| Chapter 2 |

                                    

                                          
More days passed, and Miss Cho's eyes became more and more attracted every time she saw Minnie in class. Every day was an opportunity to test her hidden potential and to observe her in every single action.
Minnie had become a real object of study for Miyeon.
Her attention kept shifting to the girl, noticing the way she acted, the slight flinch when someone got too close. It was subtle, but the more she watched, the more it seemed that Minnie was retreating into herself, retreating from the world.
There was something worrying underneath, but Miyeon couldn't figure out exactly what.
Until, one day, during one of her  lessons, the unexpected happened.
Minnie woke up.
Another day where her body ached from the extreme pain her father had caused her.
Every bruise, every wound, every scratch was still sensitive.
Minnie tried to ignore the way her clothes clung to the delicate places where her father's fists had left their marks. She silently entered Miss Cho's classroom, heading towards the last desk in the back of the room, away from everyone's attention except Soojin's.
Her calm and silence were comforting, unlike the buzz of her annoying classmates.
The teacher's gaze was sharp, but he said nothing, merely nodding in acknowledgment of his presence.
Minnie had no energy. Her mind was more distracted than usual as her eyelids drooped.
The lesson began, but the words on the board floated before Minnie's eyes, a jumble of equations and formulas that she couldn't make sense of. Her head throbbed in time with her heartbeat and she felt the room spinning. Her heart was beating wildly.
Minnie's head felt heavier as Miss Cho's lesson went on. The pain in her body had become constant and unbearable, a reminder of the brutality her father had carried out the previous evening. And then, just as Miss Cho called her name for the third time, the floor rushed to greet her.
The world has become black.
One moment she was trying to stay conscious, the next she was lying on the cold, hard floor. The class collectively gasped and she heard the muffled buzz as everyone leaned forward to get a better look. The whispers rose to a crescendo, a cacophony of worried voices hammering her head.
Soojin was the first to reach her, her eyes wide with fear. 
"Minnie-ah, are you okay?" she asked with a trembling voice.
But Minnie couldn't answer, her mouth was dry and her throat was tight. She simply stared at the ceiling, her vision blurry. The lights felt like points of fire against her retinas, and the sound of the air conditioning was a roar in her ears.
Miss Cho was at her side in an instant, her face full of worry as she knelt.
"Minnie-ah, can you hear me?" she asked, voice calm but firm. "Minnie-ah!"
The room spun around her as she tried to focus on Miss Cho's voice. She felt her hands on her head and an arm under her neck, holding her head.
It was strange to admit, but she felt relaxed and protected in those arms.
Hearing Soojin and Miss Cho's worried voices fooled her into believing that someone actually cared about her health.
She could feel the warmth of someone's breath on her neck, their hand pressing gently against her forehead.
It was so warm.
But it soon hit her.
Miss Cho was not supposed to find her bruises.