One More Day

Because of You

When Si-ho woke up, the other side of the bed was already empty. She knew that Sang-un had not been sleeping well since they moved into Hwal's house about a month ago. In fact, she could only count with the fingers in her hands the number of times she saw her sister sleep soundly since they started living in hiding. Her disruptive sleep behavior hasn't gotten any better.

She knew about her nightmares. She just never had a grasp of the gravity of it until her sister finally allowed her to look into her past. After she read her memories, she finally understood where Sang-un's tears and cries were coming from whenever she would wake up in cold sweats in the middle of the night.

"You can't die Unnie, please don't die!"

These were the last words she was able to say in tears to Sang-yeon, before she saw the life from her twin sister's eyes fade away as the blade cut through to her heart. She saw their mother's throat torn apart until she could no longer scream. Sang-un at thirteen years old watched helplessly as their family was murdered by Ok Eul-tae in cold blood right in front of her eyes. Si-ho's tears fell as she took on a share of the burden that her sister carried alone by herself for the last fifteen years.

For the very first time, she finally saw how Sang-un was without her masks on, no walls, no pretenses. She was just a fragile person with a broken smile trying her best not to be overtaken by her pain and circumstances. From that moment on, they promised that they would never hide anything in the guise of protecting each other ever again. To share each other's heavy load because that's what family is all about after all.

She knew that they couldn't do anything about their painful memories. She can never make her sister forget. But she promised that they will be there for each other, so they can grieve together. She thought, if only she had more money right now, she would have had her sister's PTSD treated professionally. She's now determined to work hard after all of this is over so she could save up not only for her child's future but also to help Sang-un get treatment. This much she could do for her in return.

"Find the man with a scar on his right hand. He's the sword that can kill Bulgasal. Find that man, he will help you...run."

These were the last words their older sister Sang-yeon was able to say before she died. And as if by fate, she managed to do just that. Sang-un found Hwal, he found her. They found each other.

It was still cold outside but the sun was already up. She picked up her phone from the table, flipped it open, and saw that Sang-un left a message saying that she and Hwal were going to the mountain. They will be back just in time for brunch.

She took this time to indulge herself in the jacuzzi tub. She was only able to experience such luxury here in the mountain house. Obviously, they could not afford one with how much they made in the past. Their old apartment didn't have this as an amenity. Hwal's old house back in Gyeonggi-do obviously didn't have it either.

An hour of self care has done wonders for her overall mood. It was the best bath she's ever had. She would've wanted Sang-un to indulge herself like she did just now too once in a while. Since her sister has had nothing but pain and hardship all her life.

When she didn't come out for dinner last night, she thought Sang-un was just overreacting about her back pain. In the past, she never really made a big deal about her injuries. From defending herself from monsters, she's had cuts on her hand, sprained her ankle, had bruises on her neck, and got stabbed on the shoulder, yet she never went to the hospital for any of those. She almost thought her sister was invincible. But last night, she could barely move.

When she insisted on checking her back, it had bruises, black and blue against her milky white skin. She almost panicked. But Sang-un assured her that it's okay since she doesn't have a fever. She only needed to sleep it off. Si-ho was at least able to put relief patches on it.