Geum Seong-je. .¹⁴

You were a beautiful, intelligent girl. Others thought your life was perfect, but behind that pretty exterior and kind soul lurked a woman who, unfortunately, didn't have a very good relationship with one of her parents—her father. Yes, he was normal when he worked and, most importantly, when he was sober. But as soon as his paycheck came in, he'd spend it all on booze, then sit at home drinking for weeks. Sometimes, when drunk, he'd raise his voice at you or even raise his hand. Your mother lived abroad and promised to pick you up as soon as you finished school, so you had no choice but to endure.
But you had a friend, Sungjae. You met at a computer club, and since then he often dragged you out of the house to play, saying he was bored alone.
One day, your father came home drunk again and started yelling about how dirty the house was. Then, in a fit of rage, he hit you. The blow wasn't too hard, but it left your lower lip chapped. You locked yourself in your room and cried, trying to calm down, when suddenly you received a text from Sungjae:

• "Let's go to the computers."
  Deciding you didn't want to stay home anyway, you got ready and headed out. When you met, he knew at first glance that something was wrong.
• "Why are you so sour? Let's go play, maybe you'll get distracted," he said, not yet noticing the cut on your lip.
  You spent about an hour playing. Sungjae stood up and said he was going out for a smoke. You followed him. Outside, he leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette, and you sat down on the step. He sat down next to you.
• "Come on, look at me," he asked.
  When you turned your head, he noticed your chapped lip. His gaze turned serious. Sungjae said nothing, simply leaned forward, closed his eyes, and covered your lips with his in a long, warm kiss—as if he wanted to take away all your pain. Pulling away, he looked at you.
• "Does it hurt now?"