She was in the delivery room. Beads of sweat pouring down from her forehead to her cheek, to her neck, all the way down to her nightgown. She kept on breathing heavily, inhaling and exhaling warm air. She couldn’t take it anymore. Giving birth was just too hard, especially if you’re a 17 year old girl who got pregnant out of wedlock. Promiscuousity has its price. The doctors were working thrice as hard to help her, their apparatus all on a tray, a number of them crowding around the young mother-to-be, assisting her in childbirth. After one mighty push, blood came gushing out along with the small human being, handled with care by the doctors. The small infant cried and squealed and was handed to the other doctors for a quick wash up. Hyori laid in the hospital bed, exhausted and nearly lifeless. She fell asleep and within a matter of a few minutes, the doctors came back.

“Mrs. Lee, your daughter is here.” the nurse came in with 2 doctors behind her. The baby was cradled in her arms, wrapped around in a warm, fuzzy blanket. She handed it to Hyori. Hyori tried to look happy though she was very disappointed in her parents’ decision to keep the baby as they were too conservative to have it aborted. Plus, they wanted her to learn the hard way, to learn how hard it was to have a child. Hyori had no choice as her father would beat her up if she wnt against them. She already had gone against them and now wasn’t the time to make that mistake again. Sun Joong smiled at the baby, cooed to it like a mother would right after the doctor hands her her newborn child but deep down inside, Hyori was pissed off. She was very angry. So angry, she wanted to drop the child to the floor and scream, ‘I don’t want this anymore’. Her face may look happy but deep down inside, Hyori was fuming mad.

Hyori was born to a family of middle-class workers. They weren’t that rich neither were they poor. They had just the right amount of money to make it through but since Hyori was a teenager and that meant greater expenses in terms of wants and needs, her parents had to work harder and strive more. All the more now that Hyori just gave birth to a child. Initially, her parents were gravely disappointed when they found out that Hyori was pregnant. Hyori said that she would just get an abortion and end everything but her parents were too conservative for that. They didn’t believe in abortion, as much as they didn’t believe in pre-marital . Since new life had just been created, though it was unwanted, they decided to spare its life and just give it up for adoption. Hyori was honestly happier with the abortion idea she had but since her father was very strict and abusive, one that would constantly hurt her each time she’d break a rule, Hyori had to conform. If her father was bad, her mother was even worse. At least her father kept his speeches short. Her mother was a real blabbermouth! Not only did she occasionally hit her daughter, she’d tell her bad things and make her self esteem crash.

But who was the father of this child? Obviously, it was a boyfriend of Hyori’s who left her as soon as he found out that his girl was carrying a child. It had been 9 months since they last spoke and now that Hyori had just given birth, the boyfriend still didn’t make his presence felt. And it was alright with Hyori. She didn’t care. The thing was, she wasn’t keeping the baby at home and was going to put it up for adoption. It didn’t make her feel sad to let go of the child as Hyori never really had any motherly instincts. It was all a huge mistake that Hyori regretted making.

A few minutes later, Hyori’s parents came in and visited their daughter who was lying half-dead on the bed. Her father placed a hand on her forehead, waking her.

“D-Dad? Is that you?” Hyori asked. Her eyes were fluttering and she was dizzy and almost out of coherence.

“Well who do you think? God?” her father jeered. Her father was always cynical and sarcastic. Hyori smirked at this and turned to her right side when she saw her mother standing beside her father. She could still deal with her father but her mother was just an unbearable force. She cannot stand it.

“I know you’re angry with us for having to let you go through this,” her mother spoke sternly. “But you have to realize that this is a human being’s life. This is not just some toy that you can throw away when you think you don’t need it or when it’s broken. This child has small feelings in his small heart and giving it away would mean breaking that small heart of his. And think of it, aborting that child means murder. Imagine what the child would’ve brought to the lucky-”

“Enough.” Hyori faced her parents with an equally stern face. “The baby is here. We’re giving it up for adoption. There’s nothing you can do about it. Stop talking.” Hyori relaxed herself and fell asleep. Her parents looked at her with concern, asking themselves what they had done wrong in order for their daughter to turn out this way.

Hyori watched as her parents disappeared from her sight in the room. Hyori breathed a sigh of relief and continued to watch her baby sleep peacefully with its head against her . Hyori watched it with guilt and humiliation. She shouldn’t be in this situation. No, not right now. Hyori still had a lot of dreams to fulfill and goals to accomplish. Hyori shouldn’t be in the delivery room. She should be in her room designing outfits or at school coming up with brand new fashion trends. Or she should be in modeling school striking poses and learning how to walk down the runway. But instead, Hyori was in the hospital holding a baby girl she didn’t even want. To make matters worse, her boyfriend wasn’t even around to take care of her and the child or to ensure their safety. It was Hyori against the world. Hyori all by herself, handling all the pressures and stresses of teenage motherhood.

Am I really going to give my dreams up for this child? Hyori thought to herself. No, of course not. Hyori wanted to become a supermodel/fashion designer and to her that dream was gonna come true. Nothing was going to stand in the way of that. Not even this child.

“Mom, Dad, my friend and I have found a couple willing to adopt this child.” Hyori said. Her parents turned to look at her with disappointed, distraught eyes. They had no more trust in their daughter who brought themnothing but trouble for the past nine months. Nine pregnant months under their roof.

“Well you better sort this out with your friend because there is no way-” her mother sternly said. Her father placed a hand on her mother’s shoulder and looked at her with caring, worried eyes, a stare that could only come from a father who cares.

“Hyori is 17. I believe that she has burdened us enough. And I still have trust in our daughter.” her father stated. Hyori smiled and looked at her father. Her father looked at her, sad yet hopeful and trusting. He still somehow believed in his daughter despite of the foolish mistake that she made. “She will get by. She said it herself. She’s found a family to take care of this child. Between her parents, her father was the kinder and more understanding one. Hyori’s mother often underestimated her and doubted her; seeing her mistakes more than her achievements and capabilities. Nonetheless, since her father always had the upper hand, her mother had no other choice but to submit to what Mr. Lee had said.

“Alright. Just be sure you can sort this problem out. Make sure this isn’t another one of your lies. “ her mother said without looking back at her. Hyori just watched them walk away from her while the baby in her arms began to cry. Hyori smirks at her mother and looks back down on her baby. For the first time in her life, the ever vivacious life of the party Lee Hyori felt so alone. Nobody was there to comfort her. Since she dropped out as soon as she found out about her pregnancy, her friends thought she had quit schooling, as that was what she told them. But Hyori was actually just going to give birth and nobody but her unsupportive mom and half-supportive dad, her high school best friend, and her boyfriend knew about it. Her boyfriend wasn’t even there. In her sorrow, Hyori closed her beautiful brown eyes and slept with her baby by her side.

The following morning, mother and daughter were released from the hospital. Both were doing fine and were healthy, ready to live their lives together. Hyori was still in a web of worry as she hadn’t contacted the adoptive parents yet. At that very moment, she didn’t know who to talk to first. Figuring she could go on with the conversations later in her apartment, she stayed outside of the hospital, just at the doorstep and waited for a taxicab. One finally came and with a baby in her hand and the clothes she wore the previous night, she hopped in and paid the driver the due amount and told him where to drop her off. The driver drove around the city, making a few wrong turns and a few stops. They finally reached Hyori’s apartment with Hyori’s head spinning out of control. Nonetheless, the driver helped her and her child out and he still received her thanks. In the building, Hyori headed for the elevator and entered, pushed the 5th floor button and waited as it went up. The baby in her arm began to fall asleep with its head resting on her . Hyori tried her hardest not to grow affectionate towards it but the night she spent with it made her feel a bit closer to the child than she thought she would. She fought the urge to fall for the cute infant, though. Finally, she reached the 5th floor and immediately walked to her room. In her room, Hyori placed the baby on the bed and laid down. In her pocket was her phone which she pulled out to dial her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend was Park Joong Soon. Joong Soon was an engineering student whom she met in college when they were in their freshman year. They had been together for 3 years and it was in this year that he got Hyori pregnant. Hyori saw Joong Soon as a hardworking and responsible young man, mature in terms of thought but all that changed when they spent the night together hanging out and Hyori got pregnant. Joong Soon turned cold after that and refused to talk to her for 9 months. Hyori had to endure the pregnancy without a partner by her side. And up until now, she and her ex-boyfriend had not yet spoken a word to each other, prompting Hyori to talk to him just to remind him that he still had a child with her and that was his responsibility still. However, 3 missed calls later and there was no answer. Hyori sighed and decided to just call the couple who was interested in adopting Hyori.

“Hello?” answered the wife.

“Hello Mrs. Kwon, this is Lee Hyori. I have given birth to the child and I would like to know when you want to meet up so we can discuss the adoption?” Hyori asked politely. The wife smirked and rolled her eyes.

“Maybe we can meet tomorrow. I’m kinda busy right now.” she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Hyori knew right from the get go that the couple didn’t like her. They didn’t like the way she dressed and the way she talked, moreso when they found out that she was 17 and pregnant. If the father didn’t have a low count, they would reject this young woman’s offer but since they had no choice and they were really desperate to have a child, they agreed to accept the child that was being handed to them by this child-.

“Oh. Okay. But the baby is here now, just so you know.” The wife gave in to her pleas and agreed to meet up.

“So when do you want to come here?”

“Uhm. Later this afternoon if you’re available?”

“Fine.” said the wife. “Come this afternoon. Bring the child.”

“And would you-”

“No.” the wife said rudely and hung up. Hyori looked at the phone dumbfoundedly and placed it by her side. Still exhausted from the heavy birth-giving she went through the previous night, Hyori closed her eyes and held the baby close to her, using it as a pillow as she only had one for her head. She waited for the wife’s call as her signal that she could already go to their house. Hyori laid in bed with her eyes closed and her mind fixed on one thing: getting rid of the baby once and for all without killing it.

And that ring was all the signal she needed. The phone started to ring and this woke Hyori up. Hyori sat up and checked her phone, saw it ringing and hurriedly picked it up. The wife’s voice came on the other line, just as groggy and annoyed as earlier but Hyori paid no mind. She just wanted business to be done.And with that in mind, Hyori got up and fixed herself, carried her baby as well as all the needed documents and once she was all set, Hyori rushed outside of her apartment and into her beat up car that was handed down to her by her parents. She placed the baby in the safety seat and fastened its seatbelt before walking over to her side and entering the driver’s side, fastening her seatbelt in the process. The young mother stepped on the gas and drove to the couple’s house.

All the while, Hyori felt annoyance towards the couple who was very ungrateful towards her who volunteered to give her child up for adoption so they could have a little bundle of joy. While driving, Hyori’s mind went from blank to filled and racing with thoughts of her parents’ disappointment in her and the degrading words and stares the couple would throw at her whenever they’d meet up. It made Hyori wanted to step on the brakes and just scream her lungs out in her car. Just when she was about to do that, she stopped right infront of a spell store named “Spellbound”. This made Hyori wonder so much that she stepped out of her car and carried the baby with her. The young mother stood outside of the store, staring at the huge banner that had the name of the store written on it in bold, dark letters, suggesting the supernatural. Her baby was sleeping soundly on her chest when she walked towards the house. Something about it was very inviting. Hyori was led by her feet to the doorstep of the house. The house was brown, antique looking and spooky. It had a Bates Motel feel to it, that feel that a serial killer lived in there and was just ready to stab you given the chance. That added to the appeal of the store. With a baby in her arm, Hyori’s mind debated on whether or not she should enter the house and get herself some spells. At this age and with the advancements in technology, she wasn’t really the superstitious type but what the hell, she thought. Doing it was for the heck of it and for seeing if the spells really worked. Hyori held the rusty door handle and pushed the door open. The house was just as filthy, old, and creepy looking as the Bates Motel. Thinking it was more of a store gimmick than of an actual situation, Hyori tried to make herself at home when an old lady came out of the back.

“Yes, what can I do for you?”

“Good morning, I happened to have passed by your store and I see that you’re selling spells? Am I right?”

“Yes. Would you like to inquire?” Hyori looked at her with eyes that said, ‘strange…’ Nonetheless, she walked towards the old lady and asked about some of her destructive, evil spells.

“You got any of those…like…dark spells. You know, I wouldn’t say evil but those spells that are kinda on the dark side.” Hyori explains, cradling the baby in her arms. “It’s for this child.” THe old lady looked at her and went to the back to search for something dark. Hyori saw the couch behind her and sat there with her baby. The lady came out with a small bottle in her hand. Lee Hyori’s face lit up and she stood up to receive the bottle potion from the old lady. She looked at it. It was red, as red as blood and could easily be mixed with any liquid.

“Take this potion. For your child? Mix it with his milk. It’s not really noticable when mixed with beverages.”

“What’s it for? What does it do?”

“A curse will come upon your child. Some kind of power that you will discover later in her life.” said the old soothsayer. Hyori’s eyes glinted with suspicion and curiousity. What could it be, she thought.

“Is it something…”

“Something you will discover later in its life…” the old lady said. Hyori took her word for it and smiled. She agreed to pay for it and once it was hers, she walked away with a potion in one hand and a sleeping baby daughter in the other. She figured that if the couple gave her hell, she’d give them hell back. In the form of her baby girl.

[AT THE COUPLE’S HOUSE]

Mr. and Mrs. Kwon were at home, chilling when they heard Hyori’s beat up park in front of their house. Mrs. Kwon stood up and received the teenage mom. She opened the door and saw the 17 year old mother carrying their child in one arm and a baby kit bag on her right shoulder.

“Good afternoon, I’ve come to give this bundle of joy to you.” Hyori said with a smile. “Let’s proceed with the adoption.” They let her in along with the rest of Hell…