To say things are tense when the police return Jinri and Jinah to their parents would be the understatement of the century. While the cops are there, Mrs. Kwang and her husband are full of simpering sweetness, thanking the officers and repeatedly telling them how worried they’d been when their daughters had gone missing.

The second the cops leave, however, it’s a totally different story. After quite a lot of shouting and name-calling – though thankfully both Jinri’s mother and her stepfather are sober enough not to resort to hitting – they take away Jinri’s cell phone and forbid her from seeing her friends outside of school.

Though Jinri is sure that Himchan and the others have called her a dozen times or more, her cell phone is locked away in her mother and stepfather’s bedroom and she’s got no hope of getting it out. She’s sure they must be worried. She’s not even sure what she’s going to say to them.

She gets the opportunity the second she steps through the doors of school the following morning, hair tied back and no makeup, most unlike her. Then there’s Himchan and Daehyun and Youngjae and Jongup, Yongguk lingering at the back of the group with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Jinri!” Himchan practically shouts, grabbing her in his arms and pulling her in for a tight hug. “We’ve been worried sick! We all tried calling you all night!”

“They took away my phone,” Jinri answers in a flat sort of voice, not returning Himchan’s hug but not pushing away either. “I’m being punished for causing a scene with the police.”

“It’s all bull!” Daehyun exclaims, and it’s surprising to hear the usually reserved Daehyun curse. “The cops don’t even care about yours and Jinah’s safety! They’re not even doing their jobs!”

“It’s easier for them to believe parents,” Jinri mutters. “It’s less work for them.”

The boys don’t seem particularly satisfied by this answer, but Jinri doesn’t give them time to question more. She brushes by to head to class.

Himchan’s hand on her arm stops her. “Is Jinah really your sister?” he demands, eyes dark with something incredibly sad.

Jinri nods. “Yeah, she’s my sister.”

“Why did you tell us she was your daughter if she wasn’t?” Youngjae asks next, curious.

“I never said she was my daughter,” Jinri replies, shaking off Himchan’s arms. “You made your own assumptions and I just never bothered to correct you. People believe what they want to believe.” And she turns on her heel and headed off to class.

Things at home deteriorate even more over the next few weeks. Jinri is confined almost solely to her bedroom, her interactions with her friends and even Jinah incredibly limited. She spends most of her time lying on her bed, praying for the day that she turns eighteen so she can leave this hellhole.

She makes the mistake of going down to the kitchen to get some food one Saturday evening. Jinah is thankfully upstairs in her nursery, but both Mrs. Kwang and her husband are in the kitchen. It’s obvious that they’re drunk even though it’s barely dark outside. They’ve never needed an excuse to crack open the liquor.

“Well, look who’s wandered out of her cave,” her stepfather says derisively. “The wicked of the west.”

Jinri ignores him. It’s better than rising to the bait, she’s learned. So she goes to the refrigerator and opens it, looking for something that will curb the roiling hunger in her belly.

“What do you think you’re doing?” her stepfather’s voice rings out again, this time with an unmistakable edge of anger.

Again, Jinri ignores him.

This time it’s her mother who snaps, jumping out of her chair and grabbing Jinri by the shoulder, spinning her around violently. “Your father is talking to you!” she hisses through clenched teeth, eyes bloodshot and cheeks red. “Answer him!”

“He’s not my father!” Jinri shouts back, shaking her mother’s hand off her shoulder. “He’s just the who cheated with my mother!”

The resounding slap across Jinri’s cheek is loud enough to echo around the kitchen. “You little brat,” Mrs. Kwang slurs, so angry she’s practically trembling. “What nasty lies are coming out of your mouth!”

Despite the blossoming handprint on her cheek, Jinri stands her ground. “It’s not a life if it’s true, right mother? How is it lying to say that you cheated on dad with this piece of ? How is it lying to say the truth?”

She’d been planning to continue her little tirade, finally saying the things to her mother that she’s always wanted to say, but she doesn’t get the chance before her stepfather’s fist is connecting with the side of her head. She’s knocked off her feet, falling against the counter hard enough to bruise, stars dancing around her head from the blow.

Everything happens too fast after that. Her stepfather’s fists rain down on her from above mercilessly, blocked meekly by her arms over her head in protection. Her mother is shouting horribly, profanities and curses and calling Jinri the worst of names. Through all of this Jinri is screaming, screaming so loudly that her voice is soon hoarse.

It’s only the sound of sirens that finally stop the attack. Jinri’s stepfather hesitates, and then there is banging on the door. The police don’t wait for someone to answer, simply barge in and break up the fight.

Things are over alarmingly quickly. Jinri’s stepfather is put in handcuffs and placed in the back of a police car, still sputtering violently. Jinri and Jinah are taken and put in the back of another police car, and it’s less than half an hour before they’re pulling away from the house.

“Your neighbors heard the screaming and saw what was happening through the kitchen window,” the moon-faced cop in the front passenger seat explained gently. “They called us right away.”

Jinri swallows the lump in . One of her eyes is swollen almost all the way shut, and there’s still a trickle of blood coming from her nose. “What’s going to happen to us?” she manages to get out, voice so hoarse she almost doesn’t recognize it. “To my sister and me? Where are we going?”

“There’s a social worker who’s waiting for you at the police station,” the cop explains. “She’s going to speak with you and your sister for a bit, and then you’ll be placed in a foster home.” He smiles sadly. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to go back to your parents again.”

Part of Jinri is relieved that the nightmare with her mother and stepfather is over, but another part of her is anxious that they’re going to separate her and Jinah. She doesn’t know if she can survive that.

The social worker is waiting for them at the station, just like the police officer had promised. They’re taken back to a private room, one that Jinri is fairly positive is used for questioning criminals. She sits there on one side of the table with Jinah cuddling in her lap, the social worker on the other side, asking serious questions about the quality of their life with Mr. and Mrs. Kwang. Finally broken down, Jinri answers honestly, reporting all of the mental and physical abuse that has taken place since Mrs. Kwang married her second husband shortly before Jinah’s birth. The social worker nods and hums and writes things down on her little notepad.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Jinri demands when it seems the social worker is ready to conclude their little meeting. “To Jinah and me?”

“Well, you’ll be placed in a foster home for the time being,” the social worker explains. “We’re getting a place ready for you right now, so we’ll go in about an hour or so. Your parents face charges of child abuse and neglect, so a more permanent placement will be found for the two of you after they meet with a judge, but that could take months.”

“What sort of more permanent placement?” Jinri repeats nervously.

The social worker looks up from where she’s shuffling papers. “Well, since you are so close to eighteen, you’ll probably be registered as an emancipated teen and will be allowed to live on your own, with the government and your parents paying a stipend until you come of age. As for Jinah, she’ll most likely be placed with a family that’s looking into adoption. She’s young enough that she’ll be able to adapt to change easily.”

“You can’t separate us,” Jinri insists, panicking. “You can’t take my sister away from me. She needs me!”

The social worker gives her a level look. “I understand that you’ve been through some hard times and that you will take comfort in your sister’s presence, but you have to think about Jinah. What can you possible do to provide for a child? You’re still in school yourself. You need to think about what’s best for your sister.”

“I’m what’s best for my sister!” Jinri bursts out.

The social worker pretends like she doesn’t hear her. “I’ll go make the final arrangements for the foster home. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Jinri is in tears the second the door shuts behind the social worker. 

Sorry I've been missing for a while! I went on vacation and then it was my birthday! But I'm back now!