Contrary to her usual habit, the next morning Su-Jin woke up early all by herself. She quietly dressed up, put on light makeup and styled her hair in a casual bun.
After finishing these series of actions she walked out of her room and went to wake up the other two people in the house.
First, she headed to her brother's room.
As soon as she stepped inside, Su-Jin called out his name.
"Min-Jun, wake up."
The young man stirred slightly, but remained fast asleep.
Glancing around, Su-Jin spotted a small pillow lying on a chair close to the door. Her lips instantly curved into an evil grin.
"It's payback time, little brother." She muttered in an undertone.
Saying that, she picked up the pillow and hurled it straight at Min-Jun's head.
Unfortunately, her aim was worse than her brother's, so the pillow merely grazed the young man's shoulder. It bounced off of him, landing in the far corner of the bed where it remained still and pitiful.
The force of that light touch was apparently enough to wake Min-Jun up.
Opening his eyes a notch, Min-Jun let out a low groan.
"Ugh..."
As soon as his vision cleared a bit, he turned his head slightly to look at the clock. The single digit number gave him a shock enough to thoroughly wake him up.
"Ya, Park Su-Jin, it's not like you to be such an early bird. So, what's wrong with you this morning?" he exclaimed in shock.
Min-Jun gaped between the clock and his sister a couple of times, before he finally continued to grumble.
"To be walking around the house, waking people up at this ungodly hour… Did you fall out of bed or something?"
"Not really." Su-Jin shrugged, then shot her brother a teasing smirk. "I just wanted to let you taste some of your own medicine. It was high time I got my revenge."
Su-Jin finished her words mimicking an evil laugh, but when she saw her brother's deadpan expression the sound instantly died out. She coughed lightly, clearing the uncomfortable sensation she had in her throat.
Then, with a long sigh, she walked inside the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I just couldn't sleep anymore."
A short moment of silence followed this confession, until Su-Jin spoke again.
"It's barely 5 a.m., so you can sleep some more if you want. I'll go downstairs and get the stuff ready for today."
Min-Jun sat up in bed and stared at his sister quietly. Then, he raised a hand and placed it on top of Su-Jin's head.
"It's alright, sis. Since I'm up anyway, I should go and get breakfast ready. You go and wake Mi-Suk up as well. Let's all eat together before we go to the cemetery."
Su-Jin nodded in silence.
Her brother's palm sent a wave of warmth through her body. His touch felt both comfortable and reassuring, like nothing bad could happen as long as he was around.
Despite being several years younger than Su-Jin, Min-Jun was somehow able to fill that void left by their parents' death. Whether it was being 'the man of the house' or acting like a younger brother, he was definitely a pillar, one she could always lean on for support. Without him, Su-Jin would have crumbled long ago. As such, it was undeniable that Min-Jun represented an indispensable existence in her life.
Suddenly filled with tons of conflicting emotions, Su-Jin leaned forward and wrapped both arms around Min-Jun's neck. As she felt her eyes stinging with unshed tears, Su-Jin's hold became even tighter. She slowly rubbed her face against the side of his neck, speaking quietly in a choked whisper.
"Thank you, Min-Jun. Thank you for being here with me."
Being hugged so suddenly startled Min-Jun, rendering him speechless. He froze in place, with his arms lying limply by his sides and his eyes opened wide in shock.
However, this situation didn't last long. Upon hearing Su-Jin's words, and sensing her growing distress, Min-Jun finally woke up from his stupor. Raising both arms, he returned her hug by pressing her into his chest. With one hand brushing the back of her head and the other gently patting her back, Min-Jun held his sister close, whispering soothingly from above her.
"Shh, it's alright, sis. Everything is going to be alright. You know, crying like this will only ruin your face and make you look even uglier."
"Ngh…" Su-Jin sobbed, clutching at her brother's clothes.
"Alright, alright, I'll take that back." Min-Jun chuckled softly, giving his sister a kiss on the side of her head. "You look beautiful today, so don't ruin your makeup by crying. Mother and father would prefer seeing their daughter looking pretty, instead of a tearstained mess.
All of a sudden Su-Jin squirmed inside her brother's arms. She pushed herself away a bit and raised her tearstained face to look at him.
"You really think I look good today?" she sniveled.
"Just a couple of minutes ago you looked extremely good. Now, you look just so, so." Min-Jun teased with a smile.
"Ngh, you bully." Su-Jin groaned.
She hit her brother's chest with one hand, then quickly raised the other in an attempt to wipe the new stream of tears that were gushing out of her eyes.
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Min-Jun felt a sharp jab of pain in his heart. There was nothing he could do, no words of comfort he could offer that could truly make everything better. Even fourteen years later, nothing could entirely alleviate the sorrow a child felt after losing a parent.
With his own heart stinging with sorrow, Min-Jun opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Su-Jin went ahead and said something unexpected.
"Min-Jun, today we must both look good for our parents to see. We need to show them that we're living our lives well and that we're happy. They wouldn't want us to be sad, would they?"
As she enunciated each sentence, Su-Jin's voice became clearer and clearer.. In the meantime, she had also stopped crying and, compared to earlier, she was now staring at her brother with eyes full of determination.
Contrary to her usual habit, the next morning Su-Jin woke up early all by herself. She quietly dressed up, put on light makeup and styled her hair in a casual bun.
After finishing these series of actions she walked out of her room and went to wake up the other two people in the house.
First, she headed to her brother's room.
As soon as she stepped inside, Su-Jin called out his name.
"Min-Jun, wake up."
The young man stirred slightly, but remained fast asleep.
Glancing around, Su-Jin spotted a small pillow lying on a chair close to the door. Her lips instantly curved into an evil grin.
"It's payback time, little brother." She muttered in an undertone.
Saying that, she picked up the pillow and hurled it straight at Min-Jun's head.
Unfortunately, her aim was worse than her brother's, so the pillow merely grazed the young man's shoulder. It bounced off of him, landing in the far corner of the bed where it remained still and pitiful.
The force of that light touch was apparently enough to wake Min-Jun up.
Opening his eyes a notch, Min-Jun let out a low groan.
"Ugh..."
As soon as his vision cleared a bit, he turned his head slightly to look at the clock. The single digit number gave him a shock enough to thoroughly wake him up.
"Ya, Park Su-Jin, it's not like you to be such an early bird. So, what's wrong with you this morning?" he exclaimed in shock.
Min-Jun gaped between the clock and his sister a couple of times, before he finally continued to grumble.
"To be walking around the house, waking people up at this ungodly hour… Did you fall out of bed or something?"
"Not really." Su-Jin shrugged, then shot her brother a teasing smirk. "I just wanted to let you taste some of your own medicine. It was high time I got my revenge."
Su-Jin finished her words mimicking an evil laugh, but when she saw her brother's deadpan expression the sound instantly died out. She coughed lightly, clearing the uncomfortable sensation she had in her throat.
Then, with a long sigh, she walked inside the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I just couldn't sleep anymore."
A short moment of silence followed this confession, until Su-Jin spoke again.
"It's barely 5 a.m., so you can sleep some more if you want. I'll go downstairs and get the stuff ready for today."
Min-Jun sat up in bed and stared at his sister quietly. Then, he raised a hand and placed it on top of Su-Jin's head.
"It's alright, sis. Since I'm up anyway, I should go and get breakfast ready. You go and wake Mi-Suk up as well. Let's all eat together before we go to the cemetery."
Su-Jin nodded in silence.
Her brother's palm sent a wave of warmth through her body. His touch felt both comfortable and reassuring, like nothing bad could happen as long as he was around.
Despite being several years younger than Su-Jin, Min-Jun was somehow able to fill that void left by their parents' death. Whether it was being 'the man of the house' or acting like a younger brother, he was definitely a pillar, one she could always lean on for support. Without him, Su-Jin would have crumbled long ago. As such, it was undeniable that Min-Jun represented an indispensable existence in her life.
Suddenly filled with tons of conflicting emotions, Su-Jin leaned forward and wrapped both arms around Min-Jun's neck. As she felt her eyes stinging with unshed tears, Su-Jin's hold became even tighter. She slowly rubbed her face against the side of his neck, speaking quietly in a choked whisper.
"Thank you, Min-Jun. Thank you for being here with me."
Being hugged so suddenly startled Min-Jun, rendering him speechless. He froze in place, with his arms lying limply by his sides and his eyes opened wide in shock.
However, this situation didn't last long. Upon hearing Su-Jin's words, and sensing her growing distress, Min-Jun finally woke up from his stupor. Raising both arms, he returned her hug by pressing her into his chest. With one hand brushing the back of her head and the other gently patting her back, Min-Jun held his sister close, whispering soothingly from above her.
"Shh, it's alright, sis. Everything is going to be alright. You know, crying like this will only ruin your face and make you look even uglier."
"Ngh…" Su-Jin sobbed, clutching at her brother's clothes.
"Alright, alright, I'll take that back." Min-Jun chuckled softly, giving his sister a kiss on the side of her head. "You look beautiful today, so don't ruin your makeup by crying. Mother and father would prefer seeing their daughter looking pretty, instead of a tearstained mess.
All of a sudden Su-Jin squirmed inside her brother's arms. She pushed herself away a bit and raised her tearstained face to look at him.
"You really think I look good today?" she sniveled.
"Just a couple of minutes ago you looked extremely good. Now, you look just so, so." Min-Jun teased with a smile.
"Ngh, you bully." Su-Jin groaned.
She hit her brother's chest with one hand, then quickly raised the other in an attempt to wipe the new stream of tears that were gushing out of her eyes.
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Min-Jun felt a sharp jab of pain in his heart. There was nothing he could do, no words of comfort he could offer that could truly make everything better. Even fourteen years later, nothing could entirely alleviate the sorrow a child felt after losing a parent.
With his own heart stinging with sorrow, Min-Jun opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Su-Jin went ahead and said something unexpected.
"Min-Jun, today we must both look good for our parents to see. We need to show them that we're living our lives well and that we're happy. They wouldn't want us to be sad, would they?"
As she enunciated each sentence, Su-Jin's voice became clearer and clearer.. In the meantime, she had also stopped crying and, compared to earlier, she was now staring at her brother with eyes full of determination.
