The most beautiful people that I've known are those,
Who have
Known defeat,
Known suffering,
Known struggle,
Known loss,
And have found their way out of it.

-Elisabeth Kubler- Ross



 

Chanyeol was confused by the kind of question Sehun asked him.

Sehun looked carefully at Chanyeol's face and then said,

"My mom divorced my dad. She took me and Jin hyung along with her and father took my sister, Jenny. But mom didn't really take care of us. She was always busy with herself."

"Maybe because of the divorce."

Chanyeol tried to explain.

"Yeah, Jin hyung used to say the same thing to me. But when I was 8, mom send hyung away with some people."

"Where?"

Chanyeol asked.

"She never told me. But two years after that, i got a letter from hyung. He told me.."

Sehun gulped, trying to swallow his tears.

"He.. H-he was sold to a brothel."

Chanyeol's eyes grew wide and his mouth fell to the ground. He didn't know how to respond to it anymore. He just blinked in disbelief and said,

"Then?"

Sehun wiped his wet nose with the back of his before continuing.

"He told me that he doesn't like it. People touch him in bad ways. And it's not a good place. And that they would only let him free if we pay them money."

Sehun paused but then continued.

"So I decided to start collecting money for freeing him. But when i was 13, one day when i got back home, mom was sitting in the living room and talking to someone on the phone. She didn't know that i was home already. I listened to her conversation and realized that she was planning on selling me to the same brothel."

"!"

Chanyeol cursed suddenly.

"So I decided that i won't let this happen, and the same night I packed all my stuff and ran away from that country."

"But you were so young!"

"Anything was better than being sold to a brothel by your own mother."

Sehun screamed forgetting that it was 2 am and there were people sleeping in the car.

Baekhyun shifted slightly in his place which brought Sehun back to his senses. He hit his own head in frustration and Chanyeol started patting his back,

"It alright, Sehun. Relax."

He rubbed his back till Sehun was calm again.

"Thanks."

Sehun mumbled before continuing,

"So I started doing petty jobs, like washing utensils at a restaurant, selling newspapers, then when I was 15, I got a job of a delivery boy at a bakery. That's when things started getting better. The baker was fond of me so he taught me baking for free. Then i started baking as a baker and got a better salary. Finally, at 18, I had collected enough money to pay for brother's ransom. So one day when I came back from work, I posted a letter to hyung that by the end of the week, I'll get him home. I was so happy that day."

"Then? You got your brother home?"

Sehun gulped and said,

"When I got back home, the door was open....
And when I entered, the house was ransacked. I-It was robbed. Everything was.. gone."

And Sehun broke into tears. Chanyeol was shocked to death. Just imagining it was giving shivers to Chanyeol. He hugged Sehun and the younger hugged him back.

In a muffled voice, Sehun said,

"I left the house that very moment. I kept walking mindlessly. I couldn't disappoint hyung now. My body became so numb, my senses stopped working. I was crying and crying till I forgot everything. It was around 1:30 at night when I saw the headlights of a car and instantly my heart wanted to end all that pain. I wanted to bring all the suffering to an end. So I jumped in front of that car."

Chanyeol's flinched on hearing this. He held Sehun from his shoulders and looked intensely and the crying boy waiting for him to complete..

"But the car didn't hit me much. It was Baekhyun's car. He took me to the hospital immediately and, and since then, he has been there for me."

Chanyeol sighed in relief. Sehun smiled lightly at the boy but his face still looked so sad.

"What about your brother?"

"When I told Baekhyun about it, he paid the ransom. And hyung is good now! He's getting married."

Chanyeol smiled at this and said,

"I am happy for him."

"Me too. You know what? This girl he's marrying. He met her at the same brothel. After being freed, he worked and paid her ransom and got her from there. And now they are finally marrying."

"Wow! That's great."

"ing great!"

They both started laughing when n empty can of cola came flying towards Chanyeol who dodged it and ultimately landed on Sehun's nose.

"Shut up the up you two! I am trying to sleep here!"

Came a voice from the grumpy Baekhyun.

But this only made Chanyeol and Sehun laugh louder in unison. They were truly bonding with each other.

___________________

"Get up you sloths! We have reached!!"

"I slept late... 5 more minutes please Baekhyun."

Chanyeol whined.

Baekhyun took a rolled newspaper in his hand and hit Chanyeol on the head with it.

"Hyung! Call me Hyung! I am the eldest here."

Chanyeol did a mental eye roll then turned to other side trying to get some sleep.