$ t w o $
Summer 2007.
Lu Han entered the locker room of Beijing Guoan FC in his wheelchair after he had been discharged from the hospital. He had been operated in his left leg, after a play on the field that had left him injured, and taken off the field on a stretcher. The seventeen year old was said to recover, but his doctors told the team he would never play football again. A seventeen year old with a promising career ahead of him, now had his chances cut short.
His parents and his team had taken it pretty badly. His parents, who were a family of average wealth, had made many sacrifices to get him where he was. Now they saw it as their investment going to waste. The team saw it the same way. They had invested some money in his youth training, and would never get anything out of it now. But it was Lu Han who had suffered the most.
The moment he was told the news, he broke out into tears, knowing his dream was no more. The nightmare turned into reality when he was discharged from the hospital. A team representative informed him that he was to empty out his locker at the youth training grounds. They would no longer hold him to his contract with them. They would pay for his rehabilitation, but that was all they were willing to do. They were discarding him like garbage, since they didn't need him anymore. Rather than supporting him, his parents did the same. They said that if he wasn't going to become a footballer like he dreamed of, they no longer wanted him at their house.
The seventeen year old was now without a team and without a home.
Though he had been smart about his earnings. When his team saw his potential, he was given a contract and money to sign with them. He was given advertisement gigs and sponsorship from sports brand. His team took ten percent of all of it when he received it, his parents took another percentage. But Lu Han always kept a small portion. He often used it to give himself small luxuries in life. But another part of it was saved in a bank account.
He had enough money to live on his own for a few months, at least until he was recovered, if he spent frugally.
Lu Han heaved a sigh as he placed his belongings in a cardboard box with the team's logo that had been given to him at the entrance of the training grounds, and the box on his lap. He subconsciously found himself scratching the team's logo out with his fingernails. The seventeen year old wheeled himself out of the training grounds on a gloomy day, to a waiting taxi with the rest of his belongings in it. None of his so called friends on the team were there to bid him a final goodbye. Not even his coach who had been so encouraging and good to him. It was all a show. They only liked him because he was a good football player and had potential. And of course, because he was healthy.
The taxi driver helped him into the car and took him to a hotel, where he would be staying until he could find an apartment. On the way to the hotel, he thought bitterly of what he would do over the next few months. His pride didn't want to attend the rehabilitation sessions paid for by the team, but he needed them if he wanted to walk again. Lu Han then promised himself one thing.
As soon as he was well and healthy, he would leave. He would not only leave Beijing, but he would leave China as well. He would move to Korea and start a new life.
Everyone found it easy to discard and forget him.
He would do the same.
-
Autumn 2011.
A fifteen year old girl with blood stained hands ran to the docks, the hood of her sweater pulled up over her head. She needed to get out of the Philippines, since she was wanted for a string of attacks on men. She thought they deserved it for being immoral, but she was the one who would offer herself to them. One night with her in exchange for money, and she was extremely beautiful despite the tattered clothes and the her dirty and rough exterior appearance. She easily convinced men, and once they were in a cheap motel, alone in private, was when she would strike.
With anything she could find, she stabbed them, blood splattering everywhere. Onto her hands, her clothes, her face. Then she'd empty out their pockets, take any money they had, and run away to do it all over again the next night.
Things had gotten dangerous for her when she met a wealthy young man in a local gang. She had done the same to him and she was now wanted by his gang.
Mariel Santos Peralta knew she needed to escape.
She took money from her latest victim and paid a ride on a clandestine ship that would go to Korea with a shipment that was coming in from Mexico and was making a pit stop. The ship would be arriving in Seoul within three days. Then she would have to pick up and start a new life.
-
Spring 2012.
The Coyotes patrolled their newly acquired land. They had been surprised they were able to take the territory in the night life district from the Wolves. They had twelve members and were the strongest Pack out there. But it hadn't been too difficult and now the territory belonged to the Coyotes.
Namjoon and Seokjin were patrolling that afternoon. They were the highest two ranks in their pack and they wanted to check for any traps that the Wolves might have set for them. The two stopped when they saw a girl on the street. She didn't look older than sixteen or seventeen. The Coyotes' leader quickly informed her that she couldn't be there. "This is our territory now, and we don't want you here. So fuck off, little girl."
She pulled down the hood of her old sweater, surprising the two of them with how beautiful she was. "The wolves didn't have a problem with me being here." She said to them. But it was a lie. The wolves didn't even know she was there.
Each time they patrolled, she knew their schedules well enough to avoid them.
"If you let me stay here, I can show you a good time." She offered in a seductive pur, taking a few steps towards him. She was only sixteen, but she knew how to use her beauty to put men at her feet.
Seokjin frowned. The girl looked about the same age as his sister Hyejin, and he didn't want to imagine her doing something like this. Offering her body in exchange for money. But Namjoon had other ideas. "Jin, she can work for us at that club we took from the wolves. She's pretty, and people will definitely request her." Jin could only nod in agreement, since Namjoon was the leader and only he could make all final decisions in their pack.
Mariel raised an eyebrow at them with curiosity.
"Work for us." Namjoon offered to Mariel. Since she was only sixteen, and he didn't want the police to be on them, he thought she could be a dancer first, until she could turn eighteen. "You won't have to live on the streets anymore, and you'll earn a lot of money."
The words captured the sixteen year old's attention. She could work for them and make money for a year or two. Then she would use her earnings to move to her other country. Mexico.
She smiled at them. "I'll do it. I'll work for you."
-
a second update for this because im feeling inspired. im going to try to update lotto real quick too, before i have to get ready for work in about a half hour. thank you all so much for reading and supporting me.
it means a lot.
have a wonderful day!
-clary
