Left behind
Chapter 1 – Left Behind
Rain poured relentlessly against the windows of a small hospital.
A newborn baby's cries echoed through the room.
The doctor lowered his head.
> "I'm... sorry."
The woman lying on the hospital bed had already taken her last breath.
The baby had survived.
Her mother hadn't.
---
Five years later...
A little girl sat quietly on the front steps of a large house, hugging a worn-out teddy bear.
Her name was Han Chi-yol.
She kept glancing toward the front gate.
"Dad said he'd be back..."
Hours passed.
The sun slowly disappeared behind the hills.
No one came.
The front door suddenly opened.
Her father stepped outside carrying two suitcases.
Beside him stood her older brother, Han Min-jae, who looked just as confused.
Their father didn't even kneel to look at her.
> "Chi-yol."
She smiled brightly.
"Dad!"
"I have to leave."
She tilted her head.
"Leave?"
He handed a thick envelope to Min-jae.
> "Everything I own... belongs to you now."
Min-jae frowned.
"What?"
Her father ignored him.
He turned and walked toward the waiting taxi.
Chi-yol quickly ran after him.
"Dad!"
He never looked back.
She grabbed the back of his coat.
"Please don't go!"
Without saying a word...
He gently removed her tiny hands from his sleeve.
The taxi door shut.
The engine started.
Chi-yol chased after it.
"DAD!"
The taxi disappeared around the corner.
She stood in the middle of the empty road.
Still waiting.
Still hoping.
Until the sound of the rain became louder than her cries.
---
Years passed.
Chi-yol grew into a bright, cheerful young woman.
She laughed often.
She smiled even more.
But there were some questions she never asked anymore.
"Why wasn't I enough?"
Meanwhile...
Her brother, Min-jae, inherited every property, every investment, and every account their father had left behind.
At first, everything seemed fine.
Until it wasn't.
Late-night parties became daily habits.
Friends who only wanted money surrounded him.
Soon...
Alcohol wasn't enough.
Then came illegal substances.
By the time he realized his life was falling apart...
It was already too late.
One rainy evening...
There was a knock on Chi-yol's apartment door.
She opened it to find two police officers.
One of them spoke gently.
> "Miss Han?"
"Yes?"
> "Your brother has been arrested."
Her smile disappeared.
---
Several months later...
The court officially ruled that Min-jae's inheritance would be transferred to Chi-yol.
She stared at the stack of legal documents.
It was enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life.
She could buy anything she wanted.
Luxury cars.
Designer clothes.
Vacations around the world.
Instead...
She quietly signed the papers.
"I only need enough."
A few weeks later, she purchased a beautiful apartment in one of the city's nicest neighborhoods.
Not a mansion.
Not a penthouse.
Just...
A place she could finally call home.
She placed the last moving box on the living room floor.
The apartment was peaceful.
Sunlight poured through the windows.
A small balcony overlooked the city skyline.
She smiled to herself.
"...It's perfect."
She unpacked a few books.
A coffee mug.
Her favorite blanket.
Finally...
She collapsed onto the couch.
Silence filled the apartment.
No arguments.
No painful memories.
Just a fresh start.
She looked around with a grin.
> "Okay, Chi-yol."
> "New apartment."
> "New life."
She stretched her arms above her head.
"...I wonder what kind of neighbors I'll have."
Outside her front door...
A young man carrying several grocery bags struggled to unlock the apartment directly across the hall.
One bag slipped from his arm.
An orange rolled across the hallway...
...and stopped right in front of Chi-yol's door.
