+ Meet The Kims +

Irene was the oldest girl of the bunch. At only 24 she had already been working for eight years, juggling between school and her different part-time jobs. She had to be responsible, at a very young age, since her father needed her to help him take care of her sisters.

Then came Seulgi, the cute Tomboy who loved sports and was not really into girly things. She was always the one who spent the most time with their father, bonding over everything. Whatever he liked, she liked too.

Wendy was the smart one who always knew what to say and what to do. Even though Irene and Seulgi were 4 and 2 years older than her, sometimes she seemed to be the oldest because of her maturity.

Joy was exactly what her name suggested. Always in a good mood, always smiling, she was the comforting soul of the family. With her, eighteen never looked so bright.

Yeri, the youngest, did the two things a maknae always does best: nag and act cute. She was the little princess of the family and everyone constantly tried to protect her from the world. Her mother left when she was only 6, so she grew to be very close to her big sisters. She would do anything to make them proud.

+ Irene's POV +

"Irene! Irene! A portion of fried eggs!"

Junyeong screamed as she walked into the kitchens. I work at a restaurant in downtown Seoul, from Thursday to Sunday when I don't have class.

It sure was exhausting to work an 11 hours shift, but it was the only job that paid me enough to support my tuition fees and help my father financially.

It was better to have this secure job than four other insecure ones.

My shift was going to be over in half an hour, and I had a sudden regain of energy because I knew that my sisters were coming to fetch me.

They always came thirty minutes before the end of my shift and started praising me to my boss or to the clients, to make them like me. They are so cute.

Just as I started cooking one of the last orders, Junyeong, the waitress from earlier, walked in again, laughing. I didn't even realize that she had left at some point, because I was too focused on cooking.

Irene: What's so funny, Eonnie?

Junyeong: Your sisters are back at it again. They're adorable!

Irene: What have they done now?

Junyeong: Yeri and Joy are singing for a very pleased client, while Seulgi and Wendy encourage them.

Irene: They're going to get me in trouble!

Junyeong: Oh no, don't worry! Minhyuk Oppa is there having fun too!

I smiled at the thought of my sisters singing with my boss. When I finished, I got changed and joined them at the dining side of the restaurant.

They were all spread around the place, each of them having a conversation with a client. Yeri looked up and smiled at me.

Yeri: Eonnie! Seon-nim, this is my beautiful sister I was talking to you about.

Wendy: She cooked all of these delicious meals for you!

"Omo, neo mu yeppuda! This is delicious!"

Some new customers started complimenting me while regular ones smiled and cheered for me. I bowed and smiled back to thank all of them.

Irene: Girls we need to go. Thank you, everyone, for taking care of my sisters, and I'm sorry if they bothered you.

"Come back next time, girls! We will be waiting for you!"

They kept telling my sisters. I was glad to see that people appreciated them so much. I took Yeri's hand and walked out of the restaurant, followed by the other girls.

Yeri: How was work today, Eonnie?

Irene: Good! Nobody bothered me today, thanks to you guys.

Joy: It's because you're a great cook too! Nobody can complain, really!

Irene: Aigooo! I'm so lucky to have four sisters! Ah!

I ruffled Joy's hair and took one of her hands with my free one.

Irene: How are things at the center, Seul?

Seulgi: Good. Two more kids came today. Twin boys. They're so adorable.

Irene: Oh, they must be cute! What about you, Wend?

Wendy: School was great! I still haven't found a job though. I'm sorry for making you guys work harder because I'm jobless.

Irene: What are you saying now! We don't work harder because you don't have a job, and you're surely not useless! I want you to have pretty thoughts only, young girl! Do you hear me?

I smiled as I saw her nod her head at me.

Yeri: School was boring for me! Everything's always the same!

Irene: That's great, but it wasn't your turn, princess. Joy?

Yeri: But it's not fair! I always talk last!

Joy: Stop it, cry-baby! Ha-ha. You can go first if you really want to!

Yeri: As I was saying, school was boring and I didn't have fun at all!

Seulgi: And?

Yeri: That's it!

Joy: Neo Chincha!

Wendy and I laughed at Yeri's cuteness and Joy's reaction. These two are always at it, for some reason.

Joy: Well, now it's about me. Eonnie, I got two A's today, and I joined the school cheerleading team!

Irene: Wow! That's great, Joy!

Seulgi: Since when did you get interested in cheerleading?

Joy: About a week ago. I just feel like it's a sport made for me!

Wendy: That's what you said about Karate, Fencing, Soccer and Basketball.

Joy: I know, but this time it's different!

Seulgi: How?

Joy: I just know it! And plus the uniforms are very cute!

Yeri: Oh, so you're there for the uniforms? Now it makes more sense!

Joy: Yah!

Seulgi, Wendy and Yeri laughed together.

Irene: Girls, stop it. If she says that it's different this time, we must trust her. And plus it's always good to experience different things, before finding out what you really like!

Wendy: You know we're just joking with you, Lil sis!

Yeri: We love you!

By the time our conversation was over, we were home. Our father worked as a doorman for an important company/hotel line, so he often came home late.

The girls and I usually wait for him on the weekends, but it's hard for us all to see each other more than an hour during the week days.

Irene: Are you girls hungry?

Seulgi: I already treated them to dinner before we came for you.

Joy: What do you want to eat,  Eonnie? I'll make it for you!

Irene: I'm not really hungry, don't worry. Let's all wash up and wait for dad.

Wendy: Joy, Yeri, you two go first.

We had to work it out by turns because the six of us share two bathrooms and us five girls share a wardrobe and a room. Getting ready in the morning is very complicated sometimes.

Irene: I'm going to make something for Appa.

Wendy: I'll help you.

Seulgi: Joy's high school graduation is two months away. I'm putting some money aside to help you buy the things for the party.

Irene: Oh yeah that's right! What do you think she'd like to get as a present?

Wendy: A puppy!

Irene: That's what you want, Wend. A puppy will cost too much money to take care of, anyway.

We stayed silent for a second then looked at each other, before smiling as if we were trying to comfort one another. I could always count on my sisters' support and this is how we got through all of our hardships.

Our dad didn't go too far in school. When he met his wife, he started working because she wanted to get married and her parents would only let her do so with someone who had a stable financial situation.

They were very young when they had me, about 23, and every two years they had another baby. The wife was a woman who dreamt of traveling and seeing new things, exploring the world. Four years after she gave birth to Yeri, she started being mean to us and instigating small fights here and there with my dad.

One day I heard them argue about a man she had been seeing for a year, and she told my father that she loved the man, and hated my dad for taking her younger years away. She left a week after that fight.

For a year we missed her, cried and hoped that she would come back, but the feeling gradually started fading away. We just don't talk about it anymore. It's irrelevant to our lives.

Our dad worked for a company for five years and things were starting to work out, but he got sick and had to stop for three months. When he came back, they had already replaced him and he had to look for another job. With the hospital bills that had built up, he had to find a job quickly.

The only immediate one he found was the one he was still doing at the moment. He worked as a doorman and sometimes concierge for a hotel in Seoul. Our dad at 46 years old woke up every morning at five and left at six thirty, to go work until 8PM. He never complained about our situation even once and always tried his best to make us smile. He is really our hero. I could never call that woman my mother.

With a lot of thoughts in our minds, we finished cooking and Wendy and Seulgi went to wash up while I chatted with Joy and Yeri. Our dad was the only one to call us by our Korean names as a sign of affection, but we did not really like it because we got those names from his ex-wife. Seulgi and Yeri were the only ones with no foreign names, so they did not really have a choice.

Appa: Annyeong, my girls! I'm home!

Yeri: Appa! You're back!

Joy: Welcome back, uri Appa!

They went to hug him tight to the point where he laughed out loud, and asked them to release him.

Appa: Aigo, nae yeppeun ttal! Juhyeon-ie, how are you?

Irene: I'm good. How was your day, Appa?

I hugged him and held his hand while walking him to the dinning table.

Appa: Great! We had a lot of tourists today!

Joy: Wow, it must be impressive to meet all those foreigners.

Appa: One day, you girls will be able to travel and meet all of them, don't worry nae Sooyoung-ie.

Wendy: Appa! When did you come back?

Appa: Just now. How was your day, Seunghwan-ah?

Wendy: Same as yesterday. How was yours?

Appa: Same as everyday.

Seulgi walked out of the room and hugged him from behind before sitting at her place around the table. The girls engaged into a conversation with him while I watched all of them. We had dinner together once again, then watched a movie before going to bed.

The girls and I had a sort of ritual before sleeping. We would all lie down and say what happened in the day that we are thankful for, and it usually ends up in laughter but it surely lightens the heart.

We always let Yeri go first since she is the youngest.

Yeri: I'm thankful for spending a great evening with papa and my Eonnies. I'm grateful for Irene Eonnie for making us really good food!

We smiled at her last comment and proceeded to the next one.

Joy: I'm thankful for the food we had today and for the time we spent laughing together. I'm grateful towards my big sisters for letting me use the bathroom first. Ha-ha!

Wendy: That's a pretty good one! Well... I'm grateful for the day I could spend in class, learning and having fun. I'm grateful towards Seulgi Eonnie for treating us to dinner and for Irene Eonnie for cooking for us again.

Seulgi: You're welcome. I'm grateful to all of you for helping me with my science essay today by watching the movie with me, I'm grateful and thankful for the conversation I had with Wend and Irene Eonnie. And for being the coolest sister of the bunch

We all burst out laughing at her joke. She meant it as one, but there was no denying that she was indeed the coolest sister of the bunch.

Irene: I'm grateful for the laughs you all gave me today, for the compliments you've also game me. I'm thankful to God for allowing us to laugh and be happy together like that today.

We smiled and held hands. All of us closed our eyes to go to sleep.

I wish every day was like that day, but our lives are far from being simple.

Welcome/1 We are the Kims! Nice to meet you!

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Hello, I am Denise!

I first wanted to apologize for the mistakes that I will probably make in my story, because I am not an English native speaker. ^-^

I know this is a very plain chapter, but I just wanted to introduce the different characters. I promise it gets interesting afterwards!

Thank you for reading my story!

Annyeong!