Chapter Fourteen
The Fruit Mouse
Baekhyun’s mind continued to tumble as fast as the water flowing out of the pipe above him in the shower. He felt lost in his thoughts as he moved the bar of soap slowly over his stomach and arms.
He was very aware that what he had seen of the tall boss’s muscular torso through the steam in the laundry room had affected him. But he wasn’t sure why.
Was it fear? Attraction?
Baekhyun knew he looked younger than his age, but he didn’t know if he was old enough to be attracted to someone. What was the right age to be attracted to someone? Even if he were considered old enough, he would never have been able to predict that his first attraction would be to a man that was older than him, a full grown adult. He didn’t know the boss’s age, but that didn’t change the fact that the man was handsome and attractive.
Baekhyun had been on his own for so long, but he still felt like a kid at times. He had deliberately sheltered himself from being involved in situations of an adult or ual nature. When the older men had leered at him as he tried to privately bathe in the river, he had felt very uncomfortable and scared. The fear had been for his safety, but he also knew that he didn’t want to be used and cast aside. He realized that what he wanted was to be loved.
Being an orphan from a very young age, Baekhyun didn’t remember his parents or even what they looked like. He was less than a year old when he was brought to the old house that was already crowded with other unwanted children. The orphanage was not a warm, loving environment, and he never had time for exploring a ual awakening as much as he would have liked. The most he had experienced were quick moments of self exploration in the bathroom in the middle of the night when the others were asleep. He had let his fingers travel to areas that made him feel good, but he didn’t know if everything he had tried was normal. Later when the men at the river made suggestive comments, he had only half understood them, but the nasty words had cleared things up just a little in his mind. He knew girls could be pretty, but their curves and facial expressions didn’t excite him much. Baekhyun once had thought that maybe it would be nice to be called pretty, but then he scoffed at himself for having such odd ideas. The attic at the weaver’s shop had only been witness to one time that he let himself enjoy his fingers again, but once he was done, the layers of dirt and bugs scuttling around made him feel disgusting and disappointed. He definitely didn't feel pretty. Thinking back on it, he realized he had spent more time washing the rag out thoroughly and then throwing it away than on the amount of time he had spent pleasuring himself.
But now the water was starting to cool off. He had been in the shower much longer than he intended.
Baekhyun quickly rinsed off and turned off the tap, then shook himself like a dog to start getting dry before he ran over to get a towel out from under the sink on the other side of the room. He had been in such a hurry to get into the shower he had forgotten to get something to dry himself off with ahead of time.
He moved quickly as he rubbed his body vigorously then wrapped the towel around himself, tucking it under his armpits. Then he leaned his head over one of the sinks and pulled at his hair a bit to wring the water out of his shaggy locks. It had been a while since his last haircut. He would have to see if he could borrow a pair of scissors to trim up his hair like he usually did. Perhaps the sewing scissors would do the trick.
As the orphan studied his reflection in the one mirror that was propped against the wall over the sink, the bathroom door suddenly swung open. A couple of the men the orphan hadn’t talked to before came in, talking loudly together. Baekhyun realized they were having an argument. Confrontation made him nervous and he wanted to leave but they were blocking the way out of the room.
One of them noticed him. “Hey it’s the fruit mouse..” They both turned to face the small figure wrapped in the towel. Baekhyun ducked his head in what he hope
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