Chapter 0: The Girl the Ocean Swallowed Whole

Yuri Hyemi had learned how to be invisible.

At school, it wasn’t hard. She kept her head down, stayed quiet, and sat near the back of the room. Teachers knew she was smart enough not to cause trouble, and classmates passed over her without a second thought. She was in her final year of high school, but for most of the people around her, she might as well have been a shadow.

Her long black hair helped hide her face, and more importantly, her eyes. They were a deep blue, and she hated them. These eyes were what she had gotten from her mother. People sometimes noticed and would compliment her but to her these eyes were nothing but a reminder of her torment. Her father never looked directly at her. The rare times he did, there was a flicker of something like pain… or anger and he’d turn away. She had heard him once, late at night, when he thought she was asleep. “Those eyes,” he muttered, voice heavy with alcohol. “Why did she have to leave them behind?”

Her mother had passed years ago, and every time her father looked at Yuri, he saw her. Instead of love, it filled him with bitterness.

Her brothers didn’t need a reason. Hyun-woo, the eldest, was manipulative and crude, always quick to remind her that she is a poor imitation of “his” mother. Min-jae, the younger, preferred being physical, pushing her or breaking her favorite things. Both of them knew their father wouldn’t protect her, so they made her life a game.

Dinner was the same routine every night. Three places set at the table, but this night Yuri had mistakingly set a fourth… Her father’s jaw tightened, and she felt his stare burning into her. “You know better,” he said as he took his food and left the room.

The brothers made sport of it.

“Set one for Mom again?” Min-jae would smirk.

“Careful, or father might abandon you.” Hyun-woo would add, laughing.

Yuri never answered. She ate in silence. It was easier that way. But she held onto one thing. A small glass pendant that had belonged to her mother. Inside of the glass was a small star. It was nothing special, just a cheap trinket, but to Yuri it was proof that once, someone had loved her. She kept it tucked away, close to her chest knowing if the family saw they would chastise her for having it.

It felt like a monotonous grind as the weeks went by, until one night her father came home with a bottle of wine and the rare kind of smile he saved only for Hyun-woo and Min-jae. He set his briefcase down, place his hand on Min-Jae’s shoulder, and said “My sons deserve a reward.”

Hyun-woo had just returned from Seoul with a medal in his bag, Yuri had to admit her brother was very smart but his attitude was aweful. Min-jae had a new trophy for his shelf, taller than the last one, from his weekend tournament. Tonight, he was loud and boisterous, loud enough for the neighbors to hear if the windows were open.

“We’ll take the car this weekend,” he said, already pouring glasses for his sons. “To the vacation house. The coast will clear your heads, help you prepare for even greater things.”

Min-jae leaned back in his chair, smirking. “Finally. I deserve a break after all that training.”

Hyun-woo adjusted his glasses, pretending not to gloat. “A quiet place to study will be useful.”

Yuri sat at the end of the table, chopsticks idle in her hand. She knew better than to expect anything, but when her father’s eyes landed on her, she tried anyway. “Should I stay behind? Exams are coming up…”

“You’ll come,” he cut her off sharply. “Someone has to keep the house in order. Don’t think it’s a holiday for you.”

Min-jae snorted. “What else would she do? She’d be bored alone anyway.”

Her father didn’t correct him. He only refilled Hyun-woo’s glass, then Min-jae’s, as if Yuri wasn’t sitting there at all.

And that was that.

The drive to the vacation home was long. Her father spoke with Hyun-woo the entire way, while Min-jae played videos on his phone at full volume, ignoring Yuri when she asked him to turn it down.

The house itself sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean. To anyone else it might have been a beautiful sight. The wide open sea, the cooling wind, but to Yuri it was just another place to be ignored, another backdrop for her brothers’ cruelty. She unpacked, made beds, swept out dust that had collected since their last visit. Her father made a few business calls and disappeared into his room. By evening, the sky outside had turned red and purple.

“Let’s go,” Hyun-woo said suddenly, restless as always.

“Cliff walk.”

Min-jae grinned. “Yeah, let’s bring Yuri.”

Their father waved them off, not paying attention as Yuri reluctantly decided to go along.

The path along the cliff was narrow, with only a rope fence strung between wooden posts to mark the edge. The sea below was loud, her brothers were in front laughing and pushing each other. Yuri followed behind them. She didn’t like heights, and it didn’t help with how her brothers were acting to each other, being so reckless. The brothers led her out onto a rocky outcrop that extended far over the water. The wind was stronger here, tugging at her clothes. The waves crashed directly below, water shooting up the cliff face.

“Scared?” Min-jae asked, smiling.

Yuri said nothing.

“You should be,” Min-Jae kept at it, stepping closer to her.

The rope fence didn’t reach this far. There was nothing between her and the edge. She backed away slowly, but Hyun-woo was there too, blocking her exit.

“You know why Dad hates you, don’t you? Those eyes. Every time he sees you, he remembers her. And he hates it.”

Yuri kept her gaze on the horizon, jaw clenched. “They’re our mother’s eyes,” she whispered.

For once, Hyun-woos smile faltered. But Min-Jae laughed, stepping forward. “Then maybe you should go join her.”

The shove wasn’t hard. Maybe he hadn’t even meant it to be. But the ground was slick with ocean spray, and Yuri’s foot slipped on loose gravel. She reached for balance, to grasp anythjng, but her hand only caught air.

Her brothers’ faces blurred above her. Then the sky flipped, and she was falling. The imapct of her body hitting the water caused her to gasp and as she did water quickly filled her lungs. She thrashed about but it felt like the water was pulling her deeper. She kicked with all her might, she didn’t want to give up she was almost out of that house almost on the way to her own freedom her own path her own …. Life… Numbness began to overtake her body and her movements slowed to a halt, darkness clouded her vision and there was only one feeling in her heart….

Anger….

She was angry that after all she had been though , all that she endured this was her demise. She didn’t deserve this , and this made her angry. Then another feeling began to spread through her…. She pictured her mother, smiling at her and she could swear she was beckoning her towards her. Peace filled her chest , and she let the numbness overcome her.