Siblings

Lara Kim rushes down the streets of her hometown, Ulsan in South Korea. She held tightly the tiny hand of her younger brother, Cody Kim. She lets out a small pant as she holds the stolen loaf of  bread tightly, the vendor shouting and chasing after them. 

She could feel the fear radiating off of her 7 year old brother, and looks down at him for a moment. “Want a ride?” She asks playfully, making his eyes shine and his head nod quickly. A small laugh falls from her lips and she picks him up, putting him on her back and hooking her arms under his bruised legs. “Now, let’s go!” She exclaims, making her little brother laugh in joy. 

Cody’s laughter soon dies down as he hears the insults of the vendor, making Lara frown quickly. But before he could start crying, Lara picks up a balloon that was tied to another cart. “Here you go, lil’ bud. Don’t let go of it!” She commands, continuing to run as quickly as her 13 year old legs could carry her. 

They turn a corner into a small alleyway and she stops for a moment, leaning against the wall. Her cheeks flushed and legs weak, heavy breathing was heard from her. The vendor eventually gave up on chasing them, so she squatted down and let Cody jump off her back. Her spine ached but she refused to let her younger brother see her in a moment of weakness. 

Her legs lightly trembled from undernourishment and her hair was brittle and dry. Cody looked similar, but a bit more healthy. She always gave him the bigger portion of whatever food they stole, and gave him the most water. “Here, lil’ bud.” She whispers, squatting down into a kimchi squat and tearing a piece of bread off. “Eat slowly, or you’ll choke. Tell me when you need more, okay?” 

The boy slowly nods, munching on the hard and stale bread. They had stolen one of the older loafs by accident, so it wasn’t as fresh as the others. Lara waits until Cody has had enough to start eating her smaller piece, her stomach churning with delight as it has finally gotten food for the first time in days. 

Her thin dark eyes carefully watch the outside of the alleyway, seeing multiple passerbys paying no mind to them. Her thin lips were cracked and chapped along with her thin and soft dirty nails. Cody sat against the hard brick wall in silence, innocently watching his older sister cautiously reach into the pocket of a passing man. In her hand appeared a black leather wallet, and she smiled proudly. 

Opening it, her charcoal eyes searched for cash. Her grin widened as she looked up to the younger boy. “We’re in luck, lil’ bud. This idiot had 500,000 won in his wallet.” She whispers, making the boy smile brightly. 

“But remember, we should spend it wisely. I’ll see if I can find a place for us to stay for the night, ‘kay lil bud?” The boy nods eagerly, making Lara laugh softly. 

-

Lara holds Cody’s hand protectively as they wander around Ulsan. People stared at them in disgust at their unsightly appearances, but Lara just glared back. She put her arm to cover Cody’s view of the people and continued to lead him to wherever they were going. “Here..” She mumbles, standing in front of a small hotel. “Stay close to me.. Okay?” She commands gently, opening the front door. 

There greeting them was an elderly man who looked well above 60, his gray hair thinning out and balding on his head. His dark skin was wrinkled and sagged, his thin eyes slanted downwards. He wore a simple white button up and black slacks,a cheap get up. He gave them a friendly smile and had this warm aura around him, comforting the two young children. 

Lara asks for the cheapest room they had, and hands him the money. He gives her the key to the room and announces the number. Cody watches his sister talk like an adult as best as she could and give the old man the stolen money. 

She asks the man for something, which makes him go into the back. Lara’s small and pale hands reach behind the counter while he’s gone, and grabs something Cody couldn’t see. She quickly retracts it with a mysterious item in hand and smiles innocently at the man. “Thank you, Oppa.” 

He only smiles at her, and they share a bow. Lara leads Cody down the hall to their room, him stepping closer to his older sister.

The hall was poorly lit, the lights above them flickering and some were off. The wallpaper on the walls were peeling and scraped, along with some mysterious stains on them. The walls underneath the paper were beige and had scraped paint. The wooden doors to the rooms had termites and were chipped, the doorknobs an old gold color that was rusting. On the doors were the room numbers, indicating which room they were passing. 

The two siblings stayed alert as they walked down the old hall, hands clutching each other’s tightly. Finally Lara stops in front of a door and sighs heavily. Her hands slightly shake as she unlocks the door and opens it. 

A shaky grin comes on her lips as she looks down at her brother. “It’s not home, but it’s something.. Right?” She tries to lighten up his scared mood, and pulls him into it. “Don’t worry, you wait till Big Sis finds a better place to stay..” 

Inside the room was plain blue wallpaper that was peeling and a single chair and wooden desk. There was one lonely lamp sitting on the desk that was flickering, and across from it was a single bed, with white sheets and pillows. Lara could see a bug crawl across the bed before disappearing under the lonesome nightstand. She irks before putting on a calm face, letting out a shaky sigh. 

“Here, sit on the bed.. I have something.” She mumbles, pushing the young boy towards the dirty bed. She sets down the room key on the desk and takes off her dirty and ragged hoodie. She reaches into the pocket of her old jean shorts and pulls out the item she had stolen from the counter. 

Her eyes look at her only living relative and she smiles softly, showing it to him. 

“Can you keep a secret?”