With Dabin's hand tangled with hers, Jisoo and her little sister head inside the small café to give Dabin a little treat. It wasn't the first time she had to wait in school and the longest was an hour. Jisoo knew that asking her friend Lisa pick up Dabin at school was never a good idea but here she was, keeping on seeking help from her friend. Lisa was as busy as her, it was just a coincidence that her time-off was the same as Dabin's dismissal and clearly, it wasn't a good timing.

"Dabin, what do you want?" Jisoo took her wallet out of her purse. Making sure she had enough money they could spend tomorrow, she pulled out a bill enough for whatever Dabin could possibly want. "I'm guessing—

"Iced chocolate, please!" Jisoo smiled and nodded, already expecting that answer. Dabin would never get tired of iced chocolate, that was for sure. The cashier lady noticed Dabin and couldn't help but smile sweetly at her.

As soon as they got their order, Dabin was quick to sit on an empty chair with her iced choco followed by Jisoo, who was holding her caramel machiatto. Her top favorite. Sitting right across her sister, Jisoo took a sip of her machiatto. "Mom's really sorry for making you wait at school."

Dabin gently placed her cup on the table right in front of her. Although it happened many times, she never complained even for once. "It's okay. Seonsaengnim was there so I don't mind waiting for Lisa unnie."

Jisoo raised an eyebrow. "Seems like you two are already really close, huh?"

"Yes! He's our new teacher but he's really nice so we're close."

Jisoo pouted playfully, pretending to be jealous of Dabin and Jinyoung's bond. "Who are you closer with? Seonsaengnim or your mom?"

Dabin giggled, finding it silly. All of a sudden, she went off of her chair and made her way to Jisoo. "Of course you!"

Jisoo smiled, satisfied with her sister's answer. Giving Dabin a tight hug, she couldn't help but feel lucky to have her little sister. Although their mom left so early and their father was nowhere to be found, Jisoo kept a straight face and stayed positive throughout. She had to grow up fast. Giving all of her attention and love to Dabin, and treating her as her own daughter—that's what she does that she would never ever stop doing. And Dabin, knowing that Jisoo wasn't really her mother, still treated her like one. "Who do I love?"

"Me!" Dabin answered, hugging Jisoo tighter.

The cashier stared at them with so much admiration. It was uncommon nowadays to see a child being as sweet as Dabin to their parents. Jisoo raised her sister with so much love that Dabin herself had a big heart filled with love she'd entirely give to Jisoo back. Having Dabin had its own cons though. Jisoo could recall being called a "" for being "pregnant" at such a young age by the people around though they never really witnessed her being so. With these assumptions, Jisoo was judged by everyone but it didn't make her love Dabin less. This was her decision to raise her as her own and she would stick up with this decision.

Dabin let go of the suffocating Jisoo and went back to her seat before sipping her almost forgotten iced choco. Just as Jisoo was about to take a drink, her phone started vibrating inside her purse. Grabbing it out of her purse, she looked at the name of the person calling. It was none other than Lisa.

Answering the call, Jisoo wasn't able to say something because Lisa was already apologizing as soon as she answered it. "Jisoo unnie! I really am sorry! I really forgot about it! I was busy and-

"It's fine, Lisa. I understand. Besides, Dabin's with me now. Though I had to go home earlier than expected. My boss was so disappointed. You know Jennie," Jisoo said, smiling at Dabin who had just finished her iced choco. It left a stain at the top of her upper lip and Jisoo found it cute.

"Yeah, yeah. Your diva-ish best friend," Lisa remarked which made Jisoo slightly laugh.

"How is Dabin anyway? I hope she's not mad at me," Lisa asked, sounding worried this time.

"Dabin, Lisa's on the phone. Want to talk to her?" Jisoo asked, she could hear Lisa telling her why she would do that at the end of the line.

Dabin ran towards Jisoo and grabbed the phone from her, seemingly excited to talk to Lisa in spite of not picking her up on time. Jisoo set the call on loudspeaker to hear the conversation. "Unnie! I'm sad I didn't see you earlier."

Lisa breathe out a sigh of relief knowing that Dabin was neither mad nor annoyed. "I'm sorry. Lisa unnie's gonna make it up to you, I promise. How about some ramyeon next time we meet?"

Dabin squealed, excitement rushing in. Since she was well taken care of, Jisoo was extra careful when it came to every food Dabin would eat. From ice cream to candy, she would limit her sister from eating those—afraid that she'd eat too much and cause sickness although iced chocolate was an exception. Lisa, however, was different. Whenever she was with Dabin, she'd spoil the girl to death. "You promised, unnir! I'll remember that!"

"You two are partners in crime whenever I'm away, huh?" Jisoo spoke up.

Lisa laughed. "Don't worry, Jisoo unnie. Besides, what's the harm of eating ramyeon with my favorite girl?"

Dabin gave Jisoo an innocent smile, clearly satisfied that Lisa was on her side. She was never the type to complain whenever Jisoo limited her from eating such things but if there was a chance for her to eat one, she would surely grab it. Especially whenever she was with Lisa. "Did you hear that, mom?"

"Tsk." Jisoo ruffled Dabin's hair, earning an annoyed groan from her sister. "What else can I do?"

"Anyway, I have to go. I'll be early tomorrow, I promise! Bye, unnie! Bye, Dabin!" Both Jisoo and Dabin said their goodbyes before finally hanging up.

Although Jisoo wasn't sure if Lisa would actually keep her promise this time, she decided to call Lisa once it was Dabin's time of dismissal to make sure what happened earlier wouldn't happen again. She felt bad for Jinyoung, knowing he probably had some things to do back home but was disturbed by the sudden 'emergency'. She had never seen him before though she could already tell that he was a sweet guy that could take care of Dabin well unlike her previous teacher. Please don't remind me of that woman, Jisoo told herself.

"Dabin, let's go home?" Dabin nodded. Jisoo grabbed her cup of machiatto before leaving the café, finally heading home after a long tiring day.

Inside the Kims' unit in a small apartment was Jisoo—who had tied her hair up in a bun, washing most of Dabin's uniform and some of her clothes while Dabin was keeping herself busy watching the TV. Her work might've ended early than expected but her duty as a mother and sister still haven't ended yet. This was just a day in the life of Kim Jisoo, whose youth was taken away by such a young age, roughly 15.

When their mother passed away after giving birth to Dabin, Jisoo didn't have the time to cry over it and be miserable. She went straight to taking the responsibility as Dabin's sister. Luckily, she had some of the neighbors help her raise her sister until she had a job at the age of 18. She stopped going to school and decided to work hard for money to raise both herself and her sister. Though she wanted to go to college, she had no time and no opportunity. Instead, she worked 24/7 and studied at home using the books donated by their neighbors.

The neighbors were actually planning on calling the child-protective services to take custody of the Kims but Jisoo was quick to beg for them not to. Recal