Chapter Three

             The clock began ringing at five o’clock that morning. After ringing for three minutes, the clock set into its snooze mode. Sluggishly, she sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep off her eyes. The day she hated the most just came – Monday. She dragged herself out of the covers and slipped her feet into her comfy, fluffy polka-dotted slippers. She went over to her study table, pulled open a drawer and got a brush from inside. As she brushed her hair, a knock sounded in her room. She didn’t speak when the door opened and revealed her unnie, already in her school uniform.

            “Oh, you’re awake,” she said and closed the door.

The sleepy girl yawned once more.

“Sohee-ah, you’ve been staying up too late nowadays,” the visitor commented with utmost concern.

Sohee merely shrugged.

“I was studying, Sunye unnie,” she replied with a slight yawn. She was never good at waking up in the morning.

Sunye walked toward her baby sister’s bed and shook her head.

“At least fold the blankets.”

Sohee laughed, drowsy.

“I always do that after I take a bath.”

            “Fine. I’ll leave it to you then.”

            Sunye went over to her baby sister’s side and patted her head. The younger girl nodded, a drowsy smile forming on her lips. She felt her cheeks being pinched a while later and she couldn’t help but yelp.

            “Yaah!”

            “Wake up already and take a baaath~” Sunye sang, all the while pinching her sister’s cheeks with much delight.

            Sohee puffed her cheeks up so that the inflation would have to force Sunye’s fingers to let go. It was a success.

            “I am, I am!” Sohee whined. “My cheeks are hurting!”

            “Sunye? Sunye?” a voice from outside called and the two girls had to stop their mischief.

            The door opened again and in came the eldest.

            “What are you two doing?”

            Sohee gasped.

            “Victoria unnie—“

            “Sohee didn’t want to wake up so…” Sunye interrupted their baby sister and Victoria could just smile.

            “Okay. I’m not going to ask anymore,” Victoria said. “But breakfast’s ready and the bathroom is empty. You should take a bath now, Sohee-ah.”

            Victoria left the room in silence but when her silhouette had gone out the door, in the hallway, she shrieked and started laughing. Sunye decided to check up on her and soon, they were both laughing.

            “What happened?” Sohee asked after changing into her bathrobe and heading out into the corridor.

Victoria was sitting on the floor while Sunye stood against the wall opposite the eldest. Their laughter was reduced to muffled giggles.

            “I tripped,” Victoria said and was trying to catch her breath. Sunye started coughing.

            “Okay…?”

            Sohee bid her unnies goodbye as she made her way to the bathroom. Even after reaching downstairs, Sohee could still hear her unnies’ muffled giggling.

            When she got out of the shower, Victoria and Sunye had already gone to school with their father. Mrs. Ahn was in the kitchen cooking up another batch of breakfast for her and their youngest. Sohee turned to the wall clock in the dining room and it read 6:15. For some reason, she always took a longer time to shower during Mondays. She just didn’t know why.

            Victoria was already in high school and Sunye was in middle school; Victoria in her last year while Sunye was in her senior year as well. They both accelerated a few years; Victoria, two while Sunye had only one. Victoria was only 16 and Sunye was 14. Sohee was 11, stuck in 6^th grade. She had great unnies. They were famous in their school, smart and talented. Victoria did more in dancing and Sunye was just amazing with singing. Sohee was famous too. Pretty, smart and knew both how to sing and dance though she told herself she wasn’t and could never be as good as her older sisters. Whenever their parents’ friends visited, they’d go on and on about Victoria’s elegant dancing and they’d marvel at Sunye’s excellent singing. When they looked at Sohee…

            “Oh how cute!” they often said. “She has such a pretty face!”

            Pretty face…

            After rushing breakfast, Mrs. Ahn dropped Sohee off at school. She had her hair up in a ponytail, cheeks red and lips moist and pinkish. She walked in the halls with poise, hands clutching her backpack’s arm straps and she smiled at whoever greeted her. When she got to her classroom, she immediately took her seat and rested her head on her desk. She was always the sleepyhead whether at home or at school. It was a much known fact so whenever she got perfect marks on surprise quizzes after a discussion, everyone would ask anyone, “She was sleeping right? Amazing!” or “Was she paying attention at all? Perfect marks!”

            Sohee hated bothering people; her family, friends, classmates – anyone. She was always the baby, the one everyone took care of but she’d always do her best to try and be independent yet, most of the times, she’d mess up and cause even more trouble for others. She could take care of herself just that everyone always thought she was fragile and helpless. She wasn’t. No one just seemed to understand her.

            “Sohee-ah!”

            Sohee straightened up and realized that she was still wearing her backpack. She slipped it off her shoulders and left it beside her desk, on the floor.

            “Sohee-ah!”

            “Seungyeon-ah,” Sohee smiled. “Good morning.”

            Seungyeon returned her friend’s smile with a bright grin. She pulled up the nearest chair to sit next to Sohee. She seemed bubblier than usual.

            “Did you watch that show last night? The one with the aliens?”

            Sohee blinked, confused.

            “Hm. Or that show with the secret agent?”

            Seungyeon tried to elaborate the show as best as she could but Sohee didn’t quite understand what she was saying.

            “What about the titles?”

            Seungyeon opened , index finger raised up proudly. Three seconds later, she closed and brought her finger down.

            “I can’t remember.” Seungyeon sighed in defeat.

            “I’m sorry.”

            “Oh no~ don’t be. They’re just shows. No big deal.”

            The two girls’ conversation was cut off by the school bell. Seungyeon stood up and returned the chair to Sohee’s seatmate. She smiled brightly at Sohee one last time before going back to her own seat. Sohee reached down to her bag to get her English and Math notebooks. The two booklets plopped down on her desk with a muted thud. The classroom was as noisy as ever so no one heard. Sohee was relieved.

            English class started minutes later. The teacher was five minutes late so Sohee slept until she arrived. She was discussing something about the Joseon Dynasty before Sohee’s attention wandered out the window. She sat next to the window all the time. She enjoyed watching the weather change but enjoyed it even more when it was raining. The sky was clear and the sun was still a bit hidden behind the passing clouds. From where she sat, she could see the track field and the pathway to the second building. Sohee glanced at her teacher. She was writing something on the board. She hunched over her desk to rest her arms there. She didn’t feel like taking down notes yet and her head was buzzing, probably because she slept around midnight again.

            “Sohee-ah.”

            Sohee looked to her side and smiled faintly. She wasn’t feeling too well.

            “Junsu-sshi…”

            “Are you okay?” Junsu whispered then looked at their teacher. She was still writing on the board.

            “I’m fine. Of course.”

            Junsu’s concern showed quite evident as he furrowed his eyebrows.

            “I’m fine,” Sohee repeated. “Please don’t worry about me.”

            Junsu still didn’t feel convinced but he left it at that. He knew his seatmate wouldn’t like it if he dwelt on worrying about her too much.

            The bell rang again. It was their first break. Sohee stayed behind in the classroom to sleep. She didn’t really have an appetite to begin with. Seungyeon went ahead to at least buy her friend a drink. Junsu decided to watch over his seatmate. Sohee was a close friend as well so he didn’t mind not eating.

            “What was your first impression of me?”

            Junsu thought for a bit. He wasn’t sure if Sohee was being curious or was sleep-talking like last time.

            “I thought you were shy and quiet,” Junsu said anyway. “And really pretty.”

            Sohee sat up, stretching then looking at her hands. She remembered her parents’ friends and how they loved Victoria and Sunye so much. She felt like a shadow, just always behind them for her to follow. All everyone could mention about her was her…

            “Pretty face…”

            “Hmm? Ah! Sohee-ah!”

            Sohee looked at Junsu only to find him drifting away. She couldn’t move, couldn’t talk. Then, the next thing she knew, everyone had left her.

            Sohee-sshi! Sohee-sshi!

            Sohee smiled slightly. Someone was still there for her…

            Sohee-sshi! Sohee-sshi!

~*~

            “Sohee-sshi!”

            Sohee opened her eyes. She was at her psychologist’s office. She had fallen asleep, still sitting with her arms folded over the armrest of the couch. Her back hurt as she slept hunched over so the first thing she did was stretch.

            “Did you have a nice dream?” Kyuhyun asked from behind his desk.

            Sohee gazed at him before responding with a hesitant nod. Kyuhyun chuckled at the reply.

            “You could always lie down there, you know?” Kyuhyun smirked. “Or perhaps you prefer sleeping that way?”

            Sohee’s lips curved into a sheepish smile.

            “I’m sorry,” she said in that tiny voice.

            Kyuhyun didn’t speak then as he checked the time. Sohee had slept for thirty minutes straight. Their session ended a long time ago.

            “Will you be going home alone today?”

            Sohee shook her head.

            “They never let me go out alone,” she stated with pure honesty. “The butlers will pick me up today.”

            “Of course,” Kyuhyun nodded. “It’s a dangerous place, around this street I mean. And it’s raining again.”

            Sohee peeked over her shoulder then out the window. It was raining, like Kyuhyun said, and it calmed her down greatly.

            “Was it really a nice dream?” Kyuhyun asked as he left his swivel chair. He walked to the coffee table and sat there like last time.

Sohee’s eyes softened, knowing that she shouldn’t have lied and that she caused her doctor to worry. She looked down, uneasy.

            “You were breathing heavily like you were being chased,” Kyuhyun said as he eyed the shaking girl in front of him. “And you’re sweating.”

            Sohee had already gathered the words she needed to say in her head but she lacked the courage to even get a single word out. She wasn’t good with people she just met though she already knew her psychologist for five days now.

            Sohee reluctantly looked up at her counselor, surprised and puzzled. Kyuhyun was dabbing his handkerchief on Sohee’s cheeks then forehead. Without meaning to but it just happened.

            “I’m sorry,” Kyuhyun said and it made Sohee let out a nervous laugh.

            “Because you weren’t paying attention to what I was saying,” Kyuhyun continued, folding his handkerchief and returning it to his pants’ pocket. Sohee looked rather flustered.

            “I—“

            “Oh, don’t apologize,” Kyuhyun interrupted. “Try and calm down before your butlers fetch you.”

            Sohee could only nod at Kyuhyun’s instructions. She didn’t want to upset him any further. But Kyuhyun really wasn’t upset. Nothing of the sort actually. He was just worried.

            “It was…”

            “Hmm?”

            “A scary dream. Somewhat,” Sohee spoke up after debating in her head whether she should tell the truth or just stay quiet.

            “I see.”

            “But then,” Sohee paused. “It ended nicely. Rather, it had a comforting feeling.”

            As Sohee talked, she seemed less nervous. It was as if she was talking her stress away. That was probably the first time that Kyuhyun felt like he was doing his job right. That, even just a little, he was able to see this client of his relaxing with his help, distinctly. He never seemed to believe that he could be a good psychologist like his uncle one day. Until that very moment…

            When Sohee saw Kyuhyun smiling, undoubtedly, she wanted to smile with him. And she did.

            Then the fragments of the bad dream she had just washed away…

            About three men in suits came to pick Sohee up. The rain had died down by then and Kyuhyun saw her off. She’s a good kid, Kyuhyun thought.

            “See you next week,” Kyuhyun said as he waved goodbye at his client.

            The girl waved her hand back then smiled.

The sun finally came out from behind the clouds…