<<5 months later>>

“I’m sorry, but I can’t come over today.” A croaky voice said on the other line.

“Is there something wrong?”

“I’m just going through some… difficulties.”

“Oh, that’s alright, Sungjong-ssi.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s perfectly fine. What should I do today?”

“Maybe you can take him outside, maybe to an aquarium or somewhere peaceful. I think he’s ready to do that now.”

“Alright, thank you. I hope you feel better.”

“Thank you.”

Myungsoo hung up and let out a sharp exhale. The psychologist had regularly taken days off, and he never knew what was wrong. But it wasn’t as though he was annoyed, he had still given him advice on how to get closer and they were always a success.

He walked towards his bedroom, like any other day, however as he reached to turn the knob of the door, he halted, seeing the knob turn by itself, as though someone from the inside was opening the door.

He held his breath and shuffled towards the wall, making himself hidden in case the other was planning to open the door.

The door opened only slightly.

He saw an eye peeing out, before a small sigh.

The door closed once again.

Myungsoo stared at the door for a minute. Had the other contemplated on going outside?

He let out a brief smile before entering.

There had been major progress in the past month.

Sungyeol had learnt how to read basic words.

He was able to deter which household item were for what use.

He spoke more, and it was obvious that he was much less tense when around the other.

Myungsoo woke up every day on his uncomfortable, hard sofa with a smile on his face knowing that there had been great progress… as well as something else that he could not lay his finger on. But nonetheless, it was a great feeling and the fact that the taller male showed trust towards him made him feel warm inside.

“Good morning.” He greeted.

“Good morning.” A small voice replied.

“How are you today?”

Sungyeol nodded, “Good, you?”

Myungsoo smiled, “Great.”

There was a small pause before Myungsoo exhaled, “Do you, perhaps, want to go out?”

The other looked up, “Excuse me?”

“Like go out of the house. I want to show you something.”

Myungsoo could see the later chew on his lower lip, contemplating on whether or not he should accept the request.

“We can go back home whenever you like.” He added.

Sungyeol nodded, “Okay.”

Myungsoo let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding and smiled. “That’s great.”

~

His master- no, his protector was too kind. He stared at the large room containing all his clothes, deciding on what to wear. His protector had asked him to go out, and given him the choice to choose whatever he wanted to wear. Only a few weeks ago, had the other gone home with bags and bags full of clothing.

He had never seen so many clothes in his life, and to his amazement, they were all for him. He knew that his master preferred the colour black. Almost all his clothing was of that colour. Although he had preferred lighter colours, he never complained on wearing black clothing- not that he ever complained about anything, his master was too kind anyways.

He had grown attached to the colour pink, and to his shock, it appeared that his master had noticed this too. The majority of the new clothing that were bought for him were of that colour.

He chose out a light pink sweater with black jeans. It was the first outfit that was given to him, and he had grown a strong attachment to it. Although the sweater was far too large on him, his master had regularly complimented him, commenting that he looked ‘perfect’ and ‘adorable’. They were words that were once so foreign to him, however through the 7 months that he had stayed with his master, the foreign words soon became one that he craved to hear from the other.

He walked towards the door, reaching out for the door knob, only to hold and chew on his lower lip.

He had never stepped outside this room.

And he was too scared to find out what lied outside this room.

What if the people who sold him were there waiting?

What if his master was truly an old scary man, who only pretended to be this kind, handsome master, only to treat him worse than the others?

He shook his head at the nonsense that he had conjured up.

That was impossible.

But still, he could not help but feel that something was going to go wrong today. He shuffled back to the bed and sat cross legged in his outfit, fiddling with his fingers as he contemplated on what he should do.

His thoughts were cut short when he heard a knock on the door, before his master came in with a smile.

“Are you ready?” He asked gently.

He nodded.

“Great.” He replied, “You can come out whenever you feel most comfortable, alright?”

He gave another short nod. He loved that. How his master never forced him into doing anything.

~

Myungsoo stared at the wall with his mouth opened ajar. He had waited a few minutes already for the other to come out but it seemed that he was still scared. He wasn’t a very patient person, an usually when he was waiting for a date or even Woohyun to get ready, he would rush and push them to hurry up- which was probably the reason why he was always dumped on the first date, and still single. However, when waiting for Sungyeol as he took his time to get comfortable, although he had felt bored, he wasn’t angry. He hadn’t felt irritated or impatient. In fact, he felt calm and excited. He felt his heart eating erratically as the information began to settle in. He and Sungyeol were going out. The male who had come so far, now was going to spend time with him outside the room that he seemed to have grown accustomed to nowadays.

His ear twitched slightly, as he heard a soft thump indicating that the door had opened. He snapped his head towards the door, and saw an eye peeping back.

“Are you okay?” He asked gently.

He saw a small nod, before the other took a large inhale, which Myungsoo had found adorable.

He smiled, as the door widened and soon, Sungyeol stepped out.

“You look amazing.” He commented, seeing the other look down with bashfully.

“You look good too.” He whispered.

Myungsoo’s heart beat slightly quicker, however he chose to ignore it. “Want me to show you around the house?” He asked.

Sungyeol looked around, seemingly amazed at the extension of the house outside of the bedroom. He nodded and Myungsoo grinned.

~

He looked around stepping into each room. He had never seen rooms this big- well, with the exception of his previous master’s room. Those were massive, however he was only allowed in to have , which, to be completely frank, wasn’t that long. They were elderly men after all. After his little session, he would once again be concealed and hidden away in a small, dirty room, as though like a toy.

Walking through each room, he realised that none of the other rooms had beds in them.

He had specifically remembered his master saying that a bed was for someone to sleep in. However, there was only one. The one that he, and only him, slept on.

He began fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, as he wondered where his master would sleep. Had he stolen his master’s sleep because he didn’t have a place to sleep on?

Has his master been awake for the past 7 months because he couldn’t sleep on a bed?

He remembered when he was back at the little shed with the others of his kind. They didn’t have beds, and they never had a good night’s rest.

He had only began feeling awake and content ever since he had begun sleeping on his master’s bed. Although he had woken up several times in the middle of the night from scary dreams, he was able to drift back to sleep with ease after reassuring himself that everything was fine.

“Is there something wrong?” A deep voice asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“Uhm.” He stuttered out, as he met his master’s soft gaze. “W-Where do you sleep?” He asked, holding his breath as he prayed that the other wouldn’t get angry at his questions.

Instead of being angry, he saw a smile, where he replied, “On the couch.”

He was surprised at the response. Was it his fault that the other was deprived to a bed?

He chewed on his lower lip.

“Relax.” His master soothed.

He looked up, curious at the sudden order.

“You do that when you’re nervous.” His master explained, pointing to his chewed lips.

He knew?

No one ever noticed that.

Well he assumed that no one did, since no one seemed to care.

He adverted his gaze to the floor, making a mental note to ask his master later that night if he wanted to sleep on the bed tonight.

The house tour soon ended and he began to feel more and more nervous.

He wasn’t ready to leave the house yet.

His master was a few steps ahead of him, and he took this opportunity to look around the house one more time, before staring intently at Myungsoo’s back.

He jumped slightly when his master turned around, however relaxed back after seeing the gentle smile that he had now grown a fond of.

“I can tell you’re nervous.” He said.” Don’t worry. We can just step outside and then go back inside, alright?”

He nodded. He didn’t deserve a master this caring. He knew he didn’t. But recently, there was a side of him he never knew existed. A selfish side of him. Although he knew that he never did anything to deserve a master like Myungsoo, he didn’t want to let go of him. He wanted to stay with him forever. Until he died.

He stepped outside, instantly feeling the cool breeze hit his face. His eyes were tightly shut, scared of what else would lie outside of this house.

He felt a light hand on his shoulder, relaxing him instantly. The small gesture encouraged him to open his eyes slowly to see what had awaited him outside.

His heart beat in exhilaration as he saw a little child laugh in happiness as he ran down the street with his mother close behind.

He saw a flock of birds flying in the distant sky, chirping noisily as a few landed on a tree nearby.

He had never seen such a calm, happy atmosphere and it had made his heart flutter.

He let out a small smile.

A gesture he so rarely did, to the point where his facial muscles pulling this expression soon became tired, turning it into a grimace.

“It’s beautiful right?”

He nodded. It was.

It was nothing he had expected. Not in the least bit.

A smiling girl caught him off guard as she waved at him and his master. He saw his master return the gesture, and he too, lifted his hand slightly.

“Would you like to step out? Or go back inside?” His master asked after a few minutes.

He wanted to go out. He wanted to run around like the kids, but he was too scared too.

Seeing the hesitant look, his master continued, “We can continue another day, if you don’t feel comfortable today.”

He nodded, “I want to go back inside.” He whispered.

~

Myungsoo continued to ramble on about the fascinating places that were in store for Sungyeol if the other decided to go out.

The other was seated on the couch, trying his hardest to focus on his words, while Myungsoo was in the kitchen attempting to cook the two of them a meal.

He mentally chuckled at the other who was trying to be polite and listen to his rambling, when it was clear that his focus was on the pictures that hung up around the wall.

His incoherent words were soon cut off by an unmanly yelp as he burnt his fingers with boiling water.

The other jumped and looked at the other, who smiled apologetically through the pain.

“Sorry.” He said. “I burnt myself.” He sighed.

“I don’t like that.” He heard a small whisper.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t like being burnt.” He heard Sungyeol say.

His heart dropped. He had almost forgotten about the other’s history. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel sad.” He replied, not knowing what else to say.

The other shook his head, “I’m not sad.” He replied, obviously lying.

“You’re safe here now. I’ll make sure that no one will hurt you.”

“Do you promise?”

Myungsoo stared back, his heart beating rapidly. He nodded determinedly. “I promise.” He replied.

Another short update! Apologies for any spelling or grammtical errors (i did not reread it sobs) and also apologies for the long as updates. I've been very busy because juggling with the most important year of school and my health woop. Gotta love stress.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless, I shall trying updating quicker, but I can't make any set promises so please forgive me >~<

Till next time! Please stay safe and well :)

Oh and it's Myungsoo's bday! Happy Birthday to him!! hahaha xDD