Jun didn’t fail to notice the boy’s lack of a winter coat. No beanie, no gloves, just a backpack and a thin flannel damp from the cold wind and slight drizzle outside. Soonyoung led the way and let them into their tiny apartment near the company building. “It’s not much,” he warned Minghao but the boy was pale and cold and tired looking. He just smiled at Jun as they walked in. “This is all ours?” he asked, wide eyed as he looked around, and Jun had to chuckle although he felt strangely sad.

Jun took him down the corridor and opened the door to the bedroom. It wasn’t huge but it was big enough for two single beds with a small bedside table in between. A closet stood off to one side and on the opposite wall was a full length mirror. “We only have one bathroom,” Jun said as Minghao fell onto the bed. “I haven’t slept in a bed for forever…” he said quietly with his eyes closed.

Jun sat on the opposite bed and stared at him. The boy was way too thin. Jun heard soft snores coming from him and wondered how tired the boy must be to fall asleep so easily. He wondered where he had been and what had happened to him to make him so tired. Minghao was still shivering slightly in his sleep and Jun leaned over and slipped his thin damp flannel off his arms. He used to have muscles in his arms, even though he was skinny, but now he looked so weak. His upper arms were littered with bruises, his wrist was also bruised like someone had grabbed him too hard, but there were no track marks. Whatever he was on at least he wasn’t injecting it.

Jun looked at the clock. Seungcheol would be here in about two hours so he decided the best thing would be to let the boy sleep. He was out like a light on top of the bedding so Jun grabbed the thick quilt off his bed, the new one his parents had sent him for the winter, and laid it over Minghao’s sleeping body and hoped he would stop shivering soon.

“Hey.” Soonyoung said from the kitchen when Jun walked out. He was making tea and had three cups out on the counter. “How is he?” “Sleeping,” Jun said as he added sugar to the cups while Soonyoung poured the hot water. “I’m so glad Seungcheol agreed. You guys have to trust me on this. He’s really got something special. I just don’t know what’s happened to him in the last six months…” Jun trailed off as he remembered a chance encounter that had never left his memory, a random meeting of two people fleeting but unforgettable, it was like destiny. Jun had never sat in on audition before. If he hadn’t been there Minghao would have been back out on the street and they probably woul