| eighteen | sadness

So take it all
The city's yours
It's worth fighting for
It's all yours

Nara and So-cheol reached the base in Seoul junction. With them the rest of the kids and the lady were also rescued, they were taken to the medical camp and treated for possible wounds. But other than the heartache which the death of their parents, nothing was wrong with them.

So-cheol was silent. He was hardly reacting to anything, he didn't answer a single question, nor did he bother to eat the warm food laid in front of him. He was lost, zoned out and none of his classmates dared to approach him.

What would they tell him? How would they console him?

Nara on the other hand was crying. She was sobbing hysterically as they reached the camp. The moment they were inside and the gates were locked, Nara fell on the ground, crying. Her crying resonated with the people around her who were carrying various kinds of grief with them.

Ae-sol was crying, and so were the rest of the kids but their hearts were broken on seeing the twins so lost and distorted. Yoona took hold of the crying girl, kneeling and holding her as Nara let down her guard. No one had ever seen someone cry so much on being rescued as Nara did that whole day.

That being said the camp assigned the isolated tent to the refugees and after a few days of rest, asked them to consider joining the military to keep fighting the spheres. None of the kids wanted to do it, but when their class president proposed the same to the lot, So-cheol stood up.

"I'll enlist myself." He said, the only words he spoke post the incident. It had been a week post their parents death and these were his first words.

"Ya, michaso?" Woo-taek approached his best friend, "did you not see what they are all capable of?"

"He's right." Tae-man shook his head, standing up and facing So-cheol who was highly unimpressed by the argument. "We went through hell these past days, depressed, scared, traumatized and you want to go back again?"

"De." So-cheol replied, a hint of rage in those sad black eyes and a shiver of disgust ran through his viens. "They killed my parents..." He caught Nara's attention, the one who was sitting in the corner, "those fucking ugly thing killed my parents. And I'm going to kill every single one of them so they never do that to any other parents ever." So-cheol was yelling, more so trembling and in tears when he glanced at his sister.

Kim Yoona was sent to the higher base for her treatment, her wound had caught an infection and hence she wasn't with the kids for the couple of days.

Nara stood up, she had cried all the tears and now had nothing left to say or do. "Aaraseo," She replied, facing her twin, "let's go kill all these motherfuckers." She took the rifle they had been alloted and walked out of the tent slowly.

Kim Chi-yeol was the only one who followed the duo, holding his rifle in one hand and his video camera in the other. The twins turned to face the boy, Nara took a step closer to him.

"Kim Chi," Nara spoke softly, all the energy she had was used up. "You should stay back with the others, it's dangerous."

"And it's not dangerous for you two?" He said eyeing the twins, he was upset and mad at them, but also sympathetic at their loss. "How is that fair?"

"This is something we have to do, Kim Chi-yeol." So-cheol said, shaking his head and sighing. "They took our parents..."

"They were parents to me too." Kim Chi-yeol replied, stunning the duo. "They were parents to all of us stranded there, they were parents to us for those days when the entire world abandoned us. How dare you guys grieve without us? How could you two decide this without us?"

The twins didn't reply to Kim Chi-yeol's accusations. The last week was so much of a blur to them that they didn't take into account that the others were probably affected too.

"Ae-sol and Tae-man aren't sleeping at night, afraid some sphere might attack us. Yoo-Jung has hardly eaten anything, and Woo-taek avoids having a conversation in an attempt to hide his swollen eyes. I've been thinking about them ever since they left us and you know what hurts us the most? You two." Kim Chi-yeol shook his head, pointing at the duo. "You two still have each other, you two are still family and yet you guys haven't spoken about what happened, nor have you comforted each other.

"Just got up, and got ready to do the one thing your parents died from. They swore to protect us, so we didn't have to go fight them and you're throwing away all of their sacrifices to go and face those things? I expected better from the both of you."

Nara and So-cheol lowered their faces, afraid they would really have to confront each other. Kim Chi-yeol was right, facing and fighting the spheres was more easier than comforting the other.

"None of us are going to enlist ourselves, but if you two do, we will all join you two. Because that's what family does." He thrusted the video camera in So-cheol's hands. "See this before you decide anything."

So-cheol and Nara looked at the fading Kim Chi-yeol and the video recorder he had slammed in their hands. They looked at each other and then at the black device and decided their revenge scheme could take a slight delay.

_

"How does this thing start? Hyun-ah?" Sae-bom frowned at the video, clicking buttons but unable to understand it. "The red light is on? Does that mean something?"

"Sae, don't you think you should rest? And yes, the red light means it's on."

Yi Hyun took the recorder from Saebom's hand and placed it on the edge of the window sill, while they sat on the bed. This served as a proper stand for the recorder and the couple faced the video again.

"Annyeong..." Saebom waved at the camera, her hand was bloodied and the wound which she hid under the blankets was now visible to the twins who watched the video that night. "Annyeong my peanuts."

Nara and So-cheol held their tears as much as they could. Kim Chi-yeol had handed them the one last thing their parents had given them.

A video farewell.

They were so close to them, yet so far.

The twins held each other's hands, promising and reminding the other that they were there. And no matter what, they'll always be there. Just like their parents were with them.

"Hi champ, hi princess." Yihyun waved at them, smiling. Sae-bom smiled at them again. "Apparently your Omma thinks doing a video recording at 6 in the morning is not a bad idea."

"Ya! I never asked you to join. You tagged along."

"Well, I didn't want to be left out."

They looked at each other, cutely and in that frame they looked young again.

"Also, you're hurting and you know i cannot see you in pain." That Hyun said with a small pout to which Sae-bom smiled at.

"So, i don't know how long I'm going to..." Saebom stopped, she took a deep breath and faced the camera again, boring into her twins eyes. "There are thing we didn't say and do as parents because we didn't want to burden the two of you for our decisions..." Sae-bom was out of breath by the end of that statement, she clutched on the side of her wound as Yi Hyun took over.

He put an arm around Saebom and she placed her head on his shoulder. "We're sorry kiddos, we separated from each other six years back because of a tough choice. I got a captaincy promotion to the States and your mother was promoted to Commander of the SOU. We didn't want to part ways but couldn't hold each other back especially since our careers have meant so much to us." Yi Hyun chuckled, shaking his head. "Looking back, that was the worst decision of our lives... Because all of it fades in comparison to you two."

"We didn't want to choose between you both. We loved you dearly and for that matter, your Appa decided to let me have the both of you." Saebom managed to speak, wiping the tears from her eyes. "But I couldn't let him stay away from you either. As much as I loved you Nara, I knew your father would love you more. And I'm sorry, your Omma couldn't be there when you needed her the most."

"I'm sorry for missing out on your life, So." Yi Hyun was in tears, unbothered by them. "But not a day went by in these years that I didn't think about you, or your Omma, or us together. And we're sorry we stole these years from you two."

So-cheol was the first to sob between the two and when he did, Nara cried with him. They didn't have to pause the video because their parents were crying from the other side along with them.

In that moment, that very tragic moment, the four of them felt closer than ever as tears of sadness overtook the one of regret and grief.

The fights, the separation, the misunderstandings and the cold wars. None of it mattered. Nothing did. If given a chance for a do-over, Nara and So-cheol would never fight with each other or their parents.

Nara held So-cheol's hand again, nodding and assuring him whilst he wiped his face with the back of his hand. They looked at the screen with blurry vision and their parents looked back at them again.

"I hope that one day, some day, you two can understand us and forgive us and that if we don't get a chance, know that we love you both just the same. Grow up together, hold each other, and wait for the other. Don't let the rat race of this world destroy the love you have for each other. Forgive. Ask for forgiveness. And hope, always keep hoping for good things because you deserve it. We love you. We really do. And if things go haywire today, God forbid if anything happens, know that we always have your back."

"Remember us when the cold winter nights bother you or when the fast running world tires you. Remember us when you want to have a good cry and a warm hug. Remember us when you cook something and fail to follow the recipe. Remember us when sleep is afar and you need a lullaby. Remember us whenever you feel alone in life. And remember that you have each other, even when you wouldn't have us."

Nara and So-cheol were in pieces by the end of that video. Clinging onto each other and to that last thing they had from their late parents. When they were done watching, they hugged the other, crying and sobbing and sniffing. They were soon joined by the rest of the kids who sat around them and hugged them, all in unison. They were crying, they were sad, they were heartbroken but they were alive and healthy and it was all because of a headstrong badass duo who didn't give up on them.

"And lastly, remember us, not with tears of sadness, but with tears of joy, because we will meet again soon. All of you, all seven of you, listen to your parents, stay happy and don't give up on your dreams. Arachi? Gomawo for being such beautiful kids. And mianhe for leaving..."

_

Author's Note.

I cried sm for the ending wtf. This is it for the story. I honestly loved the idea of these four grouping together and wanted to atleast have a couple of more chapters, but the lack of response and the losing interest was an indication to end it. I'd rather complete it than keep it pending.

May have a epilogue or a bonus chapter but for now this is the end. At the start I intended to kill Saebom, Yihyun and So-cheol and have Nara face her life without them but it became too harsh on the poor girl so I saved So-cheol for her. They may not have their parents but they still have each other.

Ciao.