Chapter 1: The separation of a home
Chapter 1: The Separation of a Home
The Park residence hadn’t changed.
The clocks still ticked.
The curtains still fluttered with the breeze.
The faint scent of their mother’s lavender candles still lingered in the hall outside her room.
But the house was quiet in a way it had never been before.
The kind of quiet that didn’t feel peaceful—just… empty.
The kind of quiet that followed loss.
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🕯️ A Cruel Law
The lawyer’s office smelled like paper and old carpet.
Jiwon sat perfectly still in her chair, her hands clenched in her lap. Jisung sat beside her, his expression unreadable—except for the way his jaw kept tightening.
> “You’re both seventeen,” the lawyer said carefully. “You can’t legally gain custody until you’re eighteen. That’s the law.”
Jiwon looked down. If she spoke, her voice would crack.
Jisung didn’t move.
> “If someone files a report—especially neighbors—younger siblings may be placed in temporary child welfare. Possibly a state orphanage.”
There it was. The word.
Orphanage.
Like a hammer slamming down on the last thing they were holding on to.
---
That night, Jiwon and Jisung stood on the rooftop of their home—their now-empty home—and stared at the stars in silence.
> “We’ll split,” Jisung said. “Just until we turn eighteen.”
Jiwon’s throat burned.
> “I’ll take Taemin. He’s still not well. I… I want to watch him closely.”
She hesitated.
“And Nari. She won’t leave me.”
Jisung nodded slowly.
> “Then I’ll take Jungseok. He listens. He’s quiet. It’ll draw less attention.”
Neither of them said what they were really thinking.
We don’t want to split.
We’re are also just 17.
Why does love always cost us everything?
The house was quiet that night—too quiet.
Jiwon was folding the last of the clothes in her room when the door creaked open slowly.
Jungseok stood there, barefoot, hoodie sleeves pulled over his hands, his face tense.
She smiled softly.
> “Hey. You should be sleeping.”
He didn’t reply.
Just walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist without a word.
Face pressed into her stomach.
Then… he broke.
His shoulders trembled. His voice cracked.
> “I don’t want to go, noona…” he whispered, then louder, “I don’t want to live without you.”
Jiwon froze—but only for a second.
Then she sank onto the bed, pulling him into her embrace, letting him cry into her shoulder like he did when he was younger and scraped his knees.
> “It’s just for a little while,” she said softly, but her voice wavered. “Just a few months. Then we’ll be together again,Seokie. I promise.”
He didn’t respond at first. He just kept crying, hiccupping through the weight he’d been carrying in silence for too long.
But then… he whispered something else. Something small. Something that shattered her heart more than any scream could.
> “Why... are you taking Taemin and Nari with you... and not me?”
Jiwon blinked. Her hands paused in his hair.
> “Why do I have to be the one away from you?” he asked, lifting his face just enough for her to see the tears falling. “You’re taking care of Taemin because he’s sick. You’re taking Nari because she’s a girl and also the youngest.But what about me? Why do I have to be the one alone?”
She cupped his cheeks gently, wiping the tears that kept coming.
> “You’re not alone, Seokie. You’ll be with Jisung hyung.”
> “But he’s not you.”
That silence after his words felt like grief all over again.
> “You’re my safe place, noona,” he whispered. “You’re the one I go to when things are too heavy. When I feel scared. When I miss them.”
> “I know,” she said, her voice cracking. “I know. And I wish I could take you too. But if I take all three of you with me, people will get suspicious. Someone might report us. We can’t risk that. I’m not doing this because I don’t want you—I’m doing it so I don’t lose you.”
Jungseok lowered his head again, breathing shaky.
> “It still hurts,” he mumbled.
Jiwon kissed the top of his head.
> “I know,” she whispered. “It hurts me too.”
After a long silence, he looked up again, eyes red and tired.
> “Can I sleep with you? Just for tonight… one last time?”
She nodded.
That night, he lay curled beside her, head resting against her arm, clinging to the last few hours before the world changed again.
And Jiwon didn’t sleep.
Because when your heart breaks for someone you love, sleep feels like betrayal.
Meanwhile,Jisung stood in the backyard, arms crossed, staring at the sky as if waiting for it to offer answers. The stars blinked quietly, indifferent.
The door creaked behind him.
He turned.
A tiny figure stood there—hair messy from sleep, her pajamas a little too long for her. Nari, with her bunny plush dragging in one hand and her slippers crooked.
> “Nari?” he asked softly, surprised. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
She didn’t answer right away. Just padded over to him with small, uneven steps and reached out—lifting both arms.
Jisung leaned down and picked her up, cradling her gently against his chest.
> “You okay?”
She nodded against his shoulder… then shook her head.
> “No.”
He gently rubbed her back. “What’s wrong, hmm?”
And then she said it—so softly, but with the kind of heartbreak that only a 9-year-old could carry.
> “Why do we have to live apart?”
“Why can’t I stay with you… and Seokie oppa too?”
Jisung froze. His throat tightened.
> “I want to stay with you, Jisung oppa,” she whispered. “I don’t wanna go away.”
Jisung exhaled slowly, pressing his cheek to her hair.
> “I want that too,” he said. “More than anything.”
> “Then why can’t we?” she asked, looking up at him with wide, honest eyes. “Is it because I was bad?”
> “No,” he said quickly. “No, Nari—never.”
> “Then why do I have to leave you?” she asked again, voice shaking now. “Did I do something wrong?”
He felt his heart crack.
> “No,” he said, gently brushing her hair behind her ear. “You did everything right. You’re so brave. You’re so good. We’re just… we’re doing this to protect you. We’re pretending, just for a little while, so no one takes you or Seokie or Taemin away.”
“But I want to be with you.”
“I know,” he whispered. “I want that too. And soon… we will be. Just a little longer, okay? Just until me and Jiwon turn eighteen. Then I promise—we’ll all be together again.”
“Promise?”
“Pinky promise.”
She held out her tiny pinky. He hooked his around hers.
“Then…” she sniffled, burying her face in his neck, “Can I sleep with you tonight? Just once? Before I have to go?”
Jisung smiled softly, even though his eyes were damp.
“Of course, baby. Let’s go.”
He carried her back inside—light as air, but heavier than anything he’d ever held.
That night, she slept beside him, clutching his shirt like she used to clutch their father’s coat.
And when she woke in the middle of the night and whispered, “You won’t forget me, right?”
—he whispered back, “Never. You’re my baby forever.”
