By Zephyria 
“Dane.”
She hugged her son tightly as he rushed to her, beaming. The Mom frowned briefly at the sight of her child’s dirty, mud-covered face, but quickly brushed it off.
“Did you have fun playing? Are you hungry? Let’s go inside and eat.”
She carried a paper bag containing a meager amount of vegetables in one hand, and held her son’s hand with the other as they climbed the stairs. Dane waved to his remaining friend and entered the apartment.
Thin soup with floating vegetable pieces and bread was a common meal for them. Dane’s Mom didn’t have a stable job, so her income was meager, and she struggled to make ends meet by stretching every penny. Fortunately, her son wasn’t a picky eater.
“Here, eat up.”
The Mom placed the soup and bread on the table and sat across from him. Dane tore off a piece of bread, dipped it in the soup, put it in his mouth, and smiled brightly. Seeing her son’s endearing gesture, the Mom smiled warmly and stroked his hair.
“I love you, Dane.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
They smiled at each other across the small, old, scarred table.
Desire Me if you can
“She was a good person, my Mom.”
Dane continued in a tone almost devoid of emotion.
“Even though we were poor, she did her best to raise me. She told me she loved me all the time and showered me with kisses. When she went to work, she would hug me so tightly it felt like my body would burst. I waited for her all day, but it was okay. When she came back, I was even happier than I had waited. I still think, she wasn’t a perfect Mom, but she was a decent one.”
A bitter smile spread across Dane’s face.
“If only she didn’t drink.”
Desire Me if you can
“Aaaaaaah!”
The Mom screamed and threw things off the table. Dane curled up in a corner and burst into tears as she banged her head against the wall and wailed.
“Mom, Mom…”
No matter how much he called, she didn’t return to her usual kind self. Instead, she glared at Dane with bloodshot eyes and began to punch him wildly.
“It’s, it’s because of you! Because of you!”
“Mom, Mom…”
“If it weren’t for you, if you, if you hadn’t been born…!”
Thud, thud, loud noises echoed. Dane covered his head and tried to curl up as small as possible to avoid the blows, but he couldn’t stop the onslaught of beatings. The beating continued all night, until she passed out drunk on the floor. By that time, Dane was usually exhausted from being beaten and had lost consciousness as well.
As dawn broke dimly, Dane, who woke up first, dragged his heavy body, swollen and bruised all over, towards the bed, blinking his eyes that could barely open. He pulled the old sheet over the Mom’s body and carefully snuggled into her arms, feeling the pain all over his body belatedly. But Dane closed his eyes and desperately pressed his body against the Mom’s, waiting for her to wake up. Because then, the Mom would return to the one who loved him.
“Dane…!”
As expected, when she opened her eyes, she first checked on her child in her arms and burst into tears.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Dane… I’m sorry.”
The Mom, who repeatedly apologized and showered him with kisses, looked at Dane’s face and said,
“You know how much I love you, right?”
Yes, Dane nodded. He wanted to cry because of the pain, but he desperately held back. Because he was so happy at this moment when the Mom held him and said she loved him. And with his hand clutching his aching side with every breath, he saw the Mom off to work. He wouldn’t be able to go outside for a while now. Dane didn’t think much of it because it was already familiar. He would just take the medicine the Mom gave him and fall asleep. After swallowing the medicine and water as usual, Dane lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. The routine that had been repeated so many times continued once again.
Desire Me if you can
Grayson stared at Dane, his face pale. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. He checked Dane’s expressionless face again. There was no sign of a joke or lie.
“…You were beaten?”
He barely managed to utter these words. Grayson, who couldn’t continue speaking while holding his forehead with one hand, barely made a sound.
“Your Mom, she hit you? A child who wasn’t even 10 years old…?”
“Don’t be so surprised. It was common where I lived.”
Dane replied indifferently. Grayson was stunned once again by the reaction that was so different from his own. So that’s why. The past came to his mind in a daze. That’s why Dane asked so many times.
If Ashley Miller hit you.
“Un, until when, how long.”
Grayson stuttered, unlike his usual self. I want to kill her. Grayson felt a stronger urge than ever before. He couldn’t resist the urge to find the woman who hit and hurt Dane right now and strangle her.
Hostile Pheromone flowed from his entire body. But it was meaningless. Dane kept speaking in the past tense. Which meant that maybe, she was…
Grayson, who had thought that far, released his clenched fist in despair. The intense Pheromone scent that had been lingering around him faded in an instant.
Dane watched him with an unfamiliar feeling and replied.
“Until around the fourth grade? I was much bigger than my peers, and I grew up quickly.”
Dane chuckled as if recalling the past.
“It means the time to rebel had come.”
Desire Me if you can
“Stop it!”
Dane shouted, his voice strained. He was fed up. Once again, the Mom was drunk and causing a ruckus. Before the bruises from the last beating had even faded, Dane had his hair grabbed and was slapped across the face.
“You fucking bastard, you dirty thing! You were born, because of you, if it weren’t for you!”
“I said stop it!”
Dane screamed until his voice was hoarse and pushed the Mom away with all his might. Perhaps because she was drunk, she staggered backward. Her face, flushed red with alcohol, was frozen in shock. Even though she was drunk and out of her mind, she seemed quite shocked that her son, who had been so docile until now, had pushed her away. Dane stared at her blank face and shouted again.
“Are you going to do this and then wake up tomorrow morning and tell me you love me again! Stop it, I’m so tired now!”
Then, tears mixed into his voice.
“Can’t we, can’t we live like other families? Can’t you love me like other parents do? I want to be normal, like other kids.”
The bodies of many children he met at school were unscathed by beatings. Only Dane had red and blue bruises all over his body every day without fail. Even the father of his friend who had been to prison didn’t hit him, so why me.
Why only me.
“Mom, please love me…”
Like other kids.
It was when he said that as if begging.
“Heh, heh heh, heh heh heh heh.”
The Mom shook her shoulders and laughed. Dane blinked in confusion at the sudden reaction. She giggled and muttered.
“Looove? You want me to love you? You?”
Then, she frowned and asked.
“Whyyy, why should I?”
Dane opened his mouth at the slurred pronunciation and replied.
“Because you’re my Mom…”
“What?”
Then, she burst into laughter. Ahahaha, ahahahahaha, aahahahahahaha. The sharp laughter sounded like it would tear his ears apart. When Dane distorted his face and covered one ear, the Mom, who had been bending over and laughing, barely stopped laughing and asked.
“Why should I?”
Strangely, for the first time, her mind, which had been so drunk until then, felt clear. Her pronunciation was also clear. When the flustered Dane blinked, the Mom smirked and asked.
“Isn’t it a funny thing to say that parents should love their children, isn’t that a prejudice?”
Kihikihik, kihikihikihik. She shook her shoulders and laughed again. She was mocking Dane. Dane, who clenched his trembling hands tightly, asked between ragged breaths.
“Then, why did you give birth to me?”
His vision blurred. The Mom replied to Dane’s choked voice.
“You were born as you pleased.”
Dane couldn’t say anything anymore. The Mom drank again, shouted, smashed things, and then collapsed on the floor and fell asleep. Dane just silently looked down at her sleeping and snoring. He didn’t bring a sheet as usual, nor did he snuggle into her arms.
〈You were born as you pleased.〉
Her words kept ringing in his ears. Suddenly, it felt like the scene in front of him turned white, and then his vision cleared. But that was only for a moment, and soon his eyes blurred again.
Drip, drip, the falling droplets landed on the floor. He raised his arm and rubbed his eyes, but the tears didn’t stop and continued to flow. Sniff, sniff. A sob leaked through his clenched teeth. He stood there and cried like that for a long time.
150 – 150
Dane suddenly wanted a cigarette. Recalling that day always left a bitter taste in his mouth, as it always did.
You might be right.
Dane thought.
But did you have to hurt me that much?
Instead of smoking, he cupped his mouth and chin with one hand and slowly rubbed them. He suddenly felt a burning sensation in the corners of his eyes.
He realized that she never loved him in everything she did.
When he lived with his mother, he was miserable every moment because of that. To a child, parents are everything in the world. Who would understand the feeling of being rejected by the world?
But he, too, forgot about his mother. After waking up from her drunken stupor, she would always say she loved him and kiss him, and Dane would look at her in confusion. The mother who had hurt him so much the day before was now holding him more tenderly than anyone else in the world, whispering that he was her one and only treasure. Which one was the real her?
The one who was drunk must be the real one.
He thought so, but deep down, he wanted to believe otherwise. So, instead of trying to confirm his mother’s true feelings, he chose to say he loved her and hug her, even though his heart was filled with anxiety and distrust.
“I was just a kid, so I couldn’t help it. If I had just run away from home, I would have ended up as a member of a criminal organization or a homeless person.”
He said indifferently, regretting the cigarette.
“So, I had no choice but to stay in that house, constantly wondering what my mother’s true feelings were.”
Grayson simply waited for him to continue without saying a word, barely holding back the urge to hug him and shout that he was here, that he loved him more than anyone else in the world.
Desire Me if you can
Around his thirteenth birthday, Dane Striker was making a rather precocious plan. It was a plan to get married to his girlfriend as soon as he graduated from high school and become independent. She was his first girlfriend, whom he had started dating a few years ago, and he had also shared his first kiss with her.
In the meantime, he had worked part-time during his vacations and saved some money. It was ridiculously little money to become independent, but if he saved until graduation, it would be quite a bit.
Going to the military wouldn’t be bad either…
It was the perfect place for someone in Dane’s situation. The treatment was good, and he could earn a decent amount of money, so he could set up a home in a base housing. Of course, his girlfriend’s opinion was important, so that part had to be discussed.
First of all, money.
Dane thought so and headed to a fast food restaurant quite a distance from his neighborhood as soon as class was over. In fact, considering his age, it was almost impossible to find such a part-time job. But since he had given up on studying early on, he had plenty of time to spare, so he found a place where he could work after school like this. The manager liked Dane’s work ethic and even said that he would hire him as a full-time employee after he graduated. Of course, Dane just smiled and thanked him.
“Hi, Dane. Welcome.”
The manager greeted him happily and immediately started giving him work as soon as Dane came out wearing his uniform.
“Move those buns over here, organize the patties… Oh, and the trash can in the back is full. Empty that too…”
He quickly carried out the requests that were pouring in all at once. The manager watched with satisfaction as the work was done in an instant. An employee frowned and scolded him.
“Don’t give the kid so much work, he doesn’t look well.”
“Not well? Dane?”
The manager asked in surprise. She still looked serious and said, looking at Dane.
“Look, his face is redder than usual. I think he has a fever?”
“Really? That won’t do! It’ll be a disaster if he spreads a virus!”
The employee was dumbfounded at the sight of the manager running to Dane in a panic.
“Someone’s sick, really…”
She shook her head, but just then, a customer came in. She put on a professional smile and quickly stood in front of the checkout counter.
“Welcome, what can I get you?”
Behind her, the manager looked around for Dane and soon found him outside the back door.
“Dane, Dane!”
Dane, who was emptying the trash, turned around in confusion at the urgent call. The manager was walking quickly towards him with a pale face. When he got closer, he looked at Dane’s face and body and muttered to himself.
“That’s right, his face is red like…”
“Yes?”
He frowned, not knowing what he was saying, but suddenly the manager reached out his hand. Dane, startled, flinched, and the manager quickly took his hand away after placing it on his forehead.
“What, what? You have a fever! You’re burning up, are you okay?”
“A fever?”
Dane blinked and tried to put his hand on his forehead, but stopped when he realized he had just emptied the trash. The manager then waved his hand and said with a distorted face.
“That’s enough, go home now. Don’t come to work until your fever goes down, okay?”
“Yes? But…”
Just as he was about to say that he didn’t feel sick at all, the manager stopped him.
“What if you spread a virus? I might get sued! Go back right now, hurry! Quickly!”
Because he was urged repeatedly, Dane had no choice but to leave the store as if he was being chased out. He looked back at the store in disbelief, but they closed the door right in front of his eyes as if to show him, so there was nothing more he could do.
“What…?”
He touched his forehead irritably, but only felt a slight fever and couldn’t find anything strange. He grumbled and rode his bicycle home. A cool breeze brushed against his cheeks as he rode. He felt a little sluggish.
Did I catch a cold…?
Dane vaguely recalled. His body kept getting heavier. He wanted to go home and rest as soon as possible.
He struggled to pedal and finally, when the apartment he lived in came into view, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
Hoo…
Unlike usual, he didn’t even take a shower and lay down on the sofa in the clothes he was wearing. For some reason, he didn’t want to lift a finger. I can just wake up and do it later. Just for a little while, yeah…
His thoughts stopped there. He fell into a deep sleep without even realizing it.
Dane woke up several hours later because he felt a pain as if someone was choking him.
“Cough, cough, cough.”
He managed to open his eyes, gasping for breath. In the darkness, he could see someone on top of him. Dane blinked his eyes urgently, but it was not easy to recognize who it was. All he could see in the darkness was a faint silhouette.
But in fact, he didn’t even need to see it to know. There was only one person who would come into this cheap apartment and choke Dane in his sleep.
…That can’t be.
Nevertheless, Dane denied it.
It can’t be my mother.
Tears welled up in his eyes reflexively. He wanted to remove the hand choking him, but he had no strength in his body. He slipped his hand several times as he tried to grab his mother’s arm.
Meanwhile, the choking force was enormous. As if she was pouring all her energy into choking her son, Dane could not escape from her tremendous grip.
Hic, hic, making a choking sound, the mother said to her son, who was wriggling below.
“How, how could you do this to me…”
She was sobbing. Cold teardrops fell on Dane’s face, followed by a violently shaking voice.
“How can you develop as an Omega, how can even you…”
Sniff, sniff, she burst into tears, breathing even more roughly than Dane.
“Dane, my baby. You’d be better off dead.”
Heeeee, a shrill breath like a whistle was heard. The mother leaned down and whispered in her son’s ear, who was almost out of breath.
Let’s die together.
Those were the last words Dane heard from his mother.
When Dane, who had completely lost consciousness, opened his eyes, the Awakening was over. And his mother’s life was also over.
He was just sitting on the very sofa where he had been sleeping until just now, where his mother had choked him, and just staring at his mother’s body, which was hanging from the window frame.