Chapter 3 ;

"You can trust me." Luhan pursed his lips into a thin line and nodded his head to tell Sehun that whatever the latter tells him will remain safe in his knowing.

Upon seeing the sincere look in the dancer's eyes, Sehun choked back another bucket of tears.

Never in his life has he seen someone looking at him in that manner, as if to tell him that he will be there for him always.

Never in his life had someone- apart from his foster mother- even bothered to ask him whether he was fine or not.

And this first person that actually cared for him, is a stranger.

"Sorry... For running into you..." Sehun furtively glanced at his surroundings, comforting and convincing himself that those bad people will not be able to find him in the alley.

"It's okay." Luhan replied and kept silent, looking at the taller of the two and waiting for him to continue.

"My dad and another man... They're after me..."

Luhan nodded, as if to prompt Sehun to keep talking.

Sehun looked at Luhan. Suddenly, it seemed as though all of his walls has been broken down in front of this baby-faced stranger. He knew that Luhan would not be able to do anything to help him. He did not know who Luhan was. He knew nuts about this older teenager in front of him. But still, something in him urged him to continue speaking.

"My parent abandoned me since I was young, and I was sent to the orphange. When I was seven years old, a couple adopted me. My father never really seemed to care, but my mother was really nice to me. My mother really wanted a child, but she and dad could not bear a child due to some reasons. So she invested a lot of time, money, and love into me. "

Sehun stopped for a moment to swallow the lump forming in his throat.

"But my mother died of cancer the very same year she took me in. After her death, it was as if dad had no reason to treat me like a human anymore. Mum was gone, and I knew that nothing will go well for me."

Luhan's phone started ringing, and Sehun stopped talking. Luhan quickly answered the call, and Sehun started to listen out for any footsteps coming his way.

“对不起，我可能会迟到。在上学的路上遇到了问题。” (I'm sorry, I may be late for school. I met some problems on my way.) Luhan spoke in a foreign language, grabbing Sehun's attention.

The black haired guy could hear some ranting from the other side of the line.

“什么啦！害到我那么早起床！” (What?! You made me get up so early!)

Before Yi Xing could start swearing and cursing, Luhan raised his voice and hurriedly cut him off, “对不起啦！我会请你吃顿好餐！” (I'm so sorry! I'll treat you to a nice meal!)

With that, he ended the call and profusely apologized to Sehun, whose gaze were locked on him. He must be thinking that I'm a weirdo... Shouting into the phone in some weird foreign language...

"Please continue. I'm so sorry for interrupting." Luhan apologized again, afraid that the interruption would cause Sehun to change his mind about him being sincere and not confide in him anymore.

"To dad, I'm nothing but a burden.  He treats me badly. He comes home drunk, takes out his anger on me and makes me skip school... I have to take up odd jobs like delivering milk from door to door to earn money for myself because dad wouldnt give me any allowance..."

Sehun glued his eyes to the floor, unable to look at Luhan in the eye.

He was afraid that Luhan would be look down on him.

"I ended up dropping out of school." Sehun said, letting his eyes roam to Luhan's neatly ironed school uniform. He wanted to go back to school, to mix with people of his age, to live the life of a normal teenager...

"Dad cares only about money, and always takes my hard earned money away from me by force..."

Luhan started to feel his heart ache in empathy and sympathy for the teenager standing in front of him. He did not know what he could do to help this guy. He was so bent on helping him out that he did not even bother if he was late for school. The first few periods of the day were their majors-- which meant dance for the doe-eyed dancer. Yet, he did not care if he missed dance period. As long as he could ensure Sehun is safe and sound, it was worth it.

"I have no money with me despite taking up three to four jobs." Sehun then shamefully continued,"Dad abuses me..."

"Is this why you're running away?" Luhan managed to croak. He was overwhelmed with emotions.

He did not know what to feel. A teenager, younger than him, losing both parents at a young age, then experiencing his foster mother passing away, leaving his abusive dad to abuse him and make him quit school to pick up odd jobs, just to take away all of his salary...

Is this what a teenage boy is supposed to go through?

Sehun shook his head.

Tears welled up in Sehun's eyes again, and Sehun clenched his fists and opened them up repeatedly to drive away the clammy feeling on his palms.

"My dad wants to sell me away..."

The fragile teenager was crying again. He hated the fact that he was crying again.

But somehow, it seemed okay to be vulnerable in front of Luhan.

"For money..."

A/N;

Yaaay! I finally get some time to switch on my laptop ;~; School's ing me from everything :( 

Here's chapter 3! ^^ Hope you enjoyed it :))