Chapter 78

"Hey, Ayeon!"

Thud!

As soon as she opened the door, a carton of milk fell down with a good thud on her head. The white milk trickled down her hair.

Laughter spread like paint.

"Ah, I was about to tell you to be careful. Damn, too late."

"Ugh, could you have said it a bit faster?"

"Wow, the smell of milk."

"......"

Ayeon stared blankly at the milk dripping from her chin, soaking her face. But there was nothing else she could do.

She casually shook her head and tried to sit down in her chair. Just as she was about to sit down,

Creak—

The chair slipped backward as if it had been waiting for her. It was the work of a classmate sitting behind her.

"Hey, were you trying to sit down? Sorry, my tint fell down. Could you pick it up for me?"

"......"

Ayeon hesitantly bent forward. And at that moment,

"No, not there."

Squish. Her hand was stepped on hard.

"Here."

Ayeon was 14 years old at the time, just starting her first year of middle school.

After losing her parents in a gate accident, Ayeon grew up in an orphanage. For some reason, this fact had spread throughout the school from the moment she enrolled.

Ayeon thought that this intense bullying was probably because of that. But looking back now, there might have been no reason for the bullying at all.

Lunchtime.

"Hey, eat this."

Splat—

Soup splashed onto her lunch tray. A classmate suddenly leaned in, looking at Ayeon, who was frozen with a spoon in her hand.

"You're on welfare, right? You can only eat ramen at home, so you should eat as much as you can during lunch."

"I heard she's just an orphan, not a welfare recipient."

"Hey, eat mine too."

Splat. The half-eaten braised pork sauce mixed with the mess on her tray.

"What are you doing? Not eating?"

"......"

Ayeon shakily lifted the spoon. As she brought the revolting food waste to her mouth, she felt a wave of nausea.

She scanned the classroom with her watery eyes. A few classmates met her gaze, but they quickly looked away.

Giggles......

A typical scene. No one reached out to Ayeon in that environment.

"Apparently, at that age, you gradually become friends while fighting. Ayeon, try to be brave and approach your classmates. I'll support you."

Her homeroom teacher was the same.

School life was hell for Ayeon. The orphanage was much better than this place. At least there, she had friends in similar situations.

I want to go back.

In the empty classroom after school, Ayeon stared at the terrible graffiti on her desk.

"Ayeon, I'm sorry. I can't run the orphanage anymore."

The sick director said this as she sent Ayeon away from the orphanage. The disease was so rare that Ayeon couldn't even remember its name.

"But the new orphanage you're going to is really a good place. I've already talked to them and asked them to be nice to you, so don't worry. Understand?"

"......Yes."

"I'll come back for you as soon as I get better."