[TW] mentions of  death

For Dasom, it still feels like yesterday when she received a call from a very frantic mother of hers. She can never forget that specific moment when the bomb was suddenly dropped on her. 

"Eomma?" Dasom tentatively spoke on the phone, her eyes not able to stop in one place since she was trying her best to calm her nerves down as she was about to step onto the podium to deliver a presentation in front of an esteemed audience.

She put the phone away from her ear, double-checking if she read the caller's name correctly since no one was speaking on the other line. Seeing that it was indeed her mother, Dasom asked again. "Eomma, what's wrong? What happened?"

A choked sob could be heard on the other line, making Dasom's heart beat faster than it already was. "Dasom-ah.."

"Eomma," now she was scared. She had no idea what to expect from her mother's mouth. "Breathe." She heard her mother doing what she just said.

"Okay. Now, tell me slowly—what just happened?"

Dasom immediately regretted answering her mother's phone call right before her name gets called in front. 

"It's your sister, Dasom. She's got a malignant brain tumor and is currently admitted since she fainted at work."

It had been about four years since she received that call.

Today is the third death anniversary of her beloved older sister, Hyunseo.

Before arriving at their agreed meeting place, Dasom made sure to pass by a nearby flower shop to buy her sister's favorite flowers, daisies.

Hyunseo would have turned thirty this year so Dasom bought exactly thirty daisies for her. She was already running late but that did not deter her from still going out of the way to buy her late sister a gift.

Dasom chose not to mind the glare she was receiving from her brother-in-law, Baekhyun, when she finally arrived fifteen minutes after their agreed time.

"You're late," displeasure was evident in Baekhyun's voice when he acknowledged Dasom's presence. 

"Sorry," she responded, "I had to buy these," she then showed the bouquet of daisies she brought. Dasom didn't miss the flick of understanding in Baekhyun's eyes upon the sight of the fresh flowers. 

It was Dasom's mom who spoke next. "They're beautiful, Som."

"She'll love them." Dasom's dad neared to grip Dasom's shoulder, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, overwhelmed by her younger daughter's thoughtful gesture. 

The heartwarming moment of the family was disrupted by Baekhyun's piercing voice, "It's turning dark already, we should go there before it rains."

Dasom wanted to say something since it was pretty obvious that Baekhyun's rude interruption was on purpose but she refrained from doing so before she does something she'll surely regret afterward. She needed to be understanding since Baekhyun has barely recovered from the sudden loss of his wife.

Since Hyunseo died, Dasom's parents treated Baekhyun like their own son and took the liberty to babysit their only granddaughter, Dahyun. They wanted to help lessen the burden on Baekhyun's shoulders since his workload was piling up given his recent promotion as the Chief Operating Officer and Creative Co-Director of a multinational fashion company, which was independent from his family's advertising business company.

Of course, Dasom also played her part as a helpful in-law. Whenever she's free or if her academic load was not that heavy, she always spent time with her niece since it also served as a time of relaxation for her. It then became inevitable for Dahyun to grow closer to Dasom as time wentgoes by.

Upon entering Baekhyun's car, she noticed the absence of her beloved niece. "Where's Dahyun?"

"I left her at my mom's," Baekhyun promptly replied, his eyes still on the road since he's in charge of driving them to Hyunseo's resting place.

"Why didn't you let her join us today? Unnie would've loved to see her daughter."

Dasom noticed the way Baekhyun tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

There's nothing wrong with her question anyway, right? 

But then again, why has Baekhyun not turned sensitive whenever she mentioned her sister to him?

"She's way too young for this," Baekhyun explains.

Dasom was unsatisfied with his reason. She believes that a child could never be too young to be brought to their parent's resting place. It is their right to know about this mere fact and she detested how Baekhyun's sheltering Dahyun too much. Sooner or later, she's sure that the poor child would begin to think how unfair it was for her father to filter the truth about the death of her matter. And Dasom never wanted that to happen.

"But she deserves to know," Dasom argued, "I doubt you have already brought Dahyun to the columbarium to meet her mother. Right?"

The car stopped in the presence of a red traffic light, giving a chance for the tension to grow inside the car, making the two elders sitting at the back nervous for the heated discussion that was about to begin between their only living daughter and their son-in-law.

"Baekhyun, will it be fine if I fetch Dahyun later so she can spend the night at