The scent of boiled potatoes filled the small dining hall, but it was hardly appetizing. Jaehyun sat at the long, wooden table with a handful of other recruits, all of them silent and tense. The room was sparse—bare walls, dim lighting, and not a single window. The only sound was the faint clinking of silverware and the occasional muttered curse.
The "meal" before him was simple: a plate of grayish boiled potatoes and a small glass of water. It was a far cry from the lavish buffets and gourmet meals he had grown up with. Jaehyun stared at the food, his stomach growling but his instincts screaming at him to stop. Something was off.
Enrico entered the room, his presence like a storm cloud. He leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, watching the recruits with a predatory gaze.
"Eat," he said, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade.
Jaehyun hesitated, his fork hovering over the plate. He glanced at the others, searching for some kind of reassurance. Most of them were already eating, their faces grim but resigned.
"Don't make me repeat myself, Luca," Enrico growled, emphasizing the name Jaehyun still wasn't used to hearing. "You want to live? You eat."
His hand trembled as he speared a potato with his fork. Slowly, he brought it to his mouth and bit down. The texture was soft and mealy, the taste bland but with an underlying bitterness that made his tongue tingle. He swallowed, his throat tightening as he forced the morsel down.
The room felt too quiet. Every bite was deliberate, every chew a battle against the growing unease in his gut. The bitterness lingered, spreading across his tongue like a warning.
"This food is poisoned," Jaehyun said suddenly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Enrico smirked, pushing off the wall. "Smart. But not smart enough to refuse it."
Jaehyun's eyes widened. He set the fork down, his stomach churning. "What... what kind of poison?"
Enrico walked over, picking up a potato from Jaehyun's plate and tossing it in the air before catching it. "Nothing fatal. Not yet. Just enough to test your limits. To push you." He leaned closer, his voice low and menacing. "If you can't handle this, you'll never survive what's coming."
A sharp pain flared in Jaehyun's stomach, followed by a wave of nausea. He gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles white. Around him, the other recruits continued eating, their faces stoic but pale.
One recruit—a wiry young man with sunken cheeks—suddenly clutched his throat, his eyes wide with panic. He fell to the floor, convulsing. The others didn't react, their gazes fixed on their plates.
Enrico stepped over the writhing body without a second glance. "This is the first lesson," he said, addressing the room. "Your body is weak. Your mind is weaker. But both can be trained. Poison is just a tool. Learn to endure it, and it can no longer harm you."
Jaehyun's vision blurred, his breath coming in short gasps. His pulse pounded in his ears as the nausea intensified, but he refused to give in. He thought of his family—the parents who had abandoned him, the siblings who had laughed at his failures. He wouldn't let them win. He wouldn't die here.
With a shaky hand, he picked up another potato and forced himself to eat.
"Good," Enrico said, watching him closely. "Pain is the price of survival. You'll learn that soon enough."
The wiry recruit on the floor stopped moving. Two other trainees dragged him out of the room, his limp body leaving a faint trail of bloodied vomit on the cold floor. No one spoke. No one even looked up.
Enrico clapped his hands, breaking the silence. "Congratulations," he said, his tone mocking. "You've survived your first poisoned meal. But this is just the beginning. The doses will increase, the toxins will change, and you will adapt—or you'll die. Either way, we'll weed out the weak."
Jaehyun's stomach felt like it was on fire, but he kept eating, each bite a small act of defiance. He wouldn't let them break him—not yet.
As the recruits filed out of the dining hall, Jaehyun lingered, his legs unsteady but his resolve solidifying. Enrico stopped him at the door, his dark eyes boring into him.
"Luca," he said, his voice quieter now, almost amused. "You've got more fight in you than I thought. But don't let it go to your head. The poison is only the start. We'll see what you're really made of soon."
Jaehyun met his gaze, his jaw tightening. "I'll survive."
Enrico smirked. "For your sake, I hope you do."
As Jaehyun stumbled back to his quarters, his stomach still churning and his head pounding, one thought burned in his mind: he would endure. No matter the pain, no matter the cost, he would survive this hell. And one day, he would make them all pay.