N.O

Chapter 3

I kept holding Yeonhwa's hand as we made our way home without speaking a word. I kept asking myself questions like, Why am I like this? How did I get to be like this? What makes me so special that turns me into the government's parasite?

Yeonhwa looked up at me and tugged on my sleeves, bringing me back to my senses. "Big Brother, what's wrong?"

I didn't say anything at first because for the first time in my life, I had the urge to ignore her.

No, I thought to myself. Mother's already done that. You can't be the second person to do this to her.

I squatted down to look into her big, puppy-like eyes and said with a small smile, "Everything's fine, Little Girl. Don't worry too much about me."

Yeonhwa had a sad look in her eye and suddenly hugged me. "I know you're lying to me. I can tell."

My eyes started to water as I murmured, "How do you know me so well?"

I held her small body in my arms for a short while before I heard Mother clear her throat. Looking up at her, all that was to see was a pair of sad eyes. I sighed, picked up Yeonhwa, and carried her the rest of the way home. "Yeonhwa?"

She hummed in response.

"What do you want to do today?"

She looked at me said, "I want to make fun of you, you pig."

I chuckled then said, "Okay, you can make fun of me all you want."

After that, all she did was call me names and tease me until we reached our small home. I put her down once we were inside, but as soon as her feet hit the ground, she touched my knee and giggled out, "You're it!"

I smiled while jogging after her, not wanting to knock down the couple pieces of furniture we had. She ran away to my room with me right behind her. I caught her from behind as she was trying to hide in my small closet and spun her around in circles, laughter filling the air. Eventually after getting dizzy, I set Yeonhwa on my bed and tickled her sides like crazy until she begged me to stop.

We kept playing for hours until the sun said goodnight along with Yeonhwa's eyes.

Slowly but surely, I crept out of bed and tiptoed to my dresser for a clean t-shirt and underwear, and took slow strides to the bathroom we all shared. I then turned on the water and started to rinse the gunk off my skin as that ring came back to haunt my ears.

While I started to wash my hair, I thought of the worst. How will Yeonhwa survive without me? I'm her big brother and the only one who takes care of her. Me being a parasite didn't matter to me at the moment. All that mattered was how my sister was going to smile again.

I got out of the shower, dressed myself, and walked out to see my baby sister still sleeping at the head of my bed. With a small smile on my face, I slipped under the covers with her and held onto her tenderly once more.

After everything that happened today, all the thoughts and questions that made me worry, helped me make my final decision. "Yeonhwa," I whispered softly, "I won't go just because I'm supposed to, or because of what everyone says. I'll go only because I want to survive, but not for myself. I'll survive for you, Little Girl, and only you."

After awhile, I fell asleep protecting my dearest Yeonhwa in my arms.