The overstuffed mattress was ice cold when Taekwoon laid himself upon it, even with the roaring fireplace nearby. Goosebumps rose up on his bare arms as the blanket was drawn up around his waist. The new clothes he had been given were not day clothes- not much like the clothes he had ever seen Ravi wear either. They were made of a thin, white fabric with buttons that ran down the front of both the shirt and trousers, short sleeved but loose and seeming somewhat baggy on his skinny frame. Hanulyrii on gracandé kin, he thought, they're falling down.  He never dared say this out loud, however, as Hongbin smiled down at him and Sanghyuk dimmed the gaslamps around the room. He knew the punishment for not speaking in the common tongue. He had been careful to lie on his stomach as not to irritate the injuries on his back. 

"There," Hongbin sighed "Isn't that so much better than that horrible room downstairs?" He sat down on the edge of the bed and Taekwoon nodded mutely. This room was a lot bigger than the one he had been kept in before. It had a large bed in one corner with the hearth opposite and a large, welcoming armchair placed in the centre beside a small table. On the other side were a wardrobe and dressing table. But the window (which is what Taekwoon assumed it to be) had been boarded up with long, wooden planks, making it impossible for him to see what time of day it was. He supposed it was nighttime seeing as they were putting him to bed. 

Sanghyuk came over and clasped his hands together, the sound causing him to flinch back before a warm hand was placed on his head, brushing his hair from his face. "If you behave, this can be where you'll stay from now on."

He nodded again and the hand in his hair tightened a fraction. "What do you say?"

"Thank you... Mister Sanghyuk."

Hongbin chuckled to himself, tracing the stitching on the blanket with the tip of his finger. "You've trained him well."

"His pronunciation still needs work- his accent is too strong." He pulled his shoulders back and rolled his tongue around his mouth as he stared down at Taekwoon, who had become perfectly still as Sanghyuk released his hair. "However, he seems to respond well to a little..." He ghosted the back of his hand over the lacerations on the boy's back "Encouragement."

"I like his accent," Hongbin retorted, "It makes him seem that little bit more exotic; it plays well with his character for the show."

Taekwoon couldn't help but frown at the men's choice of words but he stayed silent, staring into the fireplace as they conversed. This was one of the few benefits of having learnt the common tongue during his time in the cell- he now understood almost everything being said to or about him. But to say the things he heard did not frighten him would be a terrible lie. He was terrified. He wanted Ravi. Why hadn't he come to see him yet?

"Where is he from, anyway?"

"I don't know," Hongbin snorted "I