Children who are trafficked generally do not self-identify as victims of a crime and thus do not immediately seek help due to a number of factors such as lack of trust, self-blame and the habitual instructions by the trafficker coaxing the child on how to behave around law enforcement.

Myungsoo noticed the male staring at his book. He wasn’t reading. He hated reading, but he knew that staring at the other would just make him uncomfortable. So he pretended to read, and wonder about the other’s situation.

He had no idea what a spoon was. It was obvious that this male had never experienced the outside world, and it had angered him so much.

How could people be so inhumane and do this to a person? It made him wonder how long he had be held captive. His grip tightened against the book and he slammed it against his lap with force. He realised that he had probably frightened the other as he jumped and focused back on the blankets, shoving food continuously down his throat, instead of taking small nibbles like before.

“I-I’m sorry.” He said. “Sorry for shocking you.” He continued, once he saw that the male stopped eating and stared at him. “I just had a sudden thought. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He slightly shook his head, “I didn’t mean to stare. You can punish me, master.” He replied.

Myungsoo sighed, “You have the right to stare.”

~

Rights? He would scoff if he had the nerve to. Only masters had rights. He was nothing. He didn’t deserve rights. He was dirt. He was rubbish. He should thank his masters for giving him a chance to live. Rights did not apply to him. Nor did it apply to the other people like him. They were all animals, waiting for a master to pleasure. That was all.

He was no victim. It was his fate. He shouldn’t complain. If God had given this life, he must cherish it. Because it meant that he had the chance to make masters happy. At least that was what they had told him all his life. Who else would he believe, other than those who raised him since he was only 5 years old? They made him the alluring man that he was now.

Yes, he hated it all, but who else could he turn to?

“Can I ask you a question?” HE nodded, he must always answer.

“When did they take you?” He was taken aback by the question.

“Excuse me?” He asked quietly, afraid to make his master snap.

“What age were you, when you started living with them. Do you remember?”

Of course he did. They reminded him every day. “5 years old.” He replied.

“F-Five?!”He nodded. What was so shocking about that? It would mean that he had more experience to please his master. What was so bad about that?

He heard his master mumble something incoherent. He was curious, but he didn’t dare to ask.

“Did they at least take you to school?”

“School?”

“What are you talking about, Myungsoo.” He muttered, “Of course he wouldn’t. I swear, sometimes your brain just doesn’t work, does it.” He said, scolding himself.

He found this master very strange. This master would treat him differently, apologise and then scold at himself. Perhaps his master was mentally ill?

“Would you like me to make you feel better?” He asked. He didn’t know what else to do. He was only taught to make his masters feel better. He sat up straighter and gently grabbed his master’s suit. He tried to take it off slowly and seductively, but was once again stopped.

Why was his master denying his advances? Was he not good enough? He had to be. It was the only thing he was good at.

“L-Let’s not do that.” He stuttered. “Come on.” He continued, “I’ll change your bandages.”

Bandages? What bandages? He gasped in shock when his master lifted his shirt. His heart beating crazily. It was finally happening. His master was going to hurt him. He knew it, but why was he so shocked? It always happened, was so indifferent about this master?

But of course this master was different.

He felt something sticky on his back.

He didn’t feel it before, but now that he thought about it, he did feel something strange on his back, he just didn’t think much of it.

His master sharply inhaled. “It’s healing.” He murmured. “Stay still. I’ll be right back.”

He held his breath. Staying as still as possible. If his master had seen him move even a millimetre, he would get punished.

His master walked back in with a large box. A large box full on weapons, probably. He tilted his head slightly and strangely looked at him. “You didn’t need to be that still.” He murmured, before gently sitting back on the bed. His master opened the box, and he couldn’t help but to look inside. He wanted to see what kind of tortures his master was into so that he could be prepared.

He was confused though, when he saw only material that looked so fluffy and soft. What were those? He saw other bottles with small symbols written on it. Poison? He pondered.

There were weapons he could distinguish though. He saw needles. Needles that they used to poke him. To prick his skin, and allow little prickles of blood seep out. He had also seen tweezers before. He hated it when his masters would use those. They hurt him a lot. More than knifes. He didn’t know why. His master picked up the tool he hated the most. The tweezers. Although these were much smaller than the ones he had experienced with. He hated when they used it to pinch his skin, mostly the dark pigmented area that protruded from his chest area. They loved it when he cried in pain, so they often did it. He gulped, as he eyed the tweezers.

He saw his master use this weapon to pick up a fluffy white ball in which he then doused with a brown liquid.

What was he doing?

He felt the sticky pad on his pad peel from his skin and his master drew out an exhale.

“This might sting a little.” He warned.

Stings were nothing to him. But he didn’t say a word. He felt his shirt lift up higher and a cold damp material made contact with his cut. A cut that his master had given him before the day he was sold.

It didn’t sting a little.

It stung a lot.

But he tried not to make a face. The pain was enough for him to take. He had felt pain worse than this.

“I’m so sorry.” His master winced. “It’s almost done.” He muttered. “Okay.” He said after a short silence.

He observed his master throw the brown fluffy ball into a large plastic, and then put the tweezers back to its original place. Was he not going to use the weapon like that other masters? He then saw him grabbed a large tan coloured material. He hadn’t seen that before. He saw his master removed the paper at the back of this material. The surface looked sticky, however there was a white soft padding in the middle. What a strange object. He thought.

“It’s a bandage.” His master said, as though reading his mind. What if this master could read his mind? He would be in big trouble. He thought. “I just put disinfectant on your wound so it won’t get all infected and nasty. This bandage will also help keep out any bacteria. It’s okay. It’s feels comfortable.” His master was correct. This bandage material felt soft and warm against his skin.

His master proceeded to tidy up everything on the bed, before leaving. He came back within a few minutes, and walked to the wardrobe, pulling out a fresh set of clothes.

“Wear this. It’s cold.” He said, placing it gently next to him.

“Thank you, master.” He said.

~

“Any progress?”

Myungsoo shook his head. “Not at all. I think he thinks that I’m going to do something bad to him.”

“Of course he does. That’s his whole life.”

“He was caught when he was only 5, Hyung.” He continued.

“5?!” Sunggyu and Woohyun shouted in disbelief.

He nodded, “His brain probably still hasn’t even matured yet. His knowledge of the world and everything is probably still of a five year old, but his innocence has been ruined. I don’t even know how many times he’s been violated or .”

“Maybe we should hire a shrink to talk to him.”

“Maybe. But hyung, I’m so worried.” Myungsoo stated, “He didn’t even know what a spoon was. When I was putting on bandages and cleaning his wounds, he thought I was torturing him. I told him to stay still, and he did not even move at all. It was like he was trained to do all this.” He said, “And he keeps wanting to have with me.”

“He’s a slave, Myungsoo. He’s been told to have with everyone, since forever.”

“I know, but imagine how many times he’s been touched. He’s only a year older than me. I need him to talk to me. I need him to trust me.” He sighed. “It doesn’t even have to be about what he does, it can be about dogs, or food, or the sky. I don’t know. I don’t care. I just want to understand him.” He groaned in frustration.

“Then talk to him.” Woohyun replied, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Please, if I could, I would’ve. Whenever I talk to him. He just nods, or gives one word answers. If not, all he would say is, ‘Let me pleasure you, master,’ and try to take off my clothes.” He retorted in frustration.

“Maybe you should treat him like a five year old.” Sunggyu chirped in.

The other two males became silent and stared at him, “What?”

“You said he was taken at the age of five. That would mean that he was deprived from his childhood, and other than his… occupation, he would have a general mindset of a five year old. So, treat him like one. He suffers from trauma, so he obviously won’t tell you anything. But you have to be patient, buy him things that a five year old would like. And open him up to the world. He doesn’t trust you, Myungsoo. He’s learnt to not trust you. Because you are his master. You bought him because you wanted . At least, that’s what he is taught to think.”

“So, I have to gain his trust through his five year old brain?”

“Yes.”

“So what do I buy? Soft toys?”

“You can start with that.”

“Alright.”

Woohyun looked at the older lawyer in shock and admiration, “You’re good.” He said.

Sunggyu smirked, “I can show you what else I’m good at.” He replied suggestively, making the other blush.

“H-How can you change from being so clever and tactical, to being a complete ert?” Woohyun muttered.

“Um, I’m still here.” Myungsoo chirped in, not wanting to hear any other of the respected lawyer’s suggestive phrases, “Actually, forget it.” He said, “I’ll just leave.” He laughed.

Woohyun joined in with the laughter tearing a corner from his paper and scribbling down a name and phone number, “Here. He’s my friend. He’s a really good shrink. Really calm and collected, and he’s really friendly.”

“Lee Sungjong?” He read.

He nodded, “He’ll help. Just tell him that I recommended him to you.”

“Thank you.” Myungsoo smiled.

“Oh, Myungsoo.” Sunggyu called, as he was beginning to leave.

“Yeah?”

“What’s his name?”

“13 07 27 is what he calls himself. I guess they are all numbers.”

“Do you call him that?”

“No. I haven’t called him anything. He knows that I’m talking to him.”

“Maybe one step to get closer to him, is by giving a name. A nice, pretty one.” Myungsoo smiled and nodded. He definitely had to.

He left the couple, or at least, soon to be couple and headed straight to a gift store. Scanning through the store, he tried to find the perfect soft toy. One that was big enough to hug and give comfort. He saw a large white teddy bear that was almost half his size. The price was affordable, so he decided on purchasing it without second thought.

Walking home, he felt nervous. He had been feeling nervous every time he walked home now. He would tell himself that it wasn’t because of the new guest in his house, but he knew it was all a lie.

Myungsoo took a deep breath and looked at the bear. “You can help me get close to him, right?” He murmured to the bear, staring at it for a couple of minutes, as though waiting for a reply. He sighed, before unlocking the door to his house.

He instantly walked towards the bedroom door. The other never left the room.

When he entered, his eyes widened in shock, when he saw the bed empty. He looked around and ran out to see if he had gone down, but there was no sign of him. He ran back into the room and his eyes wandered to the bathroom door. He let out a sharp exhale, calming down his beating heart as he assured himself that the latter was simply in the bathroom.

To his relief, he was correct and his guest walked out. He jumped in shock as he saw Myungsoo and quickly slipped into the bed.

“Are you okay?” Myungsoo asked.

“I’m sorry, Master. I needed to use the toilet. I didn’t want to wet the bed.” He said. It was the longest sentence the other had ever said, and it made Myungsoo happy.

“It’s okay. Have you showered?”

He shook his head.

“It’s okay, we can shower later. Here I bought you something.” He saw a flicker of emotion appear in his hollow eyes. Emotions of mixed fear and confusion. Myungsoo held out the large bear and smiled awkwardly. “I thought you might needed company, and since I’m not always home, you can talk to it, if you want.” He waited for a response and if he wasn’t the observant person that he was, he would have missed the small smile that the other was trying to restrain. He didn’t say anything.

“Here. It’s cute, don’t you think?” Myungsoo asked happily, patting its fur. He crawled on the bed beside his guest and handed it to him.

The other slowly lifted his skinny arms and wrapped his slender finger around the arms of the bear. “Thank you master.” He muttered shyly.

Myungsoo beamed, “Can you please call me Myungsoo?” He smiled warmly, “Try saying it. I think it sounds better than Master.” He said, trying to sound as friendly and cheerful as possible.

“M-Myungsoo.” He muttered.

“It sounds good doesn’t it?”

He nodded, staring at the bedsheets.

“What do I call you, then?”

“13 07 27.” He said.

Apologies with the late update >~< Have been practically bedridden for the past few days or smth... but that hadn't stopped me from going on twitter/insta and watching Infinite's recent Instagram drama hahahahah. Did you guys see it? It was awesome ahhahahhaah but now all 7 members have instagram!!! Despite some hardly updating.. but oh wells xD

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I've made it longer than before, and I plan to make it a bit a longer since this story is really progressing slowly sobs T~T Please do comment and all that good stuff!

Till next time! Please do stay safe and healthy!