That morning, SungMi woke up again and rubbed her eyes. She sat up and yawned before checking the time on her phone. SungMi raised her eyebrows when she looked at the time and realized that she had only been sleeping for two hours. After SungHyun and HyunSik told her about their dead sister, they went to sleep again, claiming that they were both very tired.

SungMi looked around and saw that her brothers were still slumbering. SungHyun who was on the bed had the blanket kicked off from him. SungMi stood up and fixed his covers, not wanting him to catch a cold. Turning to HyunSik, she nodded in satisfaction as he didn’t move at all in his sleep. His blanket was still covering him, and his head was still on the pillow. Unlike SungHyun, HyunSik had a better sleeping habit.

Rubbing her face, SungMi quietly walked out from her room. She was welcomed by the silent corridor, and the only sound that could be heard was the falling leaves in the garden. It was extremely quiet, as if no one inhabited the household. It wasn’t very normal for her family not to be awake at that time but seeing about what happened a few hours before, it was still considered early to be up.

SungMi walked towards the library, where her father had spent the night. She wanted to check whether he was already awake or not, as usually her father was an early riser.  The sound of her footsteps echoed throughout the soundless corridors as she ambled, and it nervous her a little. It was as if she was walking inside an empty and abandoned house, when to be honest she was one of the residents.

She reached for the doorknob, once she was standing right in front of the library, and opened the door slowly and quietly. She peered inside and saw her father’s figure, dead to the world on the couch, and SungMi’s heart immediately went out to him.

She entered the library and softly walked towards her sleeping father. She reached out to wake him, as she knew that her father always had to be at the hospital early in the morning. But right before her hand could be in contact with her father’s shoulder, SungMi stopped.

She stared at the man’s lineaments, and though she had been looking at that face for years, this was the first time SungMi could actually see how old her father had looked. She could see years of handwork were etched by every deep line and wrinkle on his face.

He had winter-white hair now, and SungMi still remembered that those white hairs used to be black, strong and lush when he was younger. His face was timeworn and wrinkled, but SungMi had to admit that he was still a fetching man. Though age was slowly catching up on him, one of the things that had not been taken away from him was his handsome face. And now she knew where her brothers got their striking looks.

 His lips were a bit choppy and paler now, but never failed to produce a friendly and supporting smile no matter how hard the situation was. But she didn’t see that smile during the fight that they had few hours ago.

His long fingers were crooked and wrinkled, and SungMi was amazed just how many lives had been saved by those fingers, and she was one of the lucky ones to be saved by them too. And SungMi knew that there were also those who didn’t manage to survive, but she knew her father had tried his best.

She must’ve stared for a long time as her presence was detected by her father, who opened his eyes then and looked straight at her. His lips formed a smile and said with a tired voice, “Good morning, love. You’re up early.”

SungMi blinked before laughing nervously, embarrassed to be caught staring at her father. She could only hope that her father didn’t think of her as a creep now. DaeHo sat up slowly and rubbed his face using his hands. He sighed a little before looking back at his daughter, who was now seated on the chair next to the couch he was sleeping on.

“Did you sleep well?” He asked, and SungMi nodded her head with a warm smile. “I slept well, appa. What about you? Sleeping on the couch here must be uncomfortable for your back.” SungMi said, and DaeHo let out a small laugh.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I don’t spend much time sleeping on the bed anyways. Even when I need to spend a night at the hospital, I have to admit that this couch here is more comfy than the mattress there.” DaeHo whispered as if he was telling a secret and SungMi giggled.

Hearing her laughter and seeing her smile brought comfort and warmth to DaeHo’s heart. This lassie might not be his biological daughter, but he loved her as if she was his. They were meant to cross each other’s paths years ago, and DaeHo was meant to save her life. Like his wife, SungMi’s presence mended his broken heart too. His own daughter died and he, who had saved many lives, was not able to save his own kin.

He never told any of his family members but when his daughter passed away, and him not being able to protect her, he was considering to give up being a doctor. But then SungMi came, and he was back on his feet again.

“Appa, are you alright? Why are you staring at me like that?” SungMi asked, breaking the silence. DaeHo immediately snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head with a smile. “Nothing, love. Is your mother awake already?”

At the mention of her mother, SungMi shrugged. She hadn’t checked on her mother yet but she didn’t think she was already awake. If she had, then the house wouldn’t be that quiet. Usually by that time, her mother would already be working on breakfast or waking them up, but it was awfully quiet and SungMi doubted she was already conscious.

“We had a tough night, didn’t we, love?” DaeHo asked and SungMi nodded with a sad smile. They really had a rough night, as the fight was intense. HyunWoo even left the house and hadn’t called or let them know where he was.

“Well, I’m sorry if I woke you up, appa. I actually meant to let you sleep more. But I guess even in your sleep you would feel uncomfortable having someone watching you.” SungMi said with a sheepish smile and DaeHo laughed at her silliness.

“It’s okay; I’m supposed to be up anyway. Can you do me a favor to check on your omma? Usually it isn’t like her to still be sleeping at this hour. But considering the fight that we had earlier, she must’ve been tired. Just peek and see whether she’s still sleeping or whether she’s all right. I have some calls to make first.” SungMi nodded her head at her father’s orders and stood up before leaving the library.

She walked to the direction towards her parents’ room, and slowly turned the doorknob. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. She knew she was supposed to still be mad at her mother, but now she thought there was no use to stay angry with her. At least she had known the truth and that was all that mattered. Besides, her mother did what she did for a reason.

With a deep breath, she pushed the door slowly as to not startle her mother and went inside. She looked at the bed but found no sign of her mother. Her eyes wandered around and found her mother, still sitting at the corner where she last saw her. Her mother was back facing her, and she was rocking her body back and forth slowly.

SungMi ambled towards her mother and softly called, “Omma?”

She was sure that her voice was loud enough, but HaNi didn’t turn or acknowledge her presence there.

She went closer and put a hand on her mother’s shoulder before calling her again. This time, HaNi turned to look at her, but her expression was so confused that for a moment SungMi thought her mother didn’t recognize her.

“Omma, have you been sitting here all night?” SungMi asked but her question was left unanswered. HaNi continued to look at her with a confused expression and her eyebrows knitted. She was hugging someone but SungMi could not see what it was.

She thought her mother was being strange that morning and right before she was about to shrug the thoughts off, HaNi suddenly asked, “Who are you?”

The question had definitely astonished SungMi, and she let out a nervous laugh as she thought her mother was playing around. “Aigoo, omma. Stop joking around. Do you want me to make breakfast this morning?” She said with a forced chuckle but HaNi continued to look at her as if she had never seen SungMi before.

“Why are you calling me ‘omma’?” HaNi queried, and backed away from SungMi. “Who are you? What are you doing in my house? Who let you in? What do you want?” HaNi continued to question and immediately stood up. She had an alarmed look on her face as she stared at SungMi warily as if she was an enemy. She clutched the thing that she was hugging tighter, as if she was afraid that SungMi might take it from her.

SungMi, in the meantime, was staggered by her mother’s questions. And she couldn’t fathom the look HaNi was giving her. SungMi looked at the object HaNi was hugging again and learned that it was a photo frame. But a picture of whom? SungMi cannot tell.

“Get out of my room.” HaNi growled and SungMi wasted no time to get out of there. She even closed the door and her heart was thumping hard. She was absolutely frightened with her mother’s behavior and couldn’t comprehend why she was acting like that. She tried to apprehend why her mother didn’t recognize her. SungMi thought she was joking around but the look in HaNi’s eyes told her that it wasn’t a joke.

SungMi quickly returned to her room to wake her brothers up. She had a feeling that they were still sleeping and yes, she was right. She went to SungHyun first, who was sprawling on the bed and called him repeatedly, “Oppa! Oppa! Oppa! Wake up!” She shook her brother’s shoulder and for a moment, SungHyun only ignored her and continued sleeping. But after being called for several times, SungHyun grew annoyed and was finally conscious.

“What is it that you want?” SungHyun asked drowsily. His eyes were half-opened as he looked at SungMi while sitting up on the bed. However, once he saw the panicked look on his sister’s face, he suddenly turned sober and the lethargy that he felt was gone.

“Oppa, omma is being strange. S