4.16 p.m.

Seunghyun could hear the buzz of conversation in the background but all he could think about was how slow time was ticking by. He just wanted the interview to start quickly, end smoothly and he could get out of here.

4.17 p.m.

His phone buzzed and he saw that it was a text from Ha Eun.

You are unbelievable. Not in a good way. The movers you sent are just bulldozing their way in and packing everything up. If they had not shown me the order chit in time, I would have punched one of them in the jaw already!

Just imagining the fury on Ha Eun’s face was enough to make Seunghyun try hard to stifle a chuckle.

He knows where you live so you can’t stay there anymore. Over and out.

His phone jumped back to life with another text and Seunghyun smiled. He’d never imagine that he’ll hold a text fight with Ha Eun like that.

Don’t I at least get a say in WHERE I will move to? And I know you said your interview is starting soon but you’d better call the moment it ends. I’m not done with you!

4.24p.m.

Now Seunghyun had to hurry.

Obediently, the first thing Seunghyun did after the interview was to call Ha Eun. But the one that picked up his call wasn’t her.

“Aye, hyung~! Hurry up and get over here! Ha Eun is about to drive me crazy. She sent the movers home but we are helping to unpack!”

Seunghyun knew he shouldn’t have been surprised that Youngbae had picked up. Clearing his throat to get his voice back, Seunghyun gestured to his manager to get the car as he promised Youngbae to be there in a few minutes.

“And so, nothing happened?” Youngbae asked as he flattened the last cardboard box expertly and left it atop the neat stack by the door. Ha Eun put away the last glass in the cupboard and turned to survey her new kitchen. She had little possessions so the movers had cleared everything out in 30 minutes. It had taken Youngbae and her just slightly longer to get her settled in.

“No, we just said good night and went to bed,” Ha Eun said but caught that playful look on Youngbae’s face. “Separately.”

Youngbae grinned and sauntered to the living area. Seunghyun had picked a really nice apartment for Ha Eun. Not too flashy but in a safe neighborhood with many young families. In a few minutes, Ha Eun had joined him on the couch by the balcony but she still had a concerned look on her face.

“Don’t worry, I know hyung is not that type of person,” Youngbae smiled easily. “I was joking when I said all that. But he does care for you a lot to have made you change address so quickly, don’t you think?”

“Bae Oppa, I have something to tell you.” Ha Eun said.

I thought I had never seen unnie happier when she got married. She left her job and became the sweet housewife she had always wanted to be. But all I saw were photos – I didn’t know the truth. Whenever I came back for holidays or Chuseok, I would think that unnie looked skinnier. She said she wasn't used to the housework or that she was trying to maintain her figure since she was getting older.

And then it started. He started to borrow money. Saying that there was something wrong with unnie but she had made him swear not to tell any of us since she didn’t want to make us worry. It wasn’t life threatening but she needed medication and it was becoming a growing burden.

I believed him. I believed that the man that Ji Eun unnie had chosen was really taking care of her. I wanted to respect her wishes to keep things between husband and wife.

But it wasn’t true. I didn’t bother to check with my own sister. I chose to let it slide and allowed a stranger to take helm of her life.

He gambled and beat Ji Eun until she was weak and couldn’t leave the house. I only found out because Ji Eun found out. That I was giving Park Min Joon money. Money that never reached her but was always lost on some card tables.

I never knew unnie was so strong. Even with her belly, she grabbed her husband by his hair and beat him up well and good in front of me.

Youngbae’s jaw had slackened while listening to Ha Eun’s tale. While she had not moved since she started her story, tears had now pooled in her eyes. Youngbae saw her trembling hands and wrapped them with his own warm hands. As Ha Eun bent her head to hide her tears, Youngbae knelt on the floor beside her, his steely eyes now also glistening.

She didn’t want me to think it was ok to stay with a man like him. Unnie finally decided that she would walk away. Even with the growing child in her. She finally left him and was confident that no matter what happens, she would be okay.

I watched her belly grow and grow, the child ignorant of the parents’ impending divorce and Ji Eun unnie’s struggle to remain cheerful all the time. I will never forget her words when we were finally at the hospital.

“Jiyong was the only man I had loved. I wish this child to be as strong as Jiyong. I wish this child had him as a father.”

She was joking and laughing but she was also telling me her true feelings. He was born into this world as a Song, just like unnie and I, but he bore the first name that unnie could call lovingly.

“Jiyong?” Youngbae breathed. Overwhelming emotions made it hard for him to breathe. The lump in his throat was hard to swallow and his head reeled, leaving him disoriented for a moment.

He was surprisingly cooperative and stayed away. We all thought he didn’t want them back. While unnie had moved on, he had continued on his own ways. He spotted me on the streets when I came back. And followed me.

He found them and approached them after I had left. He wanted money that unnie didn’t have. Park Min Joon didn’t care that Jiyongie was there and the scuffle saw Ji Eun unnie tumbling down the stairs. She never woke up.

Ha Eun watched helplessly as her friend’s stoic face finally crumbled and he slumped over her knee. His shoulder shook and sobs turned to loud wails. For a long time, they stayed that way – Youngbae crying on her knee while Ha Eun his back like a mother comforting her son.

She wasn’t doing much better, tears rolling down as she saw the heartbreak tear through her friend. She had grieved over losing her sister, blamed herself for her death and had swore never to forgive herself. But watching Youngbae, while it was painful now, Ha Eun knew it was not something she could keep from him.

Because Ha Eun knew how kind Youngbae was. Eventually, he would have pressed to meet Ji Eun, if not then a phone call. And Ha Eun couldn’t keep up the act.

“I’m sorry Bae Oppa,” Ha Eun whispered. “I still don’t know if I made the right decision to tell you. Because you are you, I knew you would be really sad. I hate to see you like this, but I’m thankful too that you still think of Ji Eun unnie so fondly.”

The doorbell brought Youngbae to his feet and out onto the balcony while Ha Eun quickly wiped her tears and opened the door. While she had been waiting to scold the man before her, she was in shambles and too drained to do that now.

Seunghyun knew she had confessed the whole truth to Youngbae. He patted her head lightly before heading straight to the balcony where his friend was. Weakly, she leaned against the wall and watched as Seunghyun slid the glass door behind him and enveloped the tearful Youngbae into a bear hug.