In the tenth year of my diagnosis with selective mutism, my mother decided it was time to bring home a little brother for me from an orphanage.

Her eyes immediately landed on a boy in the back row, but the head of the orphanage opposed without hesitation.

"Ms. Lane, this kid has been nothing but trouble since he was small. Just two days ago, he made an old man on crutches play goalie. If you take him home, your life will never be peaceful!"

I looked on without the slightest interest.

My mother, however, was exhilarated. Pointing at the boy, she declared excitedly, "Then, he's exactly the one I want!"

And suddenly, lines of bullet comments scrolled before me.

'The mom cracks me up. Her eyes practically sparkled like spotlights.'

'Our brooding female lead grew up friendless. Her mom's been worrying about that for years. Now she's found this rascal, there's no way she's letting go.'

'Honestly, fate is wild. The mom instantly picks her future son-in-law. In their past lives, the female lead died trying to save him. Now that they've both been reborn, maybe they'll finally get a second chance together.'

A Brother I Didn't Ask For

Seeing the lines of comments scrolling by, I stayed calm, expression unreadable.

Since I was little, I'd known the truth: everything in this world was a lie.

All of us were just characters in a story, made for someone else's amusement like toys. Because of that, I'd grown up lonely and strange and ended up with selective mutism.

I didn't think much of it myself.

It was only my mother who suffered, always trying to make me happy.

"Let go of me! That old man only broke his leg. He can still move his hands. Why can't he be our goalie? And anyway, he wanted to exercise himself—"

The little boy struggled against the hold but couldn't move. Hearing him, Edith Sinclair, the head of the orphanage, felt the veins in her forehead throb with anger as she shouted, "Quiet!"

Then, letting out a tired sigh, she rubbed her forehead and said helplessly, "Then, why yesterday did you hand Ms. Linton's bedpan to Leo and make him drink from it?"

The boy just went "oh" casually, sticking out his tongue in a cheeky grin.

"Leo likes sweet stuff, and Ms. Linton has diabetes, so I thought he should taste it—"

He didn't even finish his sentence before Edith slammed her hand against his head.

He yelped, baring his teeth in an exaggerated scream, quickly begging for mercy.

I couldn't help frowning.

It was so noisy.

I really didn't understand why my mother even came here. For someone like me, what was the point of having playmates?

I was just about to tug my mother away when she suddenly stepped forward, warmly taking Edith's hand, a satisfied smile lighting her face.

"Ms. Sinclair, I want to adopt him. I'd like to finalize the adoption today."

Edith panicked, sweat pouring down her face, shouting, "This can't happen!" while pushing the boy back.

The little boy, driven by his rebellious streak, went against Edith.

Every time Edith pushed him back, he would lunge forward. He screamed until his voice cracked, his small face flushed bright red. "Let me go! I'm grabbing all this luck for myself!"

But in the end, her strength won. He was dragged into a room.

The little boy banged on the door from inside, rattling it loudly, and pressed his face to the small glass window to peek out.

Edith wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Ms. Lane, you've seen for yourself. He's way too much to handle, and he's been unlucky his whole life. Wherever he goes, trouble follows. How could we possibly give a child like this to you?"

The boy had been screaming and kicking, demanding to get out, but Edith's words slowly quieted him.

Through the window, I saw him lower his head, leaving only a single tuft of hair visible.

I looked away after a glance, shaking my mother's arm to signal we should leave.

I had never wanted a little brother, and right now, that suited me perfectly.

But in the next second, my mother stepped forward, pushed the door open, and gently took his hand.

"Do you want to come home with me?"

At that, both the boy and I looked up simultaneously.

His eyes lit up, while my brow tightened.

My mother really planned to bring this loud, chaotic kid home?

Seeing his chance at being adopted, the boy nodded eagerly. "Mom! Take me with you!"

I sneered.

That was a fast turnaround.

My tiniest gesture caught his attention, and he let out an exaggerated, "Wow!"

Chaos in the Next Room

"Sis, I'm your brother from different parents!"

I was speechless.

Edith pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

The live chat was blowing up faster than ever.

'I don't understand. In his past life, Elias was cold and distant. How did he turn into this in the next life?'

'And our female lead was a ray of sunshine before, but now she's this deadpan, gloomy type. I'm so sick of that lifeless expression on her face. And now Elias comes along and actually shakes her up!'

'Her emotions are about to go haywire. With Elias' chaotic energy, not even her posh houses will survive the storm he's about to unleash.'

Reading those comments, I pressed my lips together.

I wanted to stop my mother from bringing him home, but after years of selective mutism, I'd completely forgotten how to speak.

In the end, I ended up sitting in the backseat of the car with Elias.

Before we left, Edith patted the door anxiously, as if a thousand words were trapped in her chest. "Ms. Lane, this is my personal number. If anything comes up, contact me immediately. We'll surely take him back!"

Elias rolled his eyes in the seat.

I silently memorized Edith's number, ready to make him leave at a moment's notice.

No matter what happened in my past life, it had nothing to do with me now.

My mother put Elias in the room next to mine. Her reason was that he could spend more time with me.

Initially, I planned to keep to myself and avoid any conflict.

But the moment he stepped into the bedroom, he shouted with excitement, "Wow! Mom, we're rich!"

Then, he started dumping all the junk he'd brought from the orphanage into the room, marking his territory like a hyperactive dog.

I stared at the garish mess, feeling numb.

My mother covered her mouth and laughed quietly.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, irritation written all over my face.

He really did have a talent for putting himself on a pedestal. No matter what, I would never give someone like him a friendly smile.

…

Dinner came, and I ate my usual portion of vegetables.

After a few bites, I set down my spoon.

My mother looked worried.

"Sunny, you're eating less and less. This isn't healthy."

I lowered my eyes to the mostly untouched pasta on my plate, staying silent.

The next second, a peeled shrimp appeared on my plate.

I turned, puzzled, and saw Elias grinning at me, all smiles and charm.

"Sis, I noticed you looked at this plate of shrimp three times for a total of five seconds. I figured you wanted to eat them but didn't want to peel them, so I took the liberty. Hope you don't mind it."

Then, he blinked at me, practically begging for approval.

I looked away, tossed the shrimp back onto the plate, and stayed quiet.

Elias stared for a moment, then his expression shifted as if he'd had an epiphany. He went off to the kitchen, fiddled around, and returned holding a small dish of dipping sauce, setting it in front of me.

"Sis, maybe plain shrimp's a little boring? I made this sauce myself. If you don't mind..."

He blinked at me again.

My mother shook her head from the side. "Elias, your sister's been picky since she was little. I can't even figure out what she likes…"

Her voice trailed off, and soon she watched in disbelief as I finished an entire plate of shrimp.

Elias' plate, by contrast, was a tiny mountain of shells.

My mother's shock rendered her speechless. "How is this possible?"

A small smile tugged at my lips.

He wasn't exactly a servant, but having someone cater to me wasn't bad at all.

Still, I wouldn't give him a friendly response.

Elias's leaving was only a matter of time.

He was just too loud.

My room was always locked, but today, when I opened my eyes, I found Elias leaning over the head of my bed.

He blinked up at me.

Seeing me awake, he practically vibrated with excitement.

"Sis, I haven't asked your full name yet. Mom calls you Sunny. That's your nickname, right? What's your real name?

"Oh, and your door was really tricky to open! Luckily, I learned lockpicking from Mr. Warren at the orphanage. Today, it came in handy!

"Sis, why are you hiding from me?"

He jabbered on and on, and I reached my limit.

When Luck Turns Against Us

I yanked the blanket over my head as hard as I could.

Maybe this would make him go away.

Instead, he started tickling my feet.

Then, he climbed onto my bed, wriggled under the blanket from the foot of the bed, and stared up at me with wide eyes.

After a pause, he gave a shy little smile. "Please, Sis, just tell me?"

I shut my eyes in despair.

Comments flew faster than I could read.

'I can't… Elias is such a troublemaker. He's not even ten yet, right? That's exactly the age everyone finds impossible, the one nobody likes.'

'The poor female lead… I can't even imagine how her peaceful, quiet life is being destroyed by a boy who's like an energetic Husky.'

'Let's clear Elias' name. He's not a goofball who needs walks like a dog; he can handle himself.'

'Please, I'm begging for the male lead to go back to being his calm, cool self.'

The comments scrolled faster and faster, and with each one, my heart sank a little more. The more I watched, the more I realized I couldn't keep him in the house.

That night, I quietly contacted Edith, texting, 'Ms. Sinclair, please take Elias away.'

But before I could even send the message, the sound of shattering glass made me flinch.

I turned around to see Elias panicking, guilt written all over his face.

"Oh no… Sis, I-I didn't mean to! I didn't think it would break so easily! I just thought the flowers in that vase were pretty and wanted to pick one for you. But as soon as I plucked it, the vase cracked."

His left hand twisted at his shirt, and his right hand clutched a sunflower tightly.

That vase was carefully taken care of every day. It was a keepsake from my grandfather.

And now, it was broken by some stranger who had just arrived.

I glared at him, eyes stinging, ready to say something, but no words came out.

My stare made him look even more guilty.

His eyes went red, and he knelt down, hugging my calves, shaking back and forth. "Sis, I'm sorry! I know I was wrong. Please forgive me. Don't send me away! I just wanted to give you a flower. I didn't mean to break anything in the house."

By the end, his tears and sniffles were smearing down my pants.

I kicked him away in disgust and saw the comments scrolling.

'Poor kid… Even though he's the male lead, he had a rough childhood. In his past life, he died in a car accident right before his wedding. Now, finally reincarnated to reunite with the female lead, he's still burdened with bad luck. His past two years have been cursed.'

'His misfortune used to bring everyone around him down. He got bullied for so long. If Edith hadn't protected him, he probably wouldn't have survived to meet the female lead at all.'

Reading those comments made my chest tighten.

I picked up my smartwatch, added him as a contact, and typed a message. 'I'm fine. Stop crying.'

When I looked at Elias, my gaze held more than a hint of complexity.

In a world like this, it seemed our fates were never fully in our own hands. I had selective mutism. He had been plagued by bad luck since childhood.

Past life or present, it seemed neither of us ever caught a break.

Seeing Elias still sniffle quietly, I let out a soft sigh.

I said nothing and turned to leave.

I didn't know that Elias was watching me leave, his eyes quietly dropping as I walked away.

Distracted, I didn't watch my step and twisted my ankle on the staircase, tumbling straight down.

The sound made his face go pale as paper. Without thinking, he leaped from the second floor, landing next to the stairs and catching me.

Blood clouded my vision, and sharp pain stabbed my head.

Elias had a gash on his forehead, blood streaming down in a steady flow, but he seemed oblivious to the pain, straining to lift me up.

In a daze, the scene felt strangely familiar.

At that moment, the comments exploded.

'Whoa, everyone! Isn't this the scene from when the male and female leads died in their past life? Could it be that they're regaining their memories?'