One more time

Chapter 2

CHAEYOUNG'S POV

When I was a kid I used to be most of the time at home. My mother has always been overprotective and even if my dad tries to convince that everything is allright she is still acts that way. I don't know how they ended married. My father is adventurous by nature and so I am. That's why my mother kept running after me all the time and I hated it. She overwhelmed me with her worries but I grew understanding that it was her way to show her affection.  

I usually stayed at home drawing. When mother went out for work I took it as a chance to go play outside. When she came back and saw me all dirty she ended up grounding me so I ended again at home all day with no one to play. I had the chance to do so at school, she said. And I did, but it was boring and I ended going back to the classroom to keep sketching on my own. But even if mother grounded me, I knew she meant good, after all that's what father said. He also told me that mother was like that because she had to say goodbye too soon to someone she loved and she didn't wanted to pass for it again. I guess father meant my grandparents but I'm unsure.

Anyway, when I was a first grader, I met this older girl at school. I have seen her before, she was a neighboor. At that time I did errands in order to buy mother a gift. She got sick from one day to another and she had to stay at the hospital. Father told me it was nothing to be worry about but I knew mother was suffering because when she came home she was so distant and sad. I did not gather enough money to buy her bouquet and I explained the flower shop owner my situation so she gave  a couple of roses to welcome her. Mother smiled sadly at me and did not say anything. Later, she got mad at me when she knew how I got the money. As I was saying, this girl's mother was very kind and let me do some errands from time to time and I saw her at home but I never talked with her.

This girl was Jihyo-unnie. She talked to me one day at school and I noticed that she was really friendly. Even at her age, she was really kind and thoughful with her words. I guess it is in her nature but she seriously had this mother-like feeling even as a kid. I remember I felt comfortable but still shy. Dahyun came over and I relaxed. She was a popular kid at my class and her smile always cheered me up. Dahyun introduced Jihyo as her older sister and I was shocked. I knew Dahyun since kindergarden and I knew she was an only child. I frown and though that they didn't looked alike but I said nothing. We kept talking the rest of the lunch and we did so from that day on.

I got closer with Dahyun and also with Jihyo-unnie. I noticed how diferent Dahyun acted with her sister. It made me jealous. Jihyo-unnie was older and patient and when Dahyun and I argued she always listened both parts before tell us to apologize and be friends again. Even if it was clearly Dahyun's fault, because she was spoiled and immature and always wanted to win, Jihyo-unnie was fair. Jihyo-unnie laughted at my jokes, the ones that everyone tell me were bad. She also encouraged me to keep drawing and she even gave me a coloring set for my birthday. Mother didn't allow me to use it alone but still, I was happy. Jihyo-unnie hugged me when I was cold and held my hand when we crossed the streets. When I stayed overnight, Jihyo-unnie lend me her plushies to hug before sleep. She also combed my hair the next day before going home.

I was so jealous of Dahyun for having a sister. For having Jihyo-unnie as a sister. I wanted her to be my big sister. I could treat her better. Jihyo-unnie could be happier with me as a little sister but I knew that it would never happen. One day I asked my father about it. I was clear and told him I wanted a sister. I told him that I would take care of her and I would lend her my crayons and gave her all the strawberries I got. I also said that I would teach her to ride a bike safely and to obey mother and be good. He looked at me and smiled sadly. Mother left the room and father went for her. I heard mother cry and my heart beat so fast I could listen it on my ears. My hands started to sweat and I also lowered my gaze. I didn't knew why but I was sure I did something wrong. I never asked for it again.

Time passed and I got customed to the idea of being an only child. After all, I keept having Jihyo-unnie as a very close friend and I had to comform myself with it. I was in the living room, doing some sketches on my notebook. Mother was in the kitchen chatting happily with father after he finished dinner. Suddenly, the phone rang and we all were surprised. It was a saturday night and it was kinda late, to me at least, because I normally slept around 9pm but mother allowed me to stay awake that night because father was returning from his bussiness trip.

Father answered the phone, I heard his voice. He then started to speak in a language I had heard before but I didn't understand. I knew it was japanese because father had bussinesses with Japanese people at work. I though it was a job call. Mother thought so too because she called me over and told me to said good-night to father. It was going to take him a while before hanging up the phone. Father had an expression I had never seen before but I obeyed mother and hugged him before going to bed. He smirked and ruffled my hair and I went to my room. The last thing I heard that night were my parents whispering.

My father was a bussinessman. When he was young he lived overseas, in Japan. He met a man in there and they become good friends. Bestfriends, he told me. Eventually, the company sent my father back to Korea and his friend stayed in Japan. They keept in touch as the years went by. His friend got married before my father and had two daughters. Mother also was good friends with him and his wife. Apparentely, they used to visit each other very often, to the point of spending holidays together. This happened, of course, before I was born. Naturally, I didn't knew about it. 

That night, the call father received wasn't for job. It was about his friend. And his wife. And one of his daughters. It was about the other one that now was alone. Father was sad for so long after it, even now that years had passed and all keep as a memory, he remembers. Mother also seemed troubled by this situation but she was strong for father and helped him to keep going. Next day father traveled overseas. It took him three whole months to come back. Mother tried to explain me what was happening and I did.

I was getting a sister.