⚠️ Content Warning:
This chapter contains themes of bullying, emotional trauma, and suicidal thoughts. These are portrayed for narrative depth and character development only. Reader discretion is advised.
It was a normal day. The clouds were getting darker —it would rain soon
But on the rooftop of St. Valley High, a boy stood at the edge, his legs were shaking.
"What did I do to deserve this..?" he whispered. "I just wanted to live a happy life.
I was kind. I helped people. I never hurt anyone."
His voice cracked.
"Then why... why are everyone calling me a stalker? a pervert? a monster
He shut his eyes. Cold wind slapped his face. Faint memories of getting bullied, beaten, whispers...
This boy who just wanted to live a happy life. How did he ended up here?
My name is Kai and this... this is how the world broke me.
I wasn't always like this. My mother died when was five year old.
When my father saw how lonely I was. He remarried.
A lady came to our house with my father and there was 2 girls behind them.
My father happily said to me "Kai she is your new mother and these are your older
sisters, be nice to them"
I was very happy to get a new family and they were also nice to me.
But I soon realized that it was all a lie...
Many things Happened to me in the past. But I still had the hope that everything
will change for good.
But hope is "Cruel"
I kept holding on, even when it hurt.
Even when the world gave me every reason to stop.
I believed that maybe... maybe if I stayed kind... if I worked hard... life would eventually get better.
But kindness doesn't matter in a house that's already decided you don't belong.
Home became cold.
Not just in temperature, but in the way people looked at me—like I was an unwelcomed guest in their sweet home.
Now, my stepmother stopped making food for me. Some nights i went to the bed with an empty stomach, listening to the laughter from the dining table downstairs.
She used to smile at me once. Now, that smile was only reserved for my father and her daughters.
When he was at home, she switches her personality 360.
Sweet voice, gentle hands. But when he left, I became invisible.
My older stepsister hated me for reason I never knew
If a glass broke, it was my fault.
if money went missing, it was me.
when she will feel bored. she will cry that loudly that the all house can hear —and say I scared her.
And worst of all?
They believed her.
No one asked for my side. Not even once
My father used to carry me on his shoulder. Now he couldn't even meet my eyes. His silence Hurt me even more than any slap could.
My younger stepsister used to hold my hand when we walked to the market. Now she looked away. She flinched when I sat beside her. Like I was something she needed to hide from her friends.
I still tried. I still hoped
Because hope is dangerous—it keeps you breathing even when you are drowning.
At school, I wore a smile
I studied hard. I helped classmates.
I tried to be someone people could trust and rely on.
And then I met her...
Her name was Ami.
She was warm, funny, and kind.She laughed at my jokes. She listened to my stories. She looked at me like I mattered.
And I... I fell for her. I know you all must be thinking what a loser but hear me,
because "when the world turns its back on you, even a little kindness feels like love."
For the first time in years, I wasn't crying myself to sleep.
I would lie on my bed, stare at the ceiling, and whisper,"Maybe this is what Mom would have wanted for me..."
But maybe I was too foolish to believe I deserved happiness.
Because the girl I loved… the only one who made me feel human again…Was only pretending...
Behind my back she laughed. With her friends, and even my bestfriend Rem.
It was all a game to them.. A "BET"
"Let's see how long the freak takes to confess."
When I finally told her how I felt… She laughed at me
The next day, rumors spread like wildfire.
That I followed her home.That I took pictures of her.That I touched her without permission.
Every hallway I walked through echoed with whispers and disgust.Every desk I passed carried a smirk, a snicker, or a shove.
I tried to explain. I begged.But no one listened.
Even the teachers looked at me with suspicion.
That day… I didn't go home.I wandered.Aimless. Broken. Humiliated.
I sat at a park bench till midnight, hugging my knees, praying my mom could hear me.
"I don't know what I did wrong, Mom. I was good, wasn't I? I tried so hard..."
I cried until my eyes swelled shut.And when I returned home, not a single person asked where I'd been.
No one noticed the blood on my lip.No one cared.
Maybe… maybe I died a little that night.
And from that moment on, I wasn't the same.
And now… here I am.
On the rooftop of St. Valley High.
The sky above me finally breaks—raindrops hitting my skin like the world's last apology.
I wonder... if I jump will anyone cry? Will they even notice?
Or will they just whisper again.
"Creep.""He always seemed off."
I stare at the ground below.
It's funny
I used to be scared of height.
Now the wind feels welcoming.
Freedom, maybe.
"I'm sorry, Mom," I whisper. "I tried. I really did."
But just as I lean forward…
A voice cuts through the rain.
Low. Cold. Unfamiliar.
"So this is how you choose to end?"
I freeze. My heart lurches.
There's no one there. The rooftop is empty.
Yet the voice echoes again—closer this time.
"If you fall now, they win. Is that what you want?"
I whip around, drenched and trembling.
"Who's there?!"
Silence.
Then… a soft laugh. Not cruel. Not kind.
"You've been broken. Lied to. Betrayed.But if you're willing to rise…I'll give you a reason to live."
My breath catches.
"What do you mean?"
The clouds rumble.
And in that moment, something changes.
The air tightens.
My fingertips tingle.
And in the corner of my eye—just for a second—I see a figure.
Tall. Shadowed. Watching.
"Make your choice, Kai."
Lightning flashes. Thunder roars.
I take one step back from the ledge.
And everything goes black.