August, 2001

“I want to play some more!”

I watched as Hyosung tried to get some more time to play with her friends. I was not sure either who she was referring to as her friends. She had plenty of friends and it was not possible for me to know all of them and thus—I chose to watch her silently as she’s begging to our mother. Oh yes, Hyosung had a lot of unseen friends too and that was why it was very hard for mother to control her.

“No, Hyosung! You have to take a nap. You will get sick if you don’t have enough rest.” As I predicted, mother would not let Hyosung to get the permission.

“But mom, my friends are waiting outside and I don’t want to miss it!”

I chuckled upon her reason. Tickled by her statement about her friends waiting outside, I decided to take a look outside. I had been wondering on why it was so quiet outside if Hyosung had her friends waiting for her outside the house.

I brushed the curtains aside and threw my sight outside. Once I got the chance to look if anyone was waiting outside, I couldn’t help but to swear. There were three weird and not so friendly looking ghosts.

They stared back to me with a slight smile. One of them looked as if he had been into a crash or something; his right leg was hanging dangerously as if it would fall down any second. His eyes were red and the blood stains on his shirt were very clear because he wore a white shirt.

The other two were not very good looking either. One of them looked like a mixture of human and animal while the other looked like she was a very old woman with bloods on her face, she also wore black which made me to shiver in disgust and fear.

I closed the curtains and hurried myself to the kitchen where Hyosung was still trying to convince mother that she would be careful while playing with her friends.

“You can’t go out Hyosung. I am not going to let you,” I interrupted their conversation once I had been in the kitchen.

Hyosung stared on me in disbelief. was ready to tell promises that would make mother give her permission to Hyosung but due to my interruption, was now closed. Her eyes questioned me why.

“You can not go. Listen to me and I will buy you ice cream later okay?” I tried to make the deal with her.

I also gave her my smile in order to make her agree with me. I know it was bad to do bribery— especially to children but for this once, I had to.

“But… But why? I want to play!” Hyosung had the quality to be the most lovable sister and daughter – was what I thought when I looked at her as her eyes widened in sadness. 

She had the right expressions to make parents and elder to pity and love her. She had the funny sayings that would save her while in awkward moments. She was the daughter my mother had waited for so long and a sister that I had always dreamt of. She was a daughter whom dad had been admiring ever since she was born.

“If I tell you no—then it means no. Go to your bedroom and sleep. I will tell your friends that you’re tired.” I told her sternly.

My mother looked at me confusedly and I mouthed “later” to her. She got what I was trying to tell her and when Hyosung was ready to cry, my mother took her to the bedroom and gave Hyosung promises that would not become real.

It took her long enough to come back to the kitchen. I didn’t want to wait in the kitchen and so, I checked on the ‘friends’ Hyosung mentioned before. They had already gone. I saw one of my guardians was standing on where those ‘friends’ were. His black coat and mask covered him entirely from me. I sighed in relief; I didn’t have to handle those little retards by myself.

“Yongguk?” I heard a woman voice calling for me and not long after, my mom had stood beside me and followed my eyes, looking at my guardian.

“Thank him later properly, okay?” She said before patting my back.

“Wouldn’t I get your ‘proper’ thanks? I also deserve your thanks.” I joked as I once again close the curtains.

“Until you can protect your sister properly, you will not get it.” Mother replied sternly.

I smiled to her sarcastic note. We both knew it’s not easy but of course, we were too stubborn to admit it.

“Yes, mother.”

***

The knocks on the door had officially disturbed my sleeping time. I had skipped my night sleep yesterday to complete the half lock on Hyosung. I limited her ‘sight’ so she only could see the humans-shape of those ‘things’. By that way, she would not attract those things to go near her and she would not be scared too. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

“Yongguk!” Hyosung’s voice could be heard when she paused the knocks.

“What?” I yelled back.

“Let me in!”

“Open the door by yourself! I don’t have the energy!”

It didn’t take her long to barge into my room. Her eyes wandered around before looking at me. I was lying on my bed, trying to gain the energy that had been up to do the entire process. But when Hyosung knocked the door and barged in, I pushed myself so that I’m sitting on the bed with my back is on the wall.

“What is it?” I asked with a slight annoyed voice.

“Mom said I can play with you.” Hyosung said as she jumped on to the bed with me.

“I don’t want to play.” I groaned as she lay on the bed, taking the space.

“Yongguk, you can’t disobey what mom has already said.”

I looked at her in amazement. For a six year old kid, she surely talked a little bit out of her age. I didn’t really get bothered by it. I too had the same characteristic with her. I matured when I was supposed to enjoy my childhood. Mother told me once that it was caused because I realized that I have something inside me. The power that I owned was something that not everyone would be able to bear. We had the responsibility and that was what made us to be more mature.

I didn’t believe in reincarnation so that explanation was enough for me. I was related to the explanation. I always felt the responsibility that followed me and it made me to think twice over everything.

“Yongguk!!!” Hyosung’s annoyed voice was accompanied by her little hands trying to shake my body.

“What?” I mumbled.

My eyes were ready to close when Hyosung shook my body. My energy had really drained at this point.

“Look, Hyosung. I have an idea. Why don’t we go to sleep?” I offered her with a smile and also patted the pillows.

She hesitated as she looked at the pillows and the door, wishing to get out of the room.

“Aren’t you tired?” I didn’t understand how I was the one who felt tired but she didn’t when we both went through a tiring process.

Of course I had to do the process late at night when she was sleeping so that she would not get in the way or accidentally made the process went wrong. But still, to actually lock up her power inside herself needed her own energy too. I could feel her energy rushing out last night but she surely got hers back quickly when I was wasted.

She blinked her eyes to me once. She said nothing as she took the chance to lie her head and in a short time she had slept.

I sighed in happiness. At least I would gain some energy when we woke up later and that would be enough to take her to play.

***

“Yongguk!” Hyosung ran to me, her laughter was very loud that I had to hush her to slow it down.

We were in a park after mother said that she didn’t want her daughter to be kept in house by her brother—or for some other words, she referred to me— for some stupid reasons that even my mother couldn’t understand. The truth wass I didn’t like going out. I didn’t like to control and hold back my power and it bothered me in many ways. Those weird, funny and scary things always got attracted by the energy that wrapped my body. It was always bigger than anyone else’s.

“Yongguk, you have to save the bubble around you. I don’t like it!” Hyosung nagged once she finished her drink.

I looked at her in amazement. She understood and that was a good sign that she would be able to accept her ability faster than I hoped. She had already understood that I didn’t turn down my ability and let it to cover me.

“And why don’t you like it? It makes me warm.” I said to her, hands folding in front of my chest as I looked at her.

“Because, the bubble makes me unable to touch you.” Hyosung said as she puffed her cheeks and waved her hands near what she called ‘bubble’.

I had to say that I was really amazed by her at this point.

“It’s okay. Come here,”

I saved my energy and let myself to be uncovered and able to be touched. I reached for Hyosung’s body and lifted her up to my lap.

“See? It’s not going to hurt you.” I whispered.

She stared back to me and nodded. I became worried when she didn’t say anything few minutes later although her eyes and head could not stop moving. She looked around, observing things that I didn’t know what that would be.

I chose to be passive since the beginning and let myself to watch Hyosung observing what she was interested on. It took longer for her to actually ask me.

“Yongguk, why people are covered in bubbles?”

Now when I got to know what had been inside her mind and what she had been looking at, I could not content my smile. I used to ask about things to myself and to actually have someone to share it with was quite exciting.

“Because those are their blankets.” I tried to tell her.

She looked back at me blankly. I rubbed my forehead and bite my bottom lip; it surely was hard to explain this to a kid.

“Those are their energies, Hyosung. If they’re not feeling well, the bubble would be wavering. Those bubbles actually help them to feel secure.”

“Huh?” Hyosung mumbled the word under her breathes but I had caught what she said and I know it was still not the right time to explain it to her.

“What if…” I started, “I promise you that I will tell you things when you’re older? When you’re in the seventh grade, I will start telling you things. What do you think?”

With her small eyes those shone so brightly and with the sudden ‘bubble’ started forming around her body—which actually meant she can control when she wanted her ability to come on the surface, she gave me her pinky finger.

“Promise?”

Actually it's a little bit hard to explain the "bubble" part. I know how does it look and such but I don't know what people call it.

I'll try my hardest to explain it later~

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