Take Me Home // Ateez // Stray Kids

2 - The Act

Aelia got a few days to adjust to life at the safe house. She wanted to pitch in but often ended up sitting in her chair by her window, staring out into the garden without really seeing anything. She couldn't help but think of the Mansion and the people living there. Was Yunho doing okay? Was he happy with Mingi? If anything happened to him, she wouldn't know. That was terrifying. And Master? Had he already gotten a new slave? Was she forgotten? Or did he just ask the other slaves at the Mansion to come to his room again, like they had before she got there? The thought of Jin in his bed, made Aelia shudder, both with anger and disgust. Would he treat Jin the way he did Aelia? And did she serve him as well as Aelia had?

«Aelia?»

She hadn't heard the knock on her door, but Wooyoung still popped his head in.

«Oh, hi, sorry, Wooyoungie.»

«It's okay, Aelia. How are you?»

«I'm fine,» she said, both of them knowing she was far from it.

«Do you want to help me with dinner?»

«Yes, of course, I'll help you.»

«Thank you.»

His smile was healing, as was the way he made sure wasn't left alone with her thoughts too long at a time. She felt guilty for not being as happy as she should be. She was free. She could walk out the door and do whatever she wanted to, and no one would mind. But she didn't. She stayed indoors. In her room, mostly. The thought of leaving the house was terrifying.

«Do you wanna sit down with us today?» Woo asked after breakfast a week into her stay.

Aelia visibly froze at the request.

«You don't have to, Aelia. But if you want to, we could tell you a little more about how things work around here. You may ask us questions.»

«Okay,» she said, wanting to run away from it all. «When?»

«Right now?»

Woo knew it would be best to do it right away, so she didn't have time to worry about it. Her brain was already going into panic mode.

«Hey, it's okay,» San said as they sat down around the dining table in the kitchen. Woo was making tea. Tea always made things better.

Aelia nodded but didn't meet his eyes. San offered his hand on the table, and she looked at it for a while before she grabbed it, squeezed it, and then let go. That's all she could do right now. That was fine. San smiled, but she didn't see it.

Jongho and Yeosang also joined them around the table. Woo put tea on the table, and tried to make it seem easy and light. Aelia felt sick to her stomach.

«So, Aelia, there's a lot to tell about Safe Houses. How much have you heard?»

Aelia glanced up at Woo.

«I had never heard of it until 24 hours before I came here. After coming here, you haven't really said very much.»

«Right. Well, truth be told, even though the Safe House Act was pushed through, a lot of people are still salty about it. They want slaves to be slaves. This messes with the old ways of society, in some people's minds. So, information about the Act has not been spread as well as it should. Most people have not even heard of it. To the regular citizen, the world of slaves and masters are far fetched and strange. Only those who have lived it knows it well. There are a lot of myths and stories about slaves. What had you heard about it before you became a slave yourself?»

She breathed normally and looked straight at Woo as she spoke. 

«My mind was wiped. I don't know what I thought about anything earlier.»

«Ah,» Woo nodded. «Yes, I heard that's what you claimed.»

Aelia felt cold. She might pass out. Fear completely numbed her. She looked at Woo with a questioning look.

«Every slave owner thinks the mind wiping works, and every slave knows that it only lasts for a few months. Your memories came back, like they did for all of us.»

Aelia kept looking down, her hands slightly shaking.

«Yeah, you can quit the act,» Wooyoung said.