. . .
My eyes snapped open, a harsh light piercing through my retinas.
The memory had just been a nightmare-a fractured piece of a past I had spent a lifetime trying to erase.
My entire body was wrapped in tight bandages, the deep bruises burning directly into my muscles. Beneath me were the soft sheets of a cot. I was lying in the school infirmary. Someone must have dragged my battered body here, refusing to let me die in peace.
I stared blankly at the ceiling, my mind a chaotic mess of thoughts I couldn't format into words. I am Min-seo now. My fingers twitched, slowly curling into a tight fist. I couldn't even process the words the school nurse was saying as she clinical applied ointment to my wounds. Her face was an expressionless mask, her voice a flat, professional monotone devoid of any real comfort.
"You're going to need time to recover. Get some rest... or don't."
Whatever she meant by that, it faded into background noise. She stood up and walked away, completely ignoring my existence as if I were a ghost she wasn't required to acknowledge. Outside, the cheerful chirping of birds and the gentle rustle of leaves drifted through the open window. A stray beam of sunlight cut through the shifting curtains, forcing its way into the bleak room.
Every burn and bruise screamed in protest as I forced myself into a sitting position. Slipping off the edge of the bed, I stood on trembling limbs, my body reacting to a lingering trauma. My legs heavily dragged me toward the window. From this vantage point, I could see the massive, incredibly expensive school campus-a place my family could never have afforded, yet somehow, I was here. Unwanted, unaccepted, but physically present.
Sunha.
His cruel face dominated my thoughts. I remembered the sheer intensity in his dark eyes as he had loomed over me in the hallway-an intensity that felt incredibly lethal, yet strangely intoxicating. When Ji-woo had been torturing me, he hadn't lifted a finger to stop her. Yet, the way he had stared down at me... it felt like a predatory fixation. It almost looked like attraction. Didn't it?
I let out a tired sigh, running a bandaged hand down my face. The sheer misery of the situation weighed heavily on my chest. I looked back out at the courtyard, watching groups of students laughing and enjoying their youth.
Suddenly, the air in the infirmary turned freezing cold. A sharp shiver traveled straight down my spine. Someone was standing right behind me. I could feel an immense, dangerous presence bleeding into the room, heavy enough to bury me alive. The atmosphere became suffocating, leaving me feeling like a solitary living soul trapped in an open grave.
"Planning to jump, Min-seo?"
Sunha was always there, hovering like an inescapable shadow. He took slow, deliberate steps until he was standing directly behind me. I could feel the warmth of his breath against the side of my neck as he leaned down to my level. His piercing gaze locked onto my profile. He reached out, slowly tracing the back of his fingers down the length of my hair as if handling a fragile piece of porcelain that belonged exclusively to him.
"Don't bother trying to kill yourself. You're already entirely lifeless, Min-seo."
The words sent a violent shock through my system, making my breath hitch. He knows.
He knows Min-seo is dead. But how? It was an absolute mystery. Everyone in this school recognized me as Min-seo, long before I could even comprehend why or how I was wearing her face. To their absolute disappointment, they believed Min-seo had survived her suicide attempt just to ruin their days. And they blamed me for it. It was always my fault.
"There is no gate open for you to run through, Min-seo..." Sunha whispered, his voice casting a profound darkness over the room.
My hands began to tremble uncontrollably. Sunha's hand slowly trailed down from my hair, sliding along my arm until he reached my shaking fingers. Without warning, his grip tightened into a brutal, crushing vice. He twisted my fingers backward until a sickening sound echoed through the quiet room.
*CRACK*
A sharp gasp escaped my lips as tears immediately flooded my eyes. The pain was blinding. He had broken my bones, damaged my jaw with his slaps, and now he was crushing my fingers, piling entirely new physical trauma onto my body.
"I'm sorry about the slap," he murmured, his voice shifting into a sudden, terrifying gentleness that hid a lethal poison. He was playing masterfully with my sanity. His free hand slid down to rest heavily on my hip, his fingers digging deep into the fabric of my uniform as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck. His breath made my skin prickle with goosebumps. After everything he had done to me, he genuinely expected my grace.
And yet, despite the burning pain in my cheek and the fresh bandages covering my skin, a terrifying realization washed over me.
"Of course... I forgive you, Sunha..."
The words shocked me the moment they left my mouth. I had forgiven him instantly, without a single second thought. My heart battered against my ribs, racing uncontrollably from his mere proximity.
Twelve years of living in a loveless, freezing hell had left me starving. I had never known affection, gentle touches, or whispered endearments. My fractured mind had twisted his horrific cruelty, disguising it as a form of distorted love. It was completely insane-he had humiliated me, beaten me, and stood by while his girlfriend tortured me. So why do I keep craving the very hand that breaks me?
Have I completely lost my mind to his charm? Have I actually fallen in love with the monster who wants to see me suffer?
A dark, menacing grin carved its way across Sunha's face, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. Before I could process the sudden shift, he threw his head back and unleashed a manic, booming laughter that caused the nurse in the front office to visibly flinch.
"Pathetic bitch. Always so perfectly obedient for her future husband, hm?" he mocked, his voice completely devoid of genuine amusement. There was only a sick, twisted pleasure derived from my pathetic compliance. In his eyes, I was nothing more than a helpless little rabbit begging for scraps of attention-a desperate girl who had never known a real home.
"Good girl," he whispered darkly against my ear.
Suddenly, his grip shifted back to my hair. With terrifying force, he violently slammed me forward against the window sill. I wanted to scream, to fight back, to tear myself away from him-
"Let's see if you can survive this time," he smirked.
Before a single word could form in my throat, Sunha shoved my body directly out of the open window.
There was no protection, no warning, and no preparation. I fell through the empty air, plummeting toward the hard ground below.
*THUD*
A weak, pathetic cry was knocked from my lungs as my body collided violently with the earth. A wave of agonizing pain rippled through my spine, completely paralyzing me. Tears streamed down my face, mixing with the dirt on the ground. I lay there completely prone, entirely weak. Nobody was going to run to my rescue.
Except him.
Sunha wouldn't let me die-not yet. His sick little game was far from finished.
"It hurts... it hurts..." I whimpered, my voice sounding incredibly rough and husky from the sheer trauma. My throat was bone-dry. Everything had happened far too fast for my broken body to keep up, and I was entirely certain several of my bones were fractured. I felt entirely numb, yet consumed by agonizing pain all at once.
"How pathetic. Look at her... she can't even stand up straight."
"So incredibly weak. That's typical Min-seo for you, she can't do anything but cry."
From a safe distance, dozens of students stood in a loose circle, watching me writhe in the dirt. Not a single person moved to help. They simply stood there, hiding mocking laughter behind their hands as my head began to bleed through the fresh bandages. Sunha's apology had been an absolute lie.
The blinding sunlight burned my vision as I lay broken on the filthy ground, my freshly wrapped wounds reopening to stain the earth red.
No.
it's absolutely wrong, he loves me. he do.
He wouldn't hurt me this badly if he didn't care.
