There are certain things that parents tell you growing up that is merely in your best interest. You don’t realize it at the time, but without those little lessons, your life could take a very different direction.  

At this point in time, Ye Jin's relationship with her parents was at its worst; only to her had time passed. She felt like she needed to adjust their relationship before she grew up again and she didn’t need them in her life at all. As a result, she strolled up to their new house and rang the bell.  

Her mother appeared behind the window and her face crumbled at the sight of her estranged daughter. The gate opened and she approached the front door, where her mother was cautiously holding the front door open. 

"Ye Jin-ah"?" Her mother muttered, as though afraid that the person in front of her was a hallucination. 

She nodded and bowed in greeting. Her mother stepped aside and she entered the house. A wave of deja-vu overcame her as she took in the house setting. It was the same as their old house and the familiarity played with her mind and made her think that she was back living with them.  

Her mother escaped to the kitchen, leaving Ye Jin to sit in the living room. She scanned the room and saw a few framed photographs on the coffee table to her left. Leaning over, she wished she didn’t become curious. The pictures were recently taken, with Ye Jin missing, and there was another of her brother, Suk Jin, when he was a toddler.  

She breathed to steady her aching heart. She wished that she had reversed time to when she set the fire, but at the time only Yoon Gi clouded her mind. 

After a moment, her mother returned and handed her a small glass of water before taking a seat opposite her daughter. 

"Ye Jin-ah, what are you doing here? If you father were here, he would-" 

"I know," Ye Jin said, stopping her mother. "I didn’t come to see him yet." 

After  a moment, her mother asked, "how is the new school?" 

"It's good, but there's a boy from the Min clan there and I think he knows who I am." 

"What?" Her mother said, almost exclaiming.  

"Don’t worry, nothing dangerous has happened or is going to happen," she said.  

Her mother nodded and, like instinct, snapped her head to the front door. Shakily, she got to her feet. "You-you have to leave," she muttered. "Your father is home early." 

Ye Jin rushed to stand and looked for a way out. However, this wasn’t her house and she had no idea if there was another way out. She thought for too long. The door lock opened and she was frozen in fear.  

The moment her father saw her, he dropped his jacket to the ground and a stern, vicious expression covered his post-work exhaustion. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

"Father-" she began. 

"'Father'?" He asked, raising his voice. "I don’t have a daughter like you." 

He unbuckled his leather belt and removed it from his waist. Her mother instinctively retreated to the kitchen, ignoring Ye Jin's attempts to make eye contact with her.  

"Stand still!" He yelled, filling the room with his roar.  

Ye Jin did as instructed, too afraid to even call upon her powers to save her. Her father rose his arm in the air and with one swift movement, the leather made contact with her left arm. The pain was hidden by her adrenaline, and for that she was thankful. He striked her again and again and again. Her arm was beaten enough and he moved to her forearm. She tried to move, but his yells kept her straight. She was the tool upon which his wrath was released.  

This went on for another couple minutes and by the time he was satisfied, he stormed off towards one of the bedrooms. Ye Jin stood there, facing the ground, letting the adrenaline wear off, and welcoming the pain. 

She didn’t even bother to look at her mother as she made her way out of the house. It was only as she was walking through the streets under the night sky, that she looked down at the damage. Her forearm was reddened and there were traces of black-blue bruises forming where the belt made contact. She knew her school jacket would help her cover it up, but she had P.E. the next day, which would make it almost impossible to hide from anyone.  

She kept her arm to her stomach, to prevent her from bumping into anything or anyone by accident on her way back to her empty apartment. People looked at her on the streets, seeing her uncommon posture, but she brushed them off as quickly as they looked. It seemed that she was causing more attention to herself than ever.  

What a pity.