"Yongguk, I am sure you would be a great help here" Yoo Jaesuk patted the young guard who was assigned to be Daehyun and Zelo’s new bodyguard. He smiled at the burly guard who bowed at him and looked the rest of the guards around him.

“Now, let’s end this meeting-“

“Yoo Jaesuk sir!” One of the guards on duty rushed into the room, looking at everyone in panic. His eyes were widened open, shaking his head at him.

“The princes-“

“Princes?” Jaesuk frowned at him.

“T-They are…” Jaesuk blinked before rushing out to the princes’ bedroom with the youngj guard behind him.  He looked back at the new guard with a sigh.

“Everyone stay here, except for Yongguk” Jaesuk frowned as he rushed to the hall, busy looking around for the princes. He turned to Yongguk and placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Yongguk, come with me” He spoke softly as Yongguk nodded.

“I know where the princes went”

"W-Why a-are you here again?I-I thought you h-hated me-"

"I didn't, I told you before right? I didn't think you were ugly"

"B-But they do!"

"I told you

"D-Daehyun..."

"Youngjae..." I muttered under my breath, seeing the beautiful man looking at me from inside the cage he was kept in. I rushed to the cage, admiring how flawless and beautiful he looked. His cheeks were so squishy, his cute button nose, his pretty black hair was touching his eyebrows and his lovely doe eyes staring up at me. He had those puppy eyes, looking so cute yet so pretty at me as I held the small metal pillars tightly, gazing at the mysterious beauty before me. Honestly I don't understand why they hated him, he was different yet he was pretty, he can't be a beast, he wasn't. He was a human like us, he looked too exceptionally beautiful to me and for also for the other people to be jealous of his beauty.

"Daehyun....." He muttered softly, blinking his doe eyes at me.

"W-Why are you here? I-I thought-"

"You thought what Youngjae?"

"I-I thought you hated me, you despised me like everyone else after you saw me on stage..." Youngjae trailed off, his voice shaking as he bit his lips, his watery eyes boring into my soul. I shook my head, shifting closer to the metal cage and tightened my grip onto the metal pillars of the cage- it broke my heart to see Youngjae so broken and upset.

"I am not like the rest." I spoke, holding his gaze." And for what I despised you for?Being you?"

Youngjae sighed, blinking away his tears before shaking his head at my words. He tried scooting closer to me, but since his leg was chained back to the dreaded iron ball, he couldn't move much around the cage.

"No..." I saw tears rolling down his cheeks. My heart fell, watching him lifting a hand to wipe his tears away before he forced himself to give me a weak smile.

"Y-You hate me for..." He paused, his eyes dropped to the ground.

"For ...being different..."

"Everyone is different Youngjae..." I whispered softly to him. " We all are different from each other... I am different too"

Youngjae blinked at me, taking in what I just said. He crawled towards me, looking at me as he placed his hands on the cage. He looked at Zelo behind me, smiling softly at him before turning to me.

" What I mean is that....I am different from you Daehyun. I am different from you, the people of Mato. Really really different. I do not look like you at all and that's why I am hated. I am too different from you..." He bit his lips as I stared at him, watching him shaking uncontrollably trying hard to hold his tears.

"Youngjae...."

"Y-You are supposed to be angry at me, hating me for being here in your country..." He spoke softly, his doe eyes staring at me. " Y-You should be here, w-why are you here? P-Please leave, I w-will get punish again if you don't leave, I-I am not supposed to talk to you"

"So those marks on your legs.... " I spoke, looking at him trying to hide his legs away from me. "You got whipped just because you talk to me yesterday? By the ringmaster?"

"...Youngjae..." Zelo spoke, casting a worried glance at me when Youngjae didn't answer me.

"He did, didn't he?" Youngjae nodded slowly before staring at me with his pretty black eyes.

"I did... I-I am sorry, p-please leave me alone. Leave me here.... p-please..."Youngjae pleaded to me before I heard him muttering softly to himself.

" I-I don't want you to get caught talking to me again..."

"Y-Youngjae..." I was at lost for words, not knowing how to comfort the beautiful man inside the cage. I watched as Youngjae turned away from me with his hands still holding onto the cage. My eyes slowly looked to the ground as I remembered about the day Youngjae came on stage.

"You scum! You would have some tomatoes in your face! Haha outcast!"

"Disgusting outcast!"

"A Beast!"

"Eat my shoe you outcast!"

I thought back to the day, those insults that had been thrown to him. Those happy faces of the people having to see Youngjae getting hurt, how they are all geared up to just throw the tomatoes at him. I wondered do they ever felt about Youngjae, how he would feel having treated like this. Do they even pitied him? Or was it just because they had to follow the law?

And Youngjae. He looked so terrified and scared. So fragile and delicate still after being thrown at with tomatoes. I remembered him staring at me and I felt I needed to do something, anything to help him at that time. I looked back at the man inside the cage, smiling alittle when I saw him looking at me. I knew what to do to make Youngjae not suffer anymore, I will try to reason with my father about this.

“T-then why didn’t you rebel?” I heard Zelo whisper softly beside me. Youngjae his lips and scooted closer to the cage.

“I-I can’t” Youngjae replied. “ I will be punished severely….”

“But…” I interjected, looking into his pretty eyes.” Y-You are hurting and-“

“It’s alright, I can handle them” Youngjae replied, smiling at me. “ Not all of them are so mean and bad to me, like you”

“Y-Youngjae” I blinked at him, wondering why he wasn’t resenting the people of Mato. He was optimistic, smiling at me so brightly like that. I looked away and bit my lips- this pretty man was

"D-Daehyun, are you alright?" I looked up at Youngjae, who seemed to look worried about me. I offered him a smile before nodding at him.

“Don’t worry about me, I am fine”

“Youngjae-ah” I heard footsteps behind me and turned around, surprised to see a blonde smiling at Youngjae. He looked at me and gasped before looking at Youngjae with wide eyes.

“Youngjae? A-Are these your friends?”

“H-Himchan hyung!” Youngjae gulped, looking at Himchan who suddenly appeared.

“Youngjae-ah!” Himchan smiled brightly at him before pursing his lips and bowing at him. Zelo and I furrowed their eyebrows at him, this guy wasn’t like the Mato people who despised outcasts.

“Youngjae-ah! Hyung is sorry you got scolded and whipped because you helped me out!” Youngjae held back a smile seeing the blonde kneeling on the floor, pouting at him.

“It’s okay Himchan hyung-“

“No it’s not! But I want you to talk to me Youngjae… it’s lonely without you..” I grinned at Himchan who clapped his hands loudly.

“Youngjae, I will tell father to let you help me more and regard you as my younger brother!”

“Himchan hyung-“

“Are you two close?” Zelo asked softly, looking at Himchan who nodded enthusiastically at him.

“We are close” Youngjae answered softly. “Hyung also needs help”

“Yeap! And Youngie would always help me right?”

“Youngie?” I turned to Youngjae whose cheeks turned a bright red. He looked cuter when he got embarrassed. “He calls you Youngie?”

“Yep! He’s my little brother I wish I could have, Youngie!”

“You call him that?” I asked Himchan who just smiled.

“Yep, you can call him that if you want-“

“Hyung!” Youngjae muttered, bowing slightly at Himchan. “I-I told you that you can call me that when nobody is around, and you know I don’t like the nickname-“

“Why not? I like it! It always makes you blush!” I looked at Youngjae whose face just got redder. I stifled a chuckle, liking how embarrassed he was and how cutely he reacted- by pursing his lips and nodding off, looking at Himchan with his puppy eyes.

“Hyung”

I looked at them, wondering how could Himchan be friends with Youngjae who was known to be the one who was greatly despised and hated by the people of Mato. I liked seeing Youngjae smiling at Himchan and he wasn’t afraid of him- it was as if there was no such thing as an ‘outcast’ anymore.

I sighed, gazing at Youngjae who looked at me. His lips were stretched into a big smile, as if he was happy that I came back to see him.

That pretty smile.

I grinned back at him, not worrying that I was in for trouble by sneaking out to meet him. I shook my head, I decided not to care anymore.

“It doesn’t matter as long I could see you smile again”

sorry for the late update;-; hope you guys are following the story>.<