"Ioki! Hurry up!" Ioki rolled his eyes as Lucy nagged him over the phone, why did he have to date such a demanding woman.
Ioki stood at the bus stop, combing his fingers through his hair as he waited for the bus anxiously.
He gave an annoyed smirk as he noticed a few college students looking at him, giggling excitedly.
Ioki was quite a handsome man, both his parents came from affluent families, but they had hit hard times. Most men that looked as attractive as him would not be seen taking public transport.
"Lucy, I can't exactly make the bus fly." Ioki complained and rolled his eyes as he tapped his shoes on the pavement. As usual the bus was late, nothing was ever on time in the capital.
There were just too many people in one place, traffic was crazy and living expenses were even worse. The only way you could get to one place on time was if you left hours in advance or if you had your own car.
Ioki was too poor to buy his own car, his family had lost everything when he was in high school, turning a prince into a pauper.
"Why can't you just leave earlier Ioki?" Lucy asked in an annoyed tone. "You know how hard it was for me to arrange this interview for you? I had to ask dad to talk to some of his connections just for you. It was embarrassing."
"I know Lucy, I know, Why do you have to keep on reminding me." Ioki said rolling his eyes as he finally spotted the bus. "It's here. I'm going to drop the call." Ioki said as he shoved his phone in his pocket.
Ioki sighed as he finally found a spot on the bus. He missed the better days back when his family had money. Things were better, people respected him, people didn't look down at him the way they did now.
His girlfriend, Lucy Brigitte, was his childhood friend. She knew him from the days when the Smith family was rich, that was the only reason why her father even allowed them to date.
Lucy wasn't some stuck up bitch from a rich family, she was actually nice. She had just lived a sheltered life and was unaware of how the ordinary man struggled.
Ioki looked down at his worn out shoes, letting his black hair fall to his face as he recalled the day he found his mom begging at school.
Eight Years Ago
"Lim, come on! We're gonna be late for class!" A dark-haired young teen called out to his friend.
The bell had just rung, signaling the end of their lunch break. All students were expected back in class within five minutes of the bell.
"Wait." Loki smith said in an annoyed tone. He didn't like people ordering him around, but this particular friend of his didn't care.
"Smith if the prefect catches being late again I'll blame it all on you." His friend said helplessly as he followed Ioki in the direction he was headed.
"Screw the prefect." Ioki said with a laugh. "You're too uptight Park. No wonder you want to be a general or something."
"Police chief!" His friend Damien Park said, correcting him.
"Whatever, tomato, tomato. It's the same thing." Ioki said as he walked away from their classroom.
"Just because the smith are wealthy doesn't mean the prefect will go easy on you." Damien Park said as he followed his friend. "Even those princes don't get away with everything."
"Psh! Those princes, so vain, just because their families are the richest in the country." Ioki shook his head in annoyance.
"Don't be so cocky Ioki." Damien Park said as he continued to follow his friend down the hall.
"If you're so worried go back to class." Ioki said as he turned.
"Your funeral." Damien said as he raised his hands in surrender and walked back to class.
Ioki shook his head and continued walking, he was never one to follow the rules.
He didn't want to go to class today, he didn't feel like it.
Things at home were too chaotic for him to focus, his parents thought he didn't know but he had seen the change in his dad, he seemed stressed and sad all the time.
"Please sir, my husband's company is closing down and we just need time to get the money for his tuition." Ioki heard a familiar voice beg.
It couldn't be, how could she be here? Ioki asked himself as he crept around the corner to get a better view.
"Mrs. Smith, I'm sorry but there isn't much we can do." Ioki heard the head of his school's finance department say.
"But if you kick Ioki out he will have to stop school." Ioki heard his mom beg.
"Last stop! Last stop!" A voice called out. Ioki suddenly sat up as he woke from his nightmare.
"Crap." Ioki cursed, he had drifted too far in his memories that he didn't realize that the bus was nearing his stop.
He quickly ran out the door as the driver shouted at him. "Hey! You didn't pay!"
"Sorry, sir." Ioki said as he scrambled to get enough money from his pockets. He was already running late for his first job interview.
The bus stop was still quite a walk away from where his interview was going to be held, but Ioki didn't mind, he had walked further for a lot less.
As a fresh university graduate, Ioki had gone to a lot of job interviews in the past month, each one turning out worse than the last.
For some reason, some rich man's son or daughter would always snap up the job opportunity just as he thought he would get accepted. This time, Ioki was hoping that it would be different.
Lucy had spoken to her father and begged him to help Ioki land a job with a family friend.
Ioki looked up as he entered the small building of Island's Inc.
The company was not a large one, it was owned by the Andez family, but it was a good company. At his point in his job Loki was willing to go and apply in all companies that had an open position.
"Ioki smith?" The woman at the reception asked as he approached.
"Yes." Ioki said with a nod as he smiled at the woman who simply smiled back at him.
"Down that hall. They are already expecting you." The woman told him as she pointed at the hall she was referring to.
Ioki thanked her and went on his way.
Inside the room a member of the Human Resources staff informed Ioki that he would be interviewed by John Andez, the grandson of the company owner.
Ioki nodded and followed the HR Staff to the interview room.
When Ioki entered, he was surprised to see a man that seemed to be just a few years older than him. He wore flashy branded clothing from head to toe and was casually leaning on his seat when the HR staff and Ioki arrived.
"You're the one uncle Ron recommended?" John Andez asked as he looked at Ioki from head to toe.
"Yes, sir." Ioki said, adding the sir as a sign of respect. The uncle Ron that John Andez was referring to was Lucy's father.
"You can't even dress properly." John Andez scoffed as he looked at Ioki. "This is an apparel company. Get this man out of my sight!" John ordered embarrassing Ioki.
Seeing as he had nothing to lose Ioki took the opportunity and fired back at the man.
"My clothes might look worn out but they are much better than yours." Ioki said in a loud voice. "Do your employees know how much fake clothes you are wearing on you right now?" Ioki said with a laugh.
"How dare you?" John Andez said, standing up from his seat.
"Don't you know it's tacky to show off the brand logo? You new rich people, so disgusting." Ioki said as he turned and walked out.
As he left the room, two large security guards grabbed him by the arms and dragged him to the back of the building.
to be continued...