These are the first chapters in the case that you didn't get to read that
Chapter 3: I never noticed her before
John was nearly turning 13 and his appearances at nights have gotten more frequent to twice a week due to popular demands. He had no choice but to do so otherwise he wouldn’t be fed anymore. He still needed to fulfill his regular duties on nights that he needn’t appear before a crowd and as much as it irritated him to always have to cover his eyes and hair, it was needed in order not to cause a commotion like the ones he usually sees. The lustful gazes were enough to serve as a warning.
As John started getting things like inventory lists and space for the new supplies prepared, an amusing thought crossed his mind. He had hoped that in his 4 years of having stayed in that brothel, he would have hoped to have met people around his age but to no avail did he that ever happened. He was proud enough to say that he had made friends with the kitchen staff and with the people that often made deliveries of the brothel’s supplies but none was ever around his age. Perhaps it just wasn’t meant to happen so he simply carried on with the deliveries.
Per his usual delivery check of the supplies the brothel orders, he needed to see that all followed the list seeing as he became so familiar with. What he wasn’t familiar with was the petite girl that was handing him the supplies he needed.
And what was definitely surprising was that she had the sweetest of voices that he had ever heard from a woman’s lips (And that was no exaggeration, coming from having to be nearly devoured by such women nearly twice a week). Luckily their supplier was there and he was introduced to her. So her name was Ying Yue… spelled as small water. It seemed fitting given that she might as well be the small body of water that would wash away his misery and cruel fate. No. He was getting too far ahead with himself; she’s just here for deliveries and nothing more. But by the end of that transaction, he was given the chance talk to her a bit longer. That day they had managed to start their friendship with a few small exchanges and a promise to talk once more when the next delivery was to come.
Eagerly, he would always await their transactions and every week he found out more and more about the girl. He found that they were the same age; it was just that he was older by 3 months. And that she had traveled enough to tell him stories of each and every delivery she had gone to that she could remember. They weren’t long talks but they kept him entertained enough. And from time to time, he would start getting playful with her by teasing her and even going so far as to hide some of her things. Yet Ying Yue was never allowed inside the brothel despite his invites. Of course she wasn’t. This was no place for someone as innocent as her to be in to begin with. Nor was he at some point. Oh how he wished things would have been different for him. Had he been a free man to begin with, he would have searched for her still and still befriended her no matter the situation.
She was the change in his life that he never thought he needed. But in all that time, he had never allowed her to see his face nor his eyes. He had explained that he had hated his appearance thus why she never pressed further. He was grateful for that, more than she would ever know. Her entire existence was something he would call a safe haven for himself after all those years he had spent alone. Was this the friend he had so longed for?
Months and months passed with his and Ying Yue’s small exchanges seemed to be the only thing that ever made him happy besides the tips he would be given when some of the women would request an audience with him. More money meant being able to buy his freedom faster, and at a younger age! Maybe he would soon get to show his appearance to Ying Yue if he were a free man. The thought that he was to be auctioned to the highest bidder still ate at him, however but never did the he ever let her see his worries. His worries and his lifestyle should not be of her concerns… If she knew his fate she would have fled. All she needed to know then was that he worked in the brothel and that he handled the delivery. That was enough for her to know.
So there is a romance? Hmm, I will move to the next chapter then