The journey back to Sehun’s apartment was agonizingly silent. Not a comfortable silence but rather a painful one. Sehun glanced at Hana through his peripheral vision while driving. Hana had Sehun’s coat draped over her lithe body. She looked so fragile and weak. It hurt Sehun to see Hana in such condition. Unintentionally, Sehun clutched the steering wheel tighter.

                When they entered Sehun’s residential area, Sehun could sense Hana moving a little, when she had been static throughout the entire journey. A look towards the passenger seat told Sehun that Hana indeed was awed by the environment. Maybe it was because Sehun had always been living in luxurious conditions throughout his entire existence, but Sehun really thought that his living area was nothing extraordinary. It was just an area with obnoxiously expensive cars displayed literally everywhere, tall buildings that reached the blue sky and security guards roaming 24/7. But by the way Hana’s eyes gleamed while looking out of the car window, Sehun might have figured out that maybe, just maybe, his life was a little bit more fortunate than most others.

                Passing through security, Sehun parked his car at his reserved spot in the basement. Even when Sehun went out from his car, Hana stayed frozen in the car. Sehun figured that she was still too overwhelmed by everything that just happened, so he let her stay in the car alone by herself. He spent the time just standing outside his car, staring into nothing. Sehun smiled a little when he realized how he was waiting for a girl, something that had never happened before. Sehun had always thought that it was funny how guys had to wait for their girlfriends outside the toilet at the mall but now it was him, the difference being they are in the parking lot instead of a mall. Sehun peeked at Hana for mere seconds, and he could see that she was still struggling with herself.

                Fifteen minutes passed, Sehun knew that they had to enter his apartment, given how the temperature was low, and Hana was dressed in well, little clothing. So he went towards the passenger seat and opened the car door.

                “Hana, let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here.”

                Hana noticeably flinched when the door opened, but she gave a small smile when she saw Sehun’s face. Getting out of her seat belt, Hana went out of the car. When both of her heels were on the ground, Hana looked as if she were going to fall so Sehun had to hold her by the shoulders to walk to the elevator. Sehun pressed the up button and in less than ten seconds, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. The elevator ride was also painfully silent, but Sehun had expected it, given how Hana was never a girl with many words, plus all the happenings.

                Arriving at the topmost floor, Sehun and Hana walked out of the elevator, with his hands still on her shoulders. Sehun had to remove his hands to get his card, and Hana moved a little to give way. Opening his penthouse door, Sehun moved sideways to give space for Hana to enter first. With hesitant steps, Hana strode into the penthouse. Sehun could see that Hana was fascinated with his penthouse. Well who wouldn’t, it was the highest priced penthouse throughout Seoul.

                Seeing how Hana was again frozen in her spot, Sehun gave Hana a slight push from behind and went to the shoe rack to get a pair of slippers for her and a pair for him. Sehun kneeled in front of Hana after getting a pair of slippers and said, “These are Jongin’s but you can wear them before I get new ones for you,” ignoring the fact how Hana might have no idea who Jongin was.

                They got into the living room side by side, and only then did Sehun realise that Hana was shaking and shivering. Sehun quickly went to his bedroom to get his blankets and the heater on the way. When he returned, he draped the blanket over his coat on Hana’s nimble body. Hana just stared at him with wide eyes, with warm feelings spreading in her insides.

                Rearranging her fringes, Sehun whispered, “I need to go somewhere right now. Stay here, okay?”

                Frightened by the thought of being left alone, Hana managed to croak out a “Where?”

                Sehun strangely felt relieved to hear Hana’s voice for the first time that day so he held her cheeks lightly and muttered, “Just somewhere where I need to settle things. I’ll be back real quick, don’t worry. While I’m gone, take a long, hot bath to refresh yourself. The towels are in the cupboard in my room. I don’t have any girls’ clothes so use my t-shirts for the time being. I have some snacks in the kitchen, so eat them if you feel hungry; I’ll make sure to pack some food on my way back. Just use everything that you need or want.”

                Hana replied with a small nod and with that, Sehun left.

-

                Sehun brought his car to a brake right in front of the club’s main door. He was furious, to say the least. He passed through everyone without a care and went straight to Woo Bin’s office.

                “What the hell were you doing?!,” Sehun hollered after swinging the door open without even bothering to knock.

                “Relax, my friend. Take a seat,” Woo Bin replied with a smirk and it took every self-restraint that Sehun had to not take a swing to the guy’s face because he actually had the nerve to smirk.

                “Cut the , hyung. What were you thinking, putting an underage girl up for a bid? You’ve never done that before.”

                It was true though. Sehun had always been familiar with Woo Bin’s business. He owned a club and a brothel. Not just that, he also housed es, only to sell them later. It could be considered as human marketing. But Woo Bin had never dared to involve any underage girl in his business. As a e? Yes, that has happened before but selling them off? No. Hana was the first. And that was why Sehun was so enraged.

                Woo Bin clasped his fingers together in front of him, and rested his chin on them, exuding a confident aura. His eyes were teasing, like he was happy with how things were unfolding.

                “Listen, Sehun. I’m a businessman, and a businessman got to do what’s right. A businessman got to bring money to himself. And that is exactly what I did. Making money. Hana was a jewel, I admit, but keeping her as one of my es was not worth it. Many men came to me, asking to buy her with ridiculously high prices so I thought, ‘hey, why not make a bidding to get the highest price?’ So that explains everything, doesn’t it? Easy as a pie, kid.”

                Sehun clenched his teeth and balled his fists. “But why make her as a ing object, though? You displayed her on stage as if she were a puppet.”

                “Weren’t you listening? I was trying to get the highest price! So I was thankful for you, Sehun. That was the highest price for a girl I’ve ever got. Thanks man!”

                Sehun had enough with this guy so he whispered loud enough for the other person in the room to hear with a snarl, “You are ing welcome. Just make sure that you have nothing more to do with her. She is mine now.”

-

                Sehun regained his composure in his seat in the car. His face was in his hands while he tried to rewind everything that had happened in just a day’s time. He remembered going back from school, changing his outfits, buying flowers and going to the club. And that was when this chaos started. He remembered seeing Hana on the stage, he remembered shouting a price that won him the girl but that was where the problem lied. Sure he had used money casually before, like changing his handphones whenever a new model came out or buying any new games that were released, but he never really did something that could cause suspicions to arise. Although he had his own bank account, his parents would be noted whenever he takes money exceeding 5000000won. But it was not just 5000000won, it was 100000000won that he had just used. What excuse would he probably give to his parents? He definitely could not tell them that he just bought a girl, they would kill him. And how was he supposed to tell them that he not only just bought a girl, but that girl was also living with him? Since when did everything become so complicated? He was only trying to save his friend, but everything messed up.

                Few minutes passed and Sehun took out his phone from his pocket to look at the time. 8.17 p.m. He the engine and left the club.

                Stopping at the red light at the junction that lead straight to his apartment, Sehun recalled how Hana had no clothes or anything with her. He had left the club with her before, not even bothering to pick up her items. So, Sehun decided to do a quick shopping and took a left when the light turned green.

                Arriving at the biggest and most luxurious shopping mall in Seoul, Sehun parked his car at the reserved spot that was meant for Jongin. The mall was Jongin’s eldest brother’s, so that explained the privilege that he got. Sehun made a beeline towards the women section but he felt out of place when he reached the first floor. Most of the shoppers were either women or men that were also accompanied by their girlfriends or wives. He was the only teenage boy standing alone like an outcast. Convinced that he would get nothing by just standing, he went to the ‘New Arrival' racks. Flipping through the clothes, he tried to recall the type of clothes that Hana usually wear. He remembered that Hana was wearing pants every time they met at the club, instead of skirts that were worn by most teenage girls. Unfortunately, he could not recall whether Hana liked shirts or blouses more. So, he picked ten pairs of tops of different types, all in pink - a colour that he thought all girls favoured.

                Next, he went to the shoes section. He got one of each type – a pair of sport shoes, a pair of high heels, a pair of sandals, a pair of flip-flops and a pair of house slippers. He was relieved that he spotted Hana’s shoe size when he got Hana out of her shoes earlier. He then went to the pyjamas section to pick ten for Hana.

                Sehun noticed that a female worker was staring at him the whole time. When he glanced at her, she just smiled and asked him if he needed assistance, seeing as how he looked lost most of the time. Thinking that a girl is the one who knows another girl the best, he decided to sacrifice his pride and asked her.

                “Excuse me, if for instance, a teenage girl suddenly comes and lives with me and she has nothing with her, completely nothing, what should I buy for her?”

                The girl looked slightly taken aback with such a straight forward question but she still answered.

                “Daily clothes?”

                Sehun pointed to his trolley to show the picked-up clothes.

                She smiled a little seeing the all-pink attires but continued anyway, “Pyjamas?”

                “Done.”

                “What about lingerie?”

                “Sorry, what?”

                “Lingerie, like bras and ?”

                Sehun’s face turned red by the petite girl’s brazenness but he realised that the girl was right. He had to get those for Hana, but then he realised how weird it would look like to have a teenage boy picking bras and . So, he went for the most logical option at that moment.

                “Um, do you mind if you get all of those for me?” Sehun’s face was fully covered in pink by then.

                “Sure, what size does she wear?”

                Size? What size? Does she mean height?

                “Um, about 160cm?”

                The girl laughed with a cheeky expression and continued, “No, I mean... her chest.”

                Sehun’s face were totally red by then. He only kept quiet because first, he didn’t know how to respond to the nonchalant girl and secondly, he seriously didn’t know a thing about size.

                Catching Sehun’s inner conflict, the girl tried, “It’s okay, I’ll figure it out. You said she is 160 cm right? Give me some other descriptions.”

                Picturing Hana in his mind, he mentioned, “She’s slender, although a little bit on the skinny side, her fingers are long and pretty, she has such an innocent face, her hair is a little bit over her shoulders and she also has a melodious voice that stays in your mind for a really, really long time.”

                Ignoring the peculiar response that she got because really, what do voice and hair length have got to do with body size?, she went to get ten of each undergarments that girls wear. When she returned, she handed them to Sehun and said, “It’s a pleasure to help you. Your girlfriend is really lucky to have a boyfriend like you.”

                “When did I say anything about girlfriends?”

                “Sir, anyone who sees you can guess on the spot that you are doing shopping for a special someone.”

                His face flushed and he wanted to deny that no, he was not buying things for a girlfriend, instead it was for a friend, but he decided against it and settled with a, “Thank you very much for your help.”

                Pushing his cart towards the counter, his eyes got caught on the dresses aligned at the exclusive section. He could not help but imagine how flawless Hana would look like in those. Regrettably, Hana was not a teenager who was a fan of girly attire like dresses and high heels. However, Sehun felt that there was no harm in buying some for her. Who knows, maybe she would want to wear them one day. So, Sehun picked two of the prettiest dresses in his eyes, one gold in colour and the other in black. Sehun could not help but smile by just envisioning Hana in those.

                Sehun used his black credit card to pay for all the clothes. Although the total was high, his parents would not even question it as Sehun had always been thoughtless in using money such as by buying electronics or designer shoes.

                After a male worker helped him in stuffing the bought items into his sport car, Sehun immediately rushed to a Chinese food restaurant. He ordered two fried noodles together with drinks and desserts. Afterwards, he sped onto the road that lead to his penthouse. He could not wait to see Hana’s gleaming face when she knew the hardships that he went through to make her happy.

-

                Hana’s mouth hanged open. She was standing in front of a bundle of plastic bags containing clothes, shoes and other things. Sehun was at her side with hands on his hips with a satisfied grin adorning his face.

                “You bought this all for me?” Hana asked again with an unconvinced tone.

                “Yes, try them on!”

                Sehun side-glanced Hana and he felt relaxed by what he was seeing. Despite the perplexed and confused expression on her face, she looked much better than when he saw her earlier at the club that day. She washed up already, her complexion looking clearer. She was wearing Sehun’s long-sleeved t-shirt with the hem reaching her knees together with one of Sehun’s sweatpants. He did not know why, but seeing Hana in his clothes made his insides felt warm. Her hair was let loose and looked like it was still slightly wet. Sehun had to fist his hands to refrain himself from touching the soft-looking locks.

                “I’m thankful, really, but I can’t accept these.”

                Sehun’s brows furrowed with her response. He was not being possessive or anything, but he technically bought her earlier. She was technically his and it was technically his responsibility to fulfil her needs.

                “Listen Hana, you are my friend and I would do anything to make sure that you are safe and comfortable. Just accept all these and use everything in this house like it is yours.”

                “But, I’ll feel guilty. What should I do to repay you?” Hana looked at him with thankful tears b her eyes.

                Sehun wiped the upcoming tears with both of his thumbs while whispering, “Easy, just lean on me.”