fearless leader ; hwarang

Nine

Jihun's eyes grew wide at his twin yelling at their older sister. The rest shifted uncomfortably in their seats while Inseong and Soo glared at Jihan.

Suji was tired. Suji had been tired. Mentally and physically, and she also had a bad hangover. She certainly didn't want to do this today with her sibling.

"You don't know what I've seen, Jihan."

"I know that but we're all here for you! We're here to help you get over it!"

Thinking that Suji was going to make another nonchalant remark, Jihan gulped when Suji glared at him.

"You don't expect me to be mentally fine after watching dad get beheaded in front of me, do you?"

Jihan opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Suji started to rise from her seat, making Jihan slightly cower down. She kept her eyes on him, tired of getting scolded.

She loved her family, but they had to realize that she couldn't just let the past go. Yeah, she could live past it but she would never forget it. She still had nightmares of that night, and people had to realize that it was going to stick with her forever. Since they didn't experience it, they wouldn't know how it felt.

"I'm human too. You can't expect me to be invincible. I'm bound to shatter one day and nobody can do anything about it." Suji muttered darkly. "If you think I can just 'get over it' then that's hilarious."

"I—"

"My life is a mess, Jihan. I have too much blood on my hands to be given the luxury of living a happy life. I deserve this, but I did what I've done so all of you can live a peaceful life. So you can live a peaceful life." Suji clenched her jaw, "So if you think I'm selfish, then so be it. But don't forget what I've done to keep you all safe from a man that held a grudge against our parents, not me. None of this was my doing yet I decided to make it my responsibility."

Silence enveloped the table as the siblings seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. The others were conflicted and had no clue on what to say to break the heavy tension in the room.

Sun Woo was about to say something when they heard multiple footsteps and giggles.

"I got you!" They heard Minghao laugh as giggles escaped a child. Everyone snapped their heads to the doors where it opened and revealed Tae Oh in Minghao's arms. Da Xia, Eunha, and Minjae appeared afterward with grins on their faces.

"Hey—" Minghao started but his smile slowly faded when he noticed everyone's grim faces. Eunha noticed it immediately and grabbed Minjae's and Da Xia's hands.

"I want some mochi. Let's go."

Minjae nodded his head, not liking the tension in the room. Da Xia followed along, since she felt like she had no business interfering since she was a new addition to the group.

Tae Oh's eyes brightened at the sight of his older sister, who he rarely sees anymore. "Suji!"

Suji dropped her hard stare and her face softened. She put a small smile on her face and turned around to Tae Oh. "Hi Tae Oh, how have you been?"

Tae Oh held his arms out to her, "Good! Let's play!"

Suji stepped out from her seat and walked toward Tae Oh. She grabbed Tae Oh from Minghao's arms and held him closely. "Of course. Let's go."

Tae Oh hugged on Suji tightly with a wide grin before his eyes latched onto a few of the people he has grown attached to.

"Han Sung! Ban Ryu! Soo Ho! Come!"

Suji halted in her steps when she heard the last name and clenched her jaw.

Great. More tension.