The sun had yet to rise over the small village of Daecheon, nestled between misty hills and silent rice fields.
In an old wooden house, its walls cracked by rain and time, Elena Hana Seo was already awake.
Her mother, Sofia, was still asleep, exhausted from the fever that had kept her bedridden for weeks.
Elena cast a gentle gaze upon her before turning to the window.
The early dawn painted the sky in timid shades of pink.
Every morning was the same. She would wake before sunrise, walk to the well, then head to the market before the villagers filled the narrow streets.
She tied her long brown hair into a tight braid, slipped on her old beige linen dress, and draped a worn-out jacket over her shoulders.
Today, like every day, she would sell wild herbs, rice, and a few dried flowers.
Her life was nothing grand.
She was born here, in the house her Korean father left behind before he died, and grew up with her European mother, far from any riches.
Yet, she never truly hated this life.
Every stone along the path, every blade of grass was filled with happy memories – her parents' laughter, her mother's voice singing lullabies in French, her father's rough hand resting gently on her head.
"Dad… if you were still here, would Mom be this sick?"
The morning breeze caressed her face as she closed her eyes to hold back tears.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile.
She must not cry.
Not while her mother still needed her.
What Elena didn't know was that this day would mark the end of her peaceful life in the village.
A fate far crueler, but far greater, awaited her beyond those hills.