“We used to be a happy family. Until some teenagers decided to ruin what we had—what I had.”

Sometimes, Jiwoo would call out for her father absent-mindedly, forgetting that he wasn’t at home; that he’s actually in the hospital, cold and alone.

The family of four found themselves in a familiar scenario at again. It was a Sunday—the family day but they had to spend it at a hospital.

“Appa.”

Their mother sat by the bed, frail. Yet their father smiled genuinely and nodded.

Behind his back, Taehyung intertwined his fingers with Jiwoo’s tightly. No matter how many times she had tried to pull away or had hissed at him, he had ignored her blatantly.

“Bro, I have sweaty palms,” she used to tell him when he initiated holding hands but he didn’t really mind. Maybe this was family, this was love.

He was nervous. And he knew her younger sister was afraid so he didn’t want her to feel alone. He wanted her to know that he was there to protect her.

“How are you, Appa?” Taehyung asked and smiled, because he knew he needed to be strong for his family. His father coughed and croaked as he tried to sit up. Jiwoo instantly let go of Taehyung and rushed to the bed to set the pillows.

“Better, I think. I can’t wait to get out of here, I miss home.”

Home. What is home?

“I hope so too, I’ll ask the doctor later. For now, recover well. How is the physiotherapy?” Their mother replied.

“Good, I’m going for another session later. Kids, do you want to come with me? Omma needs to go work… Taehyung do you have work later?”

“No, I’ll come with you,” Taehyung turned to his younger sister who had a blank expression on her face. “Jiwoo?”

Upon hearing her name, she jerked slightly and looked at her father who held a hopeful expression. She knew she couldn’t say no, “Me too.”

“I hope I can come home soon. I miss you all. The bills… It’s going to be expensive.”

It was this type of silence that unnerved and haunted the family. Monetary issues. Who was going to handle everything?

Jiwoo opened after calculating the amount she had saved in her bank. “It’s okay, Appa. I—”

Taehyung cut her off and placed his arm on his father’s shoulder. “I’ve got it all covered. Don’t worry, Appa.”

That day, Jiwoo saw his brother in another light. No longer was he a kid, someone she could kid with or someone immature. That day, he became her hero. That day, he truly became an elder brother.

Throughout the journey, Jiwoo rested her head on his shoulders and sobbed softly. She liked how she could depend on him and how he would be there whenever she cried.

She tugged on his sleeves to get his attention.

“Wae?”

“Oppa,” she mumbled under her breath and snuggled closer to him.

He seldom heard the word Oppa. His sister always put on a strong front because she hated looking vulnerable in front of people. But Taehyung was glad she was comfortable with him.

“I love you.”

If the word Oppa was seldom, hearing I love you was to the brink of extinction.

“I love you too.”

And at that moment, Jiwoo knew she was blessed to have an elder brother like Taehyung.

♥

As soon as Jiwoo entered the house, the eerie silence welcomed her. Her mother stood in front of her, arms folded. The latter looked tired, wrecked and pissed. Freaking pissed and that left to Jiwoo wondering what the hell she had done wrong again.

“Who is this? What is this?”  

“Jun—a friend. Why were you looking through my things?” Jiwoo’s eyebrows slit into an ugly frown.

A friend. Jiwoo knew she was in deep as she gawked at the crumpled piece of photo in her mother’s palm.

“Kim Jiwoo,” she snarled. “I told you many times not to hang out with people like him! Just look at him. He’s no good. He’s bad for you!”

“He’s just a friend! You can’t just judge him like that! He’s my friend.” She abhorred the way her mother judged and criticized him like that. Junhong was more than that. He was a good person. He was a good friend.

“You listen to me, young lady. He’s going to screw you up. Just like how those bastards who almost screwed your brother. He’s exactly like those idiots who caused your father to be in this kind of state.”

Jiwoo rolled her eyes and snatched the ruined picture of Junhong away from those filthy hands. She glared at her mother hard for the last time before storming into her room, slamming the door in the process. Thank god Taehyung wasn’t at home. She didn’t want him to witness how ugly things were.

Once she locked the door, she sled down to the floor and sobb