Rachel Wang thought she knew what it meant to fight for justice, but the lines between hero and villain blur when she joins Nexus Law Firm. Being in dual roles as both a lawyer and a detective, she's told, "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 24 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭�...
"It's hard to forget your past, when it's written all over your body. These aren't scars; these are stories."
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I was in utter shock, unable to utter a single word. A wave of nausea washed over me. How could anyone commit such a heinous act? At just 14, the horrific adrenaline coursed through my veins. It was my brother-or rather, what was left of him: his arms and a picture of his throat, cruelly sliced. The same brutal method Seo-yeon had used to kill that man was now inflicted upon my brother.
'You stupid, worthless girl! It's your fault Minho is gone! We can't even give him a proper burial. Do you understand what you've done?' my mother screamed, consumed by rage. In her madness, she struck me with my brother's severed arm, that cold, lifeless limb. I couldn't endure it any longer. It was my fault, after all. What if I never took him to the woods? Only if he was here. How could I ever forgive myself for this?
'I'm S-'
'Oh, quit it, for fuck's sake! Don't you dare say sorry-your sorry means nothing but a bunch of empty letters. What are we supposed to do with you now?!' Dad's voice was filled with genuine grief and anger. He truly cared about Minho more than anyone else. At that moment, I didn't even feel like they were my real parents. Mom went inside to get something, and when she returned, the sight of her made my heart twist in agony as if it wanted to leap out of my chest and end my suffering. 'LEAVE, YOU LITTLE WORTHLESS BITCH! I can't bear to take care of you. Leave my house now!' she screamed, throwing a bag at me, packed with my clothes and a few belongings.
'But Mum, I'm just 14. Where am I supposed to go?' I begged, my voice trembling with fear and desperation.
'Rot in hell! Never show your face to us again. You're a cursed, wicked child. Because of you, misfortune has never left us!' Her words cut deeper than any knife, and as she slammed the door in my face, it felt like the final nail in the coffin of my broken heart. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I stood there, my world crashing down around me. Maybe I deserved this, I thought. Maybe I truly was a curse.
The parents discarded the 'child remains' box as if it were a broken toy. With a heavy heart, Little Rachel took small, tentative steps toward an unknown destiny, stepping into a cruel world where the weak perish.
"When they ask me, what my mom was like during my childhood, I close my eyes and try to imagine something normal to respond. But, all I can see is a very small version of me, bleeding & crying myself to sleep.
I ache for something I never had. I had a father, but I never had a dad. You're my family, and I love you. But, you're terrible, you're all terrible."
-
The faint echo of Little Rachel's footsteps lingered in the hushed embrace of the evening street until a figure intercepted her path from behind. Turning, she beheld a young man standing at a distance, his gaze penetrating, as if he bore witness to the nightmares that haunted her existence. Indeed, he did.
With a tender touch, he knelt before her, gently wiping away her tears. 'Little girl, are you finally leaving home?' he inquired softly.
'They kicked me out,' she confessed, her gaze falling to the ground. He understood, for he bore the same scars. He was the brother she never knew she needed-an unexpected alchemy of kinship and solace.
'They kicked me out too. I'm bound for Jinshi City. I've secured employment there. Would you care to accompany me? I vow to shield you until you no longer grasp onto your brother's arm,' he offered, extending his hand to her.
'Can I trust you? How do I know you won't be like my father?' she questioned, her voice tinged with apprehension.
'Family isn't always blood ties. Sometimes, it's found in unexpected persons,' he reassured her, rising to his feet and reaching out for her hand. "So, what say you, little one?"
A smile graced her lips as she interlocked her fingers with his, finding solace in his unwavering presence. Fate, it seemed, had finally turned its gaze upon her. Hand in hand, they embarked on their journey, pledging to safeguard each other at any cost.
As they approached the subway entrance, Little Rachel cast a final glance over her shoulder at her old life, inhaling deeply before whispering, "I will never see you again." This destruction was her rebirth. She did it. She finally did it. She escaped the hell and never heard from those money-sucking monsters again.
(faded talks, cricket noise)
'what was your name again?'
'Lin Ming.'
22 April 2024
'I'm going to be late, hurry up!' Ming's voice reverberated with urgency as he urged Rachel to hasten her steps towards the waiting car.
'Coming, coming. Stop being so impatient,' she retorted, a hint of exasperation lacing her words. Ming glanced at her incredulously, a sigh escaping his lips. 'Oh my God, hurry up and get in,' he urged with impatience evident in his tone.
Things had changed so drastically. Rachel Wang, now hailed as the top law student at the University, embodied the epitome of academic excellence-she was the ideal every student aspired to become, the dream everyone desired to touch. She wasn't born to be soft and quiet, she was born to shake the world at her fingertips.
"She was something to lean against, something violent and fierce and unmoving."
- She preferred dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery-a master of combat, a black belt holder, she excelled in every discipline she pursued. That was her essence, her truth. 'Shit, shit, shit! I'm so late!!' Ming rushed into his office as if he'd be assassinated the next moment. He finds a paper on his desk.
