마마 (Mama) Side Story: Father
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, at the moment, I have nothing to do with Lay or Kris. I would really, really like to though~
Sunmin was twelve, Lay was fourteen, and Kris was fifteen when it all began.
The three were playing their planet’s version of tag in their front yard when their father’s car pulled up. The black car with its tinted window had always seemed menacing to the three, but that’s just how it was. Their father was the mayor of their town on their home planet, which was a lot like a president, or a king, on earth. They stood still, watching as a few other cars pulled up and the group of men in dark suits made their way into the house. Sunmin shuddered and Lay looked at her worriedly. “Are you all right,” he asked, placing an arm around his little sister’s shoulders. She nodded and then forced herself to smile, “Let’s keep playing~” So, they did.
A couple of weeks later, both Lay and Kris were beginning to take notice to their sister’s weird habit of staring and shuddering. It became pretty much a daily pattern. She never mentioned what was bothering her; instead she’d put on a smile and return to whatever was being done at the time.
One fateful day, Sunmin was walking out of her room to head to the kitchen. She paused on her way past the living room, hearing her mother and oldest brother practically yelling at each other. “That man is up to no good” was the first sentence that she’d heard, and it poured from Kris’s lips.
“Don’t you dare talk about your father that way! I don’t want to hear any more of your lies!”
“I’m not lying. I’ve heard what he talks about with those…those ‘business associates’ of his. How could you let him do something like that?!”
“He would never do such a thing. After all we’ve done for you, I can’t believe you’re trying to break up a happy home like this. What is wrong with you, boy?!”
“I’m trying to tell you before this whole family gets in trouble for something stupid he does.”
“Stop bringing this up! That’s all you want to talk about now!”
“Because it’s the tr-“
“If I hear another word about this from you, I will find something to do with you, I promise you. I will not have children in my house that are such liars and so ungrateful!”
Sunmin was frozen. Her mother made her way to the kitchen, her brother simply standing there, before heading towards the basement door. She shuddered, looking down the hall, seeing her father coming in her direction from his study. He smiled at her, kissing the top of her head. “What’s wrong, honey,” he asked, concern misting over his features. She put on a smile and shook her head, “Nothing. I was just trying to remember why I came downstairs.” “I hope you remember,” he replied before smiling again and then nodding and walking around her. She shuddered again, watching her father. She had the strong feeling that Kris was right about their father being up to something.
A year had passed, and things in the household had only gone from bad to worse. Kris was constantly at war with their mother, what it was they actually talked about didn’t matter - they always found something to argue about. Their father was rarely home. Lay and Sunmin were left to wonder why their house seemed so broken.
The kids were playing their version of capture the flag, the only weapon allowed in the game were their stun guns. If anyone got too hurt, they would simply stop and Lay would work his healing magic, but they never stunned each other that badly.
Sunmin was searching for her brothers' flags when she entered her father’s study. She was sure, or at least she thought she was sure about one of them having come into the room to hide their flag. She began searching, stopping when a particular drawing caught her attention on her father’s desk. She picked up the paper and could’ve sworn that it looked familiar or that she’d heard something like it described, most likely at school. She ran her fingers across it after she set it back down and her face twisted up uneasily. She read the papers that surrounded the drawing and dropped them back in place, her face frozen in shock. Her father was devising some sort of thieving plan. She wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t really be planning to harness Mama’s power…could he, she thought, mortified at the idea, Is this what Kris and mother have been arguing about…?
Kris found her in the study and took in the look on her face. He hurried over to her, worried what was wrong with her. “Sunmin…Sunmin, what’s the matter,” his eyes narrowed out in concern. She simply pointed to the table. Her mind elsewhere, she spoke just loud enough for him to hear, “You were right~”
Their mother had returned home from work and Kris was on edge. He was finally going to bust his father and prove he was correct to his mother. “You didn’t want to believe me,” he questioned, shaking his head, “What more proof do you need?” He asked, after having told his mother what was discovered. “This is the last straw,” she screeched, “I’m through with you. Do you understand that?! And bringing your sister into your nonsense.”
“He didn’t do anything,” Sunmin’s mind was elsewhere again as she spoke, “I found it on my own.”
“That is enough~!”
The two stared at her, never having heard her voice take on such intensity and coldness, nor ever having seen the look that echoed such emotion in her eyes.
“You’ve heard of earth, right?” When the two nodded, she continued. “Well, your father is sending a group of privileged students to earth. You two are going with them.”
They looked at her wide-eyed. “Why are we going to earth,” Kris blurted out.
“I’ve already told you that I’ve had enough of this nonsense. I’ve had enough of you trying to break up this household. Since you won’t leave it alone, I’ll just send you away as punishment.”
Sunmin’s eyes began to tear up, “Mother, you can’t. You can’t do that.”
“I can and I will. I’m through with the both of you. I don’t care if you choose to pack up your things or not, but you are going when the students are sent off. I don’t even care if you tell someone why I’m sending you. I’ve had enough!”
Sunmin’s watery eyes spilled over when their mother turned and walked away. She felt her brother’s arm wrap around her shoulders. She had to admit that she’d never felt more comforted and protected in her life. She buried her face into his shoulder. He let her cry. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he spoke just loud enough for her to hear, “I promise. I’ll take care of you for as long as I can, no matter what.”
Sunmin could hear how broken her brother was. She could’ve sworn that she’d even heard his heart break. She looked up at him to see warm tears flowing silently from his eyes. When she went to wipe them, it was obvious that he hadn’t even noticed that he had begun to cry. He gave her a weak smile and held her hand.
“We’ll go to earth. We’ll be fine, okay?” Sunmin hugged her brother at these words and didn’t want to let him go. He hugged her back, seemingly not wanting to let her go either. They stayed like that for a while. It seemed, at the moment, that all they had was each other.
~~~
They tried to tell Lay what had happened, but he seemed just like their mother had. He didn’t want to believe it, but he wasn’t as harsh as the woman had been. He simply stayed quiet, trying to decide whether or not he should believe them. He knew deep in his gut that his brother and sister would have no reason to lie to him. On the other hand, he also knew that it was something that he probably shouldn’t get mixed up in.
“Do you really think that she’s going to send you guys away,” Lay asked, frowning.
The three were sitting in the front yard, tossing a small black ball around to each other. It was quiet after he’d asked the question, the only thing that could be heard was the pulse the ball released each time it was caught or dropped. Their eyes focused on the ball, watching the blue, red, and green rings that were emitted in response to each of their specific signatures.
Kris watched the red ring that was released with the pulse when Sunmin caught the ball. “I don’t want to, but I know she will,” he sighed, “We’ve never seen that look in her eye before.”
“Maybe she was trying to ignore the truth,” both Lay and Sunmin spoke at the same time.
Their eyes locked for a moment, the younger receiving a telepathic message of comfort from her brother. She smiled weakly, as they returned their attention to the eldest sibling.
“While I’m taking care of Sunmin, I’ll need you to take care of mother,” Kris stated, sadness echoing in the depths of his eyes, “Okay, Lay?”
Lay nodded, “I will.” He looked at his sister again, “And you take care of him, all right,” he questioned, gesturing towards Kris.
Sunmin gave another smile and nodded, “Of course I will.”
~~~
The day came for their departure. Their father said nothing to them as they boarded the shuttle along with the students. This wasn’t the first shuttle that had been sent from the planet, but there was still a crowd of the people in the town since it was the first one to be sent to earth. People gathered in different stations across the planet where shuttles were released to various planets across the universe.
Sunmin and Kris hugged Lay. Sadness carried like an extremely heavy weight on all three of their shoulders. Lay frowned and waved as his brother and sister boarded the shuttle. The doors fell closed and, with tear-filled eyes, he watched as the spacecraft took off. He was now left with his mother and father, alone. He wondered how right they had been.