Hikari had always known that life wasn't fair. She had spent her childhood being shunned, whispered about, and treated like an outcast because of her uncle's crimes. But through all of that, she had endured. She had learned to keep going, to build a life beyond the past she never chose.
But this… this was something else entirely.
The whispers at school had turned into open laughter. The side glances had become cruel smirks. Wherever she walked, people nudged each other and snickered, their voices just loud enough for her to hear.
"Did you hear? She practically threw herself at him."
"Shin said she was desperate, begging for it."
"She's just like her uncle… disgusting."
Her hands trembled as she gripped the straps of her school bag. She had barely stepped onto campus when she felt the weight of their gazes suffocating her.
Shin stood at the center of it all, his arms slung around his friends, laughing as if nothing had happened.
Hikari's stomach churned. This wasn't supposed to happen.
She had trusted him. She had let him in. And now, he was tearing her apart piece by piece, throwing her dignity into the dirt while he walked away untouched.
Summoning every ounce of strength she had left, she stormed up to him. Her fists clenched. Her voice trembled, not with fear, but with rage.
"Why are you lying about me?" she demanded.
Shin turned lazily, his smirk widening. "Oh? Lying?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "Come on, Hikari, don't be so dramatic. We both know what happened. You were begging for it."
The crowd around them burst into laughter.
A sharp slap echoed through the air.
Gasps filled the space as Hikari's palm stung from the impact. Shin's head had snapped to the side, his cheek red where she had struck him. His laughter died instantly, his expression darkening.
"You little—"
Before he could finish, Hikari swung again. A punch this time. Her knuckles cracked against his jaw, sending him stumbling back.
For a brief moment, silence.
Then, chaos.
Someone shoved her from behind, sending her crashing onto the pavement. A girl—one of Shin's admirers—grabbed her by the hair and yanked hard.
"You think you can hit Shin and just walk away? You're disgusting."
A foot slammed into her ribs. Another kick followed.
Hikari curled into herself, arms wrapped protectively around her head. She couldn't see faces, only the flashes of uniforms, the blur of movement as the blows rained down. The pain was secondary to the humiliation.
"Why?" she wanted to scream. "Why is it always me?"
Then, suddenly—her family's voice.
"STOP THIS!"
Her parents had arrived. They rushed toward her, her mother kneeling beside her, hands shaking as she tried to lift Hikari up.
For a second, she thought she was safe.
But then—her father turned to her.
"Look at what you've done," he whispered, voice filled with disappointment. "You shamed us. You let this happen."
His words cut deeper than any of the kicks had.
Her mother was crying. Not out of sympathy, but out of shame.
"How could you do this to us?" she sobbed. "Why would you throw yourself at a boy like that?"
She had held on for so long. Through the bullying. Through the loneliness. Through the constant whispers of her uncle's sins.
But this?
Her own family turning against her?
There was nothing left.
That night, the house was silent.
Hikari sat on the floor of her bedroom, her mind blank.
She wasn't crying. She had already cried all she could.
The world had spoken. She had no place in it.
She reached for her phone, typing one final message.
"I tried. But no matter what I do, it's never enough. I hope, in the next life, I can be someone else."
She hit send.
Then, she stood up and walked toward the window.
The night air was cold. The streets below were empty.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes…
And let go.