Loser

In the mirror is a sexy woman. She is wearing a venetian red dress. 

Yes. That pair of mesmerising emerald eyes belongs to hers. She is breathtakingly gorgeous. She has that long reddish black hair draping all over her shoulders. She has that perfect button nose perched above her lovely pair of cherry lips, and a well-proportionate round face. 

If I were to say, she is the most exquisite species of woman I have ever seen in my entire life.

She is so captivating that my heart actually skips a beat. This is the second time I felt this way towards a woman, which long happened when I was still in high school.

I stare at her as I hold in my breath once again.

The sight of her makes my own reflection like a soulless background and I can barely even notice myself.

I am completely smitten by her beauty.

I can only gasp as our eyes meet, sending an undeniable familiarity into my nerves.

I can't help but feel that I've seen her before. It is just, I can't find any impression of her in my memory.

After a short while, she plasters a smile on her lovely face. For some reason, I can see the pain behind that smile as well as the melancholy and yearning that she has been through.

And it actually pricks my heart. I feel somehow uncomfortable and am sort of… guilty.

This is absurd. 

Why should I feel this way towards a stranger?

"So, you're also working here." She snaps through my thoughts, using the voice that I find familiar in my ears.

I frown, confused as I ask her a series of questions, "What do you mean by that? And how on earth did you know me? Who are you?"

I turned around to face her, only to find nobody standing there.

'Wait what? Where is she?' 

I leave the bathroom, looking for her around the area, but she is nowhere to be seen. She just disappears as if she never existed in the first place. 

Shaking my head, I decide to drop the idea of searching for her and start to work.

I can't be distracted by something that is unknown to me. Besides, my hands are tied up. I still have to think of a way to deal with that perverted manager without getting fired.

I take several chests with me to the wine cellar to stuff them with expensive wines.

As I am doing my work, that woman keeps appearing in my head, and worse, I can't shake her off. She has occupied my thoughts.

Then suddenly, someone's hands wrap around my chest from behind and it startles me like Hell.

Three expensive wines that I am about to place inside the cooling chest slip from my hands and shatter on the floor, making the owner of those hands retract them as he jumps back in horror.

"What the hell have you done, garbage?" The manager's voice thunders from behind.

As soon as I hear his voice, I feel like my soul completely rips out of my body, especially when what has just happened registers in my head. 

Cold sweat envelops me as I fix my eyes on the broken pieces on the floor, with the contents flooding them.

I can't move.

That is when he starts scolding me. He throws at me again those heartbreaking, insulting and belittling words he usually uses to hurt me. He calls me a piece of garbage, a loser and useless. He literally makes me feel that I'm really a pain in the neck and makes me feel that I shall not have been born in this world.

Shivering, I keep my head low as I silently receive his scolding. 

I feel like crying, however, I can't get my tears out.

"Why are you so stupid?" He prods one of my temple ruthlessly, so my head is swinging back and forth. It makes me a little dizzy, but I can't bring myself to complain. I have no right, have I?

"Look at what you've done, idiot? You broke three of our expensive wines. Do you know how much it cost one of them, huh? It costs your entire three years of salary! Now, tell me, what am I going to do about it? You, spending a single night with me wouldn't be enough!"

Hearing these, I clench my fists on my slacks. 

'It seems like I have no other choice now. Do I really have to betray myself?' I thought.

Being asked what to do about the problem has turned me into a total dumbass. I am completely clueless, like a black sheet of paper.

'Now, what should I do?' I asked myself the same question. 'How should I solve this? What will happen to my family now if my future salaries are not even enough to pay for these wines?'

No answers come to my mind.

I bite my lower lip hard out of helplessness until I taste blood.

"HELLO, ARE YOU STILL FUCKING HERE?" The manager roars right in my ears all of a sudden. He may have noticed that I was in a daze. 

It makes me tremble as I move my head away. 

"Yes, yes." I answered absentmindedly.

"Yes your ass!" The bar manager releases a ferocious kick at my stomach, and I am sent flying on the opposite empty wall. 

Upon whacking my back against it, a loud bang explodes the entire cellar and I fall facefront on the floor, looking pathetic.

The enraged manager doesn't have an ounce of regret for what he has done to me. He walks towards me and looks down at me with that same belittling manner. He totally goes ballistic, that even my charm no longer works on him.

'But hey, you wronged me. If you did not startle me, it wouldn't happen.' However, I can't say it aloud. It will only make matters worse.

He steps on my face and emphasizes every word that he next says, "Listen to me loser, you're going to rot in this bar forever…. WITHOUT GETTING A CENT! Now get on your feet and clean this mess!"

The manager retracts his foot but eventually does another worse thing. He spat on my face before leaving me. This is more painful than physical abuse.

A drop of tear uncontrollably streams down from my left eye, but I refuse to give in to this pain. Thus, I immediately wipe that tear off using the back of my hand and prop myself up.

'My family needs me. I must get through this.' I told myself.

Then, I pretend that nothing has happened.

Suddenly, a particular song sang in my ears. I can recognize the song in a second. I specifically set that song to notify me whenever I receive a call from anyone at home.

Without delay, I answered the call. What delivers to my ears is my mother's bawling voice, "Morgan, son. Your- your brother…"

My mom can't speak properly. She can't even get to speak a full straight sentence before bawling again. 

I panicked deep inside. Because I know, if they call every time like this, it is not always a good thing.

I furrow my brows. "Ma, calm down. Take a breath and speak. I can't catch them if you continue like that." 

This is humorous. I, in fact, am not sure if I am really trying to smooth down my mother or myself. Though I haven't heard the full details of the news, having my mother behave like this only means one thing— my brother is in serious danger right now.

My mother sobs even more.

"Ma, where are you?"

"We're in St Alexis Hos—"

"Wait for me." I quickly interrupted in a calm tone. Honestly, I don't how I manage to sound like that despite the turmoil that goes on a rampage inside me. All I know is I have no right to be weak, my family needs me, someone who is always calm no matter what and reliable. "I'm going there now."

And I end the call.

I hastily left, and once again ran into the manager in the hallway, who seemed to have returned specifically for me to give me another errand to be done.

I initially planned to ask him for an early off, but I disregarded the idea when he gots to speak before me in a harsh way, as usual. "You loser, you're finally out of there. If so, go to the counter and get your damn ass busy. You have no right to slack off!"

There are too many things weighing on my head at this moment. As for this job, I can't care less. I have to check on my family.

Hence, I pretend I don't hear anything from him and I act that he doesn't exist in my sight. I continue to make my way to the employee's door while he tails me like an inseparable tail of mine, scolding me endlessly with his dagger words.

The bar is bustling with customers, so every employee's hands are full. There's no one who is able to watch the drama and laugh at me. 

"I DARE YOU TO STEP OUT OF THAT DOOR!! I'LL SWEAR, YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY WILL STARVE TO DEATH!!" He threatens me.