"We're surrendering her."

"Huh, what seems to be the problem?"

"She's the problem! I don't know what you feed this girl, she's problematic. We tried to understand the situation but she won't even try to talk to us about it. How do you think we'll be able to help her?"

"I'm sorry b-"

"You said that she'll be the perfect girl for us and now I doubt that. This isn't just going to work."

"Please understand... she just needs time to get used to things."

"No, we're done- I'm done! It's been a whole month and we got nothing but trouble in the end. Have you heard how she punched this poor child in preschool? Ugh, the embarrassment we had to experience. Instead of being grateful, that little is being a brat."

Minjeong was hiding behind the corridor, silently listening to the conversation. Fists tightly clenched beside her thighs, she swallowed her spit and took a deep breath. Her chest felt heavy, and she wanted to cry so badly— but where would that take her?

More trouble, she thought. So she suppressed these emotions miserably and tightly clenched onto her chest.

The little girl was about to leave quietly when a man stepped out of the room. He took notice of her presence and gave the child an annoyed glare.

Minjeong's breath hitched, fearing that the worst-case scenario would occur to her once again. "Father-"

"Now I understand why no one wanted to take you in."

Those particular words echoed inside Minjeong's head. Having the thought of getting surrendered five times in a row, this thought shattered her mind. She was just a little girl with little knowledge of the world yet understood this scenario very well.

While looking at the man, the light passed through the windows, causing her pupils to dilate. Though she never averted her eyes and gazed at the man with utmost fear— trauma.

Minjeong stood rooted in place like a frozen statue. Her eyes glued onto the man as she watched him turn around and disappear into the hallway. Everything was in slow motion, and dark shadows covered the light through the windows.

In her vision, everything was getting dimmer, and the only thing in sight was the door the man had disappeared into. Various kinds of scenarios related to this event flashed before her eyes. Fear gradually filled in.

She never understood everyone, never understood her past foster parents.

She never understood what a family truly is.

It was all confusion, and all she did was try to cope with everything. She wanted to change herself just to impress those people, though unfortunately, none of them worked. Showing her true self was just a no-no, and she's afraid of that.

The shadows grew bigger and bigger, and Minjeong was beyond terrified. She wanted to run away, but she couldn't.

Fear chained and paralyzed her. Minjeong felt angry, sad, and frightened. She wasn't sure of what to do. Finally, her mind was getting more chaotic to the point she couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears.

She lowered her head and gazed at the floor, crying silently as if her voice had disappeared. Her chest tightened even more, and she wanted to scream.

*SHATTER*

The shadows broke through the windows, and Minjeong flinched. She collapsed onto the floor and stuck her back on the wall. Curling her knees to her chest, she laid her arms onto them and hid her face.

Ready for what's to come, Minjeong squeaked in fear.

"Minjeong?"

Minjeong released the breath she's been holding upon hearing the familiar voice. Suddenly, everything felt calm and soothing as she felt a hand softly pat her head.

"It's your old woman, everything is going to be okay."

"Grandma..."

Minjeong slowly raised her head and saw the warmest smile in front of her. An old woman was patting her head in comfort, trying to calm her down by repeatedly telling her that everything would be fine.

"Grandma, am I that bad? Is there something wrong with me?"

The old woman shook her head, "They just don't understand an angel like you, sweetie."

Again, Minjeong bursts into tears. "I don't... understand," her voice cracked into pieces.

The older could only maintain her smile. She continued to pat the little girl's head and spoke calmly. "Cheer up. No matter how hopeless you are, even if everyone else abandons you, I'll always be here for you."

I'll always be here for you...

"I'll always be here for you."

Snapping back to reality, Minjeong stared at the girl who spoke with determination as they were seated on the cold bench.

"Damn, Jimin... don't do me like that, you're going to make me cry. Seriously."

Minjeong was quick to turn her head and stare at the group of fireflies near the lake.

"Oh, I'm