Youngjae and Yongguk. Jongup was playing a video game in the living room, but stopped playing once he saw Junhong and I going out the room. He wanted to come with, and who was I to tell him no? I pulled on the heels by the door and waited for them outside the apartment door as they pulled on their sneakers. 

"Noona​ said she was going to make daeji bulgogi," Junhong began to tell Jongup as we got inside my car. 

"Really?" Jongup asked as he moved close to my seat from the back seat. "Noona, can you make maeuntang?"

"You want spicy fish stew as well?" I looked at him from the rearview mirror. "I'm already making spicy marinated pork! How about dwenjang chigae?"

"Sounds good," Jongup nodded. "Beef and vegetable bean soup is good for a rainy afternoon."

"What else are we going to eat tonight, noona​?" Junhong asked. 

"Let me call Yongguk oppa and ask him if he wants something," I muttered as I dialed the number from my phone. The dial tone could be heard on the speakers around the car, which I was okay with since it was only Junhong and Jongup in the car with me. After three rings, he picked up.

"Mone!" he sounded breathless. "Is everything okay? Are you alright? Where are Junhong and Jongup?"

"Oppa​," I cut him off with a chuckle. "I'm okay. What are you talking about? I just called to ask you if you wanted anything specific for dinner. Junhong wants spicy marinated pork and Jongup wants beef and vegetable beef soup."

"Oh," I heard him chuckle. "Well, sweetened sweet potato shoots would be good. You have a lot of side dishes in the fridge, maybe those. I mean, there's the pan fried tofu and the seasoned garlic stems."

I rolled my eyes, smiling to myself. "Hopefully you four will get home early so we can all eat together," I chuckled. "You hear me, Bang Yongguk? I want you home right after work."

"You sound like his wife," Junhong muttered from the back seat. 

"Okay, yeobo." Yongguk chuckled and the call ended. I rolled my eyes, and changed the song that came up right after the end of the call. 

Minutes later, we arrived at the supermarket. I took the shopping cart and began to walk around the isles, hearing Junhong and Jongup muttering about how good were the things they were trying. There was a smile on my lips, which made me feel good. I felt like a mother then, taking care of her grown kids. Jongup was graduated in February, and Junhong was going to graduate next year. It was something that made me proud of them, especially how hard they were working, especially Junhong. He wanted to get into a college, he once told me, preferably Yonsei or Korea, maybe even Dongguk.  

"Noona," Junhong began as he grabbed a bag of rice from the bottom shelf. "a woman has been following us ever since we got the apples." He turned his head and looked behind me. There was an older woman hiding behind her phone, peering up at me and then back down at the floor. With short brown hair, a nice black dress with black heels and a white blazer over her shoulders. Long legs, lean arms, and bright red lipstick covering her lips. 

"Do you know who she is?" Jongup asked. 

"I'm not sure..." I muttered, turning back around. "Probably curious of something."

"Jung Mone!" a female voice called. I turned my head, facing the same woman once again. "It's been a long time."

"Do I know you?" I asked her, tilting my head to the side. 

"How can you not remember your own sister?" she smiled. 

"Jung Munhee..." I took a step back. "What are you doing here? I thought you were living in Busan."

"We moved to Seoul a few months ago," she waved a hand. "Cheon Dae Ho got transferred to Seoul. They wanted him in Seoul since they were more businesses here than in Busan."

"Oh..." I nodded slowly. "I'm happy for you, unnie."

"Yes, yes," She adverted her eyed from me to the boys standing awkwardly behind me. "And who are these two boys?"

"Oh," I turned two look at Junhong and Jongup, biting my lip as I looked back at my older sister. "They're...They're..."

"Mone!" a deep voice breathed as they got closer to me. I turned my head, greeted by a heavy breathing Yongguk. 

"Oppa​," I scratched the top of my head. "I thought you were working."

"I came when I heard you were shopping..." he stopped speaking when he saw my sister standing in front of me with a confused stare. "Oh, annyeonghaseyo​. I'm Bang Yongguk."

"Jung Munhee," she bowed her head. "I'm Mone's older sister."

"Sister?" I heard him mutter to himself. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Mone's boyfriend." Boyfriend? What was he doing by telling her these things? Munhee was a person for gossip, she would tell all of her friends and our parents. It would end with me having to explain so many things, including rumors that her friends would have spread around. 

"Oh?" Munhee raised a brow. "I didn't know Mone had a boyfriend. It's is a pleasure to meet you, Yongguk-sshi."

"Well, we haven't exactly spoken for about four years," I muttered, crossing my arms. "I mean, you were too busy with Cheon Dae Ho's money and your friends."

"Mone..." Munhee ran a hand through her hair. "What are you talking about? I called you so many times to invite you to my home. Sungwoo and Sungchae miss you."

"Cut the bull, Munhee." I scoffed, crossing my arms. "We stopped being sisters when you threw me out of the house for lies that you made. You told mum that I was the one who was sleeping around with Jang Hyun Suk and Yoo Is Eul when it was you; you were the one that got pregnant with Jang Hyun Suk, not I. I was kicked out of the house because of your lies, and I was thankful that I was. Jung Mun Hee, I hate you." I took a step back, inhaling what little breath came into my throat. "I hate you so much. You stopped being my family when I saw you smirking as dad closed the door on me. From now on, don't speak to me and don't even think about me. I don't know need you or our parents, because I have a better family now." I looked at the three boys looking at me surprised, and forced a smile through the few tears that were spilling through my cheeks. "Yonggyk oppa, thank you. Jongup, Junhong, thank you. I should probably thank the rest of the boys as well, for accepting me without questioning."

"Jung Mone," Munhee scoffed. "How dare you speak that way to your sister?"

"I'm sorry, Jung Munhee-sshi," I bowed my head and turned around, taking hold of the shopping cart once again. 

It was quiet as I finished the shopping. No one spoke or made a sound, they just followed me as I got the rest of the stuff. Junhong and Jongup teamed together as they stole the keys to my car from my hand, and smiled innocently as they got in.

"Sorry, noona." Junhong said as the window went down.

"You go with Yongguk hyung​," Jongup smiled from the driver's seat. "We'll take the car home and start dinner. Now, don't be late you two." Without another word, they left me in the small parking garage with Yongguk leaning against his white car.

"Get in," he opened the door for me. "We need to have a long conversation about what happened in there."

I did as he said and got in his car. The air conditioner immediately hit my face softly, calming down my heated skin from the tears that kept on falling as I shopped. Yongguk drove out of the garage, the soft tapping on the steering wheel accompanying the soft music on the radio. It was comforting, the sound of the engine and the wind passing through the car. But it was also scary, since Yongguk was rarely quiet. He would be singing along to the song on the radio, looking at me and giving me a grin as he kept on singing. 

"Oppa​," I began with a sigh. "I'm sorry that I never told you that I had a sister."

"I never asked," he chuckled. "I knew about your parents, but I never knew about your sister. It's obvious that you don't like her, really. You stepped away from her when she moved closer."

"We used to be close," I began. "We went shopping together, and went to cafes, and we even used to go out with friends. She's two years older then me, and I hate it. Our parents used to compare me to her, and it felt horrible. Why can't you be as intelligent as Munhee? Why can't you be as pretty as Munhee? Why can't you date a nice boy like Munhee? Why can't you get married like Munhee? Why can't you have money like Munhee? Munhee was their priced possession, I was the rotting kimchi." I wiped away the few stray tears on my cheeks.

"Mone," Yongguk took the hand that was resting on my thigh. "you don't have to tell me if you don't comfortable."

I shook my head, "I feel like I should tell you." I looked to him. "One night, my parents found a pregnancy stick in the restroom. Munhee blamed me for it while I was out celebrating with friends that I got into medical school. When I got home, they began to question and hit me and blame me for so many things even when I tried to explain that I did nothing. I didn't even have a boyfriend, nor was I sleeping around like they claimed I was. They didn't believe me, so they kicked me out of the house. The last thing I saw was Munhee smirking as they closed the gates on my face."

It was quiet then, and calming as soon as I got everything out of my chest. Yongguk's hand was soothing mine, and the car was stopped by the side of the rode. I felt another hand on my cheek, and I looked up to see Yongguk smiling softly at me. "Jung Mone, forget about her, okay? Right now, she doesn't matter. She's not in your life and no harm can be done towards you. You're with me now, and I will never hurt you. I won't let anything happen to you, and I won't believe the she'll say to me sooner or later."

"Tell you?"

"Did you see her face?" he chuckled. "Jealousy. Now I see why she did those things to you so many years ago." His thumb moved on my cheek, causing me to close my eyes and allow the soothingness to easy everything inside of me. "You're more beautiful than the rising sun."