[CONTENTID1]02[/CONTENTID1]
[CONTENTID2]Harsh reality[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Warning: Violence. I'm not marking it [TW], but do not read if you are not comfortable. Will start with ** and end with **. Thank you.

 

Sora moved to her laptop. Baekhyun had already started the class. She was confused and didn't know what to do. Call her sister? No? Yes? Her mother was sick, then why not?! Oh, right. Seulgi was pregnant and that news would only cause stress for her. Her mother had to survive or else, her life will turn into hell! Chaerin was the only family member left for her. Without her, Sora would be too lonely. Of course, she had Seulgi; but her sister was far away. She kept staring at Prof. Byun's face while thinking about the crazy situation. 

"Ms. Kang? Ms. Kang? Do you hear me? Where are you?"

His voice brought her back to reality. "Yes? Yes sir? What's wrong?" She asked.

"You weren't paying attention to my talks?"

"Well, I... I was... something has occupied my mind. Sorry." Sora whispered, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry, just repeat your question once more. I'll answer." She wiped her eyes.

"Sora-ssi, is there something wrong? Do you have a problem?" Baekhyun seemed like he just noticed her dishevelled hair.

"No... it's ok." She whispered, touching her cheek. 

"Ok then." He took a deep breath and clasped his hands together. "Last session, we talked about pH in blood. I want you to summarize what I taught."

"Oh... yes. Blood has a normal pH range of about 7.35 to 7.45. Usually, the body maintains the pH of blood close to 7.40 and, and... and-" Sora burst into tears. Uncontrollable tears kept falling and it seemed like she wasn't planning to stop, no, she couldn't help but cry like a baby who has gotten lost. "Oh. I'm sorry... I can't continue, sorry." She hiccupped. 

"It's all right Sora. It's ok. You can leave the class if you are not feeling well. Ok? Go and rest." 

Sora took a look at his worried face which was blurred because of her tearful eyes. "Thank you sir. Have a n-nice day." She bowed her head and turned off her camera and microphone. She left the class immediately. Sora fell on her bed and hugged her knees. 

"You have a new message!" That was her phone. 

She took her phone and checked Kakaotalk.

Loey:
You ok?
Roseanne:
Hey! What happened?
Mina: 
Is everything fine there?
Hoseok:
What's it, Sora?

Sora smiled to herself. Her friends were texting her secretly during the class. Baekhyun would decrease their scores if he understood. Everyone in their class thought no one could be worse than Kim Jongdae, until they met Byun Baekhyun. 

Sora:
I'm fine guys.
Leoy:
Don't lie! 
Roseanne:
We are friends for 18 years!
Hoseok:
Hey Sora!
Mina: 
Why don't you answer? 

Sora threw her phone away since she wasn't in the mood of explanation. Ari jumped to her and started waging his tail. She closed her eyes, trying to keep clam. "It's hard Ari... I can't." Her fingers started massaging her forehead. That was too much, too much for her weak soul, too much for her age.

~Mary take me to the merry-go-round
With this beautiful sound
Sing my song for you~

"Hello?" She answered the call.

"Sora-ya!"

"Seulgi unnie... how are you?"

Her older sister's giggle made her smile. Sora could bet Seulgi was the only person in the world who could make her smile in the middle of crying. "Fine! But... your voice doesn't sound normal, what's up?"

"Nothing important, I'm ok. Don't worry, it's not good for your baby." Sora answered. "How's my nephew?"

"He's ok... his leg movements are a lot! First his kicks tickled. Now those hurt!" The younger sister could imagine Seulgi pout. "Anyway, how's mom?" Sora's heart skipped a beat. She closed her eyes and kept silent for some seconds. What was the right answer to that question?  She didn't know. "Sora? Are you there?"

"Uh, your voice wasn't clear..." She excused her silence. "She's... in the hospital."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't, don't panic!" Sora sat up. "Don't panic honey. Our hospital, she's there to cure people."

"Oh... you scared me. I thought she's gotten sick or something." Seulgi breathed a sigh of relief. "If I wasn't pregnant, I'd go to hospital too; I wanted to go actually... but Jaehyun didn't let me."

The medical student frowned. Was being thoughtless something that had run in their family? "Good thing you listen to your husband who is younger than yourself."

"You will never stop mentioning that, right?" She asked. "Then get married to a man who is 10 years older than yourself!"

"Eww..." Sora whispered, disgusted. "I'm not going to do so! Stay home and take care of yourself and your baby." She ordered firmly. "Don't forget to eat healthy food."

"Ok. You seem angry."

"Of course! You're responsible for your child's safety and I don't want you to fall sick like mo-" Understanding that she almost let the cat out of the bag, Sora paused. 

"Like Who?" Seulgi asked, a little bit worried. "Like mom?"

"No. Who says that? Hehe..." The younger laughed nervously while cursing herself mentally. "I wanted to say, like Chanyeol's mother. She is a nurse, if you remember."

"Oh..." The pregnant lady hummed. "I see... tell him not to worry. She'll be fine and healthy again. How's Ari? I miss that cute snowball! "

"Don't call him like that..." She pouted. "He's fine... my only one in this house." Sora touched her pet's nose. "I miss you." Tears rolled down her face. "Unnie, I wish you were here."

"I miss you too. I miss you so much, little sis."

"Do you remember? When we were kids... I wasn't very good at math. I always got bad scores. And when I cried, you hugged me and kissed me. Seulgi unnie, you told me not to cry because everything would be all right one day."

"Yes. I remember... you couldn't stop shedding tears over a bad score. That hurt me so bad." 

"I need you, unnie. I want you to hug me... I want you to caress my back... kiss my cheeks and tell me not to worry." She continued, wiping her eyes. "I feel empty without you."

Suddenly, Seulgi broke into tears. "Why are you talking like this? What's wrong with you? Is something happening there that I'm not aware of? Are you ok? Do you want me to come back?" She asked different questions while sobbing. 

Seulgi wasn't going to understand it. After her previous miscarriage, her pregnancy was a miracle. Her sister wasn't going to let her experience meaningless stress. "Nothing... I'm just too lonely." She whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too, stupid."

Sora chuckled. "Why do I love it when you call me stupid?"

"Because you're one."

"You have to rest. And I'm sleepy. Have a nice day."

"You too, little girl."

"Ya!" Sora shouted.

"Ok, big girl." The elder laughed. "Sleep well."

Seulgi threw her phone away and started thinking. What was wrong with her sister? That was abnormal. 

"Why are you frowning?" Jaehyun sat on the bed and moved closer to her face. "Have you cried?!"

"Don't shout at me, Jae!" She pouted, rolling onto her other side. "I was talking with Sora... she seemed weird."

"How do you say that?"

"She said, she wishs I was there... and she wants me to hug her and say everything will be ok."

"That's not weird, Sora just misses you." He grinned. "And let's fulfill her wish."

Seulgi turned to him. "What?"

Jaehyun looked at her proudly. "One of interpol police agents called me. She said there are some signs that the King has moved to Korea. Maybe... he moved there two years ago." He stood up and walked to the window. "She also told me that Korea's Police wants me, Detective Min, to go there and arrest him! Excited, right?!" 

"Who's she?"

"Seriously Seulgi? Out of all of this, you just got that SHE?"

"Who's she?" She repeated her question and stared coldly at her husband. 

"She's Joy Park, from U.S. She and her boyfriend, will come with us."

"So she has a boyfriend..."

"Of course! Stop suspecting me of cheating..." He looked away. "How can you think that I will do such a thing? You know I love you so much, don't you?"

Seulgi rolled her eyes. "When will we be there?"

"Next month, or maybe sooner." He breathed deeply. "This time, I'll catch him. That ing King..."

■■■

Roseanne was running behind her friend. They were out to buy some books and stationary items when Sora's phone rang. After answering the call, she started running like a mad girl. "Sora! At least tell me what's it?" The taller girl shouted. "Yah Kang Sora!"

"No... it's not true..." Sora kept whispering, her eyes were tearful and her skin was pale. 

"Sora!" Roseanne finally caught her wrist and pulled her close to herself. She put her hands on her shoulders and gazed into her eyes. "What's wrong with you?! Who was the caller?"

"A doctor. He works in our hospital." She replied with trembling voice. Her mask was just covering her lips and her red nose could be seen. "He said...