BWI Airport, Sunday Evening

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With the possible exception of Sarah, no one in the Li family had appreciated Kathy's performance at the Talent Show--including Kathy herself, once the gremlin venom had worn off. There had been a bout of tears and hiding in Mary's special lounge, but she knew better than to think she could hide in there forever--no matter how tempting the idea was. There might have been a few minutes of trying to convince herself that she could totally live off soda and fancy peanuts until everyone who'd been there had left the island for good, but that hadn't lasted longer than four, five minutes. Tops.

As a family, they'd decided to skip the brunch--which meant that Sarah had asked about going, Kathy had given her a look of wide-eyed fear, and their parents' mutual glares had been enough to peel the paint off the wall behind her. Both sisters had spent the day in busy silence; Kathy studying and Sarah playing on her phone. Both parents had spent the day having muttered conversations in Korean, voices pitched too low to be heard except by one another, and treating Kathy to utter silence.

She'd actually never been go grateful for the silent treatment in her life. The look in her dad's eyes when they rested on her promised a lecture of the most epic proportions, once he'd gotten to the point of actually being able to deliver it.

At one point, her om had stepped out to make some phone calls, but she remained stuck under her father's flinty gaze, which kept her from even trying to start up a conversation with Sarah.

The day had passed very slowly, with a feeling of creeping dread the just got more and more acute while she waited for the other shoe to drop.

***

Mrs. Li had informed Kathy that she would be accompanying them to the airport and had proceeded to hold her hand for the entire trip there, like she was afraid that Kathy might run off at any moment to humiliate them further. When they arrived at the drop-off site, Mrs. Li exited the cab first, yanking Kathy out along with her.

"Umm, shouldn't I just stay in the cab?" she asked, while Sarah and her father pulled their suitcases out from the trunk. "So I can get back to the island? You could tell him to go as far up the Causeway as he can, with no stops, just to make sure I go straight there? Not that I wouldn't! I mean, of course I'd go right back to the school. But this way, you'd know for sure that's what happened. I mean, if you didn't feel you could..." She swallowed hard. "Trust me anymore."

Her parents said nothing. Mrs. Li finished paying the cabbie, her grip on Kathy's hand tight to the point of pain, while Mr. Li set the other suitcase down and grabbed Kathy's backpack from the back seat, where she'd shoved all the stuff she'd brought to the hotel room from her dorm over the weekend. He let her bag fall to the ground and stepped back from the curb while the cabbie pulled away. She and Sarah exchanged looks, Sarah's just as baffled as her own.

[Warning for emotional abuse and manipulation in the comments.]

Comments

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"Our boarding passes are in my purse," Mrs. Li said, as Kathy bent to pick her backpack up. "We will have to stop at the desk to pick up hers. It has not yet been paid for."

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Kathy nearly dropped her bag back on the ground again. "Wait, mine? Mom, you can't be serious!"

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"Hold your bag and your tongue," Mrs. Li ordered crisply. "I know you have no compunctions about humiliating your family in public, but try to remember the way you were raised."

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"No, wait, please," Kathy said, switching over to Korean. People might be able to tell that she was in some kind of distress from her tone of voice, but they wouldn't understand what she was saying. Maybe that would give her the chance to explain? "You don't understand! There was more going on that what you saw. I didn't set out to embarrass anyone last night!"

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"And yet you more than amply succeeded," Mrs. Li snapped, starting to move towards the airport doors. Kathy stumbled along behind her, not quite ready yet to pull free. "There is no excuse for such a disgraceful show! We have never been more ashamed of you in our lives. Your poor father--imagine what would happen if word of this were to get back to his company! He'd be a laughing stock!"

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"How would that even happen?" Kathy asked. "Someone would have had to upload it to Youtube--and put Dad's name on it! And probably his company name, too! Who would even do that?"

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Mrs. Li didn't have an answer for that, just kept steadily yanking Kathy forward.

...Behind all three of them, Sarah took her phone out and made sure that the video she'd uploaded didn't have any identifying information on it. And also that it was listed privately.

Just to be safe.

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Seeing how logic clearly wasn't going to work, Kathy tried a different tactic. "But--but--it's so much money! Money for a last-minute plane ticket across the country can't be cheap! And there's this year's tuition! And--and--all my stuff! In my dorm room! My clothes and my books and things! Are you just going to abandon that all?"

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"Tell her that the money for this ticket will be coming out of her own pocket," Mr. Li said, voice low and angry. He still refused to look at his eldest child, wasn't even getting close enough to touch her. "And the school will be returning the money that we have wasted on her. For both years she was here! Without even a hint of complaint, too! They'll be lucky we don't sue them for this!"

He was shaking in fury, hands clenched into fists at his side.

"And then tell her--tell this--" The word he spat was enough to make even his wife pale and Sarah gasp. Kathy just rocked on her heels like it had been a physical slap. "--that maybe if she cared even the slightest about her family instead of her precious things, we wouldn't have to drag her home."

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"Dad!"

Kathy watched in despair as her father shouldered by her to yank the door open.

"Mom..."

Tears blurred as her mother kept marching.

"Please, just listen!"

But it was a clatter from behind them that had them turning around.

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

Sarah stood trembling beside the suitcase she'd dropped onto the ground and made no move to pick it up.

"You're wrong," she said, looking hard at her parents. Her voice was tiny, her wrists red from where she was wringing her hands, a trait she'd picked up from her sister at some unknown point in the past. "You're both wrong, and Kathy doesn't deserve to be treated this way."

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"Sarah, don't," Kathy begged. "Just don't. I'll go home, they're right, I'm wrong, just stop, okay?"

It wasn't worth making a scene out here. She was already in trouble, there was no reason to involve her baby sister, too.

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"Pick up your suitcase, Sarah," Mr. Li said, voice low. "You pick up that suitcase and you keep walking. Don't follow in your sister's example, it won't end well for either of you."

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Sarah gulped and stepped back a pace, but the suitcase remained on the ground. "Nope. Not until you listen. Kathy shouldn't be in trouble for this. I should."

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"Don't listen to her," Kathy said, trying to shake off her mom and put herself between her sister and her parents. "She's tired and out of sorts. She doesn't even know what she's saying! Let's just keep going, I'll carry the suitcase, it's not a big deal..."

She didn't know what Sarah was doing, but she did know a horrible idea when she heard one. And if Sarah started talking about gremlins living in closets, her parents might skip over being angry and her and jump right to deciding she was crazy.

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Oh my god, Kathy! How stupid did you think she was?!

"I should be the one getting dragged into the airport by my arm," Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest. "She only did all that stuff last night because I made her. She was doing it because I said so!"

She turned a defiant face up to her parents. "So there."

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"Sarah!"

Kathy had no idea what to say to that. She was stumped. Beyond stumped. Of all the things she'd expected her sister to say, taking the blame and doing it so outrageously were not on the list of them.

"Sarah, you don't..."

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"Oh my god, will you stop trying to protect me?!" Sarah yelled. "Ugh, it's getting so obnoxious! Just accept the fact that I've grown up while you were gone, okay? That's what started this whole stupid thing in the first place! You being so stupid!"

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"Sarah, you are attracting attention!"

It was an automatic rebuke, neither Mrs. Li or her husband had any idea what was going on with their daughters. They were barely even aware of the quick glances being darted in their direction while people pretended not to eavesdrop.

"Come inside, we'll discuss this once we've gotten to our gate!"

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"Nope!" Sarah just raised her voice louder, speaking English to make sure that everyone listening could hear. Her drama teacher at school always stressed how important projection was and this place wasn't exactly made with acoustics in mind. "I'm staying right here until I say what I need to."

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Kathy dropped her eyes to her mom's grip on her wrist. It had grown slack as she'd started listening to Sarah and it wouldn't take much effort to free herself entirely. Maybe she could yank her arm away, grab Sarah, and put her hand over her mouth to stop whatever the heck was coming next?

She didn't know what it was, but if it was something big enough to make their parents forget about how angry they were at her...Yeah, Kathy couldn't let her sister take that kind of fall. Not for her.

"Mom, Dad, don't listen to her, she's lying, it's not her fault, I did it, I wanted the attention..."

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For a moment, it almost seemed like it was going to work. Mr. Li stopped staring at his younger daughter to glare at his older one, mouth opened to yell at her...

But Sarah wanted to grow up to be an actress one day. No, not an actress. A diva. She wasn't going to relinquish her audience without a fight.

"Shut the fuck up, Kathy."

Yeah, that got their attention all right.

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"Sarah Jin Li!"

Had both her daughters lost their minds this weekend?

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"Whaaaat?" Sarah whined. "I'm serious! I'm so sick and tired of her always butting in! 'Be good, Sarah!'" she mimicked. "'Behave yourself, Sarah!' 'I'm so perfect all the time, Sarah!' 'Why can't you be more like me, Sarah?' Ugh! She leaves for like a year and a half but I show up for a weekend and suddenly she's back to being the perfect big sister and treating me like some stupid baby? Yeah, I'm so over that."

Making sure she had both her parents' attention, she dropped the bomb. And not the kind that could be danced to at DDR.

"Kathy caught me with a boy. Kissing. And his hands were up my shirt." She gave her parents a defiant sneer, challenging them to do something about it.

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"But--I--but--no--that didn't--I--"

Kathy stuttered, amazed at the sheer audacity Sarah had to come up with something like that and then tell their parents about it. Her sister had ovaries the size of one of the jumbo jets circling overhead.

"Mom, Dad, that's not true. That never happened..."

True to form, however, her parents were ignoring her.

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

"At first, I just thought she was jealous that I have something up there for the boys to play with and she still doesn't--"

Several of the eavesdroppers winced. Sick burn, yo.

"But then she started talking about how embarrassed you'd be if you found out and how much trouble I'd be in and how I was shaming myself for having some fun with a boy who was much too old for me." She rolled her eyes again. "Please! He wasn't even eighteen yet!"

Sarah was of the Go Big Or Go Home School of Acting. And, dammit, she was determined to graduate valedictorian.

"She sounded just like you, Mom. Which, you know what, Kathy? You aren't! You're not my mom, you're just my boring big sister who goes to boarding school on the other side of the country and still won't even get a boyfriend! It's pathetic!"

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"SARAH!" Mr. Li thundered, marching over to grab Sarah by the forearm. They were a creepily matched set, each parent grasping a daughter by the arm. "Stop talking! Just stop talking this instant! I will not hear anymore from you!"

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"Yes, you will because I'm not done," Sarah said, chin high. "Kathy chased off the guy--before I even got his name--and started on this whole rant about keeping an eye on me and keeping me safe. So I made a deal with her. She'd either go onstage and do something completely embarrassing, or I'd spend all weekend making out with any guy willing. And then I said that if I got caught, I'd tell you and Mom that she encouraged me to."

She laughed. "You know, I'm still not sure whether she agreed because she was worried you'd believe her, or if she would have done it anyway just to 'protect me' from the boys."

Her eyes locked with Kathy's. "Well, Kathy? What do you say? Would you? Just to protect me?"

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Kathy had no idea what to say. How was she supposed to respond? There was no way to stop this now, Sarah was too fast and too good. Even if she denied it all, there was no way her parents would believe her. She could tell by the horror in her mother's eyes, the way her father was breathing too hard, too fast for normal.

She could either ruin everything her sister had done, or take the out she was being offered.

"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I would. Sarah, I'd do anything to protect you."

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

"I know," Sarah replied, giving Kathy a small smile. "You've done it our whole lives. I didn't know how much until you went away."

For over a decade, Sarah had been ignorant of just how much her sister did for her, of how much Kathy's struggle for perfection had kept their parents' attention and focus on her. She'd always thought that Kathy had been jealous of Sarah's effortless ability to be the good daughter.

Sarah had never realized how much of Kathy's own efforts had been directed to keeping her there. Not until the first time she'd been on one of her father's tirades about disrespect that had culminated in the silent treatment for three long days, before he'd gone back to acting like nothing had been wrong in the first place.

It had been a bewildering experience. And an eye-opening one.

"I'm a big girl now, Kathy. I can handle myself."

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"Yeah, but you'll always be my little sister," Kathy said, biting her lip to keep from crying.

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"Not if we're comparing bra sizes," Sarah joked.

She looked back up at her dad. "Are you really gonna waste all that tuition money?" she asked. "Have you seen that place? It's a castle! I bet they have lawyers up the butt. Some even among their alumni, probably. Do we have a castle's worth of lawyers, Dad?"

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They didn't. It wasn't even a question. They lived in a small apartment in Koreatown, and for as much as Mr. Li enjoyed throwing his weight around at home like he was some kind of hotshot at his firm, he was just another middle management drone. Sure, Mrs. Li was a realtor, but even with both of them working, living in L.A. wasn't easy.

He dropped Sarah's arm like it burned him and turned away from her. "Katherine, do you have your belongings from school?"

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"Of course, Dad, but--"

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"Then we will hail another taxi and you can return to your dorm."

Thank goodness they hadn't already bought her ticket. Airline tickets were non-refundable.

"I am still gravely disappointed in your performance on the stage and the way you chose to keep your sister's behavior from us. But removing you from your education is unnecessary."

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Kathy wanted to kick him. It was unnecessary now that he thought that she was the good daughter? Before, her stage act had been the end of the world, that she'd somehow managed to insult her entire family unto fourth cousins and pets she'd never heard of in Korea! Now, however, it was pretty much some kind of light-hearted schoolgirl prank, deserving of maybe a slap on the wrist before she was sent off for candy.

"I can't believe--"

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Sarah coughed.

She was about to be grounded for roughly five-ever and possibly never spoken to by her parents again. Don't fuck this up, Kathy.

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Kathy swallowed and manufactured a smile. "Yes, Dad," she said. "Thank you for understanding. I was just hoping to avoid all of this unpleasantness. I didn't want you or Mom to have to know about it."

Every word was like swallowing glass. She wondered if this was what it felt like for the Little Mermaid to walk.

"Still, I guess Sarah's innate honesty couldn't let her keep silent about it for long."

She had to try to help somehow.

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

Mr. Li just grunted and nodded at his wife, who dropped her hold on Kathy and crossed over to snatch up Sarah's hand instead.

"We need to go and get ourselves settled so we don't miss our flight," he said, holding his arms out for a hug. "Be good, work hard, and call often. We don't hear enough from you these days."

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Stepping into that hug and getting a warm kiss on the top of her head nearly made Kathy scream. How could he do that, switch from cruel and cutting to genial and affectionate in seconds? Someone snapped their fingers and he was suddenly perfectly charming and affable.

"I will, Dad," she promised. "I'll send you the dates for my AP exams when I get them, too."

Then she turned to her mom and had to go through the same rigmarole again, arms out for a hug. "Bye, Mom. Love you."

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Her mother, at least, had the grace to be stiff in the hug, keeping it short and perfunctory. She was furious at both of her daughters; finding about the behavior of one hadn't miraculously gotten the second off the hook.

"Hmm," she said, before stepping out of the hug. "Yes. I love you, too."

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And finally, Sarah. Kathy clung to her sister for as long as she could. "Love you," she whispered. "And thanks. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you..."

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"Dad's totally gonna break my cellphone," Sarah muttered, speaking Spanish to ensure neither of their parents understood. They both considered themselves 'too good' to learn the dominant, non-English language of the city. "You so owe me a new one sometime."

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"Done." Kathy would make Barry build Sarah a phone, twice as awesome as the newest iPhone, but that looked like something else entirely so their dad wouldn't have any idea. "Take the sim card out before they make you hand it over and send it to me. I'll make sure you get everything."

Eventually, though, she had to draw away. "Love you, brat," she said again.

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"Love you, too, nerd."

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Kathy waved until her parents were out of sight, each of them carrying a suitcase while Sarah was dragged behind. She was the only one who saw Sarah open her phone and palm the sim card, an action that made her smile.

And when they were finally swallowed up by the airport crowds, Kathy turned back towards Baltimore proper. She'd been told to go back to her dorm and, being a dutiful daughter, she absolutely would.

But only long enough to grab her mask and her gi, dammit.

Tonight, Banzai was going to be on patrol and woe betide anyone who got in her way, dammit.