Sun and Moon (Sweet Home)

01

"I told Mum that I'll drive you to her and Sang-Hoon's house in a bit," Mun-Su said. Mi-Sun felt the seat dip beside her as her older brother threw himself onto the couch, he ran a hand through his wavy black hair. She nodded, pursing her lips. A Korean dub of Adventure Time was playing on the TV in front of them, she watched the bright colours dance on the screen but didn't absorb anything going on.

"Thanks, I don't think I could have dealt with staying in that house for another two days," she said, wringing her hands. Her black nail polish was chipped from absentmindedly scratching it off, a nervous tick she had never grown out of. It was better than biting them she guessed.

"So what did that asshole do this time?" Mun-Su asked, his tone light but his face was serious. He wanted to know why his precious baby sister had knocked on his door, upset and refusing to go back to their father's house.

The teenage girl sighed, pulling a face, "Same old, same old." She said, not wanting to get into it. 'It'll just make him mad,' she thought.

Even if Mun-Su hadn't known her inside out, it wasn't hard to tell that what happened had bothered her. Their father had an infuriating knack for putting the downhearted look in Mi-Sun's eyes that made his chest ache.

"He's such a bastard, did he yell at you again? So help me I will break his face!" Mun-Su ranted furiously, deciding that he would be paying his father a long overdue visit. "He has the gall to be a dick to you after you agree to spend time with him!"

Their father, Jung Sung-Ho, was a stern man, 'traditional' in many senses. Mun-Su saw 'traditional' as more of an excuse to bully people, beat his wife and put his daughter down when she didn't conform.

Mi-Sun had found herself on the receiving end of his fury when she walked through his front door that morning, and he laid eyes on her new hair. It was a light honey blonde, cut into choppy layers with a side fringe. One side of her head was shaved and showed off her ear piercings.

Sung-Ho had never appreciated his daughters more alternative style, as toned down and casual as it was. He wanted a smart and respectable daughter who studied hard and did as she was told. He instead had an artsy daughter who spent more time drawing than studying and dressed like some kind of delinquent. He especially hated a certain trait of Mun-Su's that had rubbed off on her- she refused to let him push her around. Of course, that didn't stop him from trying. He had yelled at her for a good half hour before Mi-Sun had enough and walked the hour to her brother's apartment building.

"It's okay, Mun. It's fine," Mi-Sun said, it felt like she was defusing a bomb. Her brother was well-known for having a short fuse, and he absolutely loathed their father.

"No, it very much is not!" His face scrunched up in anger. "He has no right to treat you like that!" Mi-Sun's more laid back nature bothered him sometimes, she deserved better!

Mi-Sun looked at the floor, she knew he was right but she didn't want to fuel his fire. Mun-Su sighed. He forced himself to take a deep, calming breath. The twenty year-old had been trying to work on his temper, he knew it made Mi-Sun uncomfortable. The blonde girl didn't like seeing him so angry, although she knew he'd never even think of hurting her.

"Well, you know you're always welcome here, right?" Mun-Su said, his voice level and miles calmer than before.

Mi-Sun nodded, "Yeah, I know."

In all honesty, Mun-Su's apartment was more of a home to Mi-Sun than either of their parent's houses. It was small and the building was a bit run down but that living room with the huge shelf full of figurines and comic books and, what she referred to as, the PewDiePie shrine in the corner of the room. Every inch of the nerdy apartment felt like home. For her, home was with her hotheaded brother with his heart of gold.

The two siblings watched the TV for the next couple of hours, laughing and occasionally making commentary. It wasn't until the sun was going down that Mun-Su pulled himself up from the couch, "Okay, Sunny, time to go."

Mi-Sun stood up, smoothing out her oversized Batman T-shirt and throwing her backpack over her shoulder. "I wish I could stay with you," she said. She loved her mum and step dad but Cho Jaehee, despite being extremely loving, didn't always understand her daughter.

"I do too," Mun-Su said. "We could always fake your death, you can live in my closet!"

Mi-Sun laughed, stepping out into the hall, "Gee, how could I pass that up." She waited for her brother to lock the door before they began walking down the hall.

Standing in front of the elevator doors was a young man wearing a blue plaid shirt with a grey T-shirt underneath, Mi-Sun recognized him as a neighbour from down the hall. He looked over his shoulder at the two siblings, large round glasses flashing in the fluorescent light, his black hair fell over his forehead. He only seemed a few years older than Mi-Sun, college age maybe?

"Hi diddly ho, neighbourino," Mun-Su greeted playfully, as was his nature. He was aggressively friendly, it was a bit off-putting to some people.

The man nodded in response, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Having encountered him in the elevator so often, he was used to Mun-Su's shenanigans. "The elevator is out of order," he told them in a smooth voice.

"Guess we're using the stairs then," The blonde girl said, adjusting her backpack. Mun-Su grinned, slinging an arm around his sister's shoulder as the three headed for the stairwell.

The man politely held the door open for them, receiving a small "Thank you," from Mi-Sun.

Mun-Su took the lead going down the stairs, "This is my baby sister by the way," he informed his neighbour, gesturing to the younger girl. "Mi-Sun!"

"Lee Eun-Hyuk," The glasses wearing man introduced himself.

Mi-Sun looked back at him, smiling warmly, "Nice to meet you," she said. He was a bit apathetic looking, but he seemed nice enough.

Eun-Hyuk mouth quirked into a small smile, "Likewise, Mi-Sun."