fake smile episode 1

Part 1: The Corpse at the Foot of the Stairs

The rain fell that night as if the sky were collapsing. Jijah stood at the foot of the stairs in the mansion, her eyes vacant. Before her lay her father. His skull was fractured. Blood had half-dried on the white marble floor—the very floor her father used to care for most.

"It was probably just an accident," her mother said. Her voice was incredibly calm. So calm it was eerie.

"Yeah, Jijah, your dad was old. A slip is normal," Jammy added. He placed a hand on Jijah’s shoulder. His hand was hot. The same hand that, three days ago, had her father sign a new contract.

Jijah didn't answer. She simply nodded.

Because in her mind, she had noticed one thing: the cactus by the stairs was overturned. Soil was scattered. And her father’s antique clock, which always stopped at 11:47 PM... tonight, it had stopped at 11:47 once again.

Jammy thought Jijah was stupid.

Her mother thought Jijah was lazy.

Her siblings thought Jijah had no brains.

They were wrong.

That night, after everyone had fallen asleep, Jijah entered her father’s room. She didn't cry. She opened her father's old laptop. The "Contracts" folder was empty. But in the "Recycle Bin," there was a three-minute video file dated two days before his death.

The video was dark, but her father's voice was clear:

"If you’re hearing this, it means I’m gone. Jammy... he’s not my friend, Jijah. He wants to finish us all."

The video cut to black.

And Jijah heard a woman’s voice laughing softly just before the screen died.

It was her mother’s voice.

 Part 2 The Game Begins

Three months later, Jijah became "Lazy Jijah."

She woke up late. She was lazy with her studies. She gave everyone a hollow smile. Jammy praised her, saying, "Finally, you’ve moved on." Her mother nodded in satisfaction.

But at night, Jijah became someone else.

Using a pseudonym, she contacted a hacker her father used to know. She traced Jammy's calls. She scanned the house's CCTV footage repeatedly until her eyes ached. She discovered one thing: on the night her father died, there was a third person outside the gate. That person wore a black hoodie. Their height matched Jammy’s perfectly.

But Jammy wasn't foolish. He started to test Jijah.

He sent a man over—handsome and charming. "Don't you want a friend, Jijah? It's lonely being by yourself."

The man tried to get close. To stall for time. To find out what Jijah knew.

Jijah played along. She acted as if she were falling in love. She giggled and laughed. Until one night, she whispered softly to the man:

"I’ve found the traitor's child. But he won't last long... death is coming."

The man’s face turned pale instantly.

Game on.

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