The Secret Sonata || Ryeji

Chapter 27: A Tale Of Hwang Siblings Pt. 2

At the neighborhood's playground, a five year old cat-eyed girl was sitting on a swing, her hands clutched to the rope attached to the seat and the rod, lips pressed tightly together, whilst she waited for her twin's return from the ice cream truck. It had been fifteen minutes since the girl left her side and she hadn't even shown up yet.

"Yah! Gimme that ice cream!"

"I bought it with my own money. Go guy yourself one!"

"Gimme while I'm being nice!"

"No!"

"Fine then!"

"Ack!" The commotion and her twin's yelp of pain made the girl launched up from the swing, blood boiling in her veins. Then, she kicked her feet off to the three older boys who were gathered around a crying girl on the ground, with two cones of chocolate ice cream splattered on her shirt. The sound of her storming footsteps didn't go unnoticed by the boys because they snapped their heads at her fuming figure.

"Get away from my sister!" Lucy yelled, darted toward one of the boys within arm's reach and shoved him to the ground. Seeing this, another boy tried to strangle her, but she headbutted him with all her might, causing him to tumble back.

"Ha-ha." The unharmed boy between the three laughed sarcastically, clapping his hands. "Poor Yeji, weak Yeji, always waiting for Lucy to come to her rescue. You should feel ashamed of yourself. Ha-ha." Owing to the boy's taunt, the eldest twin grabbed a big rock near her feet using two hands, lunged for him in a flash and smashed it against his head mercilessly.

****

"10 stitches, Seulgi! 10 stitches!" In Yeop complained, his angry voice reverberated throughout the whole mansion, enabling the twins to hear him from their shared bedroom. Lucy was sitting on the top bunk as she hugged her knees with her chin propped between them, recalling how the boy's blood had smeared her hands and clothes the moment she attacked him with the rock. Oddly enough, it made her satisfied and traumatized at the same time, her bad side and good side clashing with one another as they instigated confusion inside her heart.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault," Yeji whispered beside her, and Lucy's ears pricked due to the prominent crack in her sister's voice. So, she side-glanced at the younger twin with stoic feline eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching whilst she composed sentences inside her head to tell her.

"You don't need to apologize," Lucy muttered flatly, swiveling her body to face Yeji, and the latter met her in the eye, studying the former's countenance under the bright fluorescent light. "Yeji-yah... You heard what they said, right?" The younger cocked her head slightly, puzzled. "I mean what those bullies said," the older twin clarified and continued, "Can't you stop letting people take advantage of your softheartedness? You should stand up for yourself, so that they won't bully you anymore."

"I did..." Yeji hung her head low as she spoke in a small voice. "But they hit me."

"Then, hit them back. Show them that you're stronger than them and you won't accept their behavior. And don't just sit there and cry until I come for you. Stop relying on me. What will you do if I'm not there anymore?" Lucy raised her voice, making her twin wince and flick her chin to stare at her once again.

"No, you'll be there, right? You won't leave me alone, will you?" Yeji placed her shaky palms on her sister's shoulders and held an eager gaze with her, ripples of terror were prominent in her black pools.

"I won't leave you, silly," the older twin huffed. "But... let's say, what if I'm gone, then how will you handle those situations? You gotta learn how to stand up for yourself with or without me, Yeji-yah."