Prologue II

2005

 

"Unnie," Mio absently started to chew her thumbnail when her sister, Hana, pulled out a packet of marshmallows from the kitchen's drawer. Hana stooped her head to get a good view of Mio, who leaned against the kitchen's door.

 

"If you eat too much marshmallows, diabetes germ would get inside of you." said Mio toward her sister.

 

"Sa-Said w-who?" Hana asked, furrowing her brows. Her face turned ashen the moment Mio mentioned the word "germ". Then, she absentmindedly put back the marshmallow's packet over the table.

 

An impish grin went past Mio's oval face as she ran toward her sister. "Marshmallows...told me in my dream last night!" With that being said, she clutched the marshmallows's packet, idly opened it, then she took out a piece from it before putting inside her mouth.

 

 

2007

 

It certainly would make a difference if her sister, Hana, was like every other healthy kids. So perhaps, it would also make a difference of how Mio perceived her sister's illness - Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM). When Mio was a little kid, her brain registered that DM was a terrifying germ that would kill a person if they ate too much marshmallows (sugar).

 

Hana had Type 1 DM since small. In paediatric, they had interchangeably termed it as Juvenile DM. Hana was required to receive insulin replacement, which usually in the form of injections. By all means, she had to get at least three to four times of injections per day, for every day. Poked by needle was undeniably a bad experience for everyone; it was horrifyingly painful for every children, including Hana. But ever since that day, Mio never saw her sister cried nor complained whenever she received the injections, in lieu Hana would always, always flashed a smile on her face. Every time Mio saw her smile during the injections, she would have to force out a smile too, and that smile always ended up being plastic-like, and bitterly. To smile for someone who smiled because of her, and especially when that someone was her sister – was a painful thing to do for Mio.

 

It all started when one day, Hana was hospitalized due to incompliant with the injections. She cried every time they poked her; she violently throw a tantrum, created an uproar, and even to the point of disturbing kids from other beds. Every single thing that her sister did, Mio would follow mindlessly. Hence in the end, both of them were punished as they turned the peaceful ward upside down.

 

“Hana-ssi, look what have you done.” The paediatrician placed both hands on her hips, then she pointed a finger at Mio, who blubbered beside Hana’s bed. “Why can’t you set a good example for Mio?” Doctor Kim raised one brow and settled beside Mio, all the while her gaze never left Hana. “If you stop crying…Mio would follow too,” She plaited at Mio’s head, and another hand patted at the small of Mio’s back.

 

When thirteen year old Hana stopped crying, Mio inherently stopped. The older smiled and her younger sister emitted a smile too. Hana felt a warmth spreading in her chest, as if she had accomplished something brilliant. And so, ever since then, Hana never cried, because of Mio.

 

"Mio..." Hana called upon her younger sister. "What was that you were holding at?" She raised a query at the younger. Mio gave her a small smile as she turned to look at her. A jar of marshmallow in her embrace. "Mom said, if you're having bad sugar attack...I have to feed this to you so you won't die..." Mio scrunched at her watered nose and nodded suggestively.

 

Hypoglycemic attack (bad sugar attack) was a term for abnormally low blood sugar in blood. It commonly occurred in patient with diabetes. The symptoms varied with its severity. Generally, the person would become dizzy, headaches, weak and feeling shaky as in starvation. The best method to produce an instant relief was by providing any forms of carbohydrates, for example, glucose water, sweets, and so on.

 

"Wh-What?" Hana eyed on the younger disbelievingly. "What was that supposed to mean?" She waved at her to come closer so she could look at the jar closely.

 

"Mom said, marshmallows will prevent you from dying..." Mio inched toward her sister while holding the jar tightly. She recalled her mother's words couples of minutes ago when she handed the jar to her: "Your sister can only eat this when she has bad sugar attack, arasso?" Madam Eun pinched the younger's nose as she smiled heartily at her.

 

"I rather die than having them pokes at my belly every day," She pulled a face when Mio won't let her touch the jar.

 

Mio’s shoulders fell. Her expression turned sullen on the next seconds. "Do-Don't die..." Her mouth curved downwardly. "I don't want you to die!" The minacious look on Hana's face had vanished instantly as she saw a tear rushed down Mio's rosy cheek.

 

Little Mio hopped toward her as she hastily opened the jar's lid, then she stretched out her arms to Hana. "I-I wi-will gi-give yo-you a lo-lot of marsh-marsma-marshmallows so...do-don't die!" Her hands trembled the moment she presented the jar to her.

 

"Stupid..." Hana said faintly. Her sight shifted at the opened jar. "Don't cry..." She covered Mio's hands with hers as they stared into each other's eyes. "Don't cry, I won't die because you're giving me lots of marshmallow..." Her smile broadened as she spread an armful to illustrate the “lots” marshmallows.

 

Mio sniffled on her sleeves after putdown the jar within the space between them. "You-You pro-promised?" She snapped back at her. The luminous eyes of hers wandered upon Hana, looking for any clue of "yes" on her face.

 

"Open your mouth," Instead of only giving her the answer she wanted to hear, Hana figured out it would be better to act it out. Mio looked up to her warily but she did what her sister asked her to. Hana picked a piece of marshmallow and heaved a deep sigh. "Eat this," A dimple flashed on her cheek as she inserted that piece of marshmallow inside Mio's tiny mouth.

 

For the twelve year old Mio, her sister’s wellness was all that mattered to her. Others might call it undying affections, siblings’ bond, pure love, overprotection, obligation...but Mio, it was everything mentioned, plus, her life. To make it happen – to make her sister happy – she would even put her life on the line.

 

But – people change, don’t they? 

 

If only time had stopped, then perhaps everything could stay as prettily as in the picture.

 

 

2012

 

Human was helpless in the face of fate, and thus, whenever someone was in a state of helplessness, their last resort was praying, and to have faith. The siblings, Hana and Mio, they had faith that everlastingly, they would never ever be apart from one another. But little did they know that hopes reflected the amount of hurt one was ought to receive.

 

Hana and Mio’s parents divorced two years ago; following the divorce, their mother, Madam Eun, remarried to the youngest son of the Minister of Defence. During that time, Hana was already sixteenth and Mio’s fifteenth. The siblings didn’t even had the slightest inkling of what was going on, and before they knew it, the ex-couples already decided to draw a line between them. At first, the father sought virtuously by insisted to take in both daughters as he believed that separating the sisters wouldn’t do any good to the both of them, especially Hana, who need constant supports from her parents, and also Mio. As much as he wanted to file a divorce, which he already had, but splitting the siblings from each other was the last thing he would’ve done. But not long after, the wife’s new husband had deliberately exploited his father’s influence to file a lawsuit upon the ex-spouse. And so, the sisters were separated – Hana would go with the mother, and Mio went back to China with her father, who was half-Chinese.

 

Just one year after the official dictations issued by the court, shocking news about Hana’s engagement was spread publicly throughout all media outlets in the country:

 

BREAKING NEWS: The Minister of Defence, Yul Park, and his best friend, Politician Song Tae Gun, have decided to upgrade their friendship into in-law relationships. According to the source, both sides delightedly agreed to become in-laws and proudly stated to the media about how they had planned this since a year ago. Minister Yul’s youngest son, Yul Fei, who just married a divorcee with a daughter one year ago couldn’t hide his gratefulness toward his father’s decision to unite their family with the Song’s. When asked about their marriage plan, they revealed that marriage would proceed after the both of them have reached eighteenth, within one to two years’ time. Recently, Politician Song was referred as one of the eligible candidates for the upcoming presidential election, three years from now. From a recent interview, he told the media that his best friend, Minister Yul had been encouraging and supporting his will to stride in politics. Before wrapped up the interview, both of them fiercely promised to work harder in order to make our country a better place.

 

The sisters (Hana, Mio) as well as the brothers from Song’s family previously went to the same high school, but after Hana’s parents divorced, Mio had left the school to go back China with her father. The sisters were member of the Archery’s club; the president of the club was Tae Jun, and so their fates had begun to intertwine. Tae Jun treated everyone the same, but more than that, he was someone one’s would want to befriend with – dorky, hilarious, and possessed a sculpture-like face who envied by many. He, and his younger brother, Tae Young, was both popular in school. Tae Young’s personality was totally opposites of Tae Jun; he was a typical nerd-yet-excel-in-studies type of person. Except that despite everything, Tae Yong had got a flaw – he caught up with panic attack whenever he confronted the public. Ever since he began to understand his weakness, Tae Young had been restricting himself from engaging with activities which involved public appearances, speaking etc. His condition was known by their closest family only. Especially Politician Song, he had been particularly careful of not letting the media know about Tae Young’s special condition as he reckoned it would affect his perfect image for the upcoming election. Consequently, Tae Jun was chosen to engage with the Minister Yul’s step-granddaughter, Hana.

 

What others didn’t know about the two sisters and brothers were their heart of hearts. The love that they couldn’t reveal to each other was their true feelings, and it was completely different from what had publicly announced by the media. It started with Tae Young, who had a crush on Hana, and Hana who only saw Tae Jun in her eyes, but Mio was Tae Jun's sweetheart. The cycle would have completed if only Mio had a crush on Tae Young, but no. Most of the time, Mio was preoccupied with archery’s training. She was personally monitored by her own father, who was once a gold medallist for Recurve Archery in the Summer Olympic Games. Under her father strict monitoring, Mio had been training furiously in order to take part for the Youth Championships. Before Mio returned to China, Tae Jun gifted her a bracelet that had her name engraved on it, however, fate intervened. Instead of Mio, Hana was the receiver. Tae Jun had put it inside the marshmallow’s jar, which he mistakenly believed it was belonged to Mio.

 

 

 

When the frenzied news reached Mio and her father, they flew back to Korea on the very next day. Mio was so excited that she would get to see her beloved sister again. They had been contacting each other ever since she left to China one year ago, but for some reason(s), Hana had stopped replying to her letters and barely picking up her phone even. There had been several times wherein she felt utterly puzzled about Hana’s sudden change of behaviour. Deep down she contemplated that perhaps Hana were occupied with schooling and also her engagement's matters, but nonetheless, it hadn’t been able to send her uneasiness away. Mio was the type who remained clueless until someone told her right off in front of her face. People had known her as someone who was extremely straight-forward; they barely saw her stayed until the end of their gatherings' of all sorts. All in all, Mio allocated her time specifically for training in order to live up with her father's expectations. It pained her that everything she attempted were seemingly wrong and insufficient in his eyes. Each time, she couldn't help to think that she didn’t try hard enough, or she wasn’t good enough, and worst, she couldn’t achieve anything by her own. Silently, she went through all the years alone. The only person who could soothe her mind amid all the stresses was her sister, Hana. Hana was her source of inspirations. 

 

When Hana saw the bracelet with Mio's name on it, a pang of jealousy invaded her heart, and it clenched painfully. All this times, she was not only fighting with her illness, but also herself. Albeit she knew that she wasn’t the only one who suffered from DM, but it won’t make her felt any better. The truth was, she had to live with her imperfections for a lifetime. Compared to Mio, Hana was likable among their circle of friends, and so, she always thought that people tend to like her more, and prioritized her. After everything that she had gone through, she deserved a special treatment, didn’t she? Moreover, their father had been paying more attention toward Mio since they were little, not that she wasn’t aware of that. He even personally trained Mio in archery, but not her. If only she wasn't the one with the illness, if only she could turn back time, if only Mio...wasn't her sister…then, it could’ve been less painful, and she would've been less pitiful. Why it must be Mio? And why, out of all people in the whole world, it had to be Tae Jun, the one she loved? Tae Jun was her first love, and she wanted him more than anything, so much that she started to loathe...Mio.

 

 

 “Unnie!” Mio shouted from the door’s eye. A sense of happiness running down her spine as she saw Hana's back, who stood in front of the glassless window. “Unnie-yah!” A jar of marshmallow was wrapped in her arm’s length.

 

Mio's heartbeat quickened as she stepped closer to her. Her lips curved for a smile when she saw Hana's chubby cheek from the side. "Unnie...yah," she said in a melodious tone beside her ear.

 

"Why did you come?"

 

Mio's eyes went white for a flash. She gasped and breathed in a big gulps of cold air only to choke her more. She blinked restlessly as her feet make a small step forward, settling herself beside her. There was something odd about Hana today. Her face was drained off blood, she was as pale as porcelain. Not to mention, her surly demeanor was freaking her out.

 

"Unnie, have you taken your...injections yet?" Mio asked softly, concern etched on her face. Her voice came out tight, strained. Although it stabbed her right to the core that Hana wasn't even glancing at her ever since she entered the room but at this very moment, more than anything, she was worried about her health. She tried to reach out for her hands.

 

"You shouldn’t have come…” Hana swatted off Mio's hand and hastily inching away.

 

Mio's eyes narrowed as she gaped at Hana's foreign treatment to her. "Unnie," she said hurriedly and tried to touch her shoulder again.

 

Hana turned sharply to Mio and glared menacingly at her. "Why did you come? Because of Tae Jun? Was that it?” She hissed and looked away for a second before transfixed her eyes upon Mio again. "If would've been better if I just die off..." Her words bellowed within the spacious room, the force it exerted was enough to be felt in the chest.

 

Mio was stunned. The marshmallow jar slipped off from her hands as it dropped onto the floor. Her shoulders fell the moments Hana uttered the word "die". Her inside was twirled with indescribable emotions. She wished everything was a dream.

 

"Unnie..." She stepped upon the marshmallow scattered all over the floor, and brought herself closer to Hana. When they stood facing each other, Mio raised one hand in the air and slapped over her cheek, then a puddle of tears streaming down her face. "What happen to you?" she racked in sobs; her mind fogged up and she couldn't think with a clear mind.

 

Hana's face was tilted to side she was slapped. She bit her lower lips, struggled to hold in tears that threatened to fall with every blink. Her hands balled into fists at sides. Her eyes lowered down to the floor. The views of the marshmallows tormented her to the point that she barely remembering how to breathe.

 

"Shouldn't you tell me why...?” Mio tried to control her shaky voice as she turned to one side. "...why do you acting li-like...this?" she cleared her throat, and angled her face at Hana.

 

Hana slowly lifted her chin and meeting up gaze with Mio. "Did you come…” A dark chill ran though Mio; she squeezed her hands tightly to make herself looked more composing. Hana studied her every reaction and smirked. "To ruin my marriage?” She took a final step, and their faces were just an inch away. They stared into each other's eyes intently. When Mio tried to retreat backward, Hana grabbed her wrist painfully. Mio flinched in pain but Hana won't let go of her.

 

"Song Tae Jun...is mine." She released her words through gritted teeth. Her delicate nostrils flared; Mio could sense her hot breath brushed over her cheek. For the first time in life, her heart trembled in a way she had never felt before.

 

People...did change.

 

 

Hana used to become Mio's world, her inspirations. Hana was someone she held dearly in her heart of hearts. If she changed, what become of her?

 

Her words didn’t hurt her; what hurt her the most was Hana’s changed of heart. Once upon a time, they lived in a world where there was only the two of them, and so she thought it would remind prettily that way for an eternity. Thence, when Hana changed, Mio’s heart became as hollow as a newborn's. When one's heart trembled for the first time, although it lasted for a while, but it hurt the most.