apology

prologue

October 13, 2008, 6 p.m.

  At the hospital.

  The girl curls her trembling body into a ball on the chair, tears streaming down her face, fear overtaking her body.

  Her mother pats the small of her back, trying to give consolation, but the girl knows, it was because of her own rebellion, that she made the unforgivable mistake.

  In a flurry of footsteps, a young woman and a boy appear from the other side of the hospital corridor, anxiety written all over their faces. They run to the doctor, interrogating him.

  Not long later, the boy's cries of grief reverberate throughout the entire corridor.

  The girl's mother heads towards the pair, making a 90-degree bow as a sign of sorry. The girl knows, her mother has gone to apologize for her mistake. The girl's mistake. And she knows that she can't escape the consequences.

  She hugs her legs to her chest, trying to shoo away the unease and helplessness.

  "You... return me my mother!" the boy rushes towards the girl, crying while pulling at her hair.

  The girl silently tolerates it. Even though her scalp is already numb from pain, she doesn't attempt to defend herself, staying silent the whole time - because she knows she doesn't have the right to.

  "Do you know... it's because of you! I have no mother anymore!"  The boy is already breathless from crying.

  Slowly, his knees sink to the ground, the hand that's pulling on the girl's hair slowly loosening.

  "I'm sorry..."

  Besides 'sorry', the girl doesn't know what else to say, because no matter what, she can't return his mother to him.

  Glancing at the boy's shaking body, the girl slowly gets up from the chair to sit beside him, grabbing onto his elbows with both hands. "I'm-I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to..."

  The boy shakes the girl's hand away, slowly getting up from his position. "What's the use of apologizing?  My mother... she can never come back."

  He walks to the side, leaning against the wall, hands wrapped around himself. "Dad left me when I was young, and now... and now Mom has left me too... I'm an orphan now..."

  The girl walks over to the boy, planting her hands on his shoulders. "From now on, I'll be your family, okay?" she says seriously, her eyes reddened from crying.

  The boy pushes the girl to the ground. "Do you think family can be replaced just like that?"

  Before the girl can reply, the boy runs away, never stopping once to look back.

  Slowly, tears well up in the girl's eyes, blurring her vision as she watches him leave.

  I'm sorry. If I hadn't gone out to play, I wouldn't have fallen into the river, and your mother wouldn't have jumped in to save me. She wouldn't have lost her life.

  I'm sorry...

  I'm really sorry...

  I'm really really sorry...

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this story is set in 2015 even though i'm writing it in 2016 !! that's because hyyh pt.2 is my favourite era of them heh :>

;hoseokieomo