The older male's body was in such pain, that despite feeling safe in Namjoon's arms, he let go of the man in less than two minutes, unable to sustain his embrace.

When he released himself from Namjoon, the young man offered him a seat on his couch.

Seokjin sat down, and attempted to tell Namjoon everything, but he couldn't get past a simple four word sentence without feeling his head about to burst.

Namjoon noticed how soaked his clothing was and gave him some clean clothes to wear. The older accepted the clothing, feeling tired of being wet and cold.

Piece by piece, the man exposed his body to his lover, showing how abused and scarred his skin was. He left the younger in shock. After he changed, he felt droplets of water on his shoulder.

"How am I still wet? I should have dried off by now." He questioned, rubbing his head.

When he looked behind him, he saw tears streaming out of Namjoon's eyes. The other couldn't believe the amount of bruises Seokjin had all around his body.

He was truly broken: Physically and mentally, and he couldn't have done anything to help prevent such a horrific thing from happening to him.

Namjoon quickly held onto him, feeling the man break down in his arms again.

"I'm so sorry, Seokjin." He whispered, holding him tighter, feeling his body shiver in his arms.

Namjoon had no idea of the hell Seokjin just went through. He doesn't know just how hurt he is, because the man wasn't saying a thing.

He couldn't speak any longer, and he didn't have the strength to even move his lips. His screams were locked inside of him, replaying the graphic scenes in his head like a movie, making him feel powerless.

Right now, all he that his body was able to physically do was hold onto Namjoon, as if Mister Jang was still around him.

The young man acted as his shield. A shield of protection against all evil.

Seeing Seokjin so silent made Namjoon worry. He was usually very social and bright, but now he was completely shut.

A heaviness in his left arm snapped the young man out of his thoughts. He narrowed his head downwards, staring at a sleeping Seokjin, who was snoring on his shoulder.

Instead of leaving him to peacefully sleep on his shoulder, Namjoon gently moved the older man's body, standing him up.

"Mmm... Namjoon?" Seokjin mumbled, halfway asleep as his eyes threatened to flutter open at any minute. But his lover didn't allow him to awaken.

The last thing Namjoon wanted to do was disturb the man's sleep, he had been through enough.

"It's okay, close your eyes." He whispered at the man, folding his legs in half to carry him upstairs, bridal style.

Seokjin rested silently in the younger's arms, feeling a sense of relaxation travel all over his weakened body, the moment he was placed in a bed.

Namjoon tugged him in and covered his own body up as well, softly caressing Seokjin's head until he fell asleep for good.

"Sleep well, sweetheart. When you wake up tomorrow, you'll forget about tonight.

You won't suffer anymore from now on, Seokjin. I promise."

A promise so sincere, Seokjin felt safe and secure.

But his nightmare was far from over. As the night went on and became darker by the minute, the man kept on struggling with the pain he felt in his head.

Despite being given a pain killer to specifically get rid of his headache, Seokjin showed no improvement whatsoever, throughout the night. The pain only multiplied, making his eyes feel heavier until he fell into a troublesome sleep once more.

~~~

"It hurts! It hurts! Please, stop!"

"You didn't think this was going to be easy, did you? In this strip club, every escort gets treated the same."

"You hurt me..."

"This is the job you chose, so don't complain about it. Oh, and congratulations! You got the job, baby boy."

~~~

Namjoon's POV:

I woke up to a strange noise.

My heart was pounding out of my chest as I'm not used to being startled by anything at night. Not to mention, a loud scream.

No... Not a scream. It sounds more like crying... No wait, not even. It sounds like...

"Moaning?" I turned on my lamp, discovering where the noise was coming from.

"Seokjin..." The man was moaning in his sleep, crumbling my shirt in his hands.

The following words he leaked from his mouth left me in shock.

"Namjoon... Don't. Namjoon... please. Please... Don't hurt me."

~~~