Kikwang puffed out a cloud of smoke as he closed his eyes.

He could hear his mother crying in the next room and so he stepped out the front door and watched as his father put boxes in the trunk.

Kikwang let out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. The smoked traveled upwards, blocking Kikwang’s view. He wasn’t sure if his father had looked up or not.

As the smoke cleared and Kikwang saw his father put in the last box, Kikwang frowned. His father looked up and gave Kikwang an apologetic look. Kikwang continued to stare blankly, challenging his father.

They shared a moment between them but neither of them said a word. Kikwang didn’t bother. As far as he was concerned, his father didn’t deserve to be acknowledged.

With one last look, Kikwang watched as his father got into the car and drove away.

Kikwang closed his eyes and he took in a deep breath.

His father was gone and his mother was torn.

Kikwang had told his mother of the secret child his father had been hiding and everything fell apart so quickly that Kikwang had wondered if he had dreamt everything.

He didn’t want to face his mother. Even if she would never admit it, she would always blame him for ruining her life.

Kikwang grinned at the bitterness he suddenly felt. The person he had loved the most had been his father. Growing up, his father had been the one who Kikwang would always go to. His father was his hero and his role model.

And now…it would never be the same.

He hated his father; something Kikwang thought would never be possible.

Kikwang crushed the cigarette in his hand as he bit his lower lip in order to silence his sobs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been two weeks exactly since he had last seen his mother. As he looked at her now, he could see her tired eyes and her pale face.

He looked away.

“Are you eating?” he asked suddenly.

She didn’t say anything.

He made her food every day before he left for work and when he came home, it was always gone, but it didn’t mean she ate.

He sighed as he placed a bowl in the fridge and turned to grab his things. He glanced at her once more. She stared ahead, her eyes puffy and vacant.

“Rest” he told her.

He didn’t look at her as he walked past her and out the front door. He didn’t want to look at her. It caused him to blame himself more and more.

Deep down, he knew that she blamed him for everything and that thought alone was making him hate her. He already hated his father; he didn’t want to hate his mother too. He just wished that his mother would realize that he was still here, unlike his father.  

As he made his way out onto the street, his footsteps became lighter. To be away from the place that used to be a happy home was liberating. He didn’t know how much longer he could endure the silence of that home. It was eating away at him and every night as he heard his mother cry, he felt his anger continue to cry.

He had to do something.

He continued to walk but as he got further and further away he got from his home, the closer and closer he got to freedom…but of course, every time he was close to peace, something always held him back.

As he rounded a corner, he stopped as he spotted a small girl. She wore a school uniform and her hair was up in a high ponytail. Scared eyes looked at him as she spotted him.

He narrowed his eyes at the girl in front of him. She opened to say something but he pushed past her without giving her a chance.

She followed after him and he almost turned around to give her a piece of his mind but as he neared the train station, her steps slowed. Soon enough, the steps stopped altogether. He entered a train and finally turned to look out.

He caught sight of her as she looked at him with sad eyes.

As the trained pulled out of the station and as she soon became a nonexistent figure, Kikwang realized what he needed to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kikwang ignored the looks he was getting from the teenage girls that walked by. They giggled and gasped at him but he didn’t pay any attention. His eyes couldn’t focus on anyone else but that girl. He searched for her and he would not rest until he found her but after minutes of waiting, he was growing impatient. He continued to lean against the wall that was across the street from the school. He had to time this correctly.

He didn’t have to wait much longer. He saw her off in the distance as she made her way to the entrance gate. He watched her closely and pushed away from the wall as she came closer. He started to walk away from the school without another look back. He walked around the corner and smirked when he heard light footsteps behind him. The street ahead of him was empty and he felt his smirk get bigger. He continued to walk and when he still heard the footsteps, he stopped. He turned around and saw her standing there. She stared at him with shy, wide eyes. He almost laughed. She had taken the bait.

“You” he started.

She swallowed and looked down at her feet.

“Why are you following me?” he asked.

She struggled to open .

“I…saw you walk by” she replied.

He didn’t say anything. They looked at each other before he broke eye contact and turned back around. He began to walk away.

“Wait!!” she called out.

She ran after him, standing in his way when she stopped.

She looked at him.

“I’m sorry” she voiced.

He narrowed his eyes at her. Now he was really beginning to lose his patience.

“You should be” he replied.

He stepped up to her and she looked down at her feet once more.

“I know you hate me” she said in a low voice.

She went quiet and Kikwang looked at her with cautious eyes. He saw her shoulders shake and he sighed.

“Great” he mumbled.

He looked at her.

“Stop crying” he voiced sternly.

She sniffed and nodded slowly, telling him that she understood, but her crying didn’t stop.

Kikwang rolled his eyes as he sighed.  He looked around and spotted a convenience store at the end of the street.

“Wait here” he commanded.

He set off towards the store and returned minutes later. He silently handed her a small packet of tissues. She took it gratefully and soon enough, she had stopped crying. She wiped her eyes and finally looked at him.

“What do you want from me?” he asked her.

Sohee didn’t react the way he had thought she would. She didn’t shrink back from his stern tone. Instead, she held out something to him.

Kikwang looked at the object in her hand and frowned.

“When I first found out that I had a brother, I wrote this letter” she began to explain.

“Let me guess…you want me to read this and automatically start being a brother to you” Kikwang voiced.

Sohee went silent and Kikwang almost rolled his eyes once more as he saw a tear roll down her face.

“I’m sorry that it turned out this way” she said.

Kikwang stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah…” he agreed.

Sohee let out a small, bitter laugh.

“If it helps…..my mother tricked our- I mean…your dad.”

Kikwang’s frown deepened at the mention of his father.

“I’m pretty sure he realized what he was doing” he disagreed.

Sohee shook her head.

“No, he didn’t. My mother…she worked with him. She knew he was married but she still liked him. One night, she got him drunk and took advantage of the situation.”

Kikwang looked at Sohee with anger.

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

Sohee shrugged.

“My mother didn’t care about me. When dad didn’t marry her, she abandoned me. She left me with my aunt, who hates me too. She says that my mom ended up dying because of me”

She caught Kikwang’s gaze.

“Dad isn’t a bad person. He has been the only one who has looked after me. He was just taking responsibility for something that wasn’t really his fault.”

Kikwang looked away from Sohee and began to walk away. She followed after him, but from a distance.

After a few moments of silent walking, Sohee finally spoke up.

“Do you think we could ever be a real family?” she asked.

Kikwang stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. Sohee looked at him with her wide eyes, hoping or maybe even wishing, that he would say yes.

“It’s all I really want. It doesn’t matter if I can’t have dad around all the time or if I only got to see you every now and then….I just wish I could call you my family.”

Kikwang felt his jaw clench. Was this girl stupid? How could she possibly think that they could be a happy family after everything that has happened? It was beginning to piss him off. However, instead of showing his irritation, he showed her a smile and she couldn’t help but smile back.

“Follow me” he voiced.

Sohee followed without protest and soon enough they were in front of a house. Kikwang walked up to the front door and opened it. He motioned for Sohee to go in and she did. She looked around the home with wonder. She had always wondered where her father had lived.

She turned to look at Kikwang with a smile. As he smiled back, she opened to say something but before she could, he had grabbed her roughly by the arm.

She let out a small yelp of pain. She shut her eyes tightly as he squeezed her arm tighter. She felt him pull her and then suddenly push her down.  She fell onto the floor and looked up at him with scared eyes. He glared down at her as he grabbed the door knob.

“Oppa” she managed to say.

But it was too late. Kikwang slammed the door shut and locked her inside.

Sohee’s lower lip started to tremble.

“O-oppa” she said once more.

She crawled towards the door and pulled at the knob.

“Oppa!” she sobbed out, pleading to him.

Her tears began to come out uncontrollably as she buried her head in her hands.

Outside of the room, Kikwang stared at the door with sad eyes. In his mind, he knew that Sohee didn’t deserve this but in his heart, he blamed her completely.

“I need to do this” he told himself quietly.

He needed to make her realize that everything was her fault. That his father had abandoned him because of her and that his mother was a complete wreck because of what his father had done. He needed to scare Sohee and make her realize that he hated her and that it would never change. He needed Sohee to live with that guilt, just like he had to live with the guilt of his own actions.

He stepped away from the door and made his way down a hallway, stopping once he came face to face with a door. He opened it and looked inside and saw his mother lying in bed. He walked up to the bed and without words; he grabbed her arms and pulled her up. She didn’t refuse as he helped her stand up and as he led her down the hallway.  He stopped in front of a door and she immediately snatched her arms away from him.

“No!” she suddenly spoke, taking Kikwang off guard.

She turned away from the door, finally looking into Kikwang’s eyes.

“I won’t go in there” she protested.

Kikwang felt his jaw clench. That room had been his father’s office and coincidently it was also the place where Kikwang had discovered his father’s secret.

He stood firm as he faced his mother down.

“You need to go in” he said in a stern voice.

His mother shook her head fiercely.

“No” she repeated.

Kikwang grabbed her shoulders and used his strength to pull her towards the door.

“NO!” she continued to scream.

Kikwang unlocked the door and pulled his mother in. Inside, Sohee gasped as she witnessed Kikwang drag someone into the room.

“Look!” Kikwang commanded his mother.

His mother stopped struggling as she noticed Sohee on the floor. She looked at Kikwang.

“Who is she? What did you do Kikwang?!” his mother asked.

Kikwang watched as his mother made her way to Sohee, ready to help her up.

“She is his daughter” he calmly said.

All at once, there was silence and his mother froze. Her eyes slowly took in Sohee’s appearance.

Kikwang grabbed his mother by the shoulders and turned her fully so that Sohee could look at her. His eyes stared into Sohee’s.

“You say that all you want is to be a family but look at her. Look at what my mother has been through because of that man. You are the reason why he left us and why my mother is alone and the reason why I hate both of them.”

He let his mother go, her sad eyes looking up at him.

“You hate me?” she asked in disbelief.

Kikwang didn’t reply right away. He took the time to look at his mother, taking in every detail of her sad face.

“You sit around and blame me for what happened. Don’t you think I hate myself enough already for telling you that dad betrayed us? I don’t need you blaming for this too” he finally said.

Kikwang turned to look at Sohee, pointing at her.

“Blame her.”

He turned to leave but Sohee called out to him.

“Oppa…”

“Don’t call me that!!” he screamed.

He glared at Sohee, his hands balling up into fists at his sides.

“We will never be a family and you will never be my sister! Don’t follow me anymore and don’t let me see you ever again.”

With that said, he walked out of the room. As he made his way out of the house, he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He closed his eyes as he walked around blindly. He didn’t make it far before he heard a loud sound come from within the house. He opened his eyes, looking towards the front door. His eyebrows furrowed as he walked towards the front door. He stepped inside the home but it was quiet. He turned to leave once more but a sudden thump stopped him. He made his way down the hallway and stopped in front of his father’s office. He turned the knob but it was locked.

“Mom?” he called out.

Nothing.

Kikwang put his ear to the door, listening carefully. His eyes widened as he heard muffled screaming.

“Mom!” he called out once more.

He was about to ram his body into the door when suddenly, his mother’s voice called to him.

“Kikwang…it has to be done.”

His eyes widened as suddenly the muffled screaming became loud.

“No! Please stop!!” Sohee coughed out.

Kikwang heard the sounds of a struggle. Something fell onto the ground and Sohee let out a shout of pain.

“Oppa!!!” Sohee screamed out.

Kikwang threw himself against the door.

“Mom!! Mom!” he screamed out.

He rammed up against the door at full force but still the door wouldn’t budge. He began to panic as the mix shouts of Sohee and his mother drowned out any other sounds.

Then he heard the most horrific scream he had ever heard and he knew that it would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Tears rolled down his face as he rammed into the door once more. His world swirled as he burst through the room. He froze as he saw the sight before him.

His mother watched Sohee screamed as she rolled on the ground, trying to put out the flames engulfing her back. Kikwang reacted quickly as he took off his shirt and covered Sohee, patting her body fiercely. He didn’t register what he was doing, he just reacted. As the flames started to subside, he felt hands on his arms and he looked up to see his mother trying to get to Sohee. He pushed his mother away and she slammed up against the desk in the room.

Without thinking he covered Sohee with his own body. His tears had not stopped as he looked down at Sohee. She continued to cry out in pain, her body wriggling uncontrollably. The fire was out but it was too late. Kikwang could see her raw flesh peek through the gaps of his shirt.  

He turned his head to look at his mother as she cried loudly while she brought her knees up to her chest. He looked around the room, seeing the empty bottle of alcohol on the ground and a lighter. He saw Sohee’s clothes scattered around, all of the fabric torn and in pieces. He looked at his mother once more.

“What have you done?” he asked in a low voice.

When she didn’t answer, his anger boiled up within him. He pulled himself away from Sohee and grabbed his mother, roughly shaking her.

“WHAT HAVE YOUR DONE?!” he yelled.

He let her go as he brought his hands up to his head. He couldn’t believe what was happening.

His mother looked at him.

“It had to be done Kikwang. She needed to go” she tried to reason.

Kikwang shook his head as he saw the way his mother looked at him slowly. Her eyes were wide and empty of emotion. She grabbed his arm.

“Kikwang…she ruined our lives.”

Kikwang shook off his mother’s hand.

He couldn’t believe what his mother was saying. Sure, he wanted to scare Sohee and make her feel worse than he had felt but he didn’t want this. He was never planning on hurting her or doing anything like what his mother had done.

“Mom…you’ve lost your mind” he voiced.

He turned his back on her and gently grabbed Sohee. She had her eyes on him, tears in her eyes as she mumbled something under her breath.

“Hang on” he said to her.

He picked her up, cradling her in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sohee looked up as Kikwang walked into the room. He caught her gaze and made his way over to her bed. She silently watched him as he sat down next to her bed.

“I spoke to the police. They couldn’t find her” he voiced.

Sohee didn’t say anything as she continued to watch him.

He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. She wanted to say something but as she opened , she felt pain overcome her senses. Kikwang noticed it and he closed his eyes tightly.

“They’ll find her…” he tried to assure her.

Sohee looked away from him and focused on the multiple machines that were hooked up to her. Kikwang remained silent as he looked down at his feet.

“How long will I be here?” she suddenly asked.

Kikwang looked at her.

“The burns are severe. The doctors say that you might be able to leave in about a month.”

She sighed and it soon became silent.

Kikwang shifted in his seat.

“I’m sorry, so sorry” he said to her.

He had been apologizing to her since the moment he had managed to get her away from his mother. Yet, Sohee never blamed him and even though she would assure Kikwang that it wasn’t his fault, he insisted that it was.

“It’s not your fault” she said once more.

Kikwang sighed as he rubbed his eyes with force.

“If it wasn’t for me, she would have never known who you were and you wouldn’t be here. It’s my fault. I have to blame myself for it. There is no other explanation for this.”

Sohee didn’t say anything a she reached out and took his hand in hers.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll protect you” he assured her.

Sohee slowly nodded.

“Okay…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SO there you have it!! I hope you guys liked it!