"It’s all because of you people that I ended up like this—"

Yuri now completely refused to go to school. She didn't bother with any chores either. Instead, she did nothing but waste away her time, staring at her phone and scrolling through social media until late into the night. Watching the lives of influencers earning easy money through ads and sponsorships, only to see her own reflection on the dark screen, made her feel utterly pathetic and wretched.

She would only crawl out of bed when the sun was high in the sky and hunger pinched her stomach. She slept whenever she felt drowsy, living a completely inverted, nocturnal life. After skipping school without a word, she would only make up excuses about being sick when her homeroom teacher finally reached out.

"Yuri. Where exactly does it hurt?" her teacher asked.

It wasn't just once or twice that Yuri had skipped night self-study, supplementary classes, or group projects using illness as an excuse. The teacher already knew it wasn't a health issue, but simply a habitual lie.

"My stomach is upset, and my head hurts."

"You can't get an excused medical absence for just that, Yuri. You need to submit a doctor's note."

"Ugh, I don't have anything like that," Yuri snapped, irritation flaring.

"If you keep this up, it’s going to be marked as an unexcused absence. Yuri. Aren’t you going to college?"

"I’m not going."

In a fit of pique, Yuri slammed the phone down.

Yet, a few days later, the teacher called again. This time, the teacher’s voice sounded thoroughly exhausted. "Yuri. Aren’t you even going to submit your CSAT application?"

Clutching the phone, Yuri finally burst into tears. "It’s already ruined! I’ve been abandoned! What’s the point of taking some stupid exam?!"

With over thirty students to manage and buried under her own heavy workload, the teacher had run out of patience. She said firmly, "The deadline is tomorrow. If you change your mind, let me know."

And with that, she hung up. Hanging onto someone who offered no sympathy was entirely useless.

Thirty minutes later, the phone rang again. Thinking it might be her teacher, Yuri checked, but to her surprise, it was her mother.

"Have you lost your mind?! You’re not even applying for the exam?!" her mother shrieked through the line.

"What’s the point of taking the CSAT?! I’m abandoned anyway! Even if I go to college, I don't have any money. How am I supposed to survive? What good is an exam for someone like me?!"

The sorrow overwhelmed her. What’s the point of an exam when I’ve been kicked out of my own home? It was a thought she had harbored constantly, but voicing it aloud only made the pain sharper.

Over the receiver, she could hear her mother’s shaky breaths. Only after Yuri had sobbed for a long while did her mother finally answer.

"Take the CSAT anyway. Even if you have to guess every single answer. I’ll somehow find a way to convince your father. Surely, your father wouldn't actually..."

...abandon you. Her mother swallowed the last words, unable to bring herself to finish the sentence. Yuri didn't miss that hesitation.

"Dad won't actually abandon me, right? I’m fundamentally different from that disgusting bastard child, aren't I? I was family from the very beginning."

"I’m sure he won't..." Her mother's voice trailed off again.

"Right? You mean it? If I just wait, I can go back home, right?"

Her mother couldn't answer. She merely told her to make sure to submit the application and keep her attendance up before hanging up. Clinging to that thread of hope from her mother's promise, Yuri went ahead and registered for the CSAT.

Even so, she continued to skip school frequently.

Yuri lay in her cramped studio apartment, staring blankly up at the ceiling. She had no intention of fixing her sleep schedule, which had been completely upended since her exile. After spending hours envying the lives of famous influencers on social media, she would finally drag herself up under the dim dusk to scavenge for bread or instant ramen at the nearby convenience store to stave off her hunger.

Only on the rare days she remembered her promise to her mother would she show up at school well past lunchtime, only to slump over her desk and sleep through classes. Since every teacher already knew how unfaithful she was, no one bothered to wake her.

Once Dad's temper cools down, I’ll be able to go back home soon. There’s no way a pathetic bastard child could ever take priority over me, who was family from the start.

She spent each day desperately waiting for that moment to arrive. In the meantime, she sat for the CSAT and begrungledly submitted an application to a university her teacher suggested, based purely on her abysmal grades. It was a teaching college, but an unpopular department at a local university where even a generic tier-6 score could get in. Soon, she received her acceptance notice.

Following the news, her mother called. Heart pounding with nervous pride, Yuri picked up. For the first time since she had been kicked out, her mother asked to see her face-to-face.

Yuri’s heart raced. They agreed to meet at a café rather than her studio apartment. Feeling a strange flutter of anticipation, she put on her favorite white dress before heading out.

"Have you been well?" her mother asked.

She looked far more composed and neat than the time she had screamed at her to get out of the house, but she was still painfully thin, her wrists frail. Yuri immediately let loose a torrent of words, desperate to share everything with the mother she hadn't seen in so long.

"Mom... I got accepted. Gamyeong University, Department of Computer Education. It was so hard moving back and forth between goshiwons and this studio... I was so miserable, but I actually did it, Mom!"

Yuri pulled up a photo on her phone to show her. It was a picture of a laptop screen, showing rainbow-colored glare lines, but the words 'Congratulations on your acceptance to Gamyeong University, Department of Computer Education' were clear as day.

Her mother offered a quiet, "Congratulations," but she refused to lock eyes with Yuri.

"Mom, what’s wrong? Why aren't you looking at me? Are you mad?"

"No, it's nothing like that. Congratulations. You worked hard, my daughter."

With welling eyes, her mother gently stroked Yuri’s hair. But a moment later, she averted her gaze and drew her hand back.

"Yuri, the truth is... I didn't call you out here today to give you good news..."

A chilling wave of dread washed down Yuri’s spine.

"Your father says... now that you've become an adult, he will no longer provide any financial support..."

Yuri felt as though she had been struck on the head with a blunt instrument. She had been counting down the days until she could return home. Not only was that completely shattered, but now she was being cut off financially?

Her mother continued, "He said... he would only give me allowance through a credit card. To tell you the truth, all the money I gave you before wasn't from your father. I secretly skimmed it from our household expenses to give to you. But he found out... and now he’s threatened me to bring back every single receipt whenever I use the card. I can't do it anymore."

Her mother’s lips parted slightly, but ultimately, unable to even look Yuri in the eye, she hastily took a sip of her coffee.

Yuri’s voice shook violently. "What on earth does that mean? What did I do that was so wrong? It wasn't enough to kick me out, but now you expect me to survive alone without a single penny?! What about Heo Jun-hyuk?! Is that piece of trash getting cut off too?!"

Yuri jumped up from her seat, grabbing her mother’s shoulders and shaking them violently. "Is he not getting a single dime either?!"

Her mother could only lower her head, murmuring that she was sorry. The chatter in the café died down, and the manager glanced over at them, but Yuri was in no state to care about her surroundings.

"How am I supposed to live?! Why are you doing this to me?! What did I do so wrong?! It's all because of him. The moment that bastard child crawled into our house, my entire life was dragged into the mud!" Yuri shrieked.

Biting her lip hard, her mother finally covered her face with her hands, her lips trembling. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn't win against your father... I’m so sorry..."

Yuri collapsed back into her seat, gripping her mother tightly as she began to wail. She sobbed so bitterly that every single customer in the café turned to stare, while her mother could do nothing but hold her hand tightly.