Incarnadine | Prequel to "Viridescence"

8

15th September
2005

Hongjoong and Seonghwa reluctantly take their seats at the edge of the room. Hoseok hurries to the kitchen, dumps food onto two plates, and serves it to the boys who have no choice but to balance the plates on their laps, no place on the dining table for them.

"I'll explain a bit. These guys are all...colleagues of yours! They're my close friends so respect them, okay? And now it's time to go over a few more rules! We made a deal, meaning you must do your end of the deal. You cannot tell anyone else about this and don't even think about running away," Hyungwon explains, voice turning darker.

"W-Why would we even want to run away?" Seonghwa stutters, now feeling too anxious to take a bite of his meal. "You'll learn over time, you're both still too young. It's nothing too bad though, don't worry about it." Hyungwon flashes a sinister smile after he finishes reassuring the boys.

Hongjoong remains still with his eyebrows furrowed while Seonghwa starts shaking beside him. The two boys feel small in between all these intimidating men who continuously have been judging them since the walked in. None of them look friendly, just confused.

"How old are you kids?" Hoseok asks, trying his best to appear friendly. Seonghwa gulps and tries to calm his pounding heart in an attempt to even make a sound.

"He's twelve and I'll be twelve soon," Hongjoong answers for them, keeping his composure. He feels a nerve being pulled when the sound of snickers enters his ears. Hoseok's eyes widen and travel to Hyungwon.

"Twelve year olds? Seriously?" he hisses to the other, nearly forgetting that the two boys can hear everything he's saying. "I'll talk to you more later, I'm going to sleep," Hyungwon yawns in response, now standing up. Everyone's eyes stay glued to him as he walks out of the room in a lethargic way.

As soon as the man with the white sweater is gone, all eyes return to their plates, only occasionally glancing at the young boys who pick at their food restlessly.

Only a few bites later, Seonghwa nervously looks up at Hoseok. "I don't think I can finish this," he sheepishly mumbles. Hoseok offers a warm smile. "Don't worry about it! You can rest in your room if you'd like," he offers kindly. Seonghwa nods timidly and stands up. To his disappointment, the other child in the room also stands up.

"I can't eat either," he mumbles quietly, trying his best to control his rage.

They both go to their room in silence, Seonghwa feeling both annoyed and scared. He eyes Hongjoong warily and gets a shiver when he sees his face.

Once they get into the room, the silence persists. Hongjoong remains seated on the wooden chair and Seonghwa decides to lie down, exhausted from such an eventful day.

He had the chance to escape today. If it weren't for Hongjoong, he could have finally gotten home to his aunt and uncle. He sobs quietly to himself at the thought, hating this feeling of loneliness. He thought that maybe he and Hongjoong could stick together for now with these daunting men surrounding them, but now he's really alone. Hongjoong doesn't care about him and he never did.

With his tears staining the cold pillow, Seonghwa drifts off to sleep.

20th September
2005

The next few days go slowly, the boys not having much to do except for helping the other scary men clean the house, do some more deliveries or just resting in their room. The other men have remained sceptical about the newcomers, but Hyungwon and Hoseok show kindness and empathy.