*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP*

You jumped up, confused for a moment.

“Huh? What’s going on?” You looked around and realized you had fallen asleep at your desk again. “Aigoo, I’ve got to stop doing this, it’s wreaking havoc on my back.” You got up and stretched and looked over at the calendar.

That date.

Today was your parent’s wedding anniversary.  You suddenly felt sadness completely take over your body.

Umma, appa, I miss you so much and I love you, don’t forget that.  You let a single tear fall from your eye as you mourned your parents.

You miserably got into the shower to start the day, but all you wanted to do was crawl into bed and stay there. 

You were late getting ready this morning, but you didn’t care.

“KYUNG MI!” Your aunt called from the kitchen.

You weren’t letting them get to you today.

“What?!” You yelled back, which you normally didn’t do.

“GET DOWN HERE NOW!” You heard the edge in her voice getting stronger.

“I’m coming!” You knew that today was going to be an exceptionally crappy day.

“Where the hell have you been?” Your uncle sneered at you. You didn’t care what they threw at you today, you weren’t going to take it.

“Getting ready for school.” You glared at him.

“Don’t talk back to your uncle young lady!” Your aunt said, who was now standing next to him.

“He wanted a response, didn’t he?” You hardly had a chance to react to the hand that swung at your face. It struck you across the cheek, leaving it burning. You stood there, with clenched teeth and breathing heavily in anger.  

Your uncle lowered in so he was face-to-face with you. Even though it was first thing in the morning, you could already smell alcohol on his breath. “Don’t you dare use that attitude with me. I can easily kick you out of this house and you will be left on the streets. Don’t think I won’t do it.”

You didn’t respond. You clenched your fists and continued to glare at him.

“Get to school now. I don’t want to see your face.” He sneered as he walked away.

Your aunt was still standing there giving you a harsh look, “You better watch your mouth young lady!”

You turned as you mumbled, “Whatever.”

Your aunt and uncle have threatened you enough times to kick you out of the house that you knew they wouldn’t actually do it. They don’t have the guts.

You walked out onto your front porch and found Kai and Sehun standing at the end of the driveway.

“You’re late.” Kai said as you approached them. You didn’t respond or even look at them. Instead you walked right past them.

“Come on Kyung mi, you have to acknowledge us eventually! At least on the way to school!” He shouted at you, but you didn’t stop or turn back.

Sehun looked at Kai, “Is she okay?”

Kai furrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t know.”

The whole way to school they decided to keep their distance from you. They’ve never seen you like this and didn’t know exactly what to do.

Classes went by slowly.  Soon-yi was the only one who knew what was going on with you so she attempted to comfort you, but you weren’t in the mood for her sympathy. You just wanted to block out the world and everyone in it.

Eventually math class rolled around, which you were dreading. Kai came in and sat next to you, but once again you didn’t even bother to look in his direction. He looked at you and grew concerned. The face you had on wasn’t at all like it was yesterday. Today you looked tired, distraught and lost.

He softly placed his hand on your thigh to try to get your attention, “Kyung mi,” He said in a soft, caring voice, “are you alright?” 

The fact that he sincerely cared made you want to break down right on the spot, but you didn’t want him to see you cry so you brushed his hand off of your leg.

“Don’t touch me.” You turned away so you didn’t have to see his face.

He was slightly hurt by the tone in your voice but forgot about his own feelings as soon as he saw your misty eyes.

“Listen, Kyung mi, if it’s anything I did, I’m sorry.” He didn’t like seeing you like this. Even though he had just met you, it hurt him to see you sad.

His soft words were cracking your shell. You felt hot tears blur your vision and you struggled to keep them in.

“Shut up, okay?! Just shut up!” You didn’t want him saying anything else. You just wanted everyone to ignore you like they usually did. The tears began to roll down your face. Crap. You lowered your head so your hair would hide your face. You didn’t want him to see you weak. You didn’t want to look at his face either, making eye contact would make you completely break down.

Kai decided to spare his feelings and yours and did what he was told. The both of you sat in silence the whole class.

After class was over, you slowly put your stuff in your bag and made your way out of class. You could tell that Kai and Sehun were following closely behind but they remained silent.

You opened the front door, expecting to be yelled at. Which is exactly what happened.

“Kyung mi!” Your aunt called from across the house.

You clenched your fists at the sound of her voice.

“What?” You said through clenched teeth.

“Mind your tone young lady. Do your chores then go to the store and grab some ingredients for dinner.”

You were sick of this. They were completely capable of doing things themselves. You wouldn’t mind doing chores but they treat you like a maid. You finally had to stand up for yourself.

“No.”  You were a little taken back by the word that had just come out of your mouth, but you held your ground.

“Excuse me?” She raised her eyebrow at you and took a step forward.

“You heard me. No. I’m not your maid and I will not be treated like one. You are perfectly capable of making dinner yourself.” You crossed your arms and didn’t break eye contact.

“What did you just say to your aunt?” Your uncle stepped in.

“Do I need to repeat myself for a third time?!” You grew frustrated, they clearly heard what you had said.

“Listen, you stupid girl, you live under our house and our rules. If we ask you to do a little chore, you do it or you live on the streets.” Your uncle walked over to you and stared you down.

“How am I supposed to get any school work done when all I do is do all of your dirty work? I’m done, this can’t go on any longer.” It felt good to finally stand up for yourself but you were trembling.

You uncle walked over to the closet and pulled out a suit case. He threw it on the floor.

“Get out.” He pointed towards the front door.

“What?” Your jaw dropped, you couldn’t believe what you were hearing.

“You heard me. Pack your stuff and get the hell out of my house.”