1565 words

The storm outside was raging heavily, heavier than he had ever seen. Rain was splattering noisily onto the window of his house. The noise was almost enough to block out the shouting of his parents, but not quite. Their voices echoed in the almost empty house, bare apart from a few boxes and cardboard scattered about on the parquet flooring. A flash of insanity across his parents' eyes. That was all the warning Kyuhyun got before they started using their hands to hit him on any patch of skin which could find, while all he could do was bend his head and cry salty tears.

A whip was produced soon after, when his parents realised that hitting him hurt their own hands. He couldn't say anything; hurt was conquering his entire body, and his voice was nowhere to be found. The whip landed on his chest softly, once, twice, and on the count of three, the whip smacked against his chest hard, mercilessly. He could feel a warm liquid tricking down his body - blood - and pain numbing the entire spot. All he wanted to was scream and run, but his voice refused to work, as did his legs.

All he could do was kneel there, tears flowing down his cheeks and sometimes picked up by his tongue, his head bent and his whole body in extreme pain.

That night Kyuhyun couldn't sleep. He lay wide awake until he could finally hear the soft breathing of his parents. He sat up and looked at them. Their faces reflected peace and complete innocence, who would think they were such horrors when they were awake? Kyuhyun was tired of this life. He could no longer take the abuse. He looked down at his torso, his stomach flat from the small amount of food he took in each day. They were covered in scars and heavily bruised; the blows he received each day weren't small in amount or little in strength. The long narrow on his chest screamed pain - the pain had not yet to dissipate.

Kyuhyun picked up the small amount of things he owned and stole out of the house. He ran and ran and ran as fast as his thin, bony legs could take him. He could have sworn he heard his father crying out for him to "Get back here! Where do you think you're going?!" but he ignored and carried on running into the distance; into his freedom.

Away from this nightmare.

•••

Kyuhyun sprinted further and further away from where he once lived. His head bent, he had no idea where he was, only looking up when he had accidentally ran into the chest of a man. The man's identity was given away by the name card sticking out of his shirt pocket - Zhou Mi.

His face was that attractive, that handsome, that Kyuhyun was instantly captivated. His facial features were so pronouced, his eyes were just that alluring... "Woah. Hey, where're you going?" Zhou Mi gave Kyuhyun a once-over and decided that every inch of the younger man in front of him screamed poverty; his clothes were torn and tattered, his hair was ruffled and greasy, and everything else he had on him was old.

"I'm running away from home." The answer shocked Zhou Mi and for some absurd reason chilled him to the core.

"Come with me, you can stay at my house." The words spilled out of his mouth before he had even pondered upon them, but he realised that it was just what his heart wanted, even though they had just met.

Kyuhyun's shock played across his eyes but then he bent his head down, and mumbled, "It's okay, I'll but somewhere to sleep tonight by myself, thank you anyway." Kyuhyun turned to leave, but an arm grabbed his wrist. "Where do you think you're going, I don't even know your name yet." Zhou Mi was grinning. Kyuhyun had no warning, as he was swept into Zhou Mi's arms.

God, this boy was so skinny, so light, that Zhou Mi barely felt like he was carrying someone as he briskly made his way to his house. It was lucky that his house wasn't in the town, so they didn't cross many people's paths.

As the duo approached the front gate of Zhou Mi's supposed house, Kyuhyun's eyes widened in awe. Zhou Mi's house was huge, just like a mansion. It probably was one, but Kyuhyun couldn't identify one if he was standing right beside it. Zhou Mi grinned down as he saw Kyuhyun's face, and placed him gently onto his feet. Kyuhyun broke out of his reverie, "I shouldn't be here..." Instead of saying anything, Zhou Mi dragged him into the place.

A butler greeted them - "Young man master and his... Guest" - a look of shock on his face as he took in Kyuhyun's appearance. Chandeliers were hanging on the ceiling of the sitting area. There were two staircases that eventually merged into one in the centre of the area, its handles painted gold. The sofa sets were all white and creaseless. In fact, everything there was perfect, as if someone had actually taken the time to remove every speck of dust from every vase, every piece of furniture. Kyuhyun's mouth was wide open in amazement but Zhou Mi ignored that and instead dragged Kyuhyun up the stairs to one of the guest bedrooms.

They stopped outside a brown, glossed-over door. Zhou Mi unlocked the room door for Kyuhyun, "Make yourself at home. My room's right next door if you need me." With that, he entered his room and left Kyuhyun to his own devices.

•••

About six months later

Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi had never been as close to anyone as they now were with each other. More than normal friends but not yet a marriage. They were perfectly satisfied with the way things were now, but still Kyuhyun refused to sleep in the same room as Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi knew Kyuhyun wasn't afraid of him, so he couldn't understand why he didn't want to share a bed. It was already a little past three in the morning, and Zhou Mi was in Kyuhyun's room, suddenly having a strong desire to be in the same room as the younger man.

Zhou Mi was enjoying the peace, all that he could hear was the soft breathing of the man he loved. The sudden noise caught him unaware and broke whatever reverie he had been in.

"Help me... Help..." Kyuhyun tossed to his left and then turned to his right, repeating this action over and over. "Zhou Mi... Where are you... Mi..."

"Kyuhyun, I'm right here. Kyu." Zhou Mi placed a hand on Kyuhyun's head gently ruffled his hair, his voice soft and feather-like. He sat on the left side of the bed, his long legs dangling only slightly above the ground. His position was horribly uncomfortable, but his only concern now was Kyuhyun. The handsome boy now lying before him, perspiration trickling down his face and soaking the sheets, desperately begging for help.

"Zhou Mi... ZHOU MI!" Kyuhyun suddenly shouted and his eyes shot open from all the horrible memories that crowded his thoughts. His eyes circulated his surroundings, until his eyes landed on the one man he wanted to see at that moment...

"Zhou Mi!" Kyuhyun shot up, into Zhou Mi's arms. Kyuhyun wrapped his arms tightly around Zhou Mi's lean torso, who held Kyuhyun's neck, letting him rest against his chest in an act of protection. "What happened, Kyu?"

Zhou Mi felt Kyuhyun hold his breath, but Kyuhyun did not say a word. Zhou Mi tilted his head down slightly and saw that Kyuhyun's eye were shut as if trying to block out something. He knew he shouldn't push Kyuhyun if he was unwilling; he wanted Kyuhyun to tell him on his own accord. Pressing his lips onto Kyuhyun's forehead, he said, "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. Come on, I'll help you change out of your clothes. You're soaked."

Zhou Mi proceeded to remove Kyuhyun's shirt, wet with perspiration. Kyuhyun's head was still on his chest, which made it impossible for Zhou Mi to remove his shirt. Gently, he maneuvered Kyuhyun such that his their chests faced each other. Zhou Mi's eyes widened.

Kyuhyun's torso was covered in million of scars, and across the length of his chest was a scar so deep, it could only have be made by a whip. Zhou Mi's heart ached. He ran his finger lightly over the prominent scar, and midway, Kyuhyun clutched his wrist to make him stop. Kyuhyun's head was bent such that Zhou Mi couldn't see his face, but it was obvious he was crying; beads of water were dripping onto the bedsheets at a slow, rhythmic pace. Zhou Mi desperately wanted to know what happened, and who had hurt Kyuhyun this badly. Instead, all he did was hold Kyuhyun in his arms and let his tears flow.

Kyuhyun swore to himself that he would tell Zhou Mi everything one day... He would.

A/N: I'm probably gonna continue this so ^_^