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When I returned to the classroom after break ended, I was feeling extremely hungry. The whole time had passed and I hadn't eaten a single bite. I sat on my cold wooden seat and rested my head on my hand, trying to ignore the sound of my stomach drumming like a crazy drum.
"Why didn't I eat?" I asked myself with annoyance.
At that moment, Han Si-eul burst into the classroom, panting. Her face was flushed, her hair disheveled as if she had been running a marathon. She approached me and said in a voice full of regret:
"Hey Yuna! How are you? I'm so sorry for being late. If only I could have come with you to the cafeteria..."
I looked at her with expressionless eyes and said flatly:
"It's okay. But I'm hungry now."
Han Si-eul smiled broadly and said enthusiastically:
"Didn't I tell you? There's a small shop near the school where we can get food. Let's go there after school. I know it'll satisfy you!"
I nodded in agreement: "Okay."
But at that moment, I felt something strange. As if eyes were watching me from a distance. There was someone standing in the corner of the schoolyard, so far away that their features weren't clear. They were holding their phone, and it seemed they were filming something... or filming Yuna.
I felt a slight tingle at the back of my neck, that familiar feeling when you're being watched. But I ignored it. Maybe it was just an ordinary student. Or maybe... no, no need to overthink.
I returned to my comfortable position and closed my eyes, waiting for the classes to end.
Sunset
When school ended, the sun had begun to lean toward sunset. The sky blended with shades of orange and purple, and light clouds reminded me of childhood days... days I don't want to remember.
Han Si-eul was walking beside me, laughing in her usual voice and patting my back firmly, saying:
"Hey hey! Hang in there! I'll buy you two bowls of ramen! No, three! I'll make you forget your hunger!"
I was about to respond when I suddenly stopped. In front of us, just steps away, stood a young man with sad features. His face was pale, and his eyes carried shadows of sleeplessness. I recognized him immediately.
Damian.
He said in his calm, tired voice: "Yuna."
I looked at him and said coldly: "Damian."
True, we were siblings, but our relationship had always been superficial. We never talked much. He was always busy with his life, and I... I was always busy trying to survive in this cold family.
Damian pointed to his luxurious car parked near the sidewalk and said: "It's hard walking on foot. Come and ride. I'll take you home."
Before I could respond, I felt arms wrapping around me from behind. Han Si-eul hugged me tightly, as if I were a teddy bear about to be stolen. Then she shouted at Damian:
"What are you talking about with my friend Yuna? You shouldn't get too close to her!"
Damian's face suddenly changed. His voice sharpened and he said angrily:
"Stop doing this! She's my sister!"
Han Si-eul cackled with sharp sarcasm: "What? Your sister? Isn't your sister that man-stealer?"
(Meaning Aren)
These words were like lightning. I saw Damian tremble with anger. The veins in his hands bulged, and he raised his hand to slap Han Si-eul's face.
But what happened next surprised everyone.
My hand moved before my mind could think. I grabbed Damian's wrist firmly and blocked his strike mid-air. I looked at him with eyes cold as ice and said sharply:
"Stop. Now you want to touch my friend?"
Damian froze in place. He looked at me with a look I had never seen before. It held astonishment, surprise, and something resembling... pain.
Yuna, who always begged him to defend her, Yuna who cried in her corner wishing someone from her family would pay attention to her... this same Yuna was now standing against him for her friend.
Behind Yuna, Han Si-eul stuck out her tongue, laughing silently, as if she had achieved her exact goal.
Damian stepped back. He looked at me for a long time, then silently left without uttering a word.
When he walked away, Han Si-eul turned to me with a curious look. She was studying my face, trying to understand what was going on inside me. She asked cautiously:
"Are you sad?"
I looked at her with annoyance: "What? Is the shop nearby?"
She was stunned for a moment, then laughed shortly: "Okay... that's reassuring."
We reached the small shop after a few minutes of walking. It was a modest place, not like those fancy stores I was used to seeing in wealthy neighborhoods. But what truly shocked me wasn't the place, but the person standing behind the counter.
Ji-hoon.
Yes, Ji-hoon himself. He was wearing a simple apron and looked exhausted.
Han Si-eul shouted in surprise: "What is Ji-hoon Oppa doing here?"
Ji-hoon looked at us with tired eyes, then said sarcastically:
"You rich people think the lives of the poor are easy?"
He cracked his knuckles, producing a faint popping sound, then added with feigned enthusiasm:
"We have to struggle to earn our daily bread!"
But Han Si-eul and I weren't interested in his speech. I was looking for the ramen.
Yuna said to Han Si-eul: "Where's the ramen?"
She looked around and said: "I think... this is it."
We started eating quickly, completely ignoring Ji-hoon's existence. I saw him getting slightly annoyed, but he suppressed his anger and continued working.
After a few moments, Han Si-eul asked me with her mouth full of noodles: "Do you like it?"
I answered happily: "Yes... a little."
Suddenly, Ji-hoon appeared before us carrying two cups of cold water. He said calmly:
"This is a cold drink. Go ahead."
I quickly took the cup and started drinking greedily. The food was very spicy, and this water was a lifesaver.
Han Si-eul suddenly stood up and said: "Well... goodbye, Yuna. I have to go back now."
I was surprised by her sudden departure, but I just nodded: "Okay."
I remained alone with Ji-hoon. He looked at me curiously and said:
"You seem really hungry."
I answered honestly: "Yes, very."
He smiled faintly: "You're kind of funny."
But my attention was drawn to something else. Ji-hoon wasn't wearing his usual cap. Every time we'd met before, he wore it, always hiding his face with a cap. He noticed my look and said:
"The cap is for work. But this week I'm on vacation. I'll only work here for a week."
I asked out of curiosity: "But why all this?"
He looked at the sky through the shop's small window and said in a faint voice:
"My mother... I have to treat her. If I don't, she'll die."
I understood what he meant. Poverty, illness, responsibility. I said simply:
"Ah... I understand that."
He looked at me for a moment, then returned to the shop front and said:
"Okay. After you finish your food, don't forget to throw the container in the trash."
After I finished eating, I left the shop and started walking toward home. The sky had darkened, and street lights began to glow one by one. I didn't notice that I had left my phone on the table.
Halfway there, in a dark corner between two abandoned buildings, a person suddenly appeared before me.
He was wearing a black mask and dark clothes that completely hid his features.
I stopped suddenly and said calmly: "Who are you?"
He answered in a rough, sarcastic voice: "Does that matter?"
Before I could continue, he lunged at me like a beast. His movements were fast, professional. I blocked his first strike and tried to kick him, but he dodged skillfully, then landed a strong punch to my stomach.
My weak body couldn't handle it. I felt sharp pain piercing my insides. But I didn't give up. I wrapped my leg around his arm and twisted it hard, using ground fighting techniques. The man screamed in pain, but suddenly laughed:
"This is expected from someone the boss recommended!"
Then he grabbed me and threw me hard to the ground. I heard a terrifying crack. My right arm twisted unnaturally, and indescribable pain surged through my body.
I was shocked. How did he manage this? Who was this man? And why was he attacking a girl like me? How could Yuna have angered people with such power?
The man looked at me while holding his arm and casually cracking his fingers, then said sarcastically:
"Can you endure in this weak body?"
Then he continued with frightening calm: "Okay... if you can endure this."
Suddenly, he knelt over me, put his hand in my pocket and placed something small there, then raised his fist and struck me on the head. I fell to the ground unconscious, the world around me beginning to fade.
After I lost consciousness, the man removed his mask. He was a young man in his twenties, with ordinary features that didn't attract attention. He took out his phone and called someone.
On the screen appeared a girl with long purple hair and crimson red eyes like blood. She was sitting in a fancy cafe in Paris, according to the background.
The girl said in a cold voice: "Did you complete the task the boss told you about?"
The man replied: "Yes. I put the thing he ordered me to put in her pocket. When she sees it, she'll be shocked."
The girl smiled mysteriously: "Right."
Then she added: "I don't know why the boss is obsessed with her. But whatever he orders, we must execute."
The girl said his name again.
They paused for a moment, then said together in one voice:
"Yoonji Choi's soul."
The Hospital
In the hospital, a white ceiling. The smell of disinfectant filled Yuna's nose. She was in the hospital.
Beside my bed, my father and Damian stood. Father was silent, and Damian looked at me with concern.
The doctor entered and said: "She has a broken arm. The rest are minor injuries. She'll need to rest for a few weeks."
But at that moment, I wasn't hearing anything. My head was spinning, my world blurring.
Suddenly, I saw the scene change. I was no longer in the hospital. I was in an old house, on a rainy night.
The Forgotten Memories
It was raining heavily. Thunder roared like bombs, and lightning lit up the room every few seconds. I was small, about four years old. Standing before a closed door, on the other side was the original Yuna, calling out in a frightened voice:
"Father... Father... please... Can I sleep with you? I'm scared..."
Inside the room were: four-year-old Aren, Damian, and Theo. They were all young. I saw my father holding Aren in a warm bed, while the others slept on the other side. No one paid attention to Yuna's voice.
She stood behind the door, rain soaking her nightclothes because water was leaking into the hallway. She cried silently, then returned to her room alone.
Then the scene changed.
I was a bit older, nine years old. I was at a big family gathering. I approached my father with fear and said: "Father..."
But before I could continue, he slapped me hard across the face, making my head spin. He said in a low, angry voice:
"How many times have I told you not to call me Father in public? Understand?"
There was a girl with short hair, a small mole under her mouth, watching the whole scene. But her eyes were empty, indifferent. Just a hint of pity in the corners. Yes, that was me.
Then suddenly another girl appeared. She looked exactly like me. But she wasn't me. She was... the original Yuna.
I looked at her and said in a voice full of heartbreak:
"Is this what you go through, Yuna?"
But the original Yuna replied bitterly: "Do you even care about me? I'm pathetic, right? I don't know who you are. But... do you know my ending? Did my father acknowledge me after my death? He must have been sad, right?"
She knew I knew the future. She knew I knew everything.
"Do you love them so much that you'd go against your own family?"
She was shocked by my question. But she continued, her eyes overflowing with tears:
"I don't understand either. Why did I love them? It's just... destined for me. I can't escape it. As if if I didn't, I'd have no role in this world."
She cried bitterly, then said in a choked voice:
"Please... don't let anyone call me that man's daughter. I'm tired. Why did I have to be like this? I did everything I was supposed to. It was clear I was a good person. So why did I become the villain in the end?"
She looked at me one last time, then said: "Please, I don't want to come back."
I suddenly woke up. Damian and my father were in front of me. His face was pale, his eyes blazing with concern.
He leaned over and hugged me tightly, as if afraid I would disappear, and said in a trembling voice:
"Yuna! Did something happen to you? Tell me!"
But I felt disgust at this belated hug. Where was this embrace when I was a child crying alone? I pushed him away with my good arm and said coldly:
"Stop this behavior. Get out of the room. I don't want to see your face. I hope you leave, Mr. Kim."
A sad expression appeared on his face, as if my words had stabbed him in the heart. But he said nothing. He nodded and left.
Damian said: "Come with me." And followed him.
After they left, the door opened again, and Ji-hoon entered. He was carrying my phone.
He sat down, his eyes sad as if he had committed a sin, and said: "I apologize for not helping. I was afraid something bad might happen to you. Are you okay now?" His eyes were like a kitten's.
Yuna said with nearly dead eyes: "What happened? Who brought me to the hospital?"
He said quickly: "Actually, you forgot your phone after you left. I caught up to you, but when I arrived, I found you lying on the ground unconscious. I brought you to the hospital."
I looked at him gratefully in silence.
He continued: "But I have to leave now. Work awaits."
And he left.
I was left alone. I looked at the sky through the hospital window. It was raining. The same rain that soaked Yuna in her childhood. The same rain through which I heard thunder screaming alone.
I felt depression wrap around me like a shroud. This whole thing is annoying. Life is annoying. Relationships are annoying. Pain is annoying.
I left the room and began wandering through the hospital.
I sat on the cold floor. I held my head with my good arm and began to cry silently. I cried all the tears I had held back.
Why? Why must I suffer? I lived my first life in injustice and crime. I died full of regret. And now, even after death, this suffocating feeling still haunts me.
I looked at the long empty hallway. The faint white light at its end, the sterile white walls. I looked at my hands.
I thought: "Should... should I do it? Should I start over? Should I give up?"
My eyes overflowed with deep sadness, as if it were the end of the world.
Suddenly, an elderly woman appeared in a wheelchair. She was bald from what seemed like chemotherapy, wearing a blue hospital gown. She looked at me with kind eyes and asked:
"Are you okay, little one?"
I quickly wiped my tears and said: "I'm fine."
I tried to get up and leave, but the old woman said in a weak voice:
"Can you help me get back to my room? It's nearby."
I was indifferent, but something made me agree. I slowly helped push her wheelchair.
Along the way, she began to talk:
"My husband left me when I was pregnant with my first son. He wanted me not to have children because of our difficult living conditions. But I wanted to raise the child. I didn't want an abortion."
She paused to catch her breath, then continued:
"After I gave birth, I started taking care of him. You know? Sometimes he would ask me: 'Mom, where's Dad?' You know what I used to tell him?"
She looked at me, and I didn't answer.
She continued: "I used to tell him that his father wanted to see him as a big, strong man. Every day he would eat and drink well for that dream. And when he grew up, he understood the truth. But he told me it was okay, that he accepted it. And he wanted me to live with him."
She sighed regretfully: "But unfortunately, that happiness didn't last. You know why?"
I shook my head.
"I got sick with a terminal illness. Now he pays all the hospital expenses for me. Every day he comes home tired, but he visits me. I feel like I'm a burden to him. Every time I look at him, I think: Should I have given birth to him? Now he lives in suffering because of me. I was the cause of all this. So I feel guilty."
She stopped at her room door and looked at me with tearful eyes. Then she said:
"But my little one... no matter what happens, don't despair. Life is hard, but it has beautiful moments. My son is the most beautiful moment in my life. Even if the end is painful, the beginning was worth it."
[To be continued...]
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