1 Eun ha

"Eun ha, Eun ha wake up" her mother gently tapped her sitting at the corner of her medium-sized mattress.

"mmmm, mmmm" Eun ha stretched and yawned as she slowly opened her eyes which landed first on her alarm clock on the little cabinet beside every bed.

She jerked up suddenly, unwrapping herself from her bedsheets.

"Oh my God!, mother, I'm late!!!!"

"Hold on Eun ha, there is something important we need to discuss," she said with a shaky voice along with a sad expression on her face. holding a strange paper in her hands.

Eun ha wanted to hurriedly dismiss the conversation in a whiff to prepare for her usual night shifts at the hotel but her mother's countenance had slowed her down. This was something she could not ignore.

"Mother, what's wrong?" She said slowly sitting down on the bed and facing her mother. Her mother wasn't getting any younger, but stress and anxiety had made her look like a 70-year-old woman.

The sad look on her mother's face was something she couldn't bear to see.

"Mother!"

She called again seeing that she was hesitant to reply.

Her lips quivered as tears gathered in her eyes.

"The loan sharks Eun ha, they have your father, they are going to kill him, they'll kill him!!!" she said as her lips trembled further.

"Loan sharks???" Eun ha asked in disbelief, "how?? when??"

Her eyes widened as she got red hot with anger instantly

"He took another loan, right? I worked my back off to pay the previous loan, I warned him not to take another loan, see now." Eun ha responded trying hard to fight the tears that were about to roll down her cheeks.

"Okay, when is the deadline for the payment and how much is it?

she asked trying hard to control the anger she felt, she didn't want to upset her mother any further, she knew her mother was equally tired of the situation just as she was.

"It's 10,000 dollars and the deadline for payment is tomorrow evening, "

She said with a shaky voice, she knew her daughter had done the most for the family, she deserved a better life, and she deserved to be happy but she had sacrificed it all to help her family out.

"Wait, what!!!!?? 10,000 what!!!! Even if I'm sold I couldn't come up with such an amount of money in such a limited amount of time. I have a little above 2000 dollars in my savings account, even if I am to collect all my remaining salary for the rest of the year, I couldn't possibly come up with such an amount of money" she uttered, distressed. She was strong, and everyone knew Eun ha was an exemplary child, but this was perhaps her breaking point.

"When did he borrow this money?" Her mother could sense the agitation in her voice.

but this wasn't just agitation, there was fear too.

"3 weeks ago" she whispered under her breath.

"3 weeks ago?! Just a week after I paid the 5000 dollars loan he took?"

Oh God, she said placing her hands on her forehead, she hadn't even finished settling the previous one and he had the guts to borrow 10000 dollars now they will kill him for it.

"he can't die, Eun Ha you have to do something about it" Eun Ha could sense the desperation in her voice

"For what reason? Mother, for what reason?" she uttered raising her voice slightly

"I don't know, I... don't ....know!!" she said sobbingly raising her voice after her second statement.

"I'm tired too," she said in a shaky voice.

This time, she burst into uncontrollable tears.

Tears Eun, he had worked so hard not to see on her mother's face.

"It's okay mother" she sat down again on the bed rubbing her mother's back, trying to console her.

"It's the mother we'll be fine, we'll get through this, together. I'll find a way out" she said. But deep down, she knew she was only trying to make her mother feel better, she had no idea where she'd get 10000 dollars between now and tomorrow evening.

"What did he use it for?" She inquired of her mother who was still sitting in her bed sobbing.

"maybe you'll get a chance to know if he survives this one"

But then, he wasn't always like this, whatever happened to him was making them suffer.

Eun Ha left the room and walked to the living room pacing back and forth, she reached out for a bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it instantly.

"what's wrong big sis?" her little brother asked calmly, she hadn't even noticed he was back.

" Han Jae, I didn't see you, " she said as she tried to force a smile on her face. She wanted to protect her younger brother as much as possible from the emotional trauma she was passing through.

Han Jae knew things were not quite in place, but what he didn't know his father's life was in danger. she didn't want him to know.

"I need to get to work, I'll see you when I get back tomorrow okay?"

"Okay, sis" Han Jae responded with his eyes fixed on the TV screen. He was watching his favourite Tv show at 6 pm.

"Sis?"

"yes" she responded,

"where is the father?"

"He travelled for some work he had to do, he'll be back soon"

she lied, that was something she hated.

Eun Ha decided to prepare for her work. She brought out a pair of ns and a blue chiffon top from her closet and cleaned her favourite black flat slippers.

She loved the simplicity.

She worked at a famous hotel in City A, Mayfield hotel.

It was a 5-star luxury hotel and their workers were the highest paid of all the hotels in City A. She knew she was quite fortunate to work there.

She took a quick shower and slipped into her work clothes, she placed her uniforms and other necessary items she be needing for the night in her bag.

She slightly pecked her mum's forehead. "Take care, mother"

she rushed out to get a taxi.

All we could think about was how much her father had messed up things for her

She had even been offered a 70% scholarship to study in one of the most renowned universities in the City, but his father had also thwarted that, he couldn't even pay the 30 per cent which was just about 1000 dollars.

"How could I be cursed with such a father," she thought to herself.

"Okay no time for questions, what is the solution to this problem, what am I going to do?" she was having a conversation in her head, something she did whenever she was confused.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! , Mayfield?" the driver said turning his neck to face Eun Ha who was lost in deep thought.

"Ma'am! " He called again, but this time loudly making her jerk in shock.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir." She opened her purse and paid the driver she gently and slowly walked into the hotel.