The Lord glowered and roughly shook the droplets from his hands and arms. ''Are you kidding me! Do you have any idea what these clothes cost!'' The dark-haired man yelled and towered over Jonghyun who shrunk and immediately apologized.

''I'm so sorry sir! Please let me help you clean it up!'' He offered and approached with a handkerchief but the man slapped his hand away, ''Keep your filthy little rag away from my clothes.'' He hissed, spitting his words out with disgust. Jonghyun gulped and created some distance between them, he wasn't sure what the Lord would do now.

The Lord glanced down at himself and picked at the fabric plastered to his skin. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Jonghyun roughly by the wrist and dragged him away from the many curious eyes. ''You will pay for this stupid boy.'' the Lord growled and forced Jonghyun to stumble after him out of the Market and around the corner of a building out of sight from the main road.

Jonghyun quickly pushed him off, he was not going to let himself be threatened like a lower human being. The dark-haired man stumbled back but quickly caught his footing as Jonghyun put enough distance between them to try for a proper conversation.

The Lord had other plans, pulling out a knife and clenching it tightly in his fist.

''Hold up sir, maybe we can talk about this,'' Jonghyun said alarmed, his vision following the movements of the sharp weapon, hands raising in surrender. The Lord huffed and swiped at him with surprisingly quick reflexes, Jonghyun had to dodge and defend himself with his own fists. He punched the man in the chest and as the Lord grunted and rubbed the ambushed spot, Jonghyun grabbed the other's wrist and manipulated it the other way, forcing the man to drop the knife.

''You little runt, who do you think you are?'' the Lord sneered and cornered him against the wall. Jonghyun yelped as his back hit the wall hard and gasped, eyes wide in panic as he felt the sharp side of the small pocket knife press against his throat.

''Wait! I-I’m sorry...I just...sorry, please don't kill me!'' Jonghyun pleaded, trying to squirm free from the dark-haired man's grasp.
Jonghyun has never been so scared for his life.

''You think sorry is going to make my clothes go back to their previous state?'' the Lord growled and back-handed his face. It stung for a bit but Jonghyun tried not to show the pain on his features, he has been used to Kangin's hits but that didn't make a slap less painful.

''Giving me orders now too? Don't you know who you're talking to, stupid boy?''

Jonghyun just glared while his mind was busy scrutinizing a plan to escape. He realized that escaping would not go smoothly and he was not planning on explaining to Taeyeon or whoever was interested why there was a damn cut on his throat.

His thoughts came to a halt as the sharp side of the knife pressed harder against his skin. ''You have no right to look at me like that.'' The dark-haired man fumed, lifting Jonghyun away from the wall and slamming him back into the bricks harder. The blond cried out in pain as his head made impact and stars exploded in his vision.

''The top part alone was a 100 golden coins, make sure I will get that from you at the end of next month or else!'' the Lord sneered and shook Jonghyun around by the collar for good measure. The smaller man gasped in horror, eyes growing wide at the amount he had to pay the man, he did not even get paid half of what the man demanded.

''I-i can't afford that sir, I don't get paid well!'' The blond stammered honestly, feeling ashamed that he could not do better than that.
 

The Lord tilted his head to the side, his eyes indifferent and his mouth set in a scowl. ''Do I look like I care? At the end of next month, a 100 golden coins or I will think of something else more drastic then punishing you.'' He uttered maliciously as his dark brown eyes racked over his body interestingly. To Jonghyun's terror, the man leaned in and pressed lips roughly against his.

There was nothing pleasurable or even remotely nice about the kiss, it was downright painful. The dark-haired man forced Jonghyun's hands roughly over his head while the other hand hid the pocket-knife and grabbed his jaw. Jonghyun groaned and started to struggle but squealed in pain as his bottom lip was bitten and a tongue slipped in his mouth.

The Lord broke the kiss and stared down at him with a smug smirk, ''The things that will happen to you if you break the end of our deal.'' He breathed huskily and jeered at the fear in the other's eyes. 

Jonghyun could defend himself and beat the other up, showing that he shouldn't be messed with but that would only cause more trouble for him.
He might get arrested and put in a cell, hurting a Lord could probably even end up with him getting punished severely.

The blond gritted his teeth and squirmed uneasily as the man leaned in again, consequences were thrown out the window as he headbutted Seung-Hyun out of reflex. The Lord stumbled back with a loud grunt yet snatched the small man by the back of his tunic as he tried to escape.

''Don't you dare escape stupid boy, I could let you be thrown into a cell for the rest of your life!'' Thankfully the Lord's bodyguard interrupted them before anything else could happen. ''Lord Seung-Hyun, it's time to depart.''

The Lord chuckled in amusement and cupped Jonghyun's face, they both made eye-contact, Seung-Hyun pecked his lips teasingly, ''A 100 golden coins, I know where to find you otherwise.'' He reminded the younger man with a wink and roughly dropped him on his , walking in the direction of his body-guard without a backward glance.

Jonghyun let out a violent shudder as the man's back vanished from sight. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, pressing his face hard against his legs and biting his lip to try not to scream.


He felt dirty, thrown aside like trash after the dark-haired man treated him so crudely. As if he was just a useless rock in the man's way.

That was not even the worst thing that made him feel like a waste. Where was he even going to retrieve a 100 golden coins from? Yung only gave him 10 golden coins every month and Beatrice didn't even give anything.

His problems did not even end there because if he did not manage to get the amount Seung-Hyun wanted at the end of the month, he was going to end up as his personal slave or in a cell. 

Maybe that announcement about the Banquet had been a warning for the Blond. He then realized that Shindong hadn't been babbling nonsense. 
'Do I really have to go through those hard time first? Why is happiness always out of reach?' He thought and bit his lip as a wave of sadness hit him. 

The small man slowly stood up and winced as a sharp pain in the head made his knees buckle unsteadily. He leaned against the wall and pressed fingertips against the scrapped skin on the back of his head, groaning in dismay when his fingers came away slightly bloody.

Jonghyun stumbled in a daze from behind the building, sighed irritably and turned away from the village square to go back to the Orphanage.
''What am I suppose to do now?'' He dragged his feet through the market as he made his way home, nodding to everyone who greeted him but didn't stay for a conversation. Opening his mouth would probably allow the float-gates to release tears and he desperately tried not to cry.

Thank god most of the kids were still in school or working and Beatrice had hidden herself in her office, obviously bathing in money. Unfortunately, Taeyeon was dusting in the play-room when she saw him stumble by, looking worse for wear.

Taeyeon hurried after him worriedly after dropping the duster on a table. ''Jjong, what happened?'' she asked, continuing before Jonghyun could respond. ''Why do you look like you have been in a fight?'' The girl grabbed his bicep, halting him in his tracks and coercion him to face her.
 

Her breath hitched as his somber gaze met hers before they lowered down to the ground. His tunic was ruffled heavily and there was a dirt spot on the back of his pants. ''Jjong.'' She urged and reached out her hand gently to run fingers through his hair, straightening it out. Her fingers brushed over tender skin making Jonghyun wince and Taeyeon investigate immediately.

''I-it's nothing, don't worry.'' He murmured, pulling her attention back to him. They both knew he wouldn't want her to worry and get involved in his problems but Taeyeon was a friend and as a friend, it was her job to support no matter the circumstances.
 

''Tell me and I don't want to hear any excuses!'' She cut Jonghyun of before he could even say anything. Jonghyun's lips lifted a little at the corners and with a small nod, she clutched his hand tightly and jerked him to the kitchen, sitting him down in a chair where he proceeded to tell her about what happened after she left him at the market. 

At the end of his story, Taeyeon had bitten her