In the Shadow of Gyeongseong: Part I

Chapter 14: A Wolf Among Sheep

The city moved on.
Days blurred. Shadows stretched.
But across Gyeongseong... something darker was already in motion.

The red brick facade of Seodaemun Prison loomed under the gray sky - rigid, imposing, built to intimidate.

At the center, a stone arch marked the main gate, while a single watchtower stood off to the side - narrow windows, ever-watchful.
Two guards flanked the entrance, rifles at their shoulders, eyes sharp.

More patrolled nearby, circling the perimeter with steady steps and slung weapons.

The building was cold, fortified - its walls draped with imperial flags and wartime banners, bold Kanji slogans stitched in white and red:
忠誠は命なり - Loyalty is Life.
沈黙は秩序 - Silence is Order.

Two tall flagpoles rose beside the gate - one bearing the red sun of Japan, the other the crimson rays of its empire.
Both fluttered in the wind.

Not a prison.

A monument to fear.

It didn't look like a place where people were held - it looked like a place where people disappeared.

Inside the torture chamber of Seodaemun...

The room was small. A barred window high on the wall let in a shaft of pale light. The walls were tiled, but stained with age, grime caked into every corner. The air was heavy with the stench of sweat, blood, and mildew. It reeked of despair.

The stone floor was muddy and slick beneath the guards' boots.

In the center, Min-jae sat in a wooden chair, wrists and ankles bound tight with thick rope. His body was bare except for his tattered shorts. Bruises bloomed across his chest and arms.

He trembled.

Across the room sat Captain Fujimoto. Black uniform. Cap shadowing his eyes. One hand calmly gripping the crank of an electroshock device resting on the table beside him.

He turned it slowly.

Electricity surged.

Min-jae screamed - his back arching, every muscle locking up, sweat flinging from his skin with the violence of his convulsions.

Then the power stopped.

For a moment, silence. Gasping. Spasms.

Fujimoto waited in silence - unmoved, unblinking.

And turned the crank again.

This time, longer.

Min-jae cried out until his voice broke - body jerking uncontrollably, eyes rolled back, spit and tears streaming down his face.

The room had become a cage of pain - pulsing with screams, sweat, and electricity.

The machine whirred to a stop.

Captain Fujimoto rose from his chair - slow, composed. He stepped forward, the sharp click of his boots echoing in the foul silence.

Min-jae slumped in the wooden chair, chest heaving. His arms trembled against the bindings. His head hung low, sweat dripping from his chin. He looked nearly unconscious.

But as Fujimoto stopped in front of him...

Min-jae raised his head.

Barely.

His eyes were half-lidded, swollen with tears - but they still met Fujimoto's.

"お願いです...もうやめてください...お願いします..."
["Onegai desu... mō yamete kudasai... onegai shimasu..."]