Our motto:
"A smile apparent on the lips, while our hearts burn with searing sorrow…
eyes reflecting a false glimmer of hope, and with it the soul anticipates a near light of salvation."
How will you live, and how will you face what is to come?
Are the rest capable of uncovering a truth tainted with visible flaws, or will the bitterness of their suffering become a barrier before them, allowing that black lie—adorned with the colors of loss—to deceive them?
Her feeling had been right. She lied to conceal what she was enduring, so as not to add to her friends' pain and to protect them. It was enough that those living with her in the house—the servants—had their lives exposed to danger at any moment.
Serin: "Why don't you believe what I'm saying? … Fine, it's okay, we'll talk later. But let's drop this—what do you think about going out to have some fun after university?"
Sean: "Are you serious? Since when have you changed like this? As far as I remember, the moment classes end, you rush home because your father doesn't allow you to stay out much."
Serin: "Yes, I know, but he traveled for a month and a half. I'll be free, and I'll do whatever I want with you all before he comes back."
Linda jumps onto Serin, delighted to hear that.
Linda: "Really? Finally we'll have fun outside the university—wonderful!"
The first classes of the very first day end, and the friends gather to have lunch at the university restaurant. Sean tells them what happened with Serin and why, confirming what she had said.
Jane (with a sad face): "Oh… I really didn't realize that. He puts so much pressure on you, poor thing."
Serin: "Hey, Professor Radiant, stop that—sadness doesn't suit you. Come on, cheer up! I feel better after sleeping during the first class since the professor was absent, hahaha."
For the first time, Serin spends the best day of her life. But when that day ends and she returns home, the surprise awaits her, and joy turns into a true tragedy.
Serin (in great astonishment): "W-what's going on? Why all this sorrow? Tell me—why the crying?!"
Head Housemaid: "My child… there is something we must tell you."
She speaks hesitantly, afraid of Serin's reaction upon learning the bitter truth about her family. After everything Serin has endured, a devastating shock is about to fall upon her—its impact stronger than a thousand bombs.
Serin: "Tell me! My heart is about to stop from fear!" (she says angrily, shouting)
Head Housemaid (sighing, then speaking with deep sorrow):
"Your uncle… your uncle has passed away and will not return to us. And what I'm about to tell you is a secret we hid from you for many long years."
Serin (in utter shock):
"What? That's impossible! He can't… no… no… he wouldn't die so easily. Impossible! He promised me he wouldn't leave me alone. How… how could that be… a-and… how did he die? Tell me!"
The shock of losing the one who cared for her and made her feel a father's tenderness and warmth—her greatest support, the one who helped her endure and continue. With pain and anguish, the head housemaid reveals what she carries, a thunderbolt that shatters every remaining fragment of hope Serin had that her father might one day change and become the man she wished for.
Head Housemaid:
"He didn't die naturally. He was murdered, my child. Yes… your father killed him after torturing him brutally because he tried to stand in his way. This is a message from your uncle, written in case of his death. Be strong—everything is in it."
Serin: "O-o-okay…"
She takes the letter and is struck by what she reads. She collapses, exhausted, shock frozen on her face. How could she remain strong after discovering that her family was criminal—that her father stayed silent while her mother was raped by her grandfather, her uncles, and their men for days without end, simply because she had given birth to a girl?
In the most horrific ways, her mother's body was added to those of more than a hundred women and girls. Any woman who bore a girl met that fate—along with her daughter. The letter told how her uncle had saved Serin, but her father had taken her from him by force, threatening to kill her if he ever tried to take her or do anything to protect her. The uncle wrote that when he died, all his companies would be registered in Serin's name so she could escape that monster—because he never intended her any good.
As she reads the letter, her father suddenly enters, snatches it from her, and says with a malicious, vile laugh:
Serin's Father:
"Ohhh, look here—standing helpless. So you learned the truth, huh? Hahahahahaha! You know, I truly enjoyed killing that idiot. He's the one who saved you from my hands that day—don't you remember? Hahahaha! Don't worry, I'll make sure you go through the same torment and pain… but you won't die easily, you wretch! Hahahaha!"
He signals his men to surround her, and they begin what they do every night—beating her mercilessly, sometimes with whips, sometimes with sticks, branding their marks onto her frail body. And what could she do? He was her father.
She waits for the right moment to take the first step to rid herself of him forever. Minutes later, her body is thrown to the ground, utterly exhausted, covered in blood and bruises from the countless beatings and electric shocks she has suffered since she was five years old. Had it not been for her uncle saving her at times and treating her wounds, she would have died long ago.
That monster leaves the house, heading to the airport. Everyone rushes to the girl lying on the floor, staining it with her blood, to tend to her.
Head Housemaid:
"Hurry, take her to her room! Lulu, call the doctor quickly! Serin, my child, endure—I know you're strong, my little one. Please forgive us. We can't help you, or even protect you… I'm so sorry."
Tears pour from everyone's eyes, helpless to save that girl from the claws of the monster who showed his daughter not a single day of mercy. Suffering for a sin she never committed, with no control over her fate—cowardice mixed with greed and avarice. As if what she endured on that cursed day were not enough, she tasted further torture at the hands of the father who was supposed to be her first supporter, her unyielding pillar, and a comforting embrace in times of hardship. Instead, he was the opposite of everything—a sworn enemy, a despicable bastard with no mercy, a criminal who never had enough, a filthy soul that would never be purified.
Serin:
"Why are you crying? Please stop…" (she speaks weakly, trembling in pain)
"That hurts me even more. Your presence is enough to heal my wounds. Thank you. And don't apologize—you bear no blame. You risk your lives treating me even though he forbade it."
Lulu:
"There's no way to help you… If only—if only we could—we would get you out of here, far away from him, so you could live in peace."
A faint smile appears on her weary, aching face at Lulu's words and those of the others—an attempt to express gratitude for their presence, despite her deep, unending sorrow and the fierce inner conflict over what she would do next.
Yes—everyone who works for him has signed a contract of certain death, sealing upon themselves the door to life and freedom forever, becoming prisoners of a man who knows no limits or law. He is everything—the beginning of everything, and the end that will be written only by his command.
Sometimes, creating lies to hide what we feel is not weakness; it may be fear of losing those we love, or a fragile pride we refuse to abandon before others.
Serin:
"Don't worry about me—I'll be fine. I've grown used to this hell, and I'll endure even more. I have people who care about me, and I must protect everyone. I don't know… maybe someone cast a cursed spell on me to suffer without sin, or maybe misery was written for me because I don't deserve a happy life… hahaha."
(She laughs in crushing anguish.)
Head Housemaid: "We'll leave now. Rest a little, alright?"
Serin: "Alright."
Between the groans of her injuries, the pain of her shattered heart, the crushing guilt after learning the truth, and the loss of the one who was her true support and who drowned her in fatherly warmth and boundless love, she tries to confront it all just to sleep—if only briefly—to regain some strength to face the one devoid of humanity, driven only by himself and revenge against a flower that withers every second without fault.
Morning comes. The girl wakes with a broken smile, trying to renew her energy and hide anything that might reveal her suffering. Moments later, there's a knock at her door, followed by a voice.
Lulu: "Good morning, miss. How are you feeling now?"
Serin: "Oh… I'm okay. I've improved a little. I'll come down shortly."
"I've improved"—that's all she can say. How could she not, when she carries tons of pain and sorrow on her shoulders? She tries to be patient and move forward, to triumph over the darkness she lives in.
Lulu (with a tone of helpless grief): "Alright."
Serin thinks as she opens her wardrobe, searching for something to wear that will hide the blue bruises scattered across her body since she first became aware of this bleak world. She chooses a long black shirt reaching her knees, white pants, and sneakers. She takes her bag and heads out toward what she considers a safe haven, where she can rest from her pain—if only a little.
She reaches the gate of her university, drawing a fake smile on her face to cover the pain of losing her uncle and the bitterness caused by her father. Moments later, she encounters her friends, waving and greeting them cheerfully. They exchange greetings and ask about one another—then Serin begins to speak…