𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘; park jisung

1.05

✦*ೃ༄

Without exchanging any more words, the two siblings hugged tightly. The boy nearly squeezed her death, but Hana wasn't the least bit concerned of that.

Taeil and Doyoung, who were watching from the door frame, tapped eachother excitedly, before Taeil suggested that they give the two space, to which they did.

Jungwoo was first to break away from the hug, scanning his little sister up and down who stood stiffly before him. "What happened here?" He held up her arm, furrowing his eyebrows as he gently brushed the plastic wrap with his thumb.

Hana frowned, half joking and half serious. "After all these years, those are your first words toward me?" Though she was more than excited to finally see him, she was upset that it took this long. She loved him, but that didn't halt the pang of resentment lingering beneath her words. She took in a moment to observe the now man, whom she last saw when he was embarking in adolescence. Time had etched changes onto his features--the baby fat on his cheeks were no longer--but the familiar warmth in his eyes and the contagious curve of his smile remained unchanged.

"Sorry- I just, wow. You've grown up." Jungwoo's eyes grew glossy as he took in the sight of his sister. He hadn't stood in front of her like such since she was a maturing preteen, and evidently she was different. Though, on the contrary to her brother, Hana's face remained chubby, complemented with dimples that couldn't help but poke out as Hana now smiled uncontrollably. He used to always tease her that her chubby cheeks would never go away, and so far, he's been correct.

Despite the many couches and seats in the house, the Kim siblings soon found themselves sat on the floor against a bare wall like they were kids all over again.

"What took you so long to see me?" The girl asked, leaning her head on her big brother's shoulder. Still as clingy as she always was, she had an arm wrapped around his, despite the stinging pain the friction brought to her blisters.

"I'm sorry that it took so long. It has never been safe for me to see you since I left home, I pretty much still walk with a target on my back," he admitted, sighing and relaxing his head against the wall, "and I can't jeopardize you or Mom's life."

Hana's heart dropped to her stomach at the mention of their late mother. After all of this time she spent anticipating seeing her brother, it never occured to her that he may have had no way of being informed that she passed away. Her body pulsated with dread--he had no idea about their mother's death and she would have to be the one to inform him.

Jungwoo could read his sister very well, and based on her silence, he could note that something was off. Something in his heart, or his mind, or both, told him that something was wrong with their mother, but he didn't want to ask too directly. Clearing his throat, he inquired: "Speaking of Mom, uhm, how is she doing?"

Hana didn't answer, she felt as though she physically couldn't.

"Hana," Jungwoo sat up straight, facing his sister once more. It occupied him a moment to adapt to how different she looked--she was no longer the preteen he once knew. "Is everything okay?" This time, his voice shook, almost certain that the answer would be that his mother is dead.

And that, he was correct about. Hana couldn't meet his eyes, but taking a deep breath, she decided she had to do it. "Jungwoo she's...uhm, not alive." Her voice cracked. She didn't dare looking at the boy, fearing that if she saw his reaction, she'd wind up breaking down.

"How...?" Hana could hear the grief in his voice, and still not looking back at him, she answered.

"When you left, she became really weak and sick, overcome with stress." Hana attempted to lay the news down on her brother as gently as possible. "She also began battling heart complications, and she passed away in her sleep." She finally looked over her shoulder at her brother, whose face hadn't shown any emotion yet, though the muscles in his facial features twitched, as if he was holding back a reaction.

Not too long after, he pushed himself to stand up. "I need a moment." He walked off somewhere, wherever he was going being unbeknownst to Hana. Jungwoo was the type to deal with his emotions privately, so Hana gave him the space he needed. She crossed her arms over her knees and laid her head on top of her cushiony arms, her heart breaking all over again.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, seemingly an hour, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. It may have looked as though she was sleeping, only she was deep sulking in guilt and not moving--until now. She raised her head slowly to meet eyes with whoever broke her out of her trance, only to be met with Jungwoo who stood above her. Her face was a now a slight shade of pink, as was Jungwoo's, indicating the two were crying in their own respective areas.

"Does she have a grave?" Asked he, his voice remaining low as he held eye contact with his sister. She said nothing, only giving a brief nod. Jungwoo sighed, not knowing whether to feel relieved or not."Could we...?"

"Of course." She pushed herself up into a standing position, and with one quick swipe across her undereye and a sniffle of the nose, she disposed of the sorrow on her features.

✦*ೃ༄

The cemetery stretched out before the two, a bittersweet sea of gravestones adorned with flowers and memories. Hana and Jungwoo walked side by side, the weight of the past hanging heavy as they approached the resting place of their dear mother. The sky was pigmented in hues of orange and pink.

"This one," she pointed to a stone, decorated with aged flowers. Hana visited her mother regularly by herself, and today would mark the first time she brought someone along.

Silence enveloped the two, only partially disturbed by the rustling of leaves in the wind around them. Jungwoo carried a bouquet of lilies, their mother's favorite. He slowly knelt down, placing the lilies by the gravestone. His touch lingered, longing for an intangible reconnection with his mother. He closed his eyes, resting the palm of his hand at the head of the stone. Though no words left his mouth, he still communicated silently, in his head. Silent tears poured down his face again.

Hana knelt down beside her brother, rubbing his back. She remembered the day she discovered her mother dead, and could only imagine how her brother felt, as he'd only found out a couple of hours ago.

The two suffered from contrasting types of guilt. Hana experienced the guilt of being the one discovering her dead, and Jungwoo was currently experiencing the guilt of feeling at fault--the lifeless stone before them remaining a witness to such.