"Wicked play, wicked game, wicked deed, wicked you."
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No more was said, and I was dragged out to another room, and thrown down onto the floor. Jeonghan grabbed my tied wrists, attaching them to a chain dangling from the ceiling so I was hoisted and hovering with my feet just about touching the ground.
I glanced to the side, a wall and table adorned with different torture devices. I looked back, Choi Seungcheol's dark face in view.
A single light hung just before me and then the door was slammed shut, and it shook a little, along with my heart, the idea of what was to come next already brewing in my mind.
"I'll start easy. Tell me, why were you sent here, to Japan?" He strolled over to the table, and stood still for a second like he was considering what would cause me the most pain.
His fingers clasped around a knuckleduster, one with a small spike on each knuckle. "I'm sure you already know."
Why are you doing this Aera?! Just comply lady!
He came back over and pushed his fist down onto my thigh, the spikes digging into my flesh. It was bearable. "I do know, but I want to hear it from you."
"You're supposed to be respectful to women." It was a mutter under my breath, but he had heard it, loud and clear.
"I am, just making an exception for you." My head flung to the side; he had just slapped me.
The cold metal of his knuckleduster came in contact with the skin on my cheek, increasing the pain of his already hard slap.
"Now, open your mouth and talk."
"Fuck you." I seethed out through clenched teeth.
He laughed. He stopped. He walked back over to the table and put down the knuckleduster. He picked up a whip and turned his waist slightly, to show it off to me.
It was black, and it was shiny, and it looked like it was going to hurt. A lot. The thought of the pain it was going to bring, suddenly brought my thoughts back to the only other person in the room
My eyes flickered towards Jeonghan, yet he wasn't looking at me, once again. He hadn't looked at me once since this whole ordeal began, not even when he was tying me up.
But it was alright. If this situation brought anything to me, it was the heavy realisation of where I stood with Jeonghan.
Far, far, away, on the other side of the wall called enmity. Our enmity. Our families' enmity.
It only took you long enough.
My attention was brought back to the man strutting back to me, coming behind me to cause tears in my flesh and tears in my eyes.
Let's see how this one ends.
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I couldn't keep my head up straight. It dangled limp from my neck, like the rest of my body from the chain holding me off the ground.
The metallic smell of blood infiltrated my senses, its taste lingering in my mouth. Sweat trickled down my temples, down my neck, down my chest.
I panted heavily, eyes unable to focus on one thing in particular, my vision hazed, my mind blurred.
Before, the sounds of torture and pain were what you could hear, and now, it was pin drop silence, save me gasping for air.
I had no idea where I was, what time of day it was, if Jihyo and Taeyang were okay. I knew nothing, kneeling on the floor there, head pounding, muscles throbbing.
Seungcheol had left a while ago, something about some business matters he had to attend to, with blood on his white shirt and hair no longer perfectly styled.
It was just Jeonghan and I left, yet he still hadn't spoken a word, even in Seungcheol's absence.
"Untie me." My mouth was dry, and my lips were dry. I could only manage to get two words out, the feeling like sandpaper in my throat.
He complied, and I fell to the floor with a thud. The pain of the fall was nowhere near what I had just went through, and it gave some slight relief to my aching bones, I felt a bit more free.
I don't know how long I laid there, but it must've been long enough for Jeonghan to finally open his damn mouth.
"I'll treat your wounds."
He lifted me up, and I had no energy to fight back, laying like a limp doll in his arms. My eyes were closed, so I was unaware of my surroundings, which was not a good idea, considering the event that just played out due to the last time I trusted this man.
His arm that supported my back rested upon the cuts and gashes, making them sting even more.
He carried me to wherever, and when I opened my eyes I found myself in some sort of medical room. There were six hospital beds, with me laying upon one of them, and previous smell of blood was replaced with chemicals and disinfectants.
Jeonghan shuffled around for a bit, before placing some clothes and medical supplies onto the bed.
"Can you take your dress off for me?"
"Huh?!" Is he in his right mind, why on earth would I—
"So you know, I can help you with your injuries?" He lifted the first-aid box up, a red hue now on his cheeks as he looked away.
"Oh, yeah, sorry." He turned around as I grabbed the hem of the dress, or whatever that was left of it from that beating, ready to lift it up and over my head, when an electrifying pain spread out from my shoulders.
A sharp intake of breath, and Jeonghan looked uneasy as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, yet not daring to look back. "Can y— Can you help me?"
"Huh?!" It was his turn now, as he immediately turned around with an incredulous look on his face of pure disbelief.
"Right, uhm." He composed himself though, hesitantly stepping forward to reach me on the bed. He then brought his arms out forward, and when his fingertips touched me—well the dress, a chill ran out, and not from pain.
No matter what happened with this man, he still managed to have such an effect on me.
"Are you wearing anything underneath?" He said it quietly, loud enough for me to hear, and instantly, my face started to burn as if my cheeks weren't already red enough.
I quickly nodded, and he let out a sigh of relief, and it seemed he felt a little bit more comfortable now.
And so with his eyes looking somewhere else, he began undressing me.
Would've preferred it to be under different circumstances though— nO SHUSH AERA! Please do not forget who this man is to you and what he has done, why can't that get through your thick skull?!
Every once in while, it would hurt, and he would immediately stop to ensure I was okay. Just what was he playing at? I did not like this one-eighty switch of personalities one bit.
But soon, the dress was off, and he had me turn round so he could treat the injuries on my back, and when he brushed the hair away from my back, his fingertips grazed my neck and my eyes fluttered shut.
He was gentle, dabbing the ointment softly on my skin and stopping immediately when I let out a hiss of pain from the stinging sensations, constantly asking if it was okay, if I was okay.
After a while, I got used to the ointment meaning it stopped hurting, so Jeonghan stopped speaking. Then he was done, moving to tend to the rest of the wounds.
We sat in silence, and the whole time I stared at his face, utter confusion in my mind as to what I should've thought about this whole ordeal.
Of course, the rational part of my brain screamed that I should hate him, especially since the rest of my family does, yet a small part of me wanted me to forgive and forget. But only a fool would do that — me.
"Done. Let me help you put these on." I didn't even realise he finished, until he stood up, grabbing the sweatpants and putting them on me while I laid there helplessly.
Next, he put the hoodie on me, carefully guiding my each arm through the hoodie's ones to not hurt me, whilst I had began registering just how strange and weird this interaction was.
"Thanks." I muttered, not knowing what else to say once he was finished.
"No problem. Oh, uh, here." He passed an object to me. My phone. It was out of battery, so not much use to me.
"Should I take you back now?" He seemed unsure, standing in front me with a hand rubbing his neck awkwardly.
"It's fine I can—"
"No." He was quick to cut me off, causing me to look at him in surprise. "I mean, you're hurt and I should at least take you back to your hotel."
"You've done enough." I tried getting off the bed, yet immediately fell back down. To this, Jeonghan rushed forward, holding on to me so I didn't hurt myself further. "I've got you."
He said it so softly, I thought I had imagined it, but looking at him looking at me in the way that he was, proved otherwise.
And so, he tucked an arm under my legs, the other going to support my back, before I was lifted up off the bed and into his arms.
Then wordlessly, he took me through the building we were in, and outside where it was dark, to a parked car, placing me into the passenger seat. He got in next to me, then drove off.
To make the drive less awkward, he played some music, and I was grateful because if we sat in silence, I would've blurted out something stupid.
Ten or so minutes passed, and we had arrived at the hotel.
"Will you be alright by yourself?" I nodded, and he smiled, and that was my cue to leave, no matter how much I wanted to sit and stare at his smile forever.
As soon as I stepped out the car — that too with great difficulty — he drove off, and that was when it hit me.
I quickly turned to stare at his car, by now almost a small speck in the distance.
"I didn't tell him which hotel it was."