Sanctuary - Chapter Six
Title: Sanctuary
Chapter: 6/?
Authors: renichifreak and yeonah
Fandom: SS501
Pairings: KyuMin, HyunSaeng
Rating: PG-16
Warning:Angst, AU
Summary: In this era, people are bought and sold as though they are cattle. The human life is only worth what one is willing to pay for it. What happens when two such people end up in the possession of two brothers who refuse to follow the very practices they were raised to believe?
A/N: Another roleplay story by us for your enjoyment~! Yes, Unlock is still going XD We’re going back and forth. HyunJoong and JungMin are played by me (yeonah ) and KyuJong and YoungSaeng are played by renichifreak . Credit for the original plot goes to renichifreak and hakkais_shadow ~ <3
HyunJoong let the door close again behind them as he wandered over to the cupboards. "What do you want to eat?" He asked YoungSaeng, then paused and looked at KyuJong. "What is there to eat?" He looked through the cupboards for anything that looked remotely interesting.
"There's eggs, cereal, toast," KyuJong began listing off before looking at JungMin with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure we're out of carrots, though, with how JungMin's been going at them," he laughed, amusement clear in his eyes and voice.
JungMin glared at that, though the evil look was a little offset by the way his lips formed a slight pout.
Assuming that he was to start poking around, YoungSaeng did, finally settling on a small bowl of cereal before again sitting beside the other slave.
HyunJoong laughed, grabbing a piece of bread and pushing it into the toaster. "Pity, I was hoping to make ddeokbokee later," he teased. Ddeokbokee was one of the few things he was capable of cooking without setting the kitchen on fire. "We'll have to pick up more carrots on the way back then."
"I didn't eat all of them," JungMin grumbled.
KyuJong laughed. "No, I think I saw one or two more hiding in the back corner the last time you opened the fridge," he replied with a smile. He then turned to look at his brother. "Ddeokbokee? That sounds good to me. It's been awhile since you'd made that for us."
HyunJoong smiled with a nod. "I need to get back into working with things that aren't explosive," he chuckled. Taking his toast when it was done, he perched himself on the counter with the toast hanging from his mouth before he took a bite.
"What exactly, do you do in this lab of yours?" YoungSaeng asked between bites. He was still thinking about what HyunJoong had said earlier about teaching him, though he had no idea why.
"Mostly exercises the teachers give us," he chuckled. "How to make certain solutions, their properties, what they can do...it's a lot of medicine work." He smiled sheepishly. "Sometimes I try making things myself, since we have everything I need here...that's usually when things explode on me."
YoungSaeng nodded slowly before finishing off his food. Getting to his feet, he walked over to the sink and washed out the bowl and spoon before getting them on the rack to dry before returning to the stool beside JungMin.
Finished his carrot, JungMin watched their owners through red bangs, looking to YoungSaeng beside him. "You all right?" he murmured quietly so the other two couldn't hear them (it wasn't that hard; HyunJoong had just hit his head off the hanging cupboards and yelped loudly). "Did he..." he trailed off, knowing YoungSaeng would know what he wanted to ask.
Turning toward JungMin, YoungSaeng shook his head. "He even tried getting out a sleeping bag," he explained. "I don't trust him, but he kept his word and didn't even lay a finger on me."
"How about you? You alright?"
"...A sleeping bag?" JungMin blinked at that, before shrugging. "Nothing happened. He stayed in his room, and I stayed in mine." Although...JungMin frowned slightly, remembering the sounds of KyuJong leaving his room during the night.
YoungSaeng, noticing the frown, gave one of his own. "Did something happen?" he asked quietly, more so now that he thought it was something that JungMin really didn't want the others overhearing.
JungMin shifted slightly, shrugging slightly. "It was probably nothing. I heard KyuJong leaving his room at some point last night, though he was back when I woke up again." And passed out on the bed as though he'd just fallen asleep.
At JungMin's explanation, YoungSaeng turned to watch the brothers tease each other. Looking closely, he noticed the dark eyes and tense muscles in his shoulders. "That does sound a little odd..." he mused.
Nodding slightly, JungMin returned to watching as well. "It's impossible to say anything yet though...we haven't even been here for a day," he pointed out.
Rubbing the back of his head, HyunJoong reached out and messed up KyuJong's hair before turning to the door as HyungJoon came hurtling in, whining about how no one ever made him any food.
"Even if we make you something, you always steal ours," HyunJoong said with a grin before holding his toast out of reach as their youngest sibling made a grab for it.
KyuJong made a face as he batted his hyung's hand from his hair. "Why do you always insist on messing with my hair, Hyung?" he pouted just as the door flew open, revealing HyungJoon.
He rolled his eyes at the whine. "Besides, we have better things to do than feed you. How about learning to cook, Joonie?"
"But your food is so much better, Kyu! Hyung sucks at cooking in comparison," HyungJoon stated, hoping compliments would work.
They didn't. "Tell me the last time you praising me actually worked..."
HyunJoong raised an eyebrow, not looking put-off by the insult at all. Actually, he looked rather amused. "If my cooking sucks, then I guess you don't want any of the ddeokbokee I was planning on making for dinner," he said nonchalantly, turning away from them to fix up the dishes. He knew while the majority of the things he cooked resembled the messes he created in the labs, HyungJoon adored the few things he actually cooked well.
HyungJoon's eyes widened as he began flailing. "But Hyuuuuuuuuung!!!! I love your ddeokbokee!" he cried, causing both KyuJong and YoungSaeng to wince. "It's one of the few things that you don't utterly destroy and it tastes so gooooooood!!!"
The eldest brother smiled, expression hidden from HyungJoon since he'd turned his back to him. Eyes dancing, he winked mischievously at YoungSaeng who was the only one at the right angle to see his face as he continued tormenting his little brother. "I don't know, even your compliments are insulting, Joonie," he drawled, voice disinterested as always and completely not matching his amused expression. "I'll have to think about it."
YoungSaeng saw the wink and rolled his eyes as HyunJoong continued to torment the poor kid, who looked like he was about to cry to get his way.
KyuJong chuckled and moved over toward the two slaves, but made sure he kept enough distance between them. "We learned a long time ago that it was our job to make sure he didn't turn into a spoiled little brat. Appa may give him whatever he wants, but we sure as hell won't."
JungMin watched the scene with amusement, though he kept a wary eye on KyuJong when his owner moved closer.
HyunJoong finally turned around, face schooled back into blankness as he poked HyungJoon in the chest. "I'll make you some if you do all the cleanup. And stop hunting around in my lab; I'm going to set up mousetraps for you one day."
"You do that, and I'll tell Appa," HyungJoon threatened. Everyone knew he never would, but he'd been using that threat for years.
"You tell Appa, and neither of us will ever cook for you again," KyuJong threatened right back, knowing that it would shut up the youngest.
As expected, HyungJoon's mouth opened and closed like a fish with nothing coming out. Sighing, HyunJoong took out the extra piece of toast he'd stuck in the toaster and jammed it in the younger man's mouth. "Don't talk with your mouth full." He steered the 17-year-old to the empty chair at the table.
YoungSaeng watched the three interact and was barely able to hold back a laugh. "Tell me something. Are all siblings this strange, or is it just you three?" he asked. Being an only child, he had no idea about brothers or sisters.
HyunJoong blinked, messing up his hair absently with one hand. "I haven't the slightest idea. Most siblings fight a lot." He looked at KyuJong. "We don't fight, do we?"
"You're a bunch of bullies," HyungJoon mumbled through his toast.
"You bring it on yourself, oh adorable dongsaeng of mine," KyuJong teased, ruffling the boy's hair and earning himself a smack in the arm for it. "Brat," he mumbled, rubbing his arm.
"...What do you know, we do fight." HyunJoong blinked at them, then gave YoungSaeng his best not-all-there smile. "All's normal here."
"Except you," HyungJoon deadpanned. "I think fumes from your experiments might have burned away your brain cells."
It was all playful teasing, of course. HyunJoong was far more intelligent than he let on, and it was something of an unspoken agreement to keep acting as though he was an idiot of a brother. It made the results all the more interested on the rare occasions HyunJoong was serious enough to show he wasn't the airhead he let everyone believe he was.
KyuJong snorted in reply. "This coming from the brat who actually tried the 'sticking your tongue to a pole in winter' thing," he called out, smirking. "If you were a kid, I could almost forgive it, but this was two years ago."
JungMin coughed, and would have choked if he had still been eating. He'd tried that too.
"Hyung dared me to!" HyungJoon whined, staring at HyunJoong accusingly. The eldest brother raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I just wanted to see if you would be dumb enough to actually do it." He laughed as HyungJoon fumed silently.
YoungSaeng coughed as some milk went down the wrong tube. When he was able to speak, he began laughing. "You seriously did that?!" he choked out before laughing.
He then turned toward HyunJoong. "Good influence," he stated sarcastically, though his lips were quirked in an almost smile.
"It took three hours for us to figure out what to do without letting Hyung make some crazy solution that'd just end up melting his tongue off or something. We couldn't think since we were laughing so hard," KyuJong explained, chuckling at the memory.
"All we needed was hot water really, but my way sounded much more fun," HyunJoong laughed, eyes dancing. Seeing the slight way YoungSaeng's lips curled upwards and the laughter that escaped the slave, he grinned widely, amused at the reactions. "That's what big brothers are for."
"Daring their younger siblings to stick their tongues to metal poles?" HyungJoon protested.
"Something like that. We got you off it, didn't we?"
"Hey, before he came around, I was the one HyunJoong tormented, and now that he's not attached to Appa's hip, I'll quite happily sacrifice the brat to get away from HyunJoong's 'brotherly affection'," KyuJong air-quoted.
"I'm not that bad," HyunJoong protested, leaning against the counter with a wide smile. "You'd miss me if I wasn't here being the caring big brother I am."
Lifting a brow at HyunJoong, KyuJong turned to the others. "He had me convinced that HyungJoon was an alien when I was little, like seven. I avoided him like the plague and even started crying when I was asked to watch him."
As much as he teased, KyuJong had no idea what he'd do if HyunJoong weren’t in his life. The older man had become his rock after everything that had happened.
JungMin bit down on his lower lip to stop the smirk from coming through. "Doesn't sound that far-fetched to me."
"HEY!" HyungJoon cried out. "I'm right here!"
YoungSaeng chuckled. "If they talk like this with you here, imagine what's said when you aren't."
KyuJong protested. "It's way more fun messing with him when he's here since we get to see his face when we say it."
"Oh gee, thanks, Hyung," HyungJoon muttered.
HyunJoong laughed and messed up HyungJoon's hair. "Anytime, brat." He looked at them all, eyes amused. The slaves seemed to be lightening up a little...or at least they were talking more and glaring less. "What now? Anything you guys need to do before we head out? Joonie, are you coming?"
"No way," the youngest brother said flatly. "I'm enjoying the peace and quiet while you're gone." He yelped when HyunJoong dropped the dishtowel on his head.
YoungSaeng shook his head before getting up and rinsing out the glass that he'd gotten earlier, placing it with the bowl. He then looked at JungMin before walking over to HyunJoong.
"And you?" KyuJong asked JungMin curiously. "Is there anything that you wish to do before we go?"
JungMin shook his head as well, meeting YoungSaeng's eyes before standing, though he didn't go near KyuJong.
HyunJoong smiled absently. "Then, say we meet up at the garage in a few minutes? I need to hunt down my car keys somewhere...” He preferred driving himself rather than rely on the servants to drive them, though it was a running joke that the 'space-cadet' brother was actually one of the safest drivers around.
YoungSaeng shook his head and sighed. "Do you mean the set of keys that are sitting on your desk?" he asked, rolling his eyes, which was quickly becoming habit.
"Joongie Hyung, I swear you'd lose your head if it weren't screwed on," KyuJong teased.
"That might be them, yeah," HyunJoong smiled sheepishly. "Better go get them...” As well as take YoungSaeng's measurements. The older brother walked to the kitchen door and opened it, HyungJoon watching with amusement from his seat at the table.
YoungSaeng followed HyunJoong back to his room, slipping into the perfect slave role as he saw more and more people in the hallways. If he could avoid any punishments, he would.
They had nearly reached HyunJoong's - and his - room when a voice stopped them. "Good morning, HyunJoong," his father stated.
There was no visible negative reaction to the sound of his father's voice as HyunJoong turned to the older man, absent-minded and half-asleep smile in place. "Good morning father," he said politely. "I trust you're well?" He didn't so much as glance at YoungSaeng.
"Quite," the man replied, focused not on his son, but the slave behind him. "I assume my son has treated you accordingly, correct?" he asked.
YoungSaeng, knowing a trap when he saw one, remained quiet until HyunJoong, his master, gave him permission to do otherwise. It was hard not to see the look on the man's face, let alone understand the true meaning of the words.
HyunJoong kept his expression disinterested despite the slight shiver down his spine from the way his father looked at YoungSaeng. "Of course, father..." He glanced back at YoungSaeng then, acting the part of the master perfectly. "Answer the man." He was careful to formulate it as an order and not a question like he was prone to doing.
Bowing his head slightly, YoungSaeng finally replied. "He was very attentive, Kim sshi." Deciding to use a bit of trickery, he dropped his shoulder just enough for the shirt to slip off his shoulder, revealing a mark left by one of the slavers.
This man didn't need to know that, though.
Managing not to look surprised in the least by the mark, HyunJoong actually let his lips curl slightly in faint smugness. "If you will excuse us, father? We will be returning to my room now," he said, allowing a hint of suggestiveness to enter his tone, as if the older man should know what they would be doing in his room.
The man looked on, pleased that his eldest son had managed to claim the slave, though disappointed that it hadn't been him to do so.
With another slight bow, YoungSaeng followed HyunJoong, eyes on the floor and not once looking back at the advisor.
Walking in front of the slave now, HyunJoong was careful not to let the act slip until they were both in his room, the door clicking shut behind them. Running one hand over his face, he looked at YoungSaeng through light-brown bangs, lips quirked in a smile. "How was that? Not bad for the first time?" He walked over to the desk, grabbing the keys from it and slipping them into his pocket.
"I have to admit that I thought you'd blow it," YoungSaeng told him, fixing the collar of the shirt to cover the mark. "That man gives me the chills."
"I do know what I'm doing sometimes," HyunJoong laughed, seeming unaffected. "We should wait a minute in case he's still lurking around. He's my father, but I never said he wasn't creepy. In the meantime...where did I put that measuring tape?" He wandered off looking for the first aid kit, which was where he usually kept it, strangely enough.
Taking a seat, YoungSaeng watched HyunJoong search for the tape measure, chuckling when he began looking through a first aid kit. "Who the hell keeps a tape measure in a first aid kit?" he asked the other.
Looking around, he saw the notebook he'd been using yesterday. Picking it up, he continued with what he had been working on while he waited.
"Why not?" HyunJoong grinned, pulling it out triumphantly. "It's not as if I'm into sewing much, so I don't really have any specific place for it. Maybe I should put it with my lab equipment...” Putting the kit away, he walked over to YoungSaeng, curiosity caught by the notebook. "What are you working on?" he asked, stopping before he got close enough to put the slave on edge.
YoungSaeng stopped and looked back as HyunJoong approached. "Music," he answered vaguely. Closing the notebook, he stood and placed it on the chair before facing HyunJoong. "Do you actually know how to take a person's measurements?"
"Surprisingly, yes." HyunJoong's grin turned mischievous. "I took KyuJong's measurements for a 'lab experiment' and got him into a dress a week later. He's still trying to get me back for that, I think."
YoungSaeng's eyes grew. "What kind of lab experiment involves forcing your brother into a dress? No wonder he'd rather you torment the other one."
"No lab experiment whatsoever, which is why I'm surprised he fell for it so easily. It makes for good blackmail pictures though." Amused, HyunJoong unrolled the measuring tape and got out a piece of paper to jot the measurements down in. "Ready?" He had promised he wouldn't touch YoungSaeng without his permission, so he wanted to hear the other man was all right with this before continuing.
Shaking his head, YoungSaeng looked at his owner, noticing the professionalism in his eyes. It was the main reason that he agreed. With a nod, he lifted his arms. "Go ahead."
Quirking a smile, HyunJoong stepped up to the younger man and started taking his measurements, starting at the top and working his way down. He was thorough, taking any measurements a tailor might ask for to avoid anyone touching YoungSaeng later. Doing the slave's arms and shoulder width, he marked the measurements down before measuring his chest and stomach. Keeping true to his word, HyunJoong didn't allow his hands to touch anything other than the measuring tape, except when a fold in the too-large shirt got in his way and he had to straighten it out. "You can lower your arms now," he said, taking the new measurements down. "Move your feet to shoulder-width apart and relax your knees? You're tense."
YoungSaeng remained still as HyunJoong took the measurements, surprised that he was keeping his word, forgiving the occasional accidental slip or brush. When the older man told him what to do and mentioned his tension, he shrugged and did as he was asked.
"Reflex," he responded.
Crouching down to restart from the feet up, HyunJoong flashed the other man a smile as he placed the paper and pencil by his feet so he wouldn't have to keep getting up. "It's hard to take measurements properly if you're like that. Besides, your muscles will get sore after a while."
Returning his attention to what he was doing, he hummed absently under his breath as he took the length between heel and knee, length of the leg, as well as circumference. Even as he moved to do the circumference of YoungSaeng's thigh (if he was going to be kicked, he would expect it to be here) there was no touching, no wandering gaze, and no unnecessary lingering. He had finished and moved on as quickly as he had when he was measuring the man's shoulders.
Taking a breath, YoungSaeng managed to relax his body as much as he could with HyunJoong so close. "Difficult or not, it's reflex. Having someone this close has never had a good outcome for me," he explained.
Nodding slightly to show he understood, HyunJoong finished with a final measurement around the other man's hips, marking it down on the paper next to him. "How was this outcome?" he asked with a smile as he stood. "We're done." He held up the list of measurements for YoungSaeng to see.
"...Unexpected," YoungSaeng answered, taking the list from him and looking it over. "Are the numbers really that small?" he asked, looking himself over. No one had ever let him see his own measurements, so to see them and see that they were so small surprised him. He'd always thought that he was more or less normal sized.
HyunJoong nodded, placing the pencil back on his desk. "You're pretty thin, especially for someone around our age. We should work on that, or being so underweight could be dangerous to your health." He looked around in a circle, blinking. "Where did I put my car keys?"
YoungSaeng snickered as HyunJoong began looking for his keys. "Try your pocket, genius."
He ignored the concern he'd heard in the other's voice. It was a bit too much to take in so quickly.
Sticking one hand into his pocket, HyunJoong found the keys. "Oh. What do you know." He grinned sheepishly, and then remembered what else KyuJong had told him about being out in public with YoungSaeng.
"KyuJongie said that to keep up the act of being a proper master I might have to touch you." He blinked at YoungSaeng. "I'm hoping to keep that to a minimum of course...but if I needed to, do you think a hand around your shoulders or something would be enough?" He didn't want to do anything YoungSaeng was uncomfortable with, so he figured the shoulders were safe enough.
Pausing at HyunJoong's explanation, YoungSaeng shrugged. "I'm not sure about that myself, but I think that might be too casual," he explained. "I didn't go out very much with my previous masters unless they were showing off."
He looked away. "They much preferred me 'in my place'," he explained, anger slipping into his voice unconsciously.
HyunJoong listened to the other man's words, expression unreadable. Sighing, he went to put a hand on YoungSaeng's shoulder before he thought better of it and dropped his hand back to his side. "Well, I'm not locking you up here," he said quietly. "You can go wherever you want to, though I do prefer if you let me know beforehand so I don't think the guards kidnapped you. If you want to go anywhere outside of the manor, I'll drive you. All you have to do is ask." He looked at the door, thinking. "If the shoulder is too casual, what would be a good compromise? The waist?"
Hearing the words seemed to set YoungSaeng a bit at ease. He also appreciated the fact that HyunJoong stopped before touching him, though he knew that he wouldn't once they left the room.
The idea that he had so much freedom was a strange one, and he hardly knew what to think of it. He nodded, however, at the question. "That sounds reasonable, I suppose," YoungSaeng agreed with a nod.
Smiling, HyunJoong nodded. "Alright then. Anything you need to do before we leave?" He made sure they had YoungSaeng's measurements with them, the car keys in his hand as he looked back at the other man. "KyuJong told me about the usual standards for clothing. You can get whatever you want, but we'll probably need a few sets proper for going out in public. When it's just us or my brothers, I don't care if you wear hoodies or even full-body suits if that's what you're into."
Listening to what the man said, YoungSaeng nodded. "After eight years of this, I've become comfortable in what I have to wear, as long as I'm wearing something. I grew out of the embarrassment pretty quickly." He took a moment before adding, "It's been a while since I'd been fully covered, though, so I might take you up on that."
HyunJoong raised an eyebrow. "Well, I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm never going to ask you to not wear anything," he said wryly. "In fact I think I might prefer it if you were fully clothed, believe it or not." He went to the door, opening it and looking out to see if his father was still around. He wasn't. "Let's get going then?" he asked, holding the door open as he saw the hallway was clear for the moment.
YoungSaeng just looked at HyunJoong before following him out. "You know, every time you talk, you either say something that makes me want to smack you to knock some sense into you, or it's something that actually renders me speechless," he stated quietly, in case someone were to show up in the luckily empty hallway.
A short laugh escaped the older man at that. "Nice to know I'm leaving something of an impression. Though if you're going to smack me, you might want to wait until we're alone," he said with a lightly teasing tone. Walking down the hallway, he switched from walking beside YoungSaeng to walking in front when they came across others, hands in his pockets and light-brown hair falling into his eyes.
Noticing more and more people, YoungSaeng quickly shifted into his more submissive role, carefully observing those he saw. Most of the people littering the hall were slaves obviously running errands for their masters, though there was also the rare employee, as well, by the look of the tailored suits and dresses.
Chapter: 6/?
Authors: renichifreak and yeonah
Fandom: SS501
Pairings: KyuMin, HyunSaeng
Rating: PG-16
Warning:Angst, AU
Summary: In this era, people are bought and sold as though they are cattle. The human life is only worth what one is willing to pay for it. What happens when two such people end up in the possession of two brothers who refuse to follow the very practices they were raised to believe?
A/N: Another roleplay story by us for your enjoyment~! Yes, Unlock is still going XD We’re going back and forth. HyunJoong and JungMin are played by me (yeonah ) and KyuJong and YoungSaeng are played by renichifreak . Credit for the original plot goes to renichifreak and hakkais_shadow ~ <3
HyunJoong let the door close again behind them as he wandered over to the cupboards. "What do you want to eat?" He asked YoungSaeng, then paused and looked at KyuJong. "What is there to eat?" He looked through the cupboards for anything that looked remotely interesting.
"There's eggs, cereal, toast," KyuJong began listing off before looking at JungMin with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure we're out of carrots, though, with how JungMin's been going at them," he laughed, amusement clear in his eyes and voice.
JungMin glared at that, though the evil look was a little offset by the way his lips formed a slight pout.
Assuming that he was to start poking around, YoungSaeng did, finally settling on a small bowl of cereal before again sitting beside the other slave.
HyunJoong laughed, grabbing a piece of bread and pushing it into the toaster. "Pity, I was hoping to make ddeokbokee later," he teased. Ddeokbokee was one of the few things he was capable of cooking without setting the kitchen on fire. "We'll have to pick up more carrots on the way back then."
"I didn't eat all of them," JungMin grumbled.
KyuJong laughed. "No, I think I saw one or two more hiding in the back corner the last time you opened the fridge," he replied with a smile. He then turned to look at his brother. "Ddeokbokee? That sounds good to me. It's been awhile since you'd made that for us."
HyunJoong smiled with a nod. "I need to get back into working with things that aren't explosive," he chuckled. Taking his toast when it was done, he perched himself on the counter with the toast hanging from his mouth before he took a bite.
"What exactly, do you do in this lab of yours?" YoungSaeng asked between bites. He was still thinking about what HyunJoong had said earlier about teaching him, though he had no idea why.
"Mostly exercises the teachers give us," he chuckled. "How to make certain solutions, their properties, what they can do...it's a lot of medicine work." He smiled sheepishly. "Sometimes I try making things myself, since we have everything I need here...that's usually when things explode on me."
YoungSaeng nodded slowly before finishing off his food. Getting to his feet, he walked over to the sink and washed out the bowl and spoon before getting them on the rack to dry before returning to the stool beside JungMin.
Finished his carrot, JungMin watched their owners through red bangs, looking to YoungSaeng beside him. "You all right?" he murmured quietly so the other two couldn't hear them (it wasn't that hard; HyunJoong had just hit his head off the hanging cupboards and yelped loudly). "Did he..." he trailed off, knowing YoungSaeng would know what he wanted to ask.
Turning toward JungMin, YoungSaeng shook his head. "He even tried getting out a sleeping bag," he explained. "I don't trust him, but he kept his word and didn't even lay a finger on me."
"How about you? You alright?"
"...A sleeping bag?" JungMin blinked at that, before shrugging. "Nothing happened. He stayed in his room, and I stayed in mine." Although...JungMin frowned slightly, remembering the sounds of KyuJong leaving his room during the night.
YoungSaeng, noticing the frown, gave one of his own. "Did something happen?" he asked quietly, more so now that he thought it was something that JungMin really didn't want the others overhearing.
JungMin shifted slightly, shrugging slightly. "It was probably nothing. I heard KyuJong leaving his room at some point last night, though he was back when I woke up again." And passed out on the bed as though he'd just fallen asleep.
At JungMin's explanation, YoungSaeng turned to watch the brothers tease each other. Looking closely, he noticed the dark eyes and tense muscles in his shoulders. "That does sound a little odd..." he mused.
Nodding slightly, JungMin returned to watching as well. "It's impossible to say anything yet though...we haven't even been here for a day," he pointed out.
Rubbing the back of his head, HyunJoong reached out and messed up KyuJong's hair before turning to the door as HyungJoon came hurtling in, whining about how no one ever made him any food.
"Even if we make you something, you always steal ours," HyunJoong said with a grin before holding his toast out of reach as their youngest sibling made a grab for it.
KyuJong made a face as he batted his hyung's hand from his hair. "Why do you always insist on messing with my hair, Hyung?" he pouted just as the door flew open, revealing HyungJoon.
He rolled his eyes at the whine. "Besides, we have better things to do than feed you. How about learning to cook, Joonie?"
"But your food is so much better, Kyu! Hyung sucks at cooking in comparison," HyungJoon stated, hoping compliments would work.
They didn't. "Tell me the last time you praising me actually worked..."
HyunJoong raised an eyebrow, not looking put-off by the insult at all. Actually, he looked rather amused. "If my cooking sucks, then I guess you don't want any of the ddeokbokee I was planning on making for dinner," he said nonchalantly, turning away from them to fix up the dishes. He knew while the majority of the things he cooked resembled the messes he created in the labs, HyungJoon adored the few things he actually cooked well.
HyungJoon's eyes widened as he began flailing. "But Hyuuuuuuuuung!!!! I love your ddeokbokee!" he cried, causing both KyuJong and YoungSaeng to wince. "It's one of the few things that you don't utterly destroy and it tastes so gooooooood!!!"
The eldest brother smiled, expression hidden from HyungJoon since he'd turned his back to him. Eyes dancing, he winked mischievously at YoungSaeng who was the only one at the right angle to see his face as he continued tormenting his little brother. "I don't know, even your compliments are insulting, Joonie," he drawled, voice disinterested as always and completely not matching his amused expression. "I'll have to think about it."
YoungSaeng saw the wink and rolled his eyes as HyunJoong continued to torment the poor kid, who looked like he was about to cry to get his way.
KyuJong chuckled and moved over toward the two slaves, but made sure he kept enough distance between them. "We learned a long time ago that it was our job to make sure he didn't turn into a spoiled little brat. Appa may give him whatever he wants, but we sure as hell won't."
JungMin watched the scene with amusement, though he kept a wary eye on KyuJong when his owner moved closer.
HyunJoong finally turned around, face schooled back into blankness as he poked HyungJoon in the chest. "I'll make you some if you do all the cleanup. And stop hunting around in my lab; I'm going to set up mousetraps for you one day."
"You do that, and I'll tell Appa," HyungJoon threatened. Everyone knew he never would, but he'd been using that threat for years.
"You tell Appa, and neither of us will ever cook for you again," KyuJong threatened right back, knowing that it would shut up the youngest.
As expected, HyungJoon's mouth opened and closed like a fish with nothing coming out. Sighing, HyunJoong took out the extra piece of toast he'd stuck in the toaster and jammed it in the younger man's mouth. "Don't talk with your mouth full." He steered the 17-year-old to the empty chair at the table.
YoungSaeng watched the three interact and was barely able to hold back a laugh. "Tell me something. Are all siblings this strange, or is it just you three?" he asked. Being an only child, he had no idea about brothers or sisters.
HyunJoong blinked, messing up his hair absently with one hand. "I haven't the slightest idea. Most siblings fight a lot." He looked at KyuJong. "We don't fight, do we?"
"You're a bunch of bullies," HyungJoon mumbled through his toast.
"You bring it on yourself, oh adorable dongsaeng of mine," KyuJong teased, ruffling the boy's hair and earning himself a smack in the arm for it. "Brat," he mumbled, rubbing his arm.
"...What do you know, we do fight." HyunJoong blinked at them, then gave YoungSaeng his best not-all-there smile. "All's normal here."
"Except you," HyungJoon deadpanned. "I think fumes from your experiments might have burned away your brain cells."
It was all playful teasing, of course. HyunJoong was far more intelligent than he let on, and it was something of an unspoken agreement to keep acting as though he was an idiot of a brother. It made the results all the more interested on the rare occasions HyunJoong was serious enough to show he wasn't the airhead he let everyone believe he was.
KyuJong snorted in reply. "This coming from the brat who actually tried the 'sticking your tongue to a pole in winter' thing," he called out, smirking. "If you were a kid, I could almost forgive it, but this was two years ago."
JungMin coughed, and would have choked if he had still been eating. He'd tried that too.
"Hyung dared me to!" HyungJoon whined, staring at HyunJoong accusingly. The eldest brother raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I just wanted to see if you would be dumb enough to actually do it." He laughed as HyungJoon fumed silently.
YoungSaeng coughed as some milk went down the wrong tube. When he was able to speak, he began laughing. "You seriously did that?!" he choked out before laughing.
He then turned toward HyunJoong. "Good influence," he stated sarcastically, though his lips were quirked in an almost smile.
"It took three hours for us to figure out what to do without letting Hyung make some crazy solution that'd just end up melting his tongue off or something. We couldn't think since we were laughing so hard," KyuJong explained, chuckling at the memory.
"All we needed was hot water really, but my way sounded much more fun," HyunJoong laughed, eyes dancing. Seeing the slight way YoungSaeng's lips curled upwards and the laughter that escaped the slave, he grinned widely, amused at the reactions. "That's what big brothers are for."
"Daring their younger siblings to stick their tongues to metal poles?" HyungJoon protested.
"Something like that. We got you off it, didn't we?"
"Hey, before he came around, I was the one HyunJoong tormented, and now that he's not attached to Appa's hip, I'll quite happily sacrifice the brat to get away from HyunJoong's 'brotherly affection'," KyuJong air-quoted.
"I'm not that bad," HyunJoong protested, leaning against the counter with a wide smile. "You'd miss me if I wasn't here being the caring big brother I am."
Lifting a brow at HyunJoong, KyuJong turned to the others. "He had me convinced that HyungJoon was an alien when I was little, like seven. I avoided him like the plague and even started crying when I was asked to watch him."
As much as he teased, KyuJong had no idea what he'd do if HyunJoong weren’t in his life. The older man had become his rock after everything that had happened.
JungMin bit down on his lower lip to stop the smirk from coming through. "Doesn't sound that far-fetched to me."
"HEY!" HyungJoon cried out. "I'm right here!"
YoungSaeng chuckled. "If they talk like this with you here, imagine what's said when you aren't."
KyuJong protested. "It's way more fun messing with him when he's here since we get to see his face when we say it."
"Oh gee, thanks, Hyung," HyungJoon muttered.
HyunJoong laughed and messed up HyungJoon's hair. "Anytime, brat." He looked at them all, eyes amused. The slaves seemed to be lightening up a little...or at least they were talking more and glaring less. "What now? Anything you guys need to do before we head out? Joonie, are you coming?"
"No way," the youngest brother said flatly. "I'm enjoying the peace and quiet while you're gone." He yelped when HyunJoong dropped the dishtowel on his head.
YoungSaeng shook his head before getting up and rinsing out the glass that he'd gotten earlier, placing it with the bowl. He then looked at JungMin before walking over to HyunJoong.
"And you?" KyuJong asked JungMin curiously. "Is there anything that you wish to do before we go?"
JungMin shook his head as well, meeting YoungSaeng's eyes before standing, though he didn't go near KyuJong.
HyunJoong smiled absently. "Then, say we meet up at the garage in a few minutes? I need to hunt down my car keys somewhere...” He preferred driving himself rather than rely on the servants to drive them, though it was a running joke that the 'space-cadet' brother was actually one of the safest drivers around.
YoungSaeng shook his head and sighed. "Do you mean the set of keys that are sitting on your desk?" he asked, rolling his eyes, which was quickly becoming habit.
"Joongie Hyung, I swear you'd lose your head if it weren't screwed on," KyuJong teased.
"That might be them, yeah," HyunJoong smiled sheepishly. "Better go get them...” As well as take YoungSaeng's measurements. The older brother walked to the kitchen door and opened it, HyungJoon watching with amusement from his seat at the table.
YoungSaeng followed HyunJoong back to his room, slipping into the perfect slave role as he saw more and more people in the hallways. If he could avoid any punishments, he would.
They had nearly reached HyunJoong's - and his - room when a voice stopped them. "Good morning, HyunJoong," his father stated.
There was no visible negative reaction to the sound of his father's voice as HyunJoong turned to the older man, absent-minded and half-asleep smile in place. "Good morning father," he said politely. "I trust you're well?" He didn't so much as glance at YoungSaeng.
"Quite," the man replied, focused not on his son, but the slave behind him. "I assume my son has treated you accordingly, correct?" he asked.
YoungSaeng, knowing a trap when he saw one, remained quiet until HyunJoong, his master, gave him permission to do otherwise. It was hard not to see the look on the man's face, let alone understand the true meaning of the words.
HyunJoong kept his expression disinterested despite the slight shiver down his spine from the way his father looked at YoungSaeng. "Of course, father..." He glanced back at YoungSaeng then, acting the part of the master perfectly. "Answer the man." He was careful to formulate it as an order and not a question like he was prone to doing.
Bowing his head slightly, YoungSaeng finally replied. "He was very attentive, Kim sshi." Deciding to use a bit of trickery, he dropped his shoulder just enough for the shirt to slip off his shoulder, revealing a mark left by one of the slavers.
This man didn't need to know that, though.
Managing not to look surprised in the least by the mark, HyunJoong actually let his lips curl slightly in faint smugness. "If you will excuse us, father? We will be returning to my room now," he said, allowing a hint of suggestiveness to enter his tone, as if the older man should know what they would be doing in his room.
The man looked on, pleased that his eldest son had managed to claim the slave, though disappointed that it hadn't been him to do so.
With another slight bow, YoungSaeng followed HyunJoong, eyes on the floor and not once looking back at the advisor.
Walking in front of the slave now, HyunJoong was careful not to let the act slip until they were both in his room, the door clicking shut behind them. Running one hand over his face, he looked at YoungSaeng through light-brown bangs, lips quirked in a smile. "How was that? Not bad for the first time?" He walked over to the desk, grabbing the keys from it and slipping them into his pocket.
"I have to admit that I thought you'd blow it," YoungSaeng told him, fixing the collar of the shirt to cover the mark. "That man gives me the chills."
"I do know what I'm doing sometimes," HyunJoong laughed, seeming unaffected. "We should wait a minute in case he's still lurking around. He's my father, but I never said he wasn't creepy. In the meantime...where did I put that measuring tape?" He wandered off looking for the first aid kit, which was where he usually kept it, strangely enough.
Taking a seat, YoungSaeng watched HyunJoong search for the tape measure, chuckling when he began looking through a first aid kit. "Who the hell keeps a tape measure in a first aid kit?" he asked the other.
Looking around, he saw the notebook he'd been using yesterday. Picking it up, he continued with what he had been working on while he waited.
"Why not?" HyunJoong grinned, pulling it out triumphantly. "It's not as if I'm into sewing much, so I don't really have any specific place for it. Maybe I should put it with my lab equipment...” Putting the kit away, he walked over to YoungSaeng, curiosity caught by the notebook. "What are you working on?" he asked, stopping before he got close enough to put the slave on edge.
YoungSaeng stopped and looked back as HyunJoong approached. "Music," he answered vaguely. Closing the notebook, he stood and placed it on the chair before facing HyunJoong. "Do you actually know how to take a person's measurements?"
"Surprisingly, yes." HyunJoong's grin turned mischievous. "I took KyuJong's measurements for a 'lab experiment' and got him into a dress a week later. He's still trying to get me back for that, I think."
YoungSaeng's eyes grew. "What kind of lab experiment involves forcing your brother into a dress? No wonder he'd rather you torment the other one."
"No lab experiment whatsoever, which is why I'm surprised he fell for it so easily. It makes for good blackmail pictures though." Amused, HyunJoong unrolled the measuring tape and got out a piece of paper to jot the measurements down in. "Ready?" He had promised he wouldn't touch YoungSaeng without his permission, so he wanted to hear the other man was all right with this before continuing.
Shaking his head, YoungSaeng looked at his owner, noticing the professionalism in his eyes. It was the main reason that he agreed. With a nod, he lifted his arms. "Go ahead."
Quirking a smile, HyunJoong stepped up to the younger man and started taking his measurements, starting at the top and working his way down. He was thorough, taking any measurements a tailor might ask for to avoid anyone touching YoungSaeng later. Doing the slave's arms and shoulder width, he marked the measurements down before measuring his chest and stomach. Keeping true to his word, HyunJoong didn't allow his hands to touch anything other than the measuring tape, except when a fold in the too-large shirt got in his way and he had to straighten it out. "You can lower your arms now," he said, taking the new measurements down. "Move your feet to shoulder-width apart and relax your knees? You're tense."
YoungSaeng remained still as HyunJoong took the measurements, surprised that he was keeping his word, forgiving the occasional accidental slip or brush. When the older man told him what to do and mentioned his tension, he shrugged and did as he was asked.
"Reflex," he responded.
Crouching down to restart from the feet up, HyunJoong flashed the other man a smile as he placed the paper and pencil by his feet so he wouldn't have to keep getting up. "It's hard to take measurements properly if you're like that. Besides, your muscles will get sore after a while."
Returning his attention to what he was doing, he hummed absently under his breath as he took the length between heel and knee, length of the leg, as well as circumference. Even as he moved to do the circumference of YoungSaeng's thigh (if he was going to be kicked, he would expect it to be here) there was no touching, no wandering gaze, and no unnecessary lingering. He had finished and moved on as quickly as he had when he was measuring the man's shoulders.
Taking a breath, YoungSaeng managed to relax his body as much as he could with HyunJoong so close. "Difficult or not, it's reflex. Having someone this close has never had a good outcome for me," he explained.
Nodding slightly to show he understood, HyunJoong finished with a final measurement around the other man's hips, marking it down on the paper next to him. "How was this outcome?" he asked with a smile as he stood. "We're done." He held up the list of measurements for YoungSaeng to see.
"...Unexpected," YoungSaeng answered, taking the list from him and looking it over. "Are the numbers really that small?" he asked, looking himself over. No one had ever let him see his own measurements, so to see them and see that they were so small surprised him. He'd always thought that he was more or less normal sized.
HyunJoong nodded, placing the pencil back on his desk. "You're pretty thin, especially for someone around our age. We should work on that, or being so underweight could be dangerous to your health." He looked around in a circle, blinking. "Where did I put my car keys?"
YoungSaeng snickered as HyunJoong began looking for his keys. "Try your pocket, genius."
He ignored the concern he'd heard in the other's voice. It was a bit too much to take in so quickly.
Sticking one hand into his pocket, HyunJoong found the keys. "Oh. What do you know." He grinned sheepishly, and then remembered what else KyuJong had told him about being out in public with YoungSaeng.
"KyuJongie said that to keep up the act of being a proper master I might have to touch you." He blinked at YoungSaeng. "I'm hoping to keep that to a minimum of course...but if I needed to, do you think a hand around your shoulders or something would be enough?" He didn't want to do anything YoungSaeng was uncomfortable with, so he figured the shoulders were safe enough.
Pausing at HyunJoong's explanation, YoungSaeng shrugged. "I'm not sure about that myself, but I think that might be too casual," he explained. "I didn't go out very much with my previous masters unless they were showing off."
He looked away. "They much preferred me 'in my place'," he explained, anger slipping into his voice unconsciously.
HyunJoong listened to the other man's words, expression unreadable. Sighing, he went to put a hand on YoungSaeng's shoulder before he thought better of it and dropped his hand back to his side. "Well, I'm not locking you up here," he said quietly. "You can go wherever you want to, though I do prefer if you let me know beforehand so I don't think the guards kidnapped you. If you want to go anywhere outside of the manor, I'll drive you. All you have to do is ask." He looked at the door, thinking. "If the shoulder is too casual, what would be a good compromise? The waist?"
Hearing the words seemed to set YoungSaeng a bit at ease. He also appreciated the fact that HyunJoong stopped before touching him, though he knew that he wouldn't once they left the room.
The idea that he had so much freedom was a strange one, and he hardly knew what to think of it. He nodded, however, at the question. "That sounds reasonable, I suppose," YoungSaeng agreed with a nod.
Smiling, HyunJoong nodded. "Alright then. Anything you need to do before we leave?" He made sure they had YoungSaeng's measurements with them, the car keys in his hand as he looked back at the other man. "KyuJong told me about the usual standards for clothing. You can get whatever you want, but we'll probably need a few sets proper for going out in public. When it's just us or my brothers, I don't care if you wear hoodies or even full-body suits if that's what you're into."
Listening to what the man said, YoungSaeng nodded. "After eight years of this, I've become comfortable in what I have to wear, as long as I'm wearing something. I grew out of the embarrassment pretty quickly." He took a moment before adding, "It's been a while since I'd been fully covered, though, so I might take you up on that."
HyunJoong raised an eyebrow. "Well, I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm never going to ask you to not wear anything," he said wryly. "In fact I think I might prefer it if you were fully clothed, believe it or not." He went to the door, opening it and looking out to see if his father was still around. He wasn't. "Let's get going then?" he asked, holding the door open as he saw the hallway was clear for the moment.
YoungSaeng just looked at HyunJoong before following him out. "You know, every time you talk, you either say something that makes me want to smack you to knock some sense into you, or it's something that actually renders me speechless," he stated quietly, in case someone were to show up in the luckily empty hallway.
A short laugh escaped the older man at that. "Nice to know I'm leaving something of an impression. Though if you're going to smack me, you might want to wait until we're alone," he said with a lightly teasing tone. Walking down the hallway, he switched from walking beside YoungSaeng to walking in front when they came across others, hands in his pockets and light-brown hair falling into his eyes.
Noticing more and more people, YoungSaeng quickly shifted into his more submissive role, carefully observing those he saw. Most of the people littering the hall were slaves obviously running errands for their masters, though there was also the rare employee, as well, by the look of the tailored suits and dresses.