Namjoon woke up to the sound of sobbing. With sleep still in his eyes, he looked around and found her sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. Her head was buried between her knees.

"Urgh... you ruined my sleep," he said as he got out of bed.

"You ruined my life... you ruined me," she replied between sobs.

He didn’t say anything and knelt down to her level. She was crying, hugging her knees tightly.

He patted her head, which made her tremble in fear. She hadn’t slept all night, despite being exhausted.

She recoiled, scared of him. He noticed her trembling and felt a tug at his heart.

He tried to hug her, but she pulled away again. Undeterred, he approached her once more and gathered her into his arms, sitting her on his lap while patting her back. She didn’t return the hug; her hands remained over her face.

“L-leave me... I’m scared,” she said, trying to get up from his lap.

“Afraid of me?” he asked, looking down at her.

She looked up with teary, angry eyes, wanting to slap him in that moment.

“I said leave me,” she insisted, pushing him away.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, trapping her between them.

“What do you want? Ice cream? Cupcake?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood as she glared at him.

She pushed him with all her might and ran toward the bathroom. After completing her morning routine, she stepped outside and glanced at the storeroom door. Opening it, she entered and smiled at the room she hadn't visited since returning from Italy.

She felt a sense of joy about marrying the love of her life, Namjoon. She had avoided the storeroom to prevent memories of her childhood from surfacing—memories she didn’t want to relive.

She gazed at the drawings on the walls, sitting on the floor and caressing a drawing of her parents. Speaking softly, she said, “I really miss you, Appa... and Eomma, I miss you too.”

She smiled at the wall, not because it held actual images of them, but because it reflected her childhood creativity: two straight lines for legs, two straight lines for arms, a long line for the body, and a circle for the face.

Giggling at the childish drawing, she hugged the wall and closed her eyes. The storeroom felt like home to her.

Whenever her mother grew angry, she would lock her in this storeroom as punishment. However, she had come to find comfort in these walls.

Her mother would often punish her when she fought with her brother, even if it wasn’t her fault.

As she looked at a box filled with broken toys, she took out a small doll and recalled a memory.

“EOMMAAAA! Y/N broke my car!” Yu-jin shouted while crying.

“Mom... he broke my doll first, and his car accidentally fell from my hand. I didn’t do anything!” a nine-year-old Y/N protested.

Her mother emerged from the kitchen, anger etched on her face. She glanced at Yu-jin, then at Y/N, and seized her arm, locking her in the storeroom.

“Mom, I didn’t do this intentionally... please let me out... I’m scared in here!” she cried, banging on the door.

“Why do you always trouble him? It’s your punishment,” her mother shouted from outside.

“Mommy, please! I’m scared!” Y/N cried, her voice rising.

After banging on the door repeatedly, she eventually fell asleep on the floor without having eaten anything. Her mother released her the next morning, just in time to send her to school.

Y/N apologized many times, even though she hadn’t broken Yu-jin’s car, but her mother refused to listen. Despite her mother’s harsh words, she never hated her brother; she took care of him as an older sister should.

~giving love is the best way to make yourself happy