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the caravan they’re currently seated in somehow hits another bump in the uneven road jostles the five young men inside but none of them dare to speak a word. even sounds of protest and hurt mean a punishment and they cannot afford another, not even since chenle spoke out of turn. the bruises on the poor boy’s face are still visible, etching ugly purple, green and yellow splotches against his left temple and eye; they even go so far as to be lightly painted around his cheek. kun bites his own lip, careful to avoid the area as he runs his hand through chenle’s matted hair, trying to offer him some comfort. kun looks up and spots yukhei, who looks the most uncomfortable. his tall build has his slouching and he looks like he’s attempting to take up the least amount of space. next to him is sicheng, small and dainty, who also attempts to take up a small amount of space, eyes glazed over in complete and utter apathy. beside kun are their youngest, renjun and chenle, who cling onto each side of him, shivering from the cold and hunger. they’re all dirty and barely clothed, each wearing thin slacks that cover just past their knees. their stories are similar to each others: taken from their homes and sold into prostitution and unpaid labor work. they’re all from china, snuck into korea as “exotic gems” about two years ago. while lucas is mainly used for unpaid labor work, kun spends most of his time in the whorehouses, taking client after client as he begs the traders not to lay a hand on sicheng, chenle and renjun. sicheng is still booked on the occasion (because their traders argue that his face is too beautiful to keep a secret) but as long as kun’s behavior was good, as long as they had no complaints from their customers, renjun and chenle tended to the animals, greeted guests and occasionally dances on the stage with sicheng. no sex work. at least, not yet. although they had been staying at their previous whorehouse, word was that the king was getting tired of the chinese prostitutes and was cracking down on the laws. if they were caught they would have to face fines, banishment or in some cases, execution. which is something their traders cannot afford. so they’re travelling around to avoid detection. kun wishes they would be rescued but he knows that a dream like that is impossible. suddenly, he feels that the caravan has begun to speed up. yukhei has noticed too and they share a look of confusion. yukhei’s face breaks into a hopeful smile while kun remains neutral, but worried. what was going on? he can hear shouting from the front of the caravan while he can also hear horses galloping. what’s going on, exactly?
thunk!
the arrow hit the drawn out bullseye perfectly,drawing out an applause from the crowd. it even cracks a smile on the prince who stands tall, adjusting his bow before pulling another arrow from the leather quiver that hangs from his hip. he places the arrow between the string, ready to bring the bow up and take his next shot when he hears a familiar voice through the crowd, one of an adviser that always seems to accidentally spoil the fun. “prince seo! i’m sorry to interrupt you but your father has requested you in the throne room!” jaemin states, in his “official” voice that he tries to deepen so orders will take him seriously. of course the voice usually makes johnny smile and even chuckle but it’s rare that his father would summon him for no reason like this. especially since his father also emphasizes showing off to the other nobles through sport and festivals, but it’s not like johnny has a choice at this moment. he hands his bow and single arrow to one servant while his free hand expertly works at the belt. once the leather is removed from his waist, a second servant grabs it as he bows to the lords and ladies watching. “i’m sorry for this intrusion but we will have to continue this some other time.” the others appear like they understand but johnny has no interest in what they actually think. he simply stands himself upright and begins walking, following an animated jaemin who talks a mile a minute. “i’m sorry for interrupting you but your father said it was urgent! he didn’t give many details but he asked me to fetch you right away after receiving a message from a guard! he even called in mark too!” okay, if his father is getting his half-brother involved, then it must be something serious. he brushes some of his fringe back behind his ear, lips pursed. he expects maybe someone begging for land or a treaty. hell, maybe it’s a criminal who’s been caught stealing again. maybe it’s an unruly civilian that his father will make an example out of. what he doesn’t expect is a small group of foreigners, each dirty and bruised while ranging in height and appearance. each of them is wearing a pair of thin brown pants, all falling right above their knees. they each have no shirt on and it's very clear to johnny that they also range in age too. they all look exhausted while some sport bruises, scars and fresh wounds. he did not expect this. and he does not expect one of them on their knees, rubbing their hands together towards his father, speaking in rapid-fire mandarin. mark is clearly shocked as he’s arrived first before his older half-brother. johnny appears behind him through an archway while jaemin makes his way to the side next to one of his friends and butlers, jeno. the two watch in silence as johnny struggles to understand what the boy on the group is asking of his father.
“please spare us! we are nothing but whores, stolen from our families in china! some of us are not even a full sixteen years old! we have nothing back in our homelands. please do not let us suffer! we beg for your mercy to be bestowed upon us!”
johnny is completely oblivious to the banter but it sounds like this poor boy is begging his father for something . mark is blinking back his own surprise and he starts to curl away in his step-brother’s embrace, clearly upset by the scene in front of him. even though he and mark are only three years apart, mark still has some habits that remind johnny of when he was just a toddler, sneaking into his brother’s bed to sleep off his nightmares. ten, the king’s advisor, translates just out of earshot for his father as johnny watches, eyes switching between the young adult on his knees and his father. he’s not sure what’s going on until his father turns to him and mark, beckoning them over. ten steps back for a moment, his face unreadable. that’s one of ten’s biggest strengths, remaining impassive even in the heat of the moment like this. “johnny, mark. i’d like you two to help me decide their fates,” his father starts and johnny can feel his heart start to race a mile a minute. the very idea of having to now give a sentence to these people doesn’t sit right with him. mark shares a similar look, he looks uncomfortable, considering johnny has an idea that mark has understood what the poor man begging said. “father are you sure-” mark begins but his father turns to his step-brother, eyes shining as he grabs mark’s wrist to pull him from johnny, keeping mark next to his right side as johnny quietly moves behind the throne to stand on his left. this is how they always stand at these kinds of meetings. and johnny is more nervous than ever. “these five were found on the outskirts of the city with their slavers .” his father breathes the word with pure hate and johnny winces. so they’re slaves? whores? “our guardsmen caught them trying to flee. their slavers are in the dungeons, awaiting their executions in two days.” execution, huh . johnny isn’t particularly surprised about that. his father has had a vendetta against slavers for some time now, tracking them down as often as possible to execute them and show off their crimes to the public. johnny is relatively neutral about the laws, mark thinks they’re suited to the punishment of stealing away another person’s life in exchange for coin. to each their own. “but the question is, what to do with these young men. they’re chinese, they’re unfit to work in the city,” johnny presses the tip of his thumbnail into his palm, holding back from reasoning with his father at this time. just because they’re from a different country means nothing but he knows that this is not the time to fight against his father. right now he has more pressing matters to attend to. “but yet i don’t see sending them back to china solving their problems. usually the slavers we captured held korean slaves, so they were easier to let them go free. but these… well… chinese whores would cost too much to return to their home country. what do you think boys? what do you make of this situation?” johnny and mark share a look. mark looks uncertain, but johnny already has the wheels turning in his head. he starts thinking about a way to make it cheaper when suddenly, the young adult on his knees lifts his head, tear trails still running down his cheeks as he rubs his hands together once more, before speaking against in mandarin. “i will do anything if you let my brothers go free! cut my hair and sell it, break my bones, take what’s left that of my body i have to offer. but please, do not lay a hand on them!” he even goes so far as to look directly at the king this time, eyes darting between mark, the king, then finally, johnny. it’s at that moment, johnny and the young man in front of them, share a single second of connect. where johnny stops thinking about sending this man back to china. where johnny wonders that maybe, sending them back to china would ruin their lives even more than what has already happened to them. he sees pain, anguish, desperation in this person’s eyes. he’s never felt more energy before. his stomach drops, a feeling that does not come to him often. just as mark opens his mouth to talk, johnny turns to his father and speaks quicker than his step-brother can. “why don’t we take them in, father? have them be trained by the keepers here?” of course the idea is ludicrous and johnny can feel ten raising his eyebrow behind him. mark shares a similar look of ‘ what the hell did you just say?! ’ but his father waits for johnny to speak again before making any rash decisions. so johnny talks. “we have some aging chefs, gardeners and attendants in the castle. instead of hiring out extra help, we’ve been granted an opportunity to change their lives and have them make something out of it. instead of selling their bodies and contributing to the slavers, if we raise them right, they can become law-abiding citizens of our country and show their services.” a stillness reaches over the air. mark’s wide eyes dart between johnny and their father, all colour drained from his face. johnny feels weird, talking for the whores, but he’s decided he wants to keep them around now. he saw the desperation in that man’s eyes. he’s shaken. he’s decided he wants to help, just for the sake of helping. he just wonders if he can convince his father. johnny can’t seem to hide the shock when his father nods twice before looking back at the boys, whose future is about to be determined as johnny hears a declare that he thought he would never hear. “you heard my son. these five are now under the protection of emperor seo. they are to be washed, fed and brought to their newest quarters before the sun takes its rest today. tomorrow they will begin their training of mastering the korean language and given their duties that they will serve. this court is adjourned.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
when they had been taken into custody, fear took over all of kun’s emotions. after their caravan had finally been surrounded and stopped, they were yelled at in korean by a unit of the royal guards. kun has no idea how they had managed to find their slavers but he didn’t feel at ease, especially when he and the rest of the boys were bound together. their slavers were arrested too and kun could make out some words in korean as his slavers and the guards argued against each other. eventually, they were separated from the two older chinese men as one guard held onto their ropes and had the men jog along with the guard’s horse.
meanwhile, the other guard brought them back into the caravan and began to drive off with them. kun had no idea where they were going and chenle was in tears due to the sheer anxiety of the situation. kun attempted to calm him down but chenle was inconsolable. especially when he started asking more questions, terror snaking into his voice.
“what if he kills us gege?! i don’t want to die!”
“he won’t kill us chenle, don’t worry too much. he’s a royal guard! they’re supposed to protect us.”
“they why are we headed straight into the royal palace?”
renjun’s voice cuts through their conversation as kun peeks out the end of the caravan, realizing that they’ve gone past the simple village past gates guarded by similar guardsmen. and he starts to panic.
yukhei and sicheng have been silent for most of the time. yukhei only because he’s still not too sure of what’s going on, sicheng because he is just a quiet person. kun bites his lip, trying to think of a way out of this. he is their eldest, the unofficial leader of the group. he has to find a way for all of them to survive somehow.
they’re escorted out and they all keep their heads down. kun is led first, followed by yukhei, sicheng, renjun then chenle, who sniffles.
when they are brought into the palace, with its high ceilings and intricate architecture, it makes kun shiver under its intensity. the walls are thick and cold, this place looks nothing like the home kun used to have, before he was taken. hell, it looked nothing like the whorehouses he’s lived in. at least those have the appearance of being warm and friendly, despite its torture.
kun is snapped out of his thoughts when the five of them are unbound and staring directly at a king, who is perched nicely in his throne. behind him stands a short man, face impassive as he stares directly at all five of them. oddly enough, kun doesn’t feel very intimidated by the other. if anything, he’s curious. is this a translator? foreign affairs? who
is
this man standing next to the emperor?
before the emperor can even speak, kun hesitantly moves forwards, shuffling on his bare feet as he quietly drops to his knees, a position he’s unfortunately too familiar with. he doesn’t know much about korean culture and manners but he knows one very familiar pose that some of the other korean whores in the house would do if they didn’t want to do something. kun tilts his head downwards, too nervous to look at the emperor right in his eyes as he begins to rub his open palms together, begging the king for the life of him and his four brothers who stand behind him.
“
please spare us! we are nothing but whores, stolen from our families in china! some of us are not even a full sixteen years old! we have nothing back in our homelands. please do not let us suffer!”
he doesn’t even notice new people have begun crowding into the area until he looks up and sees the appearance of two younger men next to the emperor’s throne. one looks shocked, worried, pity written across his face. but the taller one looks different. kun’s eyes shift between all three of them before settling on the tallest one. a look of pity is shot his way but there’s more… more in the taller man’s eyes that has kun questioning himself. what is this man thinking?
he doesn’t understand much when the emperor speaks, deciding their outcome. he knows he didn’t hear the word ‘execution’, that word sits heavily in the back of his head, something he memorized early on so that he could use it in emergencies. instead, each of the boys are grabbed by a guard, an arm wrapped around theirs. in shock, kun immediately tries to retaliate, only to find he really can’t; the guard is too strong. he also stops when he suddenly hears mandarin, a refreshing pause from all the korean.
“
the emperor has decided to spare you all. in exchange, you will begin your new lives here: in this palace. your newest duties will be handed to you tomorrow but for now the king has instructed to bathe you, clothe you and settle you in your new accommodations. once the sun rises tomorrow, you will each be given a new task within this palace, as well as learning korean. do you have any questions?
”
the room is silent for a brief moment. but there is one familiar voice that asks a question.
“can i use the bathroom?”
kun can’t help but to exhale shakily as yukhei throws his head back and laugh. chenle looks unashamed and the translator looks a little surprised, one of his eyebrows is raised and he has to hold back a small smile.
“yes. guards, please bring him to the attendants lavatories.”
kun breathes a sigh of relief as he glances at the other boys with him. yukhei is still giggling and sicheng just has a small smile on his face. kun is very sure renjun rolled his eyes at
least
twice.
kun and the rest of the boys are led away, outside of the large palace building and into a smaller builder that blows kun away when he sees it. a warm pool of water was in the middle of this building, surrounded by wooden floors. there wasn’t anyone else in at the time but this place was completely new to him. before he and the rest of them could go inside of that warm, natural spring water they were led to an area in the corner with large basins to wash themselves in. kun’s entire face turned red when he stepped into the warm water, knowing that the clear waters would even turn brown due to the dirt crusted on his body.
after shedding his thin pants, he sat inside the basin as an older man took a towel and began scrubbing down his skin. at first it hurt, the sock of the motion really surprised him. but as the man continued down his arm, to his hands and fingers, kun saw the dirt and grime be cleared off his skin, revealing a soft, clean arm. the man continued to wash all of kun like this before the eldest of the four was completely scrubbed clean. he was then allowed to soak in the warm, natural bath. the translator stayed alongside with them, and eventually introduced himself.
“my name is chittaphon, but i would prefer if you called me ten. i am the emperor’s foreign affairs minister, as well as his translator during important events. i’ll be overseeing your transition here.”
that only intrigues kun more. why were they chosen to just become attendants and servants? he has a million different questions when yukhei comes and joins him in the bath, groaning as he feels the warm water swallow up his tall, strong body. and childishly he dunks his head face-first into the water. kun rolls his eyes as ten just raises an eyebrow.
“why were we saved from execution?”
the question makes ten chuckle, something that kun could not completely understand. he thought it was a seriously validated question. but ten just seems to smile at the very thought.
“you weren’t about to be executed at all. your slavers, however, hold their official execution in two days. you were spared by one of the kings’ sons. prince youngho, or more commonly known as prince johnny.”
prince youngho? prince johnny? ten seemed to pick up on kun’s visible confusion as yukhei raises his head from the water, sputtering about how clean the water was and continued swimming along, humming to himself while listening to the conversation. sicheng tentatively dips in a toe into the water before sitting near the edge with his feet in the pool, also curious but much too shy to ask any more questions.
“everyone in our kingdom is born with two names, but is given a second one as a nickname, of sort. prince johnny is the eldest son of the seo emperor while his step-brother, mark, was the smaller one you saw today. it was prince johnny’s idea to bring you and your fellow, erm, friends, in with you. it was quite surprising actually, i’ve never seen him like that before.”
“seen him like what?”
sicheng asks, careful to watch ten as he slowly slips into the water as quietly as he can while yukhei is content in sinking and swimming around. kun moves closer to the edge of the pool where ten stands just a meter or so back to prevent himself from being splashed.
“eager to offer a solution. usually he and his step-brother are quite strict with keeping up the laws set in place by their father. so it surprised me that he was suddenly so interested in keeping you five around. maybe one of you caught his eyes.”
he purposefully looks at kun, who flushes red while putting up his hands, startled at the idea.
“i-i’m grateful that he wants to make sure we are well but… if i’m being honest, it doesn’t make any sense? why would he…”
kun trails off for a second but suddenly sicheng speaks again as he cups some water to splash onto his face, voice low and unimpressed.
“why would he care about us? we’re nothing but chinese whores.”
sicheng replies, stating a matter of fact before he turns his head, renjun then stepping into the water as they hear a familiar high-pitched laugh.
ten simply shrugs as chenle is brought over to the corner to be scrubbed before entering the hot water.
“i suppose we’ll all find out, in due time.”