Depraved

What Are Friends For?

It took too long to convince Soobin to let him go, but HueningKai finally helped him do it, explaining that they owed Stray Kids for giving them up. Hopefully, Minho would be alright. He was starting to get worried about Kai's unnatural silence and he didn't want to bring back any bad news.

Yeonjun approached the house with apprehension. He'd only allowed Taehyun to come, too afraid of what the Exo coven could do to his humans or Beomgyu, if things went awry. A human woman answered when he knocked, inviting them to sit in the waiting room and promising to bring Chanyeol right down.

When he first spotted him, the young vampire couldn't stop his heart from ramping. The last time they'd spoken, he'd essentially stranded them in the middle of the woods. It was a lucky thing he liked to stay prepared, or he might not have been able to face the elder so easily.

"TXT! So good to see you! And on such a wonderful night too."

Taehyun glared enough for the both of them, not even standing as he entered.

"I'm sorry. Are you both having a bad night?"

"Not exactly. It's just that the last time we saw you, you were threatening us."

Chanyeol giggled, as jovial as a ginger at a sunscreen convention. "Yes. A misunderstanding. I'm so sorry about that. I'm partial to my human you know, just as you are to yours. I would do anything to find him again."

"Minho. Right?"

His eyes shifted down to slits, though his smile stayed. "That's right."

"Can we see Minho? Our human asked after him. We heard what happened with Stray Kids."

"Already?"

Yeonjun nodded.

"Word travels fast in the woods. Doesn't it?"

"Sometimes."

They stared hard at each other, and then the elder clapped once, loudly. "I'll fetch him. I know he likes HueningKai very much. Wait here for me."

Yeonjun had never met Minho, but he'd seen him in Kai and Soobin's memories those lonely days they waited for their new cellphones to arrive in the mail.

The Minho who stepped into the waiting room was not the same.

He was too pale. Too slender. Not only did he not smile, but he looked like he might never have smiled once in his entire life. The brand on his stomach was old, but the bruises spanning across his arms and legs were not. He was nude and collared, with a thick metal leash that clinked loudly in the tense silence. Knowing that he belonged to Hyunjin made them want to avert their eyes, but they were also eager to catalogue the damage and possibly give their friend some good news.

Yeonjun wasn't a doctor. But he knew enough to know that Minho had no broken bones. He might not have eaten in a night or two, but there was no sign of dehydration and he looked to have been bathed recently.

"I hear you are asking after me for Huening." His voice filtered out, nearly transparent.

"Yes." Taehyun stood, scanning his body with barely concealed disgust. The man also had punctures everywhere, and he shook with fatigue. With a single sniff they could tell that he also had a fever, probably due to the chill and his lack of clothing.

"Huening is very kind. But I am so happy here with Master that I have no time for friends. Please tell him not to contact me anymore."

"Minho-"