Give & Take

Handy Man

"That was uncalled for!"

"And what would you have me do instead? Let him stick that pole onto you and you be his forever?"

"At least he would still have his hand!" At the very thought of the chopped hand, Baekho felt every urge to throw up rise again but he tried to remain calm.

"You will NOT become his! Or anyone else's. Do you hear me?" Minhyun's voice was startling and Baekho let out a gasp, tears rapidly falling down as he rubbed them away.

"Then am I to become yours?" He asked in a lowered whisper, sniffling as he gripped at the ends of his shirt. "You're no different from them.... You only kept me alive because you want to use my powers for your own gain."

Minhyun froze, feeling the anger rise up to his mind and rendering him unstable. The hero didn't think his next action through as he stormed up to Baekho and shoved him against the wall roughly. Baekho winced when he hit it but before he could move away, Minhyun slammed his hands against the wall. Eyes filled with a crazy fury just as Baekho had seen earlier when the branding iron was brought out. He couldn't understand what the anger meant as Minhyun did something he never expected as their lips met but he was not being gentle. Minhyun bit down on his lower lip and he cried out, trying to push the hero away but Minhyun held his position, pressing their lips together. One hand held Baekho's chin in place while the other grabbed his still sensitive ear, making him wince and weaken. Baekho was confused and frankly terrified of this sudden action. When Minhyun finally moved away, his sobbing had already died down and he was left with a dulling pain in his ear and lip. Minhyun wiped his lips and Baekho could see that even he looked uncertain.

"I'm not the same as them and I did not ask for your help," Minhyun spoke in a hushed tone before he left the room in a rush, leaving Baekho alone to his thoughts as his knees buckled and he slid onto the ground.

~~~

"DAMN THIS ALL!"

He was alone in his room and he had shoved everything off his table despite knowing he would regret it later. He growled and even went as far as throwing his blanket off his bed.

"No different than them?! I am not!" He didn't know where all this rage was coming from but it was there and he needed an outlet. "I will not be backed down by this."

A knock made Minhyun's boiling anger hit a pause as he opened the door, looking calm but seething within.

"What is it?" he spoke with a hissing tone, causing the head maid outside his door to flinch and immediately lower her head.

"I am very sorry to have disturb you, sir but the prisoner... Refuses to eat."

"What did you say. Why?" Minhyun tried to keep his cool but evidently it wasn't working when the maid cowered in fear.

"H-he is just c-crying on the bed and doesn't want to t-touch his food." Minhyun breathed in sharply and let it out slowly, trying to calm the raging fire within him. He forced a smile onto his face.

"Thank you for telling me. You can go back to your work now." Minhyun closed the door and let out a pained groan, telling himself to calm down over and over again. Baekho had every right to be frightened of him and his actions. He wasn't acting like himself or how he was supposed to be. The calm perfect hero that everyone loves. He couldn't even understand why he was feeling such a surging wave of emotions when he usually had a strong control over his emotions. Once he was relatively calm, he decided against seeing Baekho for a bit.

~~~

Baekho sniffled and rubbed his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying but he couldn't. Everything just felt so weird to him now. He had lived most of his life outside of a confined room especially after what had drove him to stay in the forest but now he was trapped in here with a guy everyone looked up to yet it could all just be a facade. Baekho didn't know who was the real Minhyun. The one he had seen on the streets or the one who treated him almost horrifyingly at some point. His mind was just a swirl of confused emotions and thoughts. Worse, he couldn't even talk to anyone about it as always so he could only keep it to himself and feel his emotions eat him up as he rubbed his feet on top of one another. He laid down after being tired of just sitting and rubbed his tired eyes again. He was pretty much overwhelmed by everything that had just unfold in the span of a day. He just wanted to rest so even when his food was delivered, he paid no heed to it. He had no appetite and absolutely no mood to do anything at all.