Taeyong’s eyes nervously wandered around the extremely extravagant room he was currently in.

After the whole ordeal he was involved in earlier, the two young and unfamiliar men dragged him towards what Taeyong deemed to be a very weird animal with a huge head consisting of two eyes glimmering with its light orange orbs and a long black mouth that had many lines forming into rows of squares of equally black teeth – vaguely hearing from one of their human conversations that it was referred to as a car. 

Taeyong had almost dented the animal’s sides with his agile and hefty foot, his heightened senses screaming danger in all angles. If not for that black haired guy, Taeyong also somewhat overheard as Jaehyun, the car would have been damaged badly.

Jaehyun had lifted his floundering up effortlessly and dropped him with a loud thud at the backseat – strapped him tightly in the middle with seat belts meant for two people. “You are awfully thin, savage.” He had sniggered as he got in the driver’s seat. “You have no too.”

Taeyong growled at that, he had not understood a single word but savage yet he didn’t like the tone the other had portrayed, especially the word .

“Jaehyun, are you sure we should be restraining the poor thing?” The taller one, Johnny, asked from the passenger seat. He nervously raked his eyes over Taeyong who was thrashing vigorously behind the solid contraptions hugging his arms and chest to the seat. “If you’re going to push through with your plan, this seems like a very bad idea. We should act friendlier, not like a foe – these people after all rely on whatever animal instincts they have grown with.”

“Relax, John.” Jaehyun replied, unbothered. “He’ll run off the moment we do so. Do not fret, I’ll take care of it.” He stepped on the gas, earning them a screaming fit of a Taeyong all throughout the ride for the sudden jolts of speedy movement – Taeyong did not sign up for this .

The animal was faster than a cheetah!

Going back, Taeyong whined from where he was standing in the middle of the huge room. He clearly had not anticipated the drastic turn of events. He should be fuming with his current predicament, really, but he can’t help but feel embarrassed. He almost gagged at how he easily let his young savage self blush freely – heart thumping crazily beneath his ribcage. Because no matter what, Jaehyun was still the prettiest human that he had laid his eyes on for the entirety of his life.

Not like he had numerous encounters.

And well maybe, he had briskly formed a notion that it was at least better sticking with the two fine young men, rather than being chased down by guns and unpleasant pigs. They both had saved him from the hunter earlier – that meant they were one of those good people and not the bad ones his parents had warned him before, right?

“Savage.”

Someone cleared his throat from behind, Taeyong froze. He was snapped out of his unrelenting thoughts. Biting his lower lip, he slowly turned around to face the owner of the deep voice. He came face to face with the very same man who lifted him off his feet earlier, saved his sorry – the one who made his heart pound twice that day alone. The very same man who carried an awe worthy of reverence – demanding. The very same man who carried a very stable majestic and powerful air around him – superior, dominant. Taeyong’s wolf like senses howled at him to just kneel, succumb. 

Needless to say, he thought Jaehyun was gorgeous.

Unconsciously, dauntlessly, Taeyong stepped a bit closer to where the other was standing. The latter’s onyx black eyes flickered over every small movement of his, hazy and unreadable. He lifted his slender yet dirty fingers in a trance. The sudden urge to touch the human’s face rose.

Time seemed to slow down, his fingers softly met the other’s cheek, and Jaehyun let him.

The first intimate contact Taeyong shared with another human in years.

A tear silently escaped his right eye.

“You know for a… savage,” Jaehyun paused, hesitant but quite irked at the cold layer of skin that was ironically leaving a burning sensation on his cheek. He cleared his throat again, continuing. “You have soft and beautiful fingers.“

Thump.

There was no venom in the way Jaehyun rolled the word savage in his tongue, Taeyong felt it. He didn’t actually mind it this time. But, his doe eyes widened in a soft gasp, realizing that his grimy hands were on the other’s untouchable silky white skin – he withdraws it like wildfire, afraid he might have passed on some unwanted germs. He peered at the other’s eyes instead, only to flinch at the intensity of his gaze. He looked away, mentally hitting his self to avoid direct eye contact – opting to stare at the swirly hide of the marble floors.

“Pfft-” Johnny stifles a laugh beside Jaehyun. Taeyong snapped his head, he had not notice that the other was there the whole time. Interacting with Jaehyun had proven to have a minuscule effect on him – it had clouded his senses.

Johnny gave the prince a small friendly pat on his back. “You are frightening the poor lad.” He mused, grinning from ear to ear.

Jaehyun rolled his eyes at the statement.

“Well, I must say you are fairly the terrifying kind of man-“ Johnny added, glancing at Taeyong who now had his wide eyes on him. “Say, be careful, no? Wouldn’t want your innocent heart be torn apart by this young Casanova-“

“Prince Youngho.” Jaehyun side glared at the tall guy. The other was chortling in delight.  “May I humbly ask you to shut your traps? Are we not in a certain situation right now?” He huffed, gesturing at that so called ‘situation’ manifesting in the form of a savage human staring at them as if they had grown two heads. Taeyong had, yet again, no clue what they were talking about.

Johnny and Jaehyun are both scrutinizing him, face twisting into a serious expression – the playfulness from seconds ago long gone. He staggered a few steps back, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“Well then,” Jaehyun started, rolling up the long sleeves of his white polo as he approached Taeyong. Taeyong gulped nervously, eyes darting around – locking on the wooden frame of the oak door where he was shoved in from earlier. In the case of an unforeseen attack from the two, he thought that it was his only way of escape.

Johnny watched as Jaehyun walked in a slow circle around Taeyong, and just like his friend he tried to distinguish the savage’s rather rough appearance. He bore in mind how the savage who said his name was Yong wore dull thin clothes – that is if they even passed the standard of being called a clothing.  He looked like he was dressed in rags, he could even pass for a rag. His shirt was torn mercilessly in so many parts, short like garments riding up his thighs – exposing so much muck covered skin.

Like his clothes, he was also excessively thin. Where there were rips on the front of his body, Johnny can see some unhealthy lines of his ribs.

Jaehyun stopped behind the frail guy, eyeing the dirty dark red that soiled the material on Taeyong’s side. He frowned, he had almost forgotten about it. He opens his mouth to ask about the injury when his nose suddenly picks up a very faint yet evident foul smell. It smelt like burnt crisp ground with a mixture of muddy farm animal. His nose crinkled in distaste, it was almost nauseating.

Much to his chagrin, he noticed that it came from none other than the savage before him.

Jaehyun groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyes hovered over to Johnny’s. Johnny was already pulling a face, having smelt the exact pungent odor. Jaehyun lifted a hand in authority, sending a short signal. Johnny nodded in response, whirling around to take his exit.

Jaehyun emitted a long deep sigh, trudging towards the door to follow Johnny outside – but not before sharply eyeing the dark red stain, reminding himself to send a doctor later on to check on it.

Once Taeyong heard the soft click of the handle of the door closing, he released the long breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. Jaehyun and Johnny left, good, he won’t fret on it. For now, he was thinking for ways to escape.

He surveyed the room, there was another frame or door over the other side but he dared not to approach it – there may be something lurking behind it.

Now that he can feel his senses slowly coming back to him, he makes out that there was some sort of softness below him. He rubs at it with his bare feet – it was kind of ticklish. Taeyong did not know what it was but it was wide, and it covered many parts of the room in different shapes and colors. To Taeyong, it was like the grasses in the fields back home but it felt artificial, fake, it didn’t feel fresh.

He looks to his left. He sees a fluffy chamber – there were tree like stands or poles around it in four corners. Dark green cloth hangs around the branches connecting the stands – Taeyong thought it looked like a house for monkeys. Monkeys love hanging on vines. Again, Taeyong did not know what it was. He tilts his head in a daze.

“Do humans raise monkeys-?” He thought, imagining the scenario in his head.

There were a lot more human stuffs Taeyong did not know – sharp rocks, tall white bamboos, animal fur and hairs – the most plausible descriptions he could make. When he looked up, his eyes started to twinkle. The exquisite golden chandelier above was brilliant – it illuminated the room in a soft glow. It was like the southern stars, Taeyong’s favorite. He loved to look at it every night with his mother and brothers and sisters – but it was almost mocking his savage looking self. Here he was standing in a place surrounded by humans he had not imagine himself to be a few hours ago and he felt inferior.

Even to that thing he didn’t even know the name was, he felt really inferior.

He chuckled like a mad man.

"It's over." Taeyong uttered, taking one shaky step, then a steady two – he walked towards the door little by little. His steps start to quicken, bursting into a run for the silver knob that was now gleaming brightly in his eyes. “It’s over-!” He squealed, reaching out a hand for it.

But that was where he was so wrong.

And what came next was much worst.

Taeyong flinched for the nth time that day, retrieving his hand in a jiffy, as the door slammed open and three new and considerably young faces came in – pulling a huge cart of essentials behind them. Taeyong stopped running before he can crash into them.

He stopped, and then stared, squinting his eyes at the cart full of questionable objects that he had not seen around the room he was in.

“Woahhh!” One of the three gushed excitedly, running towards Taeyong so fast he almost tripped on his feet.

Taeyong blinked hard.

The other two closed the door behind them, much to Taeyong’s horror, trailing after their friend as they lined up together in front of Taeyong. They mustered up their brightest smiles.

“One, two, three-”

“Good afternoon!!!” The three chanted loudly, bowing in sync, startling Taeyong – squeaking with one foot up, wide eyed.  

“Pardon, allow us to introduce ourselves! My name is Lee Donghyuck!” The young brown haired lad who gushed at him first stepped out as he introduced his self enthusiastically, lips curled into a wide smile. Taeyong slowly places his foot down, backing away. “Call me Hyuck, at your service!”

Hyuck was a beaming ray of sunshine.  Taeyong covered his eyes, peeking in between the gaps of his fingers, Hyuck was blinding.

Another one stepped out, and this time the young lad had a mop of cabbage green hair. He was as tall as Hyuck. “My name is Zhong Chenle.” He smiled shyly, eyes almost disappearing into a straight line. “Lele at your service, sire!”

Taeyong moves his hands down, eyebrows furrowing in deliberate caution.

Then the last one, black haired and eyes that turned into crescents as he smiled, stepped out. He was a tad bit taller than the first two. “My name is Lee Jeno. You may call me as you wish mister.” He inclined his head downward to give soft bow to Taeyong, pulling up his body to show that dazzling smile again.

Taeyong raked his eyes back and forth between the young specimens before him, glancing at the door behind them here and then. He was in the midst of contemplation – should he go and make a run for it or should he grab any nearby human tool he could use to defend his self; or he could do both, grabbing a nearby human tool and whacking the three out cold then making a run for it.

Jaehyun had unfortunately confiscated his own handmade tools back at the car when he tried to cut off the straps that were binding him back then.

Danger, his senses were nudging his insides again.

“H-Hu-” Taeyong panicked, holding out his two small fists in front of him defensively. To his ears, the three were speaking gibberish, alien language. For all he knows, they may be plotting for his abduction right under his nose – he gulped.

But for the three lads who came in, Taeyong was adorable.

Hyuck squealed loudly. “He’s so cute!” Chenle giggled, nodding in agreement.

Jeno chuckled, observing Taeyong’s plight. “Worry not mister, we are just following special orders. We won’t hurt you." Taeyong’s ears perked up at the word ‘hurt’.

Hyuck hummed, nodding too. "Oh wow a real life savage before us, this is so exciting!” He gabbed loudly. “Right? riiight? It’s a once in a life time experience! Do you not think so too Jeno?”

"I never thought I should be seeing one, or am I actually seeing one though?" Jeno replied, tilting his head. Eyes boring into Taeyong’s frame. “Shame on those rumors, savages don’t look that bad.”

“I agree.” Chenle butted in. “Village folks shouldn’t be too complacent-“

“Hey hey hey, I don’t think he understands what we are going on about-“

Taeyong drowned out the words of the lads – his mind was becoming a jungle of mess. It absolutely was not music to his ears. The words were all fuzzy – ones he certainly had heard in a foggy life he never remembered. It was all a plethora of nonsense.

Hyuck clasped his hands together with a loud smack, startling once again Taeyong. The savage scrambled, instantly raising his fists – eye narrowed at Hyuck and ready to jab.

“It is time.” Hyuck chimed, eyes glinting. Chenle and Jeno closed in on Taeyong who was backing away with every step nearing him – He screamed.

“N-NO!”

 

“Jae, I’ve been thinking for a while now. Let’s stop this nonsense, I know you are probably just bored out of your wits.” Johnny strolled over to where Jaehyun was, sitting on the empty chair across him. “There are better and acceptable ways to vent this frustration out. How about riding out tomorrow first thing in the morning?”

They were both chilling out by the stunning rose garden on one of Jaehyun’s self-proclaimed private estate – the sun on its way to set. It was by far the closest to where they were sauntering at when the whole savage incident happened. It was the perfect little hide out for their secret activities – the Jung royal family may or may have not disregarded the whole land after, well, one certain commotion happened.

It must never happen again – the queen said back then.

Therefore, they tried selling it off the market. The downfall was that the area was quite tricky – susceptible to imminent danger. Everyone in the kingdom knew. No one wanted to own it.

Jaehyun loved danger though, he also knew his way around it. After all, he was the protagonist of that abhorrent matterthat was never to be mentioned again. Thus, Jaehyun claimed its title under his own name. It was his to manage.

He just shrugged his shoulders in response to Johnny, lifting the small delicate opaque glass to his lips – sipping. He closed his eyes for a while, savoring, as he took a whiff of the strong Western Highlands coffee.

It was bittersweet.

The prince fluttered his eyelashes, opening his eyes. Black orbs perforated on the flowers of red, white and pink. Beyond