It was the small things that made a difference. Growing up by herself. Grandfather made a point of teaching her how to make small repairs around the house (Such as replacing a shower handle or fixing her bed frame) and how to be vigilant and observative.

She understood that it was because she was a girl, and that was rather small in the first place. She had her fair share of interactions with boys/men, and there was the occasional creep while walking home from the store by herself. It was unavoidable, it didn't mean that she enjoyed it, but it was just something that happened.

Sometimes it was a guy who stared a little bit too much for her liking, sometimes it was a man who would grunt or moan when she passed by, and once, it was a boy her age that was far too stubborn to accept 'no'.

But now that she had Ijin, her older brother. It made a world of a difference.

When an older man started to tease her for being so short ( Rude), he walked off when Ijin came up with the bottles of milk she had sent him to get. It was two birds with one stone, he drove off the weirdo, and he got the bottle of rice vinegar for her as he was plenty tall enough to reach the desired bottle.

Boys her age would still stare at her when they walked down the street, but more often than not, Ijin's presence was more than enough for them to decide to leave them (Her) alone.

It was the small things that mattered.

Ijin was always happy to help, always willing to help her reach something in the kitchen, and happy to get the detergent bottle off of the top shelve. Help her open the particularly stubborn jar of strawberry jam that she nor grandfather could open. His gorilla hands really came in handy in those aspects.

It was a comfort to have Ijin home, knowing full well that if something happened while Grandfather was at work, her brother would be there to help.

Even when there was a particularly bad thunderstorm (It looked like they were similar in that regard. They both had a dislike of thunder) they stayed in his room together, laughing up a storm as quietly as they could as they watched a comedy together.

Well, she was the one who was laughing up a storm. Ijin had to tell her to be quiet more than once so she wouldn't wake up their grandfather, though he had a smile on his face the entire time.

It ended up becoming an all-nighter, and to that day, it was still one of her favorite memories with her brother.

But despite their time together, she still had plenty to learn about Ijin.

"Dayeon," She looked up, tilting her head to the side when she saw Ijin standing at the doorway to her bedroom," Give me your pocket knife so I can see if I have to sharpen it."

"Okay," she reached for her purse on the windowsill and handed it over to Ijin. He took it without question, seemingly pleased with how fast she was able to find it in her purse (Good thing for those tiny lip balm pockets). He flicked it open, not phased at all at the speed the blade popped out with. Something that Dayeon couldn't say for herself as she still jumped when she opened it.

She swatted his leg when he started chuckling at her reaction, a silent shut up being thrown his way.

He ran the blade over his palm, not blinking at the way it cut some of the callus on his hand off. Humming in approval, he twirled the knife in his hand before holding it back out to her, the handle facing Dayeon," Show me how you hold it."

If it wasn't for the fact that she didn't know how to hold a knife, she would have been offended.

She grabbed it, holding it where the blade was pointing outward, with the blade being right next to her thumb and index.

He frowned," Have a reverse grip," Ijin ordered," its easier to use."

"Er…reverse grip…?"

As always, Ijin was very patient," Hold it where the end of the knife is by your thumb," he maneuvered the knife in her hand so she was holding it in the reverse grip he was talking about," It'll be easier to use, less likely someone will knock it out of your hand."

Oh, that made sense.

Looks like all of those action movies had some truth after all.

"Do you think I will ever have to use this?" she asked seriously, looking up at Ijin from her position on the bed.

Her brother frowned," I hope not. But it'll be better if you knew how to use it, rather than wishing you knew how."

That was a good point.

She nodded in understanding before she started to carefully put away the pocketknife to tuck it away in her purse again," I was wondering. How big were the knives you used when you were a guide?"

Ijin bobbed his head side to side before he used his hands to measure a blade that was clearly longer than the seven-centimeter limit that their country had put into place.

"About 17 centimeters or so."

" 17?!" Her voice was shrill as she repeated the length, gaining an odd look from her brother," Why did you need such a big knife?!"

"I needed it for self defense. Though I did use it to start fires and cut rope."

She was staring at him, almost in a daze as she tried to imagine a 17-centimeter blade," I can't imagine seeing a knife that big."

That gained a snort out of him," I have my old knives in my room. I can show you if you want."

"…isn't illegal to have knives over seven centimeters?"

"Yeah."

"…and you have more than one that's 17 centimeters?"

"That's one of my shorter knives. But yes."

That's one of his shorter knives?!

"Ijin."

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell grandfather that you have them."

"They're put away with my fatigues. but I know, I won't."

"Good."

It truly was the small things that made the difference.

Because now that she had a brother, she now had to live with the knowledge that Ijin had multiple illegal knives in the house.

Joy.

" Idiot."

"Thanks."