"Starting bid at ten thousand! She's a fine young lass, a healthy one! Spirited too!"

You smirked at the auctioneers statement as the guard pushed you forward, cutting the ropes from your wrists.  "Promise you won't do anything stupid," his husky voice whispered.  "I'll be good," you bowed your head, stepping onto the stage. The chains around your ankles creaked and rattled with every step upon the wooden boards.

"Her previous owner was one of the finest men in Jaeng. Step up, call your bid, claim a new servant, maid or whatever you would like!" Whispers and cat calls trickled in the crowd when the auctioneer mentioned Jaeng, a well-developed city of businessmen and culinary arts, especially known for their underground ion.  Finest men, my eye, she sighed as an elderly man pulled at her face with his cane, inspecting every angle.

"I believe she is an entertainer too! That is, if duty calls."

A whole round of shouts came from the crowd.  Terrified women and children huddled behind the bars, watching the auction. Unlike most places, Nang separated male and female slaves, families to be sold when the eldest or guardian was bought.

"Treat her well, she's obedient!"

"She won't try to escape, but she is strong enough for any work!"

"Buy her at a high price, she'll be worth it!"

Why did the male slaves have to put in their opinions as well? It had been a few weeks on the ship of turmoil and disgust, their thoughts were no different from the filthy buyers. You turned around and spat in their direction, "Idiots."

The guard raised the whip and brought it down with a deafening crack. All the male slaves winced and crowded against each other behind the bars. Serves them right, you thought while a woman with a heavily powered face and overly large s scrutinized your figure, pursing her lips. She clucked her tongue and slapped your arm, hard. You presented a stoic face to her, eyes screaming curses. When she saw it had no effect, she shook her head and stepped back down.

You could not make out most of the faces in the commotion, yet one man caught your attention. Straining your eyes, they locked with a young man who seemed not much older than yourself. It seemed he did not want to be a part of this bidding, looking around and glaring at others. He was blonde, with thick lips and a deep frown. Also, he seemed quite handsome, running his hands through his bangs. When he looked up and saw you however, his frown twisted beautifully into a look of fear and anger as another  in the crowd shouted, "Twenty thousand!"

You peered behind a few people to see a devilish grin glinted upon two golden teeth.  Never, never.  

"Fifty five thousand!" the blonde man called out confidently, his gaze never faltering with yours. 

"Eighty thousand!" moustache man with false teeth glared at blonde.

"One hundred thirty five thousand!"

"Three hundred thousand!"

"Fifty five hundred thousand!"  Blonde smirked at the false teeth man. The crowd was amazed, Fifty five hundred thousand for such a young girl?

Frustrated, the false teeth shouted, "One million!"

The blonde man peered into your eyes as the crowd quieted.

"Two million."

False teeth whiskers tiredly sighed, "Two million and seven hundred thousand."

Help me, you mouthed to the young blonde man. You swore his eyes softened, but the look vanished as quickly as it came.

"Five million and four hundred thousand."

That was as much as what one of the notorious pirates were worth! Even a doctor slave could not have been sold for such a high price. The moustache man raised the white flag in defeat, sitting down.

----

"My name is Bang Yongguk," he bowed slightly, offering his hand to you. A slave must not touch her owner, lest she wanted her finger to be cut off. The auction had ended, a few protests from children who were carried away by servants of a household, male slaves fighting back against the ropes when their teeth were inspected. All in all, it seemed a happy day for buyers who claimed a bargain and a couple of slaves to themselves. Yongguk stood next to a cart full of crates, implying for you to step up and sit in the front with him.  This man, you thought while his hand hung in the air, who is he?

You remained still, eyes scanning the ground for any coins the crowd might have dropped.  Bang Yongguk may have a considerably amount of money to his name. Still, any tip from strangers was not too bad to hide away from him. He could not be trusted right now.

"What's your name?" he asked politely.

"I don't have one."

"You don’t have one? Everyone has a name. Your mother, father did they not give you a name?"

"I don’t remember it then," you quickly bowed and kept your eyes low. You turned away from his questions, as the horse clopped on the path away from the center of Nang. He was different from your previous owners.  The cart now rolled away from the center stage, taking a dirt path heading up from the marketplace.  Nang was an interesting place filled with different people you supposed, children ran through the streets screaming along with their friends, unaware of passing pirates that could kidnap them. Women and men alike sold their wares in the stands, calling all sorts of trinkets, textiles, and paintings. The aromas wafted heavily in between stalls, from rice cakes to lean pork and more.

"How about Yeon?"  Yongguk's voice bared over the empty silence.

"Yeon?"

"Yeon is your name from now on. Do you like it?"

"Yeon…" you whispered, a name. It rolled off your tongue sweetly, as did the meaning. You recalled your previous owner, who named his daughter Ji Yeon.  A wise beauty, full of fortune. Your life was never quite fortunate; perhaps Bang Yongguk would change it all.

No he can't, you bit back such a foolish image. All owners are the same.

"That's what the boys will be calling you. I hope you don't mind them, they can get a bit rambunctious."

Boys? Was he taking you to a brothel? Surely not, he bought you for a huge sum of money, enough to last you with months of food if you had been a runaway. No, why would he even bother speaking to you so much?

"I own a bar and inn not too far from the dock. It's been my business for a while now, along with my partner and a few friends."

You didn't speak. He looked over at you quizzically, placing his hand on your knee. You didn't turn away. He drew back upon your indifferent reaction. This girl, she must have been through so much, Yongguk thought.  He lifted your long hair to find scars from pocket whips, skin still growing over the scars. Your chest was sunken in, indicating the lack of food you have been receiving, or even worse an overload of work.  Your hands were folded on your lap, bearing rough and chaffed skin. Your feet were no different.

"Yeon. Things will be different from now on. I want you to trust me, that I will not harm you, that I will protect you from anything and anyone that tries."

You still did not say a word. Yongguk sighed, clicking the reigns.  He listened to the loud clink of the chains locked in between your ankles, wincing from the ache it brought to his heart.  I bought a slave from pity, for over five million, he sighed. And I will treat her the right way. Whoever that bastard was from Jaeng, he deserves a fate worse than death.

----

"Noona, are you daydreaming again? Noona! Yeon noona!" Zelo waved fried frog legs in front of your face. A bit of the flakes dropped onto your nose.

"Zelo-yah!" you waved your hands around to wipe the oil off.

"Noona this tastes really good! Hyung,  do you have an idea of what this is?"

"Fried frog legs," Jongup ripped a piece from Zelo's stick and chewed loudly before Zelo dropped it on the ground.

"FROG LEGS? OMONA I COULD HAVE EATEN MY OWN PET."

"No one keeps a frog as a pet," Jongup sighed, taking your hands, "right Yeon noona?"

"But he was mine…" Zelo whined.

"And this is food," you tiptoed to ruffle Zelo's long hair.

"Is there anything you want to eat noona? We haven't had breakfast yet and there's so much to buy."

The three of you stood in the center of the marketplace where the slave auctions used to be held.  It was no wonder you had gone off into a different mindset, the memory of first meeting Yongguk engraved on your heart.  Thankfully the boys did not prod at such airdheadedness.  Zelo amused himself with a few stray dogs that barked upon his soiled fried frog legs. Jongup decided it was enough to stand around here, realizing what you were thinking. He dragged you around until he found a restaurant he considered suitable, walking to the outside tables and offering you a seat.  Zelo came up behind you two, his domineering figure intimidating the older men and women who were already seated.

"Noona, I'm hungry."

"We'll get something for you Zelo-yah, don't worry," with a smiling face you patted the seat next to you.

Zelo beamed, his cheerful personality growing.  As he folded his legs onto the pillow next to you, another man slid into the seat next to Jongup. You gasped as he nodded in your direction, leaning over with his elbows on the small table.

"Morning sweetheart."