Chapter Two

Ice

Heechul yawned, rubbing his eyes gently after having spent a long night out with his friends. He was suddenly aware of how dark the room was and raised an eyebrow, waiting for the curtains to be drawn so that warm and rich light would fill his enormous bedroom – if it should even be considered a bedroom. It was larger than the average apartment, however Heechul did not think anything of it. He had been raised in the enormous manner that was a few miles away from the heart of the City, and as such, did not realize how privileged he was. Heechul leaned up against the bedpost and crossed his arms. His impatience grew, as Heechul had an infamous reputation for his incredibly short temper. A few minutes of waiting, he very predictably exploded.

“Yah!” He yelled loudly, “Why the hell  is it still dark in here?” His screeching could be heard all over the upper story. A pair of feet came sprinting down the halls, hurriedly rushing to open the door and skipped bowing to draw the curtains. None of the slaves wanted to upset Heechul. He had not done anything to hurt them, thus far, however that was simply because no one had dared make a mistake in front of him yet.

Once the light began filtering into the room through the floor length windows, the servant immediately went over to the foot of Heechul’s bed and bowed almost to the point of looking down at his toes. When he rose back up, he apologized deeply. “Forgive me, master.” He begged, getting down on his knees while Heechul simply looked on disinterestedly. There were so many horror stories that had been spread around about how Chosen punished slaves that screwed up. The boy looked toward him, fear wide in his eyes. At the sentiment though, Heechul simply shrugged.

“Whatever.” He brushed the kid off, sliding off his bed as he could now actually see what he was doing. Heechul headed over to his gigantic walk-in closet and paused in surveying his variety of choices. Kim Heechul had quite the reputation to uphold. Of all of the Chosen in the City – that were not ajuhssis – he was one of the most famous. He knew he was spoiled, as he got everything he wanted, however nasty it seemed, was a trait that girls adored. Heechul did not understand the phenomenon but girls loved him, even human ones – not that he would acknowledge that one. He couldn’t help it, he supposed. Some people were just born beautiful, and he was most certainly one of them. As such, he had an image he to keep up.

Heechul bit his lip, glancing across at the rows upon rows of clothing. The boy residing behind him simply waited silently. Amidst his debate, Heechul reached out to grab one, causing the boy to flinch into readiness to help him, however then Heechul changed his mind and drew back. The boy straightened back up awkwardly. Finally, Heechul began to get annoyed of his presence and turned to him.

“You know, you don’t have to stay right next to me.” He told him to which the boy did not have any kind of readable response. Heechul decided he needed to be a bit less vague, “By that, I mean I’m dismissing you.”

“Forever!?” The boy blurted out and then immediately covered his lips with his small hands, Heechul sighed, as the kid seemed practically terrified of him. Sure, he could be a bit scary at times, but he wasn’t some kind of monster – monsters wished they be even an ounce of as pretty as he was. Chosen had established a very strict set of rules for slaves to follow, one very key one being that they could not speak out of terms. Heechul sighed, the boy hadn’t meant to, he supposed.

He gently took the boys’ hands and pried them off of his face. The slave seemed very taken aback by his touch, immediately drawing back like he had been smacked. “I was dismissing you from the room, I don’t like people right on my , kay?” Heechul decided to let him off with a warning, “Now run along before I change my mind and punish you.”

The boy did not hesitate for a moment, bowing quickly before running out the door, “Thank you, thank you, master!” Heechul finally was able to settle down for a moment alone. He could manage to dress himself. After all, Heechul had never been so keen on the idea of another person helping him get ready… erts.

Heechul’s attention was then caught when he heard whimpering along with the footsteps of his father. Heechul straightened up and tried to look presentable, however admitted he was failing a bit with the fact he was wearing a Tom and Jerry nightgown – it had been a present from his fangirls, don’t judge – over some sweats. His father held the boy he had just sent into the room by the scruff of his neck, pushing him hard on the ground and the boy did not even attempt to get up in fear of what would happen if he did.

His father inspected him with cruel eyes before scoffing. “How do you possibly have so many girls after you when you look so much like one yourself?” The words were harsh and Heechul simply crossed his arms – he could be cold too, if the situation called for it. The older man continued, “Your look disgusts me. Go put something on and stop shaming the Kim name.”

Heechul nodded reluctantly, however he noticed his father did not leave. Instead, he pulled out a long, coarse whip and corned the slave boy, ordering him to put his hands above his head and on the wall. His father looked over to him, cruelty shining in his dark eyes, “He wouldn’t be receiving this punishment if you had gone so soft on him. But… seeing how you obviously like him, I’ll have to show you the hard way what happens when you develop any kind of relationship with a slave.”

The man pulled back the whip and then struck the boy with it, causing him to squeak out in pain, which only motivated his father further. Blow after blow, the boy was beaten over and over before he slumped down to the ground, covering his face in his hands like before. This time though, Heechul could see tears streaming down his cheeks pitifully. He was forced to turn away. His father had made it clear that any kind of kindness towards their servants would only lead to more trouble.

“Clean yourself up and get back to work.” His father ordered, despite the fact the boy’s shirt was clinging to him, blood seeping into the cloth and staining it a dark, satanic red. Heechul relaxed his tense muscles and headed back into the closet. In the mirror, his gorgeous face seemed to have paled in complexion and he looked concernedly at himself. His father stepped behind him, his reflection appearing in the mirror as well.

“Now, as the oldest of all of your siblings, you must be a good example to them.” His father’s attitude became soft after the slave had left, like they actually had a good relationship. Heechul knew that deep down his father had no heart whether he put on a façade or acted as he truly was.  Heechul would like to say he had at least a bit of a bit of a heart - however he had to save his own - so perhaps not.

“Fine,” Heechul gave in, playing with his hair admiringly before pushing back all feelings and turning to his father with equally cold eyes, “Tell one of the slaves to come in and clean up here then. The smell of blood is ruining my appetite.”

“Good boy.”

Author's Note:

Hope this is a bit better in the length department and that you enjoyed it. Feel free to give me feedback~

~*Carissa*~