"Hello."

The girl turns her head around, eyes lazily scanning the figure that just walked in. She takes in his radiant smile and sparkly eyes. His dark hair falls messily over his eyes, giving him a playful young look. If she could describe him in one word, it would be "cheerful" as his aura lit up the place once he walked in.

"Hey," She says back, walking towards him.

"Where do I sign up for the MMA classes?" He asks, looking around at the bunch of people training.

"Mr.Kim's office," She says, pointing at a door at the end of the hall.

"Thank you very much," He says, stretching out his hand, "I'm Hoseok."

She hesitates, but takes his hand anyway. "Lee."

Confusion washes over his face for a second, but he's quick to replace it with his wide grin. "Just Lee?"

"Yeah," She nods, walking away. "Just Lee."

"Okay," He shrugs, turning around to walk to the door she gestured at earlier.

---

Lee unlocks the door carefully, walking in with light footsteps towards her bedroom. She stops for a second when the drunk man on the couch shifts, and after a few nerve-wrecking seconds, she continues her way to the room.

Immediately locking the door once she's inside, she drops her backpack on the floor, kneeling down beside it and prying it open.

"Noona?"

She averts her gaze to the younger boy sitting at the other side of the room, back leaning on the wall behind him.

She smiles. "Hey."

Her gaze lands back on the bag, pulling out a stack of money. Her brother furrows his eyebrows, standing up and walking closer towards her, slowly kneeling beside her.

"Look at this," She holds the money up with a grin, "If I continue making this much we can move out by the time I graduate school."

She waits for his smile, but the boy frowns instead, eyebrows furrowed together in disapproval.

"You're fighting again," He says in a whisper, hands reaching out to her bruised one.

Lee rolls her eyes, putting the money back in her bag. "We talked about this before. It's the only way we can get out of this f*cking place. And I'm good at what I do. Aren't you proud of your sister?"

He shakes his head, big doe eyes shining with tears. "If leaving means you getting hurt, then I don't want to."

She chuckles, punching his shoulder playfully. "I'm not getting hurt! I'm fine, look at me!"

He rubs his shoulder, looking away. "You're not fine. You always come back with new bruises everyday. Remember when you broke your arm?"

"That was last year," She says, "And it's not something new, is it?"

He doesn't reply, still looking away. With a sigh, Lee stands up, hands reaching for her braid to undo it when she hears sniffles. She turns around to see the boy still sitting down on the floor, but this time there are tears falling on his pants as he brings up a hand to wipe them.

Her eyes soften, and she approaches him, pulling him in a hug.

"I don't want to- to lose you," He says between his sobs, burrying his face in her shoulder, "You're the only one I have."

She hums, wrapping her arms tighter around him. "You're the only one I have, too, and I want you to live a better life. Promise me you'll study hard and go to college. And that you'll never turn out to be like me."

He shakes his head. "No life is better without you."

"I'm not going anywhere!" She pulls back, holding his face in her hands. "I'm right here, and I'll be with you."

"I'm sorry I'm not helpingㅡ"

"Shut up," She cuts him off. "Just focus on your studies for now. Leave the rest to me. Now tell me, what do you think about a two story house with a garden?"

He giggles, wiping his tears. "You're dreaming too big."

"I'm not! I'm serious. We're going to get two cars, one for you and one for me. And we'll get a dog. A Pitbull. Maybe a horse, too."

He shakes his head. "I was thinking a Doberman. And a Mercedes. I also want a big room filled with computers so I play video games all day."

She smiles. "Anything for my Kookie."

"Stop calling me that!" He whines, pushing her hands away. "I'm fifteen!"

"Yeah, right," She ruffles his hair. "You still look like a baby to me."

She tackles him down on the floor, putting him in a headlock. "You're my baby!"

"No!" He laughs, pulling on her arm. "Stop!"

A crash from outside makes them both freeze on their spots. Jungkook widens his eyes and looks up at Lee, and she quickly lets go of him, pressing a finger to her lips, telling him to keep quiet. She presses an ear to the door, hearing the man's footsteps growing louder.

Jungkook's breaths start growing louder, hands shaking when the footsteps become audible to him, too. Lee pulls him towards her and puts a hand over his mouth, his back pressed to her chest as her other arm circles him.

A loud knock on the door startles the boy, making him jump in place, chest heaving up and down in quick shallow breaths as he grips tightly on his sister's arm. She shushes him down, whispering in his ear to stay calm and hugs him tighter.

"I know you're in there, little b*tch," The hoarse deep voice says, sending shivers down her spine, "Get out and make me dinner."

The footsteps fade away again, and Jungkook starts shaking his head violently, pulling away and turning around to look at Lee.

"Don't go, don't go," He repeats under his breath, sweaty hands clenching her own.

It takes Lee a few seconds to react, slowly taking in the frightened state of her little brother that tugs at her heart. No boy should ever be that much scared of his own father, and it angers her that she should be the one protecting him and taking care of him, but there she is, doing nothing but staying silent when that monster treats them like that.

She doesn't think twice before standing up and dashing out of the room. It all happens too quickly she can't register it, her blurry vision from her tears, her clenching teeth from anger, the voice of her little brother screaming her name, and the confused look on the man's face before her strong fist collides with it.

"NOONA!"