Wretches & Kings

As the weeks wore on, Hyun Ae began to come to the assumption that the life as Doh-Chang's whore was all that remained. There were rumors that the resistance had fallen completely, that even their leader—the so called 'G-Dragon'—had been captured and did away with.

Did away with.

The phrase seemed like one did with a crippled, old dog or a garbage. It was not a phrase to be used for a young man that had given up his life in order to save so many others; a man that had been tortured from the time he was young, forced to relive a past in his head every day of his life. “Did away with” was for cowards, animals. G-Dragon was a leader and a fighter.

There had to be a way out.

But that option seemed to be drawing bleaker and bleaker. The door was always locked, there were no windows...Hyun Ae ached to see outside that room again, to see her allies—or to at least know that they were alive and well. What was left of them anyway.

She held on to that sting in the chest when she thought about Daesung. Because its all she could afford to feel anymore.

That and a burning, bitter anger that churned in her chest, resonated from darkened eyes. She would send that glare into Doh-Chang every time they stood in the same room; he found it humorous. Hyun Ae spent almost ever waking moment trying to plan how to get out, get away from him. She'd kill him, do something painful to him at least before she left. He had to know the pain he caused her. The pain, the humiliation.

Hyun Ae's eyes were plastered to his scarred and tattooed form as he moved about the room. Slowly, they turned their attention upon one of the chairs. It was solid, but not extremely heavy. Her mind churned. Could she really do it? Incapacitate him long enough to choke the life from him, watch it leak from his eyes until she was satisfied?

Yes.

His back was turned and Hyun Ae's every fiber screamed as her hands shakily grabbed the chair from beside the table. Muscles protested with every ounce of their strength, but she fought. She would end it. The chair lifted from the ground and she stepped forward, raising the chair over her head, ready to swing it into his skull. Her heart was pounding against her ribs, in her ears, making her head throb mercilessly. Blood began to pour from her nose again; she tasted the iron.

With her last burst of strength, her confines seemed to shatter. The chair swung and a sturdy forearm connected with it. Hyun Ae's heartbeat faltered as Doh-Chang turned his head to look at her as he grabbed the chair's arm and yanked the chair from her grasp. He stepped deliberately towards her and she stepped back. There was a new glint in his eye, no more amusement. Only a burning that made Hyun Ae's body shake more with fear.

“Now what did you do that for?” he asked, voice sending chills spiking through the body.

Hyun Ae halted her retreat and glared at him menacingly. She was free from the drug completely, head pounding and muscles shrieking. She suddenly shot forward, a scream leaving her throat, clawed hands reached for his throat. He caught her wrists, but not before one set of nails ran down his face. He growled and turned his head away, pinpricks of blood forming across his face.

“You little bitch,” he hissed and, freeing one hand, punched her across the face.

His strength was startling. It sent Hyun Ae to her knees. A fist in her hair sent her head hard against the table. The room spun and blurred, the world turning upside down. A foot collided with her ribs and her teeth gritted as the assault on her torso continued. When he was finished, he grabbed her short hair again and drug her towards the silken bed.

“I've been gentle with you, but that apparently isn't how things must be done with you.”

Hyun Ae struggled weakly, clawing at his wrist and arm uselessly. “Stop...” she croaked, unable to make out anything, but moving colors. The taste of iron was more prominent in her mouth. Ribs moved out of place when lungs breathed. Blood coated the side of the porcelain face from the gash in her forehead.

She was thrown onto the bed and she scrambled for a way off, but he grabbed her shoulder, pulled back. With one hand shoving her face into the sheets, he ripped away the thin hanbok, leaving her exposed.

“Pleading will get you nowhere, my beauty...” His voice was next to her ear as his finger trailed down her bare spine. “I'll make sure you'll never act out against me again.”

–

He had left her bleeding and shaking, mind dropped off into unconsciousness. He'd simply left her to either die or come to, not bothering to cover her or anything of suitability. When she did briefly regain her senses, her vision was still horrific. Her whole body cried out for mercy. Bruises were already forming. There were multiple ribs broken, she knew. And internal bleeding. She couldn't move; the pain was too prominent.

Her ears picked up the sound of someone entering the room; she prayed it wasn't Doh-Chang or her sister. Or anybody. They approached quietly and Hyun Ae shifted to see, but she could barely keep her mind afloat, let alone move. There was ripping, clinking. One of the expensive, silk drapes was thrown over Hyun Ae's exposed body and hands gently wrapped her in a dark cocoon before she was lifted from the bed effortlessly.

Confusion. What was happening? Who was this? She tried to voice questions, but her tongue refused to form words. The silk around her body was smooth, comforting—as was the body she was held against—almost made her lose consciousness again.

The air suddenly ruptured and Hyun Ae's body jumped involuntarily. Screams and gunfire rang out. The body holding her hurried. Shouts, explosions. Hyun Ae drew closer to her savior—if that's what it was. They seemed to go on amongst the chaos and she was relieved she couldn't see what was happening.

They came to a stop and she was switched hands. “She's wounded. Get her attention immediately.” The voice surprised—confused—her. But it was unmistakable.

The drape was removed from her head and she blinked, unable to focus on his face. But she knew it. She knew the deep, chilling voice. It was T.O.P..

And black crept at the corners of her eyes until that's all that was visible.