Betrothed (NoRen)

48

The night before Renjun is set to be the bait Jeno is clinging to him like they are glued at the hip. Renjun is terrified but doesn't want to tell him because he's sure he will try to talk him out of it.
"I love you Jeno Lee." Renjun says softly as he plays with his hair. Jeno is curled into him as they sit on the couch.
"I love you prince." Jeno clears his throat and sits up.
"After this is over, I want them to stay here." Renjun looks shocked.
"Really?" Jeno nods with a soft smile.
"You guys will have a lot of catching up to do while they adjust to their freedom. Then when they are ready, we will help them find a place of their own really close." Renjun cries as he kisses his lips.
"You are perfect, you know that?" Jeno chuckles.
"I'm not perfect, I just love you and you get a chance to reconnect with your parents, this is a precious gift." Renjun smiles.

Renjun has a hard time sleeping, he's been tossing and turning all night and Jeno is very aware.
"Baby, you know they will probably work you to death tomorrow. You should get some rest." He sighs.
"I know, I'm just kind of nervous." Jeno scoffs.
"Kind of? You are terrified and that is perfectly normal. I am too." He whispers at the end.
"I'll be ok. You better be safe too. I didn't come this far to live without you." Jeno rolls over and places his head on Renjun's heart.
"I love this sound so much. It's beating just for me." He says sleepily.
"It really is." Renjun whispers.

At around five AM he is woken by his alarm. He has to be in place around six. There is a specific spot where they look for victims. Out of work immigrants that they feel won't be missed. Renjun dresses in his cheapest looking outfit and tries to prepare himself mentally.
Jeno makes him eat a big breakfast since he probably won't get to eat the rest of the day but he has a hard time. He really doesn't have an appetite. Jeno pushes on though and continues to feed him until the end.
"Ok baby, this is it. Are you sure you can do this?" He nods with a brave smile on his face.
"I know you will be there to help me if I need it. You always are." He says softly. They kiss and hug for a while as they ready themselves.

Jeno sits in a car with Jaemin, and Mark. Johnny is already on the grounds keeping watch. When Jeno sees a van pull up next to his love he gasps.
"Oh fuck, I can't let him." Mark holds him down. You can do this Jeno, trust him." He nods as he tears up.
"He better not get hurt, not one fucking hair on his head." Mark hugs him.
"To my knowledge they won't hurt them if they cooperate and work, so as long as he sticks to the plan he will be fine." Jaemin says.

As soon as Renjun enters the van a man holds a gun to his back. He stiffens.
"What? What's going on?" He asks with tears in his eyes, only partially acting. Another man places a leather cuff on his ankle and switches it on.
"You are ours now. If you even try to escape you will be shot on sight and when we are through with you, we will hunt down your family and kill them too." He swallows thickly and nods.
"Ok, I'll behave but can you take the gun out of my back? I swear I won't run." The man in the back pulls it back but keeps it cocked and ready to shoot.
They pull up to a factory and he is escorted out, again with the gun in his back. Johnny sees this and reports to everyone. Jeno looses his mind.

The factory is much like the one he worked in before, dark and unpleasant. He shivers at the thought of spending even one day here. He can't even imagine the torture his parents and many others have been through.
He gets placed by a conveyor belt where his job is to inspect the parts as they come down the line and pull off anything that is flawed.
He goes right to work. He wants to make it out of this alive so he is going to cooperate. He tries not to make it obvious that he is looking for anyone as he looks around every now and then. He sees a lot of people with these bracelets, in fact he's willing to bet the factory is run solely on slave labor now.
He's been working since six thirty in the morning and it's now noon. He's hungry and he has to pee. He raises his hand at one of the guards who comes over.
"I have to use the toilet, will this stop soon?" He shakes his head.
"When someone is available to take your place."
He continues working but his thoughts are plaguing him. He's trying to remain strong but this is so hard. How could his parents endure this day after day for so long? How could anyone? He makes eye contact with a person who looks slightly younger than him across the conveyor belt.
"My first day here, I pissed myself. Don't be ashamed if you can't hold it. We've all seen worse believe me." Renjun nods his eyes starting to water. He clears his throat and fights the urge as he tries to gather his strength to focus on his parents.