A/N: like i said, based on this prompt here. I feel like I might have rushed things a bit (I like a bit slower pacing in my work. Ya know, to flush out all the details and what not) but over all I’m happy with this. I’m even happy with how short it is even though it feels weird to write something so short (last couple things I’ve posted are, like, 40+ pages so it’s really weird to look at the page counter and see it so small). Hope you all are too.

Sanghyuk had always hated the brothel. He’d been born there, his mother one of the women unfortunate enough to work there. He didn’t blame her or think any less of her for it, it wasn’t her fault her parents had sold her that that cursed place. His mother had never wanted any of this, but Sanghyuk was old enough to know that what she wanted didn’t matter anymore. She was stuck in the brothel and always would be so long as she still drew breath.

There was one good thing about living in the brothel. That thing was Taekwoon, his best friend. Well, his only friend. Taekwoon was just like him, a child born to one of the women who worked there. Unlike Sanghyuk, his mother was cold and treated Taekwoon like he was dirt. He knew that deep down Taekwoon was a bit jealous of Sanghyuk for having a mother that managed to care about someone other than herself.

“Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk called out softly, “are you awake?”

“Yeah,” Taekwoon nodded, rolling over so that he could face Sanghyuk.

“I can’t sleep,” Sanghyuk complained, “they’re too loud.”

“I know,” Taekwoon frowned, “there’s supposed to be some rich guy and his friends here tonight so the owner is pulling out all the stops.”

“Why would he come here?” Sanghyuk frowned slightly, “why would anyone want to come here?”

“I have no idea,” Taekwoon sighed, I guess some people just don’t mind paying for .”

“When I get rich,” Sanghyuk said, a determined look on his face, “I’ll never come to a place like this. I’ll even have them bulldoze this place to the ground.”

“That would be something to see,” Taekwoon smiled slightly, “I’ll help you.”

“Promise?” Sanghyuk grinned, holding out his hand with his pinky extended.

“Promise,” Taekwoon nodded, entwining his finger with the younger boy’s.

“We’ll get out of here,” Sanghyuk said, “and we’ll get a really big, really nice house. It will even have a music room so you can sing, Taek.”

“I’d like that,” Taekwoon’s smile grew, “I’d like that a lot.”

Sanghyuk moved closer to Taekwoon, curling up with the older boy’s arms. The pair fell silent and Taekwoon was almost convinced that Sanghyuk had fallen asleep when he spoke up again.

“Hey, Taek?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t forget me when you leave,” Sanghyuk whispered.

“What?” Taekwoon pulled back slightly, looking at the younger with a confused look, “why would I need to do that? if I leave, you’re going to come with me.”

“Be reasonable, Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk sighed, “If anyone is getting out of here, it’s going to be you. you’re really smart and you’re super talented. If someone came here tomorrow looking for a kid to give an education to, it would be you that they’d pick.”

“You’re smart, too,” Taekwoon argued, “I might get the highest grades in school, but you’re right behind me.”

“In second place,” Sanghyuk frowned, “people don’t want the second place, they want what’s in first.”

“Please don’t think like that,” Taekwoon said, trying not to sound like he was begging, “we promised, didn’t we? That we’d get out of here together. And we’d get a massive house and destroy this place.”

“We never promised we get out together,” Sanghyuk pointed out, “and we can still build that massive house and burn this place to the ground. It would just take a few years while you get a degree and a great job.”

“But,” Taekwoon whispered, “I don’t want to leave you here.”

Taekwoon knew exactly what would happen to his friend if Sanghyuk was left in the brothel. He wasn’t about to let that happen to Sanghyuk, not in a million years. He’d do anything to keep the younger from becoming like his mother, cold and addicted to the drugs that the owner gave her. If Sanghyuk ever became like that…….

Taekwoon wasn’t about to let that happen.

--

Sanghyuk sat outside the principal’s office, waiting to see why he had been called down. He hadn’t done anything wrong that he could think of. He was a good student and never caused trouble. Given, people still looked at him like he was scum because of what his mother was and where he lived, but the staff never gave him crap because of his grades and model behaviour.

“Sanghyuk,” the principal called, “you can come in now.”

“What’s wrong, sir?” Sanghyuk asked, clearly worried that he’d done something wrong and was about to be severely punished.

“Nothing’s wrong,” the principal assured him, “I called you here to talk about something very important.”

“Alright,” Sanghyuk nodded, relaxing in his seat.

“You’ve been selected for a very important scholarship,” the principal explained.

“What?” Sanghyuk couldn’t believe his ears.

“It’s not often this kind of chance comes along,” the principal said, “This only happens every four years. Five students under the age of ten from……..less than ideal financial situations and high grades are selected from around the country. They’re given full scholarships to a very well-known boarding school, giving them a chance to better their lives and the lives of their family.”

“That’s amazing,” Sanghyuk really couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

This was his chance. His chance to escape that brothel, escape the life he knew he’d be forced into should he stay. He could get a real education, get a well-paid job, and build that house he’d told Taekwoon about. He could even get his mother out of that place. he couldn’t believe his luck.

“I assume that means you’re going to accept?” the principal asked, earning an excited nod from the young boy

“Sir,” Sanghyuk couldn’t help but ask, “why me? Why not Taekwoon? he’s the best student at this school.”

“I’ll be honest,” the principal sighed, “Taekwoon was the one this scholarship was originally intended for. However, when I told him about it, he refused.”

“What?”

“He requested that you take it,” the principal finished, “I hope that this doesn’t mean you’re going to turn it down as well. This is a great opportunity, Sanghyuk. You’re probably never going to get a chance like this again.”

“I’ll still take it,” Sanghyuk said after a long pause. Taekwoon had wanted him to have this scholarship, he couldn’t just turn it down.

“I’ve already contacted your mother,” the principal said, “head home now and pack your things. a car will be arriving at your…..home within a two hours or so to take you to the school.”

“Thank you, sir,” Sanghyuk bowed before leaving. He ran straight home, determined to confront Taekwoon about why he would turn down the scholarship.

--

“You’re home,” Taekwoon smiled slightly, “how did the meeting with the principal go?”

“How do you think it went?” Sanghyuk tried not to yell, knowing that yelling would get them into trouble with either the owner or one of the women who worked there, “he told me that you turned the scholarship down, Taekwoon.”

“Oh,” Taekwoon looked down, “I hoped he wouldn’t tell you that.”

“Why did you do that?” Sanghyuk questioned, “This was your chance, Taek. You could have gotten out of here.”

“I wasn’t about to leave you here,” Taekwoon snapped, “We both know you wouldn’t be able to survive, especially when you become of age. I did this to keep you safe, Hyuk.”

“And who’s going to keep you safe?” Sanghyuk replied, “no one. You’ll be on your own here and the exact same thing is going to happen to you.”

“It won’t,” Taekwoon said, “I’m not going to let it happen.”

“Like you’d have a choice,” Sanghyuk rolled his eyes, “the owner will just slip some drug into your food and that will be the end of it.”

“I’ll run away before that happens then,” Taekwoon shrugged, “either way, I’ll be fine.”

“You can’t know that!” Sanghyuk yelled. Taekwoon quickly covered the younger boy’s mouth and the pair were silent as the grave, waiting to see if anyone would come in, hitting them for being loud and yelling for them to keep their mouths shut for the rest of the night. Nothing happened and they breathed sighs of relief.

“I’ll be fine,” Taekwoon said, “I promised, didn’t I? That we’d get that big house and everything would be fine.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Sanghyuk whispered, wrapping his arms around Taekwoon as he started to cry, “I don’t want you to end up like our mothers. We both know that it will if you stay here. why did you have to give up this chance, Taek? You could have been free.”

“Everything will be alright,” Taekwoon assured Sanghyuk over and over until they both started to believe what they knew in their hearts was a lie.

“I should start packing my things,” Sanghyuk said, “the car will probably be here soon.”

“I already packed for you,” Taekwoon nodded towards a small bag that held everything Sanghyuk owned. He hadn’t realized how little his young friend had until it was all packed up. Looking around the room, he realized he didn’t exactly have a lot of things either.

Around an hour later, Sanghyuk was in the back of a car being driven away from the brothel he hated so much. And yet, he found himself wishing he could go back. being there meant being with Taekwoon and being anywhere else meant being without him. Sanghyuk had never been without Taekwoon before, so not having the older boy around felt weird. Sanghyuk felt hollow inside.

I promise you, Taekwoon, Sanghyuk said, looking out the back window one last time at the brothel slowly growing smaller in the distance, I’ll work hard and get a great job. I’ll earn enough money to build a huge house and I’ll take you there. We’ll be happy and together. I promise.

--

Sanghyuk yawned, stretching as he got out of bed. he could hear his roommate, Jaehwan, groaning as their other roommate Hakyeon yelled at him to wake up. Looking around, Sanghyuk could see Wonsik, his third roommate, still sleeping like the dead, while his last roommate, Hongbin, entered the room after finishing up in the bathroom, tooth brush hangoing out of his mouth and towel around his neck.

He’d been rooming with the four since he arrived at the boarding twelve years prior. He’d been nine at the time and scared out of his mind. Thankfully his roommates all understood. Hongbin came from a home exactly like his own and the pair had quickly bonded over that, becoming the closest of friends. Hakyeon’s family was really poor, but he always said that the bright side was that his parents didn’t abuse him. Wonsik hadn’t been half as lucky, stuck with a life under the poverty line and two abusive parents. Jaehwan was also like Hongbin and Sanhyuk, but worse. Sanghyuk could never understand how someone with Jaehwan’s kind of past could be so happy and cheerful all of the time.

The five had become friends not just because they were the scholarship students, but because they genuinely cared about each other. even when high school ended and they had to find universities to attend, they picked the same one just so that they could stay together. They cared for each other and gave each other support that most of them had never been able to find anywhere else.

“Oh,” Hakyeon paused when he noticed that Sanghyuk was awake, “that kind of takes away the fun of waking you up.”

“Fun?” Sanghyuk laughed, “for who?”

“Ne, obviously,” Hakyeon rolled his eyes, “oh well, there’s still Wonsik. That’s always fun.” Sanghyuk had learned a long time ago to only fear that evil glint in Hakyeon’s eye when it was directed at your person. If it wasn’t, simply sit back and enjoy the suffering of his target.

“Bathroom’s free,” Hongbin said, taking a seat on Sanghyuk’s bed, “best hurry up before Jaehwan gets in there. he’ll take forever and we’re on a time limit.”

“Right,” Sanghyuk laughed before heading off to shower and brush his teeth.

The five were finally going to graduate college after years of working their butts off. Hakyeon, Wonsik, and Sanghyuk all had jobs ready and waiting for them once they’d gotten their diplomas while Hongbin and Jaehwan still had to pick from the couple of job offers they had both received. Everything was falling into place in Sanghyuk’s life and he couldn’t wait to go get Taekwoon to make everything complete. Well, mostly complete.  He only had an apartment, not the house he’d dreamed of, but he couldn’t wait until he’d gotten the house. He had to get Taekwoon out of that brothel and take him home.

“Sanghyukkie,” Jaehwan yelled, banging on the door and interrupting his train of thought, “let me in. I need to pee.”

--

Sanghyuk stood in front of his mother’s grave. This was part of the reason he didn’t want to wait to bring Taekwoon home. He’d taken too long achieving his dream and lost his mother. The only good thing that came of his mother’s death was knowing that she was free of that place. No longer would she be forced to take drugs and sleep with whatever man had paid to spend the night with her. Sanghyuk just wished that she was alive to enjoy that freedom.

“Come on,” Hakyeon called from the front gates of the cemetery, “we’ve got to get going, Hyukkie. I want to get your friend out of that place and head home before it gets dark.”

“Shut up,” Hongbin smacked the other, “he’s saying goodbye to his mother. You can’t rush that.”

“It’s alright,” Sanghyuk said, making his way over to them, “I’m done anyway. Let’s go get Taekwoon.”

“Got to say,” Hongbin remarked, “I’m curious to meet this guy. From what you’ve told us about him, he sounds really cool.”

“He is,” Sanghyuk nodded as he got into the car, “he’s one of the kindest people I know.”

“Then let’s hurry up and get him out of that place,” Hakyeon cheered.

--

Sanghyuk frowned as they pulled up to the brothel. The place looked even more run down now than when he was a child. Several of the windows were boarded over, the job done so poorly that Sanghyuk could see the shattered glass they were supposed to be hiding. Sanghyuk could probably spend his whole life trying to fix the building up and he’d still have hundreds of things left to do.

“Want us to come in with you?” Hakyeon asked, looking at the place obviously disgusted.

“I’ll be fine,” Sanghyuk patted the other’s shoulder, “just stay here and be ready to drive of the second Taekwoon and I are in the car.”

“Good luck,” Hongbin flashed him a smile as he exited the car.

Sanghyuk walked slowly to the front door, more than a little reluctant to set foot inside the place. He’d left for a reason and he never wanted to come back. Yet there he was, about to go inside. Thankfully, he would be coming back out with Taekwoon by his side. Both of them would be free of this horrible place once and for all.

“Hello,” the owner smiled when he saw Sanghyuk walk through the door, “what can I do for you? We’ve got some great women here for your pleasure. And some great men too if you’re into that.”

“I’m not looking for either,” Sanghyuk tried not to sound too angry, knowing that anger would get him nowhere, “I’m looking for Taekwoon. Jung Taekwoon.”

“Oh,” the owner flashed Sanghyuk a sly smile, “you’re looking for Leo, huh? He’s one of my best.” Sanghyuk’s heart sunk hearing that. It wasn’t possible. Taekwoon couldn’t have ended up working here. he had promised that it wouldn’t happen to him.”

“You don’t remember me do you?” Sanghyuk snapped, anger taking over, “my mother worked here until she died last year. I’m here to take Taekwoon.”

“Really?” the owner scoffed, “you want to take one of my boys with you? Even if you had enough to buy him, I wouldn’t let you. Like I said, he’s one of my best.” The owner eyed Sanghyuk carefully, “and I think you’ll find that he’s not Taekwoon anymore.”

“I think I will be taking him with me, regardless of what you think,” Sanghyuk smirked, “you see, I lived here for nine years. I know about the things you’ve done. Things that would get you sent to jail for life. I also know that the boy over there flirting with that customer is only seventeen. I’m pretty sure that having him work here is illegal. So, unless you want the cops busting down your door, you’re going to point me to Taekwoon and I’m going to walk out of here with him.”

“Fine,” the owner sighed, deciding that it wasn’t worth the risk, “third door on your left.”

Sanghyuk nodded and walked off, anger fading into fear. He kept telling himself that Taekwoon was fine, that his worst fears were nothing to worry about. But a voice in the back of his mind kept whispering to him, feeding his worst fears until they were all he could think about.

“Taekwoon?” Sanghyuk called out softly when he reached the door the owner had told him to go to.

He got no answer, adding to his fears. Taking a deep breath, Sanghyuk opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it tightly behind him when he noticed a person lying on the bed in the center of the room. He instantly recognized the young man as Taekwoon, just older and more mature. It took Sanghyuk a few more seconds of looking to realize something else about Taekwoon; he was half out of it with drugs, softly as he touched himself.

“Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk felt his heart drop to the floor and keep going. He’d never thought that Taekwoon of all people would become…….this. Taekwoon had promised not to become like this, like his mother. But he was just like her now. Well, that was unfair. Sanghyuk knew that Taekwoon’s mother was beyond saving, had been even before Taekwoon was born. Taekwoon….Sanghyuk just hoped that Taekwoon could still be saved.

Taekwoon started slightly when he heard someone call his name. No one called him by his real name, not even his mother called him by that name anymore. He was Leo now. Taekwoon was dead and gone. Looking over at the young man standing in the door, Taekwoon tried to recall who he was. He had to know him if the man had used his real name, but he couldn’t remember seeing him before. The man was incredibly attractive and Taekwoon felt arousal building up inside of him. Given, just about everything made him aroused thanks to the drugs, but that didn’t make the man any less handsome.

“What can I do for you?” Taekwoon asked, sitting up and spreading his legs so the man could see everything.

“I’m so sorry, Taek,” the man smiled sadly, “I should have come back sooner. I should have saved you from this.”

Taekwoon’s eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to recall who the man was. It was obvious that the man knew him at some point, but Taekwoon just couldn’t remember who. And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. This was Sanghyuk! Sanghyuk had come back for him, just like he’d promised. And how did he find Taekwoon? Drugged out and working at the brothel. Taekwoon felt shame building, killing his arousal for the time being. He knew that the arousal would be back, it always came back thanks to the drugs.

“Sanghyuk,” Taekwoon whispered, glancing up at the younger who was still standing by the door, a sad look in his eyes that were glued to Taekwoon’s form. Taekwoon didn’t know if he’d ever felt so ashamed before in his life.

“Get your things,” Sanghyuk finally said, “I’m taking you with me.”

“I can’t leave,” Taekwoon shook his head, “the owner won’t let me.”

“He will,” Sanghyuk said, making his way over to Taekwoon, “I made sure of that.”

“I can’t,” Taekwoon bit back a small sob, “the drugs……” he didn’t want to admit it out loud, but he needed them. He didn’t want to admit that his body needed the drugs, that he liked how they made him feel. Sure, they made him easily aroused but they also left him pretty out of it. He didn’t recall a lot of what had happened to him since he became legal clearly and he wanted it to stay that way. He didn’t want to know how many people he’d ed and how many had ed him.

“I’ll get you help,” Sanghyul promised, “we’ll go to a rehabilitation clinic and they’ll help you, too. Please, Taekwoon, come with me.”

Taekwoon didn’t know what to do, but he couldn’t let Sanghyuk down again. He’d already let him down once by becoming what he now was, he couldn’t do it again be deciding to stay as he was.

--

“I don’t want you to go,” Taekwoon hated how he sounded, like he was a small child begging his mother not to go, but that was exactly what he sounded like as he asked Sanghyuk to stay with him.

“I can’t stay, Taek,” Sanghyuk brushed his fingers through Taekwoon’s midnight black hair, “that the rules.”

“I don’t want to be alone,” Taekwoon knew he would start to cry soon and, god, did he feel pathetic. He used to be the strong one between the two of them. And now……now he wasn’t strong at all. He was broken and scared, dependant on Sanghyuk to keep him from falling to pieces.

“I’ll call you every night,” Sanghyuk promised, “and you’ll make friends. I promise, Taek, everything will be fine. I’ve never broken a promise to you before, have I?”

“No,” Taekwoon hung his head, “you haven’t.”

“You’ll be fine, Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk smiled, pressing a kiss to the crown of Taekwoon’s head, “I know you will. I have faith in you.”

Taekwoon watched Sanghyuk leave, a small blush heating up his cheeks. Now alone, Taekwoon curled up in a ball, tying not to cry. He couldn’t let Sanghyuk down. The younger had so much faith in him and he couldn’t let that faith be misplaced. Not again. He had to get better, he had to make Sanghyuk proud of him. He couldn’t let Sanghyuk blame himself anymore.

Sanghyuk hadn’t taken him straight to the rehab clinic. Instead, he’d spent a few of days with Sanghyuk at the younger’s apartment. Sanghyuk had fed him, gotten him proper clothing, and done everything he could think of to help Taekwoon adjust to life outside of the brothel. It was durning these days that Taekwoon had overheard Sanghyuk talking to one of his friends on the phone, blaming himself for what had become of Taekwoon. Sanghyuk was convinced that what happened was his fault because he’d been the one to take the scholarship. Taekwoon couldn’t let Sanghyuk think that, so he would everything he could to get better. Then, Sanghyuk would be happy and would stop blaming himself for things that weren’t his fault.

--

“Hey,” Sanghyuk smiled as he talked to Taekwoon over the phone several weeks later, “how was today?”

“Better,” Taekwoon said, sounding more like his old self then he had in ages, “the doctor said I’m doing better.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” Sanghyuk said, breathing a mental sigh a relief. The week before, Taekwoon had been in a great deal of pain, his body reacting to no longer having the drugs it had become accustomed to having. The doctors had assured Sanghyuk that everything would be fine, that it was normal, but Sanghyuk wasn’t going to believe them until he got a call from Taekwoon saying that he was fine.

“I’m sorry I worried you,” Taekwoon said, voice so low that Sanghyuk almost missed it.

“Don’t apologize,” Sanghyuk said, “none of this is your fault.”

“It’s not your fault either,” Taekwoon pointed out.

Sanghyuk fell silent at that for a long moment before saying anything else.

“I missed you.”

The pair had never really talked about their time apart. They pointedly avoided it, avoided thinking about the painful memories that came along with that time period. But they both knew that they would have to talk about it at some point. If not because it was part of Taekwoon’s recovery, then because they needed to share their thoughts and feelings about everything with each other.

“I missed you too,” Taekwoon replied, “so much.”

“I worked really hard,” Sanghyuk said, “I almost always got the highest grade in class. All for you. I just kept telling myself to try harder, to make you proud. I’m so sorry I didn’t get to this point fast enough.”

“It’s not your fault,” Taekwoon assured him, “I….I chose to become this. I knew how stupid it was, but I looked at your mother and my mother and how old they had become, how the owner was working them to death, and I thought ‘if I work here like them, that will take some of the strain off.’ I kept telling myself that it would be alright, that it would only be for a few years and you’d be back and we’d go away together. But then the drugs………”

“Remember when we said we’d bulldoze that place?” Sanghyuk suddenly said.

“Yeah.”

“When you get out of there,” Sanghyuk smiled softly, “how about we do exactly that.”

“We can’t just bulldoze it,” Taekwoon pointed out, “there are laws and guidelines.”

“The company I work for just bought the land,” Sanghyuk tried not to laugh too hard so Taekwoon could understand him, “they’re going to bulldoze the place to the ground so they can build a factory.”

“Really?” Taekwoon couldn’t believe his ears.

“You should be out by then,” Sanghyuk said, “do you want to go see it with me? As my date?”

“Alright,” Taekwoon smiled slightly, blushing slightly.

“Crap,” Sanghyuk suddenly cursed, “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“Do you need to sleep?” Taekwoon asked, looking at the clock himself.

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk sighed, “I have work tomorrow. Some kind of important meeting that I can’t miss.”

“Some kind of important meeting, huh?” Taekwoon teased.

“I have to pay the bills somehow,” Sanghyuk replied, equally teasing, “how else are you going to have food to eat and cloths to wear.” Unknown to Sanghyuk, Taekwoon hated hearing something like that. it reminded him of how useless he was. He hadn’t even finished high school so he couldn’t get a job to help Sanghyuk pay for anything.

Sanghyuk seemed to realize this when he noticed Taekwoon’s silence.

“When you’re ready,” Sanghyuk said, “I’ll help you find a job. Or finish school. Whatever you want, Taek.”

“Thank you,” Taekwoon said, “I don’t deserve all of this.”

“You do,” Sanghyuk told him, “what you don’t deserve is what’s happened to you.”

“I should let you get to sleep,” Taekwoon said, reluctant to hang up.

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk nodded, just as reluctant.

“I love you,” Taekwoon said after a long pause.

“I love you, too,” Sanghyuk replied and Taekwoon didn’t have to be there to know that the younger was smiling.

“Should I call you tomorrow?” Taekwoon asked.

“Same time,” Sanghyuk nodded, “I’ll be waiting.”

“Goodnight,” Taekwoon said.

“Goodnight,” Sanghyuk replied and the pair hung up.

There was still a long way to go before Taekwoon would be alright, before he was considered fully recovered, but no matter how long it took Sanghyuk would be by his side. That was all Taekwoon needed, Sanghyuk by his side supporting him and encouraging him.