Xiumin walked limping to the stand. His breath was heard on the microphone, he sounded as someone who just run a million miles.

"State your name for the record"

"Kim Minseok". The screams were heard again and the judge had to call to order another time.

"Your name wasnt that when the police found you"

"No it was Zhin Xiumin"

"Why the change?"

"I was running from the law"

"Why?"

"My entire family had been executed in my country. I didnt want that fate for me, so I left Korea"

"Why did your family had such tragic end"

"They were slave traders"

"And you were not?"

"I only bought two slaves in my life and sold one of them"

"Did you saw that as normal thing to do?"

"Everybody did it at the time...so I guess, yes"

"No more questions"

"Why did you buy Luhan?"

"My friend said that he had him from his uncle, but he didnt want any other, so he sold him to me"

"What did you think of him when you saw him?" Xiumin looked at him as if he was afraid of something. "Is it fair to say that you...liked him?"

"That would be correct"

"That was why you gave him gifts?"

"Maybe"

"What other things did you gave Luhan when he was with you?"

"I dont know what you mean"

"Didnt he recieve an education?"

"He had a tutor, like you"

"Didnt he had access to your personal credit card?"

"Yes, but he didnt used it"

"Didnt he had the chance to walked out of the mansion whenever he wanted? And he could even used the choufer?"

"Yes, but that didnt mean that he was free"

"Lets...flashfordward again. When did you found out that he was gonna scape with another slave?". He once again looked at him at lost for words.

"I...I didnt know"

"Mister Kim you cant lie to the court". Luhans jaw droped. Minseok lower his head.

"I...", he sighed. "One of my bodyguards saw them hugging once we had a meeting with his master...I asked him to investigate farther and so he did. They exchanged messages through a buttler friend of theirs".

"Why did you say that you thought he was dead?"

"Because if I said that he left, my father was gonna seak him and have him kill for sure"

"And you didnt want that? Why? He had scape you. At that time it was a crime for slaves"

"I didnt want that for Luhan. He seemed to care for Sehun a lot. My insider said that they knew each other from a long time"

"Why didnt you stoped him?"

"I couldnt. He wanted to go"

-----------------

That day Luhan went home with a heaviness in his heart that he didnt understand. How come he knew that he was about to scape and let him go. He remembered that night. It was one of those parties, Minseok came to his room, and yes he had strange look in his eyes, he gave him a chain with a diamond pendent. He told him value of that, the exact value of that. He didnt understand why.

When him and Sehun finally reach their freedom, hi pound that and they bought a small basement in down town Beijing that they sold to buy a house outside when Luhan got pregnant. And he wondered if he had done that on purpuse, to help him and if that look in his eyes had been one of sadness. He also remembered that he kissed him, with passion and trembling lips. A goodbye kiss, thats what it was.