The beeping of the machines resonated in my ears as I woke up. I had fallen asleep sitting next to my brother's hospital bed after finishing my part-time at the local ice cream parlor. I remember being so tired when I entered his room only to find him happily sleeping. Taking advantage of the situation, I decided to rest a little myself. I had earned it after all!

"What is the time?" I asked my brother who seemed to have woken up quite some time ago.

"It's late enough for you to get
a whooping from Mom for being out so late" he replied bluntly. He hardly ever smiled nowadays. Well, I had the perfect thing to bring out his old cheerful self.

"Well, she's not here anymore so......." I sighed as I stretched my back which ached because of the awkward position I had been asleep in.

I got up and walked to the mini fridge by the door. "Guess what I brought for you?" I said in an annoying sing-song voice (At which he cringed) as I removed the bucket of ice cream I had sneakily stol- ahem borrowed from the parlor where I worked part-time.

His eyes lit up immediately.

"Ice cream!" He exclaimed and snatched away the bucket immediately. The huge smile on his face immediately brought one onto mine. The Je family had always had a strong connection with ice cream.

"It's your favorite flavor, Chocolate brownie!" I said, exciting him even more.

Yeong was about to dig his spoon into the bucket when he suddenly stopped and turned toward me.

"Is it okay for me to eat ice cream?" he asked. My heart dropped. "Of course it's fine, I even confirmed it with the doctor!" I reassured him. He nodded his head and scooped out a huge spoon. As soon as he started eating a knot around my heart started opening and the tightness disappeared, Yeong had not been eating since yesterday because of swelling in his mouth due to the chemotherapy. I had googled and found out that ice cream helps so I brought some for him.

I watched my brother eat scoop after scoop, guess he was not gonna leave any leftovers for me. The door opened and the doctor handling Yeong entered.

"Ah Yunhee, I'm glad you came by! You're presence certainly brightens up Yeong's mood!" He said as he watched Yeong chug down the ice cream without waiting to even catch a breath. "I'm afraid your brother might die from choking before cancer gets to him" he chuckled.

"You wanted to talk to me?" I changed the subject and ignored the thoughtless and dry joke. "Ah yes of course please follow me" he said.

We left the room and walked through the bland white hallways to reach his office. The door had a silver nameplate on it with the name 'Bae In' imprinted on it in black.

We sat down as he opened his drawer to fetch out Yeong's folder. The office was quite simple. It had the same creepy white walls with his doctor's certificate hanging on one side and a photo of him with his wife just next to it.

As Dr. Bae In scanned through the folders to find my brother's I couldn't help but feel anxious. Usually, Doctor would give me the report as I sat beside my brother holding his frail hands, but today he called me away from him to discuss something in secret.

"Yunhee don't worry, your brother's recovery is going well. Although it's slow we are seeing positive changes" he said as he noticed me fidgeting with the cuffs of my work uniform. However, that didn't help me calm down. I knew something was wrong otherwise why would he wish to talk separately?

"However there is something else that worries me.... Yunhee, you haven't been paying for the treatment" he said slowly so I could process the situation.

"I gave you some time to get the money but I'm afraid I cannot convince my seniors anymore. You will have to pay better or else we will have to stop with the treatment." He said with as much care as he could.

However, it did not work.

"Doc I have been working hard day and night but the part-time job doesn't pay me shit. I swear I will arrange the money in some way but please don't stop his treatment. You know how hard I have been trying please just give me one month and I'll bring that money to you." I said as tears started dripping from my eyes.

"Doc please I beg you. You know he's the only one I have left in this world. I cannot lose him. I will do something. I-" I broke down. I couldn't handle the responsibilities anymore.

I was 18 when my parents died. I had had a happy and normal life with a loving family till that moment. I was not at all prepared to hold the responsibility for me and my brother. At my age, most teens were going out and having parties, smoking, drinking, doing drugs, and being irresponsible while I worked day and night so that I could bring food to our table. There was no moment where I could truly relax and have peace because of the constant fear of not being able to bring food to our table and having to look into the broken eyes of my brother.

I had to quit college so that I could work full-time and pay for my brother's schooling. Things were quite depressing during that time. I would come back home tired and pent up with frustration which I would end up removing on my brother. We used to fight a lot back then. I still regret all the things I did and said to him. My brother forgave me, I don't think I will ever be able to forgive myself though.

Sometimes when I would be alone with just my conscience by my side, I would end up blaming it all on my parents for leaving me alone in this dark and crippling world. I would end up crying and screaming and having panic attacks at random hours of the night because of the nightmares.

However, every time Yeong would be there, to come close to me and hug me, to tell me everything was alright, to help me fall back asleep as he sang the lullaby mom would sing to us every night.

All the dark times there was only one thing that kept me sane and made me keep trying and working hard. I didn't do it for myself but I did it for my brother, he was the only one who mattered to me in this world and I would have long committed suicide if it weren't for the haunting thought of who would look after Yeong, constantly eating me up.

It took us some time to get used to the changes in our life but we finally did after a year. I had earned enough by now to be able to join back to college and apply for a student loan.

Things were finally starting to click in place when another dilemma struck us right in our faces.

Yeong suddenly fell very ill. So ill that I had to get him a week's holiday from school. He had an extremely high fever because of this I had to stay at home and look after him and take leaves from college and work.

I would constantly keep a check on Yeong's temperature and medicine however he did not seem to be getting better, sure his temperature was not as high as before but his skin was starting to turn pale and there were random bruises on his body. Yeong had never been the type to fall sick easily so this worried me a lot. The final straw was when he had a nosebleed. I understood that something was really wrong and rushed him to the doctor who told us to get some blood tests done.

I still remember when he had called me up to discuss the reports. I had sat in the chair, looking pale enough to compete with Yeong as he dropped the bomb on me. I remember having a panic attack and not being able to breathe for a minute. I thought I would end up losing consciousness. When I felt better the doc explained more to me. He tried to comfort me by telling me that it was not a bad case and stuff but I didn't care, he had gotten CANCER! FUCKING CANCER!

This was the second time I had ever felt so broken, the first time being when my parents died. As I walked home from the clinic I finally started realizing the reality.

He had cancer. I don't have enough money for the treatment. How am I gonna tell him about it? How will I handle work and college with this added onto my back? Why does all of this happen to me? All these thoughts filled my brain as I walked home.

However, when I saw his innocent face, looking at me as he sat on the dining chair I had nothing in my mind, it was completely blank just like the black void of my broken heart.

I slowly walked towards him and hugged him tight as I wailed. He rubbed my back in comfort. I realized that he had always taken care of me all this time. I stopped crying after a while.

I realized that no matter what happens in the future, one thing is for sure and that is that I am not gonna let my brother end up with the same fate as my parents.

I opened my eyes as I returned to my present surroundings. Doc sat there with his hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

"Sorry for that" I said as I wiped my tears.

"No problem, I'm glad that you let the pain out" he said with a warm smile. Dr. Bae In was a close friend of Dad and that is why I came to him for help.

"Yunhee as I said before, I cannot convince my superiors any longer............ however what I can do is pay in your place for some time" he said, the warm smile still on his face making him look years younger.

I didn't like that at all. Flashes of memories went through my mind as I remembered how favors had ended up for me.

"But-

"No buts Yunhee and you can pay me back after you graduate and start a real job" he said in the Asian parent tone.

I tried to calm my anxious thoughts and accept the offer. This is the only option I have.

"Thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou!" I couldn't help myself and freaked out.

"That's alright, but you better not go ahead and break your promise, I cannot help you more than this"

"I promise"

I returned to the room only to find a snoring boy with an empty bucket of ice cream, the only proof of said ice cream visible sticking on the tip of his nose. I gave my brother a goodbye kiss on the forehead and left to walk home.

⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ 💵. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

Hi guys what do you think of this new book? I hope you will love it! My exams just ended so I plan to continue this book now.

Pls vote to send some love my way 💖