Slowing down, the car came to a halt and parked. Reaching her destination, she could see the familiar place that she has been visiting every other week. Minju looks around and nothing much has changed, the weather was just like the day when she first visited the place.

 

When she was with Minju.

 

Minju takes a deep breath, shaking herself out from the memories flooding her. It’s been 2 years since she left, and there was never a day that went by that Minju didn’t think of her.

 

Her mind has always been flooded by the images of her, in every corner of her place, she could see a trace of Hyewon. Her heart screams for the older girl, in the solitude of her own place, she would cry herself out just to release it.

 

Her body aches for the presence of the other, but there was nothing that she could do.

 

Minju was desperate to see the older girl, but she knew it would not be a wise decision.

 

In the short time that she was with Hyewon, she found herself a home that she would peacefully go to. And in a blink of an eye, it was torn away from her. She wants to blame someone - her father, because that’s the easiest way to move forward from their situation.

 

But she knows that it doesn’t work like that, it would never be that way.

 

And so, she stays. Minju was frozen in time looking and craving the touch of someone that has left 2 years ago. Hoping, wishing, praying, that one day there would be a sign of the older girl.

 

What sign exactly was Minju expecting? Perhaps, a sign that the Hyewon is safe, that she has been doing good after all these years.

 

And maybe, hopefully. A sign that Hyewon would come home to her. Because after all these years, Hyewon would always be Minju’s home. The missing piece of her life, and maybe it was a complete stretch - a wishful thinking of some sort, but Minju wishes, she hopes.

 

And as she hopes, she has healed herself. Going out from her vehicle, she walks down the familiar path of the hilltop. The sun is almost setting, the light breeze of the wind hitting her face as she walks up.

 

She smiles as she sees her destination but was stopped in her tracks, because right there in front of her are fresh flowers - dandelions.

 

Heart beating fast, loudly, the wind picking up, Minju looks around to see any signs of life - any person, her. She tries to control herself, the hope bursting inside her, the way she quickly walks toward Sora. Looking down at the flowers, she kneels and a lone tear falls from her eye.

 

Because maybe, this was the sign she has been waiting for.

 

And if yearning and hope had a shape in that moment, it would look awfully like Minju. The way she clutches a single dandelion on her chest, kneeling in front of a tomb, praying to whatever gods that would heed her prayer.

 

Please, come back.

 

Because the longing, the yearn - will it ever stop? For Minju, it won’t. It didn’t. It never would. The longing has always been there, silently scratching the cages of her own heart, begging to be free. To love, to love Hyewon more, to touch and to be touched, to be kissed. To be there, in that moment, with the person she has desperately been loving all these years.

 

And through the whisper of the wind, a caress on her cheeks. Minju would like to think it was Sora assuring her, she looked up to the sky and she could hear it.

 

She’s home.

 

 

//

 

Hyewon doesn’t know what to actually do with her time, she never thought she would be back. Not in a way that she would never step foot again in this country, but she doesn’t really know if she has healed enough to face them.

 

It was not an impulsive decision to be back, to try and mend things that she has left. Left to hang, left to wait. She quietly chuckles to herself, is she even waiting? It has been two years, two years of no contact, two years of being alone in a world that has been too harsh and cruel for the both of them.

 

Sometimes, she would like to think about fate playing a wicked game with them. Intertwining their lives and emotions, only to be harshly pulled away like a simple thread. Hyewon thinks about those days, for the days that she has been filled with overwhelming happiness, for days she could hear music and see colours because of her friends. Because of Minju.

 

Those are the days that she always holds close to her heart, memories that she would like to experience again. But then there are her demons, silently creeping in the middle of the night. Whispering awful things, blaming her, blaming their relationship, pushing her to resent everything that has happened with Minju.

 

Demons that she tried to run away from.

 

Hyewon’s life has been so dark and difficult to navigate in. Even she herself cannot see the light of the never-ending tunnel. She was blindly living, surviving. Barely.

 

She has been running away long enough, and Hyewon was grateful that she had a talk with Jaehyun. It has been a month since their talk, the very one that made her think things thoroughly.

 

/

 

It was a quiet weekend afternoon for Hyewon, the latter just staying in to rest from all of the work she has been doing. Of course, Jaehyun would be at her place because staying in translates as an invitation to bond for him.

 

Hyewon has grown accustomed to his presence, she has grown to like his company. Maybe it goes both ways, and in that afternoon, the older guy decided to ask her something that she has been avoiding since she left.

 

“How long are you going to run away?” Jaehyun suddenly asked while eating some chips, looking at his own laptop as some show was playing.

 

Hyewon looked at him briefly, thinking about if she should give him an answer, or just brush it off like always.

 

She chose the latter.

 

“I’m right here.” She shortly said, flipping the page of the book she was reading.

 

“Exactly, you’re right here,” Jaehyun said, eyeing the younger girl from the sofa, “and is this the place where you want to be?”

 

That question made her pause, the book in her hand being forgotten as she thought about a single smile. The one smile that always makes her feel at peace, warmth, and happiness. If the question was asked to her a year ago, she would’ve cried and said no, I don’t want to be here. I want to be with them, with her. With Minju.

 

But life doesn’t work that way, she needed to heal and that she did. But has she really healed? And there are those nights, the quiet nights that she has. WIth the demons that accompany her, the pain and regret, guilt all flooding her.

 

And it just settled in, just like a sudden change in the weather, how Mondays turn into Tuesdays, how seasons change. It was the melancholy that settled inside Hyewon, the acceptance that maybe, this is for the better.

 

It was the presence of pain, of the ache she feels but she couldn’t pinpoint where. It was just there, silently living inside her.

 

The silence was an enough answer for Jaehyun, pausing the show on his laptop as he approached Hyewon. He could see that the younger girl was deep in her thoughts, and he felt that pinch in his heart. How he wishes that Sora would be with him to talk to Hyewon.

 

“Can I answer it for you?” Jaehyun didn’t wait for a reply, “You don’t want to be here, but you needed to be here.”

 

He sits down, leaving enough space between them. “It was brave of you, to leave everyone behind just to heal.”

 

Hyewon scoffs to herself, she begs to differ. It was cowardly of her to leave everyone behind, because right now, she’s just running away from them.

 

I’m destruction itself.

 

Jaehyun ignored the younger girl, “You’ve healed enough Hyewon, there’s so much healing you can do when you are alone.”

 

The way he spoke, Hyewon couldn’t help but to look at the guy beside her. At that moment, all she could see was the guy that her sister fell for. The soft-spoken, and caring guy that would do anything for her sister. Hyewon had always thought about things, what would’ve happened if they weren’t victims of this god-awful life that they are in.

 

“But so much more when you’re with the right people,” Jaehyun said, smiling softly at Hyewon, “it’s something I cannot have for myself, but you don’t have to deprive yourself from it.”

 

Hyewon could see it, the way Jaehyun’s eyes softened and glistened as if remembering memories that were buried deep enough. “Have you ever tried moving on?”

 

It was the silence in that question, the unspoken other questions that she wants to ask,

 

Have you tried forgetting Sora? Did you ever have someone else other than my sister?

 

“All roads lead to her,” Jaehyun admitted with a smile, “Even the ones I took to forget her, it all leads to her.”

 

He clears his throat and looks at Hyewon, not wanting to dwell on his memories. “Love, love will always liberate Hyewon. It would never bind, love liberates people. It will come with desperation, with pain, but it would also come with I love yous. You’ll love that person no matter where you are, where they are.”

 

“Love liberates and it doesn’t hold. It would show you your capacity to love and care for someone very different from yourself. It was never an easy road to travel to, but it’s a road that everyone wants to travel on.” Jaehyun smiled, and nodded at Hyewon.

 

“I would love to travel that road again,” He said in a tone that touched Hyewon’s heart, it pained her to see the older guy in that state. “But it will always lead to Sora.”

 

“Because she has taught me love is not something that we wish,” Jaehyun smiles at the memory, “it’s something that we would never see coming, and would make us realise that there’s more to life than what we have right now.”

 

“Because what’s life if you’ve never lived it at all?”

 

Hyewon looks away, remembering everything that her sister has said to her. She wants to grasp everything that Jaehyun is saying to her. It was obvious, the guy wants her to go back and mend things. But can she do it? Is she strong enough?

 

“How can I even do it?” She voices out, trying to compose herself. Suddenly, all the demons surfaced inside her. Whispering things that would leave her feeling heavy.

 

“Start by not running away,” Jaehyun simply answered, shrugging his shoulders. “You’ve healed enough Hyewon, it’s time to go back.”

 

And as Hyewon looks at the older guy, she could tell that he also stopped running away. But he was frozen in time, the grief painted on his face and the desperation that he’s showing to stop Hyewon from running away.

 

And she smiled, she understands the guy. She understands Sora.

 

They wouldn’t want Hyewon to have the same fate as them, to be stuck in a time where pain and regret would consume a person’s very own being.

 

/

 

Hyewon, in all honesty, doesn’t know where to start. She was lost the moment she left the hill, the moment she left Sora. It was nice while it lasted, but she knows she was there for a reason. She couldn’t be stuck in time.

 

Looking at her device, she shakes her head as she grabs it, sending a message to the person she knows - hopefully, reply in an instant.

 

Hey

Hyewon

 

And maybe, things didn’t actually change for 2 years. Because as she saw the instant reply she couldn’t help but laugh.

 

You owe us big time.

Yujin

 

And as she read it, she was hit by various emotions. Emotions that she has held inside her for two years, caged in her heart like a wild beast. Tears started running down her face, Hyewon crying in the dark was a normal occurrence but this was different.

 

This time, she was crying not because of the dark but because finally, she could see the light in her never-ending tunnel.

 

Finally, she’s starting to run towards it. Slowly, she’ll reach it. One step at a time.

 

//

 

It’s been so long since she last went there, the abandoned building that is full of random broken things. The lone sledgehammer on the ground, the dirty tennis ball - it has been so long, and nothing has changed. It was still full of memories of rage and brokenness. The piercing scream she has let one a million times in that building, the cries and tears she had shed.

 

“Since when did it start happening again?”

 

“It never stopped.”

 

That lone memory, engraved in Hyewon’s mind as she walks around the place.

 

Nothing has changed, and yet for all the times that Hyewon went there, she could feel that she had changed. It was the fact that she didn’t have the urge to break something, to scream her heart out, to cry in pain and regret. Maybe, the time away really did help and this was one of the things that Jaehyun was talking about.

 

Facing her demons.

 

This was her solitude during those times, when Hyewon was too deep in the darkness. And right now, in that moment, she feels light as a feather. She stares at the whole place, a small smile evident in her face. Hyewon was too busy in her own mind that she didn’t hear a series of footsteps coming closer.

 

“Hey,” a familiar voice shouted which pulled her out from her thoughts, then a huge weight was felt on her shoulder and she was enveloped in a tight hug.

 

“,” Yena cried out, “you’re really here!” She exclaimed and looked at Hyewon, the latter was about to laugh at the girl’s face when she realised that he was not alone.

 

Yujin and Sakura are both there, watching them. As Hyewon stares at the three of them, with her clothes being wet from Yena’s tears, and with the other two walking towards her with a smile. The kind of smile that holds no grudge, no questions. The kind of smile that speaks volume and gives reassurance.

 

Hyewon couldn’t help but to join Yena, as her tears started to form and a dam broke out. And the familiar warmth enveloped her, the one that has always been with her through ups and downs. The one who saw her since she was a child, who comforted her all through her grieving process.

 

Sakura.

 

“I’m sorry,” Hyewon sobbed out as she melted into the older girl’s embrace, she could see Yujin smiling softly at her and she couldn’t help but to cry harder.

 

I’m sorry if I took so long. I’m sorry if I left you guys. I’m sorry I didn’t contact you.

 

And they just know, the three of them just know at that moment that Hyewon needs to release all of it. Two years is not a short time, especially being alone in a foreign country. Which is why, when Yujn received her message she cried out of joy because after years of waiting, Hyewon is back.

 

“Welcome back, Kang-chan.” Sakura said softly and smiled happily, hugging the girl tighter and was soon joined by the other two.

 

“Took you long enough, Hyewonnie.” Yujn said and ruffled the older girl’s hair, “We’re glad you’re back.”

 

Hyewon wetly chuckles and nods her head, pulling out from the embrace. Looking at the three of them, the sudden burst of emotions filled her up. The whispers from her demons being silenced, “Thank you.”

 

/

 

It has been a few days since Minju saw the fresh dandelions, a few agonising days that she couldn’t help but to think if she was just imagining things. Maybe it was not the person she has been expecting for years but she couldn’t help herself. She wants to hold on to the hope that she has felt during that moment.

 

“Hey you,” someone said as they entered the room, “you’ve been staring at nothing for five minutes now. Penny for your thoughts?” Chaewon said as she took a seat in front of Minju, the latter then looked at the newcomer and smiled gently.

 

Shaking her head, she dismissed the question. “It’s nothing, just tired for today.”

 

And in those two years that have passed, there was never a time that Chaewon left Minju’s side. She had witnessed everything the girl has been through, from the moment Hyewon left, to the moment where Minju would always break down. Chaewon saw how the other girl relapsed and picked herself up everytime she couldn't handle her own thoughts.

 

It was difficult to say the least, to see her friend in that state. There was nothing she could do, Minju needed to heal. And no one ever said that the healing process would be smooth, because in healing, one is required to face the pain and consequences of the events they are healing from.

 

“What happened during your visit?” Chaewon asked, pertaining to the day that Minju visited Sora. She knows that the other girl has been doing it and she has seen the change with MInju; those visits have helped the other girl to heal.

 

But since her last visit, Chaewon noticed how MInju would often be staring off to nothing - consumed by her own thoughts. The way she clicks her pen is a sign that she has been overthinking things. There’s something on her friend’s mind and it has something to do with that day.

 

“There were fresh flowers,” Minju answered, she knew that Chaewon wouldn't let go of it if she ignored the question. “Dandelions.”

 

Chaewon looked at her friend, making contact with Minju. She can clearly see it, the hope that never left the latter. But Chaewon is the balance in Minju’s life for the past two years, and she would continue to be the one to anchor the girl.

 

“It could be anyone,” She said softly, but still smiled when she saw Minju nodding her head. “I don’t want you to breakdown on me again.” She jokes but there’s a truth in it, no one wishes to see their friend in a state of being in their lowest.

 

“And yet,” Minju answered with a smile, “it could be her.”

 

Yet.

 

That word made Chaewon smile, because yet is hope. And hope is beautiful, and if there was something that she had learned by being beside MInju all those years, it was the never-ending hope coming from the girl.

 

Hope is the silent inquiry of light in MInju’s darkness, hope is the feather floating in Minju’s mind and heart - embedded on her very being. Hope is engraved in everyone and hope heals people. Hope is unpredictable yet beautiful, and that healed her friend.

 

And Chaewon agrees with a nod, “It could be her.” she echoed the same words. As she herself hopes, hoping that everything will be okay now. That soon, hope will turn into happiness. Happiness that Hyewon and MInju deserved.

 

//

 

Hyewon was nervous, standing in front of the familiar door as Sakura, Yena, and Yujin waits for her to move. It’s been a few days since they saw each other, handling the three was far easier than facing the others all at once. She doesn’t know how they would react but -

 

“Stop overthinking it Kwangbae,” Yena exclaims as she urges her to move, “we’ve already told them that you’re here. You don’t have to worry.” she said reassuringly.

 

“Right,” Yujin agrees. Nodding her head encouragingly, “They missed you, you know?”

 

Hyewon took a deep breath, she then looked at Sakura who was only smiling at her. Right before she could knock on the door, it was opened from the inside and she was suddenly engulfed in an embrace. “Kang-chan, you were taking so long to open the door!”

 

Hyewon immediately hugged the person, she chuckled to herself before tightening the hug. Hitomi.

 

“Sorry,” she apologised as she looked at the younger girl, “I’m here now, no need to cry.” She jokes and looking up inside the house, she could see everyone in there.

 

All of them with a smile on their faces, looking at Hyewon with so much adoration and she didn’t even bother to cry as she tightened her embrace around Hitomi.

 

“I’m here.” She repeated not just for Hitomi to hear, but for everyone. Because that’s the truth, she’s there right in front of them. And she won’t go anywhere.

 

Not when she’s home, she’s almost there. A few more steps and she’s there.

 

As she entered the familiar place, Hyewon went straight to hug Eunbi and Chaeyeon. The two didn’t waste any second to hug the latter back, tears staining their faces as they savoured the moment. It has been too long, and Hyewon was just hit by that realisation.

 

Too long since she has felt this peace, too long since her demons have been quiet. Hyewon has been so used to the melancholy inside her, that this became foreign to her. A simple hug from her friends that she left, it made her realise that it did take her too long and she missed it.

 

“How are you?” Eunbi softly asked her, smiling warmly at her as if Hyewon had always been there with them. “I’m glad you’re here.”

 

Hyewon smiles back and for the first time, she could say it with the utmost honesty and sincerity. “I’m good,” she croaked out and nodded to herself. Because in that simple hug, with everyone around her, she could feel it.

 

With how her friends obliterated all of the pain that she has kept for so long, how they were always the ones that have been by her side, helping her to overcome everything. And how they encouraged her that being broken doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve to be loved and to feel love.

 

And that’s the truth about closeness and friendships, it doesn’t matter where anyone is located. It doesn’t matter how long a person has to be alone. Because each one is connected and together, by heart and soul.

 

“We have so much catching up to do,” Chaeyeon said as she pulled the girl to a hug, “we’ve really missed you.”

 

And catch up, they did.

 

Hyewon doesn’t even know where to start, but she tried her best to explain everything. How she started working with Jaehyun, how she adjusted to her life there. Looking around,she could see everyone there eagerly listening to her. But she can’t deny, she could feel the missing presence of another three people.

Wonyoung, Chaewon, and her.

 

“It was difficult,” Hyewon breathes out, laughing to herself as she knows it was an understatement. It was more than difficult for her, the sleepless nights that she had experienced, the silent cries. The rage that has been pent up inside her for a long time, resentment to her parents, to life, resentment to herself.

 

Hyewon has sat down with those emotions for a long time, all revolving around rage - the guilt, the regrets, the what ifs. It would be a lie if she said that she didn’t think about dying, what if she was the one who died that night?

 

What if she was not saved during that night?

 

A number of what ifs never left her mind, never stopped as her demons whispered to her. It was the mixture of everything all at once, the rage she felt when Sora was taken away from her, the way her parents viewed them, and the guilt all together.

 

Those were the demons that frequently visited Hyewon, and as she sat with them long enough, they introduced themselves as grief. She has been grieving all those years, the one thing that was taken away from her. Her demons were not revolving around rage, that was the way she has translated it because people would understand it far easier than grief.

 

With rage, people always have someone to blame. Someone to focus on with their emotions, but with grief, it was far different. As soon as someone starts to grieve, there is no turning back. It is a process of facing your emotions, of not running away. And as Hyewon processes everything during those years, she has started to heal.

 

“What made you come back?” Nako voiced out, “We’re all glad you’re here Kang-chan, but we’re all aware that you came back for a certain reason, right?”

 

Everyone looks at Nako, then at Hyewon. The latter just nodded her head, agreeing with the younger girl. And as she thinks about the question, words from Jaehyun echoes in her mind.

 

“Because I’ve healed enough just when I was alone,” Hyewon said and smiled, looking at everyone. “What more when I’m with the right people?”

 

She has stopped running from her demons, she has healed from everything. But there are demons that she cannot run away from, demons that she needs to face to heal. Which is why, right before she went back to meet with them, Hyewon first faced her first demon.

 

//

 

Hyewon didn’t expect that she would step foot in her childhood house again, she breathed in as she looked around. It has been years since she saw their house in Japan, and she could still vividly remember everything.

 

She could remember her younger self running along with her sister, the innocent smiles adorning their faces. She could remember the way they would always check on their flowers, the way they would play with each other. Hyewon couldn’t help but to sadly smile as those memories flood her, how much she missed the moments when Sora was still with her.

 

The innocence that they had, the life that they wished never ended. Because with Sora, there were no expectations.

 

Nothing has changed, and yet Hyewon stood there seeing everything differently.

 

“It’s been awhile,” An old woman smiled at her as she bows to Hyewon, and the latter could distinctly remember the older woman. She was the one who took care of them whenever their parents were not around, “you’ve grown so much.”

 

Hyewon smiled and didn’t hesitate to hug the older woman, “ It’s nice to see you again.” she said in the same language.

 

And as if the older woman knows the reason for Hyewon being there, she nods at the latter. “Mr. and Mrs. Kang should be inside,” she smiles softly, in a motherly way that somehow lifted the weight from Hyewon’s chest. “I hope everything will be fine.”

 

Hyewon smiled back, nodding her head in agreement. Bidding her farewell, she started to walk towards the house. Facing the huge doors to the entrance, she takes one last deep breath as she enters. It never did change, the interior still looking the same as ever when they were young.

 

The huge family portrait displayed on the wall, the four of them smiling and Hyewon focused her attention on Sora, the little girl smiling brightly as she held young Hyewon’s hand. She could feel the dread coming from within, the emotions that she held in since they were young.

 

Then suddenly, it was like she was back in that tunnel. That dreadful tunnel that makes her chest constrict, the pain of everything that she has ever felt all coming back. It was like she was a child again, the very same child that experienced the neglect of the parents. The very same child that had a panic attack because of a performance, the Hyewon that had never felt love from her parents.

 

She shakes her head, trying to keep everything at bay. Hyewon started to walk towards the study room. She knows that her parents would be there, they would always be there ever since they were young. As she faced the room, she gives it a knock right before she enters

 

Hyewon was welcomed by the sight of her mother sitting on the couch, while her father was sitting behind his study table. Her presence didn’t go unnoticed by the two, with her mother standing up quickly when she saw Hyewon.

 

The latter smiles slightly as she looks at her mother, “Hey, can we talk?” she asked as she walked inside the room, closing the door. She could feel the nerves coming in but she tries to ignore it - Hyewon needs to do this.

 

She looks directly at her father, the sole person that she needs to talk to. Hyewon could feel her mother staring at them, and she knew that they needed to talk. It has been two years since they last saw each other, after giving her an ultimatum - after all of the pain that they’ve caused her.

 

And so, Hana just stayed to the side. She has witnessed everything that their daughter experienced, and she couldn’t fathom how they were so blinded by their professional career. She stayed there, ready for whatever Hyewon was about to say to them.

 

Dongwook clears his throat, he never thought that this day would come. Ever since the day that he gave his daughter an ultimatum - the day he saw the damage that he has done. Dongwook knows that he needs to hear this - and as he looks at his daughter in front of him, his heart shatters.

 

Because he knows that Hyewon was never the one responsible for everything - they have put the responsibility of being a parent to Hyewon. They have focused too much on Sora that they basically neglected Hyewon - were they even parents to begin with?

 

“I,” Hyewon breathed out, trying to find the words - the right ones to convey the overwhelming emotions. Emotions that she had bottled up since she was a child, “I resent you, and I’m not sorry for cutting contact with you.”

 

Hyewon breathed out as her words flowed from her, all of her suppressed emotions - from the neglect, the pain, guilt, rage - her grief. It was there, all out in the open for both of her parents to see, to hear - to realise the deep damage that they have done to her - to them.

 

And this, this was the demon that she has been stalling to face - the way she couldn’t help herself to just unearth all her traumas, to how she could feel all over the loss during that one fateful night.

 

Hyewon in that moment, remembers everything - from her first panic attack, the first moment her parents were disappointed with her, to how she and Sora made new friends along the way - finding the care of a family in them. To how she witnessed Sora fell in love with Jaehyun and how it crumbled right in front of her.

 

To how Sora left her - left them, and how Hyewon has been stuck in that same moment again and again.

 

Hyewon’s emotions were too big - too full of unexplainable grief and regret, and finally, after all those years, she finally lets herself feel all too freely.

 

Thousands of questions run through her mind, as she stares at the man in front of her.

 

“Why?” she asked as her voice breaks, but she doesn’t care. Hyewon needs to know; a shed of light to everything that she has been through. “Did I, no we. Did we deserve all of this?”

 

She could hear her mother take a sharp inhale, but Hyewon focused on her father - she stared at him and as Dongwook stared back, it overwhelmed him. For the first time in years, Hyewon’s stare was different from before. It was different from her usual unamused and emotionless stare whenever she looked at them.

 

He and Hana know, out of the two of their daughters - Hyewon was the first one to ever stand up to them. Perhaps, it was one of those reasons that Dongwook chose to ignore their responsibility of being a parent - he couldn’t control her; thinking that Hyewon wouldn’t be the best if they couldn’t control her.

 

The look that Hyewon was giving him was full of emotions, shedding everything in front of them. Dongwook looks away, trying to find the words to answer his daughter.

 

“I just want the best for you.” He said weakly, looking down on his hands - thinking about everything. Was it really the best?

 

Hyewon laughs weakly, sound void of emotion. “No,” she answers and looks at her mother and then at Dongwook. “You wanted the best for you, for your reputation.”

 

She released a sigh, “You mentored us, we were your trophy to show to other people.” Hyewon said in a way that pierced through her parents, and she knows that they deserved it.

 

“You were never a parent to us,” She said brokenly, the child in her being shown to the two adults whose hearts were shattering. As she looked at both of them, Hyewon didn’t bother to wipe the tears that were staining her face.

 

“Was this the best that you’ve wanted for us?” Hyewon asked - despair changing to rage, her tone full of burning anger. It was all coming out inside from her, burning and piercing her from the inside - all desperate to come out after all the suppression from years ago.

 

Dongwook slowly stands up, shaking his head and Hana looks at her husband. With their daughter’s words, reality slowly dawning them.

 

“At what cost?” Hyewon steps forward, taunting Dongwook - she wants to punch him, to make him feel even the small ounce of pain that she has been carrying alone. To shout at him, to pierce his heart with all the guilt and regret that have been piercing her through those years.

 

“Was I not enough,” Hyewon asked as she breathed in, trying to compose herself from everything that was happening. Was she not enough to let Sora be free from the torment? Was she not enough in their eyes?

 

Hana silently cries, shaking her head as she steps in. She wants to reassure Hyewon, she wants to be the mother - the parent that they failed to be. “No, Hyewon please. Don’t think - “

 

“But why?!” She shouts as she steps back, looking at both of her parents. “Why did we have to lose Sora?!”

 

“Did you ever know that Sora wanted a family of her own,” Hyewon lashed out, running a hand through her hair as she remembered everything. “How she was happy when she and Jaehyun knew that she was pregnant?”

 

“I, we didn’t,” Dongwook muttered but was cut off by a humourless laugh coming from their daughter.

 

“Of course you didn’t,” She said and looked at them in a way that they have always looked at her - disappointed. “You manipulated him into leaving Sora.”

 

Dongwook doesn’t know what to say, and Hana just cries harder. This was the reality that they gave to their daughter, this was the cause of their neglect. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, and he broke down in front of Hyewon.

 

And in a weak voice, Hyewon continued. “Why did I have to lose her? Why did I have to lose myself?”

 

“Did you ever know that Sora just wanted us to be a family?” She smiles at the memory of her sister smiling, “She just wanted to be happy with us, to spend time with you.”

 

And suddenly, this demon of hers vanished - saying the words that she has always wanted. “I just want to be happy with you two, as parents. As a family. That’s all we’ve ever wished for.”

 

“Because you didn’t just lose a daughter,” Hyewon sobs as she remembers that night all too well. How everything went blank, how much she has screamed to anyone for help.

 

“I also lost my sister.”

 

And that was the truth - that even after all the pain, Hyewon still wanted to be loved by her parents - she wanted a family that she and Sora should've had before. The truth that she has tried to bury to forget, it was eating her away - overpowered by the guilt and rage she feels for her parents.

 

And as soon as she uttered those words, it was like a release from everything that Hyewon has been carrying. The shackles slowly break, her emotions being felt and heard - not just by her but also her parents. The very people that needed to hear them, and as Hyewon looks at them with tearful eyes, she cries out.

 

And it was like the day she and Sora were born - with their cries as Hana cradles both of them with Dongwook by his wife’s side. Looking at them full of adoration and love, something that was lost as they grew up. Hyewon couldn’t help but to cry because finally, finally she felt everything being lifted up.

 

Hana and Dongwook didn’t waste any second, the two of them walked towards the broken Hyewon. Hana engulfed her in a motherly embrace as she cried harder, and Dongwook held the two together.

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered repeatedly, kissing Hyewon’s head as he embraced the latter tighter. “We’re sorry.”

 

The three of them cried together, with Hyewon being finally free from her torment, freeing her from the guilt and regret. To finally being seen, for voicing out her and Sora’s wishes - the childhood that they’ve wished. They cried for Sora, for everything that has happened between their family.

 

And as Hyewon looks up, her demon was replaced by Sora - the image of her smiling down and she cries a little bit harder, tightening her hug to her parents. This was what Sora has ever wanted, and they both know it was a long time coming.

 

It was a welcomed change.

 

And Hyewon could see a little streaks of light in her tunnel, and she knows Sora is smiling at her from above.

 

Hyewon was 21 when she lost everything - her soulmate, her passion, her will to live.

 

And it took her years, and maybe, this was the first step - as her demon completely vanished, she knew it would take time for them. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

“Please play for me always, okay? I love you.”

 

Please live for me, live for us. Live for yourself.

 

“Nothing is sure in life Wonnie, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hope for the future we want.”

 

We will have the parents that we’ve always wanted.

 

“But that doesn’t mean we can't hope for a better one.”

 

It would take time, but there’s hope.

 

“No matter how apart we are, I will always be with you.”

 

I will alway be with you, with every step you take.

 

And in those years, Hyewon knows that Sora has always been with her.

 

//

 

It has been a week since then, and Minju still couldn’t wave off the feeling of hope - even if there has been no other signs, any form of communication from the older girl. But as she sits inside her apartment, she couldn’t help but to think, maybe she was hoping too much.

 

Perhaps, Hyewon was just there for the sole reason of visiting Sora.

 

But every time she’s about to let it go - to surrender on her own fate, someone would always pull her back. It first came with Yujin, the younger girl visited her with Wonyoung. Minju wouldn’t have noticed it, it would’ve gone by like a normal day but Minju saw it.

 

The way Yujin smiled as they were having lunch, how the younger girl shines a bit brighter compared to the past two years.

 

“I saw fresh dandelions at Sora’s last week,” she decided to open up, observing the way Yujin paused for a moment before nodding her head slowly.

 

Minju doesn’t know but with the way Yujin looked at her softly, the smile that the younger girl gave her - it was like she knew.

 

“I know,” Yujin answered and glanced at Wonyoung, the latter nodding her head in agreement. A silent agreement that Minju is not aware of. “We know.”

 

Minju looked at Wonyoung, confused on how the latter was not surprised. “You also know?” she asked in a confused tone.

 

Wonyoung simply shrugged her shoulders, “Unlike you, unnie, I don’t drown myself with work.” She said as a matter of fact.

 

Right before Minju could retort back, Yujin cleared . “Now, now,” she tries to clear the atmosphere, “why don’t we enjoy our meal first?”

 

And just like that, Minju saw the gleam of hope from the latter’s eyes. The lighthearted look that Yujin was giving her, the silent assurance that convinced her to hold on a little bit more.

 

That she wasn’t overthinking things.

 

That she wasn’t imagining things.

 

And as Minju remembers that day, the day that Yujin and Wonyung unexpectedly gave her something to hold on to - she thinks about everything that has happened to her. Everything that she went through, the nights that she went to sleep at Hyewon’s room - hoping that one day she would wake up with the latter by her side.

 

The guilt that was eating her inside, that she was one of the reasons why Sora died, why Hyewon was left alone in this cruel world - why she was hurting and bearing the baggage all alone.

 

And that’s when Minju realised that her demons were almost the same as Hyewon’s. Though it was not to the same degree but it was there hiding beneath the surface.

 

It was the way Minju has always wanted to be recognized by her father, the way she always prefers to be alone thinking that it would be much better.

 

During the time apart from Hyewon, a light was shed from everything that she needed to address. It was a painful process to say the least, but she knew that she needed to do it. They needed to do it.

 

Because everything will be worth it, it would take time - it is taking time, but it will be all worth it. Because despite the darkness they were in, she and Hyewon still found something beautiful - that even though they have demons, they found solace in each other’s company. People can fall in love with all the right reasons for a person, but if they could never accept their demons, that love is bound to crumble.

 

It was the understanding between the two of them that made Minju pick up her own weight, with the way her own demons found home with Hyewon. For Minju, Hyewon is the candle in her darkness but candles are bound to be easily dimmed.

 

Which is why she faced her demons as soon as she had found her strength. Minju would not want Hyewon’s choice to be put into waste. The older girl made a decision for the two of them to heal, and she could only imagine how much difficult it was for the latter.

 

And Minju could only thank Hyewon for making the decision for the both of th