Slap! “I told you to clean up this floor, but it’s still filthy!” Kevin’s cheek stung sharply from Hoon’s sharp slap. He clutched at his stinging cheek protectively, keeping his eyes turned down to the floor. 

“You're so useless! Do it again! And you better do it right!” Hoon grabbed Kevin’s chin, turning it roughly towards him. Kevin winced as his stepdad’s fingers dug into his skin. 

“I mean it…” Hoon whispered menacingly, eyes flashing coldly. He pushed Kevin’s face aside harshly, making him lose his balance, so that he fell to the wooden floor with a loud thud. Even though he felt the jarring pain throughout his body, Kevin held back his cry of pain. He was used to getting punished for the smallest things, and didn’t want Hoon to have yet another excuse to hurt him. Hoon laughed cruelly, leaving him on the wet floor, and strode away to another room. Kevin started to get to his knees, but then froze as he heard his stepbrothers’ snickers close behind him. Someone jerked him up by his ear, pinching it, and this time, he couldn’t hold back a yelp. His oldest stepbrother, Kibum, was smirking at him.

“After you’re done with this, Kevin, I need you to clean up my room. And… you better not steal anything either... or you might find yourself without any food for a week.” He suddenly pushed Kevin to the floor and turned away on his heel. Dongho snickered as his brother left, jabbing Kevin’s side with his foot.

“Yeah, clean up my room too!” He glared down at the fallen boy once again before following his older brother, stopping to kick at the water-filled bucket as he passed by. The bucket fell over, water spilling across the floor. “Oh, and don't forget to clean up this mess too!”

Kevin let out a shaky breath when his stepbrothers finally left him, his eyes stinging with the injustice of it all. I’ve never stolen anything from them. They’re the ones that have stolen everything from me. They’ve taken my home, my mom, even my life! What did I ever do to get treated like this? He grabbed the brush tiredly, beginning the tedious task of scrubbing the floors of the mansion again, even though they were already sparkling clean. 

Hours later, Kevin trudged exhaustedly up the countless flights of stairs until he finally reached his room in the attic, breathing a sigh of relief. Even though the room was bare and cold and tiny, he was happy to be here. This was his only sanctuary he had from his cruel family, and one of the only places he could completely relax at. Kevin sighed, sinking down onto the hard mat that made up his bed and curled up into a little ball, covering his aching body in the thin blanket. He was too tired to care that he was filthy, that he smelled horrible, and that he hadn’t had anything to eat since a poor breakfast of stale bread and old cheese. He reached beneath the stone-hard pillow, the tension seeming to melt from his body as his hands closed around the small, heart-shaped silver charm that used to be his mother’s. It was the only thing he had left of her, and it was like a magic charm, something that seemed to take away his stress and fear and pain. It was the only motivation he had to keep going, to keep living another day. Because every time he held the charm, he remembered his mom’s sweet smile, her warm hugs, how she used to rub his back when he had nightmares, and most of all, he would remember how it felt to be loved. 

He wished he could go back in time to warn his mom of what type of people Hoon and two sons really were. Back then, he and his mom had been alone, but they were both happy, with everything that they needed and everything that they ever wanted. Even though they were rich, they lived simply, and he remembered how his mom would take him with her down to the village every week, where she would greet her friends and help out the poor. She was so gentle, and so sweet that it never seemed like she was giving out charity. Her downfall was that she cared too much about others. 

When she met Hoon, she was completely taken in by him. Both of them were. Hoon was sweet and kind, caring and funny. And poor. When the two suddenly announced they were getting married, Kevin had been ecstatic. He would finally have a full, story-book family, and he was so excited about having brothers. So, when he was thirteen, his mom married Hoon.

But it was strange, not what Kevin expected. They were different after marriage. Sometimes, when he came home from school, he would find his mom crying silently, and he would ask her what was wrong, but she would just smile at him and gather him in a warm hug, whispering how happy she was. But Kevin knew that wasn’t right. 

Hoon had become a different person when he became apart of their family. He had become cold and unfaithful, ignoring his mom. He no longer cracked any jokes, no longer fluffed Kevin’s hair, and was gone from their home for hours, only coming home late in the night, smelling like cheap perfume and liquor. Their money started to dwindle down from Hoon’s frequent gambling.

His two sons were horrible. They bullied Kevin, threatening to do more harm to him if he told his mom, stealing his weekly allowance and pinching his body through his clothes. When Kevin looked into the mirror, he would see bruises marked all across his body, but never anywhere visible to others. He hated them so much, all three of them. Kevin wished they could just go back, back to the time before, when they had been so happy. Because no one was ever happy anymore. 

That was when his mom started to withdraw into herself. She still made her weekly visits down to the village, and he would still go with her, but it was like his mom was a shadow of her former self. She seemed faded, and when she smiled, it never reached her eyes. It scared Kevin when he looked into her eyes. It was like she wasn’t there and didn’t see the things he saw, and he would fight back tears, hugging her frail body close to him. 

 

One day, his mom got sick. When the doctor finally came, he only shook his head sadly, saying that she wouldn’t make it. That was when Kevin stopped going to school. He stayed up every night, terrified that every breath his mom took would be the last one, wiping her brow with a wet cloth. He sang softly, fighting back tears and sleeping by her bedside every night, only to jerk awake every few hours, his fear paralyzing him until he heard his mom’s faint breathing in the dark. He would sigh in relief and then hold her cold hand, warming it in his own.

It was a cold, winter morning when he woke up to silence. “…Mom?” he called out, but she didn’t answer him. She lay there on the bed, her hand still in his, her face lifeless and her eyes slightly open, staring at nothing. Kevin started sobbing desperately, holding his mom like she was the only thing that held him onto the earth. 

“No! Mom! Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me here alone, mom! I need you! Don’t leave me!” His body shook violently as he cried, his tears damping the sheets.

The servants heard his cries, and they had to pry him off his mother. 

He couldn't stop crying. It seemed like the tears wouldn't stop coming, no matter how many times he wiped them away.

 

The funeral was hardly over before they took everything away from him. He only managed to save his mom’s heart charm, only because it was so small, because Hoon sold everything that belonged to his mom, and everything that belonged to him. He only had three pairs of old pants and shirts, and they put him into the cold attic, far away from everyone else. They started to treat him like he was a slave, not family, and Kevin was numb and exhausted all the time. He started to forget what it felt like to be happy, what it felt like to smile. 

 

Now, after eight years of being treated like worthless dirt, Kevin had almost forgotten that once, a long time ago, someone had cared about him. Someone had once cared when he was sick, someone once cared about his dreams, someone once cared whether he lived or died. A tear dripped down onto the pillow, absorbing into the fabric, but Kevin smiled. He smiled because it meant he was still alive. And he knew that someday, he would get out of this place. Someday, he would make something of himself, and he would never have to deal with his stepfamily again. His eyes drooped, and before he knew it, Kevin was fast asleep. 

He had no idea that someone was watching him through the skylight.

 

~*~~*~~*~~*~

 

.......Eli lol ^o^