Untouched [minsung]

Chapter 45

My arms were chained to the ceiling and Jeongin stood behind a chair in front of me. In the chair sat a defeated-looking Lee Know. His body was marked with scars from being burnt.

"Pick one," Jeongin asked me.

We'd been playing this game for hours, so I already knew what the options were.

"Me," I told him. He lifted the iron rod and placed it on my arm. I gritted my teeth and stared straight ahead. I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing I was in pain.

"Lee Know, your turn," Jeongin whistled.

"Han," he mumbled as he faced the ground. Jeongin came back and burned my leg. Again, I stared quietly ahead.

With every burn I received, one vanished from Lee Know. I'd decided to take on all of his pain. Free him from the burden of being visibly weak (at least that's how he saw it).

Jeongin asked me the same question over and over and every time I chose myself. When he asked Lee Know, Lee Know chose me. This pattern continued until all but one burn had transferred over.

Finally, Jeongin asked me the question for what would be the last time. Again, I chose myself. He placed the last burn on my hand. I stared down at it and smiled. Once the transfer was complete, the chains dropped, too and I moved about freely.

I turned to face Lee Know. His skin was scarless and clean. He stood from the chair examining parts of himself he could see. He looked so happy with himself. For the first time, he looked up at me. I could see his face and it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Lee Know, it's your turn," Jeongin laughed. It echoed around the room as both Lee Know and I stared at him with confused expressions.

"Han?" he answered, though it came out like a question.

Jeongin burned me again. This time there was no transfer, it was brand new. We had clearly misunderstood the rules. There was no limit to the pain that he would cause.

This time when Jeongin asked me, I paused. I didn't want to hurt Lee Know and decided to test a theory. With the chains off, we were all equal now.

So I replied "You," and Jeongin picked up the rod again and placed it on his own arm, burning himself. He cried out in pain as he held the iron against his skin. The one he'd just given me vanished.

He wasn't exempt from the game, and he couldn't do anything to stop us from choosing him. And, since he was the burner, he never got a turn to choose. It was like he was enchanted to follow orders.

For the next hundred or so rounds, we chose Jeongin. His body encapsulated all of the pain I'd been feeling and all the pain Lee Know had felt.

When the transfers were finally complete, I looked at Lee Know and held out my hand for him. He reached out for me, but Mr. Hwang threw open the door before we could touch.