1 Prologue

He was born in a poor family. He had both parents, yes, but his mother's condition worsened after giving birth to him and his father's job was barely enough to support the three of them. It was pure luck that allowed them to make it past a year. But then, his father died in a car crash and his mother passed away soon after due to depression. At an extremely young age he was left alone in this world without anyone to call his relative. For someone to notice his cries and send him to the orphanage should have been a happy miracle, but it ended up lengthening his suffering.

The orphanage was happy and proper on the surface, but it was actually a sweatshop and a base for human trafficking. Without any knowledge of a better life, he saw nothing wrong with the massive amounts of work that the children had to do but he realised the truth about the place when he got older. Even so, he still thought that this orphanage was better than the home he would get adopted into.

He was hopeful when the orphanage director told him he would get adopted, even when he saw their smiles filled with bad intent and the greedy eyes of the orphanage director as he collected payment, he was filled with hope. However, the couple that adopted him gave him worse treatment than he experienced at the orphanage. Not only did he have to do all of the chores in their small, beat up house that didn't even get mail, he also had to help them sell drugs. And it didn't matter that he was new to this business, the moment he made the tiniest of mistakes he would be beaten until he went unconscious. After experiencing life in the orphanage, it was in this home that he understood that he was being abused.

A few years after being adopted, he was finally given the chance to go to school. Even though he was in his early teens his parents never let him go to school, but after being caught by a police officer while they were leaving from the site of a drug transaction, the family of three caught the eye of the police and so they started sending him to a nearby public school to reduce suspicion on them. Even though it couldn't be called his fault, and it was their idea to use a kid to sell drugs since he wouldn't be suspected, the boy had to endure two or three slaps and punches everyday before and after school. His parents lamented that they had to waste money because of him, but this time there was solace inside him. He had long dreamed of joining the group of uniform-wearers and experiencing the same life as the kids he occasionally saw. However, life wasn't so simple.

The cheapest school nearby happened to be the dumpster for problem children. He was worried that it would take him a while before he caught up to the junior high curriculum, but he was the only one there thinking about studying. Even the teachers would rarely come class. Therefore, his fun school life was just a dream. Even so, he made an effort to study at school since he would never be able to do it at home. This allowed him to easily top his grade on the tests that the school was required to give them. He felt a bit of pride from this accomplishment but every one around him thought differently.

All he did was bring home his report card and his parents beat him for doing too well. They asked him if he wanted to show off that he's not like them. Like he didn't know that these results could make the police show more interest in them. Their concerns were things he could never understand, but like he had done for all of his life, he merely endured it.

At school he was bullied for being a nerd and got an extra serving of pain. With the tolerance he had built up, this bullying was nothing, but when one of them ripped up his notebook, for the first time in his life, he fought back. It was five against one and he knew no martial arts but he still left all of them with broken bones. However, no one supported him. The school called him out for his violent behaviour and suspended him. His parents beat him for causing trouble and the entire neighbourhood would look at him like he was nothing but trouble. It was then he realised. There was no point to it. If he endured, he would be beaten. If he fought back, he would be beaten. Therefore, he could only choose the option that he preferred.

He had a shitty junior high life, but near the end of it his parents were caught in the act and arrested. That damn pair finally got sent to where they belonged, but he was still alone. Luckily, he saved up enough money from the scraps they gave to him after selling drugs to finish junior high and then moved to a new city for high school. He decided that this would be a fresh start, that he would finally have a proper life. But he was wrong. His high school was very normal in both academics and sports, but the role he played there wasn't much different. He somehow caught the eye of a bully soon after school started and spent the rest of his high school life being bullied. Even if some accident happened one bully, a next one would appear as if it was his job to be the victim. He never fought back, because he knew it wouldn't help him.

During his part-time work that he did to send himself through school, nothing major happened. He was just severely overworked and underpaid, such a thing was obvious to him but without parents it was hard to find someone willing to hire him. Therefore, whether it was heavy lifting or body burying he did whatever he was ordered to. Maybe if it was known to his bullies that he worked in a gang after school, they would leave him alone, but that wasn't in his head. His workplace wouldn't change anything, that was what he believed.

After high school, he didn't bother trying for college. Not only was he too poor, he was also reluctant to believe that anything would change there. Although he got an offer to join the gang he worked in, he refused despite the enticing pay. Even if a fun school life was out of the question, he at least wanted a normal work life.

With his rather interesting job history most companies turned him away before he even reached the interview stage, but he held on to hope while working part-time at a convenience store. And eventually, it happened. He got an offer to work full-time at a small company. The pay wasn't much higher than what he was earning at the convenience store but he took the offer without hesitation. Finally, things were looking up for him. Really, wouldn't it be nice if that happened?

However, his bad luck was still strong. As someone experienced with abuse he could tell just from the look of the employees that this was a black company. Where sick days were vacation days and overtime was normal work hours. But by the time they let him see the other employees it was too late because he already signed the contract. Once more, it was time for him to endure.

Six years later, the police caught on to what the company was doing and shut them down. The night when the arrest of the executives was broadcast on the news, he sunk himself into his beaten up bed and closed his eyes. At the age of 25, he died due to overwork in his sleep.