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Hoseok Taehyung suddenly doubles over in pain, his hands gripping his head as a small whimper escapes his throat. His breathing becomes ragged, and I fear he might pass out with every heavy breath. Jin-hee steps forward to soothe the young pup, but tae-woo's booming voice makes him cower back in his place. "Do not coddle him!" Tae-woo warns, his voice echoing off the walls. "He must be a man and face his fate on his own." Taehyung's legs finally give in, and he falls to his knees until finally, his pain stops. Panting he slowly raises his head to face his father, wiping his tear-streaked cheeks with his sleeves. "You will remain here until I find a way to make you go away" tae-woo snarls, before turing on his heel to leave. Jin-hee does not move, his eyes glued to the trembling little boy still sitting on his knees. "I'm sorry" he mumbles to taehyung, a single tear sliding down his cheek. "JIN-HEE!" Tae-woo calls over his shoulder, jin-hee wiping his face and following his Alpha out the door. The door slams shut, the bolts jingling as they lock taehyung in his prison. I reach toward the little boy, but he fades away like sand between my fingers, the memory melting back into the darkness. The pitch black only lasts a moment before I once again find myself in the same room, taehyung looking up at his father, a shaking woman behind him. As I look closer, I realize it's ji-won, much younger but just as beautiful as she is now. "You will be moving to the Omega house with her" tae-woo snaps . "She'll help you pack your things." He growls when both ji-won and taehyung remain frozen in place. "Do I have to repeat myself? Get moving!" he commands, pushing ji-won into the room. He leaves without another word, taehyung rushing over to help ji-won to her feet. At first ji-won shields herself from taehyung's touch but when she recognizes that he only means to help, she allows him to hold her hands. She signs the word "thank you" to him but taehyung does not seem to understand. Ji-won then pulls out a pen and paper from her pocket and the two of them exchange greetings in silence. Almost instantly, taehyung takes a liking to ji-won, smiling very brightly at her with every note she writes. How long had it been since he had someone to talk to? I wonder, my heart growing heavy as I watch him fall in love with ji-won. They exchange several notes before she helps him pack his things in a small suitcase. He doesn't pack much, just some room decor, jin-hee comes in holding a small suitcase and handing it to ji-won. "These are some clothes for you" jin-hee explains slowly to ji-won, who only stares blankly at him. "fuck" jin-hee groans when he realizes she does not understand him. Taehyung, however, grabs a piece of paper and writes out what jin-hee said for ji-won. She smiles and nods, jin-hee sighing with relief. "Taehyung, you'll need to explain everything to her" jin-hee says, taehyung nodding back at him. "From now on, you two are lee ji-won and lee taehyung, mother and son. You are two rogues who lost their pack, the Crystal Belle pack, thanks to emeraldsky and its allies. Do you understand?" Taehyung processes this information and again nods. So that's how she became his mother, I say to myself, putting all the pieces together. "Tell her that in a couple of weeks, we'll have the paperwork for her to take full legal custody of you" jin-hee adds. "She'll be your mother in the eyes of korea and this pack." After taehyung explains the situation to ji-won, the three of them walk out the room, taehyung looking back at his prison one last time before closing the door. Once again, the memory fades, the pitch black shifting into a very tiny room with two small cots. There are two dressers beside the beds and a door on the left wall that leads to the bathroom and shower away. Taehyung looks about 10 or 11 years old now, but to my dismay, there are still bruises on his face. An alarm goes off when the clock strikes 5:30 am, taehyung waking with a start. As he sits up, I see a large blood stain on his t - shirt and on his bed. He rushes off to the shower to wash up for the day and when he steps out of the shower, he is dressed only in his jeans, revealing a long cut between his shoulder blades that resembles the tip of a whip. There are other wounds and scars on his back and torso, and I'm left to wonder how any wolf could hurt a pup with no wolf. Taehyung quietly collects ji-won's clothes from a dresser, folding it all neatly and placing it at the foot of her bed. I watch as he gently taps on her shoulder, helping her into a sitting position when she wakes. She signs something to him, and he audibly groans before getting up to get the first aid kit. With special care, she cleans his wound and redresses it, cupping taehyung's cheeks and kissing his forehead when she's finished. Once they finish cleaning up and tidying up their room, the two of them head out to the mess hall, several other omegas trickling in for breakfast. They all line up to receive their food, taehyung and ji-won being pushed to the back of the line. When it's their turn to receive a plate, all that is left is a single pancake. Tears fill my eyes as I watch taehyung not hesitate to hand the plate to ji-won while he grabs two glasses of orange juice. Ji-won frowns at him as they sit down at a table near the corner, pushing her plate towards taehyung. He only shakes his head and sips his orange juice quietly. She signs to him, but he again refuses. I watch as ji-won rips pancake in half, taking one half and pushing the other towards taehyung. Seeing that ji-won is not going to give in, he begrudgingly takes his half and eats it. I find it hard to not admire their love for each other. Taehyung was not her son and ji-won was not his mother, and yet they took care of each other like a small family. They were not bitter or angry about their situation, but just happy to have each other's company and share what little they had. The head of the Omegas, a small stout woman with a head full of gray hairs, stands at the front of the mess hall with a clipboard in her hands. She calls out names one by one, giving out assignments for the day. She calls ji-won name and looks at taehyung to explain. "Ji-won, you are on Laundry duty with Maureen and Lily. All the linens, bedding and towels need to be washed, pressed and put away" the Head Omega instructs . "Taehyung, you are to report to the construction site with Amadeas. He will give you your assignments." Taehyung translates to ji-won and her face pales. They argue for a moment before she storms away to do her work, leaving young taehyung to himself. He sulks for a moment but then puts on a brave face and walks out of the mess hall. I follow him outside, my eyes wandering to take in his pack. It is not nearly as big as aqua river, but it is bigger than scarlet blood. Nobody gives young taehyung a second glance, it's as if he did not exist to them. He arrives at what appears to be a construction site of a playground, several men carrying bars, slides and other pieces to be installed. Taehyung is the youngest person on the crew, the other men towering over him. A man with a thick blonde beard calls taehyung forward and instructs him to fill the sandbox, pointing towards the wheelbarrows and sandbags. Taehyung says nothing and grabs a pair of gloves before attempting to pick up a sandbag. I watch in horror as he struggles to lift the bag over his head, huffing and puffing as finally tosses it into the wheelbarrow. His face turns red as he pushes the barrow towards the sandbox, the task requiring all of his strength and concentration. The man shouts at taehyung to hurry up, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. "Stop!" I scream at the man when he shoves taehyung out of his way, taehyung struggling to not lose his footing. I look around in desperation at the other men, begging them to help taehyung, but they do nothing as they continue their own work. As taehyung pours the sand into the sandbox, a group of women stroll by, one of them holding the hand of a small three - year old child. "Look hyun-woo" the woman says as she points at the construction zone . "Look what appa is building for you." This must be taehyung's little brother, the next Alpha in line, I note, studying the woman and child. And she must be the new wife. Hyun-woo grins cheekily at the playground while the Luna boasts to the others about her husband and all the wonderful things he's building for their son. As she speaks , she lets go of hyun-woo's hand, the little boy wandering towards the construction site on his own. With everyone busily completing their tasks, no one seems to notice the little boy walking towards the sandbox. Taehyung empties out his wheelbarrow, wiping his dirty face with the back of his hand when he notices the little boy walking towards him. As he looks around to see where hyun-woo came from, a small boom lift with two people holding the hood of the slide tower drives into the construction area directly along the path hyun-woo is walking on. The driver is completely focused on ensuring that the hood does not hit any of the poles already installed and cannot see little hyun-woo standing in his path. Taehyung sprints towards the little boy, just barely reaching hyun-woo in time to carry him to safety. The little boy screams as Taehyung carries him out of harm's way, drawing the attention of the women chattering away on the edge of the construction site. The Luna rushes toward her son. "Get away from him , you filthy animal!" she snaps, pulling hyun-woo out of Taehyung's arms and slapping him across the cheek. "You are never to touch your future Alpha again. Do you understand?" she snarls, her face twisting in disgust as she storms off. "Fucking mutt" she grumbles coddling hyun-woo in her arms. There are tears streaming down my cheeks. I can't even begin to imagine the years of pain and torture Taehyung endured all those years or how much it hurt to be rejected over and over again by everyone who was meant to love him. Shame fills my heart as I realize that I too rejected him, and it makes me wonder ... will he ever be able to forgive me?
