The scar on her hand burned all night.
She didn't sleep.
She never really did.
Just closed her eyes and let the past crawl into bed with her.
---
FLASHBACK — AGE 9
Rain on the roof.
A woman screaming downstairs.
A belt slapping skin.
Then—
Silence.
She had hidden in the laundry basket.
Held her breath.
Counted the bruises before they came.
---
FLASHBACK — AGE 12
A counselor had called the house once.
Said Hae-won had trouble focusing.
Her father smashed the phone.
Then her mouth.
"Next time," he growled, "you'll lose a tooth."
---
FLASHBACK — AGE 14
She made a friend.
A real one.
Until her father showed up drunk at school.
Yelled her name in front of everyone.
Slurred about her "mother's madness."
The friend stopped calling.
Of course she did.
NOW
Hae-won stood at the school gates.
Ji-hoon was there. Leaning against the wall. Watching her.
Her steps slowed. Wariness in every inch of her body.
He said nothing.
Just fell in step behind her.
She tried walking faster.
He matched her pace.
Her hands trembled.
"Why are you—"
"I'm walking you home," he said flatly.
Her chest tightened. "I don't need you to."
"Don't care."
They walked in silence.
When she turned into her alley, he stopped.
He looked at the crumbling buildings, the rotting smell of trash, the flickering streetlight over her front door.
Then at her.
"You live here?"
She said nothing.
His jaw clenched, but he didn't ask anything more.
Just turned and walked away.
The next day at school, she barely made it to her desk before the whispers started.
Ji-hoon was already seated, surrounded by his usual crowd.
Then, without warning, he stood.
Walked straight to her desk.
Every eye followed.
She stared at her notebook, paralyzed.
"Get up," he said.
She didn't move.
"Come eat with me."
Her head snapped up. "What?"
"You heard me."
Laughter rippled across the classroom. Someone whispered, "Is this a dare?"
"Maybe she's his new toy."
"Watch her cry into her lunch."
But Ji-hoon didn't laugh.
He turned to face the class and said, "Anyone got a problem?"
Silence.
He looked back at her.
She stood up slowly, heart hammering, expecting a trap.
But he just walked beside her to the cafeteria.
They sat at the center table—his table.
She ate with her eyes on her tray, hands shaking.
He didn't speak.
He just sat there, drinking his strawberry milk.
Like it was the most normal thing in the world.
But nothing about her life had ever been normal.
And now… everything was starting to shift.