One More Time

Chapter 5: Wish I Never Knew You

He parted his lips and tried to breathe. He had learned long ago to tolerate pain, but as his lungs ached for air, his physiological nature could not resist the urge to convulse. He dug his nails into the bed as the rope around his neck pulled tighter, threatening to strangle him to death. In his mind, he suppressed the sound of laughter behind him. He could cope with the sting of the blows to his back, the numbing of his whole body from the damage to his lower limbs, the humiliation. But he could not cope with the image of the boy appearing and disappearing before his eyes.

He collapsed on the bed as the rope finally loosened and untied. The sweat-covered woman gave him a contemptuous look as she untied his hands with a huge smile on her face. "It's nice to know you're getting your money's worth, Mingyu." Tossing her blonde hair back over her shoulder, she didn't mind being naked. She leaned down and brushed the sweaty hair back from his forehead, pinching the tufts between her fingers and pulling. Mingyu ground his teeth together and tilted his head back to ease the pressure on his aching roots. "You know, one mistake. One mistake and you're at the end of the rope."

He fell back on the bed when his head was let go with a toss. As he writhed on the bed, his chest rising and falling rapidly and gasping for breath, she pulled on her clothes as if nothing had happened and left the room.

As he lay on his side on the bed, staring blankly at the wall, he once again regretted telling Wonwoo to leave. The boy may not have realized it, but he was protecting Mingyu from more than he realized. He wasn't just protecting him from sleep deprivation and exhaustion; he was protecting him from the torment of the customers. As Mingyu trembled with the pain in his body, he realized how much he had been protected from being torn apart, tormented and humiliated for so long. Wonwoo had seen him as human. He considered him worthy of conversation. He had wanted to save Mingyu. He had wanted to show him the light, if only for a fleeting moment, but Mingyu had become addicted to this darkness. He had forgotten how to live otherwise.

He rose slowly to his feet, ignoring the greening on his neck and wrists from the rope, the bleeding cuts on his back and the throbbing in his lower back. He got into the shower. It was a futile effort. His was not a body that could be cleaned with a little soap and water. When he came out, he felt just as dirty. Nevertheless, he put on his pants and shirt and prepared to go down to the bar. One way or another, life went on. Mingyu had to keep dragging himself downstairs.

He went downstairs to find Jennie serving the usual crowd. Her brown curls cascaded down her back. She had a broad smile on her face as she shook the cocktails. Turning her head for a moment, she locked eyes with Mingyu, and for a brief moment her expression of joy turned to horror. But it was so fleeting that he believed he was imagining things. Without a word, he went behind the counter and began preparing the drinks.

"How bad is it?" Jennie asked him as he served a girl who was groping him.

Mingyu managed to free himself from the hand on his collar, glared at the drunk girl and then turned to Jennie. "Worse than usual."

"Shit." Jennie grimaced. " She definitely must have heard Wonwoo hired you for the whole night."

Mingyu didn't answer, but he knew Jennie was right. Lee Yujin must have felt that her most prized piece of property was being targeted. Otherwise she wouldn't have ripped Mingyu's back out with such ferocity. Normally she wouldn't have stayed in the room for so long, but tonight she was vowing to tear him apart. Besides, Mingyu hadn't seen Wonwoo in a month. So he wasn't in the mood for this much torture. For a moment, he hoped that tonight he could close his eyes forever. But just as he reached the limit, Yujin stopped. She was weighing his limits very carefully. She wouldn't kill him, but she wouldn't let him live either. Mingyu just drifted away.