On a cold evening of Tuesday, January 6th, 9 PM, air hung heavy over Seoul, as Jeonghan yelled, "Jaeha! You ready?" from downstairs while he put his shoes on.

His sister's footsteps echoed down the hall, stopping at the final step. As Jeonghan looked down, he saw her flitting back and forth, looking between him and their father, who stood near the bottom of the stairs, seething.

"Don't run in my house," he spoke and was about to descend the stairs, but Jeonghan stopped him.

"What is it?" he asked, his tone implying that he thought his father was wasting their time.

"I'm not holding you back so you could leave," his father replied curtly, wanting him out so he could handle his daughter.

"I won't move until you get lost," Jeonghan said resolutely, causing his father to clench his jaw and walk away, visibly infuriated his footsteps heavy against the marble floor.

His sister immediately darted across the hallway, stopping behind her brother's back. With her shoes on, she was ready to go at a moment's notice, should the need arise. Her head swiveled from Jeonghan to her father, watching their interaction and keeping an eye out for whatever drama might arise. While Jeonghan watched his father with a stern gaze.

As they left the house, her face twisted into a grimace of disgust. Jeonghan laughed and gave a playful shove before commenting, "Don't make that face. It happens all the time."

She replied bitterly, "And I fucking hate him all the time."

Jeonghan pursed his lips in understanding then wrapped his left arm around her, pulling her close. "Let's forget about it and get something to eat instead," he said as they walked towards a small restaurant.

"Anything. I'll treat you, okay?" He asked gently, noticing her weary expression. She thought for a moment before settling on her all-time favorite: ramen. "Two cups," she muttered, as they walked towards the restaurant. Jeonghan sighed and squeezed her hand, feeling sad for her.

"Ah, I have money. You can take other items too!" He told her with a concerned look on his face. Truth be told, he didn't have a lot of money atm.

He just wanted his sister to have something delicious to eat. Dinner was about making your stomach and heart full, after all. Plus, their father gave them an allowance once a month, and it wasn't enough to last the entire month. So they were always careful with their spending and tried to make each dollar count.

"Thank you," she murmured, as she squeezed his hand in return, feeling reassured by his kindness.

Once they arrived at the restaurant, Jeonghan opened the door, permitting his sister to enter first. they took a seat in a corner and perused the menu. Frowning when she saw the prices, thinking that their father would be upset if they spent too much money on food.

Jeonghan scoffed, but did not avert his gaze, saying "Let him do what he wants, I'll deal with him." His tone softened as he turned his attention to his sister, sensing her anxiety. He smiled and laid down his menu, saying, "Don't worry. Dad isn't as terrifying as you believe. If handled correctly, he acts more like a cat." She signed in relief as Jeonghan nodded, holding her hand tightly.

"Let's choose a cheap option so we can save our funds for our future. We'll vacate the house soon anyway," she suggested, to which he readily agreed, grinning like a child.

"Once I'm 18 in a few months, I'll be able to cook our meals, and you can do the same, so we should be fine. Plus, Seungcheol offered to help with the entire process, so you don't have to worry," Jeonghan said, making his sister laugh at the thought of her brother's friend helping them. He smiled and squeezed her hand.

"I'll also officially take your custody so we can live together under the same roof. Then, when we both get married, I'll also make sure your husbands agree to live with us," Jeonghan added lightheartedly, making her laugh even harder.

"We'll live happily ever after without that bastard," he finished, glancing at her with a warm smile.

"It will take many years to find someone who is willing to live like that. Also don't think about custody just yet. We'll see." she said before a waiter came to their table to take their order.

"Sorry for the late. What would you like to order?"

"One bibimbap. Two Sundubu-jjigae and one kimchi-jjigae. That's all, thank you" she looked at him in disbelief. But before she could say anything, the waiter nodded and yelled at the chef behind the counter their order. With her mouth agape, she looked at her brother with her brows furrowed.

"Do you know how much this costs?" She muttered quietly, her eyes darting between the menu and her brother's face as she began to tally up the prices. The numbers felt overwhelming, and her eyes widened in dismay as she realized just how expensive the dishes were.

"That's more than 7,000 - 8,000 won!" She exclaimed softly, covering her eyes with her hands and mumbling, "Why is it so expensive?" In response, Jeonghan's heart fluttered as he took the menu away and gently ruffled her hair.

"Because you are the most cherished person in my life," he declared. Her gaze softened, and she looked away shyly. "I'll earn so much money that you'll get tired of counting the zeros." She declared making his heart warm at her words.

He laughed and nodded along with her. Though, he always wanted to be the one to provide money between the two but if she wants to earn then sure, he won't stop her. Only when she has an actual job, he won't let her work part time when she is studying.

"How is college going for you?" she inquired curiously.

"It's fifty-fifty. The instructors are quite biased, but their emphasis tends to be solely on academics and examinations. As for extracurricular activities and bonus points for projects and assignments, they could do a better job there," he responded, prompting her to chuckle. Jeonghan had a reputation as being the smarter of the two, and she was typically an average student. Regardless, his innate intelligence gave him an edge over her.

Additionally, Seungcheol, Jeonghan's childhood best friend, had once speculated that she might have ADHD, but Jeonghan dismissed the idea. He was closely familiar with his sister, and he trusted his own judgment about her mental well-being. Regardless, her difficulty concentrating and the resulting disinterest in extracurricular activities presented a challenge for her, and Jeonghan took it upon himself to help her overcome it.

In their schooldays, Jeonghan was once summoned to Jaeha's classroom so they could reprimand him and instruct him to look after her. The teachers urged him to teach her and keep an eye on her, as she obviously struggled with paying attention and had trouble making friends. However, Jeonghan's laid-back nature led him to be more forgiving and patient with her, never scolding her even when she made mistakes. He always believed in her potential, and eventually, it finally manifested in her academic success.

After a period of slow and steady progress, her grades improved significantly, increasing by at least 15 points on average across all subjects. This incredible transformation stunned her instructors and left them speechless. Jeonghan had no doubt in his abilities, so he took the news calmly but was proud of his beloved sister's hard work and accomplishments. The person who had struggled with academics in the past was now capable of achieving excellence, given the right support and environment. Jeonghan was always ready to provide this for his sister, no matter what.

"And your school?" He inquired with a comforting tone, coaxing forth feigned tears.

"It's sucks," she answered sadly. Despite being a talented student, she felt like a "big mistake" in the eyes of her teachers, often singled out and berated. This criticism was draining and demoralizing, shattering her confidence in both her academics and extracurriculars. However, she would always put on a brave face when she returned home, proudly boasting about her teachers taking her brother's name in class.

It warms his heart that she finds his name worthy of being used in class. Still, he saw through her bluff, realizing the truth of her mistreatment. She was always good at extracurricular activities, earning medals and trophies and accolades for her talent. But when it came to academics, she quickly found that she was unwelcome and left out of the loop. He knew that she was trying her best under the circumstances, but her confidence was slowly eroding.

Instead of downplaying her concerns, he empathized with her difficulties. He understood how draining and frustrating it was to feel isolated and misunderstood. So, he listened gently and patiently, not rushing her to speak. And when she couldn't find the words, he simply comforted her with a gentle touch, offering his support and letting her know that she wasn't alone.

She looked up at JeongHan's smiling face when he called her name. Their smiles were subconscious yet heartfelt.

Despite their differences, Jeonghan admired her talent in ways that he lacked. He couldn't jump five feet in the air, but he was proud of her ability to fly so high. She was also an artist and author with skills he could only dream of. Despite being her older brother, Jeonghan believed that she was better than he could be.

"You and I are different. You do things I can't do. You should take pride in that. You are unique and irreplaceable. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Jeonghan said, placing a gentle but authoritative hand on her head and ruffled her hair before pulling back.

Jeonghan's words brought a flood of emotions to her. Being recognized for her talents and seen as her own person filled her heart with joy...and a few tears. She was used to being compared to and measured against Jeonghan, so the kindness and empathy was overwhelming. Plus the fact he understood her without her having to speak. Despite her best efforts to hide it, her emotions broke free and her lips curled down to keep the tears in, she sniffed making him look up. Jeonghan knew she needed time to compose herself and let her cry, but he still couldn't resist one playful jab.

"Are you crying, Jaeha-ssi?" He asked in a teasing tone, gently pulling her hand away from her face.

"No! You're ridiculous," she sniffed, trying to fight her tears but failing miserably.

Jeonghan chuckled softly and leaned in to tease her more. "Aww you are!"

She sniffed and wiped her tears, trying to appear strong but failing miserably. Her face burning up in embarrassment from tearing in front of him. "Shut up, you ass!"

Jeonghan laughed in response to her outburst as the waiter also brought their food at the same time which only doubled her embarrassment, but he was more touched than he'd admit. She was always so calm and collected, but his words had broken through her defenses like a sledgehammer. As he saw her struggling against the flood of emotions, a flicker of pride touched him. His kind words had the power to reach through her walls and comfort her, making her feel seen and heard. So, he let her cry until she had composed herself.

"Alright, alright! Eat up before it gets cold" he said before eating his jjigae. She looked down before meeting his eyes. "Thank you. For saying that and for food."

"Anything for you."

The duo was enjoying a peaceful meal until a man walked into their table, resulting in the loss of half their food. The man turned back before mumbling a sorry with a guilty smile and walking away but she wasn't done yet. She, feeling angry and mistreated marched toward the man to confront him. JeongHan tried to prevent her but she pushed past him, holding the man's wrist and turning him around to address her.

"You dropped our food," She said making him awkwardly smile. He looked at his friend before looking at her. "Uh Mianae. We didn't mean to"

After a tense ordeal in which the man claimed that he had already apologized, she pressed him for compensation but he kept saying how he had already apologised to her and that they didn't mean to knock their food down.

"Yea, you didn't. Now we have less food to eat" She said before his friend came between them and held his friend's shoulder and put a gap between them, for if a fight were to occur. Scared of creating a scene. Jeonghan stepped in as well once more, attempting to diffuse the situation by holding her arm.

"He said sorry. We didn't mean it, okay? Besides you still have food left on your table. Eat that" He said making her more pissed. However, she remained adamant that they deserved some form of payment and as she refused to give in and the man became increasingly belligerent.

"Are you a daddy's boy?" She making him lean in angrily, trying to intimidate her with his height. "Excuse me?" He glared at her, his voice earned attention of everyone in the restaurant.

"You heard me. You might have a lot of money to buy and throw it away but not everyone has privilege like you. We can't afford meals" She said making him back away and sneer at her. "We apologized. We have nothing to do now."

"Pay up"

"What?!"

"I. Said. Pay. Up" she said before Jeonghan pushed her behind him and held up his hands. "I'm sorry about her. It's fine. We'll eat whatever we have and leave. You enjoy your meal."

"No. You have to pay! We don't have money to waste food and order again like it was nothing. So pay for the meal you wasted!" She yelled at the man before giving her brother a disappointed look, who immediately backed away with a concerned look.

"Or else what? What will a punk like you do? Huh?" He challenged her while his friend tried to hold him back.

"Yah, cut it out man." His friend hissed at him but he was respectfully ignored by everyone.

"I'll beat you up, bitch" she replied making him smirk. "Oh really? With that body? I'll blow and you'll fly away, you crazy bitch. Better back away while you can" He said before harshly pushing her away by her shoulder.

"Pay up. Is that really hard for you? Just pay for what you and your friend wasted. We can pay for what we eat but not for what you wasted" He grind his teeth in anger before he punched her jaw and this made Jeonghan mad as he shoved him back while glaring daggers at him.

"What is wrong with you dude!?"

"Now I can beat you," She mumbled before punching in his jaw with all her might making him fall on his back. His friend stood with his heart beating out.

"I told you a simple thing and you can't do that?" She said before he charged at her. He fist came forward so she moved left and punched his gut making him bent forward, she kneeled him again and knocked him off his feet before crushing his feet under her rubber slippers. He hissed in pain while his friend just stood there breathing heavily. She turned to him making him scared.

"Pay up" She told him passively. Scared, he pulled out 5000 won note and shakingly give it to her before helping his friend. She walked towards the counter and payed the money and took the extra cash and stuffed it in the person's pocket she beat up. "You aren't special. Everyone came here to eat, you did too so don't go around acting like spoiled brat, you piece of shit" She spat firmly. Glaring one last time, she stood up and walked away from to and towards her brother.

She crouched down beside her seat and started cleaning the dish they accidentally knocked off. Jeonghan waved at everyone and they immediately turned to their food. He crouched down in front of her to see her face blank before picking it up. A waiter came hurrying towards them assuring that he would pick it up but she didn't allow him to. After finishing it, they stood back up.

"You didn't drop it. You shouldn't be the one to pick it up" She said before sitting down and picking up her chopsticks, eating her food. The waiter looked at Jeonghan and Jeonghan looked at the waiter, admiring her.

She is on fire, man

That's my sister for you.

"Jaeha, why did you pick a fight?" Jeonghan asked after he sat down. She gave him a blank look in reply. "Right, sorry. He hit you first, understood. But really, it was fine if he didn't pay"

"You are too kind. Not all people have good intentions. He would obviously get away with this if you were here alone. Then he would do this again with someone else. We don't have money to spend. We barely do it. We don't have the luxury like they do, we barely have it to buy clothes for both of us even if our father is rich," She said before stuffing her mouth with bibimbap. "The world is too filled with fuckers, you gotta be cautious"

Jeonghan looked her sister with a new found respect. She would always run to him crying whenever she got hurt or if someone said something bad about her. But after few years she literally stopped crying and handled things on her own. He wondered what happened that made her do that but he was happy that his sister is defending herself. He once got suspended because he beat up her bully. She didn't go to school either because he was at home. Maybe that was the point when things changed in her life.

If that is indeed the case then he doesn't like it. He didn't wanted to think of herself as a burden.

Because she isn't. she is all he has to call family and one of the only person who loves him so much. She is precious to him. Too precious. Would he kill for her? Hmm, he probably would.

"I love so much, you know that?" He asked while adoring his sister with a smile on his face. She laughed shyly before nodding.

"Mmm, I love you too." she replied, smiling as they continued their food. Jeonghan was surely going have a good night sleep tonight.