Chapter 1

On the anniversary of Grandma's death, my eldest brother wanted me to atone, and he forcibly dragged me—fresh off heart surgery—up the mountain to tend Grandma's grave.

Halfway up the slope, a heart attack hit me and I collapsed to the ground in agony.

Instinctively I turned to my second brother, the doctor, for help—but to my shock, Ralph spoke first, his face full of disgust.

"Grandma may have treated you harshly, but she died saving you. How can you nurse a grudge and fake being dead just to get out of paying your respects to her!"

Before I could answer, Cassandra took Ralph's arm, leaning in close and affectionate. "Ralph, don't be angry. If Jean won't pay her respects to Grandma, I'll go in her place."

Ralph glanced at me and said through gritted teeth, "What an ingrate! She isn't worth a single one of Cassie's fingers!"

Samuel joined in. "Jean Henson, I don't care how you fake it—even if you're dying, you're going to hold on until you reach Grandma's grave and kowtow and apologize!"

They hauled me up by force, and after a few steps I pitched forward hard into a thicket full of thorns.

When I opened my eyes again, I found I had left my body and become a wisp of soul.

Ralph, I'm sorry.

I didn't disobey you on purpose. I just couldn't hold on any longer.

……………………

1.

"Jean Henson, haven't you caused enough of a scene?!"

Samuel was burning with rage, and he drew back his leg and kicked me viciously.

The force was brutal. My corpse slid downward, out of control, my whole face driving into the bushes, blood pouring out.

That patch of crimson stung Ralph's eyes. In the end he couldn't bring himself to leave me there, and he reached out to help me up.

But the instant he touched my body, a pair of soft, delicate hands pulled him away.

Cassandra crouched down, bent close to my ear, and spoke in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear:

"Jean, sweetie, stop making a fuss."

"Last night you said you wished Grandma would die sooner, that you'd never kowtow to her and apologize. Saying angry things is one thing—but how could you actually do this! Whatever you think, Grandma raised you. You can't be so ungrateful."

"Get up now, don't make your brothers angry."

As her words fell, a flicker of rage crossed the depths of Ralph's eyes. He knit his brows, and his voice suddenly rose.

"Jean Henson! I never imagined you could even say such things. I thought you were just immature, but I never dreamed you had no conscience at all!"

"Right now, this instant! Get up, get on your knees and go kowtow to Grandma and admit your mistake!"

His words were carried off, leaving only the whistling of the wind.

Seeing that I still didn't stir, Ralph finally couldn't hold back. From somewhere he found a length of cane and swung it down across my back.

Cassandra reached out as if to stop him. "Ralph, you've always doted on Jean. She's young and doesn't know better—that's the only reason she'd do something like this. Don't take it to heart—it would be a shame to damage the bond between siblings."

At that, a chilling cold radiated from Ralph, and the look he gave me was like ice. "Right—it's precisely because I've always been too indulgent with her that she's grown so entitled she's turned into a complete ingrate!"

"It's all my fault. Now I'm going to discipline her properly, in our parents' place!"

With that, the thorn-covered cane lashed hard across my back, and bloodstains bled through my lake-blue shirt.

2.

Even though I could no longer feel the pain, Ralph's look of disgust was like a sharp thorn driven into my heart.

A fine, relentless ache spread like vines, tendril by tendril, into every inch of me.

The year I was five, after our parents died in a car crash, the three of us siblings were sent back to Grandma's house.

That crash left me with severe post-traumatic stress, my moods swinging up and down.

It made Grandma, who already favored boys over girls, hate me even more, and she would beat and curse me constantly.

My two brothers always shielded me, never letting me get hurt in the slightest.

Ralph had been admitted to a top university in the Capital, but to protect me he gave up his place and chose a lesser local college close to home.

And Samuel, who dreamed of becoming a singer, turned down the offer from a music conservatory and threw himself into the medical field, all to treat the aftereffects of my trauma.

Everyone said the Henson brothers spoiled me to the skies.

Even I firmly believed I would always be my brothers' cherished favorite.

Until Ralph brought Cassandra home.

She was Ralph's junior schoolmate. Her family was poor, and like us she had lost her parents young.

But she never wallowed in self-pity.

She was beautiful, bright, and lively, brimming with a vitality that could infect everyone around her.

At first, Ralph solemnly promised me:

"Cassie lost both her parents when she was young. She got into college through her own hard work, but she has nothing to live on. I really can't just leave her to fend for herself."

"Don't worry, her coming here won't take away any of your brothers' love for you. We'll always love you the most."

Hearing those words—that she'd lost both parents—filled me with pity, and I accepted her from the bottom of my heart.

But she was always hostile toward me, doing everything she could to make me lose my temper at her in front of my brothers.

On Cassandra's birthday, my brothers prepared the gifts she'd wanted, but none of them satisfied her.

She kicked up a fuss demanding my bracelet—a keepsake my mother had given me before she died.

For the first time I refused her, but Ralph scolded me for being immature, and Samuel urged me to be more gracious.

I wouldn't budge, so Cassandra waited until no one was watching and snatched at it.

I gave her a gentle push, hardly any force at all, yet she fell hard to the ground.

That was the first time I saw anger in Ralph's eyes. He raised his hand at me, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to strike.

After that, my brothers were disappointed in me, and their attitude slowly grew cold.

Until Grandma died saving me, and they lost all patience with me—grew sick of me, even.

They watched me be worn down by heart disease until I hardly looked human, and they felt nothing.

Alone, I went from hospital to hospital, and at last I got my heart surgery.

I thought that as long as I was healthy and no longer a burden to my brothers, they would love me the way they used to.

But now I've seen with my own eyes their disgust for me—and they've even raised their hands against me.

My chest felt like it had been smashed open, a gaping hole gushing blood.