Eunha looked down at her phone that was resting limply in her hands. Her brows furrowed at the lit screen which displayed her text messages with Sally. She raised her head and looked at the clock on the nightstand.

12:10 am

Pressing her lips together, she raised her phone and typed a quick message.

She placed her phone down on the bed and got up, grabbing a duffel from her closet. She began to pack up her belongings and clothing, taking only what she needed. Eunha stuffed the plush from Sojung into the bag before zipping it up. She turned back to her phone and saw a new message.

Eunha tore a page from a notebook and penned a quick note, leaving it neatly on the bed before leaving the room. She trod silently down the stairs and opened the front door, turning back one last time before closing it quietly.

The streets were relatively quiet as she walked down the main road towards the subway station. As she neared the station, she could see a black One-77 stopped by the kerb. She approached and rapped her knuckles on the tinted window. The doors unlocked and Eunha dumped her bag in the back seat before settling down in the shotgun.

“Are you alright?” Sally asked, looking at the younger girl with concern in her eyes.

“Just drive,” Eunha said as she buckled up.

“Where to?” the girl asked as she released the brakes and eased on the gas.

“My parents’ house.”

“Why? What’s this all about?” Sally asked and Eunha snapped to face her.

“My cursed parents sent a dead rabbit to my house and threatened the safety of my friends just so they can pressure me into going home so that’s what I’m gonna do. Go home.” Eunha spat bitterly. At this moment, Sally was sure that if guilt could physically hurt someone, she would be dead by now.

“What’s with the face? Aren’t you in cahoots with them?”

Sally paused for a second, clearly taken aback by Eunha’s statement.

“I was.” The girl stated shortly. Eunha remained silent as she looked out of the window at the buildings that flashed by.

The drive was uncomfortably quiet.

Eunha’s eyelids fluttered open and she blinked, staring at the dark ceiling of her room. She let out a sigh and brought an arm up to cover her eyes. She lay motionless in that position for a few minutes. The room was silent except for the soft hum of the air conditioning system and her light, steady breathing. She pulled her arm away from her face and brought her phone out from under the pillow to check the time. Pressing the home button, she squinted slightly at the sudden intruding brightness.

2:06 am.

She had just finished unpacking half an hour ago and was trying to get some rest but it seemed like sleep wasn’t going to come easy tonight. Seeing that she wasn’t going to get anywhere by tossing around in bed, she decided to get up. She slipped her legs out from under the covers and sat on the edge of her queen-sized bed. Eunha stared blankly at the floor and back at the empty bed over her shoulder. She never realized how cold and empty a queen-sized bed could be. She pushed herself up from the mattress and shuffled towards her desk with small, slow steps.

Eunha slid herself onto the chair and let her left hand run across the cold wooden surface. This was the very desk she learnt to read and write at. The memory of her older brother holding her tiny hand in his larger, warm ones was etched in her mind. Even though her words looked like chicken scratches, Dae-in had still praised her for the effort. A gentle smiled graced Eunha’s lips as an image of her brother’s smile flashed across her mind. Times seemed to simple back then. Every little thing would bring happiness to her but as she grew older, she realized that perhaps there was no such thing as happiness. At least not in this household.

A sprawling mansion with lavish furnishing and impressive architecture. The dream house of so many little children who long to call it their castle whenever they would role-play. Eunha never understood why anyone would wish day and night to live in a place like this. It wasn’t that she was acting like a rich spoilt brat. No, she would never. Eunha just never felt… home. It was a luxury to live in such a house but not every house is a home. To her, it was nothing but a place where she ate, slept and spent her days. It felt more like a prison to her. There was no warmth in this place. No love. It was simply a cold, empty shell. How long more was she supposed to shoulder the burden of her troubles alone? She was cracking. She could feel it.

The short-haired girl drew a shaky breath as she let her hand rest on the small knob of the drawer directly below her desk. She pulled it towards herself and looked around at the things inside. Everything was right where she left it 3 years ago like it was frozen in time. Her gaze went over the many objects before stopping on one. She picked it up and held it up in front of her eyes. It was a plain silver ring. Eunha twisted it around the tips of her fingers as she examined the cold metal band.

“Xiening!” Eunha called out excitedly as she walked through the doors of the classroom.

“Oh, Eunbi-yah. It’s good to see you.” The girl smiled and engulfed Eunha in a tight, warm hug. “What brings you here, my little bunny?” she asked with a smile as she ruffled the girl’s hair. Eunha simply beamed and brought her hand out from her pocket, presenting her closed fist to the taller girl.

“I got you something.” Eunha grinned and unfolded her fingers to reveal two shiny metal rings.

“Rings!” Sally exclaimed and clapped her hands together. She picked them up from Eunha’s palm and looked at them with such adoration in her eyes. Eunha felt like she just singlehandedly won a war.

“Happy second monthsary, princess,” Eunha said softly and leaned closer to place a kiss on the taller girl’s cheek.

“You’re so sweet…” Sally cooed and placed a hand on her chest, clearly touched by her girlfriend’s words. “I’ll put it on for you.” She smiled. She took Eunha’s hand tenderly into her own and slowly slipped the metal band onto Eunha’s ring finger. Eunha too did the same for Sally and they grinned at each other.

“Now everyone will know that you’re mine,” Eunha said with a lopsided grin and Sally chuckled.

“I’ll always be yours, silly. Forever.” She said and pulled Eunha in for another tight hug.

“So much for forever,” Eunha whispered as she looked at the ring, a mixture of disappointment and sadness evident in her dark brown eyes. Her hand slowly lowered and she placed the ring back into its rightful spot. She shifted her attention to a short stack of envelopes beside the ring. It was the first three love letters Eunha had written for the girl.

“You don’t have to, you know? It makes me feel bad. Like I’m not doing enough for you.” Sally said softly after she read Eunha’s letter.

“Don’t be. You even being here is more than enough for me. Besides, I’m not good at expressing my emotions face to face so rather than making you listen to me stutter and swallow my words, I rather write you a clear letter so you know exactly how thankful I am for you and how in love I am with you.” Eunha smiled.

“I can feel your love from miles away, bunny. But thank you. Really.” Sally smiled and Eunha combed her fingers through the girl’s hair.

“Never a problem, princess.” Eunha nodded with a warm smile.

Eunha blinked as she snapped back to reality. The entire drawer was filled with little knickknacks that she and Sally had collected together. There was even a small jar of paper stars. She shook her head and closed the drawer. There were too many memories.

She moved over to the side drawer and pulled at the first handle. There wasn’t much except a neatly folded hoodie, an envelope and a bracelet resting on top of it. Eunha picked the bracelet up and rubbed the small, intricate silver flowers. It was the last thing her sister gave her before leaving which Eunha found in a box under the older girl’s bed. She used to wear the bracelet every day but decided to keep it safe instead. She didn’t want to wear it down or tarnish the material. Worst still, she didn’t want to lose it. Same goes for the hoodie. She wanted to keep the last bits of her fading memory safe.

Eunha does think to herself sometimes, where could her sister and brother be. Do they know that she had taken the same path as them and escaped as well? Are they together? Or did they live separately and start their own families? Are they well? Are they even living in Korea? She wonders if things would have been better if only they weren’t born into this family. But then again, they might not have ever met. Might not have even existed. Perhaps it was another piece of the puzzle that fate had set down on the board.

The girl closed the drawer and opened the second one which turned out to be empty. It was supposed to be for her brother but he never got a chance to say goodbye. She never got the chance to stop him, or at least attempt to. Dae-in had left on a dark winter night. Eunha remembered that it was snowing heavily which probably covered up his footsteps as he snuck away to a better life. She doesn’t blame him for leaving so suddenly though. She can understand why he didn’t want to spend a second longer than he had to in this house. Maybe it was better without the goodbyes. It would save Eunha from the pain of having to watch someone so dear to her walk away and out of her life.

Eunha closed the drawer and leaned back in her chair. She had barely done anything strenuous but she felt worn out. She closed her eyes and calmed herself before opening the last drawer. As it slid open, she could hear the crinkling of paper as a mass of origami cranes came into view. There was a black leather-bound diary sitting atop the pile of paper cranes and Eunha’s breath hitched. It was the final present she had prepared for Sally before the girl decided to break up with Eunha.

“This is more work than I thought.” Eunha huffed as she dropped another paper crane into the cardboard box. She had been folding cranes for the past hour and her fingers were starting to slow down from fatigue. She had about 3 more months to finish it but she was still worried since exams were coming up and she had to revise. Not to mention she had to do the stocktake every month which takes up a good 14 days in total. At the rate that she was folding, she’d have to average 3 cranes a day