Mei POV:
It was Thursday evening, the night before sports day. I had been coming home late recently since sports day rehearsals started, but everyone agreed that—for today at least—we should get a good night's rest in preparation for tomorrow.
I would've loved a good night's rest more than anything... but luck was not on my side.
As I lay in the dark, staring blankly at the ceiling, my phone vibrated, igniting the room with a pale stream of light. I rolled over and glanced at the screen.
My chest turned hollow the moment I saw the name.
It was a message from Father. I tapped the notification and opened it. A small "read" signal appeared, telling him that I had seen his message: "Come down for dinner."
When I read those words, the muscles in my arms seemed to loosen to the point that they blended in with the mattress.
We didn't usually have family dinners. They only ever happened on Father's whim—which was entirely random.
I took a deep, shaky breath, then forced myself out of bed. I didn't want to keep him waiting too long, after all.
Leaving my room with a cheery smile, I headed downstairs and arrived at the dinner table—or what was left of it anyway. The dinner table was littered with empty bottles and scattered business papers, with the only clear spots being the ones used to set the food on the table.
Father, Uncle, and Mom were already seated. Mom wore a ragged sweater over her stained white t-shirt. Uncle wore a red sleeveless muscle shirt with rips and holes scattered across it.
Father, meanwhile, wore a fancy black dress shirt. Truly, the image of a refined man... except—the edges of his sleeves were riddled with crinkles.
He held his hands folded calmly in front of him, as if he were watching the world from the fourth dimension.
When I arrived, he turned and gazed at me with his half-detached, half-crazed eyes.
I gave a small, polite nod as I walked past him and moved to my seat. His gaze followed me the whole way.
Suddenly, Father called out to me in a heavy, cold voice, freezing me in place. "You're late."
I didn't argue or try to explain myself. Instead... I bowed deeply, my head going even lower than the dinner table. "I apologize. I was sluggish with my steps. It was entirely my fault. I'll do better."
Father took a slow sip of his red wine, stilling even time itself, before he let out a satisfied breath. "As long as you know. Now go to your seat." He gestured with his wine glass.
"Yes."
Without daring to look him in my eye, I hurried to my seat—which happened to be across from Uncle.
The moment I sat down, his legs—which had been crossed on his chair—slowly fell to the floor and shifted just a tiny bit closer to me.
My cheery smile remained, but my vision grew hazy—almost numb. As if my eyes had abandoned seeing the world, leaving me with the muffled silhouettes of the three sitting at the dinner table.
*CLANG*
The sound of Father's knife hitting his plate made everyone freeze. Father calmly picked up the piece of meat he had just cut and put it in his mouth. He chewed the piece of meat with a slow, foreboding intensity before spitting a single word: "It's dry."
His gaze darkened as it shifted towards Mom.
Mom flinched so hard that her chair rattled against the floorboard.
Father's brow twitched, and he let out an eerie sigh. Even from this distance, the stench of alcohol in his breath burned my nose.
"I didn't even say anything," he said, patting his lips with a napkin. "Yet why are you so afraid?"
Mom's hands trembled against the table. "I-I–"
Before Mom could finish speaking, Father's hand shot across the table. He grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her forward. A small, broken wail slipped from her lips.
But that only angered him further. He pulled her inches away from his face, forcing her to look into his fully crazed eyes.
"Why must you disgrace me like this? After everything I've done for this family, you can't even make me a simple dish!"
Mom squeezed her eyes shut, unable to look at this monstrosity of a human being any longer. Father, however, didn't even give her the luxury of ignorance. With his free hand, he jabbed his index finger and thumb against her eyelids and pried them open, burning his image into her single, trembling eye.
"Don't look away from your Husband. Look me in the eyes and apologize. Do you understand?" he spat, his saliva tainting the skin on her face.
Mom nodded obediently, her voice a fragile whisper. "I-I… I'm sorry that I'm not good enough. I am a f-failure as a wife. I'll do–"
Father raised his hand. Mom instinctively rose from her chair, trying to ease the pain of his grip, but he kept on raising it until she couldn't go any higher.
"Is that what you call an apology?" he asked with a look of disappointment. "Bow."
"Y-yes!"
Despite Father still gripping her by the hair, Mom forced her head down, as if tearing her own hair from her scalp.
A single, sparkling tear hit the wood. "I-I'm sorry for being a bad wife! It's all my fault! Please, forgive me!"
Father stared at her for a moment, his expression unchanging. That is—until a small smile curved his lips.
"Good."
With the hand still gripping her hair, he shoved her away, causing her to trip over the chair and fall to the ground with a heavy *bang*.
Quiet sobs filled the room—but no one moved.
Father wiped the hand that had been clutching her hair as if he was getting rid of some disease before sitting back down and taking a sip out of the wine glass.
"Now, where were we... Oh, right."
He turned toward me. My smile didn't waver.
"So… I hear sports day is happening soon?"
"Yes!" I replied energetically. "It starts tomorrow, actually."
Father nodded thoughtfully. "I see…"
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy. He folded his arms in front of his face and leaned forward.
"Then, you know what to do. You must win. I will not accept anything else. Do you understand, Mei?"
"Understood!"
Father let out a pleased chuckle, his shoulders shaking slightly. "Good, at least you understand. This is why I love you, my Daughter."
He wiped his mouth of its remaining traces of the wine before turning to Uncle.
Uncle was supposed to be the older of the two Brothers. And yet, he still shrank back in his seat.
"As for you… Keep your antics quiet. I don't care what you do, as long as it doesn't bother me. Are we clear?"
Uncle nodded frantically. "Y-yes, Brother!"
Satisfied, Father picked up his fork and knife again and cut another piece of steak. No one moved as he ate.
As if sensing something was wrong, he glanced at Uncle and me. Noticing that we hadn't moved, he let out a quiet chuckle.
"I must be in a forgetful mood today. You may eat."
Uncle immediately grabbed his utensils and began devouring the steak. I, meanwhile, took my time. I cut the steak with such perfection that the knife didn't even scrape the bottom of the plate. Throughout each movement, I kept my elbows off the table and placed each piece into my mouth with practiced precision.
"I see you're becoming a proper woman, Mei," Father noted.
I replied with my usual cheeriness. "Of course!"
Uncle looked up at me, juices dripping from his mouth. Suddenly, a disturbing grin crept across his face. His feet inched closer to me from under the table.
But, I didn't—no—couldn't let it affect how gracefully I ate. And he knew that.
Suddenly, a chill shot up my spine.
N-no…
I glanced down. Uncle's leg… was caressing mine.
My grip on the fork tightened ever so slightly, the cold sting of the metal keeping my heart from stopping.
No… please… anything but this…
But it was a useless endeavour. I knew better than anyone… that begging got you nowhere. I've begged, I've prayed, but God has never answered me.
Yeah... it really is useless.
At that thought, my entire body went limp, and my body sank deeper into the chair, leaving me with absolutely—nothing.
…
Suddenly—
*BAM*
Uncle was sent tumbling backward, his chair pulled out from under him with a violent kick.
"Get your filthy hands off my Daughter!"
It was Mom. She was standing there, tears streaming down her face, her eyes wild with an emotion I couldn't comprehend.
Without wasting a single second, Mom grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me upstairs.
Father watched the entire thing unfold without lifting a finger. In fact, deep in his half-detached, half-crazed eyes... was glee.
I didn't resist as Mom pulled me up. I was just glad that, somehow, someone or something heard me for the first time.
When we reached my room, Mom slammed the door shut. No one in this house was allowed to have a lock except Father. So she jammed the doorknob with a chair I had kept near my desk.
By this point, Mom was completely out of breath. She turned to me and gently placed a trembling hand on my cheek.
I didn't shiver this time.
"Mei… I'm sorry for not being a good Mom to you…"
It should have been something sad. And yet, she said it with a smile.
So… I smiled back. "It's okay, Mom. You did everything you could. I know that more than anyone else."
For some reason, Mom gasped. Her lips moved up and down as if she were trying to say something—but no words came out. The only thing that did... were her tears.
Giving up on words, Mom leaned in close and pressed her forehead against mine.
Then she collapsed to the floor, dragging me down with her.
"Please… just let me stay like this for a moment longer…"
I didn't respond. I simply wrapped my arms around her. When I did, she clung to me tightly and began sobbing into my shoulder.
I patted her back in steady, calming intervals. "There, there. I'm here for you. Everything's going to be okay, Mom."
Mom held me even tighter, as if afraid of letting me go. "Mei… Mei!"
I stayed with her until the clouds covered the moonlight, drenching my room in pitch black. By that point, she had already fallen asleep. Carefully, I lifted her up and laid her down on my bed. My bed only had enough room for one person. And even if it didn't—she needed it more than I did.
So... I curled up in the dark corner of my room and closed my eyes.
I hope… I was able to be a good daughter for her…
Those were my last thoughts before sleep finally took me.