Chapter 1
The rain that night didn’t fall — it attacked.
It slammed against rooftops, flooded the narrow streets, and turned the quiet neighborhood into a place where even adults stayed indoors. But not everyone had that choice.
A small girl ran barefoot through the mud.
Her name was Ara.
She couldn’t have been more than eight years old, her thin dress soaked and clinging to her fragile body. Her breathing came in sharp bursts, not just from the cold—but from fear.
Behind her, voices echoed.
“Catch them! Don’t let the boy escape!”
Ara turned into a narrow alley, her small hand gripping tightly onto another—this one trembling more than hers.
A boy.
Well dressed. Clearly not from her world.
“Don’t cry,” Ara whispered, even though her own voice shook. “We’ll be fine.”
But she knew that was a lie.
Just minutes ago, she had seen everything.
The black car. The masked men. The boy struggling as they dragged him. She hadn’t planned to be brave. She hadn’t planned anything at all.
But when the boy’s eyes met hers—terrified, pleading—something inside her moved.
And now… there was no turning back.
They hid behind a stack of broken crates.
The boy tried to speak, but his lips trembled too much.
“My… my father…” he stuttered.
Ara shook her head. “No talking. They’ll hear us.”
Footsteps.
Closer.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Ara’s heart pounded so loudly she was sure it would give them away.
Then—
CRASH!
One of the crates beside them fell.
Silence.
Then a voice.
“They’re here.”
Ara didn’t think.
She grabbed the boy’s hand and ran.
They didn’t get far.
A hand grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground.
Pain exploded through her body.
The boy screamed.
“Let me go! Let her go!”
Ara tried to stand, but a man stepped on her leg, pinning her down.
“Well, well,” the kidnapper sneered. “A little hero.”
The boy struggled wildly, but another man held him tightly.
“She saw us. We can’t leave her alive.”
Ara’s eyes widened.
For a second… just one second… fear consumed her.
Then she looked at the boy.
He was crying.
Shaking.
Helpless.
And somehow… she smiled.
“It’s okay,” she whispered.
Before anyone could react, she grabbed a loose piece of wood lying beside her and swung it blindly.
It hit one of the men.
Chaos erupted.
“Brat!”
The man raised a thick wooden stick.
Ara barely had time to lift her hand—
CRACK!
The sound echoed louder than the thunder.
A scream tore from her throat.
Pain. Blinding. Crushing.
Her right hand went numb instantly, then burned like fire.
She collapsed.
Through blurred vision, she saw the boy break free.
He ran to her.
“Wake up! Please wake up!”
Ara tried to move, but her body refused.
Her hand… she couldn’t feel it anymore.
The rain washed over her face, mixing with tears she didn’t remember crying.
The boy fumbled in his pocket, his hands shaking as he pulled out something small.
A bead.
Deep blue. Shiny even in the darkness.
He pressed it into her palm.
“Listen to me,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’ll come back for you. I promise. In ten years… I’ll find you.”
Ara tried to speak.
But everything was fading.
The last thing she saw… was his face.
And the bead.
Sirens filled the night.
Lights flashed.
Voices shouted.
But Ara heard none of it.
Because by then—
She had already slipped into darkness.
Ten years later.
Morning sunlight streamed through the tall glass windows of one of the biggest companies in the city.
Employees walked quickly, dressed in suits, carrying files, speaking with urgency.
At the center of it all stood a name that commanded respect.
Kang Min-Jae.
CEO.
Cold. Untouchable. Feared.
And somewhere on the lowest floor—
A girl knelt quietly, scrubbing the marble tiles.
Her movements were slow.
Careful.
Because her right hand… never healed properly.
Ara.
Now twenty.
Invisible.
Unnoticed.
Broken… but still surviving.
A voice suddenly cut through the hallway.
“You! Cleaner!”
She flinched and quickly stood, lowering her head.
“Yes, sir…”
The man who stood before her was tall, sharply dressed, his expression colder than ice.
Kang Min-Jae.
He looked at her like she was nothing.
“Clean properly. I don’t pay people to be useless.”
Ara bowed quickly. “I’m sorry, sir.”
He turned away without another glance.
He didn’t recognize her.
Not the girl who saved his life.
Not the hand that was ruined because of him.
Not the promise he once made.
Across the city—
In a large, luxurious house—
A girl smiled as she held a small blue bead between her fingers.
Unlike Ara, her clothes were elegant. Her posture confident.
Her eyes… calculating.
“Ten years, huh…” she murmured.
Her lips curled slowly.
“Looks like I’ll be the one he finds.”
Behind her, Ara’s stepmother laughed.
“Remember, you are the savior now.”
The girl nodded.
“I know, mother.”
She closed her hand tightly around the bead.
And just like that—
Ara’s only proof of the past…
Was gone.
Back at the company—
Ara suddenly paused while cleaning.
For some reason…
Her chest tightened.
Like something important had just been taken from her.
But she didn’t know what.
She simply lowered her head again… and kept scrubbing.
