Chapter 1

After I could understand what cats and dogs were thinking, I went from the invisible nobody of the family to its star.

My sister stopped calling me "that one" and started clinging to my arm.

"Sis, from now on I'm counting on you to take care of the dog."

My mother, who wouldn't even let me sleep in during summer break, was suddenly all smiles at me, and even bragged about me in front of relatives.

My father, who couldn't remember my birthday, was thrilled to drag me into livestreaming.

"Livestreaming how you understand cats and dogs, that's a hit and it pays. This whole family is riding on you now."

I was so busy I only slept four hours a night, but compared to being invisible before,

having the whole family see me, cheer me on, made all the exhaustion feel worth it.

Until I found a torn-open medication packet in the trash can.

The pills treated cat and dog allergies. In overdose they caused severe hallucinations.

No one in the house was allergic to cats or dogs except me.

A terrible thought flashed through my mind.

Was the reason I could hear their thoughts that I'd been fed this drug?

Suddenly the door swung open and my mother came in.

"What are you looking at? Drink your milk first."

......

She was carrying one glass of milk and one glass of plain water.

"We're out of milk. You're the older sister, let your little sister have it. You drink the water."

For eighteen years my mother had brought my sister milk before bed.

But bringing milk to me had only started two weeks ago.

Which was exactly when I discovered I could hear cats and dogs.

Back then I'd been overwhelmed with gratitude, taking the milk and drinking it happily.

"Thank you, Mom."

Watching the little particles floating in the plain water, the suspicion in my chest grew stronger.

"We've been out of milk for a week now. If money's really that tight, you don't have to bring me anything."

A flicker of awkwardness crossed her face as she pushed the water toward me.

"Why do you fuss over every little thing? Just drink it."

I took it and set it aside, pointing at my phone.

"It's a call from the ad sponsor."

She pursed her lips and mouthed at me, pointing at the glass.

"Remember to drink it later."

Once she left, I turned and poured the water into the potted plant.

Then I opened my door, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

It was late, but my sister's room was still lit, voices drifting out from behind the half-closed door.

"Mom, why didn't you bring Sis milk? Plain water gives it away so easily."

My sister pouted, playing cute, a thick smear of milk on her lips.

"Like she deserves it!"

My mother pursed her lips and wiped the milk from the corner of my sister's mouth.

"The best of everything in this house goes to you. You take after me. You'll amount to something one day."

My father was half-lying on the couch, counting off the number on the screen with his finger.

"Being an influencer really is fast money. Her livestreams reading animal minds have brought in over a million already."

My mother gave a dismissive snort.

"That's only because your sister was clever, slipping the drug into her water on the sly. That's how we found out what she was worth."

"Otherwise, with a blockhead like her, she'd struggle just to feed herself. Right, sweetie?"

My sister nodded, grinning.

"Sis got lazy and didn't want to look after the dog, said she was allergic to dog hair."

"After she drank the water with the drug in it, her reaction was hilarious. I still can't forget it."

The day I discovered I could hear the animals, I'd asked my family in a panic, and every one of them said no.

At home, it was the dog talking to me.

Even scrolling on my phone, I could hear animals griping about their owners.

I'd clamped my hands over my ears, half-convinced something was wrong with my mind.

And all that time, my sister had watched me with a smug look, my mother had snickered off to the side, my father had sat there thinking it over.

They all knew I'd been drugged, and not one of them told me the truth.

My vision blurred. I bit down hard on my lip.

The next moment my father got up from the couch, his brow furrowed.

"Her stream traffic and sales on the platform dropped a lot yesterday. What's going on?"

My sister rolled over in bed and gave a soft laugh.

"That's because Sis's mind-reading trick keeps cutting in and out. One minute it works, the next it doesn't, and the viewers lose interest."

My father sighed.

"So what do we do? I already told the relatives' group we were getting a new house. At this rate we can't even scrape together the down payment."

My mother clicked her tongue and patted her chest.

"Don't worry, honey. Next time I'll give the girl a double dose. I guarantee the stream goes well."

A sweet, bloody taste spread through my mouth, my hand tightening around the door handle.

I wanted to storm in and confront my sister, who drugged me just because she didn't want to look after the dog.

To confront my father, who knew I'd been drugged and used me on those streams anyway.

To confront my mother, who drugged me every single day under the cover of bringing me milk.

Twenty years living side by side, and had they ever once treated me like family?

The next moment the door was suddenly pulled open.

I stumbled forward with the momentum, and my mother's voice came from above me.

"What are you doing out here? You weren't eavesdropping, were you?"