Wretches & Kings

“Stick close by me,” Seungri said quietly to Hyun Ae and pulled the hood over her head. “This isn't exactly the friendliest place to be.”

He began farther down the tunnel, the aggressive hollering of an overactive crowd kept Hyun Ae as close to Seungri as his shadow. Lights embedded in the ceiling led the way down the walkway, water splashing under their feet. Hyun Ae noticed two men standing at a large door that looked like one to a safe. At the sight of them, one turned the giant lock and together they pushed it open, the sounds of the crowd fully unleashed. Seungri nodded to them as he stepped through. Hyun Ae hurried quickly behind.

Her heart jumped into her throat at the towering cage in the center of the room. Steep, haphazardly made bleachers were crowded with shouting people, throwing their arms about like mad monkeys. Two people were battling in the cage which looked to be nothing, but massive iron poles and sturdy wire mesh. Blood was smeared across the floor.

“Scared yet?” Seungri asked, not taking his eyes off the individuals in the ring.

“Yes,” answered Hyun Ae. One of the men was thrown into the mesh and, to Hyun Ae's horror, an electrical current convulsed his body until he fell back to to the floor. “On second thought, no. I'm terrified.”

Seungri grinned. “Just don't say anything about this to Daesung. He'd kill me if he knew I let you come to this with me.”

A man with slicked back dark hair approached them, eyes darting and sketchy. He looked to be in his early forties. Hyun Ae shrank behind Seungri.

“We got a...possible problem,” the man said, drawing close to Seungri, who looked at him questioning. The man nodded up the bleachers. “The guy on the second row, five in. Dressed like he shouldn't be here.” Seungri nodded. “He's one of Doe-Chang's alliances. He's placing bets like there's not tomorrow, asked one of my guys where 'this V.I.' was.” The man scratched the back of his head, face contorted with nerves. “Your name's in for the round after this next one. Get ready.”

Hyun Ae peeked over Seungri's shoulder at the man's retreat and then up at her friend's face. “What are you going to do?”

“What I always do,” Seungri said, focused on the alliance that the man had pointed out. He slipped his hooded sweatshirt off and held his hand out to Hyun Ae. “Wrap me up.”

Hyun Ae fished for the rolls of cloth in her pocket and pushed up her sleeves. Her own hooded sweatshirt was three sizes too large, but it kept her from standing out too much. Her fingers worked deftly in wrapping Seungri's hand from his knuckles to almost his forearm. From under her hood, she surveyed him. His eyes were intent on the cage match, not paying her any attention.

He was different there in that underground scene that was overpowered with the smell of sweat and something else putrid and sour. The friendly and immature Seungri was closed away, replaced with an intense, serious man. Hyun Ae could feel the chords of muscles twitching with anxiety, need. Recoiling and relaxing.

“Okay,” Hyun Ae said, stepping back. “Do you need anything else?”

He shook his head and headed for the cage. Hyun Ae watched him. His back was sculpted with muscle, practically unscathed. She followed at a farther proximately, watching intently as he entered the cage. A roaring wave shook Hyun Ae when the spectators saw the next opponent. Seungri raised his arms over his head and the roar grew louder.

“He's obviously a favorite,” muttered Hyun Ae under her breathe.

“Yep.” She jumped at the voice. The man with the greased hair was standing next to her. “He's never lost a match.”

“Never?”

The man shook his head. “First stepped into the cage when he was fifteen and never looked back.” He looked at Hyun Ae from the corner of his eye. “He's not the strongest, but he's quick. And when he gets in there, his temperament completely changes.”

“What do you mean?” asked Hyun Ae.

“Outside the cage, you know what he's like. Friendly, annoying, a decent person. The cage changes people. He becomes a different person. He's relentless. He's brutal.” Hyun Ae watched Seungri as he awaited his opponent. “That's why he always wins. Its his way of venting anger; we all need those though right?”

“Yeah...” Hyun Ae answered absently.

Seungri's assailant stepped into the ring and Hyun Ae's eyes widened. A mountain of flesh and bone with hands the size of Seungri's head, towering at least seven feet tall. Veins left trails along his flesh, pulsing in his shaved head and neck.

“Shit...” the man beside her hissed. “Knew there was something off.”

“What?” Hyun Ae demanded, looking to the man, her worried face shadowed by her hood. “What's wrong?”

“Doe-Chang's alliance and now this guy. This whole thing's fixed,” the man spat. Before Hyun Ae could ask what he meant, he continued, “that guy's too well fed, too in shape to be one of the poor bastards that does this for money. He's a dog, trained for this. Shit, he's gonna slaughter Seungri.”

“You said never Seungri's never lost a match!” Hyun Ae pointed out, her voice rising with panic.

“Yeah, but those guys were just as hungry and in the same shit shape as him. This guy's healthy and, shit, he's gonna tear Seungri in half.” He ran his hands over his slicked scalp and grimaced.

Hyun Ae wished she could see Seungri's face, to know what he was thinking as the massive man stepped up to him.

“V.I. versus Dong-Si!” a muffled voice above their heads announced with a horrid crackling in the background. “Begin!”

The two men surveyed each other for only a moment. Dong-Si charged Seungri, who easily dodged it with a slight step to the left. He came at Seungri again; Seungri ducked underneath his massive arms and brought his fist to the man's jaw in an uppercut. Dong-Si rocked back and Seungri took the small opening to pummeling the man's torso with a series of relentless punches. Grunts emitted from the giant's lips, but without blocking Seungri's attacks, he grabbed Seungri's wrist and threw him aside like he was nothing.

Seungri hit the ground and rolled back to his feet, barely affected. The two men circled each other, Seungri keeping his arms in a defensive position while the man simply walked around like it was nothing, eyes surveying Seungri like a meal. Even Seungri's onslaught seemed to have done little to affect him. The man rushed again and Seungri ducked; however, the giant turned on the balls of his feet, leg shooting out to smash a heel into Seungri's side.

Hyun Ae flinched at the sound of cracking bone as Seungri hit the ground. He laid there for only moment, the sounds of the crowd becoming deafening as those that had bet on him threw orders for him to get up. Dong-Si came at him, leaping to bring his elbow into Seungri's back. But the smaller man rolled out of the way last second, getting to his feet a little slower than last time. By the hitch in his body when he inhaled, Hyun Ae could tell the damage to his ribs—and possibly his lung—was extensive.

Seungri continued to evade the man as much as possible, stepping to either side or back as the Dong-Si swiped his giant paws at him. Seungri's eyes were fixed on his opponent, face drawn in pain as they danced around the ring. The man swiped at him again and Seungri spun away. The man's other hand shot out and grabbed Seungri by the arm and threw him over his head.

When Seungri hit the ground a second time, his body ricocheted and Hyun Ae saw his mouth open in a silent scream. The man grabbed Seungri by the arm and leg and brought him over his head. Shouts of glee and remorse rang out. Hyun Ae pulled at her hood and looked to the man standing beside her.

“We have to do something!” she shouted over the din.

The man shook his head, looking just as worried as her. “We can't. Unless you want to get in there and take over.”

“Is that allowed?”

As the words left Hyun Ae's lips, Dong-Si brought Seungri's back down upon his knee and Seungri couldn't keep the scream of pain that emitted from his mouth. The man dropped him to the ground where he lay motionless.

“Get up!” the giant shouted. “You're the great V.I.! Get up!”

Seungri struggled to roll himself on his stomach, to his elbows. The man's bare foot collided with his ribs, the side that had not been attacked yet, sending Seungri sprawling again. Dong-Si grabbed him by the throat and drug him towards the edge of the cage, towards the electrified wire.

Hyun Ae threw off her sweatshirt and ran for the entrance to the cage. “Open it!” she commanded to the man who stared at her. “Open it!”

The man hurried to obey and Hyun Ae slipped inside. The crowd quieted slightly at the sight of her, lost for words that a woman was standing in the ring. “Hey!” Hyun Ae shouted. “I'm talking to you!” But the giant paid her no heed as he prepared to set Seungri against the fence. Hyun Ae slipped one of her shoes off, trying to think what she was going to do when she gained the man's attention.

Nothing. She'd only been training with Seungri for a few weeks; she couldn't take on a man that size. But it was better than watching Seungri die. And she chucked her shoe. It smacked into the back of the man's head and he turned. His nearly invisible eyebrows snapped up and after a moment of silence, he laughed.

“Little girls shouldn't be in here!” he bellowed.
The crowd had fallen almost silent. Hyun Ae clenched her fists, eyes flickering to the unconscious Seungri that he had dropped and she removed her other shoe. “I'm not a little girl,” she said, “bitch.”

The man cocked his head to the side and approached her slowly. “What did you call me?”

Hyun Ae backed away, but the determined glint in her eyes did not waver. “You heard me. Bitch.”

She knew she was in way over her head. If he could do such damage to Seungri, he'd kill her. She had no experience in that sort of thing and even if she did, he was stronger, and faster than he looked.

He sprang forward and as he reached her, Hyun Ae dove between his legs and rolled to her feet behind him. He stopped and looked back at her, clenching teeth and ran at her again. Hyun Ae did what Seungri did, flitting around. If she could make him angry enough...he'd either become an unstoppable force that would rip her in two or become someone easy to outsmart. Plus, there was his lack of being able to stop suddenly to consider. Hyun Ae's eyes traveled around the ring, searching for something to help. The only thing was the cage itself.

Something clicked and Hyun Ae faltered, leaving an opening. The giant switched his weight and sent a roundhouse kick to her. Hyun Ae bolted to the side, barely missing a fatal move at her head. Suddenly, a foot collided with her chest and sent her flying backwards. Vision stuttering and air gone from her lungs, Hyun Ae tried to hurry to her feet, the ground swaying underneath her. She began to move again, the man's gleaming eyes stuck on her, grinning with triumph.

Hyun Ae stopped again and they faced each other. Gaining a quick breathe, Hyun Ae spoke. “Come on...you bastard...You're pathetic.”

“Girl,” he growled. “I'm gonna end you. Then, I'm gonna finish your boyfriend. Sound like a plan?”

“Bring it, bitch,” Hyun Ae spat, touching her sternum. It was broken.

The man roared and charged, feet thundering and sending the floor into a quaking fit. She backed closer to the cage's side, the current making the hairs on her body stand up and ears buzz. Her eyes stayed on his feet.

One...two...breath...three...

In his arms' length, she suddenly jumped to the side, sliding across the blood-smeared ground, burning her arms. The giant hit the fence and the current latched onto him, sending his body convulsing and screaming. Hyun Ae watched, eyes wide as the man stood, fastened to the fence and unable to escape as his body began to smoke. People were shouting in alarm.

Someone must have shut off the current because the man became still. He fell forward, taking the mesh with him and bending the poles as he crashed into the first row of seats.

Hyun Ae scrambled to her feet and hurried over to Seungri. Fingers to his neck assured her he was still alive. She looked up for his companion who was staring at her with jaw to the floor. Everyone in the room held the same expression. With her eyes, she gestured to Seungri and his companion snapped out of his shock to climb into the cage. Together they picked him up as Hyun Ae bit into her cheek to help distract her from the searing pain in her chest.

“This way.” The man nodded to a door. They shuffled inside and set Seungri on the table. Hands free, Hyun Ae pressed a hand to her chest and bit into her lip, face scrunching in pain as tears fell from her eyes. “You need that looked at,” he said as a knock came at the door. “Shit. Stay here.”

Hyun Ae fell back in a chair, praying that a fractured sternum was all that the hit had caused. She figured the internal organs were alright. But adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, making everything unbearably clear and rushed; the conversation outside muffled. Her whole body was in tremors.

So much for keeping the whole trip from Daesung.

She realized her breathing was far from normal and the clarity was quickly becoming dazed. Hyun Ae tried to take a normal breathe, but the broken bone cruelly protested.

“Hey.” Eyes fluttered open to see the man's face. “You did good. What do you need me to do?”

“I'm going to...either vomit or pass out,” grumbled Hyun Ae in answer. “Just a warning...” Her words faded as her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell forward into the man's arms.