For an entire hour, she has been silent. Completely silent, sitting on her gold, velvet throne. Her eyes are an enigma, sleeping beneath cold, thin hands. Like many idols of her time, there is very little meat on her bones. It makes her appear small and brittle, in need of protection. Protection from scandals, from criticism, from hate, in general.

The man on the bed stirs beneath the silver sheets... awakening the devil outside. Her white hands fall as she rises to meet him... to reveal the blazing desires within.

Her lips part in anticipation as her body makes the climb. Her fingers slip beneath the sheets to trace his beautiful scars... on his arms... on his legs... on his chest... Each one, significant. Each one, re-telling a passage from their road to revolution. They expand and contract while he breathes... living... breathing with him. He is the epitome of their future. To lose then gain. To suffer then reap the rewards.

His eyelids draw back to witness a blood thirsty presence towering over him. It is slowly feeding off his life essence like a parasite... but, he does not particularly mind. She still needs him. He is still needed. That is what matters. "You've taken it a little too far, Cyn. Now, you're just making them lose on purpose to see me broken."

Her fingernail punctures the soft skin beneath his left earlobe, drawing precious vital fluids. She can feel it dripping between her fingers as she laughs. "My hate for you is strong. As equally strong as my love." She leans into his ear and whispers, "You should know it better than anyone."

"There's no need for you to go to this extent, is there?"

"Are you to deny me the pleasure of nursing you back to health?!" Her nail sink in deep, clogging the blood flow. "You... are you telling me you don't need me anymore?" She sounds hurt... almost. "This is nothing... nothing compared to..." The tip of her nail locates the device implanted in his neck and temporarily disrupts its broadcast. "We are the dark horse, Jae. Let's suffer a few more rounds before we start the climb. Indulge my sadistic ways just a few more times, hmm?"

"You're evil, Cyn."

"It takes a lethal poison to fight a lethal poison. It takes a wicked disease to cure a wicked disease. Do you expect to revolt with hugs and kisses and flowers in our hair? Such romantic notions are for idealists and dreamers. We are neither. Our wants cannot be realized without a few heads rolling of shoulders. In this current world, there is no room for the weak."

"But... we will change that, won't we? We will definitely change it."

"You must believe it, Jae. We will not fall victim to their propaganda, but we must use them to change them... we must play out their game to, ultimately, play out our own."

---

The boys of Boys Republic stand in the arena lobby watching the screens change, displaying pictures and stats of battle team members and upcoming matches.

"Oh, found it." Minsu does a quick count in his head. "Six down and five across from the right."

Their eyes shift all the way to the top corner of the sparkling glass wall. "Ah, . We're facing GOT7 again."

"Damn... we gonna lose to them this time, too. They still haven't allowed us to forget the last beating. God, every single time we cross paths..."

"Rubbing salt into our sensitive wounds..." Sunwoo rolls a piece of dirty cotton candy hair between his fingers.

"Why couldn't we go up against BTS again or something? At least they didn't gloat for months."

"Can't they just let us win this one?" Suwoong sighs, tired of the hefty loss under their belts. "I'd rather we win this one... at the very least..."

"Nah. No chance. Look down at the screen directly below." All eyes shift. "The losing King eats a hundred and fifty lashes." Wonjun cannot suppress the chuckle. He is so getting it this round.

The other four boys sigh in perfect unison. "Right... there's no chance we're winning this one. She loves seeing him whipped. Especially when the whip's all spiked with those little things."

"Seriously... why did we ever swear allegiance to such a sadistic ?"

"Because we're all under Universal Music Group?"

"We could've chosen another solo artist... right?"

"Remember she looked the most innocent?" Sungjun burst out laughing when the fuzzy sweetheart idol image invades his head.

"Soooo deceiving..."

"Besides, she chose us first."

"And also there's that reason."

"Right... that reason. Well... let's go do what we do best then..."

"Being under-rated for life?"

LMAO