CHAPTER 1 – NIGHTMARE

 “It was you! Because of you! She died!! Do you even know that?!” A man in his 30s said harshly towards a little girl that are crying silently in front of him.

The little girl is wearing one of her favorite sky blue dress, but it was being torn apart and there was blood stain on her skirt due to the accident that occurred just now. The accident involves two car. She was inside one of the car together with her mother. They were on their way to the hospital because the little girl had fall sick since last week. As a mother, she hurriedly take her little girl to the hospital as her condition gone worse.

It was a stormy day, even though it was still early in the afternoon, but the weather are not by her side. The rain makes in the road slippery. But despite that, the girl’s mother couldn’t stop but to speed the car in order to reach the hospital as soon as she can. She wanted to make sure that her daughter to be alright.

The traffic light just turned orange, being in a hurry, she passes through the traffic light without hesitating or looking for cars that are coming from the other directions. And so, who would’ve thought that there’s a car that are coming from the right corner of the road.

Due to the slippery road, none of the drivers could stopped their car. They tried to avoid each other, but it was too late. The car that came from the other side bump into the girl’s mother’s car.

“If it wasn’t because of you, she would’ve be here right now! See what you’ve done!” The man slapped his daughter’ swollen face for who-knows-how-many-times. “You! From now onwards, I’m not going to let you be happy anymore! I’m sick of hearing your laughter anymore! I’m going to make your life miserable just like how you just make my life miserable!”

For the last time, the man slap his own daughter again but this time, he uses all his energy to slap her making her fall down onto the ground. Eventually, the girl’s head hit on to the ground and her already bandaged head, bleeds again. The girl tried her best to keep her conscious but she couldn’t. She fainted few seconds after that and her father just left her laying there on the ground.

--

‘That dream again… …’ A teenage girl who just woke up from her nightmare stares at her plain bedroom before proceeding her way to the bathroom.

After washing up, the thin girl wear her high school uniform. But before she does that, she stands in front of her standing mirror to scan through her body. “Disgusting…” she mutters. She felt like she wanted to cry, there’s old and new scars everywhere on her body. It wasn’t because she fell or she was being bullied at school. Instead, she was being physically abused by her own father.

Is her father alcoholic? No.

Is her father a drug abuser? No.

Her father, Kwon Jae Eun, is one of the most intelligent professor in Korea. His name was being put on the most intelligent scientist in the world. He was globally known by all. He was a renowned scientist.

Due to his work, he often leave his daughter alone. It was heaven for the girl each time her father were outstation. But it was hell each time her father came back from home. There were times when her father didn’t abused her, but he won’t let her to eat. She was treated like she was the slave in the house.

The teenage girl continues to wear her uniform after putting some oilmen onto her new wounds. She didn’t bother to tie her hair up since she needs her long-waist length hair to cover up her wounds behind her neck. As for her forehead, there’s her fringe doing their job to cover the scar that are starting to fade.

Before she turn her door knob, the girl breathe in and out for a few times. She needs to stay calm. Even though that she’s scare to look at her father, but she need to go through this. And she already went through this for the past ten years.

“Come on, Ji Eun. You can do this! Just a few more months and I’ll be free… I guess?”

With heavy steps, Ji Eun walk down the stairs and walk straight to the dining room to look for someone that she don’t want to bump into anxiously.

“Miss, if you’re looking for Sir Kwon, he already went out first thing in the morning. So you can relax for today and enjoy your breakfast.” One of the youngest maid but she’s still older than Kwon Ji Eun politely inform the teenage girl. The maid smile genuinely at her young mistress, assure the younger one about her concern.

The thin and fragile teenage girl nods her head, she bits her lip as she walk into the dining room.

“I don’t think I’ll eat. Just pack it up and give it to me. I’ll eat it during lunch.” She said to the maids who were standing still on their position in the dining room.

“But Miss Kwon, you should eat.” One of the butlers in the house who just came out from the kitchen voice out his thought honestly. This butler always nag at Ji Eun whenever she doesn’t eat her three meals.

“You expect me to eat after what had happened yesterday night?”

During her slumber sleep just now, she was being awaken by her father who just got back from his work trip. Just like any days that she been through, the teenage would be beaten so badly again.

Butler Lee bit his lip, he look down to avoid meeting his eyes with his mistress.

Everyone in this house know everything about Ji Eun’s father. But none of them dare to tell the public nor the police about it because if they do that, their live of maybe their family will be in a great danger. This happened once to one of the newest maid in the house, she wanted to do something to help the young mistress from her father but the maid ended being burn alive in one of the guest house that was owned by Kwon Jae Eun. And of course, Ji Eun would be beaten hardly because of that too.

So because of that, none of them dare to open up their mouth. This is in order to keep their beloved mistress save. Well, at least by keeping their mouth shut, Ji Eun’s father wouldn’t beat her up so deathly.

Honestly, none of the maid and butlers in the house ever saw their mistress’s smile and bright face with exception of one butler --Butler Yoon. He wasn’t the oldest one there but he is the only one that already stay in the house even before the accident that happened to the Kwon family ten years ago.

Butler Yoon or his real name is Yoon Du Jun were being saved by Ji Eun’s father when the Kwon’s family was a happy family. During that time, he was ten years old while Ji Eun was still two years old. Butler Yoon took care of her ever since she was that young, he was the only one that remembered the girl’s smile. But it seems like even he can hardly remember it now.

“Miss Kwon, please eat your breakfast. It’s your favorite dish. The chef and I made it special just for you.” Butler Yoon appears from behind, he smile at her.

The younger one glare at him, “Stop nagging or else I won’t even take the food to school.” She ordered.

Butler Yoon sighs. He really don’t know what to do anymore. It hurts him to see her like this. And it hurts him more when he listened to her crying in pain. He really wanted to do something to stop his boss to do that to Ji Eun but again, scenes of him being beaten by her father flashes into his mind. Yeah, he was beaten once by her father just because he gave Ji Eun some food whereas his master told them not to.

The maids quickly packs up all the food into the Tupperware and handed it over to Ji Eun.

“Want me to send you…”

“No need to bother yourself, Yoon Du Jun. I have legs, I can walk.” Ji Eun cut him off, it was already like a routine for her to reject his offer to send her to school. “And one more thing, stop acting like you guys care about me. It’s disgusting.” She exclaim coldly before turning around towards the front door.

After closing the door, Ji Eun leans onto the door and stare at the floor. A tear drop from her eye. She wipe it off and gently slap her face.

“Stop being such a coward, Kwon Ji Eun. You’re in no place to seek for their help.” She said to herself before walking away from her hell house.

Little did she know that Butler Yoon together with Butler Lee saw her as they were trying to make sure that whether she was alright or not? The both of them look at each other before proceeding to their respective works.

--

Unlike other peers, Ji Eun was walking down the streets alone with her earplugs inside her ears listening to some calm music to ease her mood. There’s students who came from the same school as she is around her but she was the only one that doesn’t have any companion beside her.

‘If only Krystal was here……’ Ji Eun thought, but then she shrugs off the feeling of remembering her memories with Krystal. ‘Just forget it, Ji Eun. All those people who were near you always ended up being hurt. So stop! Stop thinking about making another friend or anything else!’

Ji Eun increases her music volume so that she can forget everything that was inside her mind just now.

As she walk through the hallway, almost every student stop their movement to look at her. They look at her from head to toe, from toe to head. They hated her because she was the genius and the most favored student in school. Even though they hated her, they didn’t dare to touch her since she’s the only daughter of the most intelligent scientist in the country.

Ji Eun puts her bag onto her table and then she immediately lay her head onto the table to sleep. And it is also one of her way to avoid any social contact with her classmates.

Just when she was about to sleep, her phone vibrated. She groans, Ji Eun fish out her phone from her bag. She unlocks her smartphone to see that there was a text message from her father.

‘What does he want now?’

 

From: Father

Butler Yoon will go and pick you up sharp at one. You are not allowed to run away.

 

 

She reads the text message over and over again just to make sure that all those words stick in her mind just in case she’ll forget the order from her father.

---

---

Hey guys! The first chapter are here and I hoped that all of you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be out in another two weeks -- 12th August 2017. Stay tuned ^^