"Hana... Hana wake up."

I felt Jongin shaking me. My back gave out a nasty crack as I sat up. A smile formed on my face when I realized that we both fell asleep on the hard, wooden dock. The beautiful memories from yesterday came flowing back to me.

"We fell asleep here, didn't we?" I chuckled. Judging from the dewy mist that created a light film over the ocean and the crips air, it was only five or six in the morning.

"Yeah but that's not why I woke you up," Jongin said with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Huh?" I asked, confused. Jongin looked towards the top of the hill that my house was on. I followed his worried glance to see an ambulance parked in front of my house. A woman was getting out of the ambulance with the help of someone- who I was guessing was Miss Kwon judging from her stocky build and tacky sense of clothing.

"It's your mom," Jongin murmured.

I stared for a little longer, watching closely as the woman looked up at my house. She turned slightly towards a man in scrubs to reveal her profile. It was my mom. Why was she here? I turned to Jongin, "I have to go."

Jongin looked as confused as I, but just nodded.

"Hey, I'll be right here," Jongin called after me as I ran up the hill. I looked back and nodded uncertaintly before heading along my way. When I neared the house, I saw the same man in scrubs speaking to my father. Mom was standing behind them, talking in a hushed voice and unsettling eyes to Miss Kwon who looked worried.

The whole air around the house seemed tense and melancholy.

"Dad," I said, in a hushed voice. Everyone turned.

"Hana," my dad muttered, "Where were you?" I glanced over at my mom and Miss Kwon, scanning their bitter expressions. Not that mine wasn't any more cordial.

"At the festival," I replied, my eyes steady on my mom, studying how much or how little she changed after mental treatment after the divorce. I hadn't seen her in a good six months or so, but I wasn't necessarily happy to see her.

"That ended quite a while ago," my dad's voice sounded weary, "Go inside. I'll talk to you later."

I let out a small, " 'kay" before turning around to retreat into my room. I looked down to the docks to see Jongin sitting as I last left him, picking up flat pebbles and trying to skip them across the water just as I did last night. He was just too cute.

"Hana," I froze as I felt my mom's cold hand that she had drawn to lay on my shoulder. I shrugged to get rid of the contact.

"Why are you here?" I asked flatly. I had so many questions but I felt as if that one was the most direct and... subtly hateful. The woman that I called my mother left me as bitter as ever. She refused to get over my brother's death, and she refused to get over my father and their split. In my eyes, she was like a little child that just wouldn't quit complaining. A selfish old lady that can't hold it together for her own daughter.

She stared at me through her weary orbs. They seem to have turned gray from the weight of the recent events. But because of her, I was supposed to take care of myself and my father.

Yes, I was a grown teenager. But at the same time, I was only a teenager. I was given the responsibility to live on my own and carry the budens of my parents' problems. Mom never once thought that I was hurting from my brother's death, also. She didn't even assume that I was at least a little upset about my parents' split.

As hard as it is for someone like her to take, she needed to realize that I have problems too. That I have enough things to worry about without her making trouble and expecting obedience in exchange.

I felt as if I was the last human of my kind on earth. Jongin was my anchor to sanity and my last glimmer of hope.

"Don't give her your sass," Miss Kwon cut in. I glared at her with hard eyes, appalled. Even if I had known her since I was practically born, she was in no position to say anything like that in my family's current situation.

"Yes, not you too," Mom whispered with tears on the brink of her eyes. I stared before shaking my head, opening the screen door and slamming it behind me with a loud thud. From the corner of my eye, I saw my mom jump. Success.

I sat in my room for a good hour until I heard the ambulance leaving and the voices of my parents permeating through my shut off room as they entered the house. Just as I speculated, there came a knock on my door after about ten seconds.

"Open up," my dad's gruff voice grumbled. I sighed, rolling off of my bed and opening the door.

"Why is she here?" was the first thing I said when I saw the two of them.

"It's been a long day," dad muttered. In other words- he wasn't going to tell me. My mom watched the both of us from behind my father's broad shoulder as if she was afraid of me.

"I deserve to know," I grunted.

"This is not the time. Why didn't you come back home last night?" he changed the subject. I raised an eyebrow. I wasn't sure if dad was actually curious, or if he was just trying to switch the subject.

"She was gone?" mom walked forward, her eyes flickering with anger. No matter how much she changed, her quick temper was the same.

"I told you," I turned to my dad, ignoring the voice of my mom, "I was at the festival."

"No, the festival ended long before you came home. Why weren't you home?" my father demanded. Why do you suddenly want to know, when you're never home anyway? I wanted to shout. But I knew better and I didn't have the heart to tell him that. He was working hard to support whatever we have left of a family.

"You weren't with Jongin, were you?" Mom piped up. I shot her a glare and she shrunk behind my father again.

"No."

"You-"

"Why do you even hate him so much?" I burst out in a yell. My parents both jumped a little, looking up at me, surprised by my sudden outburst. I was absolutely furious at their additude towards Jongin. They didn't understand how much he meant to me.  How much I needed him every day to live on with my life.

"You don't understand," my dad muttered, fists clenched, "he isn't a good influence.

"What do you mean he's not a good influence? Just because he's from a broken family? Just because he used to smoke?" I retorted.

"Even if you think that you will get something out of your relationship, you're never going to see him again after this year. Don't believe in those lies that he feeds you. And don't even try to start lying by telling me that you weren't seeing Jongin. You don't even know him and he doesn't even know you. Wait another couple of months and you'll forget about each other by then." 

I stared at him, letting the words sink in. It was as if dad was insulting me, not Jongin. Each malicious word of his pounded on my heart as the anger started to boil up from the pits of my stomach.

"No-" I started.

"Hana," he interrupted firmly, "I'm your father. I have lived longer than you and know that boys like him are no good. He's ungrateful, stuck up and good for nothing. I know that you can do better than that worthless kid. He lives practically bathing in money and getting everything that he wants. He can't do anything for you. He'll just hinder you from fulfilling your life."

"You deserve someone better," mom piped in, officially making me want to scream and punch everything in my presence. That was the absolute last straw. How could they even say the words that just carelessly popped out of their filthy mouths? They were wrong. It wasn't Jongin that was hindering me, it was them- who breathed down my neck and kept me from growing.

"I don't want anyone better," I spat. I didnt understand. How could they be so ignorant? Jongin's family wasn't any more broken than mine was. They thought that he was some shallow rich kid but I knew him better than they could even imagine. 

It didn't matter who he was or where he came from. It mattered how much he meant to me- how much he could uplift a broken person like me.

The next minute was a blur as I left the house with a slam of the door in my battlefield of a house and angry, hot tears running down my face. My mom was the one who tried to stop me, while my dad just shook his head and let out a string of curses.

"Hana," his warm voice entered my ears. My legs had unconciously taken me back to where Jongin was. Even my body knew that I needed him to survive. I sunk into his arms, my frustration and sadness being shared with him. I didn't feel like I was a burden because I knew that he wanted to shelter me. Because he loves me, because he cares for me. And I would do the same for him in a heartbeat.

Jongin took his hands and wiped my tears away, "Are you okay?" I looked up into his beautiful deep brown eyes and shook my head.

"I want to leave."

"Leave where?"

"I just want to leave."

Jongin searched my eyes before a small smile started to form on his lips, "Come on, pretty. I know that you're stronger than this." He moved my long bangs out of my face, "I'll take you away from the town if you want to. But I know that you can handle what's going on right now."

My tears gradually stopped flowing and I stared up at Jongin.

"If you don't deal with your problems, you're going to have to keep facing them," he smiled, "How am I supposed to leave if I can't trust that you'll be okay without me?" Jongin laid my head on his chest and started to my hair.

His words felt so comforting. His presence was so calming. He was just so beautiful. I nodded into his chest and wiped the remains of my tears off of my cheeks before getting up and giving him a firm smile. I was going to be okay, just for him. I hadn't even told Jongin about what had just happened with the return of my mom, but somehow, he knew exactly what to say to make me believe that everything was going to be alright.

"That's my girl," Jongin grinned. I couldn't even believe how quickly he managed to stop my tears and cheer me up. He reached into his pocket, "I have a surprise for you."

I watched as Jongin took out pieces of paper and handed it to me. I stared at it in my hand.

"Well open it," he laughed. I laughed also. Not because anything was funny, but because I was just happy when Jongin was happy. I opened up the sheets of paper stapled together. The first thing that caught my eye was the bold print and recognizable symbol of Seoul National University. I turned my head in surprise to Jongin, who was grinning.

"Read it," he urged with a sly smile.

I skimmed over the words several times before the paragraphs actually registered into my brain.

"Is this an..."

"Application form?" Jongin grinned, "Yes it is."

"Jongin..." 

"I know you said that you can't attend or whatever you want to think. But one of my friends is a professor at SNU and I got him to talk to a couple of people. I sent him your transcript and he said that if you wanted to attend, they'd accept you. You just have to go through the application process and get papers filled out and interviews done by the time the first semester starts."

"But-"

"No strings attached," he laughed. I felt my hands starting to shake. Maybe because of the excitement and palpable state of the black words against the crisp white printer paper. The fact that my secret-dream was handed to me just like that. Maybe because I would never have to be apart from Jongin ever again. Maybe a mixture of both. I felt the tears coming again. My tears might have seemed dramatic to others due to the fact that I was getting overjoyed over college, but Jongin knew about my passion for education in Seoul. And something that I could only dream of happening was right in my hands. Literally.

"You'd be pretty dumb if you didn't apply," Jongin pointed out while I was furiously looking through everything- refusing to believe what was happening.

"And you're going to Seoul University too, right?" I asked Jongin.

He let out a light laugh and ruffled my hair, "Of course, pretty." I looked up towards the direction of my house. Of course, I had to do something about those parents of mine. Jongin saw my expression change and he sighed.

"You need to start doing things for yourself," he stated, catching my attention. "I mean, if you think that you should be in Busan, I understand. But in the end, the only person that will be with you 24/7 'till death will be yourself. Don't try to please anyone else."

I looked down to the application in my hands after thinking about Jongin's words and nodded, "I want to apply." Truthfully, my decision wasn't as easy as that. I had been thinking about college applications for hours and days at a time. After sorting out pros and cons on the back of a receipt for gum and playing cards a few weeks ago, I ended up with more pros. It's just that now- I had more things to worry about with my mother back.

But despite that, I still had more pros.

A smile grew on Jongin's face, "I'm glad."

"Me too," I whispered, "Thank you so much." I couldn't even express my graditude towards Jongin. With him came so many opportunities, so much happiness and hope. And with a guarantee that I would be accepted into SNU, I was ready to start a new life.

With him.