“Hi. You look dead.”

“I am.” Kwon Jiyong closed the door to his small apartment and crossed the worn rug to plop down at the fake wood-grain table where his sister Chaerin was working at her laptop. “Teddy-hyung sent me home early because he said I was too tired to work. And because I was grouchy.”

Chaerin smiled at her oppa’s rueful expression. “Want me to get you something?”

“No, you already wasted your night here. I don’t want you wasting it on me too Chaerin-ah.”

“I wouldn’t consider spending the night with the people I love as a waste of time.”

Jiyong gazed at his sister fondly. At the age of 26, Chaerin is a very attractive woman. He remembered being driven nuts as a teenage brother trying to guard her from those leering boys. But he couldn’t deny the fact that he enjoyed seeing those men trip, drool and make a fool of themselves just to get the attention of his sister.

Indeed, Kwon Chaerin is a force to be reckoned with.

Chaerin added more information on her laptop as she talked. “Besides, the kids have been in bed for an hour and I’ve been working on the figures for my boutique. I think I’ll be able to open by next fall.”

“Well, I still don’t like all the scarifices you make for us.” Jiyong scanned the cramped quarters- another thing in his life he didn’t like.

The mismatched furniture needed a good face-lift.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking of all he couldn’t give his family, of all he wanted for them. Tiredly he propped his feet and laid his head back. Still wearing his waiter uniform, he tried to summon the energy to go change into something more suitable for the night of studying that lay ahead.

“Btw oppa, you should call Hayi’s English teacher. She called earlier.”

“Her English teacher? Don’t tell me my perfect child got into trouble? I won’t be too upset really. It would be good for her to act out a little bit.”

“No. Not trouble Exactly,” Chaerin responded thoughtfully. “She wouldn’t tell me exactly what it was but she insisted you call her back the moment you arrive regardless of the time.”

Jiyong’s stomach knotted. As he got up and strode to the phone, he tried to quell his uneasiness. “Was Hayi okay tonight?” He dialed the number Chaerin had scrawled on a message pad.

Chaerin closed down her laptop as she spoke. “Yeah. We did each others hair and she played on the computer. She didn’t eat enough to keep a bird alive though.”

Her words unnerved him. His thirteen-year-old’s eating habits had been erratic lately and she was already too thin. She’d also been unusually quiet and sad.

The English teacher answered on the fifth ring. “Yes, Gummy-ssi. Kwon Jiyong imnida. Hayi’s father. You wanted to speak to me tonight?”

“Thanks for returning my call. I’ve thought long and hard about contacting you and I decided it was the right thing to do.. I wanted to talk to you immedietly.” The woman’s voice was soft and soothing, and Jiyong could understand why Hayi liked her.

“I’m concerned about the things Hayi’s been writing lately. We agreed that it would be confidential. But you need to know that they’re very disturbing.”

“What kind of things?” His hand tightened on the receiver.

Gummy sighed and Jiyong could hear the hesitation across the lines. “I don’t think I could go into detail. But I’ve shown them to the guidance counselor at school and she said she’d like to meet with you as soon as possible.

“Can’t y