If you saw Oh Soo Young on the streets coincidentally, you would  have thought that she was your typical rich missy, with two bodyguards protecting her everywhere she goes and riding her limousine to and fro school with her poodle. And that’s where you stopped being right.

Oh Soo Young had no friends. Everyone who had any intentions of befriending the girl with dark eyes, auburn hair and a lonely gaze killed it when they saw the two muscular, burly bodyguards that were hired to stay by the young missy’s side 24/7.

She hated her family and how things worked there but she had no way of escaping for her ‘bodyguards’ never let her out of their sight. They were more like prison wardens not letting her interact with the rest of the world, rather than keeping danger out. She knew they were acting on her father’s, no scratch that, her step-father’s orders but she couldn’t help but feel anger towards them. She was not allowed to be disobedient or throw childish tantrums in front of her stepfather and that was something she had to learn the hard way.

Her stepfather had a whip hung behind the door of his study room and whenever news of her misbehaviour reached his ears, he would summon her into the room and she had to endure the whippings without crying or protesting for that would make him hurt her longer and harder.     When she was finally dismissed from the torture chamber as she would call it, she would walk to the door furthest away from his room, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall.

“I must not cry. Not now, not here. I can do this. I have endured for so long. I can do this.” She would mutter these to herself over and over again like chanting a mantra.

When she felt the wetness on her cheeks, she quickened her pace and cursed at the largeness of the mansion. She sighed in relief when the view of her door appeared. She walked as fast as she could, not daring to run for fear that one of his servants might spot her and tell on her. She quickly dug for the key and unlocked the door and quietly slipped in before closing the door quietly.

The room was her oasis. She felt at peace. The room had dolls. Dolls that her father made. Dolls that her mother cherished and loved. Dolls that were the only ones who could comfort her and made her feel loved. Those dolls were the only things she had left in memory of her parents.

Tears finally fell freely as her heart ached for her father’s protective gaze and her mother’s lovingly smile. She wiped her tears with a sniffle and climbed up the ladder to the top shelf and took the dirtiest and biggest doll. That was the first doll her father made when he first started out as a doll maker and had gave it to her as a gift. She the doll’s hair and kissed its forehead just like how her father would do to her when he tucked her to bed. She laid down and fell asleep, hugging her doll.

“Come on darling, wait a while alright? I am coming back and I have a surprise for you.” Her father’s soothing voice appeased her anger a little.

However, it was her birthday and she was upset that her father could not make it in time for her birthday party. All her guests had gone home and she said her goodbyes with a sulk. It was her mother who called him and asked him to pacify their daughter.

“No! I want you to come back! You broke your promise to me! You are a liar!” She shouted into the phone and hung up on her father.

She then stormed up to her room, ignoring her mother’s calls. She hid underneath her blanket and slowly, the feeling of guilt crept up to her. Was she too rude? It was after all, not his fault. She then decided that when he came back home, she would apologize to her father and give him a kiss on his cheeks. He had said once that he loved it when she kissed his cheeks. She smiled, happy with herself and finally went to sleep.

Suddenly, she could feel arms shaking her. She opened her eyes, thinking that her father had returned, only to be greeted by her mother’s tear-stained face.

“Your father- your father got into a car accident! We need to hurry to the hospital now!”

On the way to the hospital, she clasped her hands tightly and begged as hard as she could not to let the father she loved so dearly be taken away from her. Her prayers were not heard. Her father was pronounced dead when they arrived. She saw her mother slump to the floor, wailing. She bit her lips, not willing to believe that her father had abandoned her.

Days passed and Soo Young was still in denial, adamant that her father was playing a big prank on her and he would be back.

“He would always come back. Always.” She mused.

She closed her eyes and shut out her mother’s wails. She only opened them when she heard footsteps approaching them. She saw a female police officer with a sympathetic look. These few days, she came to hate that look.

‘Stop it! Stop looking at us like this! My father is lying to all of you. He’s not dead. He is just giving me a surprise.’ She thought.

It was only when she saw the huge doll behind the female police officer that tears started falling. She cried harder and harder.

Her father was dead. And it’s all her fault.

Soo Young woke up with a jolt. Sunshine was streaming into the room and she knew that it was time to go for school. She placed the doll back and looked at the family portrait that was hanging on the wall. She bit her lips, willing herself to not let the tears fall. She quickly slipped out of the room and locked it.

And just as she walked around the corner, her two bodyguards came into view. They both nodded at her as if asking her if she had a good night’s rest. She nodded in return and went to her bedroom.

That room was a secret. No one knew what that room was for. It was always locked and only one person could enter the room and that was her. Her bodyguards always gave her the time alone in that room and they never mentioned anything to their boss. Her stepfather didn’t bother about that room because he always assumed that it was a storage room and he never had the time to check the room out.

Her stepfather was her mother’s secretary and he was always there beside her even before her father passed away. She hated him and he knew. But he did not mind. He knew that he would get revenge on that fourteen-year-old, ignorant puny girl. Her mother slowly fell ill. The doctors said it was because she could not get over her husband’s death and that caused a toll on her physical and mental state. Her parents could not bear to see their beloved daughter moping around with lifeless gaze that they married her off to him, not caring about the protests of their granddaughter.

Her mother never recovered and even got worse and she suspected it was the works of her stepfather but she never had the evidence. Soon, her mother passed away, not before passing her the key to the room. She cried for now she was truly alone in this big world.     

When she first opened the door to the room, she was utterly shocked at the existence of it. The room was filled with all the dolls that her father made. She spotted a letter on the table and it was addressed to her.

Soo Young, I think I am a failure as a mother. I wasn't able to comfort you when your father passed away because I blamed you for his death but I forgot- he was your father too.

The doctors say the cause of my sickness was due to the trauma and loss I faced was too big for me to handle. That's utter bull. You know it. I know it. But the only difference is that I can't do anything about it. You can.

Stay strong my dear daughter. And if times get too tough, I hope this room would provide you with some comfort.

Now this room became her oasis, her world which contained traces of her parents' love.

The master hated Oh Soo Young so badly. Her mere existence was a painful reminder of how he had lost his first love to a pathetic doll maker. He was in love with her mother ever since they were in high school.

He was often bullied by the arrogant jocks because of his nerdy looks and his grades but he gritted his teeth and endured, plotting his revenge secretly. However, one day, her mother saw them bullying him and stood up for him. He was shell-shocked and immediately, he knew that she was the one for him. But then he noticed the arrogant gaze of the head of the jock changing into something he was very familiar with-affection.

Soon, he became friends with her and he was always over the moon every time he caught her eyes and she returned with a smile. He thought he had won over the jock. And one day, when he finally mustered enough courage to confess, he saw the jock right in front of him confessing to her. And his heart broke with dismay when he saw her accepting the confession with a huge grin on her face.

It was then and there he decided that he was going to get his revenge on the jock by stealing her away from him. He then began to stick very closely to her and worked as her secretary. The jock suddenly discovered his passion for dolls and went on to pursue a career. His heart broke even more when Soo Young arrived into this world. He hated her because her presence just meant that the distance between her mother and him widened.

He waited because that was the only thing he could do. And good things always happened to people who waited. He waited for fourteen years and the day finally arrived. The jock-turned-doll-maker had died! He jumped for joy. Now his chance had finally arrived. He comforted her and took good care of her daughter, ignoring her daughter’s dirty glares. He made sure her parents saw how caring he was towards her and her daughter. Then, he subtly proposed the idea of her getting married again.  

She was then already very ill but he knew that she would recover soon and then, she would chase him away, leaving him no chance to stay by her side. So, he secretly added poision bit by bit in her food. That way, she would still be ill but alive. However, he added a little more than what he should have and she passed away, leaving him alone in this world with a stepdaughter that he hates.

He drank the last few drops of his wine and stood up. He was drunk already, he knew. He felt a rush of dizziness and shook it off. He wobbled unsteadily and left his study room. The servants saw his flushed face and quickly got out of his way. Their master was unpredictable in the bad way when he was drunk.

He would smash things, laugh unexpectedly or grab hold of one of the servants and call her ‘Eun Young’ fondly. They later realized that was the name of the late madame.

That day, he had already broken five vases and three mirrors. However, he was particularly interested in that room that was never opened. He groggily tried to make his way there. Soo Young’s bodyguards realized the impending danger and tried to stop him.

“Sir, that door can’t be opened.”

He pushed them away with a force that surprised him.

“I am the master of this house. I can go anywhere I like. Bring me the key!”

When he saw the bodyguards hesitating, he grew angry and grabbed the collar of one of the bodyguards.

His voice grew into a quiet sneer.

“I said, bring me the key.”

The other bodyguard scrambled to Soo Young’s room and fetched the key from her dresser. He apologized to her mentally while assuring himself that nothing would happen if he just showed the room to the master.  

Stumbling into the unlocked room, the master’s eyes widened. There were dolls everywhere. The bodyguards stared, shuddering at the lifeless eyes of the dolls. It was as if the dolls knew all of their darkest secrets. The master glanced around the room, shocked and amazed at how long the existence of this room remained a secret to him. Then he saw something that broke his small heart into pieces. The family portrait of them. His sadness changed to  anger which took over his mind and body. He screamed in agony and pushed the family portrait off the shelf. He grabbed one of the dolls and tore her head off. He pushed the whole shelf of dolls down and started stomping on every doll until their stuffings came out. The bodyguards watched, terrified. They realized how crazy the master was.

The master stormed out of the room and they breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe his lunacy was over and he was back to being sane, they thought and left the mansion to fetch the young missy from her school.

However, they did not see the master taking petrol from the garage. The servants saw and hurriedly chased after him, afraid of what he was planning to do. Anger clouded his vision and all he knew at that moment was that he had to get rid of all things related to him. The presence of the jock threatened the master’s power even though he was dead. His fists trembled, thinking about Oh Soo Young keeping the room a secret. How dare she! She had no respect for him at all! He was going to burn down the room and watched that pathetic girl beg and cry. And he would watch, pleased with himself that he would finally have her under his control.

He splashed the petrol around the room and especially on the dolls and the family portrait. The servants watched, terrified and yet unable to stand out to stop the master. They crouched behind the wall, biting their lips. He couldn’t possibly be thinking...

When the master took out his lighter, they let out a small gasp. What should they do?

Oh Soo Young knew the instant she saw the bodyguards giving furtive glances at her that something was terribly wrong. She clutched the hem of her skirt nervously and urged them to drive faster silently.

The ride home felt like an eternity. She quickly got out of the car and saw black smoke coming out from the mansion. Her eyes widened. No...!

She rushed into the mansion and ran down the hallways. Please prove me wrong please, she pleaded for the second time.

Soo Young skidded to a stop when she saw the huge flames engulfing her door. She turned around when she heard a chuckle.

Her stepfather approached her with a glint in his eyes.

“You have been a very naughty girl, Soo Young. The fun’s over. Now it’s time for you to get what you deserve for disobeying me.”

He grabbed her by her arms and started dragging her away from her room.

“No...!” She cried. Her room... Her only memory of her father and her mother. She struggled against her stepfather’s hold. The only memory she had left of them burning to ashes.

Father, I am sorry.

And she pushed her stepfather away from her with all her might. She rushed into the room. She felt the immense heat. She could hear the screams from outside.

Goodbye cruel world   

She spotted the broken family portrait and crawled towards it with the smoke blinding her vision. She shook off the glass and brought the photo towards her chest. She laid down on the burning floor and closed her eyes.

Father, Mother, I am joining you soon.