«We knew each other?»
«Yes,» she said, looking at him.
«How did we know each other?»
She seemed to take a deep breath before answering. «I was your slave for a period of time.»
If he wasn't already sitting he would surely have fallen over. It felt like his head was about to explode. The slave house had tried to imprint so much on him, and he had seemed to fight it in his mind. It was like he didn't want to give in, even though they had taken his memory, and he surely belonged there. The feeling of being a slave, of being subordinate to others stood in stark contrast to what she was telling him right now.
«What?»
«I used to be your slave,» she repeated.
«What is my name?»
«Seonghwa.»
«And yours?»
«It's Aelia. I didn't lie to you. I will never lie to you.»
«Promise?»
«Yes, I promise, Seonghwa.»
«But... If you were my slave... why...»
«Why did I get you out of the slave house?»
«Yes?»
«I'm not even sure,» she said, looking out the window. «I just couldn't think of you being there, no matter...»
«No matter?»
«No matter the past,» she finally said.
«Was I a bad master?»
Aelia didn't speak for a while, and he took that as an answer.
«I guess I deserve being the slave now, then.»
«No, Hwa, that's not... You didn't deserve what happened to you. You set me free in the end. I'm... Slavery, it... it's fucked up.»
«Yeah,» he agreed, staring out the window. «It really is.»
«I was fighting it before I became a slave. Actually, I became a slave to get intel from the inside, and boy, did I get the full experience.»
«With me?»
«Yeah, with you.»
«What did I do to you?!» His voice cracked as tears came down his face.
«I think you thought you were saving me from the slave house, like you did with the other slaves...»
«I had more than one?»
«You had a lot of slaves, but... not personal ones. That was just me.»
«Was I rich or something?»
«Yeah, I guess you were.»
«I must have been horrible to end up at the slave house.»
«I.. I don't...»
Her stuttering didn't make it any better. He hid his face in his hands.
«Fuck!» he cried. «Who put me in the slave house?»
«I don't know.»
«You don't know, or you...»
«I really don't know, Seonghwa,» she said, looking at him firmly.
YOU ARE READING
Take Me Home // Ateez // Stray Kids
Fiksi PenggemarAfter an unexpected escape from the Mansion, Aelia finds herself in a Safe House. Who is a friend and who has alternate motives? And what do the butterflies have to do with it? As a former slave, life looks empty. Aelia has to find her way in life...
