Kyungsoo lay chained to the wall in a dark, damp, dirty cell. Kyungsoo’s arms where hoisted above his head by a chain which extended to a hook in the wall, high above his head. His hair was plastered to his face. He was unbathed, smelly and dirty. His limp, matt, flat hair dripped with his sweat. His face was a bloody mess. His lower lip was busted open and the scab had been repeatedly torn resulting in an infection. The right side of his face was completely bruised and swollen. None of it was of a normal skin tone or flat. His right eye was hidden amongst his swollen face. It was covered by a large, black eye. The left side of his face was completely torn and cut. Half of the skin was scrapped off, while the rest suffered from deep dashes throughout. His left eyelid was firmly shut. Kyungsoo was unable to lift it open. His eyebrows were coated in a thick layer of blood.

A similar layer of blood coated his neck, which was full of cuts and had visible robe burns. His clothes were torn to shreds. His shirt had more fabric missing than it had left. His impoverished, thin body was visible. The cuts and bruises he had suffered over his time in captivity were also visible. His skin was bloodied, scraped, covered in scabs and was coated in deep wounds, which looked similar to knife wounds. His trousers had been torn down to shorts. They were torn, dirtied, stained from his blood and spoiled. His legs were similar to his arms, purple and red, covered in bruises and cuts. However his knees had the skin scraped off of them. They were completely red and his left knee was scraped to the point that bone emerged. His wrists were also bruised due to the chain.

His feet were shoe and sockless. His heels were covered in a thick layer of dirt and blood. He lay unconscious, unaware of the pain of his body, unaware of the happenings of the outside world. The door on the far side of the cell opened, emitting a ray of light into the room. The light caused rats in the corner to scamper off into a hole in the far wall. A tall, muscular man walked in. The footsteps of his hard, leather boots reverberated off the walls of the cell. His dark clothing, long beard and hair blended him in with the darkness of the cell. He continued into the cell in order to allow a second man to enter. This man had short, blond hair. He was skinny and appeared weak. His body looked frail; however his eyes had a sharp, malicious glint in them.

The man had a large scar down the right side of his face. He wore light, blue clothing which caused him to stand out against the dark ceil. Suddenly the cell erupted into light, as the first man lit a candle in a corner of the room. The candle lit up half of the ceil, throwing the first man into clear view. His face was barely visible between his beard and hair. However his dark eyes emitted an evil, joyful glint of light. Despite his tough appearance he refused to look at the second man out of fear. The second man approached Kyungsoo. He stared at the unconscious body.

“Wake him” ordered the second man, his voice loud, deep and vicious. He stared emotionlessly at Kyungsoo as the first man approached.

“Yes sir”

The first man took a bucket of water that rested in the nearest right corner to them. He stared at Kyungsoo as he threw the bucket’s contents onto the unconscious body. The second man’s eyes lit up with enjoyment as Kyungsoo awoke in a panic. His whole body ached as the water woke him to his senses. Kyungsoo spluttered as blood and water were ejected from his mouth. He began huffing as he attempted to breathe, ignoring the pain as much as he could. The second man stood over Kyungsoo relishing the sight of Kyungsoo’s pain. He squatted down, lifting Kyungsoo’s chin up.

“Look at me” he ordered Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo’s eye eventually rested on the man. However he could only make out his outline against the light emitted from the candle and door way. The second man smiled menacingly at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo stared back, loathing rising in his stomach. He mustered up his dwindling energy and spat the only saliva left in his mouth at the man’s face. The man’s face contorted as he felt Kyungsoo’s spit hit him. He lifted his hand and wiped the spit off of his face. He looked back at Kyungsoo, who was now smiling at him. Kyungsoo took pleasure in these moments, despite being aware that extra pain was to come, however pain would come anyway even without these acts.

The second man smiled back at Kyungsoo.

“Aren’t you frisky today” remarked the man. “Well todays your lucky day. I won’t be beating you into a pulp”

Kyungsoo looked at him in confusion, unsure of how to act. He felt happy, but didn’t trust the man who squatted before him.

“Let’s see if that smile will remain while the pretty, red and orange flames devour you.”

Kyungsoo’s smile instantly disappeared. He stared at the man in horror. Fear consumed his body and mind. He couldn’t understand. He didn’t know why he was here. He desperately longed to see his mother, brothers and sisters, but most of all he longed to see his older brother, the person who was taken from him at a young age, the person who supported the family even until now, the person he strongly believed he saw hammering the one way glass while men attacked him in the interrogation room. However, despite all his emotions he kept his face still, emotionless before this man. The man who had tortured him all this time, the man who would get so much enjoyment out of seeing him squirm in pain or beg in fear. Kyungsoo knew he was going to die, he feared it more than he admitted but even if it was the last thing he was going to do, he wouldn’t give this man any pleasure.

“If you’re going to burn me, then burn me” stated Kyungsoo determinately. “But I won’t beg, I won’t cry, I will not flinch in pain. I will never give you that pleasure”

The man’s smile disappeared.

“Big words for a small boy” said the man as he stood up. He fixed his shirt before facing Kyungsoo again. “Let’s see if your actions match your words”