Soul of My Beloved

When I Was Tortured and Killed

When I was tortured and killed, my daughter was preparing dinner for her mother-in-law.

The last thing she said to me was:

"Don't you know today is the day Mom gets discharged from the hospital?! Don't spoil such a wonderful day!"

A day later, her hospital received a badly injured body that needed to be restored.

What my daughter didn't know was that the body she carefully stitched back together belonged to her estranged biological mother.

Chapter 1

Wild dogs dug up my body from its grave. After a night of torrential rain, the soil had been washed away. Drawn by the scent, the wild dogs unearthed me from the ground and began to gnaw on me. Blood mixed with rainwater trickled down the soil, winding its way to the road. A street cleaner discovered it and, trembling, called the police. My body, mutilated by the murderer, had been folded into a burlap sack. The chief officer collapsed to the side and vomited.

"What kind of hatred drives someone to do this?" he muttered.

My soul hadn't vanished; it hovered beside my corpse. Is this really me? In life, I had been a woman who loved beauty, but in death, I had become so ugly. There was no trace of humanity left in my face; not a single piece of unscarred flesh remained.

I looked up at the drizzling rain and thought of my daughter, Hana. What is she doing now? Is she eating well? If she knew I was dead, would she be sad? I gave a bitter laugh. How could she be? Hana hated me the most.

A rookie officer ran over to the captain and said they found a smashed cake in the bushes. There were blood marks on it. A cake? My heart suddenly ached. I floated over to the cake. You could just make out two little figures, a daughter holding her mom's hand. Unfortunately, I died before I could even taste the cake.

Instinctively, I reached out to touch it, but my hand went right through, grasping nothing.

Chapter 2

My body was taken to the police station.

Due to the severe damage, it needed restoration.

The person assigned to this task was my daughter, Hana.

She was the best mortician at the hospital.

With practiced ease, she donned her gloves and mask and began her examination.

Her assistant, Judie, staggered in, her face ghostly pale.

This was her third trip to the restroom to vomit.

Hana smiled and gently patted her shoulder.

"Judie, if you're not feeling well, go take a break."

Judie waved her hand, trying to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she rushed back to the restroom.

Hana picked up the report on the table and glanced at it.

The deceased was a woman, aged between 45 and 50.

I hovered beside my daughter, anxiously circling her.

Hana, it's Mom!

Recognize me quickly, catch the murderer!

Just then, Judie came back in, fully geared up.

She looked at the report in Hana's hand.

"A middle-aged woman, huh? I wonder how heartbroken her children must be."

Hana's brow furrowed, as if something had crossed her mind.

She took out her phone.

I thought she had remembered me, but to my surprise, she dialed her mother-in-law.

The call was quickly answered.

"Mom! What are you doing at home?"

"Nothing much, just missing you~"

A voice came from the other end.

"You're always so attached. Come home for dinner with Aydan tonight?"

"Sure! I want braised pork ribs."

"No problem, I'll make them for you!"

After hanging up, Hana let out a sigh of relief, her eyes slightly red.

Judie asked, "Hana, were you calling your mom?"

"Yeah, seeing the age of this body made me think of my mom. I'm terrified something might happen to her too."

Judie chuckled and teased, "You have such a good relationship with your mom."

I floated there, stunned.

A deep, aching pain filled my heart.

So, my daughter was so obedient and affectionate in front of her mother-in-law, even acting coy.

Look, even Judie thought the person on the other end of the call was her real mom.

But what about me, Hana?

I'm your real mom.

Can't you spare a bit of love for me?

I watched my daughter busily moving around the room.

I hoped she would remember something, but even until she got off work, she didn't.

Chapter 3

After Work

After work, Aydan picked up his daughter at the hospital entrance. I followed her back to her mother-in-law's house. My daughter affectionately linked arms with her mother-in-law as they sat at the dining table. The four of them were enjoying a harmonious family dinner. I quietly moved to a corner, feeling a sting in my nose. This warmth was something I had never experienced. They were the real family, weren't they?

How long had it been since my daughter and I had a proper meal together? Every meal we had ended with her throwing a tantrum and breaking dishes. My daughter was talking about handling the remains of a middle-aged woman at the hospital today. She urged her mother-in-law to be extremely cautious when going out, fearing there might be a murderer targeting women. Her mother-in-law nodded and spoke up.

"You should remind your mom too. She lives alone, unlike us..."

My daughter's hand paused mid-air, holding a piece of food. Without lifting her head, she replied in a low voice, "No need to worry. If she dies, so be it."

"How can you say that, Hana? No matter what, she's still your mom."

Hana blew on the meat on her chopsticks and said indifferently, "I wish she wasn't my mom. The moment she caused Dad's death, she should have died with him."

I buried my head in my hands. My heart felt like it was being torn apart, the pain was unbearable. Daughter, do you hate your mom that much? Do you really wish for your mom to die?

After dinner, my daughter went back to her room. She took out her phone, her eyes lingered on our chat screen.