The new maid, or rather the substitute Nanny, was named Han Hye-Kyo. She was...innocent to the point of it being ridiculous. No matter what I said to her, even if it was a twisted joke, she never seemed to understand. She laughed idiotically at everything and petted me like I was some doll.
Other than her looks I found her to be an incredibly boring individual. She gossiped about celebrities all day with the other staff, she read me the same fairytales again and again and her singing....let's just say her lullabies were so out of key they gave even me nightmares.
While she still took me on my morning walks around the Estate, she wasn't much for stimulating conversation, and she never told me about any news that mattered.
To summarise all of this, I simply missed Min Ho.
I had taken for granted what a convenient minion I had.
If I were to compare Hye-Kyo to Min Ho it was like comparing cheap convenience store wine to Dom Perignon. But I had to be patient, even though I wanted Min Ho, I had to wait for him to taste better. Like Wine, Min Ho gets better with time.
Once a week, on a Friday, Kang Seung would take me back to Golden Hoove to watch one of Min Ho's matches.
Each match Min Ho became more and more vicious. The desperation, combined with his sleep deprivation and torture was quickly bringing out the monster in him.
Watchers in the arena had long stopped calling him Pathetic Bitch, now he was known to everyone as the Laughing Confector. The more desperate he was in a match the more maniacal he would become. His laughter would be frantic and joyful. He would ignore all the pain as he did the most beautiful things to his victims.
Annoyingly though, at the end of each fight, his morality would kick in and he'd always scream before fainting. I wished he would truly grow into his carnivorous nature; I hated the way he rejected it. But there was still time he was still growing.
After his matches, I would visit him.
I had requested for Kang Seung to isolate Min Ho more than the other animals. As a result, Min Ho had his own cell. He was given one meal a day made of breadcrumbs and water. There was no toilet so he had to sit in his own filth without a shower. Bugs crawled on him and flies came flying towards his stench.
By this point, I had kept him in that hell for four months. He was now a shell of his former self, his hair was long and dishevelled, he was so skinny that his bones could be seen through his skin, but unlike before there was a devilish glint in his eyes.
A demon had taken over his body and was watching me through him.
This is the stage that you would call unfreezing. I had deprived Min Ho of his sense of self, sensibilities, and morals. It was in this state that he was susceptible to change; or rather my mind control would easily take effect.
Every time I visited Min Ho after his match I would be his light, his shine, his happiness and hope.
I came with tears in my eyes.
"M-m-min Ho are you okay...you look awful!" I wailed. I then gave him bread, "I snuck out some food again, and I'm talking to Granddad he said he'll let you out soon. He promised."
Min Ho grabbed my hand and ate the bread from it like some mutt. Watching him lick up my palms, trying to get every scrap so desperately, brought a smile on my face that I struggled to hide.
He reached out a weak palm to my face and gently squeezed my cheek, "You're a good child" he said with a hoarse and dry voice, "too good for these people and this world."
I held Min Ho's hand, it felt frail, so frail that I could probably break his fingers with my infantile strength. "Min Ho, there are so many scary people in the world, I need you to protect me, I'm scared."
Min Ho's hands trembled and he shook his head, "I don't know if I'll survive this place-"
"You will survive this place...I will help you survive....you're the only person I can rely on and I'm the only person you can rely on. We need to protect each other, you need to protect me."
I said this to Min Ho every time I saw him. It was a Layman's attempt at brainwashing. It was basic but effective. I just kept reinforcing the message that the only person he could rely on was me and that he had to protect me. I was his whole world and his only source of kindness.
Admittedly, this type of brainwashing would be harder on someone who was more strong-willed, but for Min Ho, it worked. He was already unstable and had unorthodox ideas, and he was now thoroughly unstabilised by his current torture, making him more vulnerable and easy to convince.
"Yes I'll do my best to protect you, you're all I have" he whispered to me, "I promise if I get out of here I'll do everything for you Kang Ho. We'll look after each other."
I nodded and cried, thick big tears slid down my cheeks easily and then I said, "Uncle Min Ho I know how to get out of here...I heard Grandad saying how th-the-they'd let you out."
"Tell me, tell me! Please," Min-Ho held onto my shoulders with shaking hands. I could smell the desperation coming off of him stronger than the stench of urine.
I leaned towards his ears and said, "You need to throw away those useless morals, everytime you scream at the end of your matches you end up staying longer. You need to enjoy the kill. Let yourself go. Once you do that, Grandad will let you out."
Min Ho stared at me with soulless eyes and remained silent for a while, I almost thought he saw through me and my entire act, but he nodded, "I have to give in." A twisted smile cracked out at the corner of his lips, "Is that it?"
The bloodthirsty look in his eyes sent shivers down my spine, I felt like he would devour me with his gaze alone. It seemed like he was ready.
"That's it. Once you do that, you'll be free to protect me."
Min Ho squeezed my hand, "Don't worry little one, I'll be by your side soon and I'll protect you forever, there's nothing I won't do for you. I'll keep you safe from these vermin. I'll make sure this never happens to you, I'll do everything for you."
That's what I wanted to hear.
And just like that, in the next match, when he pulled out Weasel Kid's spine while he was still breathing. As the blood splattered on the nearby audience and his horrifying screams echoed out, Min Ho never stopped laughing, not even as he was dragged off the stage.
It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
When he left that place, he loyally held my hand and listened to my every word. He had truly become my mongrel.
6 YEARS LATER....