Chan dropped to his knees in the middle of the office.
"Please, ma'am," he begged desperately. "My mother is dying. I need this loan. Please… I really need it. I promise I'll pay you back."
"I won't warn you again, Mr. Chan. Kindly leave my office," the grey-haired woman said coldly.
But Chan refused to move.
"If you give me this loan, I'll never disappoint you. You'd be saving a life. Please, just give me a chance, ma'am… Cathy," he said, reading her name tag.
Her expression darkened instantly.
"Did you just call my name?" she snapped. "You little brat. Do you think you're worthy of saying my name?"
Furious, Cathy grabbed her office phone and dialed a number.
"Send two security men to my office immediately. I need trash taken out," she said before hanging up.
Hearing this, Chan quickly grabbed her leg and lay flat on the floor, his face pressed down as he pleaded.
"Please, ma'am… please…"
"You filthy fool, let go of my leg!" Cathy shouted, her face turning red with anger.
A knock came at the door.
"Ma'am, you sent for us?" one of the guards asked.
"Don't just stand there! Get in here and throw this garbage out of my office!" she yelled.
Two muscular men in suits rushed in. Chan realized there was nothing more he could do. Slowly, he let go and allowed them to drag him out, choosing not to resist to avoid being beaten.
They threw him outside the company entrance and warned the guards not to let him in again.
Chan stood up, dusted off his faded shirt, and walked to the side of the building. He sat down, lost in thought.
This was the fourth loan company to reject him.
"What more does someone have to do to get a loan?" he muttered, his voice rising.
Passersby stared and laughed, thinking he had gone mad.
Embarrassed, Chan lowered his head and walked away.
As he wandered, he noticed a sign outside a café:
WORKER NEEDED
Hope lit up his face, and he rushed inside. The café was quiet, with only a few customers.
"How may I help you, young man?" an elderly man asked, peering over his glasses.
"Good evening, sir. I saw the sign outside… about needing a worker," Chan said, hopeful.
"Oh, that," the old man replied. "Sorry, it hasn't been taken down. The position has already been filled."
Those words shattered Chan instantly.
A sharp pain shot through his head, and the world seemed to spin.
"I'm sorry, young man. There's nothing I can do," the man added.
Chan nodded weakly and walked out.
It felt like bad luck followed him everywhere.
After a thirty-minute walk, he finally got home.
His house was quiet and worn down. The wooden door creaked, the air smelled old, and a broken television flickered in the corner. Dust covered the table, and the ceiling barely held together.
It didn't feel like a home.
"I give up…" Chan whispered as he collapsed onto the couch.
Then suddenly—
Slap!
He hit himself.
"If I give up now, who will help Mom with her hospital bills? Who will pay Sue's school fees?" he muttered, slapping himself again.
He took a deep breath.
"No… I can't give up."
With no other option left, he picked up his old iPhone 7—his mother's gift on his eighteenth birthday—and called his friend.
"Hey, Lee."
"Yeah, what's up?" Lee replied.
"I want to talk to you about something," Chan said nervously.
"Did you change your mind?" Lee asked immediately.
"…Yeah. I'm ready."
"Good. Now you're acting like a man," Lee said. "If this goes well, you'll never have to look for a job again."
"Meet me at the address I'll send. We'll see if you qualify. It's… a one-day and everyday kind of job, if you understand."
Chan stayed silent.
"If you succeed on your first job, you'll earn enough to cover your mom's treatment and your sister's school fees. What do you think?"
Chan clenched his fists.
Compared to constant rejection and humiliation, this felt like his only option.
"I'll do it."
After ending the call, he checked the time—8:30 PM.
It was time to visit his mother.
He rushed out immediately.
Thirty minutes later, Chan arrived at Hong Kong General Hospital.
The atmosphere felt strange.
Doctors and nurses rushed through the halls in urgency. It wasn't like this before.
Fear gripped his heart.
He tried stopping a nurse, but no one paid attention.
Panicking, he ran to the receptionist.
"Please, I'm here to see Elena Ming Su," he said quickly.
"Hold on," the receptionist replied, checking her records.
"…She's been transferred to the emergency ward. Sixth floor, Room 456."
Chan's heart skipped.
Before she could say anything else, he sprinted to the elevator.
Ding.
The doors opened on the sixth floor.
The hallway was chaotic—patients being rushed, nurses shouting orders.
Chan searched frantically until he found Room 456.
He burst inside.
His mother lay there alone.
Machines beeped beside her.
He rushed to her side and held her hand tightly.
"If I could give you my heart so you could live… I would," he whispered, tears falling.
Suddenly—
The heart monitor began to beep rapidly.
"Doctor!" Chan shouted in panic. "Doctor! Someone, please help!"