Jongdae wiped the table down, the familiar scent of his mother’s porridge filling the air as he wiped away the sweat on his brow. Fanning himself from the abnormally hot temperature, he wished that he owned one of the magical wind systems he had seen in the rich people’s houses. They supposedly had the power to turn the heat into cool air without the need of handheld fans.

A slam from the kitchen startled him, causing him to jump and place a hand over his chest to calm his beating heart. It wasn’t like things like this hadn’t happened before; it was just Jongdae had been partially paranoid ever since a bear had snuck in in the middle of the night earlier that year.

That dang bear ate all of our food. And meat. That was enough for Jongdae to lose it that early morning, and before the sun even started rising he had shrieked in terror before striking down the animal with a dull blade. Due to the laws of hunting animals, he and his mother didn’t have the luxury in having bear meat the next day, or any meat in general for months to pass. They instead had to watch officers take it to God only knows where and suffer from the loss of their precious meals.

“Jongdae!” his mother called, trudging out of the kitchen as she set a bowl of porridge in front of him. It was the only thing they could afford, to his misfortune.

“Porridge. Yay,” he commented with little enthusiasm, sitting at the table as he picked the spoon up, watching as the substance dripped back into the bowl. He sighed as his mother sat in front of him, eating her meal without hesitation, though he didn’t miss her look of disgust as she swallowed it. “Mother, when are we going to be able to eat some real food?”

His mother let out a dry laugh followed by a cough. “Trust me, Jongdae. If it was up to me we would be eating the finest meats with the greenest vegetables and the sweetest fruits, instead of porridge.” She reached into her pocket, pulling out pieces of paper before counting them. “We don’t have enough slips to even buy bread. To others that’s a normal food item but for people like us it's a luxury.”

He bit his lip. Hearing the sullen tone in his mother’s voice had reminded him of how inconsiderate he was being. It wasn’t his mother’s fault she had been born into the life of the poor, nor was it her choice. It was a life the both of them simply had to abide by, even if it was harsh and cruel most of the time.

He set aside his bowl, choosing not to eat his breakfast. His appetite had disappeared once he set his sights on the food his mother had made, and instead of eating he decided work was a better thing to be doing for the both of them. Picking up the bucket of soapy water that sat in the corner of the room and a rag, Jongdae told his mother, “I’m going to Sir Leeteuk and Madame Soojin’s house to see if they want me to clean their floors or something.” He smiled at his fatigued mother. “Maybe they’ll even give us some slips like Sir Yesung used to do before he relocated to the East.”

His mother smiled, shaking her head. “I see you’re kissing for me again,” she joked, making the boy chuckle. “Alright, but don’t get your hopes up. Sir Yesung had once been a poor man, so he understood what people like us had to go through. But that couple is a whole different story; they were born and raised with gold piled at their feet. Most you’ll be getting from them is probably a whole lot of yelling and arguing, especially since Sir Leeteuk was recently rumored to have been sleeping around with a few maidens when he was supposedly travelling for business.”

Jongdae shrugged. “I guess it’s worth a try, right? How about you go and rest until I get back mom. You seem drained. I’ll handle the business for today.”

His mother made no complaints as she got their dishes, putting them in a bucket with water (their makeshift sink) before going into their bedroom. After seeing her lie down, he left for work.

**

Mother had been correct. The couple seemed to only yell and curse at each other whenever they were in close proximity with one another. And even though Jongdae was annoyed, he didn’t intervene and only continued to scrub the marble floors in the living room. He was serious when it came to work, and he knew if he did try and get in the middle of the argument it wouldn't make much of a difference anyways. To his dismay, the couple somehow ended up in the same room as him, and Madame Soojin was furious as she went from shouting to hitting and shoving. Jongdae visibly tensed as she attacked her husband, suddenly wishing Sir Yesung was still living in the West so he didn’t have to deal with this.

Sir Leeteuk wasn’t any better though, he too had begun to get fed up with the other’s words and found using violence to be a better solution. Jongdae paused his work momentarily, staring wide-eyed as Sir Leeteuk shoved Madame Soojin to the ground. He also didn’t miss the tears springing into her eyes as her head hit the ground before her husband started kicking her with an unnecessary amount of force.

Jongdae was witnessing what he had only read about in books - abuse. He had never seen it before, nor had he ever heard from someone who had been abused personally. The topic was illegal to bring up and if talked about publicly, or where eyes could be watching, the people who committed the crime would be thrown into prison. It was a sin –violence was a sin- the act brought disgrace to one’s family name. He had once read this in the big book that sat in Sir Yesung’s bookcase. If any relationship, whether it be a married couple or father and son, involved violence in anyway then the people receiving and causing the crime would be taken away.

There were no exceptions.

Jongdae couldn’t stand seeing the young lady in pain anymore, he jumped up and pushed Sir Leeteuk to the side, causing the man to stumble. He stood in front of her, glaring at the man before shouting, “Sir Leeteuk, how could you lay your hands on a lady? Especially when that lady is your wife! Do you understand the consequences of your actions and what would happen if you were both caught-?“

A knock on the door made the three of them pale. Sir Leeteuk straightened his posture, fixing his suit that had gotten wr