CONTENT WARNING!

-This story contains content that might be troubling to viewers, including, but not limited to, depictions of death, suicide, childhood trauma, physical and sexual abuse, assault, murder, torture, strong language and religious criticism. Viewer discretion is advised.-

-This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Furthermore, the plot is not to be associated with actual historical events.-

'I must act proper.'

Behaved, kind, and disciplined.

This is what Yunni convinced herself to believe in order for her parents to be worthy of acknowledgement in the family.

Smiling in front of these people who needlessly compare her to whomever damn's kid.

Another gathering where her mother, Shin Saeri - a small but successful business owner has once again participated in.

'Why does she surround herself with such unrefined women?'.

She mumbles silently, careful so that no one hears it.

"Dear me, did you hear about Mrs. Joo's youngest daughter? Can you believe..-"

A loud hoarse voice that never seem to stop keeps ringing in the spacious dining hall.

'I'm surprised at how she hasn't dropped dead from the amount of cigarette she smokes.'

As Yunni walks around, she continues to mumble to herself about her malicious thoughts.

'Look at the smirk on these women, chittering away about someone's teenage pregnancy, as if someone's misfortune entertains them.'

'Does she not have anything worth listening to from that repulsive mouth of hers?'

'ahh.. I must control my expression.'

She stops herself from making a disgusted face.

After what seemed to be a never ending lunch party. It was finally time to return home.

Tired and haggard. She knows that this isn't the best time but-

She turns around hesitating and not meeting her mother's eyes.

"Mother... I have something to say regarding-"

"What? Did you finally achieve anything worth bragging?".

She responds sarcastically while fumbling with her phone.

Yunni chokes on her breath before letting out the words she desperately wants to convey.

"No.. it's just that, I think I'm being targeted by the kids at school, can I- "

She looks up to her mother's face.

Seeing that disdained face looking down on her, she wasn't able to finish her sentence.

"I've told you this numerous times, you're already 14 years old you should be able to handle yourself at school."

"But I can't take it anymore! they're starting to hurt me physica-"

"AGH! I arrive home from work and yet I work more at home!! Yunni dear.."

Her mother grabs her chin firmly with her left hand.

"..can you give me time to myself at least? Go ask your father for help after he returns from that woman's embrace will you?"

Yunni sees a twisted but pitiful look on her mother's face that she couldn't help but be terrified of.

Knowing her father who hasn't been home for the past 5 months.

"..yes, mother."

She responds losing the ounce of hope in her eyes she once had.

After what seemed to be an endless silence between them,

Yunni returns to her room.

Contrary to what her mother said, Yunni has achieved commendable feats in her academics.

It's just that, nothing she will ever do will quell the resentment her mother holds towards Yunni's existence.

"..pick up." she murmurs looking down at her father's contact.

A child between one of her husband's affairs that he decided on taking custody on.

"..fucking pick up"

A child born from another woman before the two of them married.

Beep. beep.

"-the number you have dial-"

"...you...fuck."

She drops her phone.

"..how unfortunate." she whispers.

She speaks to her reflection as she takes off her clothes.

Revealing the cigarette burns that fill her entire torso.

The endless amount of scars that once covered her legs with stockings.

She looks at her face.

Blank and devoid of joy.

But tears continually pour down her cheek.

She knows how pathetic she looks.

And yet, she can't help but think that her face remain beautiful despite this.

Her lips started to raise.

"ha...HaHA ..he hehe..eHehe".

She covers her mouth from letting out too much noise.

She sneakers at how twisted her face looks.

"..ah."

She looks at her trembling hands.

She rolls her eyes up. As her body flops down to her bed.

'I must endure, I'm old enough to handle this no?'

she mumbles, quoting her mother's words.

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Fair skin, natural soft and flowy hair, tall nose and a lean body.

Good grades and a pretty face? Perfect.

Yunni had this reputation that numerous kids wanted to be her friend.

However, people always seem to focus on the bad sides of one's self.

Whoever it was, it seemed that someone was able to dig up the fact that she was a child born from infidelity.

'It wasn't like that.' Letting out a kind smile as she denies it among her peers.

Those were the words that Yunni always replies to regarding that repeating rumor.

Her predicament wasn't as bad until-

Choi Sooyang and her goons-notorious for driving kids to the bottom, had set their eyes upon her.

At first it was just bumping and openly mocking her publicly through the hallways.

When Sooyang noticed that Yunni never bares her fang to keep her reputation,

She decided that she could get away from messing with her.

Tripping her. Spilling hot soup on her uniform during lunch. To calling her in the back of the school. Even ordering her to buy her snacks.

Telling on the teachers didn't help. It only made it worse, as Yunni wasn't from a conglomerate family-even money couldn't help her.

'I have to endure, I can't bring trouble to mother anymore'. she clenched her jaw

As time passed by, she noticed that her friends began cutting their ties to her.

Was it because of her background?

Is it because she didn't treat them to snacks?

It didn't take long before she realized that they were scared of Sooyang.

'But why aren't they helping? why are they just watching?' she thinks to herself, as she felt bitter.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Being alone on her desk whenever her friends went to grab a snack or go to the restroom.

Whenever she did try to befriend someone, they would openly show their distaste on her presence alone.

'No' she tells herself.

'I can't cry here. Don't do it.'

She curls her fist.

Her grades started plummeting.

And Sooyang's torment evolved from petty mockery to physical assault.

It seemed to keep getting worse once Sooyang brought her friends from other schools to their hideout.

"My, don't you have such plump and healthy skin?"

"It looks like a nice canvas for burns no? ha ha ha ha"

Their laughter could be heard around the empty abandoned building

'..should I be thankful there is no man here?'.

she thinks to herself while down on fours

even in the midst of their attacks, she is thankful. Truly, thankful.

At home she began to scratch her body out of frustration and anxiety.

It was a cope that she couldn't help but do, that made her wounds even worse.

Her appearance became a laughing stock. Her unsightly legs and although no one could see- the stinging pain on the numerous burns on her chest and stomach.

'How did it come to this?'

'Why didn't anyone help?'

'This is so humiliating'

'...ahh I can't blame them. I would've done the same'

she mumbles as she looks at her ceiling.

Whenever she looks up at her ceiling, her eyes wonder around the room,

but always fixates on that one spot where she had already set up for her finale.

'Suicide isn't the answer'. She recalls one of her classes at school.

'The one who suffers the most, are the ones left behind'. Bullshit. she sneakers.

"Can I be selfish just this once?". she scratches her chest.

The dried tears made her sleepy but what she wanted wasn't a short rest.

She stood and cleaned her room.

Folded her scattered clothes on the floor.

Her hands slips through a crevice in between the wall and her bookshelf,

revealing a strand of the rope.

She took her chair and-

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.

.

.

As if the heavens joined in to add her misery, her attempt to sleep forever didn't happen.

She awoke to what seemed to be a long slumber.

But strangely enough, she wasn't familiar with what her eyes see, nor the fact that her body doesn't feel quite right.

She stood from an unfamiliar bed only to stumble down on her knees as she felt stinging pain from her calves.

'...what am I wearing?' she whispers.

Her eyes wonder around her body

A sleep wear that she doesn't own.

As if to remind her that she was focusing on the wrong thing,

the wounds on her calves started to bleed.

'ah.. shit...' It hurts. she whimpers.

When she began to look around for what she could use to stop the bleeding,

her eyes stopped to a mirror that showed a young girl in

a dark room where only the moon lit her image.

blonde hair, cyan eyes, fair skin.

and...purple spots on her arms.

'what..' her voice let out a whimper indicating that she was parched for water.

A cold breeze coming from the slightly ajar door to a balcony swifts her hair and sent shivers down from her already weak body.

Although her leg hurt, she forced herself to stand.

Stumbling, her eyes adjust to the darkness of the room.

She began to notice out dated furniture that wasn't the trend of her time.

'A chamber pot?.. I must be in another world.. khekhe'

she sneakers to herself as she notices something that only she read in history appeared.

clack. clack.

clink. clank . clank .

Clink . CLACK!

She hears frantic footsteps outside her room getting closer

THUD!

The doors to the room swings open revealing a huge man covered in armor and a sword.

'...well I'll be damned..' she mumbles.

"□□ ▪□□▪□! □□, □▪▪□!! □ □▪□□▪▪▪▪□□??" The man spoke in an unfamiliar language.

Although Yunni didn't understand a single shit he spouted, she knew that he was being furious.

Before she could react, the man took her by the hair and dragged her back to the bed and chained her ankle to one of the bed poles.

"agh! ouch! hey!" The pain from her hair being dragged and the stinging pain of her leg was too painful to bear.

As she continued to struggle-

"▪□□▪□, □▪▪ ▪□□. □□□▪□□!"

"..agh...what the fuck are you even saying.." She glares at the man.

The man startled at her statement.

"You understood that?" she was equally shocked.

"□□▪, ▪□□■▫▫■, ▪▪▪□!! □□, □▫▫■▫▫?"

' ??....maybe not. ' she murmurs.

The man left the room in urgency.

*clink clack, clack*

She could hear chains being tied from outside her door.

Yunni notices a book in between her pillows

Familiar characters that was in her language.

"..a storybook? how merciful." she laughs sarcastically.

A room with barely any furniture; a kid in ragged clothes,

and yet Yunni was surprised they left something to keep the kid occupied.

One thing for sure she knew is that, this wasn't her body and not her country.

"At least I won't have to see those people anymore" she smiles faintly as she began to flip through the pages of the book.

-to be continued-