▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁

MIRA couldn't remember when Nara and her had grown apart, but she knew that she and her sister didn't had the same empathy towards each other like they used to had.

Nara used to be an A+ older sister, always caring and wondering about her younger sisters whereabouts and feelings. When Nara started university back in 2016 she was still the same cheerful, warm older sister. But she started changing only a few months in.

When Mira came to her, asking for help or advice, Nara would throw her out of the room and tell her to stop being annoying. When Mira had asked her if she could join Nara, when latter went shopping or to the cinema, Nara shooed her away. Nara didn't want to spend time with Mira anymore and the younger of the Noh girls had to realize that sooner or later.

Their relationship completely broke apart, when Nara yelled Mira and shoved her down the stairs at their family home on the outskirts of Seoul. Mira had ended up with broken ribs and still their parents sided with Nara and told the younger girl that she should leave Nara alone.

„Nara is an adult now", her mother had said and gently patted Mira's head, while Mira cried herself to sleep because her sister had enough of her. She was only fourteen years old back then and had to learn that she was indeed a nuisance for her older sister.

Soon after the accident with the stairs, Nara told their parents that she wanted to move out. She couldn't live with Mira anymore and for Mira, her complete world fell apart. She was constantly thinking that it was her fault, that Nara hated herself and that if she could've been a better sister, nothing of this sort would have happened.

If Mira was just a tiny bit better, Nara would stop bully and harass her. But even when Mira finished Highschool as the best student of her class, and started working as a florist, nothing changed.

It had been Nara's idea to let Mira move in with her and Gaeul. Her ulterior motive had been to use Mira as a cheap cleaning lady—but the oldest Noh-sister soon realized that Mira had too much to do with her own work, to always clean after herself.

So the harassment and the bullying continued.

Mira looked at the shards of porcelain that were everywhere on the floor of the kitchen. Nara was standing on one side of the kitchen, Mira on the other one and Gaeul was standing in the doorframe, her hand covering her mouth. Mira had tears in her eyes, while she bend down to pick up the pieces of, what once was a bowl.

„It's your fault", Nara hissed, staring at her sister, that was kneeling and picking up the pieces. „You shouldn't have tested me like this." Nara watched Mira and shook her head.

Mira had a cut on her cheek, where one of the shards of porcelain had met her skin, after Nara had thrown the bowl towards her in full speed. Tears were tickling Mira's eyes and Nara walked past her and out of the kitchen.

Gaeul was unsure of what to do. Should she help Mira? Or should she look after her best friend? With a bad feeling in her stomach the strawberry blonde turned around and ran after Nara.

Once Mira was alone in the kitchen, tears fell down her face. The argument and Nara's dramatic ending could've been avoided. Nothing of this would've happened, if Nara had listened to her sister. Only one time.

The argument started simple. Nara and Gaeul picked Mira up from work, since they wanted to go grocery shopping right after school. Mira had excused herself and finished cleaning up the store, when Nara had met Mira's boss for the very first time.

Chanyeol was busy, looking at all the flower buckets, writing down which they should order next, when Nara had elbowed Gaeul and told her that this dude was hers.

Noh Nara took all her willpower and took a step towards Chanyeol introducing herself as Mira's older sister. Chanyeol had greeted her in his usual friendly tone and Nara started shamelessly flirting with the twenty-seven year old.

Chanyeol had tried to politely turn her down, but Nara had pushed back her ash-brown hair and tried to ask him out. Mira had caught her sister doing that and felt sick.

After finishing getting their groceries the sister unpacked them in the kitchen, when Mira asked Nara about her and Chanyeol. Nara had started sighing and saying she had never seen a man more beautiful than her boss.

Mira, feeling bad about this told her she shouldn't flirt with Chanyeol. Nara had cocked her eyebrow and had rudely asked Mira to shut up.

„So you're allowed to have a boyfriend, an ugly one even, but I am not allowed to look at pretty men and flirt with them?" Mira had nodded and Nara had started laughing. „You're so fake, Mira. What's your matter? Do you have a crush on him or something?" Nara had taken out a cereal bowl from the cupboard above the sink and grabbed a bag of crisps, she wanted to eat while watching yet another runway show with Gaeul.

Gaeul just came towards the kitchen, asking where Nara was, when she felt the weird tension between the sisters. It wasn't anything new, if Mira and Nara fought. But something about now seemed weird.

„He's my boss. It's just—" Mira didn't even have the chance to finish her sentence. „This is not about you! Not everything is about you, Mira! I want to date him!" Nara was screaming and Mira felt really tiny. But she didn't wanted to give in. Not now.

„He's my boss AND engaged! I don't want you to go out—" Mira's voice got stuck in her throat when she saw the bowl flying in her direction. It shattered, hitting the floor and send a handful of shards towards Mira. One of the shards cut her cheek and the only sound heard was Gaeul's gasp.

Now Mira sat on the floor, blood dripping down from her cheek and tears dripping down her eyes, like a waterfall. She didn't even make a sound, while cleaning up the kitchen.

She heard Nara and Gaeul discuss in the living room. Nara was screaming. Mira hadn't felt this invisible in years. She recognized the feeling in her chest from the time Nara had pushed her down the stairs.

But this time it felt inevitable. She felt her heart beat hard against her ribs, while she threw away the last piece of shards. She cleaned the kitchen with a broom and walked towards her room; trying to disappear.

Nara met her in the hallway and threw a carrier towards her. „Pack your fucking things. I don't want to have you in this house anymore." She said—a deadly glare in her eyes. Mira felt another wave of tears prickling at the corner of her eyes and bowed.

She picked up the carrier and moved into her room. She started packing her stuff quietly and sniffled the tears away, while she put her clothes in the carrier. „Mum and Dad will be here in an hour. Until then I want this room empty. I don't want to find a trace of you ANYWHERE in here, understood?" Nara stood at the door of the room and glared at her sister that was packing her stuff away.

Once all her clothes and items were packed, she sat down on the bed and held the plush Murakami flower tight to her body. She felt herself fall apart. She heard the doorbell and heard Nara cry. She heard her fathers voice, trying to calm the older sister down, while she saw her mother come into her room.

Mrs Noh looked at Mira, that was a shadow of herself. She held onto her phone and the flower; a backpack on her back, two duffle bags on the floor and the suitcase.

„Mira, darling", her mother started, but Mira was way too distracted to listen to her mother. She felt as if she was in trance, when she followed her parents out of the flat—that she used to call home—and into the car.

She quietly cried, when she sat in the backseat of their family car and drive out of Seoul, to the outskirt where the family owned a little house.

Her phone was vibrating in her hand, but Mira had no strength to pick it up and see who was calling or texting her. She didn't have any strength at all. All she wanted to do was sleep.

Sleep and forget about Nara and her torture.