Chapter 2 - A Place That Isn’t Home
1280 Words
The black sedan glided silently through the city.
Nina sat in the back seat, hands folded tightly on her lap, stealing occasional glances at the man beside her.
Her father.
The word still felt unfamiliar.
Five years ago, she had hated him.
He had left when she was still a child. After the divorce, she stayed with her mother while he moved to another city for work. The visits became fewer each year until they stopped completely.
Yet somehow…
He was the one who fought to reopen her case.
The one who hired lawyers.
The one who never stopped appealing her conviction.
And finally…
The one who brought her home.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, his voice breaking the silence.
Nina looked out the window.
“You’ve already said that.”
“I know. I’ll keep saying it.”
“…”
“I failed you.”
She smiled faintly.
“Both of you did.”
The words stung more than she intended, but they were true.
Her father lowered his head.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me.”
“I know.”
“…”
“But I’ll spend the rest of my life trying.”
Neither of them spoke again.
⸻
The car stopped in front of a beautiful two-story house surrounded by flowering trees.
It looked nothing like the cramped home she had grown up in.
Everything was neat.
Everything was peaceful.
Everything felt…
Foreign.
The front door opened before they even reached it.
A graceful woman in her early forties stepped outside with a warm smile.
“Nina.”
She walked over slowly.
“I’m Clara. Your father’s wife.”
Nina bowed politely.
“Good afternoon.”
Clara’s smile softened.
“You don’t have to be nervous. I’m an attorney. I’ve known about your case for years.”
“…”
“And I know what really happened.”
Nina’s eyes widened.
“You…believe me?”
“I read every document. I spoke with your former lawyer. I reviewed every piece of evidence.”
She gently squeezed Nina’s shoulder.
“You defended yourself.”
Those four words almost shattered the walls Nina had spent five years building.
Someone believed her.
For the first time…
Someone believed her.
Before she could respond, a cheerful voice echoed from inside.
“Dad!”
A girl came running down the hallway.
She looked around sixteen or seventeen, wearing headphones around her neck.
She stopped the moment she saw Nina.
Her smile disappeared.
“So…This is her.”
“Nina,” her father said gently, “this is your younger sister, Alice.”
Alice folded her arms.
“So the criminal is finally home.”
The atmosphere froze.
“Alice,” Clara warned.
“What? I’m just saying the truth. She went to prison. Everyone knows.”
Nina looked down.
“It’s okay.”
Alice let out a sarcastic laugh.
“No.”
“It’s not okay.”
“My friends know about you.”
“My classmates know. Do you know how embarrassing that is? Dad suddenly brings home an ex-convict and expects me to call her my sister? I don’t even know you.”
Nina quietly picked up her bag.
“I can leave.”
“No.”
Her father spoke firmly.
“You are staying. This is your home too.”
Alice scoffed.
“Home? Don’t make me laugh.”
She turned around and stomped upstairs, slamming her bedroom door.
BANG.
Silence followed.
Clara sighed.
“I’m sorry. She’ll come around.”
Nina forced a small smile.
“She doesn’t have to.”
⸻
That evening…
Nina stood on the balcony outside the guest room.
The city lights shimmered in the distance.
It was beautiful.
Too beautiful.
She didn’t belong here.
She heard footsteps behind her.
Her father handed her a folder.
“I already enrolled you.”
She blinked.
“…What?”
“You wanted to study business management before. I contacted the university. You’ll start next month.”
Nina stared at the documents.
“…College?”
“As a first-year student.”
“I…I don’t know if I deserve this.”
“You deserve a future.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I’m an ex-convict.”
“So?”
“So everyone will know eventually.”
“They might.”
“They’ll judge me.”
“They probably will.”
“I’ll only ruin your family’s reputation.”
Her father looked at her with unwavering eyes.
“My reputation is meaningless if it comes at the cost of abandoning my daughter.”
Tears welled in her eyes again.
She quickly turned away.
“I’ll repay you.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“I do. I’ll find a part-time job. I’ll save enough money. And once I can live on my own…I’ll leave.”
Her father didn’t answer immediately.
“…If that’s the decision you make someday…I won’t stop you. But until then…Let me be your father.”
⸻
Across the city…
Inside an upscale café overlooking the river.
Four young men occupied their usual corner.
“You what?”
Mark nearly choked on his coffee.
Roy calmly stirred his iced americano.
“I enrolled.”
“E-enrolled? Again? You already graduated!”
Another friend, Ethan, stared at him in disbelief.
“You finished Aviation. You’re in pilot training. So why are you going back to university?”
Roy took a sip.
“I have my reasons.”
“You’ll be a first-year student. Again.”
“Yes.”
“Business Management?”
“Yes.”
Mark buried his face in his hands.
“You’ve officially lost your mind. You know that?”
Another friend leaned closer.
“Is there a girl?”
Roy looked out the café window.
“…Maybe.”
The three friends gasped dramatically.
“There IS!”
“Our emotionless Roy likes someone!”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You practically admitted it!”
Roy ignored them.
Instead, he looked across the street.
Toward a bus stop.
Where a familiar young woman had just stepped off a bus carrying a worn backpack.
Nina.
She was walking alone.
Head lowered.
Completely unaware.
Roy watched until she disappeared around the corner.
His friends followed his gaze.
“…Who’s that?”
Roy stood up.
“I’ll see you later.”
Without another explanation, he left the café.
Mark blinked.
“…Did he seriously ditch us?”
Ethan laughed nervously.
“Whoever that girl is…I suddenly feel sorry for anyone who gets in his way.”
⸻
Nina wandered through a nearby shopping district.
She wanted to memorize the route to the university before classes started.
She stopped in front of a convenience store.
A handwritten sign hung on the glass door.
PART-TIME STAFF NEEDED
She smiled to herself.
“Perfect.”
Just as she reached for the handle—
Someone else grabbed it from the other side.
The door swung open.
She instinctively stepped back.
“Oh, sorry.”
A deep, calm voice answered.
“No. You first.”
She looked up.
For the first time…
Their eyes met.
He was tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Dressed simply in a black shirt and jeans.
His expression was unreadable, almost cold, but there was something strangely gentle in his eyes.
Nina smiled politely.
“Thank you.”
She walked inside.
The young man remained standing at the entrance for a brief moment, watching her disappear between the aisles.
Then, almost imperceptibly…
He smiled.
“Welcome back, Nina.” He spoke so softly that no one else heard.
No one except himself.
She still didn’t recognize him.
But he had just seen the person he had been waiting five years to meet again.
- Writer
