4 — Baby Steps III

Mia's POV:

A young, petite little girl, barely taller than her father’s knee, stared at the door. She had long hair, amber brown eyes and a cute nose. Her arms were folded, and there was an expression of impatience in her face. Her eyes were focused on the door handle. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, she sighed and looked away.

"Why isn't Jae-il home yet?" Mia grunted.

She had been looking forward to her little brother's return ever since her father announced he was going to take him to football practice. He said they'd be back by dinner time, but it was way past that.

"Mom!"

Eun Ha was busy preparing the table for the family, while Su Ah helped her with the dishes.

"Yes, Mia?"

"Jae-il and Dad are taking too long."

Her mom gave her a look and sighed, putting the last plate down. "They'll come back when they're done, Mia."

"It's not fair! He gets all the attention and I don't!" Mia pouted and stamped her foot. "I'm the older sister!"

Su Ah gave her a quiet, sharp look—which Mia willfully ignored.

Eun Ha chuckled and patted her head affectionately, as if she was a little child.

"Mia, please behave yourself. Your brother will be here soon enough.”

Mia huffed and crossed her arms. She didn't like that her little brother was getting more attention than her, or the fact that he, in particular, didn't give any to her.

In fact, Mia and Su Ah rarely saw him nowadays. He was too serious for his age!

She was about to voice her discontent when a car could be heard parking in the driveway. A moment later, the sound of the front door opening reached her ears.

Her eyes widened. "They're back!"

Mia quickly turned around and ran towards the entrance, Su Ah following close behind her, a little more composed, but just as curious.

"Welcome back, dad!" Mia exclaimed as she approached him. However, all she received was a quick pat on the head before the man hurried towards his wife.

"Honey, you wouldn't believe it!" Yeong Gu began in excitement, his voice brimming with emotion. He looked like a child who'd just discovered a new toy. "You won't believe it!"

"What is it, dear?" Eun Ha chuckled, placing a pot of stew on the table.

Her husband took a deep breath, and spoke. "I took our son to the local football club today. You know, for him to try it out and see if he likes it. But he..." Yeong Gu paused dramatically, his eyes widening in excitement as he looked at his family in turn, as if to build suspense. "He played amazingly, honey! He's incredible!"

As if on cue, a sweaty Jae-il trailed after his father, a ball under his arm, and a tired, worn-down expression on his face. "Hello."

"That's my boy!" Yeong Gu beamed and ruffled his son's hair, who looked at him with mild disapproval. "The coach at the club said that if he keeps practicing like this, he could become a national star one day!"

"Jae-il!" Eun Ha's eyes sparkled with pride. "You were always so special, but I had no idea you were talented in sports as well. Just today I received Teacher Han's report, saying you've gotten another perfect score in your tests."

Both Yeong Gu and Eun Ha's eyes softened with pride as they stared at the little jewel of the household.

"Uhm... thank you?" Jae-il said uncertainly, not knowing what else to say. The attention was making him uncomfortable. It didn't feel earned, because only he knew of his particular circumstance. "Can I go to my room now...?"

Yeong Gu nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course. Take a bath and wash up for dinner. We have something to celebrate tonight!"

Jae-il's gaze met the ground, and he started to walk towards the stairs, but not before he was stopped by his mother's arms wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him into a hug. "I'm so proud of you." She whispered in his ear, her voice filled with emotion. "We're so lucky to have such a wonderful son like you."

Jae-il stood still and awkwardly returned the hug. "Thanks, mom..." He muttered.

Mia and Su Ah observed the whole exchange silently.

As they watched their little brother trudge up the stairs, the older sister crossed her arms, biting her lip. "What's so special about him?" She snapped, resentfully.

Su Ah kept quiet, like the observant little lady that she was. She could sense the tension between her older sister and little brother.

But, for the sake of harmony, she decided to not make it worse.

Mia, however, had always been someone who acted more on her emotions than on rationality. The fact that her brother got so much praise only served to infuriate her further. She had worked hard for her parents' attention too, but it seemed like everything came naturally to Jae-il. It wasn't fair

"I'll be in my room." Mia muttered, and Su Ah sighed. She knew that this haughty sister of hers would be anywhere but her room.

xXx

The water trickled down my skin, hot enough to melt away the stress and soreness from my limbs. I didn’t feel as tired as I would have in my previous life. My stamina had increased significantly. I was younger, more fit, and, most importantly, more determined.

I didn’t want to waste time—especially not now, with a football finally in my hands. There was a long road ahead if I wanted to regain my former strength, technique, and speed. But for now, the most important part was to have fun. There’d be no point in being good at kicking a ball if it didn’t bring joy.

I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around myself.

The steam in the bathroom slowly dispersed, and I caught my reflection in the mirror.

Dark black hair, purple eyes, and a small face. I didn’t exactly look like a football prodigy. Not the kind of face you'd expect to see plastered on football magazines—too pretty, too delicate to belong to a professional player.

By the time I got dressed and was heading down for dinner, Mia intercepted me.

"Mia Noona."

She stood by the stairs, arms folded, staring me down.

"I’ve heard the news," she began, her tone even, though she glanced briefly away.

Still a little too young for intimidation tactics.

"Congratulations."

I could barely hear her.

"Thank you..." I murmured, unsure what else to say.

She gritted her teeth and pushed off the wall, stalking toward me. We still had a considerable height gap, but I’d overtake her in a couple of years easily. “I’m glad you’re having fun, little brother.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not sure why you’re telling me this.”

“Because you’re my precious brother.” She smiled brightly, and I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “So… I was wondering if you could share your secret of success with me, hm?”

“There’s no secret. I’m not doing anything special,” I said, giving her a sideways glance. I wasn’t really in the mood for a deep talk.

“Oh… really?” She narrowed her eyes. “Because I think you are doing something special. And I don’t like secrets in this house.” Her eyes glittered—not with tears, but with that sharp, glinty frustration of a kid who knew she’d just been excluded from something big.

I blinked. “I really just… practiced, Mia Noona.”

“Hah! Practiced.” She scoffed and took a couple of steps back and forth, pacing like a tiny general inspecting her troops. “I practiced my piano every single day for two years and no one ever said I’d be a national star.”

I nodded slowly. “You’re good at piano.”

“That’s not the point!” she snapped, her composure cracking for a moment. “The point is—everyone keeps saying you’re amazing and gifted and incredible, and all you did was kick a ball around for one day. I wrote a poem about Grandma last month and cried while reading it out loud, and all Dad said was ‘That’s nice, Mia.’”

I blinked again. I wanted to say something kind, something grown-up and wise, but it’s hard to sound like a wise old soul when you still have a baby tooth hanging by a thread.

So I went with honesty. “I didn’t mean to steal the attention. I don’t even like being the center of it.”

Mia turned to me abruptly. “Then give it back.”

“What?”

“The attention. Share it.”

I stared at her. How did one go about dividing attention like slices of cake? “How do I—?”

She cut me off by grabbing my shoulders and spinning me toward the stairs. “You’ll find a way, dummy. You’re supposed to be the smartest kid in the house.”

“I thought that was Su Ah.”

“She’s smart, but you’re supposed to be a genius or something, which is different, somehow. Adults can never decide which one they like better, though.”

I let out an irritated sigh. “Mia Noona, does it really matter who likes who better? We’re all family, right? If you really need someone to tell you that you’re amazing, I can do it. No need to get validation from our parents; that’s just unhealthy.”

She turned away, her lower lip trembling. “I don’t care about what you think." She muttered. “It’s their opinion that matters.”

I looked at her for a moment—really looked. Then, quietly, I said, “Noona… if their love can be taken away just because someone else shines for a moment, then maybe it was never as real as you thought.”

That stopped her.

Mia froze, her breath catching. Her lips parted, like she wanted to argue—but nothing came out. She just stood there, staring at me with wide eyes, blinking like someone who’d just heard a crack in the foundation of something they thought would never break.

I stepped past her, calm and steady. “And for what it’s worth… I’ve always thought you were amazing. Even when you didn’t see me at all.”

And with that, I left her standing there in the hall, fists clenched at her sides, her face a tangled mess of anger, confusion, and something that looked a lot like fear.