“……Th-that kind of thing…….”
“Didn’t I mention that?”
“Yes.”
Dohui gave a dumb answer to whatever the man asked. He felt like he had to. Even the slightest misstep and he felt like he’d get hit across the face again.
The dried blood in his nose made it hard to breathe, but after the man had briefly brought up his fingers, he didn’t want to show that. He’d hidden his hands behind his back openly enough, but this wasn’t a man who would fail to notice.
Gong Haejin’s fingertips closed around Dohui’s small chin.
“These days, they say nothing goes to waste. If you get rolled around everywhere like a whore and become useless — eyes, heart, liver, kidneys…… everything packed inside this flat stomach can be cut out and sold. Still won’t come close to the principal, but at least it’d be some satisfaction.”
“…….”
“Oh — the limbs are an option too, though they’d fetch a bit less.”
He couldn’t even swallow his saliva — it pooled thickly beneath his tongue. Gong Haejin’s fingers pushed suddenly past Dohui’s slightly parted lips. Even just looking at them, those hands were unmistakably thick and rough, and they pried through the inside of Dohui’s mouth.
Dohui forgot how to breathe. The moment those fingers forced their way in, a nauseating wave of nicotine smell hit him — he nearly gagged but barely held it back. Along with that sharp scent, the man’s searing body heat warmed the tip of his cold-numbed tongue.
The process was not gentle, of course. The fingers rummaged around as though they’d sever his frenulum, causing saliva to trail out from the corners of his mouth. Even with just two fingers, it felt like the edges of his lips would tear. When they clamped around his tongue like a pair of scissors, he finally broke into a rough cough.
Cough, cough. With his chin held in place he couldn’t even turn his head, and he coughed helplessly right into the man’s face. The man didn’t seem to care in the slightest — he only pulled the corners of Dohui’s mouth wider.
“Breathe.”
“Cough.“
“I’m in the middle of appraising your body’s worth. If you’re going to drop dead, pay back as much as you can before you do.”
“Hic…….”
“And whatever’s still short — your family, relatives, everyone who shares your blood, they’ll be the ones making up the rest.”
A sharp, aching pain lingered around his jaw. He had the grim premonition that if the man pressed just a little harder, the thin bone would crack right through. Dohui clenched the muscles of his lower abdomen, taut with tension. If he didn’t, he felt like he’d wet himself.
The man’s two fingers, which had briefly pulled out, pushed back in. They dug freely into the soft, delicate inner lining of his cheeks. As rough an act as the man’s own skin. It felt as though nicotine was being forced to seep into the very root of his tongue.
With his tongue being stimulated over and over, saliva welled up and brimmed. It was a fairly pathetic sight. His hands weren’t even bound, yet he hid them away out of fear they’d be broken. Because of that, he couldn’t push the man away. His whole body declared it — you can hit my face, but not my hands.
The man forcibly wrenched his head back at a neck-straining angle and kept pushing into his mouth. The veins stood out on Dohui’s round forehead.
“Ugh…….”
The man’s rounded fingernails pressed deeper inside. The terrifying nearness to his uvula made his throat open on instinct. A dry heave he couldn’t suppress surged through him, making his chest heave violently.
His face had gone scarlet with distress, and the tears that had stopped began spilling again. His wet bangs clung messily across his pretty forehead.
“Filthy. Maybe a wash would help.”
I even took the trouble of removing your padding, and you’re sweating this much. The man chided him. He hadn’t raised his voice at all, yet Dohui’s muscles seized with tension.
As the man’s hand slid out, saliva stretched in threads like spiderwebs behind it. Gong Haejin shook it off with an elegant flick, then traced along Dohui’s neckline. He pressed his wet fingertips against the place where the artery pulsed.
Hff, hff — making sounds that were somewhere between crying and ragged breathing, Dohui pressed his lips together.
The act of taking stock of the boy’s body was only just beginning. Gong Haejin sent a bold gaze that looked as though it could sweep through even his mucous membranes.
“Im Dohui.”
“…….”
“You need to answer.”
“Y-yes…….”
The voice that called him like a dog was cold and deeply threatening. Dohui was in no position to refuse, so he answered quietly.
At that, as though it pleased him, the man said, “Good boy.”
“Hic…….”
“Stop whimpering. I can’t stand dealing with crybabies.”
Did he even know that his monotone, flat voice was the scariest part? Dohui even found himself thinking that being yelled at would’ve been easier to bear.
It was an enormous effort just to lift his arm. His fingertips trembled so violently that his heart pounded like it had gone mad. Could the man hear the hammering of it? He felt like his heart might just stop altogether. Hff…… I’m, I’m sorry. Dohui said through tears, his arm half raised. His voice cracked and came out faint.
Gong Haejin looked at the clumsily raised arm — like a student being punished — and gave a small shake of his head. Dohui caught even that tiny reaction and raised his arm a little higher.
Then Gong Haejin grabbed the hem of Dohui’s knit sweater and peeled it off in one smooth pull. It caught briefly on his arms but he yanked it free by force. The knit stretched out of shape as it came off.
“What a mess.”
Goosebumps rippled across his slender arms. He was cold. Cold enough that he wanted to snatch the knit back from the man’s hands that instant.
The man stripped off the remaining undershirt just as swiftly. His upper body was left completely bare, and he was freezing. The cold air wrapped meticulously around every inch of Dohui’s skin. The sweat cooled rapidly, dragging his body temperature down at a dizzying rate. It was cold enough that breath might fog at his lips.
“How thoughtful of him, even undressing me.”
He didn’t seem anything like the man who had slapped him the moment he arrived and demanded he take off his padding. He’d thought there was a little more room for conversation after that…… but why. Dohui shivered pitifully and rubbed his own chilled forearms.
This place was exactly like a cold storage freezer. Far too cold, and the layers of that distinct cement smell had seeped in and made it grim. The light hanging from the center of the ceiling was weak — whenever the man stood up, it gifted Dohui’s face with shadow.
Longing for light, Dohui had been staring only at the floor — faintly and dimly visible — when tears began falling in drops. The man had told him not to cry, but he couldn’t stop.
Until he opened his eyes this morning, he hadn’t imagined something like this would happen to him. Like any other day, he’d lazed around on his bed scrolling through his phone for a while, then bought a sandwich because he was hungry. A sandwich…… what had even become of that. He’d still felt so at peace back then.
And yet — at some point, he’d fallen into a pit. Into a place ruled by pitch-black darkness with no end.
The tears he’d been shedding pitifully grew heavier. His lips parted and an unsightly sound poured out from his throat. Let me go. I want to leave. I hate it here.……
He must have sobbed out loud. In the end, he clung to the man’s legs. With his mind completely blank, he pressed his palms together desperately and opened his mouth to say he was sorry. Tears and snot smeared across his face, and every time he opened his mouth, saliva stretched between his teeth.
Gong Haejin watched the sight with leisurely interest. The boy broke down quickly. He cried on and on, like a child that couldn’t be soothed. The reason he’d sat through the wailing he didn’t want to hear was because the face of this utterly ruined young man was quite to his liking.
Until the boy’s friend arrived tomorrow, Dohui would not be allowed to step outside the rules he had set. From Gong Haejin’s perspective, that was something to look forward to very much.
After exchanging a few words, the way the boy had shrewdly abandoned the chair and dropped to his knees was rather satisfying. Just like a real dog. The way he acted like an animal suited him.
Gong Haejin, who had been staring at the dried blood caked on the boy’s nostril, pulled him to his feet.
A space with only two chairs and a folding table. No bed. Because this place existed solely to pressure the other person. With a quiet tsk, Gong Haejin began to move in earnest. He grabbed Dohui roughly by the forearm and the boy let out a low whimper.
“It won’t break.”
Even as he said that, Dohui squirmed and tried to pull his arm free. Gong Haejin kept his grip firm and shoved the boy against the wall.
Dohui was pushed helplessly as Gong Haejin pressed in suddenly. The uneven surface of the wall scraped against his cheek. The same went for his fully exposed chest. The difference in strength was overwhelming. No matter how much Dohui struggled, he moved exactly as the man wanted. Push — he was pushed. Pull — he was pulled.
He didn’t even notice when the man’s hand reached his waistband. Or the denim buckle being undone.
“Ah!”
Only when his jeans were yanked abruptly downward did the situation register. Dohui began to resist in a frenzy, but to the man it was a laughably negligible force.
“You were begging for forgiveness just now — I guess you don’t actually want it?”
Even with those words murmured against his ear, Dohui kept squirming.
A powerful force shoved Dohui forward. In the blink of an eye, all he could see was the wall. Even being held down with just one hand, he felt plastered against it. His cheek stung — he must have gotten a scratch there.
“P-please…….”
“And what do you think I’m going to do.”
Gong Haejin struck the plush flesh of his buttocks with an open palm. Ah! — the merciless blow left his rear burning bright red.
“This sort of thing doesn’t suit my nature.”
Not that you’d know.
It would honestly be easier — to break each toe with a hammer one by one, to snap an ankle, or to pull off fingernails. So tormenting him like this was perhaps, in a way, a meaningless exercise. He was simply curious, because the boy kept acting so guileless.
Gong Haejin released his hand and stepped back, and Dohui’s body slid down the wall, jeans still half-hanging at his thighs. He hugged his aching arm and swallowed his groan.
Is it over now. So the man intended to humiliate me. How…… how can something like this be his idea of play.
Gong Haejin’s fingertips hooked lightly at the waistband of his underwear.
“No, no…… d-don’t. Please don’t.”
Gong Haejin watched him shake his head frantically, showing clear and desperate refusal.
“Stop it. You’re starting to annoy me now.”
He grabbed a fistful of Dohui’s hair and wrenched his head back. Dohui’s neat, even teeth were laid bare. Small, white, and perfectly straight.
