Rafiq's POV
I don't know what life means, but I've seen them happening right before my eyes. The way that a toddler became a man, truth beneath words, hearts covered by clothes.
A lot of the times, there' a story behind a story; secrets after secrets.
To be witnessing such a story, you must give something that is so precious.
What might it be?
I don't know.
I never got the chance to give it since I never had it in the first place.
Maybe that statement was wrong all along. It's not something you have to give, it's something you have to lose.
Or maybe I do know what is it.
But as I said, secrets after secrets.
The pavement below glide over my sight as I felt the vibration in my pocket.
I fished out the phone.
"Yes?" I greeted nonchalantly.
A gruff voice chimed in. "Next to you, there's a coffee shop. Get in and you'll find a man in one of the booths, waiting for you."
I look over my shoulder, fearing that I might have been watched from afar. Nonetheless, I huffed in surrender as the wind got cold and got inside.
Once I got seated, the man in front of me waste no time and hand over the documents to me. "This is what we gonna do. You'll be going into that building and deliver this envelope to the chairman." He pointed out.
"This is the file that I sent the other day right?"
"Yes, a summary of the company's financial analysis."
"No threat or ransom or anything from you guys?"
"Patience, boy. There's more to come." He grinned.
With that, I went into the building that he pointed out and took a second to appreciate the beauty of the architecture of the building.
********
He greeted me; a man in his early fifties, wearing an expensive-looking suit. My eyes wandered around and concluded that his office was really spacious and welcoming.
"I suppose you're with Mr. Langford." He sat on the couches.
I held out a hand and he gratefully shook it. "I'm his representative. I'm afraid he couldn't make it."
"Please, have a seat." He gestured and I sat down.
"Now, let's talk about business." He leaned in his seats.
I gave him the file. "He wants you to read this."
At first, he smiled as he took it from me but his expression stiffened once he read the contents.
He raised his gaze right into mine.
"What is this?!" He asked nervously.
I shrugged the of my shoulders.
"If only I know." I calmly lied.
"This is absurd! All of these are nonsense!" He spat.
I crossed my legs.
"Is it though?" I smiled sarcastically.
"You said you didn't know about it."
"Yes, I didn't. But if it's not true, why are you so agitated?" I cocked one of my eyebrows.
Our gaze stayed like that for a while. But at that moment, I could see the fear in his eyes. Secrets that he's been keeping, the untold truth of his stories.
"You're just a kid!" He abruptly stood up as he slammed the file on the coffee table.
"Well look who's being childish."
"Say that again!" He sneered as he approached closer to me.
"That again." I playfully smirked.
He grabbed me on my collars and yanked me once harshly.
"Are you playing games with me, boy? Do you know who I am and what I can do to people like you?!" He sneered.
"Yes, but why I get the feeling that it's not me who got intimidated?"
He let go of me and then quickly took his phone before calling someone.
A few moments of silence passed and then a voice from the other line replied.
"Langford! What is this?!" He barked.
I heard muffle and babbling from the phone.
"Don't play stupid with me. I got documents about the company's profit."
He paused for a while before continuing.
"You know what it means." He whispered.
I assumed that is the real Mr. Langford he's calling. He spoke for a moment before the man in front of me hung up with a sigh of frustration.
He looked at me in disbelief.
"How are you doing this? H-how did you get in?!"
"Maybe you want to check your company's security first before asking me that."
He pointed his finger right in front of my face. "You won't get away with this!"
I calmly stood up and head for the door. He just remained silent, watching me.
"I already am," I smirked as I opened the door.
But just before I walked out, I remembered something.
"Oh and a little note."
He was looking horrified while I was remained collected, smiling at him.
"There's more to come. Have a goodnight, Mr. Chairman." I nodded politely.
********
I got into the car that was waiting before it started to drive away shortly.
"Did you piss him off?" He asked.
"Yup! He's not very happy about it."
"Here's your full payment." He typed something on his phone.
My phone ring, notifying the balance of my bank account. "Pleasure doing business with you."
"What are you gonna do now?" I asked out of the blue.
"I was planning to threatened his personal life. His kids, maybe?"
I was shocked to hear those words but my face remained collected.
I thought that was it. Just some empty threat to the best food company in the country but my assumption was wrong all along.
I'm in no power of opposing as he paid me. So, I just obliged and give full cooperation.
I browsed through my phone. "I've checked them but I could only found his daughter, who's in London now."
"Is she an only child?"
"Frankly no. He had a son but I can't find anything on him. No social media, no face reveal, nothing."
"How do you know he even exists?"
I showed him a picture on my phone and zoomed closer. "Here, he once had an event in a hotel and a photographer took a picture of his family's table."
He took my phone to take a closer look. "See that kid? Next to Ms. Kim."
"Can't you find the kid?" He handed back my phone.
"That's four years ago. I think that is impossible. Plus, we didn't saw his face."
He only nodded while his eyes remained static on the window.
"Dig deeper, maybe we find something."
Hesitantly, I mustered some strength to ask him a question. "You won't do anything to the kid, right?"
He remained quiet for a while.
At last, he broke the uninvited silence. "I'll inform the next assignment when it's ready."
**********
Some people dreamed of my skills, some people hated it. It's something that I have to do to survive. If I didn't do this back then, pretty sure I would've been dead already.
I don't know when I realized that I could do such a thing but I saw opportunities in it. For the last ten years, I've been living in the street. With no one to rely on, no one to plead to.
I just have myself and that's how I live now.
The bell jingled as soon as I pushed the door open.
"Hey, Ry!" Sam greeted me with a smile while she poured coffee for a customer.
"Hey, Sam. How's it today?" I headed to the staff door.
"Not so great. It's cold outside and people don't want to get out of their house." I stopped on my track.
"Really?" She only nodded with a sad smile.
"Do you mind if I help you out a bit?" I took out my phone.
"Oh, please. By any means." She approached me closer and put my arms around her shoulder.
I snapped a picture with the cafe's name on the background before posting it on social media.
I would say not long after that but it was long after that, the ring jiggled again for the first time in hours. A cute girl, complete with makeup, entered the cafe and went straight to the counter to order.
I heard the girl talking to me while leaning on the counter but I ignored her as I continued my work.
At first, Sam suspected nothing. But then, more and more girls come in. There are only a few guys, looked absolutely stoned.
But she caught several of the girls kept staring at me while I made their orders. So, I assumed she got a sense of it but she's not sure.
"How are you doing this?" She whispered.
"I'm a social media influencer. It's my charm." I showed my social media followers, which almost reached 50.5K.
Her eyes widened and she abruptly hugged me. "I never doubted you."
I scoffed teasingly. "That's what she said."
She retreated back to her counter.
Then, a gruff man came in front of me. He stared in my eyes and mouthed words while his eyes were trying to say something.
I nodded.
I made him a black coffee, just like a normal one.
Except, when I handed him the cup, I slipped a plastic bag filled with white powder into his hand while looking around to make sure no one was looking.
He gave me the money for the coffee and left after a nod.
It is a source of income that I'm not proud of.
All of them.
I hope that someday I could live a normal life like everyone else. Had a normal job, own a house, and get married.
Is there anyone who could hold my hand and tell me not to worry?
Is there a time when my mind wasn't disturbed about a single thing around me?
Is there a place I could lay myself on and not drown?
How should I know; when tomorrow comes, how different is it gonna be?
***********
The floor creaked on my weight upon I entered the house. There's an unexplained stench in the air and the house was dimly lit and gloomy looking.
I headed to the stairs before a voice called out for me. "Hey!"
"What?" I bluntly urged.
She was sitting in the dark, leg crossed. A roll of cigarette was loosely held between her fingers.
She took a deep breath from the cigarette before blowing puffs of smoke everywhere. "Is everything sold?"
"Yes! Stop asking me that." I pressed.
"Did you take any of it?"
"I don't do drugs and you know that."
"Where's the money then?"
I walked to her and handed the money.
"Is that it?"
"How much more do you want?"
"I told you to sell it to the highest price!" She yelled out of a sudden.
"The price is not my problem." I snapped.
"Don't you dare try to test me!" She stood up and trudged closer.
"You told them the price. My job is only to give the stuff to them, how the fuck is it my fault then?!" I crossed my arms on my chest.
She fell silent for a while before turned around and walked into her room.
"Fine then," I muttered to no one.
My eyes wandered in the dim room before settling down on a bottle of vodka. I quickly grabbed it and rushed into my room upstairs.
Once inside my room, I closed the door before locking it.
The moonlight shone through the curtains and granting serene calming rays to hit my face.
I sat on my bed as my eyes fell on the window, wondering when was the last time I felt truly happy?
How does it feel like?
A happy kid with a loving family, who lives in a warm house. Go to school with friends, got perfect grades.
But now, it was all just a painful void inside of me that made my tears collecting on the rims of my eyes. I gulped the unpleasantly mild bitter liquid, burning my throat.
Why did this happen to me?
Did I deserve such punishment?
One gulp after the other, I found myself feeling dizzy and the house was spinning. I chucked the empty bottle to the side as I swayed towards the door.
I never want this to happen yet here I am; eyes that could barely open with tears falling off my cheeks, trapped alone in this dark void.
I just want a little bit of love. That's all I'm asking for.
Is it too much to ask?
I was trapped here since I made my first mistake. The one that I had to make when I was living in the street. I bit my lips as I remembered all of those harsh times. It's not as much of a difference than now but at least now I had food to eat.
I can't get out.
I was tied.
I'm tired.
If only there's someone that could unleash me.
But...
I have waited for a long time. When will something good come out of this? When will it come?
Tell me, please.
Cause I don't think I can't hold it for much longer.
********
The cold breeze hit my warm cheeks as soon as I stepped outside. I wrapped my arms around myself to preserve the heat.
Despite the stares I got, I kept walking and walking until my feet hurt. White puff floats around as I exhaled deeply before they slowly dissipated.
I looked up to the sky, filled with hundreds of brilliant stars. Some flickers while some just keep shining brightly.
It's beautiful.
How the dark sky was decorated by the sparkles of stars along with the tranquil moonlights.
It's like a complete family. One cannot thrive without the other. The whole picture will not be perfect if one of them was missing.
I wonder if someone that is so perfect could live alone, like someone that I knew of.
He had everything but why I saw sadness in his eyes? The grey eyes that were afraid of revealing it's true nature.
We're not friends!
He kept saying that despite the look in his eyes, wanting to be more than just associates between us.
I pull out my phone before I called him.
Moments after, he asnwered the call.
"Hey." I chuckled.
"What do you want?" He spoke with a groggy and husky voice.
"I miss your voice. We didn't talk much since Friday."
"Ry, Friday is yesterday. It's in the middle of the night, you shouldn't be calling right now."
Ry, I like it. That's new.
"It's the weekend." I slurred.
"How does that change anything?"
"I mean, you can sleep in the daytime."
"I believe sleeping during the daytime only exhausts you even more than you already are."
I heard some shuffling, proving that I woke him from his sleep.
"Not from my experience of expertise."
"Says the one who always failed a test."
"What are you been up to, sweetheart?"
He sighed. "Nothing much. Just can't sleep. How bout you?"
"Been looking at the sky."
"Me too." I heard him yawned but a very soft one as if he's trying to muffle it down.
I let out a deep chuckle. "Really? That means we're underneath the same sky."
"Wow, didn't know you're the dreamy type." He sounded unamused.
"There's a lot of things that you don't know about me, Zac."
"Is that a challenge?" I could almost hear the smile in his voice.
"You didn't deny it, that means it's true." I smugged triumphantly even though he can't see it.
"I asked you a question, dumbass."
"Then why I get the feeling you already know the answer?"
There's a long pause of silence. My heartbeat went quicker, thoughts crashing and my breath hitched.
"Rafiq, you're being weird right now."
"Weird how?"
"You usually talk nicely to me... except when we're fighting the other day. Are you drunk?" His voice only showed concern.
"Drunk of your love, that is. But, you're quite quick-witted."
"Where are you right now?"
"Somewhere in the city. Lights, cars, people."
"That's far from the neighborhood. Can you be more specific?" He urged.
"Hey! You!" I heard someone yelled in my direction.
"Ry?" Zac pressed but I ignored him.
"You talking to me? Fucking assholes?!" I snapped to that man.
"Ry?! Rafiq, get out of there." He urged with a pressed tone.
I chuckled seductively. "See you, love."
Then, I hung up despite that I heard Zac calling my names multiple times.
While there's a group of people in the dark alleyway, staring at me.