Epilogue
"You keep on staring at her. Why? Do you like her?" I placed down my phone and looked over to Hyeop. He placed the steaming cup of milk in front of me, as I continued to hold my head and stare at the phone down. I shook my head later on. I puffed an air, blowing my hair that touching my eyelids.
"How could I like her? She's only famous but I don't like her." I respond, shaking my head again. I played with my light-orange hair. I don't have any idea of why my hair is orange even my uncle told me that my mother's hair is also like this too. I asked him if mother wasn't Asian and he said no, then why my hair is like this?
"You should because I don't like you with someone." He said with all seriousness.
"Aren't you being all protective again hyung?" I asked and laughed.
"Well...uncle said that we can't trust no one."
I shrugged and stood up from my chair as soon I heard uncle's truck. I run down the stairs and I can hear Hyeop running behind me, he's calling me but I didn't mind him. I almost reach the edge of the stairs when I felt him sharply grab the back of my collar, yanking me back and making me fall on the floor. I immediately burst into tears. He was never rough with me, not once in my life. Uncle told Hyeop to take care of me since he's the older brother, but why now? Why did he suddenly do that for an unknown reason?
Hyeop quickly helped me up but I will throw a tantrum on the floor as any six-year-old would- I'm only nine years old and my brother is the same age as me. We aren't twinned uncle told that. He told us that we have a different father but have the same mother. Uncle didn't tell the whole story but it's enough for me that I and Hyeop are half brothers.
"Sorry Junhyuk-ah, I couldn't help it." Hyeop quickly apologized but I only cried out loud. "Hey! It's not my fault you fall! It's you ignoring my warnings! I told you not to run in the stairs!" He shouted at my face cause me to cry even louder.
I heard the door open and I quickly stood up, running away from Hyeop and opening the door. Uncle looked down on me. His face softened after seeing me cry. "Why are you crying?" He asked softly. I sniffle, covering my fluffy face. I heard him chuckle. "Aigoo...you look like your father. You know, he's a cry baby too." He said.
"Hyung hurt me!" I quickly told him. "He yanked my collar and I fall! He hurt me!" I sob. I hear footsteps coming from behind me and I feel Hyeop touch my shoulder but I shrugged his hand away. "He even yelled at me!"
"I yelled at you because you won't listen!" Hyeop tried to defend.
"Don't fight, will you? What if I'll be gone? Are you gonna still fight?" Uncle said with a scold. I sniffle, wiping the tears off of my face before shaking my head. Uncle smiled ruffled my hair. He looked at me and Hyeop. "You know, your fathers just like what you are. They still fighting sometimes but I know within them, they love each other as brothers. So, you two," He signs Hyeop to come close and stand beside me. He touched our shoulder. "You should love each other alright? You two are brothers."
I and Hyeop nod our heads. I faced him and apologized, he do the same and hugged me. I can hear uncle smile.
"You two very look like your fathers. I hope they won't find you." I heard uncle whisper and I pulled Hyeop away, looking confusedly at uncle.
"What did you say, uncle?" But he will shrug it off and told us to go up to our room. Hyeop will pull me up back to our room.
I looked down on uncle and caught him walking back outside but the weird thing I noticed is the shadow in front of uncle. Ever since I can remember, my uncle will always be saying those words. Yes, we look like our fathers but when I smile- I look like a mother. We have the same smile while Hyeop has the similarities of sassy attitude from mother. All I know in my nine years of living, we live in the middle of the farm away from society. But we have a neighbor and that's Mrs. Choi. She's kind to us especially to uncle and she always got our backs whenever uncle was away. She's the one who takes care of us, teach us to read and she even told us about school. I do want to go to school but my uncle will forbid us from going out. But somehow Mrs. Choi will give us textbooks to learn. I remember the phone my uncle give me to communicate with him when he's away.
I sometimes caught Hyeop searching through to the Internet like social cafes. Just when I saw the famous girl. She's famous and whenever I stared at her photo I can feel that she's already gone missing. Hyeop always caught me staring at her photo and scold me, asking me the same question every time. That makes me sick.
I know my brother just worried about me but isn't that too much? Sometimes he will hide the phone so I will ask Mrs. Choi to borrow her phone instead. I don't know but sometimes Hyeop is acting weird and that scares me.
Hyeop closed and locked the door after we both get inside. I yanked my hand back away from his grip and run to the window, ignoring Hyeop scolding. I peeped uncle through the window. I see uncle talking to someone outside of the house. I can't see the man's face but I can feel that we can't trust him. He's wearing a Panama hat and a white suit. Two guards with suits behind him. This man is screaming money!
"Get away from the window Junhyuk!" Hyeop yanked my arm and pulled me away again from the window. I hissed in pain.
He pushed me down on our bed.
"Why hyung! I just looking at them!" I whine, kicking my feet in the air.
"Uncle told me not to let you look out from the window when he talking to someone out from the house!" He said and slump beside me.
"What are those guys?" I asked, brows furrowed and Hyeop shrugged.
I jump off the bed and run back to the window again, hearing Hyeop hissing at me. Yeah, I'm too hard-headed but I assume I got this behavior from my mother. I watched them again and see the man with Panama slightly pushed uncle like he was threatening him or something. He points uncle's face before saying more words than left. Just when they left, another car has arrive and Mrs. Choi came to view. I saw her scooting to uncle, they talked. I feel a sharply yanked on my collar again.
"Why are you so stubborn!" Hyeop hissed again as he glared at me.
"I'm curious! That's all!" I quickly said.
"Stay on the bed. Don't stick your nose in someone's business!" He said, dragging me back to the bed and forcing me to lay there. I whimpered and tried to get up but Hyeop prevent me by looping his arms around my small torso. I began thrashing, pulling his arms away.
"Hyung! I don't wanna lay in bed with you! Not in this daylight!" I whine, trying all my might to pull away from Hyeop.
"Why? We're brothers anyway and besides uncle told us not to look out in the windows when someone is here." He chuckled, squeezing my torso. I can feel his face buried on my back. I feel sick when he hugged me like this.
Soon I gave up, let Hyeop hug like there's no tomorrow. I looked at the door and somehow my eyes felt heavy. I don't want to sleep yet but every time Hyeop will hugged me down on the bed, I felt sleepy. This hug is comforting and I could feel my eyelids move down. But before I finally fall into a deep sleep, I noticed something in the drawer. Something like paper peeking through the small space.
I carefully move Hyeop's arms and I relieve that he has completely fallen asleep.
My dizziness was completely gone and now, I am fully awake. I walked to the drawer and opened it up. I see a missing poster of that girl. The famous girl that always staring. My head furrowed and open the drawer completely. I feel my headache and my heart skips a beat with fear. I can see a pile of missing posters from the missing kids, teenagers, or adults. I closed my eyes. I can feel my body shivering in fear. I slowly opened it again but the posters are already gone. The paper I was holding wasn't the missing poster anymore but a folded letter. I unfolded it and read the letter.
'If anyone of you who will found this two babies- these two are siblings. The baby with light-orange hair was Junhyuk and the dark hair is Hyeop. Please, forgive me. I can't hold it anymore. Take care of them, not just for me but for Sunoo, master Hwang and master Junghwan. We did this because of them. We manage to escape but things got messier and all of my friends died. I'm also dying too. I wrote this letter to make you know about them. Please take care of them.
- Doyoung. '



What is this? Why there's a letter inside of our drawer? And the person who wrote this sounds like he's hurting so bad. I folded the letter and put it back inside the drawer. I don't know if Hyeop already read this but it seems so. I wonder who is Sunoo? Then master Hwang and master Junghwan? Who are they,
I closed the drawer and eyed Hyeop who currently sleeping soundly on the bed. He's asleep, which means no one can stop me now. I walked to the door and unlocked it. I went outside and run down the stairs. I found Mrs. Choi walking out of the door while shaking her head. She just went out of the kitchen. I can hear voices from the kitchen doe.
I sneakily head to the kitchen, peeping uncle who was with someone behind the wall. He's talking to the pretty girl. She's pretty and she doesn't look harmful. With brown hair shining through the sunlight that seeps through the windows. Her smiley face makes my heart warm. She looks like a real mother. A mother that could love her children wholeheartedly.
"I don't know what are you planning but I won't sell this house to Mr. Chil!" Uncle suddenly shouted, hitting the table hard. I almost whimpered.
The woman smiled sweetly at uncle, touching his shoulder. "I know but you have no choice. You asked billion from Mr. Chil and it's time for you to pay the price. Selling this house wasn't enough though." She said, leaning on her chair. Crossing her legs and spreading her arms. The smugness on her face didn't leave her.
"What are you pointing at Ms. Barbie?" Uncled asked, fuming in rage but trying to stay calm as possible.
I looked at her again and see her smirking at uncle. Now, I regret saying that she's good. She's bad just like how she acting right now. She's provoking uncle for something I don't know but it seems she's talking about selling the house. Even I'm still nine, I know everything about my surroundings. Mrs. Choi told us all of that. She told us to always know about our scenery and be aware.
"I want you to sell your truck as well your whole farm. How is it? Mrs. Choi agreed to help you just by selling her property. You should help her too."
"Always a bitch Barbie. Do you think playing as Mr. Chil's girlfriend will help you out of poverty? You are always a sluty whore just like before, seducing someone. But sorry, master Hwang didn't choose you in the end- "
I gasped seeing the woman slap uncle across his face. I was about to run to my uncle to shout at the woman but someone yanked my collar. I looked behind me and see Hyeop deeply glaring at me. Based on his face, he just woke up. His face is swollen and his plump lips as well from the sleep but he still looks adorable. I won't admit it because I'm cuter than him.
"What did I tell you?" He whispered angrily, holding me in my arms. "Don't stick your nose in someone- "
"But that woman hurt uncle!" I stubbornly said.
"What if you got hurt too! I don't want you to get hurt! Come on- "
"No! Let me go!" I yelled and struggle away from Hyeop. But he will pull me back to our room. I keep on thrashing away.
"Don't be stubborn Junhyuk!" He hissed but I only shook my head violently.
"Oh, who are these little cute kids."
I stop thrashing and faced the woman. Hyeop held my hand tight, pulling me close to him. I stared at the woman. She took a step forward towards us and we will step back. She kneel in front of us but she wasn't looking at me but she was looking at Hyeop. She's looking at him like she's very fond of Hyeop as if she's been looking for him and now that she found him. She can't help but make that face.
"You look like master Hwang. His kid version. Are you his son? Look you even have the same mole as him." She giggled. She raised her hand to touch Hyeop face but uncle quickly insert himself between us.
"Don't touch them. Get out of here please." Uncle shoo her away but the woman ignored him and get me instead. She held me on my shoulder and I feel the shudder run down my spine.
"You look like the youngest master. You have the same smile, same eyebrows, same eyes, and same nose." She held my face and tilted it to the side. "Even his side profile. His kid version too. But the hair..." Her eyes darkened just seeing my hair. She suddenly pushed me causing me to stumble and fall on the floor.
I heard Hyeop call my name and run to me but that woman stopped him by grabbing his both arms. She forced Hyeop to face her, touching his face like crazy. "You're master Hwang child. Do you know that you have an older sister but the shit whore who give birth to you killed her!"
Hyeop violently shook his head, struggling to get away from that woman's grip. "Get away from me!" He shouted, pushing the woman away. The woman hugged him and began to cry.
"I miss your father and your sister."
Hyeop began screaming while keep pushing the woman away. I looked at uncle confusedly. I don't know what is happening and why the woman acting creepy to Hyeop. Why did she push me even I didn't do anything wrong aside from gossiping.
Uncle pulled Hyeop away from the woman as he pushed her away. But the woman seems to have no plan on letting Hyeop go. She's screeching loudly while crying, determined to keep Hyeop close to him. The screaming, they all screaming and my ears began to hurt and my head feels like spinning.
It scares me. I'm scared.
I can feel my eyes watered, my chest tightening in fear. I shakily stood up and run back to our room. I heard Hyeop calling me but I didn't dare to look back. I almost reached the top floor when I suddenly strip and fall on the floor. My head hit the railings. I begin to cry in pain.
I heard footsteps coming up to me. I held my head and I can feel wet and sticky liquid coming out, flowing down to the side of my face.
"Junhyuk!" I heard Hyeop call me. He helped me to seat up on top of the stairs, removing my hands on my head but I shook my head. "Let me check your wound!" He yelled out of worry while trying to remove my hands.
"Ms. Barbie get out of here!" I heard uncle yell from downstairs. The sound of her heels coming closer make me feel dizzy and fear consume me whole. I began breathing fast, my chest tightened. What is happening? I'm scared.
Hyeop embraces me, squeezing my shoulders. I can hear him crying too.
"Let go of me, you stinky gardener! I will not leave this house not until that child comes with me!" She yelled, trying to come closer.
"Quit it Barbie! He's not your child! He's not master Hwang! Don't steal someone's child!" Uncle shouted as he chased up the woman.
The woman reach the top floor- reach us and pulled Hyeop away. He didn't let me go despite the woman's hard pull. I sobbed hard, clenching Hyeop's shirt.
"Stop it Barbie! You're scaring them!"
Uncle finally reach the woman and pulled her away from us- out of the house. I can still hear her screeching and protests but somehow I feel little at ease. Hyeop pulled me away to check my face, he cupped my cheeks- looking at my wound in full of worry.
When he noticed that I was panting hard, he told me to take a deep breath. He told me to take a deep breath with him until I calm down.
I inhaled and exhaled, trying to keep my breath steady just like what he doing. He smiled when I finally calmed down, wiping my tears away.
I see uncle come to us, panic eats him as he sees the cut on my head. I don't know what happened next but I remember uncle carrying me and running to our room while Hyeop followed us with tears running down his face.