PROLOGUE - Six years ago

Taeyeon wordlessly dashed into the restroom before the two other boys realized she was there and pulled the bastard kissing her younger sister. She kicked him in the groin because it would hurt him the most and definitely take his attention off Hayeon. Before she could punch him on the nose, someone pulled her from the back.

"Stay away from my sister you !" Taeyeon yelled. She got shoved, and her forehead smacked against a sink basin before she fell to the floor. She got pulled up again, her arms grabbed on either side. This time, Kangin was standing up, face red in anger. Taeyeon hoped that one of his balls were crushed. 

"She's only nine, you ing pedo-" she started, but he punched her in the face and kicked her in the stomach. Hayeon cried and tried to get in the way, but Sungmin pushed her out of the restroom and slammed the door shut. Shindong continued keeping Taeyeon in place so that Kangin could take his revenge.

"You're a ing . Stupid . Think you can talk to me with your ugly face," Kangin said, punching her with each sentence. Hayeon was hitting on the door, crying. "I'm going to make your sister my . I'm going to her until her is as wide as the ing Han River. I'm going to make you watch her and you're not going to do about it."

It was painful to speak, but Taeyeon was angrier than she was hurt. "I'll-" Another punch.

Shindong said, "I need to take a leak, hyung. Let's go."

"No, you can do it here. I think this is thirsty for a swirlie."

Shindong went over to a cubicle and ped his pants. It was easy for Kangin to drag Taeyeon over and force her to her knees. Somebody forced her head into the toilet bowl and it flushed. The rush of urine and water rushed around her hair, face and ears before it drained away. It was loud. She involuntarily tasted what got into . They let go of her as she coughed on the floor, and laughed.

"HEY, OPEN UP IN THERE! THIS IS A GIRLS' TOILET!"

"Ah, . Open it, Sung."

The door opened. It was the tallest girl, or the tallest kid, in the orphanage. Taeyeon rarely saw her, but she was too tall to be missed. Taeyeon looked down at the floor to hide her face.

"What the is it, Sooyoung?"

"What are you guys doing in here? There's a girl crying outside trying to get in. Oh my god," Sooyoung stopped, probably catching sight of Taeyeon sopping wet on the floor. "You bullies better lay off these two."

"And what are you going to do about that?" Kangin asked.

"How retarded can you get?" Sooyoung asked. Kangin twitched but said nothing. Sooyoung continued, "You're not going to get any food from me this week. And you won't get food ever if you ever harrass these two again, got it? Do something with your stupid lives or find someone your own size. Now get out."

"You..." Kangin was not going to leave without getting the last word. "Don't talk about my life when you can't sort yours out, you tall freak. You're never going to get adopted and you know it."

Sooyoung just rolled her eyes, and the boys left. 

Hayeon rushed to Taeyeon's side. "Unnie..."

Taeyeon checked her sister over. "Are you okay?"

"They didn't hurt me." Hayeon sniffled.

Sooyoung squatted beside them and said to Hayeon, "What's your name?"

"Hayeon."

"Your sister needs to wash up. Hayeon, can you get a change of clothes for her and bring it to the showers?" Sooyoung asked. After Hayeon was gone, she reached out a hand, but Taeyeon pretended to not see it and stood up. 

"Thanks," Taeyeon said, still staring at the tiled floor.

"I haven't seen you before. Are you new? What's your name? I'm Choi Sooyoung, and I've been here for two years," Sooyoung said. She gestured for Taeyeon to come with her, and they started walking towards the shower hall.

"My name's Kim Taeyeon. My sister and I got here three weeks ago, but we've been in orphanages for two years too."

"What happened to the last one?"

"The other two were in Jeonju and Daejeon, but those ran out of money and got shut down."

"That . Well, you're in Seoul now so there's a lot of donations."

Taeyeon nodded. Sooyoung was the nicest person she had met in a long time, but her cheeks and gums were hurting so she wished she could stop talking. They reached the shower area and waited in awkward silence.

"I'm sixteen, by the way," Sooyoung said.

"I'm fourteen."

"Oh, I thought you were twelve. Let's drop the unnie-suffix since we've been in the system for the same amount of time. Let's be friends, okay?"

"Okay."

Sooyoung peered at Taeyeon, who tried to duck away, but the taller girl gently brushed her bangs aside to get a better view. "It looks like it hurts a lot, but is anything broken?"

"No."

"I'll get some rubbing ointment."

Hayeon came soon after with a fresh set of clothes. Taeyeon went into a cubicle and drew the curtains before taking off her clothes and hung them over the railing instead of stripping at the bench where they usually did because she did not want Hayeon to see the rest of her injuries. There were new red and purple bruises on her stomach and side. The older ones were green and yellow. She was a real rainbow unicorn. Taeyeon took a quick shower, washing her face and hair twice. She gargled maybe ten times. It was painful but getting flushed was disgusting.

When she came out, Sooyoung had an ointment bottle and some bandaids. She was sitting beside Hayeon, who was still glum and sniffy. She did not let Taeyeon take the bottle and insisted on applying the medicine, starting with rubbing the ointment on the rising welt on Taeyeon's forehead. Taeyeon grimaced but refused to make a sound.

"Is that all?" Sooyoung asked when she was done with Taeyeon's face. Taeyeon nodded, but Hayeon lifted up her shirt. Taeyeon stared at her sister in shock, but the little sneak just pouted back with a you-think-I-don't-know-when-I'm-your-sister look. 

Sooyoung gave Hayeon a high five and started on Taeyeon's abdomen. She said, "I guess I haven't seen you two around much. I've been working at a restaurant nearby. Sometimes I bring leftovers back for the other kids here, so they don't bother me."

"How come you can work? We're not eighteen yet," Taeyeon said. "I wish I could."

"You want to come work with me? As long as you ask the headmaster for written permission, it's legal so I don't think the boss will mind. He's a nice guy."

"Can I? Would you mind?"

"Of course not," Sooyoung said. "What school do you attend?"

"Gangdong East Middle School."

"Me too! I got retained a year, but school's useless for a great future chef like me. We can go together after work."

"Do you think Hayeon could come? Is there a place where she could do her school work? I'll work extra for the both of us. I don't want to leave her along with the people here," Taeyeon said. She had learned early on that the grown ups did not get involved with the bullying; the bullies were not reported, and the victims were not ostracized more than they already were.

"I'm not sure. She could study where we count our money, but I don't know if the boss will allow it. I could ask him about you two when I go in tomorrow."

"Thanks," Taeyeon said. She felt her eyes sting and stared at the ceiling like until she did not feel like crying anymore. When Sooyoung was done, they both stood up. "You're really tall."

"Which is a great incentive for getting adopted," Sooyoung said. "Not that I want to, anyway. I think I'll continue working at the restaurant after I grow out of this place. Besides, you're too short to know whether I'm too tall."

"Hey. I'm still growing."

"Yeah, midgets are humans too, they have a right to dream."

"Shut up."

Sooyoung laughed. "Hayeon, you better drink lots of milk if you don't want to be like your sister. Go sleep. I'm gonna shower and turn in too."

"Good night, tall and old person."

... Two years later ...

Mr and Mrs Park looked at Hayeon's report cards. Straight A's and positive comments from the teachers. And she was only eleven. They had spent a lot of money trying to find an orphan with such promise. Her sister, on the other hand, was sixteen, barely passing classes, and had bruises like a delinquent. They were wealthy lawyers who lived in a five-bedroom penthouse in Gangnam. They were unable to conceive, but their education in liberal western countries meant that they were open to adopting a child. They asked for Hayeon, and the adoption officer approved. She would be Park Hayeon in three days.

Hayeon was distressed. She waited until she could corner Taeyeon at the restaurant, away from the adults. "Unnie, I don't want to leave you. Please, please don't let them take me away."

"You're going to get a good life with them, Hayeon. They have a lot of money and are going to send you to prestigious schools. They can take great care of you," Taeyeon said, her heart breaking. "I can't."

"I don't care, unnie! Don't abandon me. Don't you love me?"

As much as she wanted to lie about that, it was one thing Taeyeon could not bring herself to do. Deep inside, she wanted to keep Hayeon by her side and protect her forever. But there was no way it was going to happen here. Here, in this orphanage. An idea came to her. She was sixteen, she was old enough now. She was never going to get adopted anyway, she might as well leave early. It was a scary thought. If she failed, Hayeon's life would be ruined. But worrying about could-be's was stupid. Don't do things you'll regret later on. Taeyeon was going to regret just giving up and letting Hayeon go. "Of course I love you."

"Then don't leave me. Cancel the adoption. I promise, I'll work hard in school and get a scholarship so that I can go to university when I grow up and you won't have to worry about it."

"Okay, okay." Taeyeon said. That was not possible. The adoption process was already too far gone. "Hayeon, listen to me, and I want you to think very carefully about this, okay?"

Hayeon nodded, tears b in her eyes.

"I can't legally cancel your adoption. And like I said, the Parks have a lot of money and will give you a comfortable life and maybe even send you to America for university. You can attend a private high school and go to the best cram schools. You'll do great with them, and I know you'll be a good daughter to them. I can't give you any of this. If you want to stay with me, I have to tell you the truth. We'll have to disappear. There are a lot of Kims in Korea so it'll be possible... but we'll leave Gangdong tonight and go somewhere far away, on the other side of Han River. I swear I'll do my best to continue sending you to high school, and to get you to university. But life won't be easy. We won't have a lot of money, and you're going to have to study very, very hard. Harder than those kids who don't waste time commuting to school and have private tutors for every subject."

"I promise you I'll do my best, unnie. I'll get scholarships. You know I'm the top student in middle school right now. I can do it." Hayeon was smart. She knew what she was saying. Taeyeon wondered if the both of them were too naive.

"Okay. And I promise I'll take care of you," Taeyeon said. "I'll tell Sooyoung we're leaving after work. I guess you don't have to do your homework today."

"Idiots."

Taeyeon and Hayeon spun around. Sooyoung was standing at the door with her hands on her hips. "You're not even eighteen yet, Tae, how're you going to get work? You have maybe one million won in your bank account after spending all that money sending Hayeon to cram school."

Taeyeon grit her teeth. "What can I do then? I can't let Hayeon go if she doesn't want to."

"Get someone who's eighteen to come with you. Someone who cooks well so that you can sell street food and earn money to pay rent and tuition fees."

Taeyeon opened and closed several times in shock. "Why would she want to come? If she stays, she's going to become a cook in this restaurant."

"I think your brain must be dead after being hit so much. Everyone loves food. I can cook anywhere as long as my food gets eaten, and food I cook gets eaten."

"But you might get into trouble. Like real police trouble."

"Who care's about the system? It put us in this ty place with no prospects other than the lottery of being adopted by rich people. Which you're giving up by the way, so you clearly don't care," Sooyoung said. Her eyes were wide and fierce. "I'm coming with you."

"Why?"

"We're best friends, so I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. You're not going to do this alone. It's no big deal for me to leave."

Taeyeon blinked and clenched her fists. She was not going to cry in front of her younger sister when they were making the biggest decision of their lives. Sooyoung was the best person in the world. "Thank you."

Sooyoung's gaze softened. She told Hayeon to get herself some ice cream and gave her a few coins. After Hayeon was gone, Sooyoung pulled Taeyeon into an enveloping hug, and Taeyeon could no longer fight her tears. Her voice cracked as she said, "I'm scared. Thank you so much..."

"You idiot. Midgets have such puny brains. You're the first real friend I've had, you know that right? And as far as I can tell I'm your only friend right now, so you better rely on me."

Taeyeon giggled. Sooyoung could be so offensive even though she never cursed like the other orphans. She pulled out of the hug and wiped her eyes. Surprisingly, Sooyoung's face was wet too, so Taeyeon wiped her cheeks.

"I have a stupid plan," Taeyeon said. "I'm going to borrow some of the headmaster's money. When she goes out for drinks tonight I'm going to do it. Hopefully she doesn't notice before we leave. One day I will return it when I have enough money. One day."

"Borrowing is not stealing, so okay," Sooyoung said. "We'll take the first bus we find, and then find a bus that goes far away later."

"And let's leave at two, when the other kids are asleep. Good thing we don't have much to pack," Taeyeon said. All they had were a few clothes and a roll of money. Textbooks be damned.

"Okay. Wow, we're really doing this," Sooyoung said. "This is really happening."

Taeyeon sighed. Such was life. "I know, right?"

"We'll survive. God will provide."

"Yep," Taeyeon said. She sure hoped that Sooyoung's god would, but even if he didn't, humans were cockroaches, so they would survive. "We're not gonna fail. You and me and Hayeon will live awesomely."