Dalnim

12

Lab practicals were her favorite time of the day. Seiji could spend days in a lab doing numerous experiments and tabulating the results and she would be more than content with it. 

But Seiji just wasn't feeling okay that day. She had this weird feeling in her bones that something was going to happen and it was not going to be good. She had broken two test-tubes in a row when the principal entered the room and asked her to step out for a moment. 

It was weird but the first thought that came to her mind was of her mother's. 

Seiji had never seen her mother in real life. She died shortly after her birth. But they had a lot of photos of her back at home. His father used to say she resembled her mother a lot. That made Seiji feel all warm and nice from inside, always.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw Hoseok standing in the middle of the hallway, tears streaming down freely his cheeks. 

"What happened?" Seiji asked shakily. Hoseok shook his head and turned towards the wall, his shoulders going up and down with the sobs racking his whole body. That's when she noticed the cops standing there with their heads bowed down.

"What happened?" She yelled louder this time, making all of them flinch. She walked to Hoseok, hugging him tightly. He clutched to her shirt as if his life depended on it. "What happened Hoba?" She asked again, softly.

"Dad... accident," He whispered. "They could- couldn't save h-h-him."

Seiji stilled. But coming to sense right after. She held Hoseok even tighter in her arms. She squeezed her eyes hard for a long moment. That's the only way she reacted to the news. 

Seiji wanted to run away. Forget everything and never return. But her brother needed her. Hoseok needed her. And she had to be strong for the sake of both of them.