"Chansung-ah!" And not even a second later, I felt a pull on my backpack. I looked behind to find her smiling innocently like she didn't do anything. "Let's go."

My name is Hwang Chansung, currently a senior in Junior High. My family and I live in a small house located quite far from school. I used to complain a lot in the past, mainly because I had to wake up early every day and also that it took me almost an hour to get there. But I guess I'm used to it now. And besides, moving to another house would be too much to ask since everywhere else is expensive and my parents don't really earn a lot. We're lucky to have found this house even though it's a bit isolated.

We also live with my cousin, the girl who just disturbed my daydream. She's been living with us for around 10 years now because her parents had a tragic plane crash on their way to their second honeymoon. She had nowhere else to go so my parents decided to adopt her. Besides, she was still a kid when the horrible thing happened, so she needed anything and everything for help.

Most people think that we're siblings because we kind of look similar. Some even say that she's actually older than me since she always orders me around; when in reality we're of the same age. We just differ by a month, with me being older. But that doesn't mean that I could make her do something because my parents seem to always find out and defend her even if it's her fault.

Having said that however, we both care for each other. We have each other's back even if we do fight every day. At the end of every fight (which is usually silly and short), we make up and apologise by not looking at each other because we're too embarrassed to do so. We still do those things every now and then. My parents think it's too childish but that's just how we are.

"Come on. What are you doing?" she asked again. This time, she was in front of me and pulling on my hand, trying to get me up from my seat.

"It's raining. Why can't we wait until it's over? There's only one umbrella, anyway."

"So? Rain won't make us sick so one of us – which I think it'll be me since you don't love me enough – can just walk under the rain. And by the way, it's not raining; it's drizzling."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Why don't you go back first then? There's nobody at home, so I want to stay back as late as possible."

"Fine, give me the keys," she said as she opened up her palm at me. I gave her a look and she immediately added, "I left mine at home."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Why are you so clumsy?" I mumbled as I got up from the chair I've been sitting on in the canteen. "You never bring your umbrella and even forgot your keys today." I sighed and flicked her forehead. "What are you going to do if I didn't have mine either?"

She grinned, much to my annoyance. "Well, there are two options. We can always have a sleepover at our friends' houses."

I flicked her forehead again.

"Oww! Well, do you want to go all the way to the other side of the world to get the keys from your parents?"

"You're exaggerating, so for that," I did it to her for the third time that day. In return, I got a whack on my chest. "Ah, what was that for?"

"I should be the one who said that," she replied, her right hand on her forehead. "You're so violent. How can you be so heartless, hitting a poor girl who innocently gives a suggestion to her dear cousin?"

I scowled at her being a drama queen. "Shut up. I hardly hit you."

"Ya! You're the biggest senior in the school. That was not 'hardly'. It hurt since you hit it on the same spot." She lifted up her fringes to let me have a look. "Is it red?"

I had to swallow my laugh because it was indeed red. I could see a two-finger mark in the middle. She would probably kick me to death and leave my body in some gutter if she knew. "No, you're perfectly fine." I quickly arranged her fringes back to original so nobody could see. "Come, let's go." I just hoped that it would be gone by the time we reached home.

Around an hour later, we found ourselves walking back home from the nearest bus stop. It was still drizzling but sometimes it stopped before it started again. I figured it was tiring to open and close the umbrella a lot of times, so I decided to not use it and hold it in hand just in case.

On my left was my cousin, completely drenched from the rain. She rejected the offer to use my umbrella because she likes walking under the rain. I always tell her that she'll get sick but she's really stubborn and says we won't because rain is a gift.

"Chansung-ah, what are we going to eat for the next three days?" she asked as she looked up at me. "Even with all the food that's left for us, I'm pretty sure it'll be finished tonight."

I playfully poked her side with the end of the umbrella. "You're so funny. I'll try not to eat everything. We both have to survive until they return. If you're at least 0.5 kg lighter, they'll disown me and kick me out of the house."

"You're funny. Who said anything about you? I'm starving!" She stuck her tongue out at me. "You know that I can eat as much as you."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You'd better not finish everything."

"Why not? You always finish my portion. It's only fair that I finish yours."

"Of course not. Mum's there so she can make some more for you. But she's not here right now; won't be for the next three days."

She suddenly put her hand in the middle of my back since I'm too tall for her. "Fine. Since you're the only one I have for now, I'll share the food with you. Then, we'll die together if we both finish everything."

It's always a wonder for me how she can talk about deaths calmly like just now, considering her parents' accidents all those years ago. I've been meaning to say something about it. But I guess she's over it, not forgotten about it though. So unless she cries a waterfall, I won't ask her anything because joking and fighting with her are much more fun than being neglected.

"So, we're not going to cook anything when there's nothing left?"

"Well, we can make some scrambled eggs but won't it be boring to eat the same thing over and over again?"

I stayed quiet for a while. "Well, I kind of overheard Dad saying something like leave some money for us. But I don't know if they really did."

She clapped once, looking really happy. "Maybe it's in their room. Or on the fridge's door."

But unfortunately, there's no money at all. Although there was a note pasted on the refrigerator's door; it was from Mum saying that there's a week load of food inside. And that if everything was finished before their return, it would be our fault and we had to buy some take-outs.

"She's not joking about the week load of food," my cousin said as she opened the door. From over her shoulder, I could see a lot – and I mean A LOT – of food inside. "Thank goodness she knows how much we both eat." She looked back and grinned at me.

"Yeah, yeah. Take a shower. You stink," I said as I scrunched up my face to show her that I was disgusted, albeit jokingly.

"Speak for yourself," she replied as she copied my actions. Then she walked towards her bedroom to get her things. Before she went inside the bathroom we all share, she told me, "Prepare some dinner, will you? But don't eat my portion."

"You're such a princess," I said as I tried my best to get that night's food out without dropping or spilling anything.

An hour passed as I took a shower after her and had dinner together in front of the TV. We've never switched it on in the past because of my parents for fear that it might get struck by lightning when raining.

That night, my cousin insisted that it's on because it would be boring just the two of us talking. So if something happened, I could put the blame on her. Nobody could defend her because she promised to never deny it was her if my parents asked whose fault it was. Even if they asked why I let her, she would say that she forced me.

At some point, I thought that it wouldn't be a good idea blaming her even if she already promised. She might get grounded or something. She really likes hanging out with her friends on the weekends, so she would be devastated. Then again, it was her fault in the first place. So I figured she deserved it.

All of the sudden, when the TV was showing an advertisement on chocolates (my favourite ad), a blackout happened. I immediately stood up from the ground and told her to stay put. But before I could go, I felt a tug on the bottom of my trousers.

"Where are you going?" she asked. It was amazing how she could still grab me when it's really dark.

"To check the power. Maybe it got struck by lightning."

"But I didn't see or hear anything."

I shrugged, completely forgetting that she couldn't see. "Well, it doesn't hurt to check."

"O-oh, come back soon, okay?" she whispered, slowly letting me go. "It's scary."

I was really close to teasing her, but judging by her voice just now, she sounded genuinely scared. So I reached out my arm, carefully not to poke her eyes or something, and patted what I hoped was her hair. "I won't be long."

Apparently the blackout happened to every house in the neighbourhood. So it wasn't because of the TV; thank goodness for that because otherwise I would be punished as well. I successfully managed to grab a flashlight from the kitchen and went back to the living room, with unfortunately a soon-to-be bruise on my knee for knocking against a table.

"So, what happened?"

I could see relief on her face. She must be really scared by herself even when I didn't go that long. "I think they cut it off from the centre because the other houses are also dark." I took a seat beside her and nudged her foot with mine. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. As long as you don't leave me alone in the darkness, I'll be fine," she answered as she rocked back and forth. "I really hate this kind of situation because of ... that accident."

My mouth formed an 'o' as this was the first time she ever mentioned about it. My parents asked me a long time ago to never say anything about the accident. I was really curious but I obeyed because I didn't want her to be more upset.

"I don't know if you know this, but I was at my aunt's house that night. I remember it'd been raining for hours. Something must have happened because I think there's no electricity. She was beside me when there's a phone call. And before I knew it, we're at the hospital."

I noticed she's on the verge of crying. Not really knowing what to do if she would start crying, I said, "You don't have to tell me tonight. There's plenty of time."

She shook her head vigorously. "No or I'll never do." She took several deep breaths before continuing, "I don't remember the details, but your Mum – I assume my aunt told her – said that there was a storm and the pilots somehow lost control." She wiped the tears that fell down her face. "My parents actually survived the crash but lost too much blood on the way to the hospital."

All I could do was widen my eyes in surprise. There were a lot of things I didn't know about. My parents told me as little as possible because they wanted her to tell me herself.

She suddenly looked up at me with a faint smile. "That's why I hate being in the darkness when it rains. That's why I always have my bedside lamp on at night."

"This might sound heartless, but why didn't your aunt take you in?"

The smile disappeared. "She's ill so someone had to take care of her." She paused. "A few years after that accident, your Mum told me that my aunt might be too busy taking care of me when she's ill herself. So it's better if I lived with your family." She sighed. "Not going to lie, but I was pretty upset because she's like my second mother back then."

"But she passed away, right? I remember it was a few days after our graduation from the Elementary school."

"Yeah, we all went to her funeral and I remember crying like crazy," she replied as she wiped her tears dry. "But I guess if I had been living with her, I would have met your family much later. Or maybe I would have gone somewhere else."

I smiled at her own try to change the topic to a happier one. "And maybe we wouldn't be this friendly. You've become my partner in crime." I gently nudged her side with my elbow. "You should be grateful."

I managed to get her to laugh out loud. The house was getting creepier with the drizzle. I hoped her telling me the story just now wasn't a sign for something.

"My life would be boring."

Some time had passed with us joking around and playing some cards. Unfortunately the electricity was still off, so she suggested that we stay on the living room as she didn't want to be left alone. I was getting sleepier but she looked as alive as ever.

She must have noticed me stifling a yawn, because she said, "You can go to sleep, you know. I don't mind staying up."

"But we have school tomorrow."

She smirked. "Tonight must be my 'tell-my-secrets' night or something. I'm fine. I usually can't sleep when it rains at night, anyway."

I was suddenly fully awake because of this new fact. "What? Why didn't you tell me about this? All this time, I could've stayed up with you."

"You really love me, don't you?" She laughed as she probably saw a blush on my cheeks. "If it makes you feel any better, you're the only one who knows. I used to pretend to be sleeping whenever your parents checked up on me."

"What do you do when you can't sleep?"

"Read a book, or if I'm really in the mood, study." She grinned as if it was no big deal. She then frowned at me. "Why are you looking at me like that? At least I don't cry myself to sleep. I don't want to look like I was drunk or something."

I stayed quiet for a few seconds as I tried to get everything sorted in my head. "We've known each other for a decade and yet I felt like I just met you not too long ago."

She shrugged her shoulders, still with a smile. "What can I say? I'm a girl with lots of secrets." She started tidying up the table with cards scattered everywhere. "Go to sleep, Chansung-ah. You have to wake up early to wake me up."

I was on the other side of the table and she had her legs crossed so all I could do was send her some death glares. She stuck out her tongue for the umpteenth time in return.

We fought for a while on the sleeping arrangement. There were only two of us but we never seemed to reach an agreement. I didn't want to sleep on the armchair, so I told her I would take the ground while she would take the sofa. But she pitied me, so she would take the same position.

In the end, we decided to play the 'Scissors-Paper-Stone' game since I was already half asleep to argue with her. If I won, she would sleep on the sofa. If she won, she would accompany me on the ground.

Like I said, I was really sleepy. She said I kept putting paper out. So like the cunning girl she is, she took advantage of me. In terms of winning the game, of course.

After we took our blankets and pillows from our own bedrooms, we started arranging the makeshift beds on the ground. Or she did rather, since I was already sleeping standing. She quickly did it because I assumed she didn't want me to fall and it would be too difficult for her to get me to move.

I was already comfortable under my blanket when I heard something vibrating on the table. I just turned to the other side because it could just be my cousin doing something.

"Ya, Chansung-ah. It's your phone."

I grunted and took my hand out of the blanket, not caring if I was too far from her. As soon as the device was with me (not forgetting to get a kick on my leg), I blindly pressed yes to answer. "Hellooo?"

"...sung-ah? I ... her."

I must be dreaming because I didn't understand a thing. "Huh?" I replied groggily. "It's so laaate. Who is thisss?"

The person on the other end hung up without answering my question. Too sleepy to get angry, I just put the phone near my head and started on my beauty sleep.

"Who was that?"

"... don't know."

All of the sudden, my phone vibrated again. I didn't see the numbers displayed on the screen and just pressed yes again. "Hellooo?"

"Chansung-ah, it's Mum."

It took me three seconds for the information to get in. And once it did, I got up fully awake. "Mum? Where are you? What happened? Nothing's wrong, right?" I got panicked. My mind suddenly wandered off to what my cousin told me a little over an hour ago. They had to be okay. If not, it's a really cruel world we live in.

My cousin was already beside me, fear and worry clearly shown on her face. Her right hand was clutching the front of her shirt, whereas the other one was doing the same thing to my shoulder. I had to resist the urge to shout at the sudden pain.

"I'm fine, your Dad is fine," Mum answered, calming me down with her soothing voice. I quickly let out a sigh of relief before putting an OK sign to show my cousin who immediately relaxed as well. "Are you two getting along? Was the dinner okay?"

"We fought but that's old news. Dinner was great as usual," I replied, sleepiness completely gone. I looked at my cousin. "Do you want to talk to her? I know she's dying to," I said to Mum.

Before I could even hear the response, my phone was already taken away by my cousin. She must have been really horrified when she heard it was from Mum.

"Hey, aunty – We're in the living room right now. It's raining and the electricity is off – Really? – Oh, I see –"

As I looked at my cousin conversing with Mum on the phone, I realised how happy she looked. Seeing her so animated when recounting about what had happened since morning brought a smile on my face. She was really different from how she was the first few months she came to live in our house. She's the total opposite of what she is right now. I'm glad my parents decided to adopt her or my life, like she said, would be boring.

THE END

A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this one-shot :) Please don't forget to comment

Comment replies:

@zara2pm: Aww, I should be the one saying that. So thank you :) I hope you also like this chapter ^^