I became a walking example of "social death," and no matter where I went, people recognized me. When I tried to buy a bottle of water at a convenience store, the owner took one look at me and immediately drove me out.

"Not selling to you! People like you will dirty my shop!"

On the street, strangers avoided me like I carried a disease. They pointed, whispered, stared.

One time, a random man suddenly rushed up and punched me straight in the face.

"I'll beat you to death, you piece of trash!"

I crouched on the ground, clutching my head as blood ran from my nose down past my lips.

Despair filled my chest.

What did I even do wrong? I kept asking myself.

It was just two letters. How did that turn me into some unforgivable criminal?

Then I suddenly remembered something a friend once mentioned.

There was an underground therapist out in the suburbs. Someone who specialized in handling… strange cases.

With nowhere else to go, I took the few hundred dollars I had left and followed the address my friend had given me.

The place was tucked away in a remote corner on the outskirts, small and bare, with nothing inside but a single table and two chairs.

The therapist was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes that felt like they could see straight through me.

I sat across from him and told him everything.

From being tagged late at night by my supervisor, to replying "OK" and getting fired.

From being abandoned by my fiancée, to being attacked online, to getting kicked out by my landlord.

I spoke through tears, my voice breaking more than once, on the edge of collapse.

The man, Draven Charlton, listened quietly the whole time without interrupting me. Only after I finished did he slowly slide a blank sheet of paper and a pen toward me.

"Write the word 'OK.'"

My hand trembled as I picked up the pen.

On the paper, I wrote the two letters that had destroyed everything, then handed it back to him, hoping, almost begging, for an answer, one that could somehow save me.

Draven stared at the letters as his expression slowly turned serious, his brows drawing tighter and tighter together while his fingers tapped lightly against the edge of the table in restless rhythm.

The air in the room grew heavy, almost suffocating. He stayed silent for a full five minutes.

Then suddenly, he grabbed a pair of scissors from the table and pointed them at me.

"Get out. Right now. If you don't, I can't guarantee your safety."

"Mr. Charlton, please tell me what's going on! I really don't know what I did wrong!" I cried, stepping forward.

"Don't come any closer!" Draven's hand was shaking. The tip of the scissors was aimed straight at me, his eyes filled with fear and caution. "Wherever you go, you'll only bring disaster… Leave. Now. And don't ever come back!"

I refused to give up. I tried to press him for answers. However, Draven suddenly stood up and shoved me toward the door.

"Go! If you don't leave, I'll kill you!"

I was pushed outside and the door slammed shut behind me. I pressed myself against it, hearing his rapid, panicked breathing from the other side, as if I were some kind of monster.

With nowhere left to go, I fled back to my hometown, thousands of miles away, to that small, isolated town where my family lived, my last refuge.

After more than ten hours on a long-distance bus, followed by another two-hour ride, I finally reached the entrance to the town.

From a distance, I saw them waiting for me, Old Bruce, the town's mayor, along with my parents, all of them smiling.

"Eric, you're back. That's all that matters." My mother hurried over and grabbed my hands.

Her eyes were red as she gently touched my face again and again. "You've lost weight. Why are you so thin? Did something happen out there? Did someone treat you badly?"

My father patted my shoulder. A man of few words, he kept repeating the same line. "It's good you're back. You'll always have food here."

My younger brother, Marvin Johnson came over with a grin and took my luggage. "Long trip, huh? Mom made your favorite meatloaf."

Seeing how warmly they welcomed me, the tension that had been gripping my nerves finally loosened. Tears slipped down before I could stop them.

Yeah. No matter how the outside world treated me, my family would always stand by my side. That was what I believed.

At dinner, Mom made a whole table full of my favorite dishes. Meatloaf, grilled salmon, fresh greens. All the flavors I grew up with.

The atmosphere around the table felt warm and easy. The town mayor, Bruce Hoffman, was there too, sitting beside my father, chatting casually. Every there and then, he would turn to me and ask about my work in the city.

Then Mom suddenly set down her utensils and asked carefully, "Eric… did something happen while you were out there? People in town have been talking. They said… they said you got into trouble in the city."

I was about to explain. However, then I remembered what happened the last two times I told the truth.

I did not dare try again. So I quickly changed the subject. "Mom, I'm just on vacation. Nothing happened. Don't worry about it."

I felt a quiet sense of relief, knowing my parents did not use smartphones and had no way of seeing any of it online.

Just then, my younger brother walked in, holding his phone, looking angry.

"Bro, how can those people online say things like that about you? It's disgusting!"

My heart dropped. Cold sweat broke out across my back as I scrambled to grab his phone.

However, I was too late. Dad, Mom, and Bruce had already gathered around, staring at the screen.

A wave of dread crashed over me. Then, just like that, everything shattered.

My father suddenly flipped the entire table over.

"You bastard!" he roared. "How did I end up raising someone like you!"

My mother's face went stiff. She grabbed a rolling pin from the corner and walked straight toward me.

"Do you even know what you've done?" Her voice was tight. "You're going to drag this whole family down with you. Our reputation will be ruined because of you."

I froze, instinctively stepping back.

"Mom, why are you hitting me? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Didn't do anything wrong?" My brother stood off to the side, his expression turning vicious, like he was a completely different person.

"Bro, you're so selfish! How could you post something like that? Do you have any idea what people in town will say about our family?"

"What did I post? It was just 'OK'!" I finally snapped, shouting at them. "Why are all of you treating me like this? I'm your family!"

Bruce let out a long sigh, his face full of regret. He slowly stood up and looked at me, his tone heavy.

"Eric, our town has always been peaceful. We've never had someone like you.

"What you've ruined isn't just yourself. You've ruined your family's name. You've dragged the whole town down with you."

He paused, then his voice turned icy. "The only solution now is for you to pay the price. Only then will things settle down."

"Pay the price?" I could hardly believe what I was hearing. "Have you lost your mind? All this over an 'OK'?"

"Someone like you…" his voice suddenly rose, "will only bring more trouble if you stay!"

The moment he finished speaking, several strong men from the town rushed in. They grabbed me and dragged me outside like I was nothing.

The rough ground scraped against my body, sharp stones tearing at my skin, a burning pain shooting through me as blood streaked across the ground behind me.

I struggled desperately, my vision blurred with tears.

"Dad! Mom! Help me! I didn't do anything wrong! Please believe me!"

No one answered.

My father stood with his back to me, his shoulders trembling slightly, but he never turned around.

My mother covered her face, crying so hard she could barely stand.

My brother just stared at me calmly, like I was a stranger.

They dragged me all the way to the lake.

The next second, several hands forced down on my shoulders and shoved me into the freezing water. The cold hit like a shock, swallowing my whole body.

I threw my head back, struggling for air, but they pushed me down again. Water rushed into my nose. The suffocating pressure clawed at my mind like a beast.

Just as my vision started to fade to black, I suddenly remembered something. Something I had ignored all along.