TIMESKIP 2 YEARS
"What's wrong with he-"
"Hush child, she can hear you."
...
...
...
The girl glanced up at her father as he rested a hand on her back, moving her dull gaze back to the front, where a wooden box was slowly being rested down at the bottom of a six feet deep hole.
No...
Her gaze wasn't dull...
'Why can't I cry?'
She watched as the others tossed roses onto the casket of her mother, tossing her own flowers down when it was her turn.
'I... I want to cry...'
...
'I want to be weak for today.'
The crowd moved back to their seats, shuffling and quiet voices occurring as the funeral slowly came to an end.
"What a heartless girl."
"She didn't even cry at her mother's funeral... Ungrateful child."
"Perhaps our daughter was wrong in marrying that man."
'I'm... not... heartless...'
...
'I loved Eomma.'
Hyewon weakly grabbed her father's sleeve, the man glancing down with solemn eyes.
Without a word, he gently rubbed her head, pulling her closer to him.
...
...
"Don't listen to what they say, I know how you feel deep inside, Hyewon-ah."
Her father mumbled the words so the relatives from her mother's side could not hear, and all Hyewon could muster was to lean her head on his side.
A man and a woman she didn't recognize came up to them at the moment, and Hyewon pulled away from her father's arm.
"Mr. Kang?"
"Ah- oh hello there."
"Our condolences for your loss."
"Likewise... It has also been a while since we've seen each other."
"Indeed it has, I think the last time we did was when Hyewon was a little baby?"
'I'm guessing they're one of my aunts and uncles from Eomma's side...'
To that, Hyewon bowed in respect, mumbling a polite hello before straightening herself back up and staring at her shoes.
The two kept a conversation with Hyewon's father, and the sixth grader looked around the area of the funeral, watching many of the relatives and close friends slowly leave.
Her eyes landed on a little girl, who seemed to be younger than ten, near the exit, sitting on a bench alone as she stared off into the distance.
Seeing as though there were rarely any adults left, the girl must have been the couple's daughter, one of her cousins she probably never met.
Hyewon walked off without a word since the conversation did not include her, approaching the little girl.
The girl focused her eyes again and looked up from Hyewon's new presence, tilting her head at the older girl.
Hyewon sat down next to the girl, the two keeping eye contact for a couple minutes before the girl pointed to the now filled hole in the ground.
"Your eomma?"
Hyewon nodded, "yeah."
The girl nodded as well, and the two remained in silence for the remaining few minutes, both of them staring at the new grave.
...
...
...
"Wonyoung, let's go."
"Hyewon-ah, it's time to go home."
The girl stood up without a word and Hyewon did the same, the two going to their respective parents as the adults waited at the exit.
But as the girl, Wonyoung, was about to leave with her parents, she turned around to face Hyewon again.
When her parents didn't stop, she quickly held her father's suit sleeve.
"What is it?"
She pointed at Hyewon while looking up at him, "unnie."
'Huh?'
Her father glanced over to Hyewon, then to Hyewon's father, "your daughter's in middle school, correct?"
"Next year she will be, yes."
He gestured with his hand, "I know it's a hard time for you two especially... But would Hyewon mind babysitting our child now and then? We've been looking for someone to look over her while we are at work, we'll pay her by the hour."
Her father glanced down at her, "Hyewon?"
...
"You don't need to pay me, I'll still do it."
And that was the first time Hyewon saw light in Wonyoung's eyes.
"Great, thank you both so much."
The man glanced at her father, "we'll contact you when needed," before glancing back down at Wonyoung, "come now, Wonyoung."
Wonyoung followed her parents to their car, glancing back before going inside to wave at Hyewon.
Hyewon gave a small wave back, the two neither smiling or frowning as they went their individual ways.
"Wonyoung seems to like you."
"Who is she?"
"Your cousin, you never met her since you haven't seen her parents in a while, but she's going to be in second grade when the summer ends."
"Oh."
"What'd you two talk about?"
Hyewon shrugged as they sat down in the car, "nothing, we didn't talk at all."
"Huh..."
...
"Why does she like me?"
"I have no idea."
"How do you know she likes me?"
"She called you 'unnie'."
"And?"
"She doesn't call a lot of people that."
"Oh."
Before her father started driving, he rested a hand on Hyewon's head, rubbing it gently in silence.
The two didn't need to talk, and as they left the area of the funeral...
They knew both of their lives had changed.
YOU ARE READING
Mourning Sun ✔️
FanfictionThere are no fairy tales, just hardships... Here is a story of twelve girls who are well... dealing with life as they grow up, realizing that the fairy tales they heard as little children were just that, tales. ~ [An IZ*ONE fanfic]
