Sin ||KookV||

28

The last of the day's light was crying for help from within the clouds. The sun had finally been drowned to death. Night had fallen, and I was loitering on the streets, afraid to go home.

My phone that I had just stuffed into my bag suddenly vibrated. I was so startled that a shiver ran through me. My two hands trembled as I took my school bag off my shoulders to rummage through it. My phone could have been slotted in some book. I could only hear its sound, making me so anxious I was about to go crazy.

About ten seconds later, the vibration suddenly stopped. My heart halted along with it.

Soon after, the old phone in my uniform pocket rang. My hands were covered in sweat and I dropped the phone on the ground a few times. I couldn't care less about the dirt all over the ground as I pathetically knelt down to answer the phone.

The voice transmitted by the phone was my hyung's, filled with fury. He roared at me, It's late at night and you're not home; where are you planning to go and cause more trouble? Get your ass back here!

I felt a bit more relieved. At least my hyung still scolded me, he didn't not want me anymore.

I went to the pharmacy to buy a few types of burn ointment. I also went to a fruit store next to the estate to buy a box of strawberries for my hyung to eat so he could cool down. I knew that this time, I had angered him to death. He definitely wouldn't forgive me easily, but he doted on me dearly. As long as I hugged him and whined and said some pleasant words, he wouldn't have the heart to continue ignoring me anymore.

When I got home, my hyung had just finished showering and exited the bathroom, burn ointment coated on his left hand. He glanced at me and asked coldly, "Where did you go."

I was pricked by his cold gaze, my whole body stinging in pain. I explained evasively, "I bought you some strawberries..."

"It's too late already. You, don't eat them either." My hyung wore a bathrobe and rubbed the soles of his slippers against the mat. He went to the bedroom on the first floor to sleep, locking himself in. I stood outside the door and knocked. Suddenly, a crash sounded from the door. It seemed like my hyung had thrown something over to get me to shut up.

My brain crashed for ten minutes. As I stood facing the door, I zoned out. I had received a shock just now and my fingers were shaking, unable to hold on to anything. The strawberries tumbled out all over the floor.

I didn't dare to use the two short two long secret signal to call for him because now, I couldn't be sure anymore that he would still open the door and take me away as he had in the past. I had lost my magic. At this moment, I was a sugar glider. When I flew towards my hyung, he didn't catch me.

I really wanted to admit my mistakes to him because I had gotten him injured. If he hadn't saved me, we would all be happy, but at that point in time, I hadn't considered that if he didn't save me, then he wasn't my hyung anymore.

I did my best to imitate the logic of adults as I pondered. I had only pondered for a minute when I already found it very tiring. My hyung was definitely very tired too. If he let me into the room right now, I would stay awake throughout the night. I would just stay by his side, helping him to reapply the medicine. When he was in pain, I'd help him to blow it away. What if he was crying behind my back right now? I really wanted to comfort him so he didn't cry anymore.

I hadn't eaten anything since the afternoon. I seemed to be very hungry, yet at the same time, I felt that my chest was choked up with nausea, making me lose my appetite. I leaned against the door and sat down, picking up the strawberries on the ground to eat as I waited for my hyung to open the door. My hyung would definitely open the door. He was only being angry for a while; soon, he'd feel sorry for me. He couldn't bear to let me wait for so long on the cold floor.

There were twenty-four strawberries in a box. I slowly ate them, leaving the one with the prettiest shape for my hyung. Later, when he opened the door, I'd stuff it into his mouth.

He didn't come out.

The prettiest strawberry had 249 seeds.

The sound-activated light in the corridor went out. Sitting in the darkness, I made a wish. My birthday was still far from now, so I could only bring my birthday wish forward first. I wanted my hyung to stop ignoring me soon. Oh no, I said my wish out loud, it wouldn't work anymore. My hyung wouldn't care about me anymore.

I was afraid of a lot of things. The dark, a cold hyung, and a new brother. I was afraid that the new brother would be more obedient and healthier than me, physically or mentally. I didn't dare to sleep. I was afraid that I would dream of my hyung smiling at the new brother, then me holding the new brother's bleeding head, becoming a murderer.

I didn't dare to make a sound, quietly lighting up my phone screen. The first thing I saw was my lock screen -- my hyung's eyes were curved as he smiled faintly, and I was leaning against his chest, holding him around me.

This was my favourite photo of us. At the time, we had suddenly had the impulse to take a photo together under a street lamp at night. A moth had entered the frame, and my hyung was like a spirit of the night. Rays of light obliquely reflected in my hyung's eyes. Inside his eyes, there was a little bird. The little bird was me.

I didn't like this photo anymore. I looked like mildew growing on my hyung's body.