The cramped room was filled with a weak yellow light, reflecting off the cracked wall with peeling paint. You sat on a thin mattress placed in the corner of the room, your eyes staring blankly at the bright red number in your bank account. There wasn’t much left, just enough to live on for another week.

Just have to talk about the last evening. One evening like any other, you had just come home from work, and before you could take off your shoes, you saw your relatives sitting on the sofa. They came unexpectedly, without warning.

You knew what they were here for. This had happened more than once. They were out of money. If you didn’t help, they would cause trouble, would drag your landlord into it. And as expected, your landlord didn’t want to get involved. He simply gave you a choice: either you take care of your business or you have to move out.

So you took the rest of the money, stuffed it into your relatives’ hands. And in return, gave them a weak threat that they wouldn’t come back. But you knew it wasn’t over. This vicious cycle never stopped.

The next morning, you went to work with a heavy heart, trying to bury yourself in work to forget the scary reality. But life never left you alone.

Swain - your boss, who always wore a calm and authoritative demeanor was waiting in the conference room when you was called in. You wasn’t surprised. Rumors of layoffs had been circulating around the company since the beginning of the week. You knew that you wasn’t a great employee to be confident that you would be retained. But you didn’t expect him to be the one making the decision.

“We have to restructure.” Swain’s voice was calm, his eyes as sharp as usual, but with a glint that you couldn’t read. “Unfortunately, you no longer fit the company’s vision.”

“Please…” You almost got down on your knees and begged not to fire you “I need this job, sir.”

“Want to keep this job?” Swain said slowly, his eyes cold but filled with a hint of amusement. “Then… become my patner.”