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Emil was barely awake when the bell started chiming. Still yawning, the young alpha plodded downstairs and opened the front door. Yong Soo waved at him with a goofy grin. Mei scanned him from head to toe and greeted him with a faint smile. Emil managed to mumble a quick "Good morning" before the couple pushed the child forward. With his lids half open, Emil took a glimpse of the six-year-old. The boy stared at him with large sparkling eyes. He was a little overdressed for the occasion, with a stylish yellow hat, a crimson cardigan on top of a white T-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Mei had a habit of treating him as a model for experiments. After all, she owned a boutique for kids wear.
"Well then, we'll get going," said Mei. "Take care of him and we'll be back in a couple of days."
"Go on!" Yong Soo pushed the child into Emil's arms. "Be a good kid da-ze."
Emil still didn't understand why they couldn't take the boy with them. It would have saved so much trouble.
"Where're you two going?" asked Emil.
"Tokyo," replied Mei. She adjusted her laced, pink hat slightly and smiled. "We have a reunion with Kiku."
"See you around!" laughed Yong Soo, as he dragged Mei away from the front door. The two hopped back into their car and drove away.
Emil glanced down at the boy again. This time, the boy avoided direct eye-contact with him. He kept his gaze down and fidgeted with his hands. Emil sighed and opened the door wide for him.
"Come on in, Xiang."
Waking up at eight in the morning wasn't Emil's routine for a holiday. His shoulders were still tense from last Friday's work. He took the backpack from the boy and led him into the kitchen. At least, the kid was behaving himself. He never talked much, or so Emil had been told. Yong Soo and Mei had been taking care of him since his birth. They kept updating his progress with Emil even though the alpha was not interested at all. Last week, Mei dropped a call and told him that Xiang had done brilliantly in his entrance test and he got admitted into a prestigious private elementary school. Emil only listened and nodded. The other day, Yong Soo called to invite him over for family dinner. Emil rejected promptly. The Korean boy had been trying to get him to visit them, but Emil always came up with excuses. Two days ago, they suddenly texted him saying that they would be off for a long vacation. No one would be looking after Xiang and since Emil was also on his Easter break, they entrusted the boy to him. Emil was extremely annoyed at first but when Yong Soo kept telling him that they had already booked the flight tickets and prepared everything, he was forced to accept the fact that he was stuck with Xiang, for five freaking days.
"Sit down," Emil instructed. "I'll make breakfast."
Xiang nodded obediently and took a seat at the table.
"And take off your hat," said Emil. "We're inside the house. The sun can't reach you."
The boy took off the hat and placed it on the chair next to him. He stroked his slightly tousled hair to make sure his bangs were in place. Emil rolled his eyes.
He was a terrible cook. He could only manage to cook some eggs and bacon. He offered the boy a bowl of cereal. Xiang only blinked at the plate and shook his head.
He lowered his head and mumbled, "I hate cereal."
"Gosh, stop being difficult and eat," said Emil.
The boy picked up his fork and poked the eggs. They were badly cooked and the toast was slightly burnt.
"I want peach buns," he said, looking up at Emil. "Auntie Mei always gives me buns for breakfast."
"I don't have any buns," said Emil, irritated.
"Shrimp dumplings," insisted Xiang.
"Just eat the eggs!" Emil raised his voice, startling the kid.
Xiang took a bite of the eggs. He didn't dare tell Emil that they tasted awful and hardly edible. He didn't want to be scolded again. He took another bite and coughed.
"Never mind," Emil growled and snatched the plate away from the child. "If you hate my food so much, don't eat."
The boy stared at Emil with wide eyes. The next thing was what Emil detested most. Tears started to trickle down the boy's cheeks. Emil dumped the food into the bin and left the plates in the sink. Ignoring the boy's quiet sobs, he stormed out of the kitchen. He got dressed and left the house furiously.
Half an hour later, Xiang was still sitting at the table, sobbing silently. Emil returned with a bag of Chinese dim sum he had bought from China Town. He didn't know what the boy wanted so he ordered whatever he could see from the menu. He put all the food in front of him. Buns. Dumplings. Spring rolls.
"There you go," said Emil. "No more complaints. Now eat."
The boy stopped sobbing and stared at Emil, who gave him a pair of chopsticks instead and urged him to start eating. Xiang did as told.
After breakfast, Emil couldn't think of what to do, so he just told Xiang not to bother him. He lay down on the sofa and watched TV while the boy sat down in one corner playing by himself. He was glad that Mathias left some lego at his place.
Time passed slowly. Emil fell asleep again. He woke up only when the phone started to ring. Grumbling, he picked up the call. It was from Yao.
"Nĭ Hăo, Emil, we know Xiang is at your place aru," said Yao cheerfully. "Arthur and I haven't seen him for a while. We're wondering if you could bring him over. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Er…" Emil wanted to decline but then this was Yao he was speaking to. He didn't want to sound disrespectful. He looked over to Xiang, who had just finished building an enormous lego house and was trying to make a garden.
"Hello?"
"Right," Emil sighed. "I'll bring him over tomorrow."
"Xièxiè."
Emil switched off the TV and walked over to Xiang.
"We're going out tomorrow."
The boy looked up curiously.
"A trip?"
"No, just for a visit."
"I, like, wanna go on a trip…" Xiang said. "Everyone else at my school is going…for a trip."
"So?" Emil shrugged.
"So…can we, like, maybe, go outside?" Xiang suggested. "Uncle Soo always takes me to fish and hike! And Auntie Mei always takes me shopping. Can we-"
"No," said Emil firmly. "We aren't going for a trip."
The beam in Xiang's eyes disappeared. He gazed down at his half-finished lego garden and nodded.
Emil hated the disappointed look on his face, but on top of it, he hated to have anything to do with this boy. He kept telling himself that it wasn't his fault. Yong Soo and Mei knew well he despised the boy but they still insisted on asking him to babysit him. They should have expected it to be disastrous. Every time Emil saw those amber orbs, those long eye lashes and choppy bangs, he wanted to cry. Xiang wasn't the only one suffering. He, too, was suffering every single day. There was a room in his house he had left untended for years. And till this day, he still couldn't bear to open the door. The boy was a living nightmare.
"What're we, like, gonna eat?" asked Xiang.
"I don't know," replied Emil. "What do you want?"
"Pizza!" Xiang giggled.
Typical answer. At least, he was open to food other than Chinese cuisine.
At lunch, the door bell rang. Emil thought it was the delivery guy from PizzaHut, but to his astonishment, it was Lukas. And not just Lukas…Mathias too.
"What's up, Icey?" Mathias jumped at Emil, who successfully dodged from his bear hug.
"Stop calling me that," Emil said. "What're you doing here?
"Is it so wrong to visit my dear son?" asked Lukas monotonously.
"I'm busy," said Emil, praying that the couple would just leave him alone. He had had enough to deal with.
Ignoring his protest, Lukas and Mathias stepped in.
"Oh look! Xiang's here!" exclaimed Mathias. He raced to hug the boy, more like squeezing him.
"He's staying over?" Lukas asked Emil.
Emil nodded.
"That's nice," Lukas smiled and picked Xiang up. He brushed the boy's hair gently and gave him a handmade fairy trinket. "You two can spend some quality time together."
"And you should've called us! We'd love to play with him," whined Mathias.
"Well, we're gonna eat pizza. Wanna join us then?" offered Emil reluctantly.
"Sure thing!"
Emil wished he hadn't let his parents in. After lunch, they both thought it would be best to take Xiang out for a walk.
"Staying indoors isn't healthy," said Mathias.
"You used to be an introvert, remember?" said Lukas. "That's how you became a social cripple."
"I wasn't a social cripple!"
Mathias laughed and started recounting all the embarrassing situations Emil had been through as a youngster.
"And you know what, he once mistook a boy for a girl and sent a love letter to the wrong person!" said Mathias to Xiang. The boy listened intently and tilted his head with interest. "It took him ten years to finally muster his courage to confess to his best friend!"
"Enough!" Emil smacked Mathias's shoulder. "He doesn't need to know that."
"You're blushing," said Lukas with a smirk.
He wanted to chase them both out of the house, but instead, the family ended up in the theme park. It was Mathias's idea for sure. Surprisingly, Lukas tagged along with that. Xiang was overjoyed. Emil wasn't pleased, indeed. What got on his nerves even more was when Mathias and Lukas urged him to play those games with the boy. The older couple slipped away secretly and left them in the fun house. After walking out from the fun house, Xiang pointed to the Ferris wheel and tugged at Emil's sleeves. Emil wanted to look for his parents first and gave them a serious scolding but before he could call Lukas, Xiang had already dragged him to the queue. They lined up for fifteen minutes during which Emil kept cursing inwardly. These silly games completely ruined his otherwise peaceful and beautiful Easter holiday.
"Look! I can, like, see everything!" exclaimed Xiang.
They were up in the air. The sky was blue. The sun was shining. Xiang jumped excitedly and described every fascinating thing he could spot. Emil couldn't take his eyes off the view below. It had been years since he last watched the town from above. That one autumn, he was taken to this place and got dragged onto the Ferris wheel. He peered down from the sky. He thought he owned everything because he had the one he loved by his side. They kissed for the first time and Emil marked him with a bite. He vowed to love him forever.
Before he realised it, he was crying. The poor boy didn't know what to do. He thought he had said something wrong. He tried to reach up to touch Emil's cheeks, to wipe those hot tears away. Emil shook his head and hugged the boy tightly. He assured him that everything was alright.
The boy carried the same fragrance with him. He, too, was born with fragile features and a petite body. The only difference was that his heart was still beating.
They met up with Mathias and Lukas at the park exit. Xiang was holding a panda-shaped balloon and eating an ice-cream. The kid had a sweet tooth, just like his mother.
"How's it?" asked Lukas. "Had fun?"
Mathias picked up the boy and let him ride on his shoulders.
"Yep," replied Xiang with a smile.
"So, any plans for tomorrow?" asked Lukas.
"We're going to visit Yao," said Emil.
Lukas nodded.
They headed out for dinner. At around eight, Mathias and Lukas left, not before they convinced Emil to bring Xiang over at the weekends.
Emil was preparing for the bed when Xiang came in with a stuffed panda on one hand and a story book on another.
"What do you want?"
The boy held up the story book.
Scandinavian Magic & Fairytales.
Probably another weird gift from Lukas.
"Just go to sleep."
"Can't," said Xiang.
"I'm tired," said Emil. "Stop being so stubborn."
And then, he saw those teary, pleading eyes. Why was he such a crybaby? None of his parents were this prone to crying. Emil began to wonder if Yong Soo and Mei had been spoiling the boy too much.
"Ugh, come over here."
Xiang closed the door and dragged the over-sized stuffed animal to the bed. Emil helped him climb onto the bed and let him sit in his lap. He slouched against the pillow and flipped open the book. To be honest, he had never read anyone a bedtime story before. It was usually the other way round. His reading was dull and emotionless, but the boy still listened attentively.
When he could no longer endure the tiredness, Emil closed the book and told Xiang he would continue the reading tomorrow. He switched off the lights and heard a yelp. Xiang ducked into the blanket and curled up like a ball. It was then he realised the boy feared darkness. That was why he had come into his room to sleep with him.
"It's alright," said Emil. "I'll leave this on."
He left the lamp on the nightstand on and held the boy close to him. Xiang stopped trembling and shut his eyes. It had been a while since someone lay next to him. He missed the warmth. The soft hair. The fragrance.
He was grateful that the boy turned out to be a beta.
At least, he would never suffer like an omega.
The next day, they woke up early and prepared for the visit. At the train station, they came across a gift shop. Xiang's gaze was fixed on a fluffy stuffed dragon on the shelf. Emil knew he wanted it but the boy didn't dare ask for it. He took the dragon and paid for it. The boy looked at him incredulously. His lips broke into a smile as he hugged the stuffed dragon protectively.
Yao and Arthur were waiting for their arrival. Emil hadn't dropped by for five years. Nothing had changed. Yao never seemed to age. Emil suspected it had something to do with those mysterious Chinese herbs. As for Arthur, his brows were still as bushy as ever. He still adored Earl Grey and talked like a cynical old man.
The couple welcomed them eagerly.
"We thought you wouldn't come," said Arthur, picking Xiang up.
"It's been a while," said Yao. "How're you doing?"
"Fine, I guess," replied Emil.
"You know," said Yao, "I've got something for you. You never came to visit after that day."
Emil didn't say anything. He followed Yao into a room. Everything there looked familiar. He recognised the skyblue wallpaper, the posters displaying famous Kung Fu masters, the wardrobe that was filled with many trendy clothes, the desk on which many precious photo frames lay, the bed where they first mated…
"Here."
Yao took out a ring from the drawer and handed it to Emil.
"He would like you to keep it," said Yao.
Emil looked down at his own ring.
They were a matching set.
He remembered the money he had saved to buy them.
He remembered the vow he had made when he slid that ring around his finger.
He remembered the hand he had held and refused to let go.
"Emil," sighed Yao. "When Leon was a child, Arthur and I never got to provide him with a normal home. He was taken away and torn between two sides a couple of times. He never complained or cried but we knew he suffered because of us. We were…very very bad parents aru. He was an unexpected child, just like Xiang. We also treated it as a curse at first, but in truth it was a gift. The most precious gift we could have ever received. That last thing he wanted was to see you in pain. When he was a teen, he wished for nothing but a complete family. You know, being an omega is never easy but he had you. I'm glad he met you. He was able to find happiness. He was able to live without any regrets. Please remember, all he's ever wanted is for you and Xiang to be happy."
Emil took the ring from Yao. It had the names on it. Both of their names.
" Xiang means fragrance."
It had been six years.
Since he lost him.
"Leon had always been weak," said Yao. "He was born weak. They said he wouldn't get past ten, but he did. Because of you, he got past twenty. Now you know how much he loves you. He's left you the most beautiful thing ever."
" Promise me, Emil, don't hate the child."
" He's, like, the most beautiful thing ever."
The child did nothing wrong.
He knew it all along.
But every time he looked at him, he would remember that day.
The day he so foolishly agreed with Leon; to keep the baby.
And he lost him forever.
"Papa?"
Emil turned around. The boy stood at the door, his face soaked in tears.
"What's wrong?" asked Emil. He rushed over to the boy and leaned down.
"I, like, lost the dragon..." muttered the boy.
"I took the lad to the park," explained Arthur. "He lost the toy in the playground."
"That's fine," said Emil, stroking those light blond curls. "I'll buy you a new one."
The boy shook his head.
"It, like, won't be the same…"
"What do you mean?"
Xiang looked up at his father and sobbed loudly.
"Because that's…like…the first toy…you gave me."
As if he had never heard a louder cry, Emil felt his eyes burn with tears.
He never realised how much of an awful father he had been. The very first thing he gave to the boy was not a stroke on the cheek, a pat on his head or a kiss on his forehead. It was a stuffed dragon.
And the boy was crying because he thought he had lost the most precious gift.
"Listen, Xiang, I'll buy you another one when we get home," said Emil. He hugged the boy and cried. "I haven't been very nice to you, have I? Would you still…want to stay with papa though?"
" Let's start a family, Emil."
" A family that no one can tear apart."
The boy nodded.
" Take care of him. Protect and love him. Don't let go."
Emil held the ring in his palm.
And he vowed to love and care for this child forever.