Incarnadine | Prequel to "Viridescence"

16

11th October
2005

Nearly a month having passed since she moved, Jihyun is going through one of those days where she feels especially home-sick.

In urgent need of a place to stay, her father brought her to his close friend's house where they've been staying for the past month. This house was a two hour drive from her last house. But this won't last for long, as her father has already found another house to rent. This newer house will be even further away from home and Jihyun tries her best to not be affected by it but she's too sad.

She knows that she should be in a happy family of four right now, but somehow there's only her and her dad left. What went wrong? Her brother has been 'busy' for months and her mother is still not back from work.

"Are you done packing?" The girl lifts her head at the sound of her dad's voice. She sat all alone on a swing in the back garden and stared at her feet until her father approached her. She offers him a drained nod and can't find it in her to smile about it. She just wishes things could go back to normal again. She misses her mother and her closest friend, her brother.

"Will mommy and brother be at the new house?" she asks with a tinge of hope in her voice. She notices her dad flinch and his eyebrows furrow. "Mommy won't be there...she's very busy, you know," he whispers to her. It's clear to see that he's barely holding himself together right now, but Jihyun doesn't even notice.

"What about brother? He doesn't even work, don't tell me he's busy too," she whines. The man's facial features turn slightly more angered and he breaks eye contact with his daughter. "I don't know much about your brother. To tell you the truth, he ran away and no one knows where he is."

Jihyun jumps off the swing and gasps. "Why aren't we looking for him then? Let's go!" she shouts before speeding off in the direction of the house, taking hold of her dad's hand and attempting to drag him along too. However, the man doesn't budge.

"We shouldn't. He's bad Jihyun, why won't you listen? We both need to stay away from him!" he scolds. As obedient of a child as Jihyun is, she scowls and scoffs. Her brother's warm smile, lively laughter and caring eyes fill her mind and she shakes her head aggressively.

"My brother is not bad! He's good and nice! You're too mean to him!" she screams at her dad as angry tears well in her eyes. Impatience also flashes through her dad's face, his son being the only topic that can make him lose his temper like this.

Before he can give out even more, Jihyun dashes away into the house. She runs into her room that she's been sharing with her father and jumps onto her bed, hugging her large teddy bear tightly to her body.

Quiet sobs wrack through her. Why does her father hate her brother so much? He's never been anything but compliant and kind, so why? The younger girl can't wrap her head around it and can only conclude that her parents are highly irrational.

Speaking of which, why is her mother suddenly too busy to meet her? So many questions pile up but she knows she'll never get an answer that will satisfy her. She hugs her teddy even tighter as she imagines her mother's sweet embrace. She misses it and can't wait until she can finally feel it again.

"Why are you here all alone? Are the other kids not playing with you?" Jihyun's dad's friend asks while stepping into the room, referring to his children that play in the local park together. Jihyun shakes her head while her grip on the bear doesn't weaken.

"I'm not in the mood to play today," she admits. "Is something wrong?" he asks as he takes a seat on the bed beside the girl.

"What's my brother's name? Is he a bad person?" She gets straight to the point. The man tries to control his puzzled expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you had a brother..."