THE NIGHT
BEFORE
——

"grandpa! i'm home!"

ae rin slipped through the front door, keys in one hand and mail in the other. stealing a glance at the clock, ae rin sighed as she noticed that it was past eleven.

"he's probably asleep," she muttered to herself, chucking her keys on the small coffee table as she hunched her body on the fragile couch. sighing, she opened the envelope that had her name first.

"bills, bills, bills; that's all i get in the mail. why can't i ever receive a gift card or something for once," she told herself, a small bitter smile tugging at her lips. "of course not. i'm so delusional," she added to her previous saying, eyeing the multiple bills in her hands.

reaching out for her phone, she checked her savings account before letting out a small sigh. looking over her bills, she decided it wouldn't hurt if she used a little of her savings for the bills.

moving on, she opened another envelope that looked familiar.

"hmm," ae rin hummed, her hands moving faster than her thoughts. opening up the paper inside, she let out a sigh of relief as she spotted the rectangular piece of paper with her name on it. "finally," she said, pulling it closer to her face as she took in every detail. "is it really a coincidence that i get a check on the same day i get the bills?" she asked herself, keeping her eyes on the check as she gently took off her sweater.

taking one last look, she got up and placed her check inside her wallet. she hoped she wouldn't lose it again.

"stay safe, wallet."

ae rin exited the living room and made her way into the bathroom, her feet playing around on the floor as she struggled to walk in a straight line. she let out a sigh for what felt the millionth time that day.

she locked herself in the bathroom and washed her face with cold water. "come on, ae rin. this isn't the time to feel tired," she told herself, gently massaging her temple with one hand as she used the other to grab a towel.

she dried her face and took a look at the mirror. she couldn't help but notice her tired expression; her eyes looked empty and the dark circles under her eyes only made things worse.

"jeez. i wonder what jungkook thought when he saw me earlier today." she grabbed her toothbrush and brushed her teeth, her eyes not leaving her reflection. "he was so nice and...good looking. don't you think, ae rin?" she asked herself, rolling her eyes at her silliness. "mom had to call and ruin it for me," she muttered.

rinsing her mouth, ae rin's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the doorbell ringing. arching her eyebrows together, ae rin wiped her mouth quickly and paced herself to the door.

"who is it?" she asked quietly, taking another look at the clock.

"it's jieun," said a perky, familair voice.

"jieun?" ae rin questioned, opening the door. "what are you doing here at this h— grandpa?"

ae rin's grandpa stood next to jieun, arms hugging his body as he held onto his blanket in hand. he didn't look up at ae rin as he fidgeted around with his blanket. his eyes were wide and full of confusion.

ae rin, too, was confused.

"grandpa, you're supposed to be in bed. what are you doing outside at this time?" she asked him, reaching for his hand.

he flinched at her touch as he moved away and kept quiet.

"i found him roaming the streets," jieun spoke up, staring at ae rin's face as she grabbed onto ae rin's grandpa. "what was he doing out?"

"i - i don't know," ae rin stuttered in response. "i'll talk to him and hopefully i'll get some answers," she added quickly, raising her hand to help him inside.

"okay. i'll see you at work, okay?"

"of course," ae rin responded, smiling gently. "thank you, jieun."

jieun smiled back before closing the door behind her.

"grandpa," ae rin said, "i thought you were sleeping this whole time. i should've checked on you. i'm so stupid."

he sat in silence.

"aren't you going to say anything? you can't just leave the house late at night without anyone knowing where you're going," she explained. seeing him avoiding her gaze, ae rin sat next to him and placed her hand on his. "i know that it's hard, grandpa. but you'll get through this, okay? we'll both get through this."

he turned his head away and grabbed his hand away from hers.

"where's hee jung?" his voice cracked, eyes looking at the pictures placed on the shelves.

the question caught her off guard.

"i just talked to mo- her a couple hours ago. she told me that the doctors need to see you soon," she answered. "but you don't have to go if you don't want to," she added quickly.

"where's hee jung?" he repeated, ignoring ae rin's statement completely.

ae rin cleared her throat before she said, "she's in france, grandpa."

"france?" he asked in shock. "whatever for?"

ae rin let out a cold laugh. "she's with her new boyfriend, grandpa. that's what she does."

"shouldn't she be in school?"

ae rin felt her shoulders tense up as she examined her grandpa's side profile. she bit on her tongue as her heart quickened it's heart beat pace. "school? why would she be in school? she's 38," she whispered, the words cracking.

ae rin's face slackened, her eyebrow beaded with sweat.

after a few moments of silence, he turned his head and his mouth quirked into a smile. "can you get me a cup of tea, dear?"

ae rin flitted away her concern. "of course."

she entered the kitchen, hand trembling as she struggled to bring the water to boil. after a few tries, she succeeded and leaned her back against the fridge. she looked up at the medicine cupboard as she eyed her grandpa's medicine.

reaching her hand, she grabbed the unopened box of medicine as she examined the label.

TAKE WHEN MEMORY LOSS INCREASES.

ae rin huffed out a breathe, her free hand holding her head as she felt her whole body weaken.

she put some tea leaves in the boiled water before pouring it in a cup and taking it to the living room. her grandpa was gone.

"grandpa?" she called out, rushing to the hallway as she checked every room. catching sight of him on her bed, she let out a sigh of relief and invited herself into the room. "here's your tea, grandpa."

he looked up before jumping from the bed and holding a hand towards her.

"who are you and what are you doing here?" he roared, waving his hand in her face.

ae rin put the cup down on her drawer and started walking towards him. "it's me. it's ae rin," she slowly told him. at the sight of his confused face, she said, "your granddaughter. hee jung's daughter."

"hee jung? where's hee jung?!"

"s - she's not here, grandpa. i told you she's in france," she reminded him, taking a few steps closer to him.

"who are you?!" he asked once again. "if you come any closer, i will call the police."

"grandpa," she called out, "it's ae rin."

"ae rin?" he asked softly, hands trembling as he tripped over his feet. "ae rin, where are you?" he sobbed, tears escaping from his eyes.

"i'm here," she softly said, leaning down to his weak body. "it's me. it's ae rin."

"you're not ae rin! you're an imposter," he seethed, slapping her hand away from him. "i swear to god i will call the police if you don't leave my house in the next minute!"

"don't call the police, grandpa."

"stop calling me that," he said. "47 seconds." he continued to count down, his sobs quieting down as he waited for her to leave. "9 seconds."

ae rin continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"if - if you don't leave the house, i will - i will hurt myself!" he screamed, getting up and pushing ae rin out.

seeing that ae rin wouldn't move, he grabbed the hot cup of tea and held it next to his face. "leave or i will. hurt. myself."

"okay, okay. i'll leave," she interrupted, backing away with her hands in the air. "just please don't hurt yourself, okay? i'm going to go and find you some help," she assured him.

"the only help i need is help on getting you away," he said, "from me."

-

this is a flashback btw!!!! (from before she got drunk) also her grandpa is currently suffering from Alzheimer's and is transitioning into dementia (??? i don't know how to word that hAHAHA)

also your comments keep me smiling like an idiot jsksbdkdj ily

- nehal