"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" The tyres squealed as the car underwent an abrupt stop. It still, however, collided with another car, which landed flipped over. The entire car jerked forward, causing the two at the front to bleed as their forehead hit the hard platform in front of them. On the other hand, the two little ones at the back were slightly better. The older one leant over to the smaller and hugged her, making sure that she would not come into any harm. In the process of doing so, her back hit the back of the driver seat, resulting in a sharp pain inflicted. The girl had always had a habit of sitting in the middle, because her younger sister loved having someone directly next to her. At the very moment that the accident happened, no one could have been more thankful towards the person who invented seatbelts than her. Without seatbelts, she would have flown off from her seat, and her sister would be hurt.

That was when the girls were in lower primary and kindergarten respectively. From then till now, a lot of things have changed, and it all started from the fact only two came out of the accident alive (thankfully, with no severe lifetime injuries either). The only thing that one could safely say that it had not changed a single bit throughout the years, was the love the older had for the younger.

A few years down the road..

Chorong was sweeping the floor when she heard the screams of her younger sister, as well as the angry remarks from her guardian.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you have to come home straight after school?"

"I - ah- I went to the libra - ah- ry to borrow -ah- some books -ah-!"

She immediately ran to the source of the sound. It was not uncommon to see this, but still to her dismay, her younger sister was jumping about while getting hit with a cane by the guardian. Just like how instinct has driven her ever since they were under the care of the guardian, she ran into the room and hugged the younger one, taking the hits for her.

"Unnie.."

"Yah Chorong, it's not your turn yet and you came running in. Do you want to get hit so badly?"

"Just hit me, don't hit Naeun." Every time the cane landed on her, it hurt terribly. Even though it might have happened often, there was no such thing as getting used to it. However, Chorong was bent on protecting Naeun, so she stayed strong and flinched as little as possible. Of course, Chorong's stubbornness angered their guardian further.

"Naeun, go out first." Being afraid, Naeun obeyed and stood at the door, watching her sister scream in pain everytime she was hit.

***

After what seemed like forever, Chorong was finally allowed to leave the room. Her legs were weak from the pain, so she almost fell the moment she stood up. Naeun ran to her to support her, as they finally got out of the 'torture chamber'.

"Unnie, why do you always take the hits for me?" Naeun always had it easier because of her sister. She was very thankful for it, but seeing her sister in pain after each time made her feel bad. In response, Chorong just plastered a comforting smile on her face.

"Unnie, you know that she will hit you more after that. You know her. In fact, we know her. She hits us for the weirdest reasons on earth. We're just here for her to relieve some stress. So just let her hit us a bit will do. If you keep helping me, you'll just get yourself into deeper trouble."

"No Naeun, by going against her to protect you, I've done something wrong, so I deserve to be hit more."

"Then don't help me. I'll take it all."

"Silly. I don't want you to get hurt." Chorong patted her sister on the head. "It hurts more seeing you being hit than actually getting hit."

Even more years later..

Things had gone even worse from then, for Chorong at least. Well, Naeun managed to skip a year of studying because she was so smart. Chorong, however, was the total opposite. She worked hard, yes she did, but she had to repeat one year. As a result of that, she got picked at by their guardian even more, and got hit even more often. Furthermore, having to repeat a year had caused her to have no friends, since everyone despised her and looked down on her.

"Chorong!"

"Yes Aunt?"

"Why are you back home so late these days?"

"The teacher attached me to someone for a buddy system, so she tutors me almost every day after school."

"Okay. Go change quickly and do the chores."

"Yes." Chorong bowed and ran quickly to her room, not wanting to be scolded. It was an understatement to say that she (and Naeun) was treated badly. Naeun was treated more of a maid, receiving orders and all, while Chorong was treated almost literally as a slave. The latter, however, still took hits for the younger, even though she herself was punished much more often than the other. It was something that would never change; she would do anything to protect Naeun forever, even risking her life.

Now the only thing that was considered a blessing to them was their neighbour who moved in one or two years back. The only child of that family was a girl, two years younger than Chorong. Once, she peeked in when Aunt was carrying out her unreasonable beatings. It was by accident, and it embarrassed the two girls greatly. However, the girl never once teased them about it, nor bullied them over it. Instead, she would send some medical oil over secretly from time to time. It was a regular routine for her to come over with the medical oil and ask if they were okay. Maybe it was because Naeun was younger, she would take more care for her. Because of that, Naeun had always felt happy to have two unnies taking care of her. Chorong, as well, felt glad that other people were showing concern for her younger sister, whom she would consider as a baby forever.

A/N: First chapter up! ^^ A little more narrative than my past chapters in other of my fanfics, but it'll be less narrative in time to come ^^ The two girls are actually (obviously) Naeun and Chorong, my inner NaRong ship acting up again HAHA. This story will be of them meeting their /ahem/ partner /ahem/ yeah. Anyway, guess who's the friendly neighbour? :)

Hope you liked this chapter ^^