cat next door.

thirteen

june 21, 20XX

[no one]

"dahye, can you believe we're actually having a pet?" a nine-year-old girl with jet black hair and a rose on her ears giggled excitedly to her sister.

"really? is it a fish or a dog?" the younger asked eagerly.

"it's neither. we're going to have a cat!" she exclaimed as she raises her hands.

the latter bit her lower lip anxiously to prevent herself from frowning. she didn't fancy cats that much. that was the least expected pet she would want to take care of.

well, not like she could stop her anyway. actually, she can, but just look at that wide smile on her face with just the thought of having a new pet. if that is what it takes for her sister to be happy, then she would endure it. even if it's cats.

that night, while the kids were sleeping, or so they thought, the adults were wide awake, discussing some matters they couldn't understand.

"we can't adopt a cat, you know that jinhwan."

"we've discussed about this. the girl has to get what she wants, too. i promised her and she's got good grades. let the child be."

"no, we've discussed this too. you do know how hard it will be for dahye."

"stop. i know this isn't just about us adopting a cat."

"i don't know if i can keep pretending, if we can keep pretending to them. this just isn't working out."

"we'll talk about this some other time, suhyun. go to sleep."

dahyun heard every single detail of their conversation and although she wasn't old enough to understand what all of those meant, she knew they weren't talking about good things. they were fighting, and it was because of her.

+

"what are you gonna name her, dahyun?" the younger asks as her father brought the cage into their living room.

"it's a he, silly. and i think i've got the perfect name for him."

"demi. your name is demi." dahyun points at the cat playfully and dahye just smiled from behind.

"jinhwan, stop this nonsense. you're spoiling dahyun too much."

"what has the child done to you that you hate her so much?"

"i don't hate her, you know that. it's just that you're always focusing on dahyun and you seem to forget that you still have another daughter. our daughter. you're not giving dahye the attention that she deserves."

"suhyun, look, i don't understand what you're on about now but i believe that i'm only doing what a father needs to do. dahye, she—"

"stop, i'm going in. don't talk to me."

+

dahyun is troubled, she knows that dahye's mom isn't her mom. but her father tells her that mom loves her because she took her in their family and loves her like her daughter.

she understands why they are fighting. dahye's mom doesn't want her anymore and dad is angry because of that. she was the cause of the chaos in their house. and she hated it.

"dahyun," dahye called out from the other side of the door.

"i'm not feeling well, dahye. don't bother me." the other replied with a sad voice.

"wait, i'll tell mom. i know she has medicines fo—" she was abruptly cut off by her sister.

"quit it, dahye. i can handle myself. go back to your room." her voice was sharp and harsh, sending chills down dahye's spine. she has never been angry to her like that.

what could have gone wrong?

+

dahye was troubled. her sister is mad at her and she doesn't even know why. she doesn't talk to her as often as they used to. she doesn't go to her room and play with her like she used to. and she would be lying if she said she didn't notice them drifting away.

she missed the old them. she needed to talk to her and fix things or she would go crazy doing nothing.

knock. no answer.

she knocked again, this time, much louder. again, no one answered. she tried to twist the knob and it clicked.

"dahyun," she called out to her sister. the more steps she took, the clearer she saw her room—it was a mess. papers were everywhere on the floor, clothes sprawled across the room.

"dahyun, are you there?" she again called out, her voice starting to shake as she was holding back her tears. she took another step and suddenly, a cat's screeching was heard.

she backed away, feeling her neck sting for some reason. she accidentally moved the chair onto which the cat was sitting on, making it jump to her in surprise, scratching her neck on the process.

the door was abruptly opened by a shocked mother and a confused sister.

"sorry, dahyun. i'm so sorry." she cried out.

+

"we're leaving in a few days. i already contacted a friend who owns a house in seoul. she's selling it to me since she's leaving for the states."

"i can't really stop you, can i?"

"we've talked about this, jinhwan. anyway, sooner or later, this is still going to happen, so why should i make the wait longer?"

"i don't know."

after a few sleepless nights, her mother packed up their things and left. dahyun was left with their and dahye with her mother.

it was one painful departure to the children, knowing that they still weren't in good terms, at least for dahyun.

dahye cried when they were leaving, dahyun didn't. she didn't bid her sister farewell, she just watched them leave.

and she knew she would regret it.

[+]

this is boring im