I Want To Be Known By You

Prologue

Is not it sad that even your own family does not know who you are?

Kim Roksu holds a convenience store cupcake with a regular candle on top. It was his birthdate, November 8, but he did not feel like celebrating at all.

His sad, resonating sigh echoed. His breath was white, frosting the cold air of winter.

He was staring at the cake. He looked at it miserably.

He never had the opportunity to celebrate it with family. He never got to spend it with his parents because his father was always away, and his mother never treated him like family. They died, and he now has to move in with his uncle. But all his uncle did was beat him up, calling him trash, useless, and a bastard.

If not for him, his uncle could have lived a normal life and married off his own infertile sister.

He realized he was not his mother's son. He knew, but he does not feel anything. He could not even cry after both of his parents died.

He is lonely, utterly lonely, but he was forced to swallow everything and stand-alone and serve.

He just wants someone to lean on when he is lonely.

He maintained silence. The snow continued to accumulate, until—

"It's cold."

A young redhead boy came into view. The eight-year-old Roksu stared at the redhead.

He was smiling at him, despite him looking like a mess. His skin was pale but he knew he was caught in a fight because he had blood all over him and bruises on his face and hands.

"What are you doing?" The redhead asked.

He did not reply. He sees no reason to respond at all. He is confident that if he continues to ignore him, this guy will lose interest in him.

"Bah. You are not cute at all," the redhead laughs as she stands in front of him. He went down and fixed his gaze on him.

Then he started singing, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday! Happy birthday to you!"

Roksu stared at this man as if he had gone insane. Nobody bothered to sing him a happy birthday song like that. Nobody ever spent his most important day with him—absolutely no one.

But here's a stranger, with a terrible cranky voice, singing happy birthday like a dying chicken trying too hard.

"Pfft—" He could not stop laughing.

"You finally laughed. Was my voice that good?" The redhead, shameless and brave, laughed, "here! Here! Hold out your hand!"

Roksu extended his free hand towards the redhead, and candies suddenly filled his hand.

"Happy birthday. This came from the girls attempting to court me, but oh well. It is now a gift to you."

Roksu could not help but chuckle. "You're strange."

"Am I?" the redhead asks, laughing.

Roksu remained silent afterwards. He blew out the candle, but instead of making a wish, he expressed gratitude to those who know how fortunate he is to be celebrating his birthday with someone else right now.

He looked up and saw the redhead smiling at him.

"My name is Cale. What about you?"

"Roksu."

The young man just laughed and said, "You look really cute with a smile on your face; smile more."

It was a day he could never forget.

TBC