After they returned home, Zhan bathed, changed his clothes, and then went to prepare lunch in the kitchen.
He was sitting in the living room after finishing all the cooking preparations, lost in thought with his chin in his hands. He didn't even notice when Yiming came out of his room.
Yiming walked into the living room, looked at him, and said, "How many people's burdens are on your shoulders that you're sitting there like that?"
Zhan turned to look at him and adjusted his sitting position but didn't say anything. Since they had returned home, this was the first time Yiming was speaking to him after having spent quite a while sulking. Yiming said, "I'm asking you a question."
Zhan remained silent, still not saying anything. Yiming sat on the chair facing him and said, "How many people are you feeding that you're sitting there thinking about how to manage?"
Without realizing it, Zhan smiled slightly while playing with his fingers. He seemed like he wasn't going to say anything, but then quietly said, "I just wanted to talk to my friend Bin, and you said I couldn't."
Yiming looked at him and said, "Talk to him. And tell him what?"
Quietly, Zhan said, "Nothing. I'm just missing him."
Yiming unlocked his phone, which was in his hand, and handed it to Zhan, saying, "Speak to him in front of me."
Zhan took the phone, went to Yiming's contacts, found Yu-Bin's number, and dialed it. Yiming watched him and said, "Put it on speaker."
Without arguing, Zhan put the call on speaker. As it began to ring, Yu-Bin picked up. Quietly, Zhan said, "Bin."
Yu-Bin said, "Oh my gosh, Zhan? Honestly, I've been expecting your call for so long, but silence. Oh....is this Yiming's number?"
Zhan glanced briefly at Yiming, who was staring him down, and said, "Um, yes, it's his."
Immediately, Yu-Bin realized the call was on speaker and that Yiming was listening. Quietly, he said, "Okay then, please greet him warmly for me. But can I come over to see you, if he will permit that, please?"
In a calm voice, Zhan said, "I will speak to him about it."
Yu-Bin said, "Alright, dear. Take care of yourself. I'll be waiting to hear from you."
Zhan said, "If all goes well," and they said goodbye.
Yu-Bin looked at one of his aunts who was sitting near him, full of sadness, and said, "I know Yiming was next to him, which is why I didn't say what I really wanted to say. Zhan marriage to Yiming is the worst thing that happened to me last year. Now he become his husband, despite all the efforts I made to keep that from happening. There's no prayer I didn't make for Heaven to separate him from Yiming. I even performed rituals, but Heaven had already decreed that Yiming is his husband. Listen to how he talks to me...you can hear from his voice that he's in distress and under pressure. And now we're supposed to go back to school at the end of this month, but I don't see any sign that Yiming will let him continue."
Yu-Bin began to cry tears of sadness. He felt that no one was as grieved as he was by Zhan's marriage to Yiming.
Yiming took his phone back from Zhan after he had said goodbye to Bin.
Quietly, Zhan said, "Thank you."
Yiming put the phone down and said, "So your mind should be at ease now that you've spoken to him, right?"
In a calm voice, Zhan said, "Please, I'm asking for a favor-let him come to see me, please. I miss him so much."
Flatly, Yiming said, "He's not coming. Should I let him come so he can enjoy encouraging you like he always does? You think I don't know? The only reason he composed his words carefully without saying anything silly is because he knew the call was on speaker. It's always him who ruins your thinking. Very stupid man."
Zhan just looked at him, tears filling his eyes. He decided to say something that had been on his mind all this while, hoping that Heaven would make Yiming consider his request.
Gathering all his courage, Zhan said, "But please, Yiming, don't say I can't go back to school. We're resuming at the end of this month, and you know this is my final year. Please don't let me waste the years I've already spent. Please consider my situation. And if possible, just transfer me....it doesn't have to be abroad..."
Tears fell from his eyes as he finished speaking looking at Yiming.
Yiming stood up and said, "You think I'm stupid enough to let you go back to America and continue your studies? Well, even sending you there in the first place....I deeply regret doing so. I wish I had known that sending you to America to study would open your eyes like that. And since it wasn't your money or anyone from your family's money spent all these past years, why should you care about any loss? How would the loss affect you, you're nagging about expenses? It was my money, or my father's money, so it's none of your business. I would rather lose everything I spent on you than have you go back to that country.
And if you dare bring up the topic of studying again, I will do something terrible to you, I swear. And listen well....you won't even attend a local university here, let alone one abroad, because nowhere is it written that you absolutely must study.
At first, I thought you were sensible and calm, which is why I confidently sent you to America. But then you went and lived with some worthless guy in the same house without my knowledge. Even the money I sent to you...you'd act like you didn't see it for days, once you found that good-for-nothing who bought you things. And not just one guy....two of them.
You were involved with them over there. And you knew exactly what you were doing with each one, letting them spend money on you. So if you ever dare bring up studying again, I swear I will do something to you that you won't forget even if you go back to Heaven."
With that, he grabbed his phone and stormed out of the living room as if he would fly. Zhan watched him go, hot tears streaming down his face.
:
:
Until night time, Zhan stayed in his room, overwhelmed by everything.
Around midnight, just as he was falling asleep, he heard his door being opened. He slowly opened his eyes. He saw the room light come on, then it was turned off again. He remained lying down without turning around.
Yiming came to where he was lying, pulled off the duvet covering him, removed his hair cap, stroked his long hair, and brought his face close to Zhan's. In a low voice, he said, "You gave me neither lunch nor dinner today. Is it because I'm too strong to tell you the truth?"
Zhan didn't say anything, even though he could hear him.
Yiming sat up and pulled Zhan into an embrace, saying, "Then let me have you, since you won't give me what you cook."
Without waiting for a reply, he began kissing Zhan. Yiming spent a long time romancing Zhan in the way he knew would make him want him. He had never romanced anyone else that way. He didn't even bother with lube tonight because he didn't think they would need it.
At this moment, his frustration was greater than usual because he had held himself back so much without touching Zhan.
Breathing heavily, he grabbed Zhan firmly and said, "Why are you doing this to me, Zhan? Why are you frustrating me?"
Zhan didn't answer him. His body trembled, tears streaming from his eyes. He was tired of telling Yiming that he didn't know what was happening.
Raising his voice, his body shaking, Yiming said, "Answer me. What did I do to you that you're tormenting me like this, hurting me like this?"
Zhan couldn't say anything. His body trembled because he was even afraid to speak, worried Yiming would slap him.
Breathing heavily, Yiming pushed him and said, "Take care of yourself then."
Saying that, he got off the bed, put on his pajamas, and stormed out of the room as if he would fly. Zhan just pulled the duvet over himself, his heart still pounding, and burst into deep sobs. After almost ten minutes, he heard Yiming's car leave the compound entirely.
***
That evening, while Momy was in the living room talking to Godiya, Yiming walked in looking deeply troubled.
Momy looked at him and said, "Oh, my son, welcome back."
He turned and left the living room upon seeing Godiya. Momy raised an eyebrow at Godiya, then quickly stood up, went to the door, opened it, and peeked down the corridor. She saw that Yiming had gone toward his father's room. She hadn't seen him in such a state for a long time.
She locked the door, came back, looked at Godiya, and said, "Godiya, this man isn't crazy, is he? You see, you said Yiming would come today, and here he is, looking like someone threw him in."
Godiya laughed and said, "Honestly, you act like Danger just touched you for the first time and you're surprised. Now you need to get up and prepare his favorite meal with the medicine."
Momy said, "By Heaven's will, as long as you have the money, you'll see the work completed. Now look how he came in, panicked like a sick person."
Godiya said, "As for his health...his spouse has been denied intimacy with him. Don't you know how men's behaved when they've set their hearts on this matter?"
They both laughed and giggled. Momy said, "Alright, I'll send this final payment now. When will you go back to him so we can go together and thank him?"
Godiya said, "In three days, if all goes well. Now let me leave
...my own husband is on the way back today."
Momy said, "That's what you said. Okay, we'll just call each other."
With that, Momy escorted Godiya to her car, then returned inside, her heart light and bright. She went to Mr. Yeol's room and found Yiming lying in the living room with his eyes closed.
She sat beside him, looked at him, and said calmly, "My son, are you unwell?"
Briefly, he said, "I'm just resting, Momy. I need privacy, please."
Momy said, "Alright then. Let me have your favorite meal prepared for you. By the way, where is your spouse?"
He didn't answer Momy. Momy stood up, headed to the door and left the room, she locked the door behind her. Only then did she smile, then went to her own side to get the medicine Godiya had brought her, which she would put into Yiming's favorite meal.
She sent the maid out to the compound, then began preparing the food and vegetable soup. Into the soup, she crushed all the medicine Godiya had brought...three different kinds.
Around 7 p.m., she finished, took the food, and placed it on the dining table for him. She had cooked just enough for him to eat...a single, not even large, serving. The soup was also just enough for him to finish completely.
Yiming ate the food Momy had made for him. He let the maid clear the dishes, then went upstairs to his room. Momy came out of Mei-Mei's room, watched him until he entered his room, then followed behind him.
Entering the room, she said, "Are you okay, my son? Or is there some problem you're hiding from me?"
Briefly, he said, "Nothing. I'm going to take a shower." Saying that, he began to remove his clothes.
Momy said, "Did you eat?"
He said, "I ate."
Momy smiled and said, "You liked it?"
He said, "The soup was good, but it was a little small."
Smiling, she said, "Well, but it was enough for you."
"It was enough."
She said, "Okay, go take your shower, and I'll go eat my own food."
She left the room, and he entered the bathroom.
Momy was sitting in the living room eating from a bowl of pasta in her hands when Yiming came in. She looked at him....he looked sharp and was giving off an intense fragrance.
She said, "Are you going out, my son?"
"Yes, I'll be back in the morning."
She said, "Should I put some pasta in a container for you to take to your spouse?"
Briefly, he said, "No, I'm not sleeping at home tonight."
Momy smiled and said, "May Heaven protect you, my son."
He said, "And may it protect you too." Then he left the house.
✴✴✴
For the next ten days, life in Yiming's house was a living hell for Zhan. Yiming completely changed toward him in the house, becoming like a monster. He had said he would stop beating him, but he never found the slightest opportunity to actually stop. Instead, he turned Zhan into his punching bag at home. Whenever he came to Zhan and didn't get what he wanted, he would just beat him and leave without achieving his goal.
He completely stopped eating at home. He stopped sleeping at home except when he felt like it. He stopped buying any cooking ingredients, so Zhan had to survive on instant noodles.
Even bottled water ran out, and Yiming didn't buy more. He didn't even buy cheap water. Zhan had to drink pump water.
Completely, Zhan lost his mind in that house and became unlike himself. His long hair began to break badly due to severe stress. Anyone looking at him could see he was going through life's trials. He did nothing but cry and pray.
He left everything to Heaven. Every day, he went to bed and woke up with a fever, but whenever he saw Yiming's face, he never said he was unwell. He just endured it. If he told Yiming, he would just insult his parents....like nothing to him. If the fever overwhelmed him, he just lay down until he felt a little better, then forced himself to get up.
On Friday, he was lying in his room, having not even eaten breakfast by nearly 12:30 p.m. He was tired of eating instant noodles, and since he had nothing, he had been cooking rice with just chilly oil....but there was none. Even noodles had become inedible to him, whether he cooked them or not.
The door to his room opened. He sat up quickly and looked at Yiming, his heart pounding. It sounded like Yiming was about to shout his ear off when he said, "Where are the cufflinks I left in the living room the other day?"
Zhan got down from the bed. He had cleaned the living room and wiped everywhere yesterday and today but hadn't seen any cufflinks. Quietly, he said, "Let me check in the living room."
Yiming gave him a vicious look, so Zhan slipped past him and left the room, his heart pounding. He went to the living room and searched for the cufflinks. It seemed Yiming was going to the some gathering place. There was no way Yiming actually had those cufflinks in the house, but he was just looking for a way to cause trouble for him...to make him come up with something he hadn't seen.
And Yiming had been away from the house for days. While Zhan was searching the living room, Yiming stood there with a twisted face, clearly losing patience, when the living room door opened.
Momy walked in with Mr. Yeol's cousin's sister, whom everyone called Shutong. Shutong had spent three days in China, having come from Dubai where she lived with her children. Today she was returning to Dubai, so they brought her to see Yiming's spouse before taking her to the airport.
Yiming had already gone to greet her when she first arrived. Zhan, completely flustered, looked at Yiming and quietly said, "Honestly, I didn't see them while I was cleaning the living room yesterday and today. Maybe you misplaced them in a room and forgot...."
Before he could finish, Yiming delivered a shocking slap, breathing heavily, and grabbed him, saying, "Are you telling me I left them in a room?"
Zhan held his cheek, tears filling his eyes, shaking his head at Yiming. Immediately, his face turned red. Yiming didn't even care about his mother or his father's cousin sister who had entered the living room. They all stood frozen, mouths open, watching this display of power.
Shouting, Yiming said, "If you don't bring them out for me, I'll give you a thorough beating right here."
Sobbing, Zhan said, "I told you, I didn't see any cufflinks of yours..."
Before he could finish, Yiming delivered another heavy slap. Momy, feeling her heart lighten, said in a calm voice, "My son, take it easy. Patience, my son."
Shutong threw her handbag on a chair and walked toward Yiming in frustration, saying, "Yiming? Are you crazy, hitting a teenage boy...a man...like this for stupid cufflinks?"
Momy looked at Shutong impatiently. Yiming didn't even look at Shutong, who was speaking to him. He grabbed Zhan with an ugly expression until Zhan fell to the ground.
Shutong delivered a slap to Yiming's face. Angrily, she said, "Are you an ignorant fool? I didn't know you were this stupid?"
Yiming turned and looked at Shutong in surprise, without blinking. Momy also breathed heavily as she looked at Shutong.
Immediately, Momy's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Since she had given birth to Yiming, she had never hit him, nor had his father. And now he had been slapped right in front of her.
Yiming, looking at Shutong as if counting his words, said, "Aunt Shutong, did you just hit me because of this boy?"
Shutong said, "Yes, I hit you. Are you going to pay me back? Only a fool or a madman would put a small young person like that in front of him and beat him. Is this the upbringing you were given? If I had known this was what I would find in your house, what would your father have brought me here for?"
Yiming, his eyes changing color, looked at Zhan and said, "Go... I'm done with you."
Saying that, he grabbed some document and fling it to Zhan, "Before i change your appearance... Sign it, devoice papers, couse i can't continue living with worthless person like you"
Zhan signed them with trembling hands, Yiming snatched the papers from his hand, grabbed his car keys and stormed out of the living room as if he would fly. Zhan watched him go without blinking, as if he hadn't understood what Yiming said and make him did.
Momy let out a huge sigh of relief and said, "Oh! Heaven's, oh! God." Then she looked at Shutong and said, "And you, my in-law, you've disrespected Mr. Yeol. Besides, no one would stop me from paying back the slap you gave my son....I've never hit him since I gave birth to him, nor has his father. And Yiming has made the exact decision he needed to make. What is this marriage to a poor family or a wretched person anyway? He is not our class. And we never supported this cursed marriage. We were just waiting for a day like this, and Heaven has brought us into witnessing it. Praise be to Heaven, thank you, Heaven. Today I will sleep with joy and peace of mind. My wish has come true. And my efforts have not been in vain."
Saying that, Momy walked toward the door, moving slowly, her heart filled with incomparable joy, smiling as she opened the living room door.
Zhan watched Momy in shock, unable to make a single move from astonishment. Momy's words swirled in his head like a dream.
Shutong sat on the edge of a chair, held her head, and said, "We belong to Heaven and to Heaven we return."
Only then did Zhan feel hot tears streaming down his face. He stood up, walked slowly, went to his room, grabbed a long coat that reached his knees, and came back out...
NB
The English and grammar are so..so😂
💚💙❤🖤