[Sorry for the long hiatus. Writer's block OTL. And sorry for this short chapter]

“No!!!” Tao woke up screaming. He had a dream about Kris throwing a giant red rubber ball on him.

Tao got up and scratched his eyes. He yawned as propped himself from his gray sheets. He sat on the edge of his bed and put on his black slippers

 It was an unusually hot Saturday and Tao felt drowsy and tired like he couldn’t get sleep last night. But who could rest properly when even in your dreams your nemesis would bother you.

He stood up and headed for the bathroom. He washed his face on the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He soaked the white tank top he slept in so he took it off; anyway he lived alone so being half in his own house wasn’t a problem.

Tao headed for the kitchen and made himself some cereal like he always has for breakfast for the past years. Its not that he didn’t know how to cook anything else; its just that it was cheap, easy to make and Tao was lazy. After putting milk into his bowl and having a spoonful, he brought his breakfast to his living room and jumped on the brown leather couch, he grabbed the remote on the coffee table near him and the tv. The news was on but Tao didn’t care about politics or the weather; he just used it to find out the time.

“12:00 pm? It’s that late?” Tao thought to himself but didn’t care as he ate his brunch

Tao switched the channel to cartoons which he would always watch after he woke up. The funny animations always managed to make Tao laugh. Tao was such a child at times.

Tao had finished his brunch and was relaxing when he was alarmed by the sound of the telephone ringing.

Tao rushed to answer it.

“Anyeong?” Tao spoke

“Tao! Baby!” It was the voice of a woman

Tao rolled his eyes “Yah mom, what is it? Why’d you call?”

“Uh I just wanted to remind of the money your dad owes me” The woman said pleasantly

“Dad’s been dead for 3 years now; I doubt he owes you any money. You’re separated after all” Tao bit his lip

“But-but the alimony. Its late and I’d really like it if you could go to the bank and tell them for me” The woman had a pleading tone

“Ugh… Is that really why you called?” Tao asked trying to hold in his frustration

“Yes Dear. Anyway I have to go now. Take care and don’t forget my money~” The woman hang up

Tao banged the phone. He felt hurt and mad at the same time at his gold-digging mother.

Tao wasn’t an orphan but sometimes he wished he was.

 Tao’s father was a very wealthy man who married Tao’s mom who was beautiful but poor and had no real interest in anything except money which was why the marriage was rushed and the divorce was much faster. Tao grew up with his dad and was used to the fact that his parents were separated. Although his dad was a workaholic and wasn’t really involved with him, his dad was still a better parent than his mother, who needed money from his father just so she could bond with her son. Tao was used to calls from his mother that contained nothing but financial talk. He used to cry when he was in gradeschool because he thought he didn’t love her but now all his resentment turned into acceptance. Acceptance to the fact that unconditional love wasn’t real.

Tao was an only child so when his father died in middleschool, all his father’s wealth went to him and in his father’s will, his father made sure that none went to Tao’s mother. A huge legal battle was fought for a year before Tao was permitted to live alone and was declared as the sole heir. Tao grew a sort of hatred for his mother who felt entitled to his father’s money but still respected her and sometimes visited during the holidays.

Tao inhaled and exhaled slowly, letting go of all his anger.

Tao washed the dishes and fixed the bed before he took a shower.

Tao wore a simple back V-neck for a hot Saturday afternoon.

Headed for the bank, Tao passed by Kris’ house again.

Tao knew it was Kris’ house by the motorbike with the vandalism on it.

As the pierced boy passed by his enemy’s house, he heard  a woman’s voice screaming.

Tao snickered as he went near the walls where he heard the sound. He pressed his ear on the brick wall.

The mystery over the woman in Kris’ home was settled. It was Kris’ mom and Kris was getting an ear-ful.

Tao listened to their conversation.

“WU YI FAN! How could you recklessly neglect the gift me and your father got for you?! Do you not know how to take care of your belongings?! How to value your items? I thought I raised a responsible son not an ungrateful one! Do you know how expensive that bike is? How much trouble we went through to afford such a gift?” The woman, by the sound of her voice was furious

“Ma- Mama, I’m really sorry but it wasn’t my fault… Someone wrote that on my bike. Iam just a victim” Kris explained

“Oh really?! And who could it be? A bully? Are you getting bullied? That’s impossible! You’re handsome. Kris sometimes I don’t get these teenage expressions of yours. I know you’re in your puberty stage but I thought your style would be more tasteful no?” Kris’ mom assumed

“Maaaaa~ I’m serious! Someone drew that. Its not me, why would I insult myself?” Kris questioned

“I’m sorry but your driver’s license will get postponed because of your lies”

Kris pleaded “Please ma! I didn’t do it. Honestly, would I lie to you?”

“YAH THEN WHO DID IT? WAS IT THAT GUY I SAW SNOOPING BY THE HOUSE THE OTHER DAY?!” Kris’ mom confronted

Tao’s eyes widened. He got out of there as soon as possible.

He frisked as fast as he could to the bank.

He did his errands fast so he could get over with the gold-digger.

He got the money and took a cab to his mom’s house.

Approaching the dark, small bungalow, Tao rang the doorbell.

Tao waited and waited but there was no answer

“Mom!” Tao yelled

Tao kept yelling and when he got no response he felt a bit alarmed. He fumbled with the knob but it was locked. So he broke in.

He looked inside the poorly lit house and didn’t see his mom. He took a turn to the guest room and heard a grunt.

Tao turned to see his mom, flopped on the floor, bottle in her hand and drunk out of her wits.

Tao looked at her in disappointment. It wasn’t an unusual sight but Tao felt hurt everytime he’d see his mother like this. Tao lifted his mother on the guest room bed and confiscated the wine bottle.

“Heeeyy..” Tao’s mom moaned

Tao continued. Tao put a blanket on her and put the money on top of her plus some extra for the broken door.

Tao hastily but discreetly exited her house; bottle in hand. Tao drank it as he walked the streets.

It was late afternoon as Tao decided it was a good idea to take a stopover at the nearest bar.

The tipsy Chinese man entered the isolated bar. It seemed like he was the only one there that early if you subtract some eerily looking folks and some girls who looked like es.

Tao got a table at the far end and ordered a couple of drinks. He needed to numb the pain down and thought that alcohol was doing a fine job.

Tao drank his face off. He drank more when he thought he could no longer drink. He drank more when he already passed out. He just wanted to forget his life. He wanted to drink till morning.

Tao had passed out, just like his mother earlier; bottle in hand.

Tao’s vision was hazy, he was beyond drunk. Everyone started looking like Kris.

A blonde man sat beside Tao. It didn’t sound like Kris or looked like Kris but to Tao everyone was Kris

“Sir, I’m sorry but the bar is closed. If you’d be kind enough to ple--” The blonde waiter was interrupted by tao’s hand on his face

“Kris. I ing hate you” Tao smiled; barely conscious

The waiter removed the drunken man’s hand “Sir, Iam not this Kris you speak of. Please sir, yourself out. The bar is closed” The blonde man reprimanded

Kris flicked the man’s forehead “KRIS. SHUT THE UP”

“Sir—Please if you don’t leave my manager will kill me” The waiter was getting desperate

Tao laughed and laughed for no reason. “Kris, stop being so cute er”

“Luhan! Get that guy out of here. The owner will be coming soon, kick him out onto the streets if you must” The manager yelled

Luhan sighed “I can’t just leave him out onto the streets. Its inhumane.”

“Quickly, Luhan. Unless you want to work till morning” The manager complained

Luhan knew there was no other way but to take the drunken stranger home and pray that he wasn’t a of some sort.

Luhan lifted the lad and finished his shift. He took Tao in his old, beat-up truck and drove home to his condo unit.
Blondie carried Tao up to his bed and removed the lad’s clothing. He got a towel with warm water and cleaned the man. Luhan blushed as he wiped the handsome, drunkard’s chiselled abs. But Luhan wasn’t that kind of person, he was a gentleman and had no other intentions than to take care of Tao. Luhan finished and tucked in Tao in his blue, floral sheets. Luhan slept on his bedroom’s couch and gave his bed to the drunkard stranger.

That night, Tao had an extremely good sleep. The kind where you wake up feeling like you’ve slept on a cloud and you wake up feeling refreshed.

Tao hugged a blue pillow tightly, when he suddenly woke up. Something felt wrong; he didn’t have blue pillows and he doesn’t remember changing the sheets.

Tao rose up and was in complete shock as to where he was or whose house he was.

Tao looked at himself and panicked; he was only wearing boxers. The dark haired man was trying to remember all his self defense training. He looked at the door in front of the bed where he suspected was the bathroom because shower sounds where coming from it. Tao heard a sweet voice singing in the shower; it didn’t sound like a killer but no one does nowadays.

The door flopped open and Tao was ready to strike at any moment’s notice when he was stunned by what he saw.

The blonde man went out of the shower, wiping his gold locks with a towel and his lower body was wrapped with another towel, leaving his torso completely ; showing his defined collar bones, slim physique and a V-line on his lower hips.

Tao was supposed to charge in and high kick the man but his body seemed to be unable to move.

The blonde man wasn’t shy of his disposition. His big, round, innocent eyes looked at Tao and a cute smile spread across his face. “Up so early? How was your sleep?”

Tao was doubting himself “Is that really the face of a killer?”