Moving to London had been both a one way ticket to hell and also a new opportunity for prosperity for Sae and his family. His father had lost his job back in Japan, and left with little food and even less money, migration seemed like the only option.

When he’d come to London, he was awed by the cultural differences, the language spoken by the people. He had felt excited, hopeful. His mother became a housekeeper for a wealthy family, with his father becoming their butler, but it wasn’t enough. Money was still short, and so Sae had to get a job himself. After weeks of searching, he managed to get employed as a carriage boy, for a filthy rich kid who would be attending an equally filthy rich boarding school. He hadn’t expected to be treated fairly given his status, but the treatment he got was absolutely hellish. He was scolded for the slightest mistake, beaten for the bigger ones, not just by his ‘Master’ but also by the principal of the boarding school, who thought that servants had to be kept in line.

You were in the same boat as him, one of the many servants of the school, treated just as badly. He never got the chance to speak to you, but he got the impression that you were a good person. It was the exact reason why he hadn’t hesitated to stand up for you when he found you being openly yelled at in the hallway, after some rich snobby kid had accused you of stealing.

HIs cheek was swollen and his eye was bruised after, but he felt satisfied knowing that he hadn’t cowered away.

“They think they’re so great,” He spat out as you patched him up. “Just because they’re rich. I gave him a piece of my mind.”