GONE

 • daybreak1614 •

"Sooyeon!" Tao yelled. "Where are you?"

Sooyeon came out from her room and ran towards him who lied down on the couch. His face was red and looked so tired. His hair was a mess. Sooyeon knew why he was like that. He was drunk.

Again.

Sooyeon let out a long sigh. She shook her stepbrother's body softly, trying to wake him up.

"Tao Oppa." Sooyeon called. Tao didn't open his eyes. "Oppa..." Sooyeon shook his body again but then Tao grabbed her wrists and his eyes quickly opened. Tao glared at Sooyeon who looked innocent. He stood up but still holding her wrists. He tightened his grip on her wrists and the next thing he did was pushing her against the wall and pinned her.

Tao gazed at her with an angry, disappointed and sad look. Sooyeon could smell his alcoholic breath. She stared at his face with worried eyes.

"What are you looking at?" Tao said as his hand grabbed her jaw roughly, which made her squealed in pain. "Do you know how hurt I am right now? Why did you do this to me?"

Sooyeon closed her teary eyes. She was used to this. He always got drunk when he felt sad and broken hearted and whenever he was drunk, Sooyeon would be the victim. Sometimes, he hit her with anything he could grab or he slapped her. Ironically, Sooyeon still loved Tao, not brother-sister kind of love but more like boyfriend-girlfriend kind of love. She didn't knew when the start of her feeling but she was sure about it. There were three things which made her impossible to be with him. One, he was her stepbrother. Second, Tao loved someone else. Third, he never treated her like what a brother should treat his sister.

Tao never admitted that she was his sister in front of his friends. He even called her names.

"Oppa..." Sooyeon begged, as his grip got stronger.

"Do you know how much I hate seeing you with that guy?" Tao said.

"Oppa, it's me, Sooyeon." Sooyeon tried to make him back to reality. Tao always mistook her as his crush.

"Sooyeon? Who's she?"

"Yo-your sister." Sooyeon tried to speak while Tao squeezed her jaw. Sooyeon began to cry because of the pain. Her hands held his hand, trying to let his hand off of her.

"Sister? Oh, that ." Tao loosened his grip but when Sooyeon was catching a breath, Tao punched the wall beside her and made her shocked. Tao's eyes looked at Sooyeon in disgust face.

Sooyeon knew why he looked at her that way. Tao never accepted her presence. He never liked her. He hated her. It was all started when his father cheated on Tao's mother. Tao's father cheated with Sooyeon's mother and this lead to the unexpected pregnancy. When Sooyeon was born, her mother died and Tao's father had no choice but to raise her. Tao blamed Sooyeon on his parents' divorce.

"So," Tao spoke again. He was so drunk. "You are Sooyeon?"

Sooyeon nodded slowly while crying. She was afraid he would beat her like last time.

Tao slapped her until a red mark left on her cheek. Sooyeon was speechless. Tao's hand moved her face so she was facing him again.

"Because of you." Tao started. His voice was so emotional and full of hatred. "Because of you, my mother left me. Because of you, I never felt what it was like to have a mother." 

Sooyeon closed her eyes again and ready to get another slap. But it never came. Instead, Tao let go his hand from her face and took a step back. Tao pushed her aside until she fell and walked away. 

"I will be very happy if you just die with your filthy mother years ago."

Sooyeon sobbed silently. He treated her so badly yet she still loved him and adored him.

The next day, Sooyeon woke up early and made breakfast for Tao, their father and herself. Even in front of his father, Tao still avoided her and acted as if she wasn't alive. His father didn't know at all of what his son always did to Sooyeon since he always got home when they were all asleep already. 

They ate silently, busy with their own thoughts. Sooyeon needed to wash their dishes while Tao went to school without waiting for her.

Sooyeon knew she shouldn't feel this way towards him but she couldn't help it. She couldn't control how she felt. 

On the other hand, Tao actually knew about his sister's feeling towards him because he once read her diary. Tao didn't feel the same way though. Every time he saw her, he always remembered the picture of his mother leaving him and his father behind. It was a nightmare for him and Tao blamed everything on Sooyeon. 

There was one girl that always Tao loved. She wasn't his girlfriend, yet but he would make her his. Tao would do anything for the girl, same thing with Sooyeon. Sooyeon, too, would do anything for Tao even if it risked her own life. 

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" Tao asked nervously to the girl he loved, Minah. Despite what he saw yesterday, Tao still dared to ask her out. 

Minah smiled at him. "Yes." 

Tao looked at her with a big smile. He hugged her tightly. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome, Tao." Minah hugged him back. 

Tao released the hug and looked at her. "Can I ask you something?" 

Minah nodded. 

"Yesterday, I saw you with a guy. Who is he?" 

"He's my cousin." Minah replied. 

Sooyeon forced a smile when she overheard the conversation between Tao and Minah. 

If he is happy with her then I am happy too. 

Minah was Sooyeon's classmate. She was a calm and sweet girl, no wonder Tao loved her so much. Sooyeon wasn't really close with her but they had a good relationship with each other. Tao actually didn't like their relationship, he saw it as a threat. He was scared Sooyeon would tell Minah about how bad he treated Sooyeon. 

"Are you ok, Minah?" Tao asked worriedly when he heard his girlfriend coughing for few times. They shared a dinner together in a popular restaurant of the town.

Minah looked paler than usual. "Yeah, I'm ok." Minah hid her hand which had stains of blood. 

Tao smiled and nodded. "Ok, then."

Minah squeezed her eyes when the pain came back. Minah was diagnosed that she was suffering a rare heart disease two months ago. She needed to go back and forth to the hospital to get the treatment and daily checkup. 

"Tao..." Minah called with her soft voice. 

"Yes, honey?" Tao looked at her. 

"There is something I need to tell you." 

Sooyeon was asleep already when Tao got back home. He looked shocked and stunned. He still couldn't believe that his girlfriend was dying. 

No! I can't lose her too! No, no! This can't be true! 

Tao growled in silence. He had lost his mom long ago and he couldn't lose Minah too. 

Tao opened Sooyeon's room and saw her sleeping peacefully on her bed. Tao became raged. He pulled the blanket that covered Sooyeon's body. 

"Yah!" Tao yelled. "Wake up!" 

Tao shook Sooyeon vigorously. Sooyeon woke up in shock. Without warning, Tao grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the bathroom. Then, he turned the shower on and set it to the coldest. Tao showered the sleepy Sooyeon with cold water. Sooyeon was so jolted by his action. She screamed but it didn't stop him. The cold water made Sooyeon shiverring. Her fingers started to become numb. 

"Ple-please, Op-oppa..." Sooyeon begged. "St-stop." 

Tao turned off the water when he saw Sooyeon had suffered enough. Sooyeon's body began to tremble because of the coldness. Tao dragged her again. This time to the storage room. Tao threw her in and locked the door. 

Sooyeon banged on the door many times and begged Tao to open the door. 

"Oppa! Please! Open the door." Sooyeon begged in the middle of darkness since the switch was at the outside. "Oppa... Please." Sooyeon sobbed as she grew tired of banging on the door. Sooyeon didn't like darkness. She cried silently in the room. 

Tao also cried silently at the outside. He cried not because of Sooyeon. He cried because he knew he would lose Minah, his girlfriend. 

Tao unlocked the door when the morning came. Sooyeon was lying down on the floor. Tao woke her up by kicking her legs. Sooyeon opened her eyes slowly. 

"Get up and make me some breakfast." Tao ordered with his cold tone. 

Sooyeon got up and did as he ordered. Sooyeon's body was hurt but she ignored the pain. 

Day by day had passed, Minah's illness became worst and Tao became harsher to Sooyeon. Sooyeon couldn't do anything; she just needed to accept the reality. 

"Minah? Are you ok?" Sooyeon asked as she looked at Minah who was in pain. 

Minah forced a smile and nodded. "I-I'm fine." 

Sooyeon placed her hand on Minah's back. "Are you sure?" 

Minah nodded but then she collapsed on Sooyeon's lap. Sooyeon was so worried and tried to wake her up. "Minah!" Sooyeon called while shaking her body. "Minah! Wake up!" 

After calling for help, Minah was brought to the nearest hospital. Sooyeon waited until the doctor came out from the emergency room. 

"Are you her family?" The doctor asked. 

"No, I'm her friend." Sooyeon replied. "What happened to her?" 

The doctor looked down with sad eyes. "I think we should call her family." 

Sooyeon nodded and knew something terrible happened to her. Sooyeon texted a message to Tao and told him about Minah. 

As soon as he received the message, Tao went to the hospital. He could see Minah's parents and Sooyeon there. Minah's mother was crying while the father calmed his wife down but still looked very devastated. 

Don't tell me... 

"Tao." Sooyeon stood up. 

"What happened?" Tao's voice was so low and full of fear. 

"Her heart is getting weaker and it can no longer pump the blood normally." Sooyeon told him. She saw Tao's expression. He was so desperate and tearful. "I'm sorry." 

Tao stayed all night long in there along with Sooyeon and Minah's parents. Sooyeon tried to cheer him up but it was useless, Tao was almost like a lifeless person. He stared emotionless at the floor, which made Sooyeon knew how much he cared about Minah. 

When the morning came, both Sooyeon and Tao didn't come to school. Tao didn't want to go to school until Minah was awake from her coma whereas Sooyeon wanted to stay with him. 

"There was no other option." The doctor said in a sad tone. "If you want her to survive, we need to have a heart donor who is willing to give their heart for your daughter." He explained. "But it is very difficult to find one." 

Sooyeon overheard the conversation while she walking through the hall. She closed her eyes and sighed. 

This is the least I can do for him. 

Tao waited impatiently in the waiting room. He continuously stared at the big white door and the clock. It had been about three hours long since the operation had began. Tao tapped his foot on the floor and leaned back. He tried to be a pessimistic. He knew the operation would be successful but on the other side, he was so scared also that it failed or the body couldn't adapt with the new heart. 

After six hours of waiting, the doctor came out from the operation room. 

"How is it, Doc?" Minah's father questioned. 

"The heart functions very well inside Minah's body." The doctor told them. "You can visit her later. She's still unconscious." The doctor smiled and walked away. 

Tao felt like crying as he heard the good news. He was so happy and relieved. He could be together again with the one he loved, he would be together with her with no worries. Tao heard Minah's mother cried in happiness. 

"Thank you so much for saving my daughter." Minah's mother spoke between her sob. 

The doctor shook his head slowly. "Don't thank me. Thank the girl who was willing to give her heart." 

Her father turned around to Tao and smiled sadly.

"Who is the donor?" Tao had a bad feeling about this. 

"You don't know?" Minah's father asked with wide eyes. 

Tao shook his head. 

"It's Sooyeon. Your sister." 

Flashback

"I volunteer to be a donor." Sooyeon stated as she opened the door. 

The three adults looked at her in shock. Sooyeon came in and closed the door. 

"What? No." Minah's mother rejected. "You don't have to. We'll find another donors. You are too young to end your life."

"Please? I really know what I am doing right now. I really want to save her." Sooyeon begged. "My brother can't live without her, he really loves her. He will be so desperate if she dies."

Minah's parents exchanged glances with the doctor. 

"Are you 100% sure about this?" 

"Yes." 

The doctor nodded. "We need to check on your condition first then we'll proceed to the next step." 

"There's still time to cancel this, Sooyeon." 

Sooyeon, who had changed her clothes to the special operation outfit (I don't know what it is called), shook her head. She lied down on the bed and ready to be operated. The nurse put an oxygen mask to her and she breathed slowly. Sooyeon then was given an anesthetic to make her fell in a deep sleep. 

Be happy, Oppa. I love you always and forever. 

End of Flashback

Tao was stunned. He felt numb and dizzy all of a sudden. When she wasn't there during the operation, he thought she went home already. He never thought she was in the same room with Minah. He never thought she sacrificed herself for Minah. 

"Tao, Sooyeon wants you to have this." Minah's father handed in a small letter. 

Tao took it with shaking hands. He sat down and began to read. 

Dear Tao Oppa, 

If you are now reading this letter, it means that I'm already gone. I want you to take few minutes to read this whole letter that I wrote before my operation. 

I know you hate me so much, Oppa. You don't have to hide it. I know you blame me on everything and I understand your feelings because I will do the same if I were you. I can't hate you even though you hit me, you slap me and you call me names every day. I'm still ok with that. 

I'm sorry because of me your mother left you. If I could choose, I will choose not to be born. I make so many troubles to you. I just want you to be happy and have a peaceful life. 

And now you have it cause I'm gone already. You must be happy right, Oppa? You don't have to see me anymore and you don't have to take care of me anymore because I have gone away. 

I gave my heart to her so that you can be happy with her. I don't want you to be sad, Oppa. I want you to have a happy life with the one you love the most. 

I love you more than sibling love but I know my limits. I will always love you, Oppa. Be happy, Oppa cause your wish of having me dead comes true. 

Love, 

Sooyeon. 

Tao stayed silent for a long time. As much as he hated her, he didn't want her to die. He was drunk at that time so he couldn't control what he said. Tao folded the letter and kept in his pocket. Tao mourned and he regretted of what he did in the past. 

Tao just realized how beautiful Sooyeon was when he saw her lifeless body lying on the bed. Her skin was as white as snow and as soft as silk. Her face was flawless. Tao brushed her sleeping face slowly with his fingers. Cold. That was he felt. 

Tao's hands turned into fists and he shut his eyes tightly. 

"I haven't said sorry to you, Sooyeon." Tao spoke. "And now you are gone." 

"I'm sorry, Sooyeon. I'm sorry for everything." 

Here you go, daybreak1614 :)  I'm sorry if this disappoint you. I have tried my best to write it and it ended up this long º__º 

I hope you like it :D If there's some grammatical errors, I'm sorry. Tell me if you want me to change some parts of the story.

Thank you for requesting, by the way :) :) You can request again if you want to :D