"Who is this?" Vylette snapped.

"This is Ms. Yang, with the Namyangju high school," the woman on the phone explained. "We are pleased to inform you that your son Yoongi has been elected into our student council! He will be remaining after school to work on treasury and historian duties as-"

"Yoongi isn't nearly smart enough for those roles." Vylette glared. "Who voted for him?"

"It's not based on votes, ma'am. His grades and test scores were sufficient-"

"Bullshit!" Vylette interrupted her again. "What's going on here?"

"Ma'am, this is an excellent opportunity for Yoongi. It will better his chances at getting accepted into colleges and will look great on his transcripts. He even has a shot at being class valedictorian."

Vylette growled. "Hm. Whatever. How late does he have to stay after school every day?"

"Usually until four, but of course we never hold students here against their will."

"And you say this will increase his chances in getting accepted to college? Ivy league?"

"Yes ma'am. Studies have shown that-"

"He better get accepted into Harvard or I'm coming for you personally." Vylette hung up.

-

The day passed by agonizingly slow for Namjoon.

With nothing to do all day inside the cage, he alternated between sleeping and trying to find a comfortable position.

The blanket and pillows made it a little easier, but eventually the boys long legs would itch to stretch out and he would struggle to find a new way to lay that wouldn't make his limbs fall asleep.

He almost wished someone would come home early, just to have a chance to be unlocked from this small hell sooner.

His hands frequently drifted up to the collar around his neck. He fiddled with it, trying to find a way to remove it, before being overcome with anxiety that he would accidentally set it off and quickly removing his hands.

Hours passed like this, and Namjoon was startled when the front door suddenly unlocked.

Fearing it was the woman and hoping it was the man, Namjoon sat upright as much as he could, his back pressing against the far end of the cage.

Sounds of shoes being kicked off, grumbling, and then Holden came into the kitchen.

Namjoon watched him as the man opened the fridge, pulling out ingredients to make a sandwich.

It was hard to believe he was once terrified of this man. He was still scared, that was for sure. The man clearly had perverse desires and didn't let anything stand in his way of getting them, but now the enemy of his enemy was his friend.

Holden bit into his sandwich, scrolling on his phone as he headed into the living room.

He glanced at the cage and the two looked at each other for a long moment, before Holden took a seat on the couch, propping his feet up on the top of the cage.

Vylette's threat still seemed to hover over the mans head even though she wasn't here, it seemed since he made no move to engage with Namjoon.

Namjoon watched the man eat, wondering if he should stay quiet and avoid risking the man giving him attention, or say something to test the waters and see where they stood.

"Last night." Namjoon started slowly. "You said my nose was cute."

Holden grunted, stuffing the rest of the food into his mouth as he snatched up the remote, powering on the TV.

"Well, yours is busted as shit."

The man snorted hard that it was almost a laugh, and Namjoon fought a tiny smile.

"Blame that on her majesty." Holden spat, glaring down at the porn star. "I sure as fuck do."

"You wouldn't have to deal with that if she was out of the way." Namjoon reminded him. He wrapped the blanket around himself, drawing his knees up to his chest.

Holden eyed him. "You sure seem eager to have me kill my own wife."

"I didn't say you had to go that far." Namjoon said, though he was definitely hoping that was the route the man was leaning towards. "We both know it would be easier if she was out of the picture. She's meaner than you are."

Holden laughed. "You preferring me now, slut?"

"Maybe." Namjoon's gaze was steady, not holding a trace of humor.

"Shut up before I stuff something in that mouth of yours." The man turned his attention back to the TV, but Namjoon could tell he wasn't watching the sports show.

Namjoon decided not to say anything else. Better to let the man come to his own conclusions instead of being pushed into them. The plan would only work if Holden believed he had come up with the idea himself.

He laid his cheek on his drawn up knees, wrapping the blanket around himself tighter to try and sleep some more while he still could. As soon as the woman came home, he would be far too anxious to close his eyes.

-

The sound of a door slamming startled Namjoon awake, and he blinked a few times to focus, lifting his head up.

"Unbelievable!" Vylette griped, tossing her bag onto the table as she stormed into the room. She stood in the threshold, glaring and crossing her arms. "Guess what your son is doing now."

Yoongi? Namjoon's heart pounded and he sat up straight.

"What." Holden sounded uninterested as he flipped through the channels.

"He's on the fucking student council now." Vylette spat, and Namjoon found it weird how most parents would be acting the exact opposite of this.

"Yeah?" Holden didn't care.

"So he won't be home until later, every day now." She huffed, running her hands through her hair. "Just great. Now we're going to have to pick him up after school."

She eyed her nonchalant husband. "You can do that, babe."

Holden snorted. "You can suck my dick, bitch."

Namjoon's eyebrows shot up, eyes darting to the woman to see how she was going to take that.

She crossed her arms, visible fury on her face. "You're just begging to be pegged again, aren't you?"

Again?! Namjoon looked back to the man, slightly enjoying this match between the toxic couple. So much new information!

Holden ignored her, turning up the volume of the TV.

Vylette ground her teeth together. "I'm shopping online with your credit card tonight. You can stay locked out of the bedroom again while I sleep with my toy until you learn to act right. Go pick up Yoongi at four."

She looked at Namjoon, as if deciding whether or not she was still mad at him, then turned and stomped up the stairs.

Namjoon stayed curled up in the corner of the cage with the blanket, wanting to stay out of her direct sight for as long as possible.

Finally, Holden stood up.

To Namjoon's surprise, he crouched down to be eye level with the boy.

The man studied him hard, as if mentally deciding something.

"You really like me more, slut?"

"You really like to be pegged, bottom?" Namjoon raised an eyebrow.

Holden smirked, reaching between the bars to stroke the boys cheek with two fingers. Namjoon turned his head slightly, taking the mans fingers into his mouth. He gazed at the man with half lidded eyes, sucking on the digits.

Holden shivered, taking his time to remove his fingers. He stood up and patted the top of the cage, nodding to himself like he had come to a decision.

"Tonight."

Before Namjoon could ask what that meant, the man walked away.