The evening sky was a bruised purple, a heavy color that seemed to press down on the house. I could barely see the pale pink and gray walls of our home through the window in the warning screen. "WARNING," the bold white text screamed at me. "THIS EPISODE CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND ABUSE THAT MAY BE UPSETTING FOR SOME VIEWERS. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED." Discretion. I wished I had some.
I turned the knob, the metallic click of the keys hanging on the outside a familiar, chilling sound. They were always left there, a cruel little sign that I was locked in. My hand trembled as I pushed the door open, the darkness of the hall spilling out.
"M-MOMMY..." I whispered, my voice a frail, pitiful thing.
The Weight of the Shards
I stumbled into the room, my eyes searching the gloom. My breath hitched. On the floor, a dark, shattered mess lay in fragments—broken glass, maybe pottery. A fresh wave of despair washed over me, hot and stinging. I knew what this meant. I was always the reason.
"I'M SORRY, MOTHER..." I choked out, a raw "SOB" tearing from my throat. I couldn't stop the tears. I dropped to my knees, bending low, but before I could touch the sharp mess, a figure moved.
I looked up, seeing only a large section of her leg, a yellowish garment visible on my mother's frame. She was already doubled over, her hands clutching her head. Another harsh "SOB" shook her.
"I'M SO SORRY..." she cried, her voice muffled by her distress. But who was she sorry for? I was the one who was supposed to be sorry.
A Monster's Reflection
Then she turned toward me, and the tone shifted instantly. Her face was contorted, her eyes wide with a venomous fury that made my stomach churn.
"Y-YOU LITTLE MONSTER...!" she spat. She was above me now, her hand raised, and I braced myself for the impact. I was hit, not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to send me sprawling, the floor cold against my back.
I scrambled up, tears streaming down my face. "MOMMY, WHY-?!" The question was barely out before her final, absolute command rang out, shattering the air.
Her face was a mask of pure hatred, her mouth wide open in a furious yell. "GET THAT DISGUSTING FREAK OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!" she shrieked.
I froze, tears pooling in my eyes. I looked down, unable to meet her gaze, the weight of her words crushing me. She stood there, a rigid, dark figure, her fury simmering down into a cold, hard dismissal.
"...GET... OUT..."
I didn't need to be told again. The word 'monster' had already done the job. I turned and ran, the sound of my pathetic, ragged breathing the only thing louder than the pounding of my heart. I left the darkness behind, only to run headlong into my own.

I ran until my legs burned and my lungs ached, scrambling up the stairs and throwing myself into my room. I didn't stop until I was hidden behind my brother, Junseo, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. He pulled me into a protective embrace.
"Don't cry, Ajin, I'm here..." he murmured, his voice a solid, calm comfort against the chaotic storm in my heart.
But the words from downstairs echoed in my ears. "SHE WAS... SO MEAN AND SCARY..." I sobbed against his chest, the fear finally breaking me. Junseo held me tighter, rubbing my back until the shaking began to subside.
"DON'T WORRY. If Mommy tries to hurt you again, I'LL MAKE HER STOP," he promised, his tone quiet but fierce.
I pulled back just enough to look at him, my eyes still wet. "REALLY, JUNSEO...?" The hope in my voice was pathetic, a tiny, flickering candle. He leaned in close, his expression serious and resolved.
"JUST RUN AND HIDE BEHIND ME, OKAY?" he instructed. Then, with a protective fierceness I clung to, he added, "YEAH, AJIN... JUST STICK TO ME FROM NOW ON."
For a moment, in his arms, I felt safe. He was my shield, my only real protection in this terrible, scary house.
The Devil on the Phone
I was still clinging to Junseo when I heard Mother's enraged voice rise from downstairs. It wasn't the sound of her crying regret anymore; it was cold fury.
"WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN PICKING UP?! DIDN'T YOU SEE MY TEXT?!" she screamed into her phone. I could only catch glimpses of her pacing, twisting a piece of dark fabric in her hand. "THAT LITTLE B**** IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!"
Then her voice dropped to a frantic, angry whisper. "DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT SHE DID? YOUR DAUGHTER IS A DEMON!! She smashed up the room then suddenly started crying, saying she was sorry."
I shrank further into Junseo's embrace. I was sorry. I really was.
A low sigh came from the man on the other end, someone who clearly knew all about me. Mother let out her own exasperated "SIGHHH."
"SHE'S NOT LIKE OTHER KIDS. I WARNED YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM HER."
Mother's desperation mounted, her voice sharp with ultimatum. "I DON'T WANT HER IN MY HOUSE! EITHER TAKE HER AND LEAVE, OR PUT HER IN AN ORPHANAGE. I WON'T MARRY YOU UNLESS SHE'S GONE."
The man's voice finally came through the phone, calmer, crueler. "CALM DOWN, WILL YOU? LISTEN. I FOUND A VIDEOGRAPHER. HE WANTS TO SEE AJIN TONIGHT."
My stomach turned over. Tonight?
"REALLY...? TONIGHT?" Mother's tone instantly shifted, a sinister smile creeping across her face. Her eyes, magnified in the close-up, shone with an awful, greedy relief.
"BRING HER OUT QUIETLY WHEN I TEXT YOU LATER. OKAY?" the man ordered.
"YEAH. MAKE SURE SHE'S NOT BRUISED UP. THE CLIENTS WON'T LIKE THAT. OKAY?" she agreed, her voice sickeningly sweet now.
She paused, considering the fine print of the man's vile instruction, her fingers clutching her jaw. Her smile widened, a true predatory sneer. "SO I CAN DO ANYTHING TO HER... AS LONG AS I DON'T GET HER BRUISED UP, RIGHT?"
The conversation ended, but the silence that followed was even heavier. The man on the phone, the one who looked like a handsome, confident stranger in a suit—the one on the cover page labeled Dear X—was plotting something terrible. And I, little Ajin, was the product they were preparing to sell. I clung to Junseo, terrified of the night that was quickly closing in.
The morning after was a blur of aching limbs and a throbbing head. I woke up feeling feverish, a strange heat radiating from my skin. My mouth was dry. "MMM... I'M SO THIRSTY..." I mumbled, pulling myself out of bed. The floor was cold under my bare feet as I started down the stairs, one hand on the railing, the other rubbing my temple. "I THINK I'M BURNING UP..."
If the maid hadn't been on holiday, I thought, maybe I could have asked her to make me some porridge. But she was gone, and I was alone, vulnerable.
Just as I reached the bottom, there she was, my mother, standing by the living room entrance. Her eyes were sharp, calculating. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice laced with disdain. "Do you have something else to say to me? Or are you just crying on... or are you just spying on me?"
I gathered my courage, my small voice shaky. "I told you... I'll tell Junseo everything if you try to get between us."
A cold smile played on her lips. "STILL TRYING TO BLACKMAIL ME, HUH?" she scoffed. "WHO SAYS JUNSEO WOULD EVEN BELIEVE YOU?" She laughed, a brittle, mocking sound. "SHE ALWAYS BLACKMAILS ME WHEN SHE WANTS SOMETHING... I WONDER WHAT YOU WANT FROM ME THIS TIME."
I looked at her, then down at my hands. "You keep hiding him from the world to keep him in the dark... but he's not dumb, you know."
Her smile faded, replaced by a flicker of annoyance. She reached out, her hand resting briefly on my shoulder, a gesture that felt more like a threat than comfort. "IT'S YOUR SPECIAL DAY TODAY, AJIN..." she said, her voice dripping with an artificial sweetness that made my skin crawl.
My blood ran cold. Special day? I looked up at her, a silent question in my eyes. "...?"
A new, terrifying light entered her eyes, a kind of dark triumph. "I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT." she finished. The implications were horrifying.
Junseo's Awakening
Meanwhile, in his room, the loud "BRRRRRRING" of an alarm clock ripped through the early morning silence. It startled me, Junseo, from my sleep. I groaned, feeling still heavy with slumber. "STILL SLEEPY..." I muttered, swatting at the offending device until its "CLICK" brought blessed quiet.
A yawn stretched my jaw wide. "YAWWWWN." I thought of my sister. "I wonder if Ajin... is awake..."
I got up, pulling on a pair of shorts, and padded to my door. "AJIN! ARE YOU UP?" I called out, my voice still thick with sleep. "LET'S GO PLAY IN THE BACK YARD!"
My innocent enthusiasm was a stark contrast to the dark conversation my mother and Ajin were having downstairs. I was blissfully unaware.
He's probably starting to get a feeling... That his mother is a piece of crap.

I managed to ignore my mother's veiled threat—"IT'S YOUR SPECIAL DAY TODAY, AJIN... I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT"—and slipped past her. I had a fever, and the sickness made everything feel blurry and distant. I knew I couldn't trust her. She had just told the man on the phone that she could do anything to me, so long as I didn't get bruised up. She always blackmails me when she wants something... I wonder what you want from me this time. I knew what she wanted. It was always the same: silence and obedience, or removal.
I clutched my book close to my chest. I FEEL SO SAD WHEN JUNSEO ISN'T HERE... BECAUSE X HITS ME WHEN JUNSEO ISN'T AROUND. The adult we call 'X' is a really mean adult. That adult hits me, and it's worse when Junseo is gone. I looked at the dark corners of the room. "THAT CAN'T BE TRUE..." I whispered to myself, looking at the thought on the screen of my phone. X IS A REALY MEAN ADULT. I'M JUST GLAD JUNSEO DOESN'T KNOW HOW MEAN X IS, IF HE WOULD...
My mind drifted to Junseo, still sleeping soundly, protected from the truth. HE'S PROBABLY STARTING TO GET A FEELING... THAT HIS MOTHER IS A PIECE OF CRAP. But he had always been shielded. He was the one she was nice to. "YEAH! MOMMY NEVER GETS MAD AT ME. SHE'S NICE TO YOU TOO!" he used to say. I knew that wasn't true, but I let him believe it. I saw the deep darkness under her façade and understood a terrible truth: "IT'S ALL BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T LOVE YOU... I BET SHE'S THINKING OF WAYS TO GET RID OF US."
Junseo Finds the Truth
The loud BRRRRRRING of the alarm clock in Junseo's room startled me. I heard his drowsy yawn—YAWWWWN—and the familiar CLICK as he silenced the clock.
"AJIN! ARE YOU UP? LET'S GO PLAY IN THE BACK YARD!"
I rushed to my room, only to find it empty. "OH... WHERE'D SHE GO? MAYBE SHE WENT TO THE WASHROOM..." I stood for a moment, holding my basketball, my face a question mark. "?" I walked over to the closet, opening it cautiously. "AJIN, ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP?"
I walked out of my room, my worry growing. I glanced down the hall. "WHERE'S... AJIN...?" I started walking, then running. DASH DASH.
"AJIN!! AJIN!!!" I raced down the main staircase. The air in the house suddenly felt heavy, thick with a sound I couldn't quite place. I reached the bottom step and looked toward the living room entrance. "AJIN?!"
What I saw froze the blood in my veins. My mother, in her light-colored dress, was crouched over a figure on the floor. Her hands were gripping something, and her face was contorted in a terrifying mask of rage.
"DIE!! DIE, YOU LITTLE DEMON!!!" she shrieked. "DIE!!"
A loud, sickening SQUEAAAAK echoed through the room. I could hear things SPLASHing. Water, maybe? My eyes widened in horror. That's not water. She was drowning someone.
I stared, completely stunned, as the scene burned itself into my memory. My mother, the nice one, the one who never got mad at me, was trying to murder someone.
Then, through the blur of my shock, I recognized the small, struggling form.
"A-AJIN..."
My mother looked up, her expression a mix of madness and satisfaction, her smile terrifying.
And then I heard a strange, insidious whisper from the back of my mind, echoing a cruel thought I'd seen somewhere before: "Hey, Junseo... Do you like your mom?"
The horror was complete. I finally knew the truth.
"AAAAAHHHH!" The scream was torn from my throat as I finally comprehended the scene before me. The woman I called Mother was trying to hurt my sister, violently, terrifyingly. The basketball I was holding fell and rolled away into the shadows.
"M-MOMMY! S-STOP! P-PLEASE STOP!!" I pleaded, my voice cracking, tears instantly blinding my eyes. The sight of I—my sister—crying and struggling, a reflection of the promises I'd made her, shattered me.
I had promised: "IF MOMMY TRIES TO HURT YOU AGAIN, I'LL MAKE HER STOP. JUST RUN AND HIDE BEHIND ME, OKAY?"
But I couldn't move. My legs felt like concrete. I looked down at my trembling feet. "I CAN'T MOVE MY LEGS... I HAVE TO GO STOP HER BUT MY LEGS WON'T MOVE...."
Then, Mother's enraged voice cut through the air, directed at me now. "GET OUT!! GET THE HELL OUT, JUNSEO!!!"
I broke down, covering my face with my hands, my body racked with sobs. "MOMMY, PLEASE..." I was frozen, a useless observer. I WAS FROZEN IN FEAR AND HELPLESSLY WATCHED AS MY MOTHER PUSHED HER HEAD INTO THE WATER, OVER AND OVER AGAIN... It was endless, sickening. My mother only stopped ...AND SHE ONLY STOPPED WHEN AJIN... FAINTED IN FRONT OF ME.
The fight went out of me, replaced by an empty, cold horror.
The Silent Night (My Perspective)
I woke up to the smell of disinfectant and the dull throbbing of my head, which was resting on a pillow. My brother, Junseo, was sitting beside me, still fully dressed, looking worn out and terrified. He was gently holding my hand.
He had stayed with me. He was there.
I closed my eyes again, muttering a faint, weary word: "SORRY..." I was always sorry. Sorry for being here, sorry for making noise, sorry for not being strong enough.
"LET'S GO TO THE CLINIC WHEN YOU WAKE UP. I'LL ASK THE MAID TO TAKE US. OKAY...?" Junseo's voice was low, shaky, but firm. He didn't ask me what happened. He didn't ask me what I did. He just wanted to fix the injury. He wanted to help me escape.
I felt the mattress shift as he stood up, tucking the blanket carefully around me. He looked down at my face, a silent promise in his eyes. He bent down and kissed my forehead. "GOOD NIGHT... SLEEP TIGHT."
I heard the CLICK as the door to my room closed, leaving me in the peaceful darkness. Through my window, I saw the night sky, dotted with distant, cold stars. It was quiet. But the horror was still vivid.
CLICK.
My eyes fluttered open, suddenly alert. The light was on, and a tall shadow fell across my bed. I turned my head, my heart hammering against my ribs.
My mother stood in the doorway, a knife held loosely behind her back. She was smiling, that same terrifying, malicious smile. Her eyes—bright, cold, and utterly devoid of love—were focused entirely on me.
"Y-YOU...!!"
She knew. She knew Junseo had seen. And she knew I was the reason her secret was out. Now, there was no more pretending, no more "special day," only the pure, murderous rage of a woman who had just lost control.

My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. My mother stood there, her eyes narrowed, her smile a chilling crescent in the dim room. She had a knife.
"Y-YOU...!!" I whispered, pulling myself back onto the pillow. The realization was stark: my attempt to use Junseo as a shield had failed, and now I was paying the price. She knew he had seen the drowning, and that made me a greater threat than ever.
She raised a finger to her lips in a gesture of grotesque secrecy—"SHHHH"—her eyes darting to the door. She wasn't smiling anymore. She was pure business. The screen of her phone glowed in the darkness, a text message stark against the black: "I'M OUT FRONT WAITING IN THE CAR. BRING HER OUTSIDE NOW."
My blood ran cold. Tonight. This was it. The "videographer." The thing she and the man, "Dear X," had planned. They weren't just going to hurt me; they were going to sell me.
She approached the bed, the knife disappearing behind her back, replaced by a firm grip on my arm. Her voice was a low, dangerous hiss.
"Don't make a sound. Don't you dare wake up your brother. We're going on your special day now."
She started pulling me out of the bed, my protests weak and muffled by fear. I knew my fever-weakened body wouldn't put up a fight.
Junseo's New Role
I was pulled down the dark hallway and toward the back door, the keys on the knob—the keys that were always a symbol of my imprisonment—now a tool for my final removal.
Just as we reached the door, a low groan came from upstairs. My mother froze, her grip tightening on my arm.
Junseo.
He was up. He was coming down the stairs, his eyes probably puffy and red from crying. He had seen her try to kill me. He had been paralyzed with fear, watching helplessly as she shoved my head into the water until I FAINTED IN FRONT OF HIM.
Now, he stood on the landing, rubbing his eyes, looking small and alone. He hadn't seen the knife, hadn't seen the text. He only saw the two of us, mother and daughter, standing by the door late at night.
"Mommy? Ajin?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep and confusion. "Where are you going?"
My mother's face twisted into an expression of sick necessity. She couldn't kill me in front of him, not if I was supposed to be unbruised for the client. She had to maintain the façade, or lose her man.
She softened her voice, turning the full force of her deceit onto her son. "Oh, Junseo. You shouldn't be up. I was just taking Ajin outside for a minute. She's still running a fever. We're going to see the doctor right now."
Junseo looked at me, then back at her. The innocence was gone from his eyes, replaced by a cold, hard suspicion that made me ache with a terrible pride. He knew she was lying. He saw the "GET OUT!! GET THE HELL OUT, JUNSEO!!!" in her eyes.
"No," he said, stepping down one step. "I'm coming too."
My mother's smile didn't reach her eyes. The knife was still concealed, but the threat was very real. She knew this was her last chance to get rid of the "disgusting freak" so she could marry the man waiting outside.
I closed my eyes, the sickness and exhaustion overwhelming me. It was all up to Junseo now. He had to remember his promise: "JUST STICK TO ME FROM NOW ON."
There was a WARNING at the beginning of this terrible night. It warned of violence and abuse, but that was just the title card for my life.
I ran to my room after the most recent attack, sobbing and utterly terrified. I had broken things, screamed, and then crumbled, murmuring, "I'M SORRY, MOTHER... I'M SO SORRY...". Her response was pure hate: "GET THAT DISGUSTING FREAK OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!".
Junseo held me tightly. He was my only safe harbor. "DON'T CRY, AJIN, I'M HERE...". I sobbed that she was "SO MEAN AND SCARY...". He promised, "DON'T WORRY. IF MOMMY TRIES TO HURT YOU AGAIN, I'LL MAKE HER STOP.". He made me promise back: "JUST RUN AND HIDE BEHIND ME, OKAY?". "YEAH, AJIN... JUST STICK TO ME FROM NOW ON".
I clung to that promise as the sound of Mother's phone call drifted upstairs. I heard her rage: "WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN PICKING UP?! DIDN'T YOU SEE MY TEXT?! THAT LITTLE B**** IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!". She told the person on the phone, the man they call Dear X, that I was a "DEMON!!" and that she warned him to stay away from me because "SHE'S NOT LIKE OTHER KIDS". I heard her give her ultimatum: "EITHER TAKE HER AND LEAVE, OR PUT HER IN AN ORPHANAGE. I WON'T MARRY YOU UNLESS SHE'S GONE". The man answered, telling her he found a videographer who wanted to see me TONIGHT. My mother's voice turned chillingly sweet as she confirmed, "YEAH. MAKE SURE SHE'S NOT BRUISED UP. THE CLIENTS WON'T LIKE THAT. OKAY?". And then, the final, terrifying agreement: "SO I CAN DO ANYTHING TO HER... AS LONG AS I DON'T GET HER BRUISED UP, RIGHT?".
The Morning Horror
I woke up the next morning feeling sick and feverish, murmuring, "I'M SO THIRSTY... I THINK I'M BURNING UP...". I knew I couldn't trust my mother, but I went downstairs anyway. She met me with disdain. I told her, "I'LL TELL JUNSEO EVERYTHING IF YOU TRY TO GET BETWEEN US". She just laughed: "STILL TRYING TO BLACKMAIL ME, HUH? WHO SAYS JUNSEO WOULD EVEN BELIEVE YOU?". She smiled and said, "IT'S YOUR SPECIAL DAY TODAY, AJIN... I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT".
At the same time, Junseo woke up to his alarm. "STILL SLEEPY..." he muttered, yawning. He called out my name: "AJIN! ARE YOU UP? LET'S GO PLAY IN THE BACK YARD!". He searched for me in my empty room.
My deepest fear, the one I had kept to myself, was that X HITS ME WHEN JUNSEO ISN'T AROUND. X IS A REALLY MEAN ADULT. Junseo still believed that "MOMMY NEVER GETS MAD AT ME. SHE'S NICE TO YOU TOO!". But a dark thought crossed my mind, HE'S PROBABLY STARTING TO GET A FEELING... THAT HIS MOTHER IS A PIECE OF CRAP.
As Junseo ran down the stairs, calling out "AJIN!! AJIN!!!", he found me. My mother was trying to drown me, shrieking "DIE!! DIE, YOU LITTLE DEMON!!! DIE!!".
Junseo AAAAAHHHHed. He was paralyzed: "I CAN'T MOVE MY LEGS... I HAVE TO GO STOP HER BUT MY LEGS WON'T MOVE....". My mother screamed at him: "GET OUT!! GET THE HELL OUT, JUNSEO!!!". He broke down crying, watching helplessly as she kept pushing my head into the water. ...AND SHE ONLY STOPPED WHEN AJIN... FAINTED IN FRONT OF ME.
The Escape Attempt
When I woke up later, Junseo was beside me, holding my hand under the stars. I mumbled, "SORRY...". He promised to get help: "LET'S GO TO THE CLINIC WHEN YOU WAKE UP. I'LL ASK THE MAID TO TAKE US. OKAY...?". He kissed my forehead and said, "GOOD NIGHT... SLEEP TIGHT".
The moment he left, the door CLICKed. The light snapped on. I opened my eyes to see my mother standing over me, a terrifying smile on her face and a knife hidden behind her back. "Y-YOU...!!" I choked out. She shushed me—"SHHHH"—as she checked her phone. The message read: "I'M OUT FRONT WAITING IN THE CAR. BRING HER OUTSIDE NOW.".
Just as she started pulling me out, Junseo reappeared, confused: "MOMMY...?". He stood there, fully aware now of the danger, but his fear was replaced by fierce protection. He looked ready to uphold his promise to stick to me from now on. My mother stood on the stairs, caught. She was forced to abandon her plan to get rid of the "disgusting freak" for the sake of her future