“They say there's a path soon where I'll stand to judge,

but the devil's a waitin' with Christ like a son.”

Like a gust of wind he came and stirred everything up into a whirlwind of disaster. This elusive, nameless figure had a judgement to pass. And it would be passed. No buts. No maybes. No second chances. No room for remorse.

*

“Lee Sungmin. Leave him. Leave this place. There is hope for you.” The man's icy voice extended, echoing through the room.

“There is no hope for me. Regardless of whether or not I say, there is no hope left for me,” the man named Sungmin spoke calmly and slowly.

“You do know what this means? I will take him regardless.” The man spoke again.

“No. I won't let you take him.” Sungmin interjected.

“This in non negotiable.”

“No! I won't let you.” He repeated, this time with more force.

“You have absolutely no say in this. The decision has been passed. There is nothing you can do.” The man spoke, his voice cold and cutting, slicing into Sungmin. His eyes were piercing into him with the ferocity of an animal caged.

Clutching at straws, Sungmin walked over to the man and threw himself down to his knees in front of him.

“Please. Please. I will do anything. Anything at all. Just leave him with me.”

Shocked, the man's face cracked, giving way to something akin to remorse before sealing back up and returning to its cold stoic stare.

“There isn't an option.....”

“No! No! Don't say that. You can't take him.” he shouted, tears beginning to stream from his eyes as he began to plead. “Please...... please.....”

*

(One week previous)

The sun streamed in through the window streaking over two men laid on a bed, coating their uncovered skin in bright light. In the light, nothing could be hidden. Light gave everything away. Sungmin's semi- form uncovered by the bedsheets was mottled with bruises and cuts marring his skin. Bruises were dotted up and down his legs and arms and raw, bloody scratches spread up his back and stomach. Burn makes extended around his wrists like a bracelet. Identical marks were present around his ankles.

He was thin, causing bones to protrude like vicious spike from several locations on his body, the most predominant being his ribcage, collar bones and hip bones.

Stirring from his sleep and not yet fully aware, he shifted his weight to the side a little, groaning at the pain it cause him as pressure was put on his fresh cuts and bruises. If he wasn't pressing into an injury, he was tightening his skin around a bone that felt like if could pierce through his skin. No position was comfortable.

Blinking his eyes open, he fixed them on the man next to him who was still deep in his untouched slumber. Extending his hand out he ghosted it over his face, admiring the beauty in his features. He had a soft, kind face with a beautiful smile that scrunched his soft eyes when a full blown one was given. Dreaming, his lips curled into a small smile, making Sungmin jump at the sudden movement, then still and smile himself at the cuteness of it. He was a picture of innocence when he slept. To think he could be any different was not possible.

Sungmin watched him for a while longer before carefully getting out of bed and starting his day. The pain of laying on the raw marks was virtually unbearable when awake. Moving in swift, quiet motions as not to wake the sleeping man, he made his way to the bathroom to shower. In the bathroom there was a full length mirror that Sungmin tried to avoid looking in at all costs but today, still drowsy from sleep, he caught a glimpse of himself, freezing him in a stupor before it. He hated how he looked and this was the first time in weeks that he had seen himself full length. The image before him was worse than it had ever been. He could practically see himself wasting away. For a moment he was transfixed by the emaciated monster, the shell of his former self, before ripping his gaze away. Standing under the shower he let the hot water role down his skin, soothing his aching body.

Waking up to the sound of water running, Kangin forced himself into a sitting position, rubbing his tired eyes as he manoeuvred. His throat dry and burning he made for the kitchen to get a drink of water. When he had just exited his bedroom, Sungmin came out of the bathroom, clad only in underwear, his chest uncovered with specks of water dripping from his long hair and rolling tenderly down his marred skin. On seeing each other, they both stopped frozen in their tracks. Sungmin could feel Kangin eyeing the marks, his expression unreadable, so he quickly wrapped the towel that he held in his hands tightly around his form. He'd seen these marks before – of course he had – but never in broad daylight.

Interest lost, Kangin turned from him in an almost dismissive manner and strode into the kitchen. Sungmin shuffled his way quickly into to the bedroom to recover some clothes. All dressed, he stood in front of his bedroom mirror and brushed his hair, wincing as the brush came into contact with his scalp that was tender in patches where his hair had been ripped out from the roots. Doing the best he could, he replaced the brush on the table and looked at his face in the mirror. He smiled at himself, practising, but the cracks were visible as his lips drooped slightly at the side. Fighting back tears that formed in his eyes, he took a deep breath and walked out of the room and to the kitchen where Kangin waited.

Putting on the cheeriest voice he could muster, Sungmin said: “Good morning. How are you today?”

Not even turning around from where he was buttering toast, he just grunted the reply: “Morning. I'm okay.”

Sungmin sat at the kitchen table, soon joined by Kangin who looked him up and down before pushing a plate with toast on it toward him, digging in to his own. Looking at the food before him, he forced on his practice smile, directing it at Kangin who just threw him a disgusted look back.

“What the hell is that face? You look like you're baring your teeth at me,” he spat mockingly, chuckling to himself.

Hurt, Sungmin let his performance fall, looking down at food that waited on the table below him. Kangin just looked away, uninterested once again.

Food eaten, Kangin sat staring at Sungmin who hadn't once lifted his gaze. “Are you not going to eat it?”

“I'm not hungry,” he replied, slowly shaking his head.

“Fine,” he said, reaching for the plate and roughly snatching at the toast. “I'll eat it.” Ramming it into his mouth, he devoured the toast in a beast like manor.

Feeling uncomfortable, Sungmin fidgeted in his seat. Mouth full of food, Kangin opened it about to speak but was interrupted by a quick, forceful knock resounding through the house. Glad of the excuse to leave the table, Sungmin stood up and shuffled over to the door. Unlocking and opening it revealed the back of a tall, thin male with long graceful limbs and with long, shaggy black hair, dressing in all black clothing.

“Hello?” Sungmin asked.

Slowly turning his head to the side, he glanced at the man stood in the doorway through his peripheral before fully turning his body slowly around to look at him. Quickly eyeing him up and down before settling on his eyes, he spoke.

“Oh. Hello. I am sorry to bother you, I am from out of town and you see my car has broken down. Normally I would try to not bother anyone but the battery on my phone had also died. This has put me in quite a predicament as I have no idea where I am, no idea whom I should call for help and no phone anyway to ring for said help. Can you help me?”

His voice was low and smooth with an almost seductive edge to it. Adding to this was his eloquence and the way that his big, brown, piercing eyes never left him the whole time he spoke, transfixing Sungmin. All he could so was stare back.

“Did you hear me?” the man asked a little confused.

“Don't just stand there like an idiot,” interjected Kangin moving towards the door. Stranger in sight, Kangin beckoned him in. Shifting to the side but not shifting his gaze, Sungmin made space for the stranger to enter their house, watching his every move as he entered in gentle, even graceful movements. The man stared back curiously.

“Would you like a drink?” Kangin offered. He was always polite to new people.

Smiling and shifting from Sungmin the man answered: “No thank you, I do not want to be any trouble to you.”

“Nonsense,” he shouted, giving the man his eye scrunching smile. “What do you drink?”.

“Well, if you insist. Coffee, strong, no milk or sugar.” he replied.

“That's the spirit,” beamed Kangin, turning to make the drink.

The stranger smiled back, his gaze switching to Sungmin who hadn't once looked away from him. He offered him a gentle smile which Sungmin attempted to mirror, the corners of him mouth twitching a bit before stopping completely.

“Here you go,” Kangin passed the drink to the man which he took instantly before being beckoned into the living room. “Come sit down.”

“Thank you very much,” he replied while following the direction in which Kangin was going.

“Yah! Sungmin. Stop staring! Come and sit down,” he shouted, rousing Sungmin out of his transfixed state. Stopping mid movement, Kyuhyun stepped aside to allow Sungmin go first into the living room. Sungmin looked up at him again, but this time with a nervousness that was not present in his piercing gaze before.

“After you Sungmin,” he offered politely, his silky tones lapping against Sungmin's ears.

“Th-thank y-you....” was the stuttered reply.

In the living room, Kangin took place in a big arm chair while Sungmin perched himself timidly on the sofa, as close to the right hand side as possible. The stranger, having nowhere but the sofa to sit, placed himself on the left side, shuffling himself so that his back was fully against the back of the sofa.

“So, where were you headed?” Kangin asked.

“I was on my way to meet my friend.”

“I mean which part of town,” Kangin elaborated.

“Oh. I do not know the name. Just the location,” he answered elusively.

Amused, Kangin said in between laughs: “you don't know?! You're a strange one.”

The stranger just laughed along, glancing at Sungmin every now and then through his peripheral.

“What happened to your car then?” Kangin asked.

“Oh yes, my car. Well I do not know exactly, it just stopped working. Do you think you could help me with it? Being in the middle of nowhere like this house is, I would not know where to start in finding help.”

“Hmmmm well I don't really know much about cars, neither does Sungmin here, he's practically useless at everything. But I could give you the number of a mechanic.” Kangin offered.

“Oh yes. That would be great of you.”

Kangin left the room in search of his phone book from which to recover a number. Left all alone with the stranger, Sungmin started to shift nervously in his seat. For a means of distraction, he extending his arm out towards his drink placed on a coffee table before the two of them. The stretching movement caused the sleeve of his over sized jumper to hitch up, showcasing the burn marks on his wrist. The man, who had been watching his every move through the corner of his eye saw the marks and turned his head a bit to get a better look. Feeling his gaze upon the burns Sungmin quickly recoiled his arm, pulling it towards him and cradling it with his other arm. The man moved his head to follow Sungmin's movements, looking at his wrist through the fabric of his jumper before allowing his eyes to travel painfully slow up to Sungmin's eyes. For a few moments their eyes were connected again and he felt as if his very soul was being looked into, invaded. He was held by those big brown eyes, feeling like he was being pulled in and drowned within them. He was losing himself entirely. The man's expression was stoic and unmoving.

Before lost himself entirely, they were interrupted by Kangin who re-entered the living room and seated himself back down in his arm chair. The man ripped his eyes away to look at Kangin while Sungmin slumped his head down feeling exhaustion curse through him. Kangin was oblivious.

“So I phoned the only mechanic in town but he's unwell, said he won't be able to make it out until the start of next week at the earliest.” Informed Kangin.

“Right then. Today is Tuesday, so I guess I will walk into town and find a hotel to stay in, if you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of one.”

“Nonsense,” Kangin interjected. “You can stay here, there are plenty of spare rooms.”

“Oh. Are you sure? Only if it is not too much trouble. I would appreciate that very much.” The man replied with a smile, his tone exaggerated.

“No trouble at all...... Sungmin!” he shouted rousing the small man from his daze making him jump. “Go prepare a spare room for out guest.”

Nodding his head, he complied with his order, standing up and shuffling out of the room.

The man watched his every movement..........