Those days - txtzy

part 1: 二

The hot sun was starting to discourage Yeonjun. Dripping with sweat despite being situated under the shelter of a large tree, the busker was getting tired and his motivation fading. No one was stopping to listen or even throw a coin or two. But he decided to finish one last song, but then as he strummed, a girl caught his eye. She was tall and had her long hair covering half her face, shyly approaching him, eyes closed once she was near enough as her head swayed lightly to the music. Feeling a lot more inspired, Yeonjun continued to sing, his eyes fixed on the girl. Without him noticing, a small crowd had gathered, as if finally some people had decided that 'hey, that guy sings pretty well'. A smattering of applause erupted when he ended his final note, and when it was obvious that he was done, the crowd began to disperse, but the girl stayed and once they were the only ones standing there she walked up and meekly said, "Your singing is really nice." In her extended hand was an offered chilled water bottle, which he accepted gratefully.

Yeonjun began packing up, collecting his microphone and gathering his bag before he gave a small goodbye wave to Yeji and he walked off, leaving Yeji alone.

"What the hell, girl," Ryujin sighed as she ran up to Yeji, who still stood there, "What are you doing? I had to leave your food there because a fly landed on it." Ryujin pouted, obviously trying to annoy the older. Yeji simply swatted at the girl, her mind on the busker and his beautiful singing.

-

Yeji returned home to screaming. Her hand rested on the doorknob, wondering if she should enter, or hide at Ryujin's house till it died down. Then she pushed open the door. A shattered vase lay on the floor, glinting and lonely. Her father stood there, his features pleading and frightened as her mother paced, wringing her hands and muttering incoherently.

When her father noticed she had arrived home, his face washed over with a mixture of worry and relief at the same time. His eyes seemed to signal to her to creep to her room, but her mother interrupted with a devastated wail. Her mother had been seeing a doctor for her psychosis episodes, but Yeji was pretty sure she had seen her mother pour the contents of the orange vials of medication down the toilet bowl on many occasions. She made a move to slip to her room, but her mother's muttering made her freeze as her blood ran cold.

"Yerin," Her mother murmured, her voice longing and wistful, "Yerin was perfect. Yerin is so perfect. And she's there. She was there. Where did she go?"

Her mother had been going on and on about Yerin for months now. At first, Yeji and her father tolerated the gibberish her mother spouted as she blabbered on about Yerin and her daily life.

"Yerin learned to walk today!" Her mother would cheerfully chirp as she folded clothes terribly.

"Yerin brought home a lovely friend today, I knew she would be wonderful with pets!" Her mother said as she stroked a stray cat that she had plucked from the streets.

"Yerin wants a piano, she saw one in a music shop and absolutely adored it, but I couldn't afford that expensive instrument!" Her mother cried one rainy night after a messy grocery trip.

The reason why her mother stopped taking her pills is because Yerin went missing when she started on them. Her mother had been desperate to find the girl, but to no avail. The police turned her away at every attempt to contact them, making her mother more and more miserable by the days.

It was as if she had forgotten she had another daughter.

"Dearest," Her father said gently, "Yeji just came home, don't you want to have a chat with her? She's been doing so well in class, and-"

"Our daughter," her mother screeched, "Will never be enough." Yeji knew which daughter she was referring to.

I am still not enough.

And I never will be.

That's all that when through her head.