"Let's go," Now that they were free to leave, Sungmin wasn't wasting any time. He lead the way out of the lavish office. He knew the subject of where he had spent the night last night was closed for now but he knew it would come up again. Because once he started making regular appearances at Club Inferno again, a lot of people would notice the chemistry between him and Kangin. 

He led the way to the elevator that would take them back to the limo. The teenagers followed him slowly, unable to hide their curiosity about the palatial penthouse surrounding them. He was certain that their reluctance was due to the fact that Attila was still following them though. 

As soon as they were in the main hall, the one named Aron asked, "Who was that ?" 

Sungmin sighed but didn't get a chance to answer him. 

Attila nudged them into the elevator. "That was your new boss. That is all you need to know."

Sungmin growled at the huge man, "Yes, we get it. We are talking about your favorite person in the world, but we might as well tell them... They will figure it out eventually anyway. That was him- that was the Black Dragon."

"That was... Seriously, a foreigner?" Ren asked.

Sungmin nodded, that fact had shocked him too. "Yes. He was born an English aristocrat. And yes, he is always an . But I have seen him act much, much worse."

"Sungmin-ah..." The bodyguard started warningly. 

Sungmin him and snapped. "You were there! I had just turned 16 when he put me to work in his first host club..." 

For once, Attila had the descency to fall silent; but Sungmin was too busy staring at the marble floor of the elevator to notice. It was another 70 floors down to the limo, and he was glad that no one spoke again until the door opened. Inside the parking level, Leon was waiting for them at the limo. He opened the door with a graceful bow. "Back to the Tower, Sungmin?"

But Sungmin ignored him and slid into one of the suede leather seats. Attila answered instead. "Yes, we are all going. The boss wants me to talk to Taj, and these boys are going to be joining Sungmin as Tower residents too."

"I see. I will wait with the car to bring you home then," If Leon was surprised by the additional passengers, he didn't show it. Like the other servants who worked for Black, Leon was very, very good at following orders while turning a blind eye to what they saw and heard around their boss.

With Attila squeezed in beside them, the new arrivals were silent. Sungmin couldn't blame the kids for being shy- but he didn't feel like talking. The boss tolerated his verbal temper really well, and that meant Attila and Nero did too. But Sungmin knew it would be dangerous to these kids if they thought they could get away with speaking to the boss or his bodyguards like that too.

The kids were clearly tired. Ren actually managed to look pretty content though. He was sitting on Baekho's lap, resting his head against his broad chest with his eyes half closed. Baekho's muscular arm was snug around his waist, keeping him there and he was resting his chin on Ren's shoulder. 

The two who had been the quietest so far, looked especially close too. The were holding hands tightly and the taller one was resting his head on the other's shoulder.

"Aron, Ren and Baekho?" Sungmin looked at each of them in turn as he spoke. They nodded and he looked at the other two. "What are your names?" 

The tallest of the five bowed in embarrassment. "Sorry, hyung. I'm Minhyun, this is Jonghyun, but we call him JR."

"That's fine, we all have a lot on our minds this morning. It is nice to meet you, I'm Sungmin. How old are you guys?"

"The four of us are 16. Aron-hyung is 19." Ren said quietly. "Have you really been working for that guy since you were our age?"

"Yeah," Sungmin nodded. "He adopted me and my brother after our parents were murdered when I was 12. He treated me well for the first 4 years even though I was a horrible brat. But because my family was dead and I am still here, I didn't care. I spent all my time getting into trouble and generally trying to make him as miserable with me as I was with him. By the time I was 16 he gave up and put me to work."

"How old are you now?" Aron asked.

"I'm 25- by Korean standards. And we are supposed to use that standard if our clients ask. So remember that."

"You don't look that old," the others seemed shocked. 

"Thanks. The most important thing you can do to protect yourselves now, is to make sure you keep your clients happy. As long as your clients are happy, you are free to spend 75% of even your work days, doing whatever you want."

Ren frowned, "What do you mean?"

"All we really have to do to stay here, is be polite to all clients- but especially to the ones who have requested you. And stay in shape. As long as we are perfectly groomed and impeccably dressed at all times, no one takes much interest in us. The guys in charge are a lot more strict with our female counterparts than they are with us."

"Why though?"

"The boss has been supplying pretty females to all corners of the globe longer than I've been alive." Sungmin said quietly. "There used to be women housed on the even numbered floors of the building where we live. But, back when I was still new at this, one of the girls who used to live in the Tower, fell in love with one of her regular clients. He loved her too, so when she begged him to take her and two of the others home with him, he agreed. But they never made it to Australia where he was from. They got caught. And all the girls were moved to another dorm with better security."

Sungmin sighed when the newcomers remained silent after he finished speaking. He hated giving these tours, but he could tell it was starting to sink in that they were trapped here because these people were very dangerous.

The limo slid to a stop in front of the Tower and the kids looked confused by the size and beauty of its elegantly carved marble facade. "What are we doing here?"

"This is your home, Centennial Tower. Come," Attila said, gesturing grandly as Leon opened the door for them. "Your things have already been brought inside from your old dorm. It is beautiful, isn't it? The boss has an image to uphold, and you are now a part of it."

Sungmin kept his expression neutral. There were a lot of residents of the Tower who stayed in the dorm willingly. Most were content to follow the rules and live in luxury. They were usually sneaky and loved to tattle on anyone they thought might be breaking the rules. Because Taj and his underlings would give them extra spending money and sometimes even an extra night off- if their tip was especially useful for stopping the rulebreakers.

But there was also another group that never tried to run. And Sungmin hoped that these kids would join it. Like himself and a few others, Siwon and Hangeng understood the danger that their boss and his men represented, but they still wanted to help him fight back. They watched and waited for the right chance at freedom. They also helped him and Teuki take care of the others and look after them- especially the newly trapped.

"Take them on a tour, Sungmin. I'm going to find Taj." Attila said as they entered the lobby. The night security guard scrambled upright in his chair when he saw that Attila was back with them. The guard blushed at having been caught about to doze off, but at least for the moment, Attila went into the security office and closed the door, ignoring him.

"Who was that guy?" Baekho asked. 

"He and the other big guy, the one with the long, blond hair, are the boss's bodyguards- officially. But the blond one, Nero is definitely more dangerous. As big and scary as he looks, Attila is always as calm and laid back as he was this morning. Nero is an assassin and he carries at least one gun at all times. Consider Nero extremely dangerous because he is every bit as loyal to our boss as Attila and he loves to shoot people. Any time that the boss is not around, the other bodyguards- including Attila- all defer to Nero. If either one of those two tells you to do anything, do it. Because they might not bother saying it twice. Any questions so far?"

"You really want us to drop everything and obey those jerks?" Aron growled.

Sungmin sighed. "No, but I don't like to see my friends get killed. Look, Attila and Nero are both into women so they aren't likely to request anything ual of you. That means, if they tell you to do something you aren't interested in, it will be at the request of a client. Saying "no" to a client will get you a beating rather than an explanation- even if they haven't mentioned that you have a client waiting for you." 

They were all silent and Sungmin sighed as he led them around the security desk and through a small curved hallway. "Over here is the mail room. Everyone here has their own mailbox. But as you have probably already guessed, our mail is closely monitored." 

The small mail room and the entrance to the building manager's apartment were right next to each other. "This is where Taj lives. He is called the building's manager but he is really just a creepy pimp. He inspects the living quarters of each floor's dorm once a week- always on Friday. Taj has the keys to every lock in this building and he likes to wander around and conduct impromptu "room checks" while he is drunk. He also personally checks it out any time that someone reports that someone is breaking a rule."

"He sounds horrible." Ren made a face and Sungmin nodded. 

"Trust me, he's worse than he sounds. But the boss likes having him in charge over here. I'll make sure you are with me when you meet him for the first time. You'd recognize him immediately either way though. He's shorter than Attila but he weighs almost twice as much. And I'm not kidding when I tell you that Taj is drunk at least 90% of the time." 

He led them back into the main lobby. In the center along the back wall were the building's two large elevators. To the left of the security desk and the small office area behind it, was a large set of glass doors and Sungmin led them through those. The Tower had its own private gym, complete with the latest treadmills, stationary bikes and every piece of weight lifting equipment imaginable. Beyond the gym was a set of locker room areas. 

And behind that was private courtyard garden with a beautiful domed glass ceiling that soared more than 70 feet above them. Classical Greek statuary dotted the beautiful rock garden, lining the marble foot paths surrounding a massive swimming pool. 

"Wow..." The new arrivals were all amazed by the beauty of the pool and the garden. Sungmin didn't come down here often, but even he had to admit, it was beautiful. Decorated with trees and flowers from all over the world, it was stunning year round. And all tower residents were welcome to use the pool whenever they were not assigned to other duties. It was a showpiece- meant as much to seduce the escorts into staying as it was to impress their internet fan base.

"Since all of you guys are still under age, you will probably be working mostly in here and hosting at the club next door." He said quietly.

"Working in here?" The all looked confused. 

Sungmin nodded. "The pool and the gardens are our most popular setting for ." 

"They make here?" Ren suddenly looked mischievous and they all laughed.

Sungmin nodded; they were so young that he couldn't help feeling especially protective of them. So he was glad to see that all five of them were actually taking all this much more calmly than most of the guys he had given this tour to over the years. "A lot of it, actually. Sometimes you get to chose your partners, other times they will be assigned by the film crew based on requests from people online..."

The news that they wouldn't always have a choice of their partners though seemed to have silenced all of them for the moment. 

"But the better you perform with your favorite partners the more often you will get to choose who you work with on camera." Sungmin said gently. "The good thing is, that the film crew who works with us now, is professional- mostly Americans. They won't touch you- ever. They want to film and go home. But, if you come down here late at night, never come alone. That really goes for the rest of the building too. The boss' security staff can be very dangerous. That is why they have always had a very high turnover rate." 

He hated playing tour guide for the new arrivals, but someone had to tell them things like this. These guys were starting tonight... And knowing Taj, tonight might mean when the host club opened at 9- or it could mean immediately after supper. Either way, someone had to talk to them or it would be much worse for them later... 

The palatial garden was unusually still now; the water of the pool seemed to beckon, shimmering brightly under the artificial lights. But shortly after breakfast they would be surrounded by other members of the Tower and the film crew. 

Sungmin preferred to forget most of his encounters around here as soon as possible, so he stayed clear of their internet site. But he had been in enough of the to have developed a loyal following online. He was the most requested bottom on their whole site.

"So what else do they have here?" JR asked.

"The second and the third floors have a lot of smaller, themed rooms that are also used just for filming . The third floor also has a pretty large dance studio. Some clients like private strip shows, and that gives us a place to practice. But you will always know a few days ahead of time if someone has requested that, so that you have time to practice." Sungmin said. "Any questions so far?" 

The kids shook their heads, apparently still listening to what he was telling them, so he continued. "The fourth floor and the fifth floors are each set up as an elegant foyer, right next to the elevator where you will meet your client as they arrive, near the reception desk. Each floor has 40 client rooms. Each client room is small; it has barely enough space a queen sized bed, a small bedside stand with condoms, lube and an assortment of toys. But each client room has it's own private toilet and shower. Right now there aren't enough rooms to give everyone who lives here, their own client room. But they are careful to arrange the schedule so that client appointments NEVER overlap for the same room, and they are cleaned every time they are used. Those of us who have the highest per hour/per night fees have larger client rooms, but these are up on the 6th floor." 

They all  nodded so he continued. "The good thing is that after you have been here a while, you will be given a generous allowance for clothes and stuff. You can do all of your shopping online or you can request a driver and one of the boys in security will take you to as many stores as you want to visit. Any questions so far?"

"What about room and board- I mean, living in a place like this can't be cheap." Ren asked. 

"We don't pay anything to stay here. The boss prefers that we not deal too much with money- period. Because money is power. When you go shopping- even in stores, everything you pick out will be paid for by the boys from security who come with you. When you are shopping online you have access to your allowance credit card, but every purchase you make will be electronically monitored."

"Monitored how?" Aron asked.

"If you use your card to buy anything that is not clothes, jewelry, make up or toiletries, the boss's security staff will know about it within 15 minutes. If you buy groceries or even an ipad, they won't care. If you buy a plane ticket or try to rent a car or something though... The boys in accounting will erase it so you won't actually get it. AndTaj will still see that you are punished severely."

"If you follow the rules and keep your clients happy, you'll be treated well and you'll have nothing to fear except Taj and his drunk wandering. Unfortunately, I've seen dozens of my friends die or just disappear over the years because they couldn't adapt to living like this... This morning when I saw you guys I was shocked. Because the boss doesn't usually send anyone as young as you guys are to the Tower."

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"Most of the past and current Tower residents were brought in because of student loans or other financial debts that they couldn't pay. Either from family problems or college loans- or a combination of both."

"How does that work?"

"He offers them a choice. He will let them live here and he will pay their student loans. He will even let them keep going to classes as long as they pass their classes and do what they are told. Teuki-umma lives up on the 12th floor. He is trying to finish medical school. With his father dead and his mom already struggling to keep their home, he would have had to leave school years ago and find a full time job if not for our boss."

"How can the boss afford that?"

"He charges each of my clients $10,000 US dollars per hour. A full night with me is twice that. Trust me. He can afford it. Before you ever actually see your client, he- and in some cases she- will have already paid for whatever service they want. That is why it is so important that we are always nice to our clients."

"Wait-" Ren shook his head. "She? They'll give us to women here?"

"We have guys who specialize in female clients at all times. But sometimes they will get stuck with a male client." Sungmin shrugged. "I've been here for almost ten years and I've only ever had like four female clients so it is not something that happens a lot. I've been with quite a few men who brought their wives or their mistresses with them though."

"Really?" That shocked all of them and Sungmin nodded, grinning a little. 

"Yep, really. I hate to do this, but I'll have to ask you this sooner or later. Are you gay or straight or bi? I'm asking because you guys have to start tonight and whatever preference you give me will determine what the vast majority of your future clients will be."

"Gay," Ren smirked. 

"Me too," Sungmin grinned back. The others seemed reluctant to answer though and he didn't blame them. It was breaking his heart that they were all so young and were still being forced into this, just like he had been. 

"Me too," Minhyun said quietly. JR nodded and squeezed his hand shyly. 

Baekho sighed. "I'm bi... I mean I must be, because I always went for girls before, but- being with Ren feels natural to me too..."

Sungmin grinned and politely looked away when Ren kissed Baekho sweetly. He was a little surprised to see that Aron looked jealous. The boy tore his eyes away from the happy couple and blushed when he realized Sungmin had been watching him. "I'm straight."

Since Aron had been staring at Baekho rather than Ren, Sungmin doubted that the American was being completely honest with himself at the moment. Luckily no one else noticed Aron's discomfort and he had no intention of embarrassing him any further.

"Yeah," Minhyun even agreed with Aron's choice. "Aron-hyung has a girlfriend waiting for him, back in America."

Sungmin nodded and lead them back to the lobby. He paused by the elevator. "Let's go downstairs and I'll show you the tunnel that connects this building to the Host club next door."

The younger boys looked scared but Sungmin reassured them with a smile. "Don't worry. The club won't open until 9 tonight so there won't be any clients over there right now. I just want to introduce you to some of my friends who work there."

"Are they like us?"

Sungmin nodded. "Yeah. Most of them are." 

The entrance to the tunnel was hidden inside the left elevator. The door closed behind them and Sungmin inserted his keycard into the reader beside the button panel. He pressed the B1 button and a small stainless steel panel slid back to reveal another button, this one marked "tunnel". 

He pressed it and the car went down one floor and then the back of the elevator opened to reveal a long hallway decorated in the same stainless steel and brass flourishes as the elevator itself. The broad tunnel was well lit and actually stretched across the street from the residential Tower building to the host club's lower level. 

"You have to insert a keycard first or the tunnel button won't appear, no matter how many times you press B1." Sungmin told them. The kids looked shocked but curious. "Taj will give you each a keycard of your own later on. It will open this tunnel and most other doors in Centennial Tower where you might need to go. It will also get you through most of the doors at the Host club, where we are going right now." 

The other end of the tunnel was guarded by another keycard reader. Sungmin inserted his card and a tiny green light appeared above the door. He pulled the door open and they walked into a large room with a long bar and a lot of small tables and very comfortable looking over sized seating. "This is one of three VIP rooms for the Host Club. This room is mixed because when the tunnel was put in, there were still girls living in the tower. That means when the club is open, both gay and straight couples can hang out in here. The other two VIP rooms are for gay or straight couples."

"Ah, Sungmin-ah!" A voice called from the bar. Sungmin smiled and led them over there.

"This is Brian Joo. He works here as a bartender. He and I were two of the boss' first male hosts. Brian isn't a resident of the Tower anymore, but he spent 5 years there."

Brian frowned as he saw his companions. He put down the bottles he was rearranging on the shelf below his work station and shook his head sadly. "Holy ... You kids sure look young..."

"This is JR, Minhyun, Ren, Baekho and Aron. They are the newest residents of the Tower." Sungmin nodded to each of them in turn. "So I guess, the boss hasn't changed at all..."

Brian grinned and shook hands with each of them. "Of course not, but- God! I feel old right now. You know I remember when you were exactly their age, Min! Anyway, I know it being thrown into this, but Sungmin is a good guy. He and the others on the 11th and 12th floor will watch out for you." 

"Brian is good at that too," Sungmin said. "We are kind of a family here. We all take care of each other as much as we can."

Brian studied them curiously. "But you guys don't look like the usual runaways and street urchins that usually fall into this trap at your age. What's going on, Min?"

"They were signed with Pledis Entertainment to debut as singers, but the boss is debuting them here, instead..."

Brian growled. "I was a singer too- a long time ago. But we were a duo and Lee Soo Man didn't have any use for me anymore. Not after my partner died in a car crash. So, the bastard gave my contract to the boss as a down payment for a loan he needed more time to repay." 

Sungmin was shocked. "You never told me that!"

Brian sighed, "Well it isn't something I like to remember."

Sungmin hugged him "Yeah, I know what you mean. And you know that jerk Lee Soo Man is still out there. Only now he's using the boss' connections to drive smaller companies like Pledis and DSP into bankruptcy so they have to sell and he can sideline their artists."

"DSP's an entertainment label too, aren't they?"

"Yeah." Sungmin agreed. "Their biggest group is A-Jax now that Kara is gone."

Brian shook his head sadly. "I'll never forgive those s for what they did to me. It's terrible what the boss and those bastards at SME are still getting away with. A-Jax has real talent and now you kids too-"

"Who's Kara?" Ren asked. 

"They used to be a very y girl group." Brian said.

Sungmin nodded. "They were all killed in a plane crash coming home from a big concert in Japan like 5 years ago. You may not remember their name right now, but you'd know most of the words to a lot of their songs."

"Kara helped start the idol boom that you kids were supposed to be a part of... I'm sorry that it didn't work out that way though." Brian said. He glanced at Sungmin, "What have you told them so far?"

"It's a big building, we started with the lobby and the pool..." Sungmin sighed, "I hate giving these tours..."

Brian nodded. "And that is exactly why the boss makes you do it. He likes it that you feel responsible for the others. Gives him more leverage- another way to keep you in line."

Sungmin knew it too but what could he do? He didn't know how to stop caring...

"The boss is a and his rules ," Brian told Ren and the others. "But being here does have some major advantages over working for any other pimp. For one thing, the clients are never allowed in your actual living quarters- EVER. And, you won't usually have to go to hotels or make house calls either. The clients here come to you, and after they have chosen a favorite or two, most of them will admit they prefer it that way. They get to come and go as they please through the underground parking area. And if they enter the Tower through the tunnel you just went through, everyone will think they're just here for a drink. Both the parking area and the Tower building itself are heavily monitored for the client's safety."

"Yeah," Sungmin nodded when none of them spoke.

"Have you shown them to their quarters yet? They look exhausted."

"They spent last night in the back office, on the couch." Sungmin said quietly. "Waiting for me."

"You have my deepest sympathies." Brian sighed. "Are you guys hungry?"

Baekho nodded. "Yeah... kinda."

"Take them upstairs to Wookie; you can finish the tour tonight." Brian said. "But where is he putting them?"

"Attila said they'll be on the tenth floor."

"Hey, hasn't the 10th floor has been left empty since the boss sold Rain?"

The new arrivals gasped at that and Sungmin scowled at Brian. Finally though he nodded and sighed, "Yeah, I'm just glad they will be close to me. I can't get over how young they are."

Brian agreed, "Well yeah, you've been here the longest. It makes sense that you want to protect everyone from what you've been through."

"Well okay, we're going. I'll see you later, Hyung."

The bartender smiled and got back to work as they left. Once they were back in the elevator Sungmin inserted his keycard into the reader again and pressed the button marked 11. 

When the door opened he led them into his dormitory and went right to the kitchen where Ryeowook was busy making breakfast at the stove.

"Good morning Ryeongu." Sungmin said. "Meet the new residents of the tower's 10th floor."

Ryeowook smiled as he turned around, but like Brian had been, he seemed shocked by how young his companions were. He managed to smile though, as he bowed politely. "Good morning everyone. I am Ryeowook. Are you hungry? Please sit down and I'll make us some breakfast."

The kids sat down quietly at the dining room table, looking tired and more than a little overwhelmed by their new situation. Sungmin helped Ryeowook with the cooking to make it go faster so the kids could get some rest in their rooms before tonight. He doubted any of them would sleep, but they deserved to try.