The Test
965 Words
Weeks passed.
Life settled into a routine.
Every morning, Areum woke up early, prepared breakfast, cleaned the house, and left for school before Ayan came out of her room.
Every evening, she returned home with a smile, hoping to have even a short conversation with her older sister.
Nothing changed.
Ayan remained distant.
Areum kept trying.
It was the same every single day.
---
That morning...
Ayan woke up with a familiar pain.
She lay still for a few moments, pressing a hand against her lower abdomen.
"My period..."
She groaned softly.
It was always like this.
Every month.
She reached for her phone and sent a message to her manager, informing them that she would be late for work.
After taking a quick shower, she slowly walked out of her room.
As expected...
Breakfast was already waiting on the dining table.
The house was quiet.
Ayan glanced around.
"She already left."
She sighed before sitting down to eat.
Halfway through breakfast...
A thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"My pads..."
She froze.
"I used the last one yesterday."
She tapped her forehead.
"Oh no."
"I forgot to buy another pack."
She looked around helplessly before another thought came to mind.
"Areum..."
Reluctantly...
She walked toward Areum's bedroom.
It was the first time she had entered the room since Areum moved into the house.
The room was surprisingly neat.
Everything was carefully arranged.
"...Cleaner than mine."
She muttered under her breath.
She opened the first drawer.
Nothing.
The second.
Still nothing.
She searched carefully, making sure not to disturb anything.
Nothing.
She let out a sigh.
"Where could she have kept it?"
Her eyes slowly drifted toward the wardrobe.
After hesitating for a moment...
She opened it.
She gently moved aside the neatly folded clothes, searching quietly.
Then...
Her fingers brushed against a small paper bag.
Curious, she pulled it out.
"A pregnancy test?"
Her brows furrowed.
Without thinking...
She opened it.
Inside...
Two bold pink lines.
Positive.
For several long seconds...
Her mind went completely blank.
"...What?"
She stared at the result.
Then slowly looked back toward the wardrobe.
"She's..."
"...Pregnant?"
"At sixteen?"
Her breathing became uneven.
"No..."
"This can't be right."
As she stood frozen in shock, her eyes finally landed on a pack of sanitary pads tucked neatly beside a pile of clothes.
Almost absentmindedly, she picked one up.
Still holding the pregnancy test...
She slowly walked out of the room.
---
The entire day...
Ayan couldn't concentrate.
She sat through meetings without hearing half of what was being discussed.
She signed documents absentmindedly.
Even her colleagues noticed.
"Manager Ayan..."
"Are you alright?"
She forced a small smile.
"I'm fine."
But she wasn't.
Her thoughts kept returning to the pregnancy test.
Those two pink lines refused to leave her mind.
When the clock finally struck closing time...
She packed her bag almost immediately.
Without saying much to anyone...
She hurried home.
---
By the time she arrived...
The house was empty.
She sat quietly in the living room.
Waiting.
Six o'clock.
No Areum.
Half past six.
Still nothing.
Seven o'clock.
The front door finally opened.
Areum walked in carrying her school bag.
The moment she stepped inside...
She smiled.
"Noona, I'm home."
Ayan immediately stood.
"Why are you late?"
Areum blinked in surprise.
"I had tutorials after school."
"That's why—"
"Stop smiling."
Ayan's voice echoed through the house.
The smile disappeared from Areum's face.
She watched as Ayan slowly walked toward her.
Without warning...
Ayan pulled the school bag off her shoulder.
"Noona..."
Ayan reached toward her uniform.
Areum immediately stepped back and pushed Ayan's hands away.
"What are you doing?"
Her voice trembled with confusion.
"You're acting strange."
Ayan stared directly at her.
Her hands were shaking.
"Take off your jacket."
"What?"
"I said take it off!"
"No!"
"What is wrong with you?"
Without another word...
Ayan reached into her handbag and threw the pregnancy test onto the floor between them.
It landed with a soft thud.
"What..."
"...is this?"
Areum's eyes widened.
She quickly bent down and picked it up.
Ayan's voice rose.
"Answer me!"
"Are you pregnant?"
Silence.
Areum tightly clutched the pregnancy test.
She turned and started walking toward her room.
Before she could take another step...
Ayan grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"How could you?"
"You're only sixteen!"
Tears filled Areum's eyes.
"Noona..."
"The pregnancy test isn't yours?"
Ayan demanded.
Areum lowered her head.
After a long silence...
She answered quietly.
"...I am pregnant."
"The baby is mine."
The words had barely left her lips—
Slap!
The sharp sound echoed throughout the house.
Areum's face turned violently to one side.
She slowly lifted a trembling hand to her burning cheek.
Tears streamed freely down her face.
She looked at Ayan in complete disbelief.
Ayan's chest rose and fell rapidly.
"And you can say that so confidently?"
She pointed toward the front door.
"Get out."
Areum stared at her.
"Noona..."
"I said get out of my house!"
Ayan grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the entrance.
She flung the door open.
"Don't ever set foot in this house again!"
Areum cried openly now.
Before stepping outside...
She turned back one last time.
"If..."
"If I wasn't your half-sister..."
"...would you still treat me like this?"
Ayan didn't hesitate.
Her expression remained cold.
"Yes."
"I'd treat you exactly the same."
"...Maybe even worse."
Those words shattered the last piece of hope Areum had been holding onto.
She slowly stepped outside.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Areum stood alone in the quiet night.
The tears refused to stop.
On the other side of the door...
Ayan leaned heavily against it, her breathing uneven.
The pregnancy test was no longer in her hands.
Yet the image of those two pink lines...
Refused to leave her mind.
- Writer
