"Look over there. It's the girl who got kicked out by her own family."
"I heard she was poor, so how'd she even get enough money to come to school?"
"She probably sold her body to middle-aged men or something."
"OMG that's so disgusting!"
"Shh! She's walking over!"
Everyday, I hear whispers and rumors behind my back that are spreading like wildfire. The students at Haseol High School were cautious of me, and looked down on me just because I was short on money and didn't have a family to go back to.
'Just ignore them, just ignore them,' I repeat in my head, wearing a poker face as I walked down the hallway. Their faces were engraved deep into my head, and I could clearly see them mocking me. But I just turn away, because all of the rumors were true. I was an "unfortunate" child.
It all started during summer break.
~~~
Slap!
My face stung from the blow received from my father. "How do you explain these?"
He threw a bunch of papers into my face. I slowly picked them up and my eyes widened as I viewed the contents. Pictures of a blonde hair girl that had a similar physique to me laid on a bed with an unfamiliar man. "What..."
A hand yanked at my blonde hair, and I winced. "You slut! How could you do something like this at such a young age? Do you have any face?" Mother yelled.
I shook my head vigorously. "I-it wasn't me I swear-"
Slap! Another blow came at my left cheek, and I cried out from the pain.
It was from Lilliana, my younger sister. "How dare you mess around with my boyfriend! You knew I was dating him, so you seduced him to hate on me!" A sob came out from her mouth, and Mother went to comfort her.
Beneath her brown hair, a smirk was visible only to me. I gritted my teeth. "You bitch! How dare you frame me!" I tried to grab her, but a sharp pain in my abdomen made me collapse. I looked up at Father. 'Did he just kick me?'
What he did next made me scared. He pointed to the door with one finger and said, "Get out." I wheezed, grabbing onto Father's leg. He kicked at me ferociously. "Get off, orphan!"
The room suddenly became very quiet, and I was the first to open my mouth.
"Orphan?"
My Father sighed. "Now that it's been revealed, we don't need to hide it any longer. You are our adopted daughter."
I bit my lip. "What about Lilliana? Is she also adopted?"
"No!" Father growled. "She's our real daughter! You're just someone we picked up on the side of the street! It should be obvious because you look nothing like us!"
I studied Mother, Father, and Lilliana. 'Mother has blue eyes and brown hair, and Father has black hair and brown eyes. Lilliana has blue eyes and black hair...'
The dots all connected. 'Why didn't I think that brown and black hair does not make blonde hair??? Why didn't I notice?'
Father saw my crippled state and for a second, he felt sympathy. But that sympathy was washed away when he said, "Get out. You're already 15 years old, there's no reason to keep you here. I'll get rid of the adoption papers. Go pack your stuff."
And that was how I realized the hard truth. I was unwanted.