Chapter 2

Dad's eyes were filled with terror, like he'd just seen something horrifying.

I was scared out of my mind and had no idea what to do. I looked crestfallen and slowly moved closer, wanting to cling to him.

But Dad kept backing away from me. His leg cramped, and he stumbled straight into the hot spring. I rushed over to pull him up, but he struggled with all his might. I didn't know what to do, so I shouted for help at the top of my lungs.

Dad was barely breathing by the time he was dragged to safety. Even then, his eyes had locked on me with a deathly stare, and he kept mumbling under his breath that I was a monster. Then, with that hateful look still in his eyes, he died.

I never figured out how Dad had suddenly come to hate me or what it was that he'd seen.

After his death, Mom took over the company and left me in the care of my maternal grandma Nana. She came home less and less.

One time, by accident, I got home and overheard Mom arguing with Nana.

Nana told Mom to get rid of me, saying that since Dad's side of the family couldn't care less about me, there was no need for Mom to keep looking after me.

Mom was persuaded by those words. She and Nana planned to dump me in the mountains back in our hometown, where I would be left to fend for myself.

I pushed the door open and dropped to my knees in front of Nana. I begged her not to abandon me. "Nana, I'll be good. I'll behave. Please don't leave me."

Mom looked at me with heartache and told me I would be going back to our hometown to live with my paternal grandmother, Gran. I begged her again and again, but she didn't budge.

There was no way I could've fought back against the adults' decision, so in the end, I was sent to the countryside to live with Gran.

Gran treated me well. She lived in a rural village, but she wasn't ignorant. She told me stories and taught me practical skills.

The only issue was that because of her age, she often muttered that it was a good thing Dad had at least left an heir for the Slater family.

From the way she talked, I felt more like a tool for carrying on the family line than a grandson. After that, I kept a polite but distant attitude toward Gran.

When I finished middle school, Mom had no choice but to take me back to the city to be with her because there wasn't a high school in the village.

By then, I had grown up. All Mom did was give me some money every month for living expenses. She didn't bother with anything else.

Growing up without a father's guidance had left me a little timid and withdrawn. It wasn't until college, when I was with my dorm mates day in and day out, that I slowly made a few close friends.

Shawn and Andy had been good friends even before college, but because they were in different majors, they gradually spent less time together.

Shawn was straightforward and generous. I, on the other hand, believed in keeping the peace, and I always yielded like I was a ball of dough that anyone could knead. I didn't have a temper and was a pushover. But whenever someone tried to bully me, he would stand up for me.

I grew more and more dependent on him, and Andy decided I'd stolen his best friend. He stubbornly came looking for trouble with me.

His class had swimming class before ours. Remembering Mom's warning, I went early to the locker room. As I put down my clothes, I noticed a phone call, so I answered it. While I was distracted, Andy slipped in and stole my undershirt.

I figured getting into the pool without it just once wouldn't be a big deal. But when I walked out of the locker room, I saw Andy dangling my undershirt in front of me, taunting me with it.

We were young and hot-blooded, so I lost my temper on the spot and wanted to fight him right then and there.

Andy suggested we settle it with a swimming race. I agreed.

Thinking my jacket would slow me down, I took off my top in front of people for the first time in my life.

Andy was stretching at the side of the pool. When he saw what I was doing, he started to mock me. "I didn't think you'd be even paler under your clothes, pretty boy. You're really—"

He stopped abruptly. His face suddenly drained of color, as if he'd seen a ghost.

I sneered and walked toward him. "Go on. What were you going to say?"

"Ah! You freak! You're a monster!" Just like Dad back then, Andy pointed straight at me and called me a monster.

Before I could get a word out, he bolted out of the pool area in nothing but his underwear.

I hurriedly threw my clothes back on and ran after him, asking the classmates who had rushed over if they had seen anything.

They all shook their heads and said they hadn't seen anything aside from Andy freaking out and sprinting away like a madman.

I gave chase, wanting to at least throw some clothes over him.