| Chapter Ten |

About a couple of hours had passed by and Seunghyun and Jiyong were still at Daesung's party. Jiyong had actually been having a good time, at least a better time than he thought he would. He still hadn't spoken much, unless he was spoken to, but he felt more comfortable and less anxious to be in the crowded room, though maybe that was the small amount of alcohol he had consumed talking.

Seunghyun never really seemed to leave his side, which made him feel oddly safe. He acted as some sort of bodyguard towards Jiyong, but he was still doubtful of his real motives. Maybe he was one of those master manipulators who was just trying to make Jiyong more vulnerable by acting so polite and kind to him. Maybe this whole "trying to help you" act was just an easier way for Seunghyun to get exactly what he wanted out of him, which Jiyong still hadn't figured out yet.

But something in Jiyong's heart told him that those thoughts were just the product of his paranoid, distrustful mind. After years upon years of being let down, he was forced to build defensive walls to protect the most vulnerable parts of himself. Even with Hanbin, he kept these walls up, so why did he feel so safe with this man who still hadn't been clear in his intentions? What was so different about this man that made him want to let him inside after only one day?

Jiyong hadn't figured that out either.

~~~~~~~

Another hour had ticked by before Jiyong's body started to feel tired, drowsy and maybe slightly tipsy. He looked at the time and saw that it was almost four o'clock before letting out another yawn, which was muffled by his hand.

"Are you tired?" Seunghyun asked, his voice causing Jiyong to flinch a little due to how abrupt it was. "Do you want to leave?"

"No, no." Jiyong lied in reply. "I'm fine. It's probably just the alcohol, that's all."

"Are you sure? Because we can go if you want to," Seunghyun said, his eyes filled with nothing but concern for Jiyong.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Jiyong smiled.

"Okay, well you just let me know when you're ready to leave," Seunghyun said. "I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"I will," Jiyong said with a small nod, earning a faint smile from the taller in response.

He just happened to lift his previously lowered head up and felt his heart just about stop at what his eyes were seeing. Jiyong felt as if he couldn't breathe for a second, his eyes starting to blink furiously and his chest beginning to heave up and down rapidly. Seunghyun glanced over at the shorter male and saw this instantly, making his eyebrows furrow.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, placing a hand on Jiyong's shoulder but getting no response from him. "Yong, are you alright?" Seunghyun had to repeat himself a couple more times before Jiyong finally snapped out of his trance and made eye contact with him. "Are you okay? What happened?" Seunghyun asked.

"O-Oh...yeah," Jiyong muttered, trying to keep his eyes from moving back to where they previously were. "Sorry. I-I'm fine."

"Well, you sure as hell didn't look fine," Seunghyun said, shifting his body towards the younger slightly. Jiyong just let out a small and quick gust of air, bringing his eyes back to the ground. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to my place? I don't want you to be here if there is something here that makes you uncomfortable."

"It's not something, it's someone," Jiyong mumbled, hoping Seunghyun wouldn't hear him.

"What?" Seunghyun said in confusion, making Jiyong lift his head once again and plaster on a fake smile.

"Nothing," he said. "I didn't say anything." Seunghyun just looked at him with doubtful eyes, which made Jiyong shift uncomfortably. "Y-You know what, I think I am ready to go now, actually," he said, quickly changing the subject. Seunghyun stared intently at Jiyong for a few seconds, trying to figure out what had happened that caused such an abrupt change.

"Alright," Seunghyun replied as he set his cup down, deciding to save that battle for later. "We can go." Jiyong just grinned faintly and nodded his head. "Hey man, we're gonna head out, alright?" Seunghyun said with a light sigh, turning to Daesung.

"Aw, but the party only just started," Daesung whined, the intoxication spell the alcohol had put under him clearly present in his voice.

"Yeah, but he's tired and I have to go into work for a bit tomorrow," Seunghyun said, despite the fact that it wasn't even nighttime yet.

"Fine, party poopers," Daesung said, taking another large swig out of his cup. "Have a safe trip."

"We will," Seunghyun replied. "Try not to get too wasted."

"I will, but I'm not making any promises," Daesung said, pointing a finger at Seunghyun for a second and making him chuckle.

"Later," Seunghyun said, still letting out a few stray chuckles. Daesung only waved to them both before Seunghyun put a temporary hand on Jiyong's back in order to let him walk ahead of him.

They walked back out to Seunghyun's car, neither male daring to speak a word. Seunghyun unlocked the car and Jiyong let himself in before Seunghyun took a seat in the driver's seat. Jiyong stretched the seat belt across his chest as soon as the car door was shut and clicked it in the thin slot securely before making himself more comfortable in his seat.

"You sure you don't want to tell me what happened back there?" Seunghyun asked after he had stuck the key in the ignition but hadn't yet turned the car on. Jiyong kept his eyes aimed forward and at a slight angle, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I saw someone I recognized," Jiyong said, speaking in a plain tone of voice.

"What, like an old friend or something?" Seunghyun question, still a bit baffled as to why Jiyong's mood had suddenly changed.

"No." Jiyong shook his head, never moving his eyes off of the one fixated spot. "I saw a guy that I slept with before in there. An old client." Seunghyun sighed, feeling slightly idiotic for not guessing that.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Seunghyun apologized almost instantly in response to hearing Jiyong's words. He started the car up instantly afterward. 

Jiyong didn't speak another word for the whole car ride back to Seunghyun's apartment.

~~~~~~~

"Hey," a drunk Jiyong said to Seunghyun, slamming his hand on the countertops of Seunghyun's kitchen. He doesn't remember exactly when, but sometime after they had arrived back at his place, Jiyong decided it would be a good idea to drink away his memories of the man he had seen. "Have I ever told you what I do for a living?"

"Yes, I believe I've established what you do," Seunghyun said, his elbows leaning on the same counter. Jiyong gave him a quick and blank stare before taking rubbing his face with his hands and shaking his head.

"I let people fuck me for a living," he said with his eyes narrowed in disgust, showing his face to Seunghyun once again. "And not just any people, lonely, old, creepy men. I let those kinds of people fuck me so that I can stay out of what society calls the 'lower class.'" Seunghyun stood up with a sigh and kept his eyes locked on the man in front of him. "But if there is one thing I've learned from being someone's play toy, it's that money doesn't define what class you're in," Jiyong continued, slurring his words. "It's self-worth and what you feel you're worth that define that."

"And how much do you think you're worth?" Seunghyun asked with his arms now crossed over his chest. Jiyong looked at him mutely for a few seconds before turning his head and chugging down the last sip of his drink.

"Let's just say if there were ten classes lower than the low class, that's where I'd be," Jiyong said pathetically. "I'm not worth shit. No, I'm worth a good fuck, that's it, though. That's it."

Seunghyun honestly felt bad for him. In his own personal opinion, no person, prostitute or not, deserved to feel like they weren't worth anything. Especially someone like Jiyong; he seemed like a good person who life had decided to treat poorly and unfairly.

"I've been wanting to ask you," Jiyong said, beginning to sound a little collected. "Why do you, a complete and total stranger, insist on saving me from my life?" Seunghyun's face kind of froze once his brain processed Jiyong's question. "Is it out of pity for people like me or do you just go around saving people all the time?"

"I guess you could say that it's kind of in my job description to help people," Seunghyun answered, twisting the truth extra tightly. He couldn't tell Jiyong why yet, at least not while he was in this state. There was no predicting where he might run off to or what he would do if he knew the truth. And if there was one thing Seunghyun feared, it was the unknown.

"And I'm just supposed to believe that?" Jiyong said, his eyebrows raised a little.

"I'd sure appreciate it if you did." Seunghyun smirked in response. Jiyong did the same too, but lowered his head to make it less obvious. "You should get some rest," Seunghyun said, taking his back off the counter and walking over to the fridge to take out a bottle of water. "You've had a long day." He handed it to Jiyong, taking hold of his empty glass and placing it in the sink behind him. Jiyong opened the bottle and took a nice long drink of it, leaving it almost half empty after he stopped.

"Come on. I'll take you to your room," Seunghyun said, walking around the island and over to Jiyong's side of it. Jiyong spun around in the tall chair before hopping down and nearly falling over. "Woah, woah," Seunghyun said, catching him in his arms. "Careful there." Jiyong tried to make his wobbly legs stable but wasn't having much luck.

"Here, let's just do it this way," Seunghyun said, bending his knees slightly so he could place his hands on Jiyong's calves and lift him off the ground. Jiyong mumbled something under his breath, but Seunghyun was too busy trying to adjust his body in his arms to hear him. Once he did so, he started to walk towards the guest room. He walked slowly, as he was slightly intoxicated himself and didn't want to drop him. Jiyong groaned as he wrapped his arms around the taller's neck, making Seunghyun's feet stop moving and his heart start beating faster.

"Why are you being so nice to me really?" Jiyong asked in a softer tone after Seunghyun had started walking again, his breath tickling the skin of Seunghyun's neck.

"I told you," Seunghyun answered in the form of a whisper, trying to cover up the shakiness in his voice as best as he could. "It's part of my job." Jiyong only moaned in response and tightened his grip around the elder's neck, nuzzling his head into the crook of his neck more. Seunghyun swallowed nervously, trying to understand why his heart was beating so rapidly.

He made it to the bedroom and walked Jiyong over to the bed before gently laying him on it. The younger male whined a little at the loss of the warmth that Seunghyun's body gave off. Seunghyun moved Jiyong's legs out of the way so he could pull the covers over him. He let out a heavy sigh, taking a minute to look at the now sleeping boy in front of him.

"What are you doing to me?" Seunghyun asked, trying to make sure the volume of his voice didn't wake up the younger man.

Then, he took a few steps closer to the bed, bent over, and pressed a small and harmless kiss against Jiyong's forehead. He gave him one last look and then headed off to the comfort of his own bed.