Bullying....
Veren didn't notice when it started, but he started getting hit and pushed around by many of his classmates.
The periods which were the only peaceful times of Veren's life were overturned.
"Hahaha! Wow! He doesn't resist at all no matter what we do, puhahaha!"
A kid directly spit on Veren's face, "See~ I told you he wouldn't move a single finger!"
The faces of his classmates laughing while surrounding him left Veren feeling heartache.
He felt immensely humiliated and angry, but his body refused to move. He didn't know at all what he should do with this emotion.
The image of his father appeared in his mind, making him bow down instantly. Veren stared at the book blankly.
'....Why do I have to go through this...? I don't understand...this feels too stifling...I can't breathe. I want to move, but my body just doesn't.' Veren's eyes grew hazy.
From that day onward, Veren's daily life was like living a dream of hell. He refused to comprehend anything anymore. Just thinking a little about his situation brought tears to his eyes.
The teachers ignored him, thinking it was just some prank done by students to each other and his parents didn't bother about his dim attitude either.
The only thing that went through Veren's head was the anime he saw on TV, while his father was out at work.
With his school time ruined, anime was the only solace that was present in his life. His relationship with his sister had turned strained without noticing.
Veren always made sure that his little sister was hidden while he was beaten senseless by his father. He mostly left her with his mother, whom he hadn't made eye contact with for years.
The world seemed to be falling apart for Veren when he saw his sister running towards him with tears.
His father was still not sober, continuing to kick Veren. It was the worst time for such a situation.
'What is mother doing...!' Veren gritted his teeth.
Veren's small sister charged towards his father just like him in the past, to protect his mother. And the retaliation...was more severe than he ever expected.
A single bloody kick drove into her abdomen, immediately causing a scream that Veren never wanted to hear ring through the room.
"You...! You motherfucker!! She is still 5 years old....!" Veren grew crazy in an instant.
"What did you say!!? Don't you dare look down on me too!"
An astonishing amount of beating, surpassing the past record, unfolded right that moment.
"Ptoey! I know that you watch those useless cartoons in the hall. You can stop dreaming of seeing those again in the future." His father left lethargically.
"....." Veren silently patted the crying back of his sister.
He didn't know why from that moment forward, his relationship with his sister, Laila, was completely broken.
Laila had come out from hiding again while Veren was being 'punished'. However, this time she didn't move an inch.
"Ah...." Veren let out a muffled grasp. The image of Laila's expression suddenly overlaps with his mother, when she sees him being beaten silently.
Whether it was due to guilt or trauma, Laila avoided being with Veren.
Just like his father said before, the TV was sold off. Veren couldn't see any anime or show to pass his time.
".....Ugh!" Veren applied some medicine to his swelling. The medicine was always replenished before he knew it, most likely the work of his mother.
However, Veren didn't think for a second if he should forgive such a mother.
'I will leave this place, no matter what. I don't care even if I have to....'
With even a tiny bit of entertainment lost, Veren was attracted to the world of comics and novels. His attention was instantly won over by a novel - 'The Rise of holy empire'.
He would never have thought this novel would become something that would intervene with his fate.
He could only use his mother's mobile for a limited time, so Veren's progress was slow. He enjoyed reading this novel every second either way.
Songs were what let Veren pass his free time otherwise. They were just for entertainment at the beginning, but they became something much more than that as time passed by.
The result of Veren's final test of his last year in mid-grade came out. The result was no different from before, it was nothing special.
"Tch! Tch! Get out right this instant. Learn how it is when no one is taking care of your ass!" Veren's father kicked him out without any hesitation.
It was snowing outside, the air was so cold the body would quiver non-stop by just standing there for a minute.
Veren was 15 years old, but he couldn't take the cold either. He didn't get the chance to take a scarf or a sweater.
Sitting at one corner of the garden, Veren looked at the black sky. A change in his expression appeared for the first time in a long time. The haziness in his eyes slowly went away, exposing his gloomy dark eyes.
Veren's mind had grown mature enough to accept his current life. He remembered the anime he had seen in the past two or three years.
'How can they live so happily...? Friendship is fun? Family is important? No...they are not important at all. What's important is my own life. Why do I have to suffer like this? I thought of this question for a long time...'
'I concluded at last — It isn't my fault, the one at fault is....everyone else!' Veren grits his teeth.
Veren grew more mature than anyone his age due to what he went through. Hence, he was able to maintain a clear mind even while suffering from the cold.
Thanks to the frostbite he suffered, Veren was taken to hospital the next day. Only to receive some basic treatment.
This gave Veren the time to organize his mind.
He normally went to school, ignoring the bully's torture and his father's dissatisfied gaze. Depression still radiated from all over him, the only change happened in his eyes — which had life in it.
'After thinking for the past few days, I see only one way to save myself. That is to put my father off the picture....'
This didn't mean he planned on killing his father, though he dearly hoped he could do just that.
'I have no intention to destroy my future due to someone like him. I will live a long and healthy life!' Veren was determined to live out his life.
With all that in mind, Lucas begrudgingly stood before his mother. Showing a hesitant expression.
His mother bit her lips for unknown reasons, as she stared at the floor.