Chapter 14: 8.1

“Yoo-hwa, didn’t you miss Dad?”

Her father showed up, somehow having found the school she had transferred to. Since it was a time at night when the self-study was over, all the surrounding shops were closed, and there were very few people there. Yoo-hwa ran away, but was quickly caught and dragged away. Using Yoo-hwa’s phone, the man called her mother.

“Get your ass here before I kill your daughter, you bitch. Don’t bring the police with you. I will tear your daughter apart and kill her. You know how I am, right? There’s nothing I can’t do. Got it?”

Her mother, who came running in mismatched shoes, was violently beaten in the alley. Yoo-hwa screamed and tried to run towards her mother, but her hands and feet were tied, and she was unable to move. All she could do was watch and cry as her mother was beaten until she passed out.

“If you scream even once, you will see your mother die right here.”

She couldn’t even scream because of that threat.

After that, Yoo-hwa and her mother were taken to their former home. The cycle of violence was shortened. From 3 days to a day, from once to twice a day.

Although the furniture was broken and there were screams all the time, no one helped. Yoo-hwa and her mother became each other’s hostages.

The man used that terribly well. Her mother’s life was ruined by the violence of a man. Like a person who had no mind but only maternal instinct, she threw herself at him and tried to protect Yoo-hwa from him.

When the man got drunk and smacked his lips while looking at Yoo-hwa, her mother dragged him into the room. In order not to hear the noise coming from beyond the door, Yoo-hwa went inside her room with Yi-woon.

Yi-woon, who had inherited the man’s blood, was uncomfortable and unpleasant, but she didn’t want him to hear the noise her mother was making. She also had a slight sympathy for Yi-woon, who had been exposed to this situation since he was younger than her.

Yoo-hwa put earphones in Yi-woon’s ears, and also put earphones in hers. It didn’t help much, but it was better than nothing.

Yoo-hwa sang with all her might as if she were shouting, for both Yi-woon and herself. Even though she knew that Yi-woon was looking at her with strange eyes, she couldn’t stop because her heart felt like it was going to explode. As long as she could not listen to her mother’s scream, she could do anything.

Like that, the day barely passed, and another day passed. The relationship between Yoo-hwa and her mother became as brittle as sand under the scorching sun.

From some point on, Yoo-hwa never looked into her mother’s eyes anymore. Even her mother could not talk hastily to Yoo-hwa. A cold atmosphere flowed.

“… I’m sorry, Yoo-hwa. I’m really… sorry.”

Then one day, her mother, who had bruises all over her body, fell to her knees and apologized while cleaning the messy house. Tears streamed down her mother’s bruised cheeks. Seeing her mother crying while shaking her body, Yoo-hwa couldn’t even say the empty words that it was okay.

She missed school once or twice a week and was branded as a problematic child by her teacher and bullied by her classmates. When she became a senior in high school and was consulted on continuing with higher education, Yoo-hwa couldn’t even speak. There was no future. Dreaming was a luxury, and surviving a day was the limit.

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“Mom… Shall we just die?”

Yoo-hwa asked blankly.

“Should we just… die? I think… it would be better.”

Life was like poison, to the point where death felt sweet. At Yoo-hwa’s question, the mother’s eyes widened as if she was shocked.

“No, Yoo-hwa! No! You can’t do that!”

‘Why? I think I would rather die.’

Yoo-hwa asked while muttering inwardly, but did not let it out. She was suffocating. Saying this, her whole body felt like it was going to collapse.

Scratch, scratch. Yi-woon, who was staring at what was happening beyond the door, scratched the wooden door with his fingernails as if he were anxious, but Yoo-hwa paid him no attention.

As time passed, the man became more and more strange. It was clear that he was not working, so he was spending more time outside.

“Y-Yoo-hwa, hurry up and pack your bags. Hurry!”

That day, she returned home after going to school for the first time in a while and keeping her mouth shut all day. Her mother, who ran out of the master bedroom, shouted with a pale face. The mother began to shove her things into a large bag she had found with mad eyes.

“No. Let’s just go. Just go!”

She threw away the bag she was holding, as if having luggage was a luxury.

“Mom, what’s wrong? Calm down.”

“Get out! Right now! Hurry!”

The mother pushed Yoo-hwa’s back. Driven by her force, Yoo-hwa roughly put on her sneakers with a bewildered face and got out.

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