“Hyung? Hyung! Wake the up you lazy !” Hak-yeon’s eyes shot open as he sat straight up in bed, his bleary vision just barely catching Seok-jin leering above him. He shook his head tiredly as he tried to brush the last bit of sleep from his eyes, groaning when he realized how tired he actually was.

“What is it?” he asked annoyed, shaking his head and frustratingly ruffling his hair. He forced his tired eyes opened to glare at his brother, though he noticed with a sinking heart how the hallway was full of sunlight from the windows in the main room. “What time is it?”

“It’s well past noon. What were you doing sleeping this late?”

“! I have school!” He jumped out of bed and moved to grab his uniform, though Seok-jin just grabbed his arm, shaking his head at him.

“There’s no point going hyung. It’s late.”

“Yeah but- . Where’s Saet-byul?” He wasn’t reassured by Seok-jin’s genuinely stunned look, and he didn’t waste any time as he shot out of the room.

“What are you worrying about that girl for? Didn’t you say yesterday that she hurt you? Forget about her.”

A small part of him hoped he would see her staring up at him with her big eyes when he ran into the main room, though he only panicked when he saw it was empty. “Saet-byul? Where are you?” He ran back down the hallway, opening all the doors and checking to see if she was hiding somewhere. He even dared going into her mother’s room, and he could tell from the messy covers that that was where she’d slept last night. “Saet-byul!”

“She’s not here hyung,” Seok-jin said with a slight hint of worry in his voice. “We’ve checked everywhere.”

“Where could she have gone? That girl can’t go anywhere without me, let alone step outside the house.”

“Her stuff is gone. Do you think she tried going to school?”

His whole face paled at the thought of that tiny, naïve, reclusive little girl stepping out of the house all on her own to go to school in Seoul. There was no way she could get there on her own, she’d get lost and who knows what else would happen to her. But worse still…if she never came back, what would happen to him and Seok-jin? Her mother would kill them.

He refused to think Saet-byul had left on her own, and he headed back into their bedroom, desperately looking around to see if there was anywhere she could hide. She couldn’t have left, she needed him, she couldn’t do anything without him. Hell, it got to the point she refused to eat unless he was with her. There was no way she went to school.

There was no way.

“Just accept it hyung. She went out. She’ll probably come back eventually.”

“You don’t understand Seok-jin. That girl doesn’t know which way is up; she didn’t even know what a bus was. She has no way of getting to school.” He swung the front door open and ran down the steps, looking both ways in hopes of seeing the small girl huddled somewhere waiting for him.

He shouldn’t have been so hard on her yesterday.

He ran back inside and sat in the rocking chair by the fire, glancing out the window every five seconds and tapping his foot impatiently. He chewed his fingernails as he looked out the window again; how long was it until she was done with school? Did she know how to get back to the bus stop? Did she know which bus to take? She was so oblivious and ignorant, what if someone took advantage of that and kidnapped her? Seok-jin came into the main room with his hands in his pockets, only shaking his head at him with a sigh.

“Hyung-”

“Seok-jin, do you understand what will happen to us if she doesn’t come home?” It took his baby brother a few seconds for his words to sink in, though when they did he could see the same flash of panic cross his face. “Do you see why it’s important we find her?”

“But what are we going to do? I can’t leave the house and you-”

“I’m going to go to Seoul.” He ignored his brother’s exasperated look as he jumped to his feet, running back to the bedroom and grabbing his coat. “I’m going to check her school and see if she’s there. If not…you stay here in case she comes home.”

“What if she doesn’t come home?”

“Don’t think about that right now. I can only hope that she wasn’t stupid enough to go somewhere she didn’t know how to get back from.” He swung open the front door and paused, taking a deep breath. “Seok-jinnie…” He turned back to his brother, staring at the open glare that was filled with worry, and grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug. “I love you.”

“G-god, stop it hyung! S-so embarrassing…” Seok-jin pushed him off in annoyance, but for once he was able to tell there was no animosity behind it. He gave his brother one last pat on the shoulder before heading out, pulling his collar up as high as he could.

It was snowing as he waited alone at the bus stop, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes continuously scanning the area. He shivered as he glanced down at his bus card, wondering when the bus was going to come. He looked over to the small corner where he and Saet-byul usually waited, and he could only imagine how scared she was as she waited. He chewed the inside of his cheek.

He knew how hurt she was yesterday; he could feel every time she the doll’s face, something he knew she did when she was sad. Of course he had been angry and feeling betrayed when she punished his doll, he was only trying to find out what she could have done to get that girl to bully her. There are tons of things Saet-byul could have done without realizing it was offensive. But thinking back now, he could see how confused and scared she was when he ignored her, how she continuously tried speaking to him but him quickly turning her down. He hadn’t wanted to see her at all yesterday, but now he realized that he probably had made everything worse.

He was snapped out of his reverie when the bus arrived, and he silently boarded the bus and snagged a seat right away. Maybe he wasn’t giving her enough credit; maybe she got on the bus and successfully made her way to school. She could be in class right now, sitting with homework that she must have done on her own since he had been too stubborn to help her with. But the chance of that was so slim.

He was too worried to sleep on the bus, spending the entire bus ride biting his fingernails and having his stomach wring itself into knots. He jumped off the bus as soon as it stopped and headed straight to her school, the only thing stopping him from running be the blanket of snow covering the ground.

By the time he arrived at the school, the first students were beginning to leave, the chiming of the bells sounding out even from the gates. Panting, he waited by the main gate as he scanned the students for Saet-byul, hoping to find her signature long black hair the draped over her face and the doll held tightly in her arms. He grew more and more agitated when he didn’t see her, growing restless as he waited. If she wasn’t here, he was wasting time.

He was just about to get out of there when he felt a slight tug in his chest, and he looked up in both relief and shock to see that familiar little girl walking out of the building. And while his mind was whirling about the fact that she was here, in school, he was more preoccupied with the boy walking by her side. Who was that? She didn’t look scared by his side, and he saw her smile shyly to whatever it was the guy was saying.

Before he had a chance to do anything, Saet-byul lifted her head up and her big eyes met his, freezing up and looking as if she was about to cry. She didn’t say anything; it was the first time in a long while that she didn’t smile and squeal at the mere sight of him. His fingers twitched, his body already used to the ridiculous habit of wanting to hug her the moment he saw her. He took a step forward though she immediately stepped back, getting the attention of the boy by her side.

“Saet-byul ssi? What’s wrong?” She didn’t answer his question as she took another step backward before turning right around, running away. “Saet-byul ssi!”

He left the other boy behind as he bolted after her; his long legs proved useful as he easily caught back up to her, grabbing her shoulder and yanking her back. He whirled her around to face him, and he paused at the horrified look on her face. “Saet-byul-”

“Please don’t talk to me,” she choked out, growing smaller under his gaze.

He frowned, now even more concerned. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to see you angry at me anymore. Please…it makes me so sad when you are angry at me.”

“How can I not be angry at you?” he snapped, her whole face crumbling. “You left the house this morning without telling me. Do you know how worried I was when I found you missing?” He could see her brow wrinkle in confusion. “I was so worried that you would have gotten lost or something bad happened to you.”

“I-I…”

“How did you get here anyway? Do you really remember how to get here?”

“Saet-byul ssi?” He nearly growled at the new voice, looking over his shoulder to see the boy from earlier catch up to them. He looked between the two of them, his expression changing. “You…you’re Saet-byul ssi’s brother, right?” He stared at the boy for a second until Saet-byul pulled herself out of his grasp, the first time she’d ever done so, and shook her head.

“Then who is he?”

“I’m a family friend,” he said a little forcefully, not keen on being interrupted. “Who are you?”

“I-”

“He’s my friend.” He froze at the small voice behind him, and he turned around to see Saet-byul actively avoiding his gaze. The boy looked just as surprised, and his eyes narrowed when he saw how wide the guy’s smile got at that. It was then he took a good look at this guy.

The kid looked older than his age, though he guessed it wasn’t a fair comparison when put next to Saet-byul. He had a baby face, even worse than Taek-woon, a youthful face that seemed to be optimistic and happy. Honestly, there was nothing really wrong with the guy; he looked to be an actual, honest guy. He just wasn’t sure he trusted him with Saet-byul, especially if she thought of him as a friend.

Still on guard, he asked carefully, “What’s your name?”

The boy picked at his bag strap, suddenly uncomfortable under his harsh gaze. “H-Han Sang-hyuk.”

“He helped me get to school,” Saet-byul whispered behind him, and the boy quickly nodded in agreement.

“I met her at the bus stop with someone. I led her away before she was taken anywhere else.” His eyes widened as he turned back to Saet-byul, and the guy’s story was only proven by how embarrassed she was. “Please don’t be angry at her, she didn’t know.” The guy must have realized he had said something wrong, him biting his lip and continuously sending Saet-byul apologetic looks. He decided to save the two from any further embarrassment, clearing his throat and gaining two sets of large eyes on him.

“Thank you for helping her get to class. We’ll be leaving now.” The boy gawked for a few seconds before bowing hurriedly, smiling and wishing Saet-byul a safe trip home. The boy gave him a smaller, less excited goodbye before running off, leaving the two of them alone. When he was sure he was gone, he turned back to the little girl behind him. “He’s your friend?”

She nodded slowly, and he realized she was still afraid of him. “Saet-byul…I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“What?”

“I over-reacted to what you did yesterday. I was angry, but I shouldn’t have ignored you all day.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” she said hurriedly, waving her hands back and forth and a look of desperation on her face. “I was wrong yesterday, I shouldn’t have punished you. I was wrong. That’s why…that’s why…” her voice grew smaller with each word, her head lowering again, “that’s why I let you sleep this morning and went to school by myself. I thought that if I showed you I could go to school all by myself, you would be proud of me and forgive me.”

“You…you thought that would impress me?” he asked breathlessly, shell-shocked to think that all of this was to try and get him to forgive her. He never realized how much she suffered when he ignored her; he honestly had just been huffy and stubborn, but because of that the poor girl fought against all her fears and came to Seoul on her own. Overcome with emotions, he reached out and pulled the girl in a tight hug, leaning over to rest his head on hers. “Saet-byul, you didn’t need to do any of that.”

He could feel her shoulders slump and it was as if the dams burst, her whole body racking with sobs and large, wet tears wetting his shirt. Neither said anything for the longest time, standing in front of the school gates with her in his arms, him soothingly rubbing her head and shushing her. After a long while, her sobs softened until she was only sniffling, and it was only then that he gently pulled away. He lifted her chin up with a finger, smiling softly at her tear stained face. “Feel better?”

She bit her lip as she nodded, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Why don’t we go home? Seok-jin is probably dying to know if you’re okay.” He took her hand in his and led her down the sidewalk, making sure to hold her close to him.

When they sat on the bus, he disregarded the looks sent their way when he sat the girl on his lap, wrapping his arms protectively around her waist. He could tell Saet-byul was still distraught over the entire thing, her whole body stiff and avoiding his touch. He frowned, not used to this behavior, and reached out to lift her chin, smiling wide for her. He poked her cheek a few times, finally eliciting a small giggle, and by the time they got home she seemed completely fine.

Seok-jin, even though he tried his best to hide it, was relieved to see them home. But when Saet-byul saw him, she quickly hid behind his back.

“What’s wrong with her?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Leave her alone.”

“Was she at school?” He nodded and Saet-byul’s fingers grabbed fistfuls of his jacket. “Yeah, she got there on her own, so she’s pretty tired right now.” He didn’t say anything else to Seok-jin as he led her up the stairs, keeping an arm around her shoulder. “Why don’t you take a nap? Sleep for a bit and when you wake up we can do homework.” When she agreed, he expected her to drag him with her, forcing him to hug her while she slept. So needless to say he was shocked when she let go of his hand and went to her room on her own, shutting the door quietly behind her. Even Seok-jin was surprised.

“Wow hyung, she didn’t say a thing to you.”

“I know.” He said worriedly. He made a move to follow her, though Seok-jin stopped him.

“You should wait. It didn’t look like she wanted to be bothered.” He bit his lip, staring down the hallway, knowing this was really all his fault.

“I should still check on her. She did all this because she wanted me to forgive her. I shouldn’t just leave her.” While Seok-jin didn’t look happy with his choice, he eventually let go of his arm and let him walk away. He sent his little brother a grateful glance before jogging to her room, pausing at the door when he heard stifled sobs coming from inside.

He closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, before opening the door. Almost immediately the sobs stopped and the blanket shifted on the bed. Without a sound, he tiptoed over to her side, carefully climbing onto the bed. He gently wrapped his arms around her and brought her close to him; while she initially tried to resist his touch, she ended up quickly falling into it.

It took him a minute to figure out what was where in the mass of blankets, but eventually he found her head. She peeked up at him with her big eyes, rimmed with red, and he pushed her clumpy hair from her eyes.

“N…” she whimpered, though stopped when he cupped her head to his chest.

“Shh…” he muttered, patting her back comfortingly, “I’m sorry Saet-byul, I’m sorry you had to deal with this all by yourself. I was wrong.”

“It was my fault…” she whispered, nuzzling his neck with the crown of her head. “I was angry because you didn’t believe me. I was angry because you thought I was wrong.”

He laughed out loud at that, laughing harder when she pulled away to glare at him. That was the original reason she was so angry? “Don’t laugh at me!”

“Saet-byul, it’s not that I didn’t believe you. I saw her grabbing you. I was just trying to figure out what you could have done to make her act like that.”

“I didn’t do anything! That girl was always angry at me, I don’t understand. She’s even angrier when I talk to Hyuk.”

His ears perked up at the name, leaning closer until he could see the red tint on her cheeks. “Is this ‘Hyuk’ the boy from earlier?” At the hitch of her breath, he took it as a yes, grinning even wider. “He’s your friend?”

“Y-yes…” she said uncertainly, as if the word was still foreign to her. “That’s what he called us.”

“Does he treat you well?”

“Yes, he always says hello to me in the morning and waits for you with me after class. Sometimes he even helps me with my homework.” He couldn’t help the urge to , still snickering at her and laughing at her exasperated reactions. He’d always wanted to do this with Seok-jin.

…though that would be impossible now.

“It doesn’t matter!” she finally snapped, sitting up and lightly hitting his chest in frustration. “It doesn’t matter how nice he is to me, he’s not you.”

The smirk fell from his lips as he sat up and looked at her seriously. “Hey, a guy is seriously interested in you. Don’t ignore him because of me. You should try and make friends at school.” He could see she wasn’t taking too well to that, and quickly added, “I can’t be in class with you, you know that. You should make some friends so you can have someone to talk to.” She pouted, but when he continued to insist, she finally nodded dejectedly.

“But…you wouldn’t leave me right? You’ll always be with me.” He hesitated in answering, and could see her face fall. “Please don’t leave me N. Don’t leave me ever.” She buried her face back into his chest and he tentatively hugged her, all the while wishing that this wouldn’t last forever.

--

“N, what’s an amusement park?” Both he and Seok-jin paused from eating to stare at the girl in surprise. She clocked their reactions and withdrew back from her childlike wonder, hunching in on herself. He quickly cleared his throat as he tried to fix the situation, wanting to encourage her to become more open.

“Did you learn about it in school?”

“No, I heard some girls in my class talking about it. They were very excited about it and were inviting people to go.”

He leaned forward with a cheshire grin, “Did Hyuk invite you?”

Her face turned bright red while Seok-jin sent him a quick look of confusion. “N-no! I-I mean, he did, but I told him no.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t want to go without you. I would rather go with you and Seok-jin, so I said no.”

“You shouldn’t have said no, it would have been a lot of fun to go with him.” Having gotten over his initial surprise, he picked up his chopsticks to continue eating, thus signaling for the others to do the same. “Amusement parks are a lot of fun to go with friends, they’re a lot of rides and games you can play on.”

“Have you ever gone before?” He paused again, poking at his food as he tried not to overreact to her question. He had to remind himself that Saet-byul, while he was bound to her and forced to always be by her side, was not at fault. He forced a smile on his face.

“Of course I have. Though I’m not sure you would like it, there’s a lot of people and it’s very crowded.” He could see her face scrunch up, and was ready to blow it off as another one of her rare bursts of curiosity, when she spoke up again.

“Can we go?”

Seok-jin did a spit-take as he sprayed the table with his water, coughing heavily as he stared at her in astonishment. “You want to go?”

She nodded uncertainly, as if afraid she had said something wrong. “I want to try and go. Hyuk…he told me to go out more and try to get used to other people. So I want to try.”

He frowned in an unconscious burst of jealousy, wondering why she ignored him when he tried to get her to open up but immediately listened to this ‘Hyuk’. What was so special about him? “Do you really want to go?” She nodded vigorously, and he sighed. “Well, if you really want to go, we’ll have to go before you mother comes back. There’s no way she’ll let you go.” That didn’t seem to bother her in the least, her face shining as she scooped the rest of her breakfast in .

“How did we get here?” Seok-jin grumbled to him as Saet-byul walked in front of them, marveling the tall park rides. She never went far, only walking a few steps ahead before scaring herself and running back into his arms. He glanced over to his brother, just shaking his head.

“Just be glad you have the chance to be here. We might not get to do this again.” Seok-jin’s face darkened at that, right before he grabbed Saet-byul’s shoulder and yanked her back into his arms, glaring.

“Don’t walk so far ahead,” he snapped at the frightened girl, “you’ll get lost.” Both he and Saet-byul watched in silent shock as Seok-jin stalked ahead, confused over his uncharacteristic concern. When Seok-jin was out of earshot, he leaned over and gave her a few more comforting words to calm her down, and only after checking that she was really okay did the two of them follow his younger brother.

They started off with only the smallest, slowest rides, Saet-byul too scared to try the roller coasters or the speed rides. He wouldn’t lie that he had no problems getting on rides with all the little kids with her, enjoying every second of it. It made it even better when Seok-jin scowled every time the two of them waved at him on the rides. Before all of this, he loved amusement parks, and would come all the time either alone or with friends. Coming here, for just a day he was able to forget everything about dolls and the horrid woman who entrapped him.

“Try this Saet-byul,” he said with a chuckle at her wide-eyed confusion at the cotton candy in his hand. He ripped a piece off and, now laughing, shoved it in . She squealed, both hands flying to , but paused when the candy melted away on her tongue. She blinked a few times before looking at him, and he laughed as he gave her another piece, this time her eating it willingly. “Is it good?” She nodded happily as she ate the rest of it. He offered a piece to Seok-jin, though his brother only grabbed the piece out of his hand and shoved it back in his mouth. He could only laugh with a stuffed mouth as his brother stalked away.

“What’s that ride?” Saet-byul asked, tugging on his sleeve.

“That’s the ferris wheel. You sit in those boxes and it goes around in circles, so you can see the whole park at the top.”

“Can I ride?”

“It’s been snowing stupid,” Seok-jin snapped irritably from her side, shivering. “Half the rides here are closed.”

He slapped his brother lightly before sending her a bright smile. “I don’t know if you can, it probably has been closed because of the snow. But the snow today is pretty okay, they might let you.” She brightened at that, tugging on his hand to get him to go faster, when he felt his whole body freeze. He felt a jolt run through his body as all the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, the feeling of Saet-byul pulling on his arm vanishing.

She eventually noticed something was wrong, pausing. “N? What’s wrong?”

Something was wrong, something was definitely wrong. He was suddenly overcome with indescribable fear, his body shaking and his heart racing. He knew rationally that nothing was wrong, what could be wrong in an amusement park, but the fear inside only continued to grow. He vaguely could see Seok-jin walk back up, saying something, but he couldn’t register any sounds save for one voice. One very recognizable voice. He had to get out of here.

“N-”

His body reacted on its own, he wasn’t aware of what he was doing. All he knew was that he swiftly gathered Saet-byul in his arms, lifting her up and shoving her tight to his chest, and running. He had to get out of there, that’s all he knew. That voice, he had to get away from that voice.

“Hyung! Hyung, where are you going?”

He didn’t even have a chance to stop and answer his brother, running for a little while longer until he took a sudden turn and hid behind the bathrooms. It was only after he heard the voice pass by that he deemed it safe, dropping Saet-byul and sliding to the ground. The two of them were panting by then, him from running and her from lack of oxygen. Seok-jin was not far behind, too worried to glare at him.

“What was that hyung? You looked scared.”

“I don’t know…” he muttered, raising a tired hand to push a panting Saet-byul’s hair from her face to check if she was alright. “I got so scared all of a sudden…I heard somebody and felt like I had to get out of there…”

Seok-jin’s brow furrowed as he went to the other side of the wall, peeking out to watch the people passing by. “Did you happen to see one of your friends?”

“How did you know?”

His brother turned back to look at them, a surprisingly forlorn look on his face. “You didn’t know, did you? It’s the doll’s failsafe.”

“The doll’s what?”

“That gave you a new name didn’t she? The doll gives you a new life; it will do anything to keep you away from your old one.”

“So are you saying I can’t meet any of my old friends? Not even for a minute?”

He shook his head. “Any time you see them, you’ll immediately run away even if you don’t want to.” His brother came back to his side and sat down, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Try to look at it the best you can; you may not be able to see them again, but at least they won’t have to see what you’ve become. What we’ve become.”

He choked out a laugh at his brother’s attempt at a laugh before falling against the wall, running a hand through his hair. That voice….that voice was the voice of his childhood friend, the guy that he had grown up with since elementary school. He wanted more than anything to jump out from his hiding place and give him a hug, holding him close and letting him know he was alive. He could go and tell his mother he was okay to stop her from worrying, he could do so much for them. And yet, his body shook and trembled at even the thought of moving.

Saet-byul finally spoke, putting a tentative hand on his. “Are you okay N?”

“I…I’ll be alright. Just give me a minute.” He lowered his head into his knees to compose himself. “Do…do you think that means we can never see Mom again?” That revelation seemed to hit the two of them at the same time, and he felt his whole world crumble.

He…his mother…he could never see her again?

He didn’t realize he was crying until he felt a small pair of arms wrap around his head, and he blinked to realize Saet-byul comforting him. She mimicked the way he held her, standing up to place her chin on the top of his head and her small fingers patting the back of his shoulder. “Don’t cry,” she said soothingly, “everything will be okay.”

“H-hey, that’s not only his Mom,” Seok-jin grumbled, and after a few more seconds she pulled away and hugged Seok-jin the same way. He looked over to see his brother’s cheeks reddening as she laid her head on his. He couldn’t resist as he reached over and pinched his cheeks, gushing over how cute he was. “S-stop it!” He and Saet-byul laughed as his brother furiously rubbed his cheeks as if to wipe his germs away, laughing harder when he tried glaring at them again.

At least he had Seok-jin with him.

He would’ve died if he wasn’t able to see his baby brother again.

Nothing else happened after the incident in the amusement park, and without doing anything else out of the ordinary, Saet-byul’s mother came back a few days later. He and Saet-byul pleaded with all their might, but it was not enough to convince the delusional woman, and against their will Seok-jin was sent back down into the basement. It was both a blessing and a curse; he treasured every minute he was able to spend with his baby brother, but it absolutely tore him apart whenever he was sent back down. He wished there was a way he could keep him upstairs.

They went back to going to school with burnt food for breakfast, each morning a delicate affair of whether or not her mother was in a good mood or not. Saet-byul, thank goodness, grew more and more comfortable leaving the house for school. While he wanted to credit himself for her change, since she would never leave unless with him, he had an idea that the boy ‘Hyuk’ was a pretty good reason why. Whenever he would tutor her, he would notice little notes he would write to her, and soon he could see little notes she would write back.

It was strange seeing her so open with someone other than him.

He wasn’t sure if he liked it.

What if this guy turned out to be an and hurt her?

He wasn’t able to tell what kind of person he was based on the few times he’d met him, but he could only hope that he was a decent guy. If she ever came home crying because of him, he would make sure the boy would never be able to walk again.

But a month or two after the day at the park, Saet-byul’s mother began to take Saet-byul to her room and lock the two of them in, forbidding him from coming anywhere close. He really didn’t care what they were doing, though he felt a slight sting when Saet-byul didn’t even try and fight to let him stay with her. It was the first time she willingly did anything on her own, and a small part of him wondered what would happen if she became comfortable enough to not need him. What would happen to him then?

Hello!

I realized I uploaded chapter 7 twice, so I fixed it and updated the next chapter! I'm sorry for making you all think I updated twiced >.<

I want to thank all my readers and commenters again; you guys are the reason I keep writing! Thank you!!

I've also been wondering...I normally write really long chapters. Are these chapters too long? I jump around a lot and change scenes or POV quite often and have been wondering if this confuses you guys. If so, I can shorten them into shorter chapters. Please let me know what you think!