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홈 / The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass / Chapter 1

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The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass
The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass
작가: Pumpkin Scoop

Chapter 1

작가: Pumpkin Scoop
A faint warmth spread across my palm, carrying the barely-there scent of the sachet.

I looked down. The exam pass I thought I had lost for good was already in my hand. Mom had forced it there. The edges had been rubbed smooth. This was not something that had just been pulled out from under a couch.

Mom did not spare me so much as a glance. She reached for the serving spoon, scooped up a braised short rib that had been stewed until tender, and set it in front of my sister, Sofia Summers.

"Eat up, Sofia. You worked so hard through the college entrance exam. I braised these ribs just for you."

The warmth in her voice, the tenderness and the devotion… They were things I had never once heard her direct at me.

Sofia sat across from me in a brand-new dress. The new LV bag rested on the chair beside her. She was beaming, her smile sweet and picture-perfect. She picked up her fork, took a small bite of rib, and spoke in that honeyed voice of hers.

"Thanks, Mom. You're the best."

Then she looked up at me. There was concern on her face, and her tone was breezy, almost entitled. "Don't be upset, Paige. So you couldn't take the exam. It's just one more year. You'll definitely get in next time."

Before I could say a word, Dad dropped a piece of roast pork onto my plate. "Enough. It's not like anyone's stopping you from retaking them. Who's that long face for?"

The pork glistened with grease. It was Sofia's favorite kind, more fat than lean, and the oiliness alone turned my stomach.

His voice carried a thread of impatience. "You're the one who didn't keep your exam pass safe. Who else is there to blame? You've got no one to point the finger at but yourself. You're a grown adult. The exam is one of the biggest moments of your life, and you still managed to screw it up. It's embarrassing just talking about it."

The accusations landed without a shred of mercy.

The roast pork on my plate gave off its greasy aroma, but all I could taste was bitterness. Was it really my fault?

The night before the college entrance exam, I had carefully placed my exam pass into the innermost pocket of my pencil case. I had checked three times, making sure nothing was missing, before I went to bed.

Yet the next morning, the pocket was empty. The exam pass had vanished. My heart had dropped, and I blamed myself for being so careless.

If I had not already been guaranteed my spot, missing the college entrance exam over something that stupid would have ruined my life.

I gripped the exam pass in my palm. It carried the unmistakable scent of the sachets from Mom's closet. Every last trace of guilt and self-blame evaporated in an instant, and all that remained was a chill that cut straight to the bone.

It had not been my carelessness. It had not been my failure to keep it safe.

My own mother had hidden my exam pass and single-handedly destroyed my chance to take the college entrance exam.

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  • The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass   Chapter 11

    I wanted to tell her that little girl was brilliant, that she deserved to be treated well, that she had finally broken free from the people and circumstances that had made her miserable, and that she could finally live for herself.The days passed one by one. I was settling into life at Glenmore University. My grades were climbing steadily, and my part-time work was going smoothly. My savings were growing too, so I no longer had to live at the mercy of anyone else's mood.Then, half a year later, I logged into a social media account I had not touched in months and found a private message from Sofia. With every other line of contact blocked, it was the only way she could reach me. She had written several long paragraphs.She told me that after I left, Mom fell seriously ill. She spent her days in tears, barely present as she constantly murmured my name. Her health had deteriorated badly.Dad had been furious at first, saying I had let my head grow too big and refused to be kept in l

  • The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass   Chapter 10

    Dad scowled and snapped, "Enough! Stop fighting! What good does arguing do?"He turned to me, trying to assume the air of the head of the household, his tone dismissive."Paige, what's done is done. Your mother was wrong to do what she did. But it's not like you lost anything. You still got into Glenmore University, so let's put this behind us. It's over. Nobody will bring it up again."Put it behind us? I almost laughed at the absurdity. I shook my head slowly. "That's not going to happen."My voice was quiet, but there was nothing uncertain about it. "If I hadn't gotten into Glenmore University, that hidden exam pass would have cost me the exam, and my entire future would've been destroyed."You think saying 'let's move on' is enough to erase 18 years of being treated like I didn't matter? You think that cancels out everything you've done to me? You made me work part-time jobs so I could save up for Sofia's spending and vacation money."All you ever cared about was how she felt

  • The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass   Chapter 9

    "All because you're afraid I'll outshine Sofia. Because you're afraid she'll lose her nerve. Because you're afraid she'll be unhappy!"That ripped away the last shred of pretense.Mom's face went white. Her eyes darted in a panic, and she lashed out. "What are you talking about? Hiding your exam pass? You lost that thing yourself! We found it under the couch! Don't you dare throw around accusations like that!""Exactly!" Sofia lifted her head immediately. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and she looked to be the picture of wounded innocence. "You lost your exam pass on your own. Mom was kind enough to find it for you. How could you blame her for something like this?"Watching the two of them play off each other like a rehearsed act made my stomach turn."Blame her?"I let out a quiet laugh and held up my open palm, as though the exam pass with its telltale sachet scent were still resting there."That exam pass reeked of the sachets from Mom's closet. The edges had been rubbed smoo

  • The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass   Chapter 8

    "You're different. You're our pride and joy. How could you drop this far?"Mom chimed in right after, "Exactly! Your sister has no interest in studying. She never says a word. How could she possibly compare to you? Don't put yourself in the same category as her. Worry about your own grades!"As I hid in my tiny bedroom, it felt like an ice-cold hand had closed around my heart and was squeezing until I could not breathe. They did not know that the grades they had dismissed as worthless belonged to the 12th-ranked student in the entire class.They did not know that I woke up at five every morning to study and was still doing practice problems at midnight.They did not know that to keep my grades at the top, I had given up every form of entertainment and poured everything I had into schoolwork.Just because I did not talk about it did not mean I was not working hard. Just because I was quiet did not mean my grades were bad.That night, I cried under my blanket for a long time, until

  • The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass   Chapter 7

    "It's just that Paige is so reserved. She never likes to make a fuss. She never really told us the details about her admission, so we were caught off guard just now. Please forgive the confusion!"The relatives nodded along, smoothing things over with comments like, "It's a good thing she's humble," and "Still waters run deep."Whether any of them actually believed it, or whether they were quietly judging behind polite smiles, was something only they would know.More than a few of them glanced at my parents with something subtle in their eyes.They had twin daughters, one with guaranteed admission to Glenmore and the other accepted to a regular university, yet it was the latter who received a full-blown celebration dinner.The family knew nothing about the former and treated the latter like a treasure. The favoritism could not have been more obvious.Sofia kept her head down the entire time, not saying a word. Her shoulders were rigid, and she looked like she wanted the floor to

  • The LV Bag and the Missing Exam Pass   Chapter 6

    The noise in the private room had not yet died down. The chandelier cast its light across every face in the room, illuminating the shock, the confusion, and the disbelief in sharp, unforgiving detail.Mr. Brooks' single remark landed like a boulder dropped into still water, and the festive atmosphere of the celebration dinner shattered in an instant.The sweet smile on Sofia's face froze at the corners of her mouth. Her fingers clenched around the strap of her LV bag until her knuckles went white, and a flash of panic darted through her eyes, barely contained.She lowered her head on instinct and pretended to smooth out her skirt. She did not dare to meet the stares that had turned in her direction, and she certainly did not dare to look at me.The pride on Mom's face stiffened. Her lips were still curved upward, but her eyes had gone completely hollow.She stood rooted to the spot, as though she had not understood what Mr. Brooks had said. It took her a long moment before she fou

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