The next morning, Seo Yoon woke with the sun slipping softly through her window.
She stretched, yawned, and put on the same calm, composed mask she always wore. But today, there was something new. A faint smile tugged at her lips. Not bright. Not cheerful. Just enough to look… normal.
At school, her classmates noticed it.
"Seo Yoon, you look happy today!" one girl said, tilting her head.
Seo Yoon nodded politely, smiling just a little more. "I'm fine," she said.
Fine. The word tasted hollow, even to her own ears. But no one needed to know the truth. No one needed to see the weight she still carried inside, the memories that haunted her, the fear that never truly left.
At lunch, she laughed lightly at a joke she didn't fully hear. At class, she answered questions with her usual precision, but this time, her voice carried a warmth she hadn't allowed herself before.
No one saw the cracks beneath the surface.
No one saw the nights she cried herself to sleep, the memories that clawed at her mind, or the pressure of knowing that every eldest daughter before her had suffered the same fate.
Her smile became her shield. Her laugh became her armor. And while the world saw perfection, she carried pain like a secret, tucked away in the quiet corners of her mind.
But even behind that smile, Seo Yoon remembered.
And remembering gave her strength.
Because this time… she wasn't just going to survive. She was going to fight.
And she would do it quietly, perfectly, and alone—just like always.