Overwhelmed Minho desperately huddled in a corner of the room he was held in, drawing his knees and wrapping them tightly to his chest.
The cold brick wall bit into his skin. However, that was barely a discomfort given what he'd been through earlier. His wrists burned from the far too-tight zip ties that were now rubbing them raw.
The biting pain reminded him that this was happening, and it wasn't just some nightmare.
How long had he been trapped in this dingy basement anyway? Hours, maybe even a day. However long it was, it was just about long enough for the despair to begin setting in.
It was grim in there, sometimes occasionally disrupted by the sound of the heavy door rattling when one of Jae-Hyun's goons brought him stale bread and water.
He was however grateful that Jae-Hyun let him keep his clothes– minor mercies, he thought. Though really, Jae-Hyun didn't care much about his modesty or dignity. To him, he was a monster that bought, and probably sold people like property.
Minho dropped his head back against the cold brick wall, squeezing his eyes shut as a fresh wave of despair materialized on him. He couldn't make sense of how fast things spiralled disastrously out of his control.
A scoff slipped through his cracked lips. If only he had worked overtime like he usually did, maybe he wouldn't have been home in time for the loan sharks to catch up with him.
"Stupid…" he whispered hoarsely. "So fucking stupid…"
He felt tears leak from his tightly shut eyes. Maybe if he'd just swallowed his pride and walked away and let his dad suffer the consequences of his own actions, he wouldn't be trapped in this hellhole.
He unintentionally let out a sarcastic laugh of bitterness. Who was he kidding though? Of course, he wouldn't have left his old man like that in the hands of ruthless henchmen, debt or no debt. Not after everything that poor man had been through since his wife walked out on them. He never did anything to give Minho a fractionally better life, but still, he was his dad.
But no. This day had been set precisely the moment Minho foolishly decided to give himself up to cover those psychopaths' debts. It was his fault he got in over his head with the underworld leeches, all in desperate attempts to keep whatever was left of his family intact.
And of course, just his terrible luck, it was Jae-Hyun who stepped up to 'save' Minho from his dire situation―for a price. His freedom, his soul, his body, all signed over to the city's cruellest crime lord as though he was some longwinded bargaining chip.
He clenched his fists furiously, burning away in his own self-loathing and despair as he slowly opened his eyes to scan this hellhole.
Screw sitting in a corner and loathing in self-pity. Screw letting this sadistic vile man think he owned him, and could do just about anything he saw fit to break him. He had to find a way to escape when he still could.
He squinted, as the light was dim and he could barely see anything properly. Studying the cramped room, he realized that it was just a little better than a glorified broom closet. Four mucky walls, a bulb hanging from a dangerously exposed wire, and just one heavy door. The only entrance and exit.
He stared at the door, his eyes narrowing with intent. The door hinges were rusty, and a thought crept in. Maybe if he found something just hit it right at the rusty point…
This was his way out. And even if it wasn't, he had to try still. He forced himself up and crept backwards slowly and silently such that he was standing just opposite the reinforced metal slab.
Deep breaths. Coiling his bound arms up, he launched himself with such force that would surely loosen the rusty point. Yet, the door didn't so much as rattle.
A shooting pain lanced through his shoulder that he'd launched at the iron. He stumbled forward, biting down his lip to stop him from making a sound.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Feisty pup trying to escape?"
The startled boy turned towards the husky voice, leaning on his throbbing shoulder.
No way.
Like Jae-Hyun hadn't roughed him up enough already, he sent his lackeys at him again and for what? So that they could rough him up more? The man peered at him from the open doorway, looking confused. Another one appeared behind the first. And another one.
"Maybe we should show him how we do stuff around here, boys?"
Mustering as much arrogance as he could, he stared back at them. "Screw you, you dense men. Let me out, or face me like the mighty men you claim to be for once!"
The man who entered first chuckled in a sinister manner. "Face who like a man? You? Sorry kid. I only face Mr. Park's bitch like the toy it is."
Who the hell did these men think they were? And what was wrong with literally everyone he crossed paths with in this mansion?
The other two men stepped in and grabbed the boy tightly as their leader inched closer, his lips curving into the same sadistic smile that Jae-Hyun had earlier. He reached for his zipper. "What, boy, you wanna keep running that pretty mouth of yours a―?"
"Stop!"
That single word boomed terrifyingly in the room, freezing every soul in there. The three men, as well as Minho, shrank back, shifting their gaze in fear.
It was expected of them, as no one in his sane mind would dare defy Jae-Hyun, given the grave situation they were caught in. Minho's fate could have just as easily been theirs, or they would even have got worse punishment.
"Really, Lee?" he asked, eyeing the man with lethal disgust. "Stooping this low? I expected more from my best enforcer. That's how readily you slake your baser instincts on anything that shakes your ego?"
Lee swallowed thickly, fighting the urge to pee himself under his boss' stern scorn. "S-sir Park, the boy talks t..too much. We were just gonna rough him up a b―"
"Yeah, I see how you idiots were out to 'rough' him up," Jae-Hyun pointed at his zipper. "You really think I'm that much of a boor that I can't handle my own damn property?" He turned to Minho. "And this one is a vile little pup that I'll need to handle quite… carefully. Do that again," he shifted to the men, "and I might as well decide you all into pelt rugs. Do you understand me?"
"Crystal, Sir!"
"Looks like you mutts have toned down pretty boy here, let's try a more personal approach. He levelled a look at Minho. Surely, at this point, Minho was tired of their smug faces. If he saw that annoying smirk one time, he was gonna scream. "Just you and I, pretty boy, for now."
Jae-Hyun could throw whatever he wanted at this boy, but no matter what he did, the boy wouldn't give him satisfaction by begging. He was going to defy him until he couldn't.