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🕑 Added 2025-09-27 21:06:00 +0000 UTCEP.312 Season 3 Prologue
That day was the day I saw my sister for the last time.
“Hhic... Why... hhic...”
My sister died.
Seo Yuna, shaken to the core after confirming her sister’s death at the communal facility crematorium, wept endlessly.
Her parents, who witnessed the death together, fainted on the spot and were hospitalized.
The psychological shock was so severe that doctors warned they might not be able to return to daily life for some time.
“Hhic...”
In the spacious house where four had lived together, only Yuna was left alone.
The house, always noisy and cramped, felt especially large and empty that day.
“Mom... Dad... Yujin... hhuuuk...”
How did things end up like this?
Curled up in a dark corner, Yuna recalled unforgettable memories from the past.
Just four months earlier.
Yuna, having just graduated high school, went on a trip with her now-adult younger sister, Seo Yujin.
She remembered fighting with her sister, telling her not to worry about making money but just to be healthy and happy.
They were like any close sisters you might see anywhere.
But if they’d met as strangers, they would never have spoken their personalities and abilities were worlds apart.
At 24, Yuna had always been top of her class.
She entered a prestigious university, graduated, and landed a job at a major corporate research lab, making her the pride of her parents.
Now, all she had left was to find a good husband before 30, have children, and build a happy family.
Yujin, on the other hand, had stopped studying, hung out with bad friends, and barely managed to graduate at the bottom of her class.
She kept saying she’d go to college, but the study books she bought months ago were still unopened.
She always made grand plans but never followed through.
Maybe feeling something after becoming an adult, Yujin suddenly suggested they go on a trip together.
They visited local landmarks they’d never seen before and enjoyed a happy vacation.
At 6 p.m., as the sky was painted with a beautiful red sunset, Yujin confessed she wanted to get her act together and make their parents proud.
“Wake up. Who are you kidding?”
“Why do you always talk like that, sis? It’s annoying!”
What could you expect from a little sister with bad grades, a bad attitude, and a delinquent lifestyle?
Yuna told her not to worry about making their parents proud just find a good man and get married before 30.
“You don’t understand me.”
“You don’t understand me, either.”
“Ugh... I can’t talk to you. I said I’d get my act together and study, so why are you nagging me?”
“It’s just annoying.”
Yuna found her suddenly mature sister both admirable and irritating.
Despite her own hard work, it was always her underachieving sister who got their parents’ love.
While Yuna worked hard, Yujin’s mere existence made their parents happy.
Yuna had always been jealous of her little sister.
She resented her parents for never noticing her, no matter how hard she tried.
If only...
If only her sister disappeared by becoming a female livestock, maybe Yuna could have all her parents’ love...
She realized this was a terrible thought for a family member to have and shook her head in disgust at herself.
“Sis, I love you.”
“Out of nowhere?”
On the way home after their three-day trip, Yujin suddenly said that.
Seeing her smiling brightly, Yuna knew she was serious.
“You always have it hard because of me. Mom and Dad always dote on me... I just feel kind of sorry.”
“Well, I’m glad you even think that way. Did you finally grow up after graduating?”
“No! I’ve always thought this, I just never said it!”
Yuna couldn’t say anything mean to her smiling sister.
She smiled back and patted her sister’s head, wondering how she could have harbored such dark thoughts about someone so sweet.
“I love you too.”
“Hehe.”
Feeling a pang of guilt, Yuna forced a bitter smile and steeled her heart.
It’s okay not to be loved.
Her parents’ happiness was her happiness.
She wanted to protect her happy family forever, for all four of them to be together until the end.
...
But misfortune always comes suddenly.
“Which one of you is Seo Yujin?”
At the apartment entrance, two rough-looking men blocked the sisters’ path as they dragged their suitcases.
One was a young man, the other an older man with a wrinkled face.
Both wore blue work uniforms with the communal facility logo on the chest.
“Which one of you is Seo Yujin?”
“Uh, that...”
The sisters’ faces, full of laughter just moments before, turned to stone.
They felt like criminals, even though they’d done nothing wrong.
“Hey, why keep asking? It’s obviously her.”
One man pointed at Yujin, who flinched in fear and shrank back.
“Yeah, it’s her.”
Yuna and Yujin were similar in build and both had long black hair almost like twins.
But Yuna’s gentle personality shone through her pure appearance, while Yujin’s sharp eyes and pointed chin gave her a rough look from years of hanging out with bad friends.
The “female livestock” profile showed a woman with a mean face just like Yujin.
“Do you know how long we’ve been waiting? Let’s go.”
“N-no...!”
One man reached for Yujin’s wrist, but Yuna stepped in front of her.
“W-who are you..? Why are you doing this to my sister?”
Trembling, Yuna mustered her courage and glared at the facility workers.
She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t scared.
If she were alone, she’d have run away without looking back.
“You don’t know who we are? See this?”
The man laughed and pointed to the logo on his chest.
“I know, but... why are you here for my sister?”
“Why else? There’s only one reason.”
Yuna, a top student, knew better than anyone:
『Female Livestock Conscription』
There was only one reason for a communal facility worker to come looking for a stranger.
“Move aside. If you try to protect her because she’s family, you’ll get the same treatment.”
“Kyaa!”
The man swung his arm and struck Yuna’s face.
She collapsed, clutching her face.
“Sis!”
“Hhuuk...”
The pain in her face was nothing compared to her fear for her sister being taken away.
How could she save her?
Was it even right for them to take her away so suddenly?
“This is illegal! It’s illegal!”
Yuna suddenly shouted.
The facility’s actions were incomprehensible.
“What?”
The man holding Yujin’s wrist stopped, annoyed by Yuna’s defiance.
“What did you say?”
“I-it’s illegal..! How can you just take someone without explanation? How is this different from kidnapping?!”
Even while trembling with fear, Yuna said everything she wanted to say.
She never would have dared alone, but her sister’s future was at stake.
“Illegal...? Are you denying the state’s conscription duty? Do you know how serious a crime that is?”
Denying the state’s conscription duty to solve low birthrates was tantamount to treason.
Just for saying that, Yuna could be sentenced to death.
“N-no... I just... why... why are you taking my sister...?”
“Oh, is that what you wanted to know? I’m not telling you.”
The man glared at Yuna, trying to intimidate her.
The other worker, who’d been quietly watching, sighed.
“Sigh... Hey, rookie. We don’t have time. Just tell her. She’s the sister, right? She wants to know why her sister’s being taken.”
“Yes, sir.”
The younger man politely bowed to his senior and pulled out a chart.
When forcibly conscripting a female livestock, it was standard procedure to explain the reason.
Even if Yuna hadn’t shouted, they would have told her anyway.
“Okay... Name: Seo Yujin, age 20. She got the conscription notice a few months ago, right? She didn’t turn herself in, so now we’re enforcing it. Got it?”
“N-no... This is absurd...!”
“What?”
“We never got any notice at home.”
“What?”
She wasn’t lying.
Yuna and Yujin really never saw any notice.
