Hazelnut - Ryeji

7

"Goodmorning, Unnie!" Yuna yelled while sitting down across Mom.

I started stretching my limbs while yawning. I walked my way to the dining table with a smile on my face. It's been a while since I had a full 8-hour sleep. My body was relaxed. My mind was focused and I was happy.

It's all because of Yeji. I still can't forget what we talked about and how she comforted me yesterday. I don't really open up and share my feelings with others.

Yeji listened to me. She listened to every word I said to her. We talked yesterday until the end of my shift. We talked about my problems and her problems. It was truly fun talking to her.

If I'm being honest, I would rather sit besides Yeji than Hyunjin and Heejin. Those two girls don't listen to my problems. They just talk to me because I know how to cause trouble. The three of us have been friends and have been causing trouble for 2 years.

We've been friends for 2 years, but I would rather hangout with Yeji, whom I met recently. She's the reason why I'm not hurting at the moment. She healed some of my scars.

I sat down on the empty chair besides my sister and I let out a sigh of relief. It was a peaceful morning.

My mom was cooking a bunch of stuff as usual.

"Yuna, can you turn on the TV?" Mom said.

Yuna nodded and stood up from her seat. She walked towards our TV and pressed the small button on the bottom part of the TV.

"A highschool student in Gangnam was brutally murdured last night. The police said that the suspect escaped and is still on the loose."

My mom clicked her tongue while looking at the TV. She had a distressed and concerned look on her face.

Yuna, on the other hand, is covering her eyes trying her best not to look at the picture of a dead person on the TV.

Even though the picture was on black and white, I was still a little disgusted at how detailed the picture is. The student's organs are scattered around the road and her clothes are torn apart. It was truly horrific.

Yuna looked at her food with a disgusted expression on her face. "I regret turning on the TV. I lost my appetite." She pouted.

My mom stopped cooking and sat down on her chair. "Ryujin, you like wandering around. You should always be careful." My mom said with a hint of worry.

I let out a small smile. "Mom, don't worry. You sent me to a karate school, remember?"

My mom chuckled weakly. "Ryujin, that was taekwondo. Plus, that was 9 years ago."

I slowly nodded. "Oh." I replied. "Don't worry, Mom. I can defend myself." I said to calm her down.

"Sure." She said.

I looked around our house while trying to find someone. There is supposed to be four of us eating together, but there was someone missing.

"Mom, where's Dad?" I asked.

The woman in her 30s clicked her tongue. She looked frustrated. "He's not going to eat with us." She weakly said.

I clenched my fists and furrowed my eyebrows. I was mad at my father. He would always go home drunk and start an argument with my mom. He doesn't even greet us or eat dinner or breakfast with us.

I stood up from my seat and gritted my teeth. "Mom, get a divorce."

Her eyes widened at what I said. I can tell that she was caught off guard. "What are you saying? sit down, Ryujin."