Loathing, hate, detestation, and dislike are all words that could describe the relationship between my sister and me a couple of years ago. Seriously. Around three years ago, if my sister and I were alone, I would beat my sister to a pulp if she even called me shallow or ignorant. I intimidated her so much, that in fact she would cower behind my mother whenever I went near her, and she trembled at the mere sound of my puny and girly voice. The dialogue between us pretty much went like this in the days of old.




"Hey, oppa, (Korean for brother) how'd ya do in that history test of yours?"




"None of your business; mind your own beeswax, you little twerp!"




"Ha, I bet you failed!! Hahaha, wait till I tell Mo-"




*Sound of chairs being smashed and glass breaking*

This went on for quite a long time, until I had an epiphany that no matter how much I detested my sister, I still had to remain humane. But I kept asking myself, "Why?"

I was immediately taken back to the moment in Woori Mart, a local supermarket frequented by Korean families. My mother went there weekly, shopping for groceries, usually taking my sister and me. Every time we went there, my sister and I would go to the candy section and marvel at the new crackers and candies to be found on the shelves.

But on May 7, 2009, I found a new cracker that looked so delicious and appetizing on the paper covering of the snack. It was called Banana Kick. My sister and I both agreed that it was the most marvelous thing that we had ever seen, so we begged our mother to buy it. Of course, like any other mother, she very rudely refused. We begged her for minutes, pleading and bribing her with the old:

"Please, please!!! We'll eat all of our veggies and do all of our homework! Just one bag!"




But all she muttered was,




"No, no, and NO! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU!? STOP PESTERING ME!!"


My sister and I were shocked by her sudden reaction. Why was she so mad? But after a while, her sudden outbreak had soon made us glum, and we were sulking and sobbing over the bag of crackers. As my mother went to the cashier to pay for her weekly groceries, my grief soon turned to rage. How dare she not buy this precious bag of chips for her special, one-of-a-kind children?!? I quickly persuaded my younger sister into a fit of rage, telling her about the unfairness and injustice that was going on. So we decided to protest, by staying inside the market when it was time to go home. Through the window, we glared at her and she frustratingly mouthed,



"COME HERE BEFORE I KILL YOU WHEN I GET HOME."

We decided to play it safe and stay where we were, saying that we wouldn't leave until she bought us the crackers. We wandered around the market for five minutes, and we checked up on how our mother was doing. Hopefully, she would cave in and buy her sweet, cute children the crackers. But to our horror, her car wasn't parked anymore; it was going out onto the street.

I started to panic mainly because I had never expected my mother to leave without me. Why would she leave her precious children behind? I quickly told my sister and sprinted outside to apologize to my mother.

I had an epiphany right this moment that my sister was part of my family, and family is all about love and affection, not cold-heartedness and hatred. My sister was on my side, and she loved me. So I mustered all of my self-control from then, and I haven't hit my sister since.