Chapter Text
She doesn’t know how long she’s been curled up on the floor like this. Minutes? Hours? She has long lost track. Either way, she doesn’t want to get up.
She feels groggy and disgusting and tired and a whole bunch of other depressing shit she doesn’t want to name. She lifts her head to take a peek at the sink. The porcelain counter was bare, except for a couple of items. (such as the bathroom essentials, obviously.)
However, what she was looking at wasn’t a tube of toothpaste. Nope, just the white stick that will determine the rest of her coming days.
Surely that isn’t nerve-wracking, right? This is something she should be totally chill about. And usually, she is level-headed about absolutely insane things. Believe it or not, but Se-mi has gotten into her fair share of trouble. The only difference between that trouble and this trouble is that she was able to get out with minimal injuries. And you know, no irreparable damage to her mental health.
She’s aware that no matter what she does, as long as she sees two lines on that little white stick, her life will be forever changed for better or for worse.
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Se-mi didn’t mean for this to happen. She swears. This wasn’t supposed to happen. How did this happen? She only remembers hanging out with her friends. And then fast forward, two are nowhere to be found, and one is snoring on a couch.
There's a boy she recognizes. Her body does too.
Then a mess of giggles and clothes, and she's suddenly warm. The warmth feels nice. The warmth is loving.
She remembers vomiting once on the floor where discarded clothes lay. The floor warps into a toilet. Into the kitchen floor. Into the sink.
She’s been vomiting nonstop. She stopped being able to keep certain foods down.
It had reached the point that Nam-gyu noticed. It’s not often Semi gets sick, and when she does, it’s never for long. Prolonged sickness was unusual for her.
So maybe that's why, after a week of hearing his sister vomit her guts out, he finally decides to talk to her.
And maybe that's why she even brought a test in the first place. Call it a hunch or something.
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When Se-mi hears the knock on the door, she hurriedly wipes away the tears that she didn’t even know had fallen. She mumbles out a quick “come in,” not having the energy even to be snarky.
When Nam-gyu enters, he notices two things off the bat: Se-mi is crying, and Se-mi is on the floor crying. Two obvious observations, but observations nonetheless. The number of times he’s seen his sister cry was few and far between. Not much could get to her. Nevertheless, the sight was unnerving. The dried tears created lines on her face. At the same time, it was being quickly overshadowed by new ones that fell rapidly.
No sound came out of her. She just looked up at her brother with a blank, watery stare.
It’s only after a minute of just quietly staring that Nam-gyu looks around. Trying to find the reason for her tears. For it to have someone as Se-mi crying? It must be a big deal.
And then he saw it.
A little white stick. Just sitting there. Inconspicuously. Not knowing the hell it was bringing upon those affected by its verdict.
Two lines. Two little lines. Nam-gyu just looks. And he keeps on looking until he hears a voice call out, strained.
“W-What does it say?” Se-mi sounds like she's been crying for hours at this point. Her voice sounded horrifically nasally.
Nam-gyu turns back to look at his sister, and he feels tears well up in his eyes.
He no longer sees a scared young woman. But his baby sister. The baby sister he used to play with. Quietly making believe in their little forts in their younger days. The two running around as she shrieked in delight as he chased her.
His baby sister, who would proudly stand up for what she thought was right. Never letting anyone be better than the other.
His baby sister, whom he had failed to protect.
Nam-gyu only realizes he’s crying once he hears a soft gasp from Se-mi, quickly snapping him back to the real world. The world in which his sister is pregnant and freaking out in her own way.
Nam-gyu doesn’t know what to say. So he just goes up to Se-mi and sits down next to her on the floor. Pulling her close to himself, he lays his head on her head. He closes his eyes as he feels her body shake. Harsh sobs racking her body. Rubbing her arm up and down, Nam-gyu closes his eyes, and for the first time. He prays
He prays that any good out there listening will protect his sister in the ways that he hasn’t.