Give & Take

False Determination

There was no way out except for the front door. Baekho tried again and again but the door wouldn't budge. He even tried the window but he couldn't possibly dig the grill off the wall. He had been locked inside for a couple of days now and the only person he had seen was the head maid when she came inside to give him food. The hero was nowhere to be seen and Baekho couldn't even ask the head maid to call for him since the other always seemed spooked and Minhyun had warned him about talking to anyone else other than him before. It was his fourth day in captivity when he was finally graced with the hero's presence again. Seeing the man sent jitters down his skin but he managed to keep his cool.

"I heard from the maid that you refuse to eat," Minhyun said as the door was shut behind him once again.

"I... Do not have the appetite," Baekho replied.

"Even though I told you to eat whatever is given to you?"

Baekho couldn't believe that the other was acting so normal. As if they hadn't kissed. As if he wasn't a captive. As if all these was normal. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Minhyun walked to the bed and leaned against the bed frame while staring at the male who was seated on his bed. "Have you gotten used to living in the room?"

"Yes... But I miss being outside."

"You were a free restless soul out there. So... What if I were to make a deal with you?"

Baekho raised his brows. A deal? "What kind?"

An unsettling smile crept its way up Minhyun's lips. "There is a banquet that the mayor will be holding soon. I want you to help me to get rid of someone. If you can do that, I'll let you go."

Dread clutched onto Baekho as the other gave him the offer. "You want me to... Kill someone?"

"It should be easy work for you. You go in, touch them and go out. Easy, right?"

"No. How is that easy?" Baekho glared at Minhyun unintentionally. "You want me to take a life. I can't do that."

"Can't you? You know what I think, Baekho? I think you killed someone before. With your powers."

Baekho froze up, clutching onto the sheets as his eyes darted around uneasily.

"You know how lethal you are. That's why you stay in the forest. What I don't understand is... Why are you still so close to town if you're so afraid of harming people?"

"But I never intend to put anyone in harm's way," Baekho spoke softly. "I avoid people. I was just unlucky that day."

"Hmmm... Well, think about my deal. I'll let you go and we will never cross paths again. I'll need a reply by tomorrow."

Minhyun smiled and walked over, giving him a pat on the head before walking out from the room. Baekho gasped softly and stared down at the bed. It was impossible for him to kill someone on purpose just so he could earn back his freedom. He knew staying in this room had indeed wiped off his fear of harming anyone at all but it wasn't the life he wanted. He looked around the bleak room and shut his eyes. He didn't want to be used for his powers. He would rather die than to kill someone else yet his own fear of death had stopped him from going any further and his own powers didn't affect him either.

He thought the hero was really cruel to put him in such a position. Even if the other had saved his life from the Earl. He unconsciously touched the ear stud and whimpered.

"Mum... Dad, please help me."

~~~

Minhyun didn't know why he did that. He also didn't know why he chose not to see Baekho for three whole days. Or maybe he did know but he refused to admit it. He refused to accept that his own emotions gets too overwhelming whenever he look at the male. A quickened pulse, hastened heart beat and clammy hands were never a good state of being. Even as he was offering Baekho the deal, he just wanted to push the male down and do things to him. Things he had never thought of to do onto another before and it was driving him mad. He needed to remain calm and think things through like he always do. But no, everything in his mind becomes mush when he thought about Baekho. He wanted to rid this world of everyone who dared harm a single hair on the male but at the same time, he had brought Baekho here to use his powers for his own gain. His contradicting thoughts made it hard to keep calm and he found this situation upsetting.