Villainess Reborn: SEASON ONE

The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in fiery hues of orange and pink, a sight Airin had always cherished. From her cramped, dimly lit apartment window, it was a rare moment of peace in a life defined by struggle. The lingering stench of old food and stale cigarettes from the hallway was a constant reminder of her meager existence, a stark contrast to the fleeting beauty outside.

She absently traced the peeling paint on her windowsill, the chill seeping through the thin glass. Just hours ago, her world had been reduced to a mess of egg yolk and shattered dignity, courtesy of the school bullies. And now, the curt dismissal from her part-time job, her only lifeline, left her with a gnawing emptiness in her stomach and a heavier burden on her shoulders.

Her gaze drifted to the small, second-hand phone, its cracked screen a symbol of her crumbling life. No money for food, no friends to lean on, just the endless grind of survival. The small, newspaper-wrapped package on her bed, a mysterious gift from a scared classmate, seemed like a cruel joke. Yet, as she unwrapped it, revealing a black-covered novel, a flicker of something she hadn't felt in a long time sparked within her: curiosity. 'To Be Loved,' the title read, a cruel irony for someone who had known so little of it. Little did she know, this book held the key to a destiny far more terrifying than her own.