Overwhelmed
In a dimly lit alleyway, two silhouettes could be seen standing side by side. The faint glow from the nearby streetlights illuminated them slightly, revealing their hands holding small lights, presumably cigarettes. A sense of melancholy hung in the air as one of them spoke, "It's not that bad though, what choice do I have?"
The guy with him sneered loudly, looking at his side. He puffs the cigarette first and blows out the smoke, "Yue, are you saying that prostitution is not that bad?"
Without receiving a response, clearly agitated, he flipped out, "Are you kidding me? Having sex with an alpha is disgusting enough."
Yue, the one being addressed, didn't respond immediately, simply staring into the darkness. The tension between the two was palpable as the conversation continued.
"Jie, mom can't hold on much longer. I can't let my sisters fall into that kind of work. Besides, they're beta, and we all know that omegas are priced higher than betas," Yue said in a low, defeated voice.
"Where's that good-for-nothing old man of yours?" Jie retorted, shaking his head in frustration.
Yue merely shook his head, his face a picture of despair. The silence between them was heavy, but eventually, Yue broke it.
"We might not be able to meet for a while," he said, sounding dejected.
As if Li Jie had lost, he sighed in defeat, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stepped on it and embraced Yue tightly. Yue was taken aback at first but returned the hug. Li Jie has such a strong personality and always wants to look strong in other people's eyes. He never let others see his weak sides nor reveal his emotions to many. Only he, his best friend.
Jie responded with a mixture of sadness and resignation, "Will you be fine?"
"I hope so."
Li Jie released his hold on Yue first, his face reflecting an indescribable mix of emotions as he looked at his best friend. Despite being born and raised in a poor family, Yue's natural beauty as an omega was evident, his soft skin appearing delicate to the touch, even through his tattered clothes. His attractiveness remained unaltered.
"I have to go now, mom's client left by now", Yue threw his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it to put out the burn.
Li Jie just nods his head as a response. He can't say anything anymore and he can't think of any words to comfort Yue's feelings or himself.
As he watches Yue's physique get far, he can't help but reminisce. When Li Jie was still 4, he always ran away from home to avoid his abusive stepfather. His mother told him that whenever his stepfather comes home with a bad temper, he must run away to hide from him.
The first time he did it, he was trembling in fear when he saw his mom getting hit in the face. She was almost unable to remember her mom's reminder and ran towards her side to console her. Li Jie was so little at the time; he is a little bit smaller among kids his age in the squatter area they lived in.
When he heard him shout, "Where is that pathetic son of yours?"
With his thin legs and trembling strength, he forced himself to dash out of the door to escape. After a long time of running, Li Jie reached exhaustion and found himself at an abandoned construction site. Thinking that his stepfather would follow him and find him, afraid to get hit, Li Jie ushered towards the unfinished building and hid.
After a moment of silence, Li Jie stayed alert and thought of what-if scenarios. What if his stepfather caught up? What if he were to be discovered? The poor boy wanted to cry so badly but was afraid that he would make a noise, so he restricted himself from crying.
Li Jie's muscles tightened when he heard footsteps. It's running inside the building; its footsteps echo through the whole floor where he was hiding. Li Jie didn't notice that he was holding his breath, so when the footsteps came to stop, he let go of them with a sigh of relief.
Before he even finished, he heard a series of sniffles behind his back. With round eyes, he looked back and found a small figure around his age, sitting on the ground with his face hidden in his bent legs and arms on top of it.
Li Jie knew who the child was; this kid once went to his house to invite him to play.
Thinking that they might be found, he went near the new kid and whispered, "Why are you crying? Stop crying."
With a gasp, the kid raises his head in shock at his existence. The kid didn't notice him at all when he hid there to cry. His face was full of tears and snot. He rubs his face to get rid of the tears and snots with his small arms and his ragged clothes.
He had stopped crying.
"Are you hiding from the world as well?" the new kid asks him, still wiping his face.
Li Jie shakes his head. "I'm hiding from my stepfather."
"Yeah?"
Li Jie nods at a fast pace. "And you?"
"I'm hiding from the world. Mom said that if I cry where the world sees me, it will eat me, so I have to hide," the kid says with an innocent expression.
"Really? Is he big and scary?" the innocent Li Jie asks, starting to feel scared.
The kid nods like he did a while ago in agreement: "Mom said so."
Stepdad is scary, and he hit mom, but the world must be the scariest when he eats kids.
Li Jie thought and fell silent.
When Yue was already out of sight, Li Jie made his way back to their house. His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he noticed a black SUV parked in front of their home. His mother's anguished cries could be heard from inside the house, prompting him to rush in to find her.
Upon entering, he discovered that there were strangers inside their house. His mother was clinging to his stepfather, kneeling on the ground and sobbing uncontrollably, as if there was no tomorrow. Unable to grasp the situation, Li Jie was left speechless.
His stepfather coldly stated, "This is how you can make yourself useful to us and your mother."
With no time to react, the two men in black prepared to drag Li Jie out of the house. His mother, sensing danger, clumsily stood up and rushed towards her son, embracing him tightly as if trying to keep him from being taken away.
"You..." was all Li Jie could manage to say, his heart filled with hatred and resentment towards the situation and the man who made his life a living hell.
With his mother's wails of don'ts while embracing him tightly, and with his situation at the moment, he can't help but blame his mother. This happened because of you, mother! Because you chose that disgusting bastard and let him come into our lives! This is all on you!
Despite his anger, Li Jie couldn't bring himself to say those words aloud and can only shot his bastard stepfather a glare that it's almost bloodshot with anger.
When the men in black still can't drag Li Jie out because of his mother, the man was annoyed, "Chen Yao, get ahold of your bitch out of the way!"
As if his stepfather was an obedient dog, he hurriedly pulled the woman away from Li Jie. His mother cried loudly and tightened her embrace more.
The men in black, growing impatient, snapped, "Let go woman! Even if you kill yourself right now, he is already paid and the money is long gone!"
Li Jie's strength had given out, and he could only curse himself in his heart.
After a moment of struggle, the men managed to pry the mother and son apart. They unceremoniously dragged Li Jie away and threw him into the backseat of the SUV.
The man sitting on Li Jie's left side threatened, "Do anything funny and you're dead."
"Fuck you!" Li Jie can only muster to respond at the moment.
"T-This bastard—" clearly offended and ready to throw his fist but was stopped by the other guy.
"Restrain yourself. We can't damage the product 'til the boss sees it," he said with a nonchalant tone.
Li Jie closed his eyes, overwhelmed with frustration, sadness, and a mixture of anger, hatred, and self-pity. Yue's presence then came to his mind.
We really are best friends. Look at the situation we both are in, so damn miserable.