Umji and SinB pushed the doors open together, having arrived early, they expected the room to be empty.

"Hey girls."

Umji shrieked and hid behind SinB, who just had a surprised expression.

"Giraffe unnie? Weren't you out with the flu?"

"Jeez, my worrywart of a dad thought my fever was the flu, so when my mom got home from work, she scolded him. Still, I didn't go to school today, I've been here since morning to recover he says. What's new?"

"Unnie! SinB has an owie on her back, so don't hit her today okay?"

"She has an owie?"

Sowon walked over and took SinB's backpack off to check. Lifting the hem of SinB's shirt, she frowned at the collection of bandaids on the five year old's back.

"How did this happen?"

Umji quickly blocked SinB's nonchalant answer with her own.

"She was thrown out of the window of her parent's car!"

"What?"

"She said she overslept and didn't get off in time so they threw her off."

SinB whined as Sowon pinched her cheek.

"It's not my fault they favor my genius brother."

"Who treated your owies though? I doubt you went to the nurse's office by yourself, you hate that place."

SinB twiddled her thumbs, she couldn't really say that she acted brave in front of Umji when they were at the nurses.

"She hates the nurse's office?"

"She hates going to the doctor or the dentist or anywhere that smells like a hospital."

"But she was fine with me?"

They turned to SinB who was looking sheepish.

"Err, I may have pretended to be okay in front of Yewon."

"You little actress you, I knew you hated going. Trying to look cool in front of your best friend?"

SinB whined as Sowon rubbed her hair, messing it up.

"Anyways, when Yerin unnie-"

"SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOJJJJJJJJJJJUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG NOONA!"

"I told you it's UNNIE!"

Yerin came flying in from the door, running at full speed to hug Sowon tightly, koala hugging her.

"I missed you unnie."

"Yea yea, how was your day yesterday Yennie?"

Umji watched as Sowon effortlessly carried Yerin over to the beanbags, the latter clinging on her like a koala to a tree. Yerin really really liked Sowon, Umji could tell by the sparkle in her eyes as she described how she had just laid there all day and had to save Umji from the trap of desks and get scolded by the auntie who brought snacks.

Hearing Yerin say, "and that's all that happened!" made Umji stop. Turning, SinB beat her to it first.

"Sojung unnie."

"Yea?"

Sowon looked up from Yerin, they were now comfortably seated on the beanbags, Yerin sitting across her lap and clinging to her tightly.

"That's not all."

"It isn't?"

Sowon looked back down at Yerin who avoided her eye contact. Holding her cheeks to force the seven year old to look her in the eyes, Sowon stared.

"Did you lie to me? Tell me what happened."

"I didn't lie, I just didn't say everything."

"Tell me."

"I don't want to."

Soown sighed and looked back at SinB, nodding.

"Yesterday, Yerin unnie's oppa came to pick her up."

Umji noticed that Sowon flinched at the mention of Yerin's oppa.

"We were saying bye and watching from the window. I know you've found Yerin unnie's bruises."

"Don't tell me he punched her while you all were watching."

SinB looked to the ground.

"He did."

"Yerin unnie hit the ground hard."

Yerin seemed to shrink in Sowon's arms, her hands clutching at her clothes as if to pull them lower, to conceal something. Sowon grabbed Yerin's hands and stopped them.

"You'll stretch your clothes, don't do that."

The seven year old looked pleadingly at Sowon, as if to ask her to overlook it.

"No, not this time. Yerin you need to let me see."

Pulling Yerin's hands away slowly, Sowon scooted Yerin's shirt up a little, it revealed a large bruise on her stomach. Her knees were also damaged from yesterday's fall.

"Why?"

Yerin kept shaking her head, tears forming in her eyes. Sowon just hugged her tightly and patted her back. SinB and Umji held hands, they didn't quite understand the situation yet, they only knew that it was sad and seeing that bruise was shocking.

"You two sit down, I don't want you to fall and get hurt."

Sowon had noticed their uneasiness. Sitting down around Sowon's beanbag, they quietly waited for Yerin to stop crying.

The door to their room opened, Yuju walked in holding Eunha's hand. Upon seeing the situation, the quickly put their bags in their cubbies and went over to join them.

"Are we finally talking about it?"

"Yes we are Yuna."

Yuju nodded, her hand reaching to hold Yerin's hand. Eunha just pouted from her seat, she didn't like seeing others cry, it made her sad and mad. Umji copied Eunha's pout, just seeing Yerin cry almost made her burst into tears, but she had held it well, seeing Eunha's hurt pout, she had a harder time holding it in. SinB patted her shoulder soothingly.

"Yerin? Tell unnie why, although I already have some clue."

"U-unnie."

"Go on, you're safe here."

Yerin hiccuped and Sowon gave a small smile, kissing her forehead.

"You see, oppa doesn't think of me as his sister."

"Why is that?"

"He think's I'm ugly, and dumb. Which I kind of am and-"

"Nope. You're cute and smart."

"Bu-"

"Nope. You're my cutie and smarty pants."

Yerin was going to retort but the girl's disapproving stares made her stop.

"A-anyways, he likes Sojung unnie. A lot. He always says she's pretty and smart, and I agree with him."

Sowon's frown deepened.

"He wishes I was more like you unnie."

"That's still no reason to hit you."

"He says its releasing his stress from school, having to study for entrance exams."

"That's still no reason to hit you."

"He says its helping him."

"It isn't."

Sowon pulled Yerin to sit upright a little better.

"Listen, theres no reason to hit your siblings. Maybe in play fighting, but never to this degree. And, I knew he didn't want me as his sister."

"What do you mean unnie?"

Sowon sighed and suddenly she appeared much more mature than her age, she was seven, about to turn eight in december, but she knows things.

"My unnie is already super worried about him. She says he's called a e."

"What's that mean?"

"He likes little children."

"So? I like little children."

"He likes little children in a bad way, it's not healthy."

"A bad way?"

"Yerin ah, you'll learn about it soon, not now. That goes for you girls too, if a scary oppa or unnie approach you, get help."

"So, what do we do about this? I don't want Yerin unnie hurting anymore."

Sowon checked Yerin all over, finding the bruise that Umji had seen, several marks elsewhere.

"He's never done anything weird to you right Yerinnie?"

"No, he just hits me."

HIs object of affection was Sojung, and it made her uncomfortable.

"My mom said she could help, but I take it, Yerin unnie hasn't told her parents?"

Yerin shook her head quickly.

"No, I'm scared to."

"You shouldn't be, who's getting you today?"

"Mom is."

"I'll talk to her with you okay?"

"But-"

"No, we need to talk. This bruise is bigger than the past ones, the fact that he hit you in public means that its getting worse."

At times like this, Umji really looked up to Sowon. She was the hero, today's princess was Yerin unnie. They all learned an important lesson.

And, they all wanted their bright ginseng back.

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OwO hows it going? oddly im getting increasingly nervous about updating hoho