1.  Disclaimer

2.  Important notes on the language usage in this chapter.

The tourists likened it to a paradise.

And he would usually agree, spending hours basking in the warmth of the sun and closing his eyes to listen to the sound of drifting wood and shifting leaves.

Sometimes though - when his heart was heavy - he would stay up to watch the sun set, looking far beyond that shifting gold horizon to imagine what lay beyond those shores.

Because he was the wave, you see - struggling in vain to become part of something greater - only to come crashing back to the shore, time and time again.

2004

It was something about the way that the other was picked up from school every day by warm, loving arms - and how there was no one waiting for him but the cold, blurry faces of foster parents who rotated every year like clockwork.

Those perfect collared shirts?  That expensive watch?  Tao could press whole fingers through the holes in his hand-me-down uniform.

And the thing that killed him the most? 

That black laquer box, expertly prepared every day for the young man who never in his life had to worry about whether or not he would have enough to eat - how much each loaf of bread cost. 

Tao's peanut butter and jelly sandwich, made clumsily by his own hands, hid shamefully in that crumpled brown bag of his.

Looking back on it, years later, the hatred had been so foolish, so misplaced - but all the same, it had been there, hadn't it?

And although Tao had been hurting - what had the other really done to deserve any of it?

There was no such thing as a time machine, for if there was, Tao would have jumped back in a heartbeat, taken back all those hurtful things he had said.

Because -

-

They had entered the school side-by-side, clutching onto their schoolbags like lifelines.

And though they had been so similar - they had been worlds apart. 

Tao knew, from the moment he laid eyes on him, that he hated Kris, for having all that Tao never would.

-

What irritated him the most was the fact that Kris never seemed to catch onto his hatred of him - in fact, if anything, he seemed to drift toward Tao.  In all the time that they knew each other, Kris would never end up saying more than two, three hushed words at a time.  Still - whenever Tao looked back, there he was, always two steps behind.

Maybe it was because they had both been new students.  Maybe he imagined Tao as a friend?  Maybe - he clung to Tao because of how similar they were - because in the beginning, they had both been shy.

Whatever the reason was, Tao hated it.  Being seen next to the other boy only drew more comparisons, and Tao knew that in every sense, he wouldn't ever be able to compare.

No one had ever looked at Tao like the way they did Kris, the tall boy with the sculpted face, who came to school everyday in a limousine and wore prim, pressed clothes. 

Well, Tao wasn't rich.  He couldn't pretend to be privileged.  But all the same, he'd end up setting himself apart from Kris in a different way.

-

At some point, Tao exploded, whirling back to spit back at the other in his heavily accented pidgin.

"You ste' followin' me e'ry day.  Gettin' real sick and tired of seein' your stupid face.  Just get lost, ah?"¹

The taller boy had flinched back, looked at him with such an expression of such hurt that it made Tao withdraw back into himself.

But the feeling of guilt had only lasted a second before the euphoria had set in.  Add to the fact that it had been so easy - and as the years wound on, Tao found himself joining a new group of friends, boys who laughed as loud and talked back as much as he did.

Picking on Kris had at some point become natural, and as Tao's popularity rose - Kris' initial popularity fell. 

As everyone quickly came to find out - the taller boy's perfect image was just a ruse to hide the shy teenager underneath, whose muffled voice cracked on every other syllable, who struggled to grow into his awkward, gangly body. 

And yet - despite how much trouble Tao gave Kris in those following years, the other had never once yelled back, always taking Tao's harsh words with a lowered head, even when the tips of his ears would turn red, his eyes wet with the tears that he refused to let show.

Deep down - he wasn't a bad person, not really.  He really did feel remorse for his actions, both back then and years later, but at the same time, he had never had that kind of approval from anyone else before, let alone an entire crowd.

He'd have done anything to feel any sort of love - no matter how superficial - even if it meant hurting perhaps the only person who would have ever cared to understand why.

-

It was an uncharacterically rainy afternoon, school had finally let out, and Tao was walking down that wet sidewalk, umbrella in hand, when he noticed a pair of feet standing refuge under the shade of a tree.

Those long legs were so unmistakable that Tao didn't even have to bother to look up to know who it was - but given the terrible weather, and the fact that he wanted to get home as soon as he could, he decided to leave the other alone.

It wasn't until he'd already begun to pass that he noticed.

Kris had his face buried in his hands, his shoulder shaking with the force of his tears.

He had never seen the other boy cry before.

Tao's feet seemed to stick to the pavement below as he listened closely to the sounds of Kris' sobs over the pouring rain, the ragged sound cutting deep into Tao's heart.

He would never be sure why he did it - but Tao found himself standing in front of the other, holding the umbrella over them both as he held his small, worn handkerchief forward. 

Kris looked up between his hands, startled, wiping the tears from his red face.

As if ashamed at having been discovered, Kris said nothing at all, staring down instead at the faded print of Winnie the Pooh that was emblazoned on the handkerchief.

Kris made a petulant and questioning noise through a voice that was heavy with tears.

Tao flushed, pushing the handkerchief even more persistently toward the other boy.

"...Just take 'em.  ... you look ugly when you cry, anyway."

It was the closest Tao had ever come to saying something nice, and yet still Kris looked as if he would burst into tears again. 

The sight made Tao uncomfortable. 

He darted forward, leaning up to slap the faded yellow handkerchief none too gently onto the other's face.  It stuck to the other's tears, remaining covered over his face as Tao darted away. 

The last image he has of Kris - blurry glimpses from over his shoulder as he ran through those sheets of rain - was of the taller boy pulling the cloth from his face, looking down at it with an expression that Tao couldn't place.

-

"You wen hear?  His fadda died.  He goin' back mainland fo' stay wid his mom."²

"Brah, like I kea.  Da buggah was awkward, ah?  Always ste' followin' you 'round like one lost puppy."³

"...Yeah."  Tao muttered, looking down at his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, suddenly not hungry.

Yeah.

2014

The sounds of birds calling out shrilly, of leaves rustling noisily, slowly brought Tao out of his sleep.

Tao yawned, feeling more rested than he had in weeks, stretching slowly among his sleeping bag to work out the kinks in his back.

The sun was already blazing in the sky, and the warmth that surrounded his tent comforted him, lulling him back asleep.

Tao purred, almost falling back asleep with a smile - but then he froze.

...what time was it?!

Tao's eyes shot open and he dove for his cellphone, flipping it open quickly only to discover it was dead. 

"...." 

-

"What the hell, Tao, you're half an hour late!"  Yixing steamed, helping Tao off his bike and throwing him behind the building. 

Quickly taking one last bite of the mountain apple that was still clamped in his mouth, Tao chucked it carelessly over his shoulder, pulling the worker's uniform Yixing threw at him over his legs, zipping up the front quickly and running fingers through his messy hair in an attempt to tame it.

"Ma phone wen die las' night - forgot fo' charge 'em wen I was at Sehun's - sorry ya -"⁴ Tao grunted breathlessly, too frazzled to use standard English as he pulled the cap tight over his head.

"You're lucky I've known you for so long.  Anyone else, and I woulda fired 'em on da spot."  Yixing grumbled, naturally slipping back into pidgin as well as he helped pin the other's name tag to the blue collar of his uniform.

"Oh come on," Tao grinned, punching Yixing lightly on the shoulder, "I work hard.  S'long as get money - I gon do any and e'ry odd job you could possibly trow at me."⁶

"Well, das good den, cuz I was gon say - you're going to take the outside windows since you were late."⁶

Tao's grin froze as he leaned back, for the first time taking in the sight of the tall skyscraper before him. 

"...er, and how many floors does this building have?"

-

Apparently, way too many.

Tao took his time, making his way down floor by floor, window by window, forced to take breathers occasionally when his legs began to shake.

Determined not to panic (don'tlookdown - don'tlookdown), he crabwalked slowly across the scaffold, hosing down each window before giving them a thorough wipedown.

To his credit,  he managed to make it for ten floors without incident.  On the 40th floor, however, his worst nightmare came in the strong breeze that shook the platform, causing it to sway in the wind. 

Tao resisted the urge to puke, knees knocking together as he clutched onto the railing with white fingers.

To busy trying not to heave, he was caught completely by surprise when the platform suddenly lurched forward, clattering against the window- and with a loud, painful thud- smashing Tao's face against the glass. 

Tao slid down with a squeak for a second before he managed to pry himself off, whimpering in pain and rubbing at his now sore nose.  Shaking his head to rid himself of the feeling of dizziness, he began to move back to the side, all to ready to shift down one floor closer to the heavenly ground.

A knock on the window, however, had him pausing, only to look up and stare directly into the close but blurry image of an intimidating looking man his age, dressed up to the nines in a stylish three-piece suit.

Tao yelped, falling back onto the side of the scaffold as he clutched onto his heart in shock. 

The man on the other side raised his eyebrows, unimpressed with his behavior.  Knocking again to draw his attention, this time the man pointed at the imprint of his face that had been left in the glass, making a wiping motion with his hand.

Tao felt his eyebrows drawing together, irritation building. 

Wat da hell, brah?!  I almost just threw myself off the side of the scaffold, and your stupid doesn't even care.

Whatever.  As long he was getting paid at the end of the day.  Tao sighed, squirting some solution into the rag in his hands and scrubbing at the window with all of his force, muttering the entire time to himself in anger.

"There.  You happy?!" 

Tao pulled the cloth from the cleaned glass, now able to take a clear look at the man who was - who was -

Tao blanched, pupils dilating as he recognized those distinctly thick eyebrows, that carved jaw that hadn't changed at all throughout the years.  And from the way the man was staring down at his name tag, mouthing Tao's name with a smirk, it seemed like Kris recognized him too.

-

"Aloha," Kris mouths to Tao, staring at him through the window with his hands tucked into his suit pockets.

"...Don't I know you?"

.

Is the only word Tao's panicked mind can provide him.

-

- - ­- he should have known - the giant signs on the walls that he had missed before now spelling out his doom clearly for him even as he tore past in a panic.

Wu Corporations.

Yixing was calling out his name distantly and he turned back - only to hear the elevator doors ding, the doors slowly opening to reveal the smug face of -

Nope.  Mo-ther--ing NOPE.

Screaming a garbled apology over his shoulder toward his friend and employer, he peeled out the front door, not bothering to turn back even as his uniform caught in the door, his name tag ripping off the cloth to clatter to the ground.

As Tao fled into the distance, a tall man made his way up to the front doors with a calm, unhurried pace, bending down briefly to pick up the name tag.

His lips twitched up.

-

"What do I do, Sehun, WHAT-DO-I-DO!"

"I dunno, Tao, but you blockin' da TV.  Move."

His best friend hardly paid him any attention, eyes glued to the television as he bit off another piece of food, chewing on it slowly with half-lidded eyes.

Tao flopped back onto Sehun's bed, writhing on it childishly before grabbing a spare pillow and screaming into it.

Sehun glanced over at the muffled wailing, pulling the pillow out from beneath Tao and tossing it away.

"Eh, shaddap auready, ah?⁷  It's been, what, ten years?  I'm sure he's forgotten everything by now."

"Forgotte- Sehun, I put a pube in his sandwich."

Sehun paused in his chewing, an intense look of concentration coming over the man's face before he burst out into laughter, clapping his hands together in glee.

"Ho, das right!  It wasn't even your pube either - was it Chanyeol's-"

"-Jongdae's."

"Oh, right.  Jongdae's."

Sehun managed to hold his straight face long enough to nod solemnly before he snorted, throwing his head back in loud, screaming laughter, holding his side in feigned pain.

Tao found absolutely zero humor in the situation from where he was lying face down on the bed, doing his best to smother himself with the sheets.

Sehun smacked Tao's leg lightly.

"Brah, come on, Tao, you let 'em have his moment.  I mean, I can't imagine he's going to do anything more about it - what's the worst he gon do, anyway?"

-

"Sorry," Yixing said, crossing his arms, "I don't have anymore work for you."

"...what?!" Tao stammered, clutching the worn strap of his backpack.  "Yixing, if this is about the other day-"

"- even though I am still pissed about that, it actually isn't."  Yixing clipped, pressing a crisp sheet of paper into Tao's hands.

"I think you'll find it very hard to find a place that'll hire you now, Tao.  I've been told I wasn't the only one to receive this notice."

Tao looked down at the sheet in his hands, blanching at the words written on it.

Huang Zitao owes the Wu Family Corporations a debt and is to be barred from any and all further work within your corporation.

Failure to comply will result in the direct and immediate liquidation of your funds.

Should he appear seeking a job, (please) direct him to our main branch office in Honolulu.

We thank you for your cooperation!

-Wu Corporations

And then, a handwritten note, scrawled messily near the bottom of the paper in blue ink:

Don't bother trying to run this time, Zitao - I'll find you.

Come see me.

-

Oh god, whatever you do Tao, don't pee yourself. 

Tao shifted nervously in the elevator, standing just slightly behind the beautiful, tall woman who he could only assume was Kris' secretary.

...At least she was being nice, looking at him with a sympathetic smile as she held the elevator door open for him, gesturing for him to walk in.

Still, her face was pulled in an expression that made it seem as if she was leading a lamb to slaughter, and that wasn't reassuring to Tao.  At all.

"In here."

She pulled the koa wood doors open and pushed at his back with surprising force, causing Tao to stumble into the room.  Regaining his balance, he looked up, gulping at the sight of the broad back that faced him, long arms crossed behind him as the man stared out of the window toward the horizon.

Tao spun around, all to ready to flee out the door again - only to see Kris' secretary slamming the doors shut, locking them behind her with a muffled 'sorry!'.  Jerking at the door handle frantically for a few more seconds, he heard movement behind him, resigning himself to his fate with a muffled sob.

"Zitao.  Long time no see."

A bead of sweat trickling down his forehead, Tao turned around, facing the owner of that low, gravelly voice.

-

It was funny, really, how drastically their roles had switched.

Gone was the awkward, shy young man who he had known - instead, standing in across from him, in the prime of his youth and the peak of his success, was the same boy he had bullied relentlessly as a kid - the same boy who had taken Tao's insults and digs in the same manner Tao was now - sitting with his head down, fists clenched on his knees.

What they had done as children, they had done as children.  To bring this kind of to the table now, after so long- what kind of terrifying grudge had Kris been holding all these years?

"You can't just- you can't just prevent me from getting a job!  That's illegal!  ...Isn't it?!"  Tao's voice squeaked, face red.

"Just watch me."

Tao clutched his head, pain building in it as he began to calculate his funds, this month's meager living expenses already almost depleted.

There was no way he could-

...Tao bent his head in disgrace.

"Please."

Kris seemed to consider it with a tilt of his head, lifting a leg to sit on the table across from him, sliding closer to Tao.

"...Do you really need the money that bad?"

"...yes."  Tao admitted, shamefully, through gritted teeth, looking up through his blonde fringe at the man in front of him.

With cool, calculated motions, Kris pulled out an expensive pen from his suit pocket, clicking it before taking the sheet of paper that had been sitting innocuously at the other end of the table and sliding it over to Tao with a deceptively soft smile.

Tao took the paper and pen slowly, warily looking down what was written on it.

It took a minute for the words to sink in.

"Wha- no ing WAY!"  Tao slammed his hands down on the table, crumpling the sheet up and throwing it back toward Kris with anger.

"Dis haahdly even minimum wage⁸ - what am I, your slave??"

Kris hummed.

"If you want to call it that."

Tao shook in anger, about to leap over the table and wrap his hands around the other man's neck - but Kris held up another sheet - the notices he had sent out that morning.

"Now, now, Tao, you're making this far too easy.  I've got maybe - five hundred?  Six hundred? - more copies of this, and I would really hate to use them at this point."

Tao's brain fizzled as his stomach gurgled in hunger, reminding him of his financial troubles. 

His angered expression faded into a pained grimace as he slowly backed down in defeat.

With shaking hands, he reached out to unfurl the crumpled document, looking down at it once more.

I, Huang Zitao, do agree to the following...

He picked up the pen slowly, pressing the tip down into the paper, face drawn into a grimace.

-

I, Huang Zitao, do agree to the following conditions:

1.  I will come into the office at 8a.m. sharp every morning, or forfeit the day's earnings.

2.  I must do whatever is asked of me, at any and all times of day, no questions asked ...or forfeit the day's earnings. 

3.  I will answer all requests with a 'Yes, sir', and a smile.  Or forfeit the day's earnings.

x     Huang Zitao    

-

He heard the man shift, walking around the table to pluck the paper from beneath his fingers as soon as he had finished signing his life away.

A hand lifted from the paper, petting him roughly on the head like a dog.

"Good boy."

-

.

-

-

Translations:

¹ You keep following me around everyday.  I'm getting sick and tired of seeing your stupid face.  Just get lost, okay?

² Did you hear?  His father died.  Apparently, he had to transfer back to the mainland to stay with his mom.

³ Good riddance.  He was super awkward, wasn't he?  Always following you around like a lost puppy.

⁴ My phone died during the night - forgot to charge it when I was at Sehun's - sorry -

⁵ As long as there's money involved - I'll do any and every odd job you could possibly throw at me.

6 I suppose that's good then, because I was going to suggest that since you're late...

⁷ Shut up already, would you?

⁸ This is barely minimum wage-