The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Shin sat in the corner, knees pulled tightly against his chest. His face was bruised and swollen, his lip split, his body sore. His ribs ached from the earlier beating he received for daring to take a leftover bun from the fridge. There was no justice in this world—only cruelty for the weak. He had grown tired of it. Tired of the lies. Tired of the beatings. Tired of breathing.
His small room, if you could call it that, was little more than a dusty storage space with moldy walls and a cracked window barely holding back the cold. The bulb above flickered, barely lighting the stale air that seemed to choke him.
He had found a rusty nail days ago and kept it hidden under a loose floorboard. Now, it rested in his trembling hands.
Shin (thinking): "No one will miss me... No one ever cared... What's the point of this life, anyway?"
Tears streamed down his cheeks, mixing with the dried blood and dirt. He stared at the nail, ready to drag it across his wrist.
But then—a sound.
"Squeak."
Shin blinked. At first, he thought it was his mind playing tricks. Then he heard it again. A tiny squeaking sound.
He looked toward the corner near the broken window. There, peeking out from behind a broken shoebox, was a small albino mouse. Its pink eyes blinked up at him, its nose twitching curiously.
Shin (confused): "...A mouse?"
The little creature squeaked again and scurried closer. Despite the cold and filth, it climbed into Shin's lap without fear. It nuzzled his hand. Something small, warm, and alive.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Shin let out a weak chuckle.
Shin: "You're not scared of me? Huh... You must be dumber than me."
The mouse nibbled gently on the edge of his sleeve.
Shin (smiling faintly): "You hungry, little guy?"
He broke off a small piece of stale bread he'd hidden and held it out. The mouse devoured it happily, curling up afterward in the warmth of Shin's hand.
Three days passed.
In those three days, Shin didn't think about the nail again. He spent his time talking to the mouse, watching it scurry around the room, sharing scraps of food, and hiding it from his cruel adoptive family.
He named the mouse Rio.
Shin: "You know, Rio... you're probably the only living thing that doesn't want to use me or hurt me. That makes you special."
But good things never lasted.
It was morning. Shin had slipped out to the kitchen to grab a piece of bread when his so-called older sister found him.
Kira: "Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing, you trash? Stealing again?"
Shin (quietly): "I was just hungry... there was leftover bread..."
Kira: "Don't talk back to me, worm."
She slapped him hard across the face. He stumbled back, but she grabbed his collar and threw him against the wall.
Kira: "You think you're entitled to anything here?! You're just a dog we bought to fund mom and dad's debt. You should be grateful we even let you live here."
Shin: "I... I'm sorry... please don't hurt me..."
Kira: "Tch. Pathetic. Just like always."
She kicked him in the ribs before tossing the bread on the floor.
Kira: "Eat it off the floor like the dog you are."
Shin coughed, curled up in pain, but he didn't touch the bread. Not in front of her. After she stormed out, he slowly got up and returned to his room, clutching his side.
Inside, Rio was waiting.
Shin (softly): "I'm back, buddy... sorry you had to wait..."
The little mouse climbed onto his shoulder and rubbed its nose against his cheek.
Shin: "You know, I used to believe in people. That if I worked hard, smiled, loved... they'd care back. But now? Heh... Now I realize this world only steps on the weak."
He laid down, letting Rio curl up on his chest.
Shin: "But I won't let them break me, Rio. I won't die. Not until I pay this world back for what it did."
The mouse squeaked as if it understood.
Shin: "Yeah... let's live, you and me. Just the two of us."
That night, Shin wrote in a torn notebook, planning a future no one expected from him. Something deep within had changed. Not just pain. Not just hate. But a resolve. A fire that refused to be snuffed out.
They could beat him. Starve him. Betray him. But they couldn't erase him.
And so, with a squeak and a spark of life, Shin's second life truly began.