“Hyun Joong ah?!” “Tell me some good news please!!” “Has my Joongie and Suie been found yet?!”

“… Mrs Kim… I’m sorry but I do not have good news…”

“No… No way… It’s been days!!”

“I know. The police can’t establish anything yet… with Suie.” “Joongie’s case is already taken over by the human trafficking department but Suie’s will be handed to the local police department because they can’t tie it to any human trafficking syndicate…”

“Can’t you convince them? Talk to them again?!”

“I’m sorry Mrs Kim… I am trying… Please forgive me for not taking care of them. I promise you I will do my best to rescue them!”

“… I don’t blame you Hyun Joong ah… but you can forgive my shouting at you right? I am a mother… you will understand my pain right?”

“Yes! I am sorry… I will call you back again.” “Good bye Mrs Kim.”

Putting the phone down, Mrs Kim hugged the family photo last taken with her two beautiful smiling sons tightly. Eyes already dried, swollen shut, the lady cannot accept the fact that the tiny flame of hope is slowly diminishing and dying out with every passing hour.

Whispering prayers for her sons, the woman curled up into a ball and lay without sleeping. The sleeplessness plaguing her is weakening her, all of her will, mental and emotional wellbeing and she is already at the verge of a mental breakdown.

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Meanwhile…

As choppy waves batters an expensive yacht in the middle of the sea, a man enjoyed the salty sea breeze while the soft sunlight warm up his face. It is early in the morning when the sun had just risen but he is already wide awake.

Leaving his sleeping beauty in the bunk below, the man did not sleep in the same bed with him, choosing to sleep on the top deck. Leaping off his sun chair to check on the person as the door was lock at all times, an advice from his elders.

“Creak.” Slowly opening the room bunk door, the man braces himself for a flying kick but nothing comes. Tiptoeing in and shutting the door behind him, locking it, the man crab-walked over to the still lump resting under the sheets of his bed.

Peering under the blanket, the man ended up squatting down and admiring the beauty beneath. Eyes closed and lips slightly parted, the person shivered cutely and slides his fingers along the bed for the blanket to cover his exposed toes. This broke the other man from his trance and he quickly backs away.

“Umma!! Headache… painkillers please…” The silent person says all of a sudden as the taller man was leaving the bunk. The sleeping person is still in his own world after the long knock out, soul wandering back home to where he is most comfortable. The bed felt like the one he had at home and the previous kidnap and human transaction is nothing more than a nightmare.

Digging through the first aid kit he has stored in the top deck, the man dashed back to the room, like a total servant. Doing it so subconsciously, he does not realise that all he had in mind was the need to provide the sleeping person whatever he wanted. The roles are somehow switched, much to the pleasure of his weird elders, but much to his own dismay.

“Here.” Squatting down next to the person’s face as the other lies on his belly, the tall man even opened the mineral bottle cap for him. Popping two capsules into his smooth pretty palms, the person smiled a tiny smile and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing dry without taking the bottle.

“Thank you, umma. I think I overslept…” The young man giggled playfully, unaware that the person watching him, hovering at an unusual height isn’t his mother. Yunho tilts his head sideways and he can feel a smile working its way across his handsome face.

“OH NO!!” “THE BOARD PRESENTATION!! I CAN’T BE LATE!!” A sudden outburst causes Yunho to jump a little and the next minute, Jaejoong is out of the warmth of the man’s bed. Still dressed in the oversized shirt, the buttons have become dangerously undone, exposing most of his shoulder and flawless scapula region.

Scrambling around the unfamiliar room with beautiful slender thighs working out of sync, the lithe figure sways clumsily in search of something. The gorgeous creature still looked gorgeous despite having not bathed since he was last washed down and packed into a box. “Oh! Towel!” “Underwear… underwear… where are you, you naughty little piece of triangle?” Mumbling to himself, the smaller man amused the taller man so much that it hurts not to laugh.

“Suie ah! Have you seen hyungie’s underwea…” Turning to face the only human presence looming behind him, assuming it to belong to his endearing little brother, since they somehow always end up sharing underwear, the young man’s scream is caught at the back of his throat. “OH GOD!” Falling backwards dramatically after seeing that the man from his nightmare is standing there very much alive, the man blinked and pinched himself.

“Oh god! Oh my god!!” Lips quivering and looking like he is about to out, the young man crawled into the bathroom, or what appears to be a bathroom, right behind him and locks himself within.

Covering both palms over his face, the traumatised young man can’t stop his hands from shaking as he presses them together. Squeezing his eyes close together, he finally opens them and stares right into the sunlight intruding the smaller porthole. Realising that he is in deep , the other realises the toilet contains nothing but nothingness.

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POV from Yunho

I have never seen anything… human… so adorable in my life! He might not be the cutesy kind of ‘cute’, and definitely not ugly but adorable as the definition of the word ‘cute’ suggests, but his actions clearly defines him.

Haraboji and Appa have warned me about how dangerous he is even though he looks harmless, and I have also personally gotten a taste of his potency, but he just doesn’t appear to be all that bad.

I can only say that he intrigues me… a lot. It is not easy to pique my interest and no one has ever succeeded. He is the first one. Maybe it’s because we have many similarities… qualification wise. He would be junior in my alumni university too. I wonder what it would be like if we hadn’t met under such circumstances. He actually got me thinking of… you will get what I mean.

I feel bad for having to keep him and ruining his life. WAIT! Why did I even say that?! Pretend I never said it. Anyhow, it’s a pity that he is also from a rich family and smart… and incredibly attractive… since he will be mine from now on.

I can’t give him back his freedom… but I will promise to treat him well. He wouldn’t be lacking anything as long as he stays beside me and behaves himself. It’s not that I prefer it like this either. I know I am not the most easy to get along with, which is also why my elders decided to get buy my partner for me, but they don’t really need to do that.

I have been brought up not to give a damn about right or wrong. As long as I have justified the wrongdoings with stacks of cash, I can get away with it. Modern day slavery doesn’t affect me since I am not the one doing it. Plus, whoever I don’t fancy gets to go free even though haraboji have spent big bucks on them. That probably doesn’t make up for anything but to hell with it if it doesn’t.

I promise to make it up to him if he behaves. That is the point of buying him anyway. Ironically, even though I can easily get someone to love, I don’t know why I would just go along with whatever Haraboji and Appa have planned for me. Maybe I am just lacking in initiative to work hard to accommodate my other half… to keep another person by my side.

The love I have always received are all one sided and don’t see why I should be the one to give in and make two hands clap. I want the other hand to clap whenever I want it to and I don’t care if he likes it or not. If I want it, I want it.

I don’t believe in mutuality.

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Laughing loudly as he holds onto his tightening abs, Yunho paced outside the toilet while Jaejoong hides inside, wallowing in denial.

“Come out kitty cat.” The bachelor called out after a long wait, sitting down on the messy but still slightly warm bedding. “I won’t hurt you if you promise to behave yourself.”

Silence ensued like the taller man expected and he smirked. Whipping the key out from inside his pocket, Yunho sauntered over to the door and opened it slowly, twisting the knob loudly on purpose to scare the person inside. Then, like how he liked his hunt, a pair of hands grabbed onto the knob on the other side of the door and the tall man chuckled.

Giving the knob a hard tug, Jaejoong’s weak hold does not stand a chance against his forceful ones. Slowly opening as Yunho gains the upper hand, he can hear Jaejoong’s soft curses from within. Sticking a hand between the small slit he managed to pry apart, he gave the door a forceful swing and sent Jaejoong sprawling right out.

The smaller man does not say much, instead, he gathers himself and the flimsy piece of cloth around him quickly before darting out of the wide open main door. Yunho is unfazed. Slowly making his way up, keeping an eye out for any weapons which Jaejoong might use, the man is not in a hurry.

“Jaejoong.” The man whistled the younger man’s name before hopping onto the top deck, scaring the young man as the latter searches around frantically for a weapon for self-defence.

“Don’t call me by my name! You have no rights to call me by my name!” Jaejoong immediately turns snappy. His mood is turning really sour upon realising that they are in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in the middle of an ocean. There is no harbour for him to escape onto now and he is in distress. Yunho’s taunting does not amuse him.

“Oo. How rude.” The tall man does not like to be ordered around, and he definitely does not like to be told what rights he has or does not have. Facial expression turning a little dark as he sits on his sun chair and watches Jaejoong while the other back away into a small corner. The young man is terribly afraid but determined not to show it. Yunho can tell though.

Taking note that he is not going anywhere, unarmed, and most importantly, very under-dressed, Jaejoong can’t stop his eyes from moistening. No one has ever seen him so vulnerable or made him feel so helpless before. Yunho does not fail in disarming him with just an intense stare either and the young man’s knees are buckling.

Looking over the edge of the side, at the rough waves, all rational thinking is thrown overboard as well. Fingers scratching one another as he decides if he should just throw himself off the boat, Jaejoong spots Yunho standing up and walking towards him.

“You!” Starting out sounding confident, Yunho thought Jaejoong was going to screech profanities at him and irritate him further, but the other just stops speaking, his lips quivering as he bites that pretty lower lip nervously. “Alright! My bad for being rude earlier…” “How about I pay you back the money you bought me with? I mean… if you let me go, I won’t report you and I will return you every single cent!! With interest!”

That statement caught Yunho off guard again and he ended up chortling. Jaejoong’s expression is incredibly epic as well, like a cornered mouse bargaining with the hungry cat waiting for its sumptuous lunch. “Please consider!” Jaejoong added uneasily but Yunho simply kept on laughing.

Looking a little confused at first, Jaejoong decided to just play along with Yunho and started to smile nervously as well. Facial muscle twitching as he forces an awkward smile. “Do you actually take me for one of the board directors whose meeting you were going to attend just now?” Yunho’s voice is deep, and held a spine chilling tone to it, serious and meant business despite the playful nature of the comment.

“By the way, you look absolutely perfect with those dimples.” Yunho digresses and compliments Jaejoong’s awkwardly seductive smile, but Jaejoong is determined to keep their conversation strictly business base.

“Thank you.” Jaejoong couldn’t believe he actually thanked his captor for his slimy flattery.

“Sadly to break it to you, I like you, so there will be no deal. You should feel honoured.” Yunho quickly shot Jaejoong down, cold hearted and unflinching.

“Alright…” “How about double? Triple!” Jaejoong wanted to give up but he is bent on pushing it till there are no more rooms for discussion. He knows the man before him is highly capable of savagery when provoked so he will have to talk his way out of it. Unfortunately for him, Yunho is not planning on letting the caged little bird fly free into the forest ever again.

“I own three quarter of the boats in the harbour… and you assumed that I will fancy making this deal?” “I am rather insulted but I shall be straightforward as well.” “You are priceless to me.” Jaejoong have no idea if he should be happy or sad to hear this compliment. To be priceless to someone is an honour but not in his case, sadly.

“I am a very traditional person… so if you don’t mind, we can go meet my mum and tell her that we are dating?” Jaejoong suggested timidly, inching more and more over the edge of the railings.

Bursting into roaring laughter again, Yunho ran his fingers through his hair and pounded another fist on the chair. Tears roll down the side of Jaejoong’s reddened cheeks as mentioning his mother was too much of a painful reminder to him, about how torn his mother and brother will be after finding out that he is kidnapped. His mother’s heartbroken face is not only saddening him, the image is pissing him off big time, as the person who is causing her to hurt laughs so heartily, teasing.