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"Park Sian!"
She swore, Park Yebin never seemed to catch a break from this hectic, messed-up life. Now, what lies ahead of her, she wasn't sure what to expect.
She hurried into the neighborhood park that her younger brother told her he would be waiting at. A shot of worry struck through her as she approached him with wide strides. The text message had told her that he would be waiting for her by the swing set since 2 hours ago.
Despite her internal anger, the boy peered up at her and gave her the brightest smile, happy to see his older sister before him.
"You're here, noona!"
"Park Sian, what kind of stunt are you trying to pull this time?" Yebin huffed out, kneeling down so she could be somewhat of eye level to him. "You're supposed to be at school!" Sian's expression turned sour, tugging at the older girl's heart. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Yebin knew this wasn't the time to be nagging at her brother.
Sian wouldn't do something so drastic out of the blue without any good reason. He was much wiser than that. How could she stay mad at him when he has been out at this park waiting because she failed to see the message earlier.
In a softer tone, she asked him, "What is it? Did something happen at home?"
He shook his head as he innocently kicked his legs under the swing. Sian didn't meet her eyes. "No, nothing happened."
"Are you sure?" Yebin pressed on, her hand grasping onto his arm. His doe eyes held so much sadness, that it sparked anger within the girl. Something definitely did happen at the house with his parents. She slowly breathed out her nose, trying to calm herself in the moment. "Sian."
"Noona, what was your eomma like?"
The question took a complete opposite turn. Yebin took this time to move over to the empty swing next to Sian's, sitting in it as her mind ran wild with the memories of her mother. She bit down on her lip. She resented her mother for fleeing to America after the divorce. And goodness, Yebin had wished over and over to have been brought with her rather than staying in the hellhole that was that old house with her father.
But... her mother abandoned her.
Left Yebin to deal with her asshole father and bitch of an stepmom.
And even though it fills her with so much rage and melancholy to remember how her mother just forgot all about her, Yebin's life with her mom, when they were still altogether, were happy ones.
So, does Yebin fully hate her?
She doesn't know. Now that she thinks about it, she doesn't think so. Her mother only did what she thought was best for herself.
And honestly, how could Yebin blame her mother when she did the exact same thing by getting out of that horrid house.
"My mother was... like the ocean, Sian," Yebin started, her eyes trained up to the skies. "She was calm and gentle, like how the water licks at the sand on a nice sunny day. But she is strong, she was outgoing, like tumbling waves. She went with the flow, and made sure it always worked out for her. She was a stunning woman too. Her eyes turn into, like, crescent moons when she smiled so brightly."
"Just like yours, noona."
Yebin bared a soft smile. "Just like mine. My mother was also very passionate in things she was interested in, whether it be cooking, art, or whatever. I've never seen her give up so easily, even when it got very tough. She always saw things through."
"Your eomma sounds nice," Sian beamed as he swung his legs. "She sounds like you. I wish I could meet her."
Me too.
"Well, I don't know, Sian. Maybe, one day." Yebin glanced down to her phone and noticed how much time has passed since she arrived to the park. "Hey, how about this? I'll bring you all the way to school. We don't want an absence on your school record, do you? I could try to talk to your teacher about letting you off easy since you're a good kid, alright?"
The young boy pressed his lips together as he thought about the idea. "Can we not have an off day today, noona? I don't know if I feel good to go to school."
Yebin sighed, staring at her brother. How shaken up must he be to not want to go to school? How badly did Garin and their father fought earlier?
Without a word, she went into her phone and searched through to find Sian's homeroom teacher's number. After many instances of having to pick up Sian after school due to the negligence of Garin, she was able to gain the number from the teacher himself. After a couple rings, a male's voice had picked up.
"Ah, Park Yebin-sshi, I was just about to call your mother asking where Sian was," Mr. Lee chided through the small speaker.
Yebin refrained from groaning after being associated with that woman, but she put on her best sweet, sympathetic voice. "Ah, yes. Sian has a horrible fever right now so he could barely move around without nearly fainting, I'm currently looking after him right now, I hope it's okay if he misses the day. No need to call mother."
"I see, I'm sorry to hear that Sian is feeling bad. Good thing he has such a reliable, adoring sister like you. Well, thank you for letting me know. I'll try to gather some notes of the lessons today to give to Sian when he comes to school."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Lee. I knew I could count on you!"
"Of course. Have a good day, Yebin-sshi."
"You too, Mr. Lee. Bye bye now!" As easy as that, Yebin ended a call with a very cheery Sian smiling at her. "Mr. Lee is right, it is a good thing to have a sister like me. But, this will be the last time I will be lying like that for you, okay, Sian? You should know that's a no-no."
"Okay, noona, and thank you!" His face suddenly lit up more, which Yebin didn't think was possible. "Can we go get some food?"
Sian stared up at her with a hopeful expression. A frown tugged at Yebin's lips, remembering how she had left her bag in Hojun's car. "Sorry, bud, I don't have any money with me, so I don't know how I can feed you..."
"Noona, it's okay! Let's just go to the house. Appa and eomma must've left by now." Sian hopped out of his swing and shuffled over to Yebin's side, his hand outreached towards her. Yebin took her brother's hand and let him lead her all the way back to the house. With keys from his pocket, he unlocked the gate doors, as well as the front door. Before Yebin knew it, she was back inside the house she hasn't been in for years.
It looked the same since the last time she was here besides a couple simple decoration changes. "Let's also play some games while you're here, noona! We can even put on that Queen concert video you like a lot!" Sian rambled on, enthusiastically shaking Yebin's arm.
"Slow down, kiddo. Let's feed you first before anything else," Yebin chuckled as she ruffled his dark locks.
"I can get the food from the fridge and heat it up myself!" Sian proclaimed with a proud look on his face. "The CD should still be in your room, noona."
Yebin perked a brow. "It's still in there, huh?" Sian gave a nod. "Alright, I'll go look for it then. Shout if you need anything, okay?"
The lass turned her heel and went down the hallway that lead to her bedroom. She peered up at the pale yellow walls, a scoff leaving her lips.
Of course.
There had been some pictures of her when she was younger that had hung on the wall. However, her face was no where to be found, while the wall was now decorated with framed paintings of flowers. Surely, stepmother Garin had these paintings prepared to replace hers the second she left.
With a shake of her head, she continued down the hallway and reached the door to the room that had been hers since she was a baby.
Creaking open, Yebin entered the room.
Unsurprisingly, it had become a storage.
Surprisingly, her belongings that she couldn't bring with her were here, despite being buried under boxes and other junk. Yebin instantly spotted the DVD for one of Queen's legendary concerts on top of the table next to her bed. She picked it up and stared at it longingly.
This DVD had been her light on her darkest days in this house. There had been times she had wanted to watch it, but it held too much pain, as it had been given to her by her parents since realizing her love for the band. Back then, she didn't bother to have anything that was once owned by her parents, but now... she'll just consider it as a collectible as a major fan.
Yebin let out a sigh as she scanned the cramped room. They should've tossed all her shit away... but, she guessed that Sian must've put in a word for her.
Bless that kid.
Suddenly, something had caught Yebin's eye amongst the cardboard boxes. Taking a closer look, she stepped forward and squatted down. Wedged deep into the back between two big boxes, there was a small rectangular object. Curiosity killed the cat, Yebin reached in and after a couple tries, she managed to pull out the item. The girl's brows furrowed at the intricate box now in her hands. It was a wooden box, wide and flat.
She wasn't sure what compelled her to be so interested in opening the box, but inside, she was met with a handful of letters. They weren't opened at all, all seemingly unread. What alarmed her the most that all of the letters were addressed to her.
Picking them up and skimming through them all, she had to check. Yes, they were all addressed to her.
And some were old letters? They have to be with the way the paper envelope have gained a yellowish hue due to age. But how old were they? These amount of letters could've arrived in the matter of years. If they were for her, how come she had never crossed with any once in her life?
As Yebin read the sender's address that was provided, her whole body froze over with devastation.
Olivia Kim.
The name stood out to her like a blaring light. It felt like her blood ran cold. She read it once, twice, and thrice to make she hadn't gone insane or she had lost the ability to read. But, no, it was there, all written in black ink.
Her mother.
These were letters from her mother.
With the box of letters in hand, she walked out of her room and back to the kitchen where Sian have nearly finished heating up the food. As the boy noticed the box, his doe eyes slightly widening. "Oh, that's Appa's box."
Yebin frowned, "Appa's?"
The young boy's expression shifted, a pout to his lips. He hesitated but he replied, "I've sometimes seen Appa have it. He yelled at me before when I found out a while ago... I don't think eomma knows of it."
Yebin wasn't sure how to respond. Even Garin doesn't know about her mother's letters? What was the point of hiding it away?
Seeing the letters, so many of them, in their possession now flared a roaring fire within her.
She checked the dates that were stamped onto the letters that were flown from America... a couple were dated back so far... the oldest being dated to when she was only 9 years old, just a year after the divorce...
There had to be at least one letter a year.
As if her hands had a mind of its own, Yebin ripped open the oldest letter and began reading its contents. And as she read through, the tears were already rolling down her cheeks.
She spent all these years hating her father for letting the divorce happen, but also, hated that her mother fled and didn't take Yebin with her. Over and over, her father had implemented into her brain how her mother didn't give two shits about her, how she had abandoned them. She didn't love her. Forgot about her.
But what was this.
These letters were...
Proving all that wrong.
Jan 21, 2004
Dear my angel,
I'm so sorry, my sweet Yebin. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years.
I now have the courage to do, at least, this, in hopes it will reach to you one way or another. You were always the curious one, I have a good feeling that this letter will reach you. I'm so sorry, love, that I left you. I hope one day you will understand my decision to do so. Your mother doesn't have much she can offer to you, so there was no way I could fight to keep you by my side when your father was far better off.
I flew back to America with the little money I actually had so I can live with your grandparents again to start anew.
I know I am a horrible mother. I wish I was a better person for you. You deserve the whole world, and you deserve a good life.
I promise one day, that I will be able to get enough money so I could bring myself to provide for you, to care for you. But for now, as I am still struggling day to day with work and basically starting from scratch, the day we meet again will have to wait.
Sweetheart, I know what I just said might not make sense right now. I can understand if you may hate me. But, I love you with my whole heart. What happened between me and your father will never come in the way of my love for you. Writing these letters, in hopes you will read them, gives me enough strength to live on my life to become a better person.
Park Yebin, please live on healthily. I will try to write to you soon. I miss you so much.
Love,
Mom
Yebin ripped open the next one to read her mother's words.
Aug 12, 2004
Dear my angel,
I assume you haven't been able to read my first letter to you and that is okay. I will write as much as I can so you are bound to find one of them.
Hello, I miss you so, so much. I wish I could wrap you up in my arms one more time and tell you over and over you are the most precious girl in the world.
I always feel so apologetic to you, my love. Not everyone should have to go through the heartbreak of their parents going through a divorce. You are far too young, far too pure. I am always so sorry for bringing that kind of pain to you when I should have protected you from all these negative things.
I want you to remember that I have you deep in my heart. I will mention my reasonings for breaking it off with your father in the future, to an age you could understand it all better. For now, please bear with me, as I am still that immature mother that doesn't know what to do with her life.
I am working hard in this part-time job I was able to get recently. They don't pay well but I will take this as the perfect beginning for me. I will start off humbly and work as hard as I can to become someone you can look up to.
I love you, Park Yebin. I will write to you again when I can.
From,
Mom
Oct 3, 2004
Dear my angel,
I had recently gotten a call from your father and he told me how much you hate me and that you would rather want me out of your life completely. I will have to admit, that it hurt me so much for him to say that. After a few days, however, I have this inkling that I shouldn't believe his words. I have asked him over and over again to let me speak to you on the phone while we had the chance, but he refused to do so. So, from that only, I'm only going to believe in you and that you don't completely hate me.
Or, maybe that might be too much to ask from you.
Nonetheless, I'm going to try my hardest to get as much money as I can so I can come to you again.
I don't want to believe his words. I will become stubborn, in chance that you are not like what he says.
Please, wait for me. I love you, Park Yebin.
From,
Mom
Letter after letter, Yebin opened and read through it as carefully, not missing a single word. Her mother made sure to fill the pages of her current life back in America, and how she was faring.
There were news of her losing her job to gaining another in a better company. Comments of her side of the family, and how she had lost her father, so they have been suffering with his lost. A couple letters after, more years have passed, and her mother apologized for not writing as frequently as she used to (Yebin had to weakly smile, seeing how much letters she still has to go through). Then it continued on mentioning her progress through the years. She went back to school to further her education. It was a setback to her financial situation. However, in the more recent letters, her mother managed to get the dream job in a company that goes into graphic design.
And in the last letter, she apparently found someone she could love.
"Ah... eomma..." Yebin sobbed out. Her fingers traced along the pen markings. All these written letters, the girl couldn't believe they were all for her.
All these years.
She felt a warmth hovering over her, and Yebin realized Sian wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. She exhaled, letting herself feel his sympathy.
For once, it finally felt like something good happened.
Now that she had the letters, it gave her hope. A sense of hope that she could finally branch out and spread her wings to do whatever she wants.
And what she wanted to do?
Fly over to America to visit her mother after 15 years.
She won't let anyone stop her from doing that.
Yebin picked up her head, wiped at her tear-stained cheeks, and glimpsed up at her brother, baring a smile. "Sorry Sian. I don't mean to suddenly start crying. I never knew how much of a lucky charm you are," Yebin beamed at Sian, as she playfully pinched at his cheeks.
"I don't know about that, noona. I think ever since you met Youngho-hyung, that's when I noticed a good change in you!"
Yebin quirked a brow. "Really?"
"I really like Youngho-hyung..."
"Yeah, me too."
A/n: and there's the end of this update, finally! Now that 127 is having a comeback, i'm getting the inspiration and motivation needed to finish this chapter. My writing block has been so so so bad!
Thank you to those who still stick with this story despite the horrid gaps between updates! I've been telling myself over and over to finish this or Hendery's story, but life has been so ugh to me. I promise yall, this story WILL make it to its epilogue, istg.
Anyway, please do leave comments and give the chapter a vote! It helps a lot to me~
Thank you all again and goodnight from me haha
—Bianca
P.S. on a random note, I've been binge watching Miraculous Ladybug and maaaan I love that show.