It wasn't the first time her parents fought.

No, she had witnessed countless of fights involving her parents, countless of times where insults were traded back and forth until neither could take it anymore, countless of arguments that ended with the sound of glass breaking. So, she wasn't particularly shocked when she heard her mother shriek at her father from her room. However, as she cradled her cheek with one hand, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill, she stared at her father with disbelief. This was the first time that she had been directly involved in a fight. 

She had started down the stairs intending to calm her parents down, for Youngmin was currently sleeping soundly in her room. One hand clutching her phone, the other placed against the wall to balance herself, she stopped at the end of the staircase. "Can you keep it down? You know that your son is sleeping upstairs right?" She stared at the two adults in front of her, who continued to hurl insults at each other as if she never existed. That was when her father had raised his hand and swung it down, and she had moved before she even knew what she was doing. Getting slapped hurt. It hurt like a . 

"What's wrong with you!" Her father's voice thundered. "Why are you in the way?"

She almost laughed there and then. Of course, he wouldn't care about her getting hurt. He had never really thought about her or her welfare. Even though he had already remarried, his hate for her biological mother still existed and he was continuously trying to push his hatred onto her. He had constantly demeaned her for being like her mother in certain ways and he always suspected that she was in cahoots with her mother, plotting some scheme in the dark. He was extremely paranoid and had been like that after the divorce proceedings had been finalised. She realised, tonight, that she was sick and tired of his behavior. She was sick and tired, sick of facing mindless accusations, tired of apologising for things she had not done.

"You can't just hit a woman like that, Abeoji. Even if you hate her that much." She said slowly, lowering her hand from her face slowly, ignoring the slow throbbing that came from her cheek. She was not expecting the next slap that came, and she gasped out loud. The throbbing had intensified and a few tears slipped down her face. She looked downwards, offering herself a sad smile. I guess it was stupid to try and get him to listen to me. She felt herself get pushed back slightly, and glanced up to see her mother in front of her. "Eomeoni..." Her mother offered a slight smile indicating that she would handle everything, and she breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that someone had at least calmed down. 

"Heo Young sshi, maybe we shouldn't continue this argument. In the first place, as the court order states they will be staying here until term break is over." Her mother stated calmly, trying not to anger the man in front of her unnecessarily. Her father whirled around, face livid with anger. He extended a finger, pointing it directly at the girl. "You! You must be planning something with your mother!" He stalked towards her, finger prodding her shoulder. "Aren't I right?"

She shuffled backwards, the tears now streaming down her face steadily as she braced herself for the barrage of insults that was about to be directed at her. "What is wrong with you? Did you forget whatever I have done for you? Why? Did she bribe you? Why do you have to be so nice to your mother? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" He shouted at her, his face turning increasingly red over the minutes. Anger replaced the sadness within minutes, and the rage she felt from years ago, that she had buried deep down within her, came rising to the surface. It had reared it's ugly head, and she shouted back at her father. 

"Well, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to jump down and die?!" Her breathing increased, she could feel her pulse beating in her ears. "Do you think I want this? Why would I want this in my life!?" She spit out those words, words that burned through her every being. Her father turned to face her, eyes open wide. "You ungrateful child- 

A noise sounded from the staircase and all three of them stopped and turned. Youngmin stood at the top of the staircase, rubbing his eyes sleepily and clutching his pillow in his hand. "Noona? Eomma and Appa? Is anything wrong?" The girl wiped her tears away hurriedly, and headed towards her brother with a gentle smile. "Nothing happened Youngmin. Come on, Noona will accompany you to bed, okay?" She closed the door of the room behind her, and heard the front door slam, before all he tension melted out of her body. 

She waved Youngmin onto the bed, indicating that she would join him shortly. Heading into the bathroom, she gripped the edge of the sink tightly, fingernails pressing into the ceramic, and counted to ten. Releasing her hands, she took a breathe and pushed all her emotions down, capping them into a bottle. "Everything's alright now. Don't panic, Hyemin. Just breathe." She stared into the mirror, her brown eyes showing no sadness. No emotion.

She had long ago learned to hide the hurt she received. 

Sometimes, she really hated her father. 

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Author's Note: Hey guys, this is my first ever published story. It's about something that I can relate to, and will be more serious? I'm currently also working on another story which won't be as somber as this, but anyway. I hope you guys like this story, so please support and subscribe! All helpful criticism will be accepted with open arms, I don't bite ;). And I think this story might have to be rated M for swearing and brief mentions of physical abuse. (i'm not sure) Also, please support one of my dearest friends, who has helped me a ton, anthealkl . Love you guys! (also, all photos are given rightful credits to tumblr, where i found them)

xoxo, Jan