“Hey! I haven’t talked to him yet! Why’d you hang up?!”

Ms. Jones shouted and reached for my phone.

Instinctively, I dodged to the side and quickly ended the call.

The next second, “Smack!”

Another hard slap landed across my face.

Ms. Jones’ face twisted with anger. “You caused such a huge mess and still want to hide this from your parents?!”

Daniel suddenly slammed a hand against the wall and pointed at my nose while yelling, “Don’t think you’re safe just because you’re hiding it from the adults!

“I run Hawkins! I’ve got connections at the police department, too! You dared touch my daughter? Your whole working-class family could disappear in minutes if I wanted!”

Macy limped out as well and sneered at me.

“You’re so pathetic, not even daring to call your parents. What, is your family so poor that they can’t even afford food? Then where’d you get the guts to push me? Ridiculous!”

I lowered my head, my voice so quiet that it was almost a whisper.

“My dad really can’t come… I’m sorry, Macy. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have pushed you.

“I can kneel and apologize in front of the whole school. I’ll even be your servant for a year. Or you can hit me back. Just don’t call the police, okay? I don’t want to get expelled…”

Macy let out a mocking laugh, but Daniel roared and reached for my phone again.

“You think you’re in a position to negotiate?!

“Give me your parents’ number. I’ll talk to them myself!”

Ms. Jones immediately joined in. “Ariel, give your phone to Mr. Fuller! Stop being stubborn and show some good problem-solving attitude!”

Daniel charged forward to snatch the phone, while I desperately protected it and kept backing away.

In the end, I stumbled and dropped to the floor.

My knees slammed against the cold tiles, and the pain made tears stream down my face.

However, I still kept begging.

“Please don’t contact my dad. Macy, please. I’ll do everything I said before. I’ll apologize, make up for it, let you hit me back, anything. Just don’t call my parents, okay?!”

Only after my knee was bleeding did a satisfied look finally appear on Macy’s face.

She stopped her dad and deliberately raised her voice.

“Fine. But just apologizing publicly isn’t enough. Tomorrow, you’re going to kneel and apologize to me a hundred times. You’ll keep doing it until I’m satisfied. Then I won’t call the police.”

“Okay.”

Clenching my fists tightly, I agreed to every single condition she gave me.

My chest felt like it was bleeding from humiliation, but at the same time, I felt it was worth it.

As long as my dads weren’t dragged into this.

That night, I returned exhausted to the small apartment Dad number two, Michael, rented for me.

Wearing a baseball cap pulled low over my face, I saw three men busy cooking in the kitchen.

They were Dad Number Sixty-Six, Robert, Dad Number Seventy-Nine, David, and Dad Number Ninety-Three, Thomas.

The moment they saw me come home, they immediately gathered around happily.

“Ariel’s home!”

At the dinner table, Robert grinned and pinched my cheek.

“Ariel, I heard your school’s giving you an award? Why didn’t you let me go with you? Going by turns, it should’ve been my turn already, right?”

David skillfully massaged my shoulders while arguing back, “The hell it should. It’s my turn!”

Thomas pushed a bowl of soup in front of me.

“Drink up. It’s good for your brain. Get yourself into a good college.”

My nose suddenly stung, and I nearly burst into tears.

However, I forced a smile and explained, “It’s just a small certificate. No need to trouble yourselves. Next time, if it’s a big award, I’ll call you guys.”

“Fine, fine, we’ll stop arguing. Eat first, sweetheart.”

The three of them excitedly served me food.

But while we were eating, Robert’s expression suddenly changed. He stood up and answered a phone call.

I could vaguely hear a few phrases from where I sat.

“That shipment… got targeted again… jumped into the river himself… Damn it, making money’s getting harder and harder…”

Instantly, my heart tightened painfully again.

Terrified that they might get arrested, I took a deep breath and slowly put down my spoon.

“Dads, from now on, can you maybe stop doing those kinds of jobs?

“I’m growing up. I’ll get into a good college and support you guys.

“So could you find safer work instead?”

The three grown men froze at the same time. Then, almost immediately, they tearfully hugged each other and agreed.

Two hours later, after reminding me about a few more things and leaving behind three black cards, the three of them hurried off.

I stood at the doorway and watched them disappear down the hallway, my eyes stinging.

“Don’t forget to change jobs!”

“Got it!”

However, the moment the door closed, Robert looked at the others in confusion.

“That’s weird. Our girl doesn’t like me researching nuclear submarines anymore?”

The other two looked just as confused.

Meanwhile, after shutting the door, I looked down at the family group chat on my phone called “Loving Family”.

The unread messages had already passed nine hundred and ninety-nine.

All my dads were asking things like, [Ariel, was studying tiring today?]

[Do you have enough money? Don’t try to save it, Dad’s got plenty!]

My eyes began tearing again.

Sniffling quietly, I finally typed out a message in the chat box.

[I’m doing fine, don’t worry about me. Dads, if work gets busy, make sure to stay safe too.]

Send.

The moment I saw all the caring messages pop up on the screen, I made up my mind.

I would not cause my dads any more trouble.

‘Ariel, you have to endure it.

‘Just until the college entrance exams are over, and everything will be fine.’

…

At Monday’s morning assembly, the field below was packed with students.

Meanwhile, I was kneeling on the ground and mechanically confessed my “crime”.

“It was because I held resentment toward Macy that I pushed her down the stairs… I was jealous of her… I’m a terrible person…”

My voice echoed across the entire schoolyard, every word feeling like a knife slicing into my throat.

Macy sat in a wheelchair at the very front, pushed there by several classmates.

She watched me kneeling on the ground, slapping my face and apologizing over and over again, her eyes filled with excitement.

Meanwhile, the whispers below blended into an endless buzzing noise.

“I heard her family’s super poor. She only studies here because of financial aid.”

“She’s so vicious. Obviously jealous that Macy’s rich.”

“Just look at her. Totally pathetic.”

“No wonder she’s so uncivilized.”

Every cruel word stabbed into me like needles, painfully sinking into my flesh.

But by then, I was already numb.

After finishing the confession, I slowly raised my hand.

Slap.

My first lap hit my right cheek.

…

Fifty times.

One hundred times.

I kept slapping myself again and again.

My face went from numb to unbearable pain until finally all I felt was warmth.

After the self-criticism ended, I walked off the stage with my face swollen.

The crowd parted around me like I was some kind of disease.

Surrounded by her followers, Macy deliberately walked past me. In a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, she sneered.

“Some people are just born pathetic. You think apologizing is enough? From now on, whenever you see me, call me Your Majesty. Got it?”

I clenched my fists tightly. My nails dug deep into my palms, but I said nothing.

I only returned silently to my seat and took out wet wipes, desperately trying to scrub away the red words written across my desk.

However, the paint had already seeped into the wood grain.

The more I wiped, the messier it became, like ugly scars carved into the surface.

For the entire day, I was surrounded by endless malice.

The moment the dismissal bell rang, I finally couldn’t take it anymore and rushed out of the classroom.

Not daring to leave through the front gate, I circled to the deserted alley behind the school instead.

However, after only taking a few steps, I saw Macy and her three followers blocking the entrance to the alley.

She stood up from the wheelchair, stretched her body a little, and walked slowly toward me.

“Didn’t you say you’d be my servant? Your boss hasn’t even left yet, and you’re already running off. Are you messing with me, Ariel?”

“Sorry… you didn’t call me…”

“Whether I call you or not, you stay behind me like a dog!”

Macy pulled out her phone and pointed the camera at my miserable face.

“Come on, apologize again. Say, ‘I, Ariel, am trash. I shouldn’t have forgotten to be Macy’s dog.’”

I bit my lip and stayed silent.

That only made Macy more excited.

She immediately started a new round of torment.

Ice-cold bottled water was poured over my head. My soaked uniform was tugged and ripped apart by them. Then, they smeared lipstick messily all over my face.

Macy held up her phone, laughing arrogantly.

“Come on, smile and say, ‘Thank you, Macy, for teaching me a lesson.’ Otherwise, I’ll call the police and let your shady dad have a nice little chat at the station.”

My mind instantly went blank.

I stared at her in disbelief.

Did Macy know about them?

Since I didn’t dare gamble on it, I could only keep trembling uncontrollably and repeat her words in a hoarse voice.

“Thank you, Macy… for teaching me.”

Only after I repeated it dozens of times did Macy finally smile in satisfaction.

Then she kicked me once before leaving.

“If you’d behaved this obediently from the start, wouldn’t this have been easier? From now on, wait for me here after school every day, got it? Whatever I tell you to do, you do it!”

“Okay.”

Then she left with her followers.

Instantly, I was the only person left in the alley.

After who knew how long, I slowly crouched down.

On the ground lay a completely soaked math test paper.

The bright red hundred written on it was painfully eye-catching.

Desperately holding back the tears threatening to spill over, I reached down to pick up my books and papers from the muddy water.

However, the moment I looked up, several men were standing at the entrance of the alley.

At the front was James, and behind him were several more of my dads.

Every single one of them had dark expressions on their faces as they stared at me in silence.

The air in the alley felt completely frozen.

…

After a long while, James crouched down and used his rough fingers to wipe the blood from my face.

“Who did this?”

I turned my face away, not daring to look at the fury in his eyes, and quietly said, “No one… I accidentally fell.”

“Fell?”

Dad Number Five, Paul, suddenly grabbed the math textbook that had been trampled into the muddy water.

He pointed at the filthy shoe prints on it while roaring, “This is from falling? This is someone stomping you into the ground!”

Dad Number Three, Eric, pushed up his glasses, the look behind the lenses sharp as knives.

“Ariel, tell us. As long as you say the word, we’ll blow up all of South City and kill those people.”

I bit my lip tightly.

I couldn’t tell them.

Daniel Fuller was rich and powerful. Macy said even the South City police listened to her family.

My dads were all wanted criminals.

I couldn’t drag them into prison.

Stubbornly, I shook my head, but tears still lingered in my eyes.

Second after second passed.

Finally, James sighed softly and gently held my ice-cold hand, his grip carrying a force that couldn’t be refused.

“Ariel, do you remember when you were five years old, and that fat kid from the next street stole your candy? You cried all night after coming home.

“The next day, his whole family moved out of South City.

“Your dads aren’t good people. But in this family, we have one rule.

“Whoever touches you dies.”

The wind in the alley instantly seemed to disappear.

As I looked at my dads silently surrounding me, I could see the rage and heartache in their eyes being suppressed to the absolute limit.