"Your coffee, sunbae-nim." Wooyoung announced as he entered Minjun's recording studio on the 5th floor. It was one of those posh recording studios that trainees dreamt to be in once they made it out into the world, and only a selected few were allowed to be in these studios. Minjun was one of them, lazily skimming through the music notes in his hands with a sigh.

Wooyoung placed the Starbucks coffee cup in front of him and waited for his next instruction.

Minjun eyed the coffee with one eyebrow raised and then proceeded to drink it. "Chocolate chip cream?! I told you to get me Mocha, slowpoke. Or are you deaf too? On top of being slow at everything you do." He checked the clock on the wall. "I sent you off half an hour ago."

Wooyoung simply kept his head bowed, lips pursed into a thin line, trying to fight back the tears welling in his eyes. It wasn't his fault that someone pushed him earlier and caused him to spill the Mocha coffee he bought. He ended up giving away his own Starbucks coffee because he didn't want to disappoint the nutjob. And now he was getting yelled at for being late.

"I'm sorry." He said, unable to meet Minjun's piercing glare.

Minjun may or may not have felt like a douchebag when he noticed the boy's glassy eyes. He didn't want to spoil Wooyoung just yet, so instead of making him feel better, he told Wooyoung to stand outside the room and think about what he did. Like a five-year-old in a kindergarten, being told to stand aside because he did something bad. Wooyoung obeyed without complain, hunching over to the door and shutting it behind him without so much as a click.

He sighed. It had only been four days since he signed that stupid contract, a week since he puked all over Minjun's ing cashmere and three weeks since he started his life in this building, and already he's three feet deep in .

What did he do to deserve this?

"Well, at least on the good side, Taec-hyung treats me nicely." He thought, feeling a little better after that.

He stood there for three hours until his legs buckled beneath him, and his eyes became droopy. He slept quite late last night, no thanks to a certain long-faced nutjob sitting in the room behind him right then. But he didn't want to sleep in the middle of a quiet hallway. There was something eerie about that stretch of corridor as stared from one end to the other. No one seemed to be about for the last three hours. He could hear Minjun's voice singing out behind him, and that was the only thing that managed to calm him down so far.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be there right then, staring at the empty corridor.

Minutes passed and Wooyoung slumped back against the wall, his eyelids feeling heavy under the lack of sleep. He supposed he could take a ten minutes nap out here. Minjun didn't seem like he cared much about the boy standing outside anyway. Ten minutes is all I need. Yeah, I could take a ten minutes nap. Wooyoung assured himself.

He slid down against the wall and closed his eyes, resting his forehead against his knees. Slumber soon washed over him after a few blinks and exhaustion pulled him deeper into it. He forgot to set his phone to wake him up after ten minutes, but he was too tired to do that now. All he wanted to do was sleep.

When he woke up almost an hour later, he was lying inside the recording room again. He slowly turned his head to look at Minjun and the older male was giving him an annoyed look. "I told you to stand there and think about what you did. Not to fall asleep. Sheesh. Imagine if someone found you that way."

"I-I'm sorry." Wooyoung said, getting up.

"Forget about it. It's time to start your training again. Get inside there and sing something for me."

"Sure thing." He did as he was told, sauntering over to the recording area and hastily put on the earphones. Minjun was waiting for him to prepare himself. After briefly warming up his throat, he gave the green light and Minjun switched on the system.

"Ok, now remember what we practiced yesterday. You've got to project your voice from your throat, and control your breathing. Not too loud or else you'll create an echo. Are you ready?"

"Yes." He was born ready. He wanted to pass the next round of audition so badly, and if he had to break his vocal cords doing it, then he'll give it his all. Minjun was actually pretty helpful during the training sessions, so Wooyoung was at least grateful for that. He saw the green light turning on, and he knew that Minjun was recording him now.

Without hesitation, he started to sing, recalling everything he learned yesterday and improvising on the notes he couldn't reach. He had a soft voice, after all, and there was a limit to how high he could hit. But Minjun was patient the whole time, occasionally screaming into the speaker to throw orders at him. Otherwise, Wooyoung felt like he did better than before. At this rate, he might actually pass the second round.

"Alright, you can stop now." Minjun said over the intercom. They had been practicing close to two hours now and Wooyoung was starting to feel tired. He was hungry too, blast his stupid stomach, and he desperately needed food right then. "I'll see you tomorrow. Same time."

Wooyoung didn't bother to say anything and simply left the recording room.

Taec was waiting for him in the living room when he got back. "Hey Woo, ready for dinner?"

A smile broke out on Wooyoung's tired face as he recalled his promise to bring Taecyeon out for dinner. This would be the first the both of them were planning to hang out together, and he was excited to try the new restaurant down the street. "I'm craving for samgyupsal today. What about you, hyung?"

"I would prefer eating you." Taecyeon remarked, looking like a hungry wolf suddenly, but Wooyoung knew he was just joking. "But samgyupsal sounds divine."

"I'm sure it'll taste ten times better than me." Wooyoung laughed. "Let me change my clothes first." He donned a pair of jeans and a casual collared shirt before heading out with Taec.

And when they finally arrived at the restaurant, much to his surprise, he found Minjun sitting alone in a corner there, enjoying a meal by himself. Their eyes met for a second, but Minjun immediately looked away as if he didn't know Wooyoung. A little pissed over Minjun's rude behaviour, Wooyoung pulled Taecyeon to another corner and sat there by themselves. He didn't bother to look at Minjun anymore after that.

Dinner came a few minutes later, and Wooyoung savored every taste as if he hadn't eaten for years. When Taecyeon got up to pay, much to Wooyoung's surprise, the latter decided now was the best time to use the loo before they head back to the dorm.

He was even more surprised, however, to discover Minjun standing there by the sink, a lopsided grin on his face as he waited for Wooyoung to enter. "Been wondering when you'd show up."

"What if I don't?" Wooyoung dared to ask with a glare. He couldn't care less about Minjun when he was not being the latter's slave boy, and plus, he was out with Taecyeon, so no one -- not even Minjun -- could ruin his dinner outing.

"So rude. Is he your boyfriend or something?" The nutjob sneered, approaching Wooyoung in three long strides.

"And why should I tell you anything about him?"

"Because you're my slave, and we signed a contract. It's not like you're off duty just because I dismissed you for a day. Anyway, I thought about dropping in something before I go." Minjun winked.

"And what would that be?"

Lips -- soft, full, and warm --- descended upon Wooyoung's lips a second later, and the boy could only stand there, shell-shocked and frozen. He didn't know what was going on. Ok, that was a lie. He did know. He was aware of everything these days. But he didn't know why Minjun would kiss him so suddenly. Maybe he ate something bad and now it's messing with his head.

Either that, or Wooyoung was just imagining things.

When Minjun finally pulled away, there was a small grin on his face and a glint in his eyes. Wooyoung somehow knew in that instant what the grin meant. It meant there was something more to this contract that he overlooked, and it somehow left a bitter taste in his mouth upon realizing this new discovery.

Minjun was going to have his way with the boy, and Wooyoung didn't know what he signed up for. Heck, he didn't even sign up for it. It was stupid coat, period.

"W-what are you doing?" He asked, a little breathless because he was blushing terribly from their little contact.

"Marking you. You're my slave for the next six months, and no one's gonna get in the way of that. Not even you." Minjun said, before patting him once on the shoulder and leaving the restroom.

Wooyoung felt his knees buckle after that and he had to reach out for the sink for support. He didn't think he'd be able to survive this for the next six months.