Zero by One: Take Me Home

2. A Fateful Encounter

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CHAPTER 2
"Beginning" Arc
EP: TWO

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13 years ago, in the outskirts of Dongjak, a young woman volunteering as a nurse at the local orphanage stopped at an alleyway on her way home to listen carefully to the echoes of quiet sobs that would've gone unnoticed in the hustle of the streets if it were the middle of the day.

Realizing they came from a child, she checked up on the source of sound, squinting her eyes at the darkness casted by shadows of the residences and communal bins that contrasted the remnants of daylight. It didn't take much to find the expected silhouette beside one of those huge bins.

The upset little youngster seemed to be around seven, or nine at most, considering the slight figure donned in baggy schmattes.

With adequate experience in handling crying kids, the woman slowly crouched down to the level of the girl, whose face was obscured by her long, tousled hair and kept buried under her arms as if not wanting to be seen, and spoke gently.

　"Hey, what are you doing here, kiddo? May I ask who you are hiding from?"

She noticed that this one was untalkative, or perhaps a bit shy. The more she pat the little girl's shoulder in wordless consolation, the quieter her sobs get. Still, she was hesitant to give an answer, wary of the stranger in front of her.

　"Hey, it's going to be dark soon. You shouldn't stay here for long, you know? Where are your parents? Do you want me to find them?"

　"Kicked out."

The blunt, muffled response puzzled the adult.

　"Did you say something?"

The little girl released her hold on her own knees and raised her head slowly. Beneath the fine, brittle strands of hair stuck to her saddened face, rather swollen lips hedged in by half-dried blood and purple spots peeked out.

　"Oh my..." The woman whispered before she hurriedly unstuck the stray strands to have a better look at it.

The heartwrenching sight of fresh bruises all over the small face immediately wetted the young nurse's sympathetic eyes.

　"Poor child, who did this to you?"

The little girl pursed her lips thin and shook her head, her vacant gaze set onto some debris on the ground.

Piecing the unclear response earlier together with the only logical explanation she could come up with, the woman held back her tears to ask in the softest tone possible.

　"Were you, perhaps, kicked out by your parents?"

The little girl lowered her gaze even more as she nodded gingerly, clawing at her own arms.

　"And did they-" She paused to hold proper eye contact to detect any lies. "Did they do this to you?"

Another nod free of deceit was the only cue the woman needed before she helped the kid up from the cold, dirty ground.

　"Come on, let's get you cleaned up first. Then we'll decide where you want to go, alright?"

At the lack of protest, the adult concluded that the girl was most likely the passive type. After a moment of contemplation, she added: