– | IVE+

The apartment was completely silent, broken only by the constant hum of the old refrigerator and the rhythmic tapping of your fingers on the laptop. At 26, the dark circles under your eyes had become a permanent feature, but you didn't care.

In the next room, 22-year-old Gaeul was finishing arranging the younger girls' drawing notebooks, while Yujin and Wonyoung, both 21, murmured quietly while sharing a threadbare blanket on the couch.

A sharp slam of a door downstairs made them all tense up instantly. Heavy footsteps and muffled shouts on the stairs confirmed their worst fears: their parents were back, drunk and furious again.

—Relax, stay here—

you whispered in a firm voice, immediately standing up to block the living room door.

Rei and Liz, both 20, clung tightly to the sleeves of your sweater, their eyes glassy with fear, while little Leeseo, just 19, hid behind them trembling.

You looked at them at six o'clock, covering them with your whole body, ready to endure any blow or insult in order to keep them safe.

With the money you earned by working two jobs, you knew that sooner or later they would get out of that hell, and in the meantime, protecting them was the only thing that mattered.