* * *

Alarmed at the smudging ink, Jungin quickly wiped his tears and hid the notebook in the deepest drawer before lying down on his bed.

“If I sleep quickly, I can see hyungs sooner.”

The child closed his eyes tightly, fervently wishing for a thousand nights to pass in an instant.

That night, Jungin woke from his sleep in pain. His body felt like it was burning, heat searing through him, and he cried out through his tears.

“Ah, it hurts…! Cough, it hurts so much… hic…!”

He screamed toward the firmly shut door, begging for help, but no one came.

“Cough, sniffle… I’m so cold…”

The fever that had left his body scorching hot was now replaced by a freezing chill. Trembling lips and pale skin betrayed his struggle against the biting cold. Exhausted and unable to bear the repeated episodes, Jungin felt his strength slowly drain away.

“Help… me…”

Never in his life had he been in so much pain.

Jungin twisted his small body in agony, crying out as though something unseen was weighing him down.

“It hurts so much… help me… hic…”

Tears soaked his pillow as Jungin finally gave in.

Reaching under his bed, he fumbled for the hidden cellphone.

“Haa, haa…”

Even moving a little left him gasping for breath.

After struggling to steady his trembling fingers, Jungin called his older brother Jungjin.

The ringtone went on for several seconds before the automated message informed him that the call couldn’t be connected.

“Hic, it hurts… Hyung, I’m hurting… Please help me…”

Wiping his tears, Jungin tried calling Jungwoo, then Jungseo, but as if they’d planned it together, none of them answered.

“Ah… ugh…”

His fevered body, which had felt like it was on fire, began to grow cold once more.

Like being trapped in an ice cave, his stiffened hands and feet refused to move, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

“Hic… ugh…!”

Determined to reach the first floor, Jungin mustered every ounce of strength he had left, sliding off the bed.

The moment his feet hit the floor, his legs gave out beneath him, and a loud thud echoed as he collapsed.

“Hic, ow… ugh…”

Even the loud noise failed to bring anyone to his side.

It felt as though all hope had evaporated.

Crawling forward on trembling hands, Jungin finally managed to open the door and drag his sweat-soaked body toward the stairs.

A pale shadow appeared at the bottom of the staircase.

Seeing a woman looking up at him, Jungin’s eyes widened in desperation.

“Ah, step… mother… please… help me…”

But he had no strength left to hold on.

Blinking through his blurred vision, Jungin reached out toward Mrs. Jang before feeling his body tip forward.

Losing his balance, his small frame tumbled down the stairs, hitting his forehead on the edge.

Warm blood trickled from the gash as Jungin gazed weakly at the woman.

“Please… help me…”

Through his narrowing vision, he watched Mrs. Jang turn her back and walk away, pretending she hadn’t seen him.

As her silhouette disappeared, Jungin closed his eyes, letting go of his lingering regrets.

He missed his brothers so much.

From his eldest brother, who always adored him, to the ever-cool Jungwoo, and even the mischievous Jungseo.

The longing was unbearable.

Tears trickled down his pale cheeks as he finally went limp.

Darkness claimed him.

---

Jungin opened his eyes, squinting at the weight on his body.

What time was it?

Was it still nighttime?

The pitch-black darkness revealed nothing.

“I’m scared… Is anyone there…?”

He wondered if his mother had locked him in the basement because of what happened last night.

Holding back a sob, Jungin tried to lift himself, but his body wouldn’t budge.

“Agh… cough, sniffle…”

Though he willed himself to move, his limbs remained frozen.

In the darkness, his frightened eyes darted around.

Creak.

The sound of rusted hinges signaled someone’s presence.

Startled, Jungin instinctively stiffened, holding his breath as he turned toward the noise.

“You’re awake.”

“…Who are you?”

Light filtered through the crack in the door, illuminating the room.

Only then did Jungin notice his surroundings: red talismans covered the walls, masking a Buddha statue as though shielding it from divine sight.

The suffocating stench of smoke filled the room, making it hard to breathe.

“Cough, cough… Grandma, who are you…? I want to leave… sniff… I want to go home… Please, cough, let me go…”

Had his stepmother abandoned him here?

Jungin’s wide eyes darted nervously around the unfamiliar room, his lips trembling in fear.

The blood-red talismans, still wet, dripped ominously, adding to the room’s eerie atmosphere.

Jungin’s eyes reflected his growing dread.

“Grandma…”

“My dear child.”

“I’m scared… Please undo this…”

The old woman glanced at Jungin, observing the unsettled but anchored soul within his fragile body.

Beads of sweat formed on the shaman’s brow as she suppressed the spirit’s attempts to escape.

“My family is waiting for me… sniff… Please send me home…”

The body of Jungin, wrapped tightly in an unknown silk cord, burst into tears as he stared at the grandmother muttering a prayer.

He didn’t understand why he was here. He should have gone back quickly, but everything felt terrifying.

“Jungin.”

“H-huh, yes…?”

“Choi Jungin.”

At the old woman’s words calling his name, Jungin answered with a voice thick with tears, shaking his head at the unfamiliar surname before his name.

“I’m Lee Jungin… not Choi Jungin…”

Although the old woman didn’t want to do this to the sick child, she had no choice for the sake of her grandchild. She clicked her tongue low and moved closer to Jungin.

“You’re not Lee Jungin. You’re Choi Jungin.”

“No… I’m not Choi Jungin, I’m Lee Jungin…”

“No, you’re Choi Jungin. My grandchild, Choi Jungin.”

“I’m not… I’m Lee Jungin… I miss my brothers. Please let me go…! Ahhh!”

The grandmother, dressed in a splendid hanbok, struck his body with a smooth branch, and the searing pain spread through his whole body like flames.

“Ugh, it hurts…”

“You’re Choi Jungin.”

“No, I’m Lee Jungin… Lee Jungin…”

---

How long had time passed?

Jungin, trapped in the room covered with charms for what felt like an eternity, stared vacantly into the air.

The marks left by the silk cords that had oppressed him were gone, but his once-clear eyes were empty.

“I’m Choi Jungin… I’m Choi Jungin… I was wrong… I’m Choi Jungin…”

The child, muttering like a habit, had a pale, drained face.

The face that had once bloomed like a flower amidst the warm affection of his brothers, even with his scary stepmother and indifferent father, now looked like that of a dead person.

“I’m Choi Jungin…”

At the sound of the door creaking open, Jungin startled and, with a frightened expression, gazed at his reflection in the mirror on the wall.

“I’m Choi Jungin…”

“Child.”

“Y-yes… grandmother.”

The child, who had been brainwashed for so long, erased all his memories to survive.

It was the only way his small body could endure, and it was the choice Jungin had made.

The child, muttering to himself that he was Choi Jungin, nodded at the grandmother’s words that it was time to return to the orphanage.

* * *