Chapter 10: Chapter 10: The Girl with the Bruises
"Some bruises fade. Others speak forever."
She was in tenth grade when she fell in love.
It wasn't planned. It wasn't even romantic. It just happened—quietly, softly. A boy who made her feel like she existed. Who asked her how her day was. Who made her laugh.
He was the first person to see Mun, not her grades, not her flaws. Just Mun.
They exchanged notes, small gifts, songs. She felt lighter around him. Alive.
But secrets have a way of slipping out.
When her mother found out, Mun was sleeping. The first slap woke her. The next dozen made her bleed. Her mother screamed, cursed, pulled her hair. Her mouth filled with blood. Her arms were covered in bruises.
For days, she couldn't walk properly. Her father didn't stop it. No one did.
And then—he left. The boy she loved. He cheated. Went back to his ex.
Mun didn't eat for days. Didn't speak. Her body ached. Her soul cracked.
That's when she promised herself: never again.
Love, in her world, always came with pain.
So she wrapped her heart in silence, and walked on—alone, bruised, but unbroken.
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