[ 35 ] To find a way out

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WARNING: mentions of drug dealing and prostitution

WARNING: mentions of drug dealing and prostitution

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June 2013, Seoul

The room was white and silent, empty except for the wardrobe and the small bed on which Jeongguk was laying with both hands on his stomach, desperately trying to calm down his breathing. It was six thirty am, Jeongguk had woken up early; breakfast was not until seven o'clock. And while he was glad he wouldn't wake up to yelling and crying sounds today, he knew those thirty minutes were going to be long and painful. He was not allowed to leave his room until the alarm clocks placed in every room rang. His phone had been taken away, along with the rest of his belongings, and there was nothing that could distract him in that dreadful, depressing room. The only thing that the camp owner provided was a Bible and Jeongguk had promised himself that no matter how bored he was, he would never, ever touch that book.

Why would he? This book was part of the reasons why his life was ruined.

It was 6:45 am now. In fifteen minutes, Jeongguk and the other boys — or inmates, as he liked to call them — would get up, eat breakfast, and enjoy another day of brainwashing, bullshit therapy sessions and physical abuse.

Every morning, they had to do a prayer. Then, they had to thank God for the food at lunch. And lastly, they had to formulate another prayer before going to sleep. Out loud, to make it worse. The lullaby they fell asleep to were the words spoken by a priest, speeches that aimed to make them understand just how wrong it was to like men.

Jeongguk did his best to keep track of the time spent in this building. He couldn't afford to lose track of time: he would go insane. He was already on the verge of breaking, and the only way to stay sane in this terrible place was to have something to look forward to. Jeongguk looked forward to the day he'd get the hell out of here: in 92 days. And to keep himself from going crazy, he spent all of his alone time planning what he would do when he would finally get out.

Going back home was his first option, but not the most reliable one, because who knew if his mother and brothers even wanted him back? He was the black sheep in the family. His mere existence was just a mistake that could have been avoided. He was painfully aware of that, for his dear mother never missed an occasion to remind him that he wasn't supposed to happen.

His second option was to find his boyfriend and ask him for help. Jeongguk wasn't fond of this option because he hated having people pity him. And it wasn't a reliable option either because 273 days passed since they last saw each other, and there was a big chance that Haru had already moved on.

His last option was to find a job as soon as he got out and sleep at his work place until he had enough money to buy a small house.

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