**This episode contains some graphic depictions of violence**

July 31st, 200x, Sokcho, South Korea

It was a rainy night, with thunderstorms raging across the Eastern Sea as Soo-hyun watched the rain from her bedroom window. She sighed as she turned around and jumped off the window seat. It was her 6th birthday yet, only she and her mother were celebrating it. Soo-hyun had been looking forward to spending time with her father. She and her mother had barely seen him ever since they had returned to South Korea from Germany, two months ago. Feeling scared and dejected due to the rumbling thunder, Soo-hyun opened her bedroom door and headed downstairs to the living room, where her mother was watching television. She knew her mother would be angry with her, as it was past her bedtime—but she didn’t want to be alone during a violent thunderstorm. The young child tip-toed towards the stairs and was about to call out to her mother, when there was a loud crash at the front entrance.

Soo-hyun saw her mother jump up from her seat, bewildered by the sudden sound. Her mother shakily called out who was there as she grabbed a nearby fireplace poker from the mantle. A few moments of silence passed before a man and woman, dressed in black trench coats, came into the living room. Soo-hyun gaped in shock as she stared at the trespassers of their family’s vacation villa. It was her father! She was about to run down when she saw her mother’s expression. Soohyun’s mother stared at them with a frosty glare—one the young girl had never seen before. The child slowly sat back down at the top of the stairs, watching. Her mother narrowed her eyes as she talked to the two intruders in a calm, but rigid voice.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, right now?” she asked, gripping the fireplace poker tightly against her chest.

“What do you mean, Jae-kyung? Obviously, I’m here to celebrate my daughter’s birthday.” he said with a smirk.

“Celebrate? You call this celebrating? By bringing your mistress with you? I told you to keep it under wraps! Are you insane?!” Soo-hyun’s mother trembled with anger.

“… Ha! Madame Cha, you’re the one who is insane! I told you to let this man go, why won’t you listen? He’s the father of my son! A son is better for the succession of the company, wouldn’t you agree? Stop being so selfish and divorce him!” the woman shouted as she strode up to Jae-kyung (Soo-hyun’s mother) and grabbed her hair.

“How vulgar. Let go of me, you homewrecker! You and your son will never have that company, the rightful heir is my daughter! Not some illegitimate child born out of wedlock!” Soo-hyun’s mother responded as she and the woman got into a scuffle.

The two women tumbled to the ground as they fought with one another, while Cha Min-woo, Soo-hyun’s father, looked on in amusement. In the midst of it all, Jae-kyung managed to slap the mistress’s hand so hard that the giant 20-carat emerald ring on the woman’s finger skidded off under the sofa. No one noticed, as chaos ensued. Annoyed and angry that his wife would dare lay a hand on his mistress and first love, Soo-hyun’s father grabbed a vase from the coffee table and shattered it on his wife’s head. Her mother abruptly stopped fighting back as she fell to the ground, chest flat against the marble floor of the living room. Soo-hyun gasped as tears fell down her cheeks. She quickly covered her mouth as she lay on the ground of the second-floor hallway, staring down at the scene before her for a split second. She quickly crawled away to her room and quietly shut her door. Jumping up to her feet, she ran to the secret crawlspace that was located behind her closet that her mother had commissioned in case of a burglary. The child covered her mouth as she tried to stay quiet. Soo-hyun couldn’t understand why her father was hurting her mom—and who was that woman next to him?

Her father and his mistress smiled as they watched the blood pool under Soo-hyun’s mother’s head before they went off to look for the young girl. Soo-hyun heard them rummaging around her room, calling out for her to come out. The entire time, she stayed quiet and still as a statue, not wanting to be found. Her heart thumped rapidly against her chest as she heard her father inform his mistress that she wasn’t in the room.

“Where the hell would your kid be at? We need to get rid of her too!” said the mistress with an annoyed sigh.

“What do you think we’re doing? She couldn’t have gone far away… Just think, with the two of them gone, like we had planned, our son and you can finally be in your rightful places.” her father replied with a hint of glee in his voice.

“You’re such a horrible father to that girl, but that’s why I love you… You’ll do anything for our son and me. I still can’t believe your wife knew about your affair with me and refused to even let you go… Ha! As if by being your wife will let your daughter be the next successor.” she scoffed.

“Hmm. Come on, let’s hurry and find that brat. Then we can go home to our Soo-ho.” he assured her, with a smile as he grabbed his lover’s hand, leading her out of the room while glancing back at the closet.

Soo-hyun sat there silently, listening to everything. She was frozen in shock. How could her father do and say such a thing? She sobbed quietly, trying not to make a sound, as she yearned for her mother. She was so scared. The young girl didn’t know what to do. She just wanted her mother to be with her. After what seemed like an eternity, Soo-hyun heard the two murderers leave the villa, shutting the door with a loud slam. Jumping out of the secret crawlspace, she ran down the stairs to her mother, who was still struggling to stay alive. Soo-hyun sobbed as she looked at the pool of blood getting bigger and bigger.

“Mama! Mama! Wake up! I’m scared! Mama!” she bawled as she shook her mother’s arm.

“S-Soo… Hyun… Run… Run away… Get… Eomma’s* p-phone… And call… Call Anna…” her mother gasped out as she struggled to breath. She had tears in her eyes as she stared at her young daughter crying at her to get up.

“Mama… Don’t leave me… I’m scared! Mama please!” Soo-hyun screamed as she shook her mother once again, her tears dropping onto the marble floor.

“Soo-hyun… My baby… You need to survive, all right? Protect y-yourself and… return to your place…. Pro—Promise me…”, Jae-kyung gasped as she held onto Soo-hyun’s hand tightly.

“Okay… Okay Mama! I promise… get up! Please!” Soo-hyun pleaded, as she looked around for her mother’s phone.

“Hurry… Before they come… Run away…”

In the corner of her eye, Soo-hyun spotted the emerald ring underneath the couch. She reached out for it and managed to grab it, before she shoved it into her jacket’s pocket. She zipped her pocket as she looked at her mom nodding reluctantly, listening to her mother’s pleas. Soo-hyun was about to get up and run to her mother’s room to grab her phone, when the front door opened. Soo-hyun froze as she stared at the dark hallway, her heart palpitating in her chest. She was petrified. She couldn’t move a muscle as her father walked into the living room with a stoic expression on his face.

“Well, look who we have here. My daughter~ Come here.” he coaxed, as he grabbed Soo-hyun’s arm.

“NO! No! Eomma!!!” Soo-hyun cried out as she was dragged out of the house and into a black SUV. Her mother was unresponsive as Soo-hyun begged her father to let her go.

“Now, now. Be quiet. You want your daddy to be happy, don’t you? You and your mother need to go far, far away, for your dad to be happy. I’m sorry sweetheart, but it’s all for your own good.” the mistress said sweetly as she glared at the young child menacingly.

“Drive.” her father said to a man, who looked like a mafia boss.

The car lurched forward as they made their way to Naksan Temple, located on the slopes of Naksan mountain. Soo-hyun whimpered, frightened and traumatized by what she saw in a span of 40 minutes. The young girl didn’t know what to do, was she also going to die like her mother…? Tears rolled down her cheeks as she silently looked up at her father who had an unreadable expression on his face. They finally reached the peak, as the man stopped driving the car. The mafia boss turned to look at Soo-hyun who stared back in fear. The man smirked as he grabbed her and handed her to her father who picked her up princess-style and walked to the edge of the cliff before putting her down.

“Daddy… please… I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please save me!” she sobbed, as she grabbed onto his pants for dear life, her eyes wide with fear and panic.

“… You should have never been born… Then I wouldn’t have had to do any of this. But… I do hope you survive.” he whispered as he stared down at her coldly before pushing her to the ground. She sat there staring at her father, as she struggled to get up to run after him. Slipping on the wet rocks, Soo-hyun felt herself falling backwards to the raging waters below.

Soo-hyun stared up in shock as she reached out for her father, no sound coming out of her gaping mouth. She watched in horror as her father and mistress looked down at her, staring, before they turned around, walking back to the car. The last thing she remembered was the sound of a muffled splash and a shock of cold water filling her lungs, before losing consciousness. The young child did not know how long she had been out for, but when she finally opened her eyes to a bright white room, she was greeted by a British couple who stared down at her with joy and relief. Soo-hyun stared at them blankly.

Her name was now Clara Astley. Cha Soo-hyun, no longer existed.

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

SIDE NOTES:

*= Korean word for ‘mom’