The cold night air brushed her cheek as Ha Eun exited from her building. She shuddered a little before setting off purposefully towards the bus stop. The buzzing in her pocket slowed her down as she fished it out. The name on the caller ID brought a smile to her face.

“Omma!” Ha Eun chirped as she sat down on the bench at the bus stop. She tolerated the usual nagging from her mother to eat well and dress warmly. She asked after both her mother and father before allowing herself to ask after the person she missed the most.

“How’s Jiyongie? Is he behaving himself?” Ha Eun giggled as she received an update on his latest antic and her mother’s complaint that she was too old to look after such an active toddler. “You love him more than you loved unnie and I, so bear with it!”

After cutting the line with her mother, the dark and quiet bus stop made Ha Eun feel even lonelier. While wishing for her bus to arrive quickly, a weird prickle at the back of her neck made Ha Eun turn back. She was right – someone had been watching her.

Scrambling to her feet and slinging her bag across her body, Ha Eun cautiously kept her distance. The man was not a stranger, but he was not the same person that she had known before.

“Ha Eun ah,” he rasped as he took a step towards her. He attempted a small smile but all Ha Eun did was frown back. “How have you been?”

“Well enough until I saw you today. Don’t come any closer – I will scream,” Ha Eun threatened but her feet kept shuffling back, trying hard to keep the distance between them.

“This is not the way to treat your brother-in-law. Afterall, we shared some good memories as a family.” This was Park Min Joon – her sister’s biggest mistake in life. While this was the main road, there were only cars that sped past.

“Look, I just need some money – I haven’t eaten in days. Jiyongie is still so young, you don’t want him to lose his father, right?” The compulsive gambler sprinted forward and grabbed Ha Eun by her shoulders. She pushed back against his chest and when he tried to grab her bag, Ha Eun kept a vice-like grip on it too, determined not to give this loser money ever again.

“It’s better if Jiyongie didn’t have you as his father! You should just die and save your son the embarrassment! I’m not giving you any money so get lost!”

As they tussled, Ha Eun slipped on the edge of the curb and tumbled onto the road. Ha Eun’s heart thumped as harsh lights shone on her and the frantic honking caused Min Joon to leave her and escape. The pair of headlights screeched to a stop just beside her and Ha Eun heaved a huge sigh.

Half expecting the driver to hurl abuse at her, Ha Eun tried to get off the road as quickly as she could but she slouched back down as her twisted ankle failed her.

“Ha Eun, are you ok?”

The deep voice was only filled with anxious concern. Not quite knowing why, Ha Eun felt hot tears fill her eyes. The voice prevented her from looking up. Why did it have to be him?

His strong hands helped her up and supported her back onto the pavement. Still, Ha Eun hid her face from Seunghyun, not knowing how to explain what he had obviously witnessed.

“Hyung, drive us back.” Seunghyun told his manager who had calmed down now from the near-accident. During the whole journey back to Seunghyun’s apartment, they never exchanged a word. Ha Eun stared out her side of the window, stopping only once to text an apology of absence to the bar for the night. She could only hope that her job will still be waiting for her tomorrow evening. IF her ankle got better.

“You sure you don’t need anything else?” Seunghyun’s manager asked as he lingered at the doorway. Just a few steps behind Seunghyun, Ha Eun stood with her back facing the door, seemingly studying the new environment. Seunghyun nodded and smiled reassuringly as he bade his manager good night and closed the door.

“Sit,” Seunghyun said as he brushed past Ha Eun and disappeared into his room. She hobbled over to his pristine sofa and sat down gingerly. Her ankle had been tended to at a 24 hour clinic that YG artistes visited and was now bundled up securely. It’ll take about two weeks to heal completely and Ha Eun knew she could probably bid her part-time job at the bar good bye for now.

Seunghyun emerged from his bedroom dressed more comfortably and with glasses. His eyes were slightly red from wearing his contact lenses all day. He took a plastic bag out and wrapped it securely around her affected ankle.

“Go shower, I left a set of clothes and a towel on the bed.”

When Ha Eun emerged 15 minutes later, Seunghyun was smoking a cigarette on his balcony with a glass of red wine. He stubbed his cigarette out when Ha Eun joined him and he poured her some wine from the uncorked bottle. Wordlessly, Ha Eun obediently sat down when Seunghyun patted the empty space beside him. Seunghyun wrapped the blanket around the both of them and Ha Eun smiled her thanks.

For a few minutes, there was only silence as they sipped their drinks and just stared out at the mesmerizing nightlights of Seoul.

“Aren’t you going to ask me about what happened?” Ha Eun asked.

“Do you want me to?”

“He’s Ji Eun unnie’s husband. He was kind enough when they first got married but he turned out to be a compulsive gambler. Even today, he came to me to ask for money,” Ha Eun said. As each word left her lips, the weight on her chest felt lighter.

“How is Ji Eun taking it?” Seunghyun’s question was only met with silence from Ha Eun.

“I thought I was helping unnie by giving him money and hiding the truth from her,” Ha Eun whispered. “But it was never enough.”

Seunghyun waited patiently as Ha Eun’s breathing became a little ragged from trying to control her tears. He shushed her and wrapped the blanket tighter around her.

“Ji Eun is lucky to have a sister like you,” Seunghyun whispered as he patted her back. Ha Eun shook her head sadly.

“Seunghyun oppa,” Ha Eun’s trembling voice caused Seunghyun to peer down at her. “I couldn’t say this before and I’m sorry. My unnie is no longer with us. She died because of me.”

A/N:   Hello, it's been a while since I wrote so I am excited about this one. Please share your thoughts with me in the comments and look forward to putting up many more chapters. Thanks!