Chapter Text
Yoohyeon won't stop crying, and it's all Bora's fault.
She should've never taken Yoohyeon along with her. She should've just left without a goodbye. Sure, it would've absolutely broken Yoohyeon's heart, and Bora would've absolutely hated herself for it, but Yoohyeon would still have a home, a family.
Now, all Yoohyeon has is Bora, and Bora thinks that's a pretty shitty trade. Yoohyeon had had a family again, and Bora ripped that away from her. Sure, it wasn't the perfect family, but it had been something. They had a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs.
Now? Now they're on their own. With nothing but a couple cardboard boxes of clothes and paperwork. They've got what cash Bora has in the Ziploc baggie in her backpack, but it's not a lot. Definitely not enough to find them a place to stay.
Bora hums softly to herself, blowing out a slow breath. She can hear Yoohyeon sobbing, the sound muffled by the girl's hands, and her stomach twists sharply.
She can feel Handong staring at her. Staring at her and her little sister and all their belongings spread out on the curb in cardboard boxes. Their entire lives have been reduced to a few beat-up cardboard boxes.
And Handong is staring.
Bora wants to tell the girl to mind her business, to ask her what she's staring at, but she doesn't want to burn another bridge for Yoohyeon by being rude to someone who was kind enough to take them in and give them a place to sleep.
She clenches her hands into fists, feeling her nails biting into her palms, and struggles to think of what to do. She doesn't know what to do. But she has to come up with something, anything. Anything to stop Yoohyeon from crying so hard.
But her mind is just blank. She doesn't know what to do. Her whole life is sitting in cardboard boxes on the curb in some rich neighborhood, and her little sister is bawling her eyes out nearby while a virtual stranger stares at them in silence.
Bora sucks in a breath and holds it for a few seconds, letting it out slowly. She can feel her eyes starting to sting with tears, and she blinks furiously, fighting them back. She can't cry now. She has to be strong. She has to fix this. She has to be a rock for Yoohyeon. The tears can come later, or never.
Handong clears her throat gently.
Bora whips her head to the side to look at the girl. The rich girl. The rich girl who let them spend the night in her guest house. The massive guest house. She clenches her jaw. She wants to snap at the girl, tell her to stop staring at them and their belongings. She wants to tell her that they don't need her pity. But she stays silent. She clenches her jaw so tightly shut that her teeth ache in protest, but she can't risk it. She can't risk opening her mouth and having something vile leave it.
"Do you…" Handong starts, trailing off a bit awkwardly as she looks toward the boxes on the curb. She pulls in a breath, shaking her head. "Do you want to put your things in the car?"
Bora blinks. "What?" She asks, not meaning to. She snaps her mouth shut with a click and looks to the side, toward the boxes on the pavement.
"Your things," Handong says, gesturing toward the boxes. "We can put them in the car and head back up to the house."
Bora frowns and looks toward Handong again, her eyebrows pulling together. "Why?" She asks, trying to keep any bitterness or anger out of her tone.
Handong blinks and tilts her head slightly, lifting an eyebrow. "So we can figure out what to do."
"What do you mean, we?" Bora asks, her voice wavering as she struggles to keep her tone even. "You don't have to figure out anything," She says.
Handong blinks and takes a small step back, her hands coming up in a gesture of surrender. "I just-"
"It's not your life in those boxes, is it?" Bora asks, gesturing to the boxes. She's given up on trying to be nice. She's not feeling very nice at the moment.
"No, I just-"
"So, it's not your problem!" Bora snaps. "Stop staring!"
Handong clenches her jaw and looks away, letting out a breath. "Look," She says softly. "I get that you're upset."
Bora scoffs and reaches up to swipe angrily at her eyes, hoping that she's not crying. "Upset doesn't even begin to cover it," She hisses.
"And I'm sorry about that," Handong says, lifting her head and meeting Bora's eyes with a steely look. "But I'm just trying to help you. That's all."
"And who said we need help?" Bora demands. She needs to shut up. She needs to stop snapping at this girl. She needs to stop being so angry and mean. She's going to ruin this. She's going to ruin this for Yoohyeon, and that would be the worst possible outcome Bora can think of.
Handong pulls in a slow breath, obviously trying to keep herself calm, and lets it out as a sigh. "Look, I'm not saying that I don't think you're capable of handling this on your own. I'm just offering you a hand. Or trying to. Whether or not you want to accept it is up to you."
Bora swallows back a lump in her throat and glances at Yoohyeon, who's stopping sobbing and is now just hugging herself tightly with tears streaming silently down her cheeks. Bora's heart squeezes hard in her chest. Her sister looks every bit the kid she is.
"Fuck."
"Bora," Yoohyeon scolds softly, her voice nasally and thick with tears.
"Sorry," Bora says, reaching up to rub at her cheek. "I'm sorry," She says, looking at Handong.
"Apology accepted," Handong says with a shrug of her shoulders. "I get it, but I'm just trying to help you, that's all."
Bora nods her head and sighs, glancing at the boxes. "Yeah, okay," She says, moving toward the nearest box. She crouches down and makes sure the flaps are tucked in before she lifts it up into her arms. She stands and turns to look at Handong.
Handong nods and moves to grab a box as well. "C'mon," She says, leading the way to the car that idles by the gate. She nods toward the driver, who moves to open the trunk for her.
Bora follows behind with her box and sets it inside the trunk with the other one. She blows out a slow breath and goes to grab another.
Yoohyeon still stands by the curb, hugging herself and sniffling quietly. She hasn't moved to help with the boxes.
Bora doesn't scold the girl for not helping. She's just glad that the sobbing has stopped. As she walks past with the last box in her arms, she gently nudges Yoohyeon's side with her elbow.
Yoohyeon flinches back and blinks at Bora, her lower lip wobbling as she pouts.
"C'mon," Bora says softly, nodding toward the car.
Yoohyeon sniffles and nods her head, moving to climb into the back of the car.
Bora stows the last box in the trunk before reaching up to shut it.
"We'll go back to the house and I'll let my parents know what's going on," Handong says softly as she climbs into the front seat of the car.
Bora hums, sliding into the back with Yoohyeon. She tugs the door shut and reaches across the seat for Yoohyeon's hand.
Yoohyeon squeezes hard and shifts closer, snuggling into Bora's side without a word.
Bora squeezes back just as hard, making sure that Yoohyeon knows she's there. She's right there. She's not going anywhere. She pulls in a breath and feels a weight on her shoulder. Glancing to the side, she sees Yoohyeon sitting awkwardly to be able to rest her head on Bora's shoulder. "You're gonna hurt your neck," She whispers.
Yoohyeon doesn't reply. She squeezes Bora's hand tightly in her own and shuffles a bit to get comfortable.
Bora sighs and tips her head sideways to lean it against Yoohyeon's.
The drive back up to the house is quiet, and Bora continues to struggle to come up with some kind of plan. Her mind swirls. She can't seem to focus on any one thought.
Why?
Why did this happen?
Is this her fault?
Why would they do this to them?
Why would they do this to Yoohyeon?
Is Yoohyeon mad at her?
Does Yoohyeon blame her for this?
What does Handong think?
Does Handong think she's a bad older sister?
Does Yoohyeon think she's a bad older sister?
Bora stares at the back of the driver's seat and clenches her jaw so tightly that her teeth ache. She hopes the answer to that last thought isn't positive. That would crush her. That would destroy her. That would kill her.
She squeezes Yoohyeon's hand tightly just as the car pulls up in front of the main house.
Handong turns around in her seat after unbuckling and looks at the sisters. "We'll talk to my parents first, and then we can bring your things to the guest house," She says.
Bora nods her head. "Okay," She says, her voice coming out as a whisper.
Handong's eyes soften, and she gives Bora a smile. "It'll be alright," She says.
Bora swallows back a challenge to that statement and just nods her head again. She gently nudges Yoohyeon. "We're here," She says.
Yoohyeon lifts her head from Bora's shoulder without a word and shifts to open the door.
Bora slides out of the car behind Yoohyeon and reaches for the girl's hand, taking it and squeezing tightly as she pushes the door shut. "We're gonna go talk to Mr. Han again," She tells the younger girl.
Yoohyeon nods her head, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy from all the crying she'd done. She sniffles and reaches up to wipe at her cheeks. She squeezes Bora's hand. "I'm scared," She whispers, her voice cracking on the words.
"I know," Bora says softly. "But I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, okay?" She doesn't make any mention of her own fear. She can't. She shouldn't. She can't let Yoohyeon see her scared. She can't let herself look weak. She has to be strong. She has to be strong for her little sister.
Yoohyeon nods. "Promise?" She whispers.
"Promise," Bora says firmly. She squeezes Yoohyeon's hand tightly and tugs her forward, following behind Handong as the girl leads them up the porch steps and into the massive house.
If she's being honest, Bora doesn't really want to talk to anybody about the current situation. She doesn't feel like it needs to be discussed with strangers. She doesn't feel the need to talk about how the people who promised them love and acceptance had dumped their belongings on the curb and left without a word.
As they climb the steps to the second floor, Bora tightens her grip on Yoohyeon's hand. She doesn't want to admit that she's afraid, but she's terrified. But she can't say that aloud. She can't tell Yoohyeon. If she tells Yoohyeon, what then? If Yoohyeon knows that Bora's terrified, what then?
Yoohyeon squeezes Bora's hand hard and steps a bit closer as they approach the door to Mr. Han's office.
Handong pauses at the door, looking back at the sisters with a soft smile. "It'll be okay," She says.
Bora swallows hard and nods her head.
Handong nods and turns back to the door, lifting her hand to knock.
"Come in!"
Handong pushes open the door and steps inside, gesturing to the sisters for them to follow her.
Bora moves first, putting herself in front of Yoohyeon as she leads the girl into the room. She sucks in a breath, watching Mr. Han's eyebrows fly up at the sight of them.
"Bora, Yoohyeon," Mr. Han says, getting to his feet. "I thought…" He trails off, looking toward his daughter as his eyebrows pull together. He looks back at the sisters, his eyes soft. "I thought you two were going home."
"We thought so, too," Bora says quietly. She pulls in a breath, glancing at Handong, who gives her an encouraging smile. She looks back at Mr. Han. "Turns out, they don't want us back."
Mr. Han blinks, his eyes wide with shock. "What do you mean?"
Bora clenches her jaw, trying to keep herself calm. She opens her mouth to explain, but the words don't want to form. She closes her mouth and pulls in a breath, looking down at the carpet under her feet. She feels tears sting at her eyes, and she blinks furiously, refusing to cry. She can't cry. Not in front of Yoohyeon. She has to be strong.
Handong steps forward. "When we got to the gate, there was no one there," She says tentatively, like she isn't sure whether or not to continue.
Bora lifts her head and nods. She's grateful for Handong explaining, but at the same time, she doesn't need anyone to speak for her. She clears her throat. "They left us boxes," She says, her voice wavering. "Of our things."
Mr. Han's lips part as he stares at Bora in shock. He shuts his mouth and looks to the side, letting out a heavy breath. "Christ," He murmurs, lifting a hand to his face.
Bora swallows hard. She pulls in a breath and draws herself up to her full height. "If we could just spend one more night, I think… I think that would be enough. In the morning, we'll go and find-"
"Nonsense," Mr. Han says, cutting Bora off. "You can stay for as long as you like."
Bora blinks.
"I won't have you two running off alone with no place to stay," Mr. Han says with a shake of his head. "Not when there's a perfectly good place for you here."
Bora can't stop her jaw from going slack, and she ducks her head, staring down at the carpet as tears gather in her eyes. She fights them back as best she can, squeezing Yoohyeon's hand tightly.
"Thank you," Yoohyeon chokes out.
"It's the least I can do," Mr. Han says, his voice soft and full of warmth. "Why don't you girls go get settled, alright? We can talk about this a bit later, once you're all settled in."