The atmosphere was cold as the sun still hasn't risen up yet. Two figures lay on a thin sheet of fabric inside a small room. Because it was in the middle of winter, it was a lot colder than ordinary days.
When the first rooster crowed, one of the people who lay on the ground moved and sat up. It was a female who looked thin and pale. At a glance, one would assume she was someone who had seen most of the world and experienced a lot in her life, but in truth, the woman was only in her mid-twenties.
The woman shivered at once when she moved and looked around for something to heat the small room from the cold season, but was disappointed to see the room was bare of anything that could help her warm herself up.
Looking down, her son lay peacefully beside her albeit also feeling the extreme cold. Rubbing her arms with her hands, the woman hissed because it didn't do anything to warm her because her hands were as cold as ice.
"Mother?"
The little boy appeared to be around 7 years old. Black hair, round phoenix eyes, and thick brows. An image of the man that had abandoned her and whom she had loved so dearly matched with the little boy.
"Sleep, baby. Mother will prepare some food for us to eat," replied the mother with a smile.
The little boy stared at his mother for a brief moment before closing his eyes. He didn't tell his mother that he knew that there was no food in their house. They hadn't even eaten anything last night, where did his mother get some food?
Still, the little boy stayed where he was lying on the ground and curled up to cover up the tears that slipped down his eyes.
There was a sound of his mother changing clothes and putting her shoes on. The little boy listened as his mother left their small house early in the morning.
…
"Hey, I saw your mother last night with the neighbor's thug. Are you finally getting a daddy?"
The little boy's eyes darkened but bit his lips while two pairs of hands held both his arms back.
"What? Are you angry? You should be angry at your mother who sells herself for food! Hahaha! My mom said you'll soon get hundreds of siblings!"
The mocking provocation continued. The little boy helplessly listened to them make fun of his mother.
He should be angry just like what his classmate had said. However, not towards his mother who had done nothing but showered him with love, but towards the people who mocked and insulted his mother.
However, even though he could pry his arms away from these bullies and beat them all up, he couldn't do it. He couldn't allow the teacher to call his mother again to the school and see his mother bow her head and apologize to them.
Hence, the little boy kept his evil thoughts to himself and persevered.
The bullying he received from his classmates was constant, but slowly, he got used to them. It was the same cycle anyway.
…
When the little boy returned home from school, the small house they were renting had its doors closed and the lights weren't turned on.
But he saw an additional pair of large slippers in front of the door entrance together with his mother.
The little boy stopped in his tracks and looked at the small house before running away. Despite his young age, he was too smart to know what his mother was doing inside.
And even though he already accepted the reality of it, he couldn't hang around outside their door all day and hear his mother being humiliated.
And so, every time his mother brought in a 'guest', the little boy would sit in front of a computer shop and wait for time to pass before he would return.
As always, whenever he arrives home, his mother still has the brightest smile in the world. The small house looked as if no stranger had entered it and they were still the same as in the past.
When the mother saw the bruise on her son's lips, she worriedly pulled him to her side, asking, "Who did this? Did this happen at school?"
The little boy stared at him in silence as she continued. "Let's go and meet your principal tomorrow."
"Mother doesn't have work tomorrow?" asked the little boy.
His mother stilled before continuing the gentle smile on her face, "That's right. Mother earned a bit more than last time so I can take you to school tomorrow and talk to the principal. After that, I'll take you to the mall and buy lots of new clothes for you!"
The little boy bit his bruised up lips. The 'mall' that his mother was talking about was the neighboring clothes shop in the vicinity. It was a big store, but the little boy knew it wasn't the mall that everybody in his classroom was talking about. As for buying lots of new clothes… it should be buying a complete set of clothes at a discounted price.
He wanted to say no and tell his mother to keep the money to buy herself a new dress, but the way his mother's eyes lit up at the idea halted him.
And the words that wanted to tell her to stop working stayed at the tip of his tongue.
In the end, he could only force out a smile so as to not worry and ruin his mother's joyful and lovely mood.
"Thank you, mother!" said the little boy before hugging his mother. "I love you!"
"I love you too."
Even if their lives were filled with misfortune and suffering, the little boy won't allow anything to ruin this peacefulness.
But as if the gods were laughing at him, the peacefulness he tried so hard to keep shattered.
On the day he returned from school like usual, he saw several people from their neighborhood standing across the front of their rented house.
The little boy quickened his steps and pushed the people so he could get closer and see what was happening when he heard a man cursing out loud.
"Slut!" shouted the man. "You stole my money, right? Where did you take it?!"
"Please, don't do this. Let's go inside and discuss this."
The one who was begging while a clear bruise on her cheeks was his mother. The little boy was extremely shocked at the sight before him and before he knew it, his feet had started to walk towards them.
But one pleading look from his mother halted him. The expression on her face told him to not step forward as it would only make things harder. The little boy also knew this from the previous times he got himself involved with his mother's matters, and it didn't end well for both him and especially, his mother.
Once midnight arrived, the matter was already settled. His mother's earnings were all taken from her. His mother cried in the middle of the night and kept whispering under her breath that she never stole anything.
The little boy also knew this, but the world had already branded his mother as a thief as if it was the natural order of the world for the victim to be the preparator.
Days quickly passed and because of what happened last time, his mother couldn't work nor could she give his son any pocket money. They could only eat rice and some soy sauce to carry on.
Until that day…
In the middle of the night, a burglar entered their house. The little boy quickly woke up to the sound of fighting and screaming for help. His mother struggled with the burglar who was holding her small bag the little boy recognized as the bag that contained the little money his mother saved for his studies.
The boy couldn't move while struck with fear. He was just a little boy and he was watching this horror play out in his eyes.
The burglar didn't think that the woman had some strength in her thin arms and pushed her forcefully. And when his mother was pushed back against the floor, the eyes of the burglar slowly turned sinister.
"Well, since you don't want me to go…Why don't you play with me for a little bit!"
The little boy's mother understood what he was talking about and her face turned pale. With quivering lips, she quickly avoided his hands and screamed at the top of her lungs for help.
The little boy also tried to shout for help despite his body paralyzed from fear and shock.
Sadly, no help arrived.
It was as if the world had separated from them.
The man caught his mother.
But then, the little boy thought to himself…
If help can't be received from others. Then, he can only do it himself.
When the burglar started to get on top of his mother, he didn't take the little boy seriously in his eyes. Just a boy rendered with fear, what can he possibly do?
But that was his big mistake.
The moment the burglar realized what had happened, the boy had already stabbed him with the knife that his mother used to slice fruits with.
The boy realized that the world had abandoned them. But he could save him and his mother.
And it was also the time when Song Yu Han was disappointed in humanity. He swore to never entrust his life to anyone.
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