Minseok always lived a quiet life. Happily married to his, beautiful but frail wife. He worked happily on their little farm, growing vegetables and harvesting eggs from chickens. His wife, despite her long fair hair and sapphire eyes, could barely walk some days, but she contented herself but spinning thread, that along with his vegetables and eggs, Minseok sold in the Bussan markets. It was a hard life, but both the adults enjoyed being busy... So they were content.

 

One day however, a miracle struck; Minseok's wife was pregnant. They two rejoiced, even wept at times cause they felt themselves so lucky, but as the pregnancy wore on... Minseok's fear grew. He wife slowly grew... Frailer and frailer. Until she was bedridden. On what was supposed to be a celebrated day, Minseok was not only blessed with a beautiful daughter...Sohee. But he also lost his wife.

 

Almost all Minseok's time was spent caring for the baby, and whilst he was busy, one by one his chickens were eaten by foxes. He managed to keep a small part of his garden alive to keep them afloat, but they were still floundering. Minseok only had two pairs of hands, and he just couldn't mannage. And by the time Sohee was three, he just couldn't take it anymore.

 

He couldn't bear to see her malnourished and dirty, he couldn't afford to clothe or educate her. And as much as Minseok wanted to spend all his time with the best thing in his life, he knew that it wasn't going to be what was best for her.

 

And so washing her up as much as he could and delicately pinning up her orange locks, inherited from her father... Sohee's blue eyes shone with fear as she was taken into a looming mansion and she clung to her father.

 

In exchange for taking his precious daughter as his ward, Minseok payed the Lord of the said manner in every coin he could scavenge from selling his farm and that, from selling himself as a slave, it barely satisfied but it passed. From then on, Minseok was taken into the arena... And he never saw his daughter again.

 

__________

 

When Minseok first started in his slavery, he didn't speak. Not a solitary word for many many years, he wouldn't even introduce himself, and so the trainers named him "Xiumin." So at least they had something to refer to him by.

 

Now, Xiumin wasn't designed to be a fighter, small, petite and not as strong as he once was he could barely hold a sword straight at times, let alone wear armour or swing it. But he was lucky, because a very different trainer was around at the time, and he taught Xiumin a different way to fight, holding his sword backhanded he darts and spins a lot, and it much more suits his structure. Soon, Xiumin was Champion of the Sands, and he remained so until the fall of Bussan.

 

From there he was placed as a guard for the time being, and after awhile, assigned to Prince Sehun.

 

He's saved every coin since he first joined as a gladiator and he's hoping one day, he'll have enough money to get his daughter back and give them a decent life.