The World Inside Our Dreams: Book One

In Hye

I didn't know friendship could be so painful. Is this how love feels like? Is this what my sisters feel about me?

I quietly cried all night after visiting Hyorim's place. I wish I had never gone with my sisters. I wish I could hide deep down the earth's surface and disappear. Or maybe I could float away among the clouds I angrily draw on a new canvas. I hate weekends. All I ever do is draw now. I don't have my best friend to be with. She pushed me away for her sake.

My sisters and I went to meet Hyorim's great aunt. For the first time, I was nervous about meeting her. I would finally hear what was behind those dull eyes.

The doorman opened and showed us inside where we waited for her. Hyorim suddenly passed by and turned pale when she saw us sitting on one of the couches. She quickly looked around and said, "In-hye! I said to stay away! Why...why are you all here?"

"Don't worry, sweetie," In-joo said. "We just want to talk to your aunt and solve this issue."

Her eyes went wide. "No! Don't you see she'll kill me?! You need to leave—"

But she turned stiff and straightened her shoulders as her great aunt entered the living room. She gave us a disgusted look as we stood to give her a bow.

"Did you invite them here?" she firmly said to Hyorim in a scratchy voice as if she hadn't talked in days.

Hyorim shook her head without hesitation and kept her eyes on the ground. My heart fell for my friend. Had this woman been hurting her? Did she find safety with me whenever she brought me here?

Her great aunt gestured at her to leave and she did without looking at me. I swallowed down my dry throat as her dull eyes landed on us. My sister was going to start speaking but she immediately interrupted.

"I'm going to ask you three to leave. I can't have anyone seeing that any of you were here."

"I think there may have been a misunderstanding," In-joo gently said. "They're just children. There's no need to separate them. They don't carry the same mistakes us adults do."

"Yes," she said as she sat in the chair she never moved from whenever I'd come to visit. "You are right. The children have nothing to do with this."

In-joo exchanged a confused look with In-kyung before saying, "Then why did you ask Hyorim to stop seeing my sister? They do nothing wrong."

She burned her eyes through us like swords trespassing our hearts with fire. Her words were blunt and heavy as she said, "Because your family is cursed. Everywhere you walk you bring misfortune! Hyorim has no parents because of you!"

In-joo was in shock at these words just as I was. But In-kyung spoke up next as she firmly said, "Ma'am. Her parents were thieves and murderers. How could you possibly defend their cause after everything they've done?"

The great aunt waved us away with disgust. "I've had enough of you three. Get out before I ask security to take care of you. I'm doing this for Hyorim's safety. If you want to be a good friend..." Her cold eyes landed on me and said, "Then leave her alone. Don't talk to her and don't even try to look at her. I don't want you or your sisters ruining the last of the Park family. Leave now."

Those words still sting just as my tears now do. My sisters tried comforting me on the way back home, but I pushed them away, too. I like to be alone when I'm deeply sad. I prefer to paint away my sorrows rather than talking about them. If they want to hold my heart, they can look at my canvas.

My pencil breaks and I angrily look for another. My heart begins to pace and I suck in a breath. My hand flies to my chest and beg my lung to let oxygen go to my heart. I close my eyes and listen to the shallow breaths coming from my dry lips.