It was already dawn by the time they finished all the cleaning. Somehow, Jinki had convinced Jonghyun and Kibum to help out with the chores, but even with their help, it took the entire night to get the whole house done. Taemin couldn't imagine how Jinki ever managed to care for the place by himself.

With their chores finished, Jonghyun left to go take bath (which was apparently the only way to get rid of Kibum's scaly green magic.) Kibum also left them without a word and retired to his room. It was only Taemin and Jinki who were left. The hard-working, multi-occupational man was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Taemin sat on the floor not too far from him, falling asleep.

Jinki kept glancing his direction with his ever-present smile. "You know, I bet Kibum could mend your dress real easily if you asked him."

Taemin once again looked down at his mother's torn garment. He was contemplating what Jinki said when Minho unexpectedly walked into the kitchen. His gaze immediately went to Taemin.

He expected him to be angry, either at him or Jinki. Much to his surprise, he didn't react at all. "I'll take my breakfast in the lounge," was all he said.

"Okay," Jinki agreed.

Then he was gone. Taemin could hardly believe he had been left alone, that he hadn’t been dragged back into the basement. It was like the master of the house didn't care about him one way or another.

He supposed that was a good thing. It would probably make it easier for him to get out of there.

"You're probably tired," Jinki said, "Come on, I'll take you to your room."

"I have a room?" he asked, as he rose and immediately followed the cook out.

"Well, Naeun had a room, but it can be yours now." He took him to another staircase which led to the second story, where all the guest bedrooms were. The largest of them had been selected as his sister's quarters. As he stepped inside, he was overwhelmed by what had been done to the place. There were flowers in vases everywhere and a bouquet set on the bed. Everything had been furnished and decorated to accommodate a woman.

There was everything she could have asked for - perfumes, cosmetics, and even a wide array of dresses. They were all laid out on the bed, perfectly displayed just for her.

Yes, Naeun really would have loved it there...

"Whoops, I'll just get those," Jinki said awkwardly. He went to the bed and scooped up all the dresses, destroying the wonderful display and wrinkling the gowns in his arms. "I'll see if I can't find some men’s clothes for you."

"Thank you."

"Sleep well," Jinki said, before ducking out of the room and leaving Taemin alone.

It was certainly an improvement over the basement, even if it was for a woman. He could ignore all the amenities.

He took a moment to examine everything and take it all in, before he removed his mother's cloak from his shoulders. He laid it across the couch, then started undoing the ties to her dress. He didn't get far into removing it before the door to his bedroom opened again.

Minho hadn't bothered to knock or give any warning that he was coming. He just barged in, carrying the bundle of dresses Jinki had removed not two minutes earlier. He dropped them back onto the bed, in a disorderly heap.

"You came here as a woman, you're going to stay here as a woman," he said, with his previous anger still heavily in his voice, "That's your punishment for deceiving me. Enjoy the dresses."

With that, he stormed back out of the room, leaving Taemin there, surprised yet fuming. If he didn't know that his host was cursed beast, he would have followed after him and given him a piece of his mind. His fear kept him in line.

So he merely locked the door, before throwing all the expensive dresses onto the floor. He then took off his mother's dress, which he swore would be the only dress he'd ever wear. He climbed into the bed, but not after pulling off the feminine satin coverlet.

He then went to sleep, resolved that he had made the right choice in keeping his sister out of there.

The next day hadn't been much different than the first. Taemin awoke sometime in the afternoon and, clothed in his mother's dress as before, he dared to leave his assigned room. He found Jinki, who immediately put him to work again. Apparently, the butler/housekeeper/maid/cook's job was never done.

Jonghyun was at work in the garden all day, while Kibum was simply nowhere to be found. As for Minho, Taemin had only caught brief glimpses of him. He preferred avoiding him for the most part.

If he could forget about the horrible man, being in that large mansion wasn't so bad. He even liked being around Jinki and Jonghyun.

But he couldn't forget. Too many wrongs had been committed and, despite the workers, that mansion wasn't safe.

He and Jinki had worked hard till night fell, and even long after that, to the point where they were both exhausted. Taemin pretended to be far more tired than he actually was, as he and Jinki parted ways for the night to go to their separate bedrooms. At least, that was what Taemin pretended to do. The moment Jinki shut his door, he left his and ran to the foyer.

He knew he had to be quick. If any of them caught him trying to leave, he would probably be put back in the basement. He only had to get to the gate. If what Jinki said was true, then none of them could follow him.

The front entrance to the mansion opened surprisingly easy. It wasn't even locked, as if Minho still hoped to lure in some unsuspecting traveler.

It was past midnight, but he could see the property clear in the moonlight. The gate was a long way from the house, but it was all that stood between him and freedom.

He took only a second to finalize his resolve, before he bolted. He ran down the cobblestone path as fast as he could, holding up the hem of his dress and wondering how women ever managed to live in them.

He had a clear path to the gate. Nothing stood between him and freedom, and no one was chasing behind him. His escape was right within reach.

But a massive form appeared before him suddenly, blocking his route. It leaped out of nowhere, directly in his path. Frightened, Taemin fell back. He didn't have to wonder what it was; he knew full well that it was Minho.

The beast stood before him, hunched on all fours. The massive creature growled low in his throat as he watched Taemin. His yellow eyes were glued to him, full of all the animalistic emotions one would expect from a beast.

His appearance was overwhelming, from the fur, to the claws, to the sharp teeth. Even hunched over, the beast was at least six feet tall. His muscles were much larger than what he had as a human, and a canine snout replaced the pleasant features he once possessed. If Taemin hadn't known the truth, he never would have guessed the creature was his host.

He could see why his father had been so frightened. He could see why he would have rather died than bring Naeun there. He was frightened, too. Almost to the point where he wished he hadn't gone through with his plan.

Minho may have showed restraint as a human, but as a beast, he was certain he would kill him.

He backed away on his hands and knees, but the beast followed him, slow step by slow step. He knew there was no way he could out-run him. He would never make it to the gate, but perhaps he could make it to the front door.

Taemin scrambled to his feet as fast as he could. Before he moved even a few steps, the beast jumped on him. The creature's hot breath hit his back as his teeth sank into his cloak. He cast aside the covering and abandoned it to the creature as he ran to the open door. He heard the beast's footsteps behind him, but he managed to reach the threshold.

He ran in and tripped on the stairs, falling face first.

Minho stalked through the door slowly. Taemin turned over to face the beast and was surprised to see that he no longer pursued him. He just stood in the doorway, with his yellow eyes watching him.

Taemin was too afraid to move.

Leisurely, the beast laid down on the threshold, blocking Taemin's escape. He would be going nowhere that night, nor any time soon.

The beast gave Taemin one last look, before letting the cloak fall from his teeth. It fell onto his massive arms, where Taemin wouldn't dare try to retrieve it. Minho then lowered his head on top of it, as if to sleep.

Very slowly, Taemin crawled backwards up the stairs. When he reached the top, he jumped to his feet and ran all the way back to his room, where he locked himself inside.

A/N: You didn't think the 2min fluff would come easy, did you? ;) haha

Comments are appreciated. <3